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Ok, now I'm confused...

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Barberakb

Barberakb

USAF / Go Cowboys!
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Las Cruces NM
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So I recently bought some Mizuno MP-32's on a whim.
I found a good deal from a fellow THPer. I wasn't really
planning on gaming them, I just wanted to try them out.
I had never even had a set of "blades" and I've always heard great things about
Mizuno's and how buttery forged clubs can feel.

So I figured what the heck.

So I went out today to play 18. I honestly didn't think I would hit these very well so
I only took the 8,9 and PW mixed in with the rest of my amp cells.
What do you know, I hit more GIR's with the Mizuno's then I do normally with my amp cells.
Now granted, I only hit the 8,9 and PW but I was impressed with what I saw.

I didn't have any horrid shots. I did mishit them several times but was surprised that
they were actually pretty forgiving. Almost as forgiving as any other "game improvement" club I have hit.

I did notice a few differences. If I hit it really bad, I felt it. It vibrated bad enough that I felt it in my hands, and it didn't feel good.
I was also about one club shorter than normal. I can normally hit my 9 iron 150. With the Mizunos, my 150 club was an 8 iron.
But I guess that should be expected since these Mizunos are a little older and probably not as jacked up on the lofts as a lot of clubs nowadays.

The one miss that seemed a little worse when I hit it was a bladed shot. It seemed to fly lower and farther than a bladed shot
with my cells. Other than that, I was pretty impressed. If I can play as good with the lower clubs like I did these, Mizuno might have just gained a fan for life.

I am confused now though. What does this mean?

A = These clubs are amazing
B= My iron game might not be as bad as I thought it was
C= GI or SGI clubs aren't as forgiving as I thought except on really bad mis hits

Who knows... but I thought it was interesting
 
I've actually been thinking about something similar. The behaviorist in me says that, once you're in the mid-handicap range where you swing isn't terri-bad, one's body will make adjustments based on small amounts of feedback.

As I ponder new clubs (ap1's, EZ Forged), I have thought about whether or not to game something less forgiving 7-PW. I just have to wonder if it is *good* to be able to feel the difference between a solid hit and one off-center and experience the difference. Perhaps the GI and SGI clubs are a bit like giving everybody a trophy at the little league end-of-season celebration.
 
Interesting, it does go against the normal thought of players irons vs gi irons, but I have a buddy that is probably an 18-20 handicapper that has a set of blades he breaks out when he leaves his regular bag in Florida for the winter. When I say blades I'm talking 30 year old butter knife looking blades, he doesn't seem to hit them any better or any worse than his Burner irons he normally plays. I guess the moral of the story is if it works, it works.
 
Hey, I'm right with you guys. I bought some MP-53 from Freddie knowing if they were way over my head I could sell them for what I paid. I have always heard about blades and how unforgiving and blah blah blah. Well I've had them now for about 4 months ago and shot my personal best yesterday 83. They have the kbs tour stiff shafts. It's hard to explain but they are addictive. The shafts kick just right and I know if I keep my head down the club and shaft come through the ball so nice. Hard to explain. I love them. Yeah there not as long but there not short. The yardage plays the same as my older gi irons they replaced. I am amazed at how much I like these, even the 4 & 5 are $$. I still drooling over the new Apex and Ap's.

swing your swing
 
whatever works for you you should use. One thing that is overlooked in older blade type irons is they typically are heavier and have heavier shafts. Heavier clubs are better for some golfers. I know for me it seems to help slow down my transition and may help me stay on plane better. All I really know is clubs with a little heavier shafts(105-120 gram) just work better with my swing. I really believe one must have better swing mechanics to hit lighter weight clubs.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I also think it shows us what JB and others keep saying, the difference between categories just isn't as pronounced as it used to be.
Click to expand...

To be fair, that is not exactly what I have been saying. What I have said is that I do not like the category breakdowns as black and white because the lines have been blurred. I definitely believe that forgiveness matters, is apparent and can help most golfers.
 
To me, it just strengthens the need to get fitted. The best way to find out what possible type of shaft/club will mesh with your particular swing mechanics and what your preferences/comfort level is with each is to get help from a professional fitter. Last January, it blew me away that I was able to hit a 30 year old set of Radial blades just as good if not better than my set of GI clubs I was gaming at that time. It turned out the GI clubs weren't really designed to help with my particular miss and had weighting in places that accentuated those misses while the Radials' shafts were better for my SS. At any rate, glad you're happy with the new clubs and go with what works.
 
Well just to throw this out there, I got fitted for some Mizuno jpx 825 pro's that aren't exactly a blade but, smaller and a little more compact versus other gi irons on the market. I have to say I hit them much cleaner than my buddies new TM speed blades. I just couldn't get comfortable and/or hit a good shot with them. Honestly, I thought I'd be very impressed with them. Granted, I only took a couple of swings with them so I really cant give an honest opinion. I just feel a little more comfortable standing over a gorgeous and less bulky iron.
 
Glad you found success with a 'player' type iron. Maybe your game had progressed and that great.

A true blade (mp4, TM MB, 588 or j40) doesn't have forgiveness of the hybrid players clubs with perimeter weighting. There is a distinct line between players, GI and SGI.

This is not to say you can't play them but I wanted to try to clear up any confusion.
 
What would the J40 DPC be considered?
 
Barberakb said:
What would the J40 DPC be considered?
Click to expand...

