Blade users thread (NO DEBATING CLUBHEADS! NO Buy Sell Trade!)

[kaaayelll]

Actually, it's more like offer something to the community; they're already sold.

 

C, they look great!!! Happy they worked out for you!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

They look great, Oldplayer!

I was really close to getting a custom Yoro set of MP-4s myself (as in brand new ordered to my specs), but I went for the VIPs instead. Now I wish I had gone for the MP-4s. Hey, why don't I do both!

 

/so as not to to offend the sensibilities of some posters in this thread, I avoided using the quote feature for this post

[mahonie]

Oldplayer, they look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing how the NS Pro 1050s/MP4 combination works.

[Bigmean]

Those are just sexy.....nice set op

[TMelectric]

I was following this thread last year when I was playing Srizon Z 945's. Without going through the last 20 pages, what is everyone's feelings about the Ping Iblades? Would (you guys) classify these as blades? I know what the industry states. Just wondering what the real world feels. I have a set and they play just like the Z 945's. Very easy to hit.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Oldplayer, they look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing how the NS Pro 1050s/MP4 combination works.

 

This as well!

 

/sorry for quoting a previous post

[PeanutsDaddy]

Stunning putters Biggie. Gold's appears to be a stand up operation. I really like the appearance and placement of the tungsten weights.

 

Cool to think that you are the only one on the planet that will roll these two beauties.

 

$5.99. 'Nuff said : )

 

 

[DeNinny]

I was following this thread last year when I was playing Srizon Z 945's. Without going through the last 20 pages, what is everyone's feelings about the Ping Iblades? Would (you guys) classify these as blades? I know what the industry states. Just wondering what the real world feels. I have a set and they play just like the Z 945's. Very easy to hit.

 

The stupid insert immediately disqualifies it from being a blade. It's what makes the club perform like a blade but also makes it feel 'forgiving' by damping the feedback. It might as well be a blade (MAWBB) because it is everything like one...minus the feedback.

[Bigmean]

I hit the iblades in a bay. I was expecting better and I don't like ping, so take that for what it is worth. They are not great at address and they feel really dead to me. I don't recall the shaft in fairness but I feel like it was just a dgs300 and not something that was part of equation.

 

The srixon 745s are a much better feeling and look club, and probably as forgiving or more?

[Oldplayer]

Thanks for all the bro love (plus Kathy Marie) on the mp4's. :) I will give a full report on how they play and the shaft combo. The head weights were great to start with and the builder (Doug for some who want to know :) ) fine tuned them to be spot on in progression.

If they don't go well I will definitely know it's me and not the irons ;)

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Just as we were talking of balata balls, I found some in a "recycle" shop today. Maxilla DDH Balata, not one I played with much when I was younger (I used either the Titleist balatas or Slazenger balatas, and only then rarely because they were so expensive). Anyway, there were actually a dozen of them, but I only bought a sleeve of three as 1) I'm not sure if they're going to be OK after all these years, and 2) they were actually pretty expensive (about $6 for three!).

The covers are quite yellowed as well, which is a little off putting.

The interesting thing is their size. They are quite a bit smaller than the modern ball, and lighter. I weighed one against a Callaway Chrome soft, and it was 3 grams lighter than the soft, and it's noticeably smaller. I remember the British ball being smaller than the US ball, but I don't remember when they were standardized. These must be the old British size (so I'm assuming Japan played the British size as well).

[mahonie]

Iirc the 'British' ball was in use up to the early 1990s. The 'British' ball was 1.62" in diameter against 1.68 for the 'American' ball. They both weighed the same at 1.62oz so your older ball may have lost weight due to age? I remember the first time I found an American ball...it seemed to be as big as a tennis ball in comparison although the change in diameter is minuscule. It was a lot easier to hit but harder to control in windy conditions and a bit shorter than the British ball. The great advantage was around the greens...my chipping and putting really benefitted - although I think that was largely psychological. I have a couple of Dunlop 65s from the 1960s still in their black paper wrapping...perhaps I ought to check on their value ;-)

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Were the Titleists sold in the UK made to American specs back then? I remember finding old Penfolds and old Dunlops on the course in the late Eighties/early Ninetines and noticing that they seemed small.

