jimsizzle
New member
I'm striking the ball very well with my Mizuno JPX825 irons, but I'm considering moving to blades (probably Mizunos). How much distance am I likely to gain with blades?
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I'm striking the ball very well with my Mizuno JPX825 irons, but I'm considering moving to blades (probably Mizunos). How much distance am I likely to gain with blades?
Gain? More than likely you won't.
Misses will be more accentuated with a sharper dropoff in ball-speed even with smaller misses. Its the nature of the profile and design, blades are simply much more demanding by nature.
What do you want to gain? Aesthetically, you gain the clean compact look of a blade. That's about it.
Other than aesthetics, there is nothing a set of blades can do that your current irons can't.
I don't really agree with this. There is a certain element of predictability that blades provide (good or bad) that are less predominant in a more forgiving head shape. There are also alterations to flight and spin based on the cavity/build characteristics, and of course sound.
Can you expand on "predicatbility", I agree that if you miss with a blade, the results are going to be predictable. But what about GI irons is not predicable? I know that flight may also be different, but that can usually be helped with shaft selection.
I wouldn't say you will gain distance necessarily. All irons hit roughly the same given similar specs. What you gain with blades is 1) increase in feel and 2) more ability to work the ball. Increase in feel because blades are generally made of a softer forged steel compared to cavity back clubs which are cast. Also, with the weight concentrated behind the center of gravity, mishits are felt much more than with cavity back clubs. This concentration of mass in the COG is also where the workability comes from - the club's design doesn't fight you in trying to apply changes in spin axis to the ball.
It is the increase in feel where blades help you with precision in your strikes. You need that feedback in order to fine tune your strike. Cavity backs, though more forgiving of mishits, work against you by diminishing the negative feedback of off center hits. When I switched from CB to blades back in the 80's I never looked back. Yeah, my mishits went shorter than with CBs, but my striking became better and I was always searching for that wonderful feeling of flushing an iron shot.
I wouldn't say you will gain distance necessarily. All irons hit roughly the same given similar specs. What you gain with blades is 1) increase in feel and 2) more ability to work the ball. Increase in feel because blades are generally made of a softer forged steel compared to cavity back clubs which are cast. Also, with the weight concentrated behind the center of gravity, mishits are felt much more than with cavity back clubs. This concentration of mass in the COG is also where the workability comes from - the club's design doesn't fight you in trying to apply changes in spin axis to the ball.
It is the increase in feel where blades help you with precision in your strikes. You need that feedback in order to fine tune your strike. Cavity backs, though more forgiving of mishits, work against you by diminishing the negative feedback of off center hits. When I switched from CB to blades back in the 80's I never looked back. Yeah, my mishits went shorter than with CBs, but my striking became better and I was always searching for that wonderful feeling of flushing an iron shot.
Gain? More than likely you won't.
Misses will be more accentuated with a sharper dropoff in ball-speed even with smaller misses. Its the nature of the profile and design, blades are simply much more demanding by nature.
Can you expand on "predicatbility", I agree that if you miss with a blade, the results are going to be predictable. But what about GI irons is not predicable? I know that flight may also be different, but that can usually be helped with shaft selection.
Wider sweet spots and greater MOI retention on more forgiving irons will generate some variety from player irons that don't really offer that added benefit. This can also translate in a reduced turn (something that would be predictable off a blade) and a ball that is more inclined to go on a straight path to the target line rather than turning based on path/face angle.
The gap is shrinking, but i think that will always be the case.... and it's not to say that GI or even SGI isn't workable because it is, there's just that allowed margin of error that isn't present in a blade.
Could in then be argued that GI irons are predictable straighter? If a player was good enough to work the ball in both directions, couldn't they also adjust to the less workable players irons?
I think that in many cases GI is straighter than player, and SGI is straight than GI when off center.
To your second point, I think that's more of a reflection on consistent contact location. If it's off center (which it often is), there's a mild element of shot shaping variety that comes into play. It's nowhere near as bad as it was five years ago, but I do find myself hanging the ball right rather than turning it over here and there when I game some of the more forgiving heads.
Could in then be argued that GI irons are predictable straighter? If a player was good enough to work the ball in both directions, couldn't they also adjust to the less workable players irons?