I would say it rides that line between players and GI. The long irons have the forgiveness closer to a players iron and the short and mid favor a GI
 
Sometimes the unexpected happens when it comes to golf. I was really struggling with my iron play so I played a round with my old Amp's expecting to see all kinds of forgiveness and goodness. Well it turns out that in my case my misses aren't such that an iron with more mass will help. In fact, due to the increased forgiveness, when I flipped my wrists the ball would go twice as far left sometimes making the miss worse.
The Amps were longer than the J40s by a club but that made sense given that my J40s are bent weak.
 
Fantastic results. Sounds like you had a good round.

If the ACs were longer, more forgiving (if even a touch), and felt better on mishits, why change?
 
I actually hit more GIR with the Mizzy's. And this being the first time I have ever hit them, I think warrants me playing a few more rounds to find out.
And the Amp's were longer but it's kinda negligible since the amps are 4-GW and the Mizuno's 3-PW.
 
Barberakb said:
I actually hit more GIR with the Mizzy's. And this being the first time I have ever hit them, I think warrants me playing a few more rounds to find out.
And the Amp's were longer but it's kinda negligible since the amps are 4-GW and the Mizuno's 3-PW.
Click to expand...

Take the GIRs my man.

But I wouldn't worry about the lofts. I would just focus on ball first contact with forward shaft lean. The Mizunos will soar.
 
Glad they worked out for you! It's always fun when you go out on a limb and try something and it does the trick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Barberakb said:
I am confused now though. What does this mean?

A = These clubs are amazing
B= My iron game might not be as bad as I thought it was
C= GI or SGI clubs aren't as forgiving as I thought except on really bad mis hits

Who knows... but I thought it was interesting
Click to expand...


A. Awesome to find something you feel good about.
B. Keep in mind you used the 8(39*), 9(43*), PW(47*) which is, compared to the Amp Cells, the 9(39*), PW(44*) & GW(49*). When I have looked at new clubs, I pay attention to the lofts so that I don't get sucked in by "a club longer" bs. That being said, it is great to see your excitement around the new clubs!
C. They are forgiving, how much forgiveness is needed increases as the loft of the clubs decreases. Hence my NIke Pro-Combos, Cleveland 588 combos, and others.

I am currently gaming the 5-PW of the ProCombos; the 8-9-PW are blades, the 7-6-5 are Split Cavity. I have the Cleveland 588 Altitude 5-4-3 hyrons. Their lofts exactly match the 4-3-2 iron from the Nike clubs. The hyrons are soo forgiving & easy to swing. I imagine gaming a full set of irons will happen for me again, but for now I love playing the mixed set. My game. My choice.

So why don't you?
 
I experienced this too when I was younger, I was playing tho old king cobra oversize irons and got a deal on an old set of taylormade tour preferred blade irons. I found that my iron play improved dramatically after switching. Although the cobras were bigger and longer and easier to hit, the TM's were much easier to control and I actually found the smaller size made me concentrate more so I'd hit the sweet spot more often. My thoughts are to give the mp-32's a shot if you find you're hitting more GIR's. They're a great set, I still be playing them myself if I wasn't such a callaway hoe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I kind of hate you for posting this man,lol it prompted me to go out and find some players clubs and give them a go, I hit the Callaway X forged last night at Dick's and found a pretty good set cheap on eBay and had some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket so of course I ordered them. My instructor let me try out his Wilson Staff FG Tour V2s today and now I kinda find myself wishing I could have tried those out first. I might have to flip the Callaway's to get them and I haven't even got my Callaway's in the mail yet. Dammit,lol.
 
Hahaha, that's crazy. Hope you like whatever you end up with.
 
Barberakb said:
Hahaha, that's crazy. Hope you like whatever you end up with.
Click to expand...

Funny you say that, me and my instructor have become pretty good friends and we kind of have a open policy about trying each others bags, he's the only guy I'd ever allow to hit my 3 deep off the deck, but he let me try his Wilson Staff FG Tour V2's yesterday and I was drilling those, I actually think I prefer them to the Callaways, lol. We had a good conversation on the topic of players irons vs GI's during the round and he made a lot of good points to me, he said that most everyone is gonna prefer the look of players clubs due to the classic clean look and that they'd be great for me to grow into but he'd like for me to hold on to my Mizunos for the time being and to continue practicing with the players clubs until I had absolute confidence in them and my ball striking, and then it would be time to put them in my bag. Made alot of sense to me. I sure do want a set of those Wilson Staffs though, they are awesome.
 
Those Wilson Staff FG Tour V2's are really sweet looking clubs.
 
Barberakb said:
Those Wilson Staff FG Tour V2's are really sweet looking clubs.
Click to expand...

They feel amazing too and didn't feel quite as demanding as the X Forged. For me, the biggest thing I love about players clubs is the turf interaction vs wider soled game improvement irons. I also prefer looking down at the thinner top line and I think they're much easier to aim and line up with the smaller amount of offset.
 
Those Mizunos are sweet, congratulations! It seems to me that the trick with blades is how good a ball striker you actually are, and that is sort of hard to judge without trying different clubs out. If you can hit 'em consistently in the center of the face I think players clubs give more consistent distances, and ball striking isn't really directly reflected in handicap index since there are other factors than swing consistency. Greens in regulation is good though, and there's no shame in a mixed bag if that works for you. Longer irons give you more opportunity for trouble with a small error and that's where the GI clubs seem to shine for most of us.
 
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