[craz-e]

Hit the pings

Walked away very disappointed

If they had wowed me I was potentially gonna buy them

[mahonie]

I remember playing with Titleist balls in the mid-80s but they were like gold dust. Very expensive and for that reason not many were played or found their way into my bag...they truly were for the serious golfer. I guess they were made to British specs as I don't recall them being the larger size. When you found them, they were usually 'grinning' after being skulled but they still made my practice bag. They were very easy to shape (too easy!!) and you could get them to spin back from a very short pitch if you got the strike perfect. Chalk and cheese with the Dunlop 65s, Wilson Prostaffs et al.

[Sir Slicealot]

How much can I change the loft on a given club? I am looking to create a 1h from a two H and wish for the loft to match my MP-29 1i so 18°to15°... feasibility?

[Bigmean]

Not sure about hybrids, I don't think a lot....also closing it down may cause hooks from an already hook prone club?

[Sir Slicealot]

It's a DI head, not really a true hybrid so I figured if ask those with greater experience...THAN I HAVE...that was implied, but I certainly hope I didn't offend.

[Bigmean]

Ok, gotcha. I am ignorant and no help on that one, sorry...I still think 3* is about the threshold of Max you should go on a normal iron, but someone who knows more than me can help.

 

I recently did get full asking price for my vegas.....sooooooo I am in no hurry but I really want to get a set to compliment my small blades. I also think this is a good excuse to give x shafts in irons a shot. My biggest Mis is ball comes off a yard or two right of pin and then is just hooks left, I wonder if x would fix that but I can do it with my gap wedge (all be it not as much, but it is a wedge) and that has an x100 in it so probably not. I may do the wilsons, but I get a winter to watch japanese auctions for anything interesting....

 

[kaaayelll]

I think 3* is a lot of loft change for a hollow head. I'm afraid you might collapse the face. I'd see how much resistance you feel with a degree or two first.

[DaBears]

Really interested in this forum, I've seen a lot of talk that higher handicap players need to stay away from blades but on the other side blades are supposedly a training aid if you will. Myself being a plus 9 handicap looking to maximize my game should i look in to purchasing a set of old blades to help further my game? Also can't find an iron that isn't a blade or cb that fits my eye. currently gaming the MP-25 but them and everything else i SHOUL play as a plus handscap is to bulky.

 

Here are some questions to the forum that would help me answer some other questions i have about blades

 

What was your first experience switching into a bladed irons (Bladed irons players). My second question goes out to anyone who has played blades and doesn't anymore and anyone who has never owned a set of blades, Why don't you game blades?. My third question is simply what you personally think makes a great bladed iron?

[Bigmean]

First of all, sorry about your football team....hahaha

 

With that out of the way, everyone is different and here is my take on your questions:

 

My first experience with blades was me getting Mizuno mp14s becuase that is what tiger played. I have to be honest, I don't recall a transition period or anything that was bad or good at first. I was probably a mid 80s golfer at the time (depressing how little progress has been made LOL). Anyway, I rotated those and a cb set for my whole life, as until discovering jdm, that is my nature and I am back there full circle, 2 sets for a long time, a blade and cb. What became evident was that I liked the mizunos better, and my good days with them were better, but I definitly shelved them when not feeling good about things. In a sense, my cbs were a mental pacifier set. As a 9 I think you have more than enough game to play whatever fits your eye. Also in time, I started playing the cbs less and less and less. It wasn't that my game was on, just that scores didn't change with club changes and the mizunos felt more like home to me.

 

Can't answer the second, but a time will come when j don't have the clubhead speed I Guess.

 

The beauty of a traditional blades club so that great is relative to the user. Meaning feel, looks etc are all very subjective and what I find great in a blade (square toe, short heel to toe length, not tall face, certain feels/feedback) you may not. So there is no real answer to this.

 

The good news is you can buy an older set dirt cheap and give it a try for yourself. Mizuno is a can't miss brand and lots of used ones. What is your budget? If you are willing to go $300 there are lots of options. $500 tons of options. Newer is not better but I think blades after the late 90s are more user friendly. Get a set and see for yourself if it is for you or not. The biggest reason is the feedback, bad shots are bad shots.

 

But at the end of the day, positive and negative feedback, in such an amplified form, is probably the core reason blade guys are so stubborn to not like most cbs. You will also have to become a ballstriker of sorts of you are not and I guess that is what you mean by training. It is simple, you have to hit ball then divot, or you won't play blades for long. Taking divits with blades is also much more of a pleasure and they will promote a descending strike.

[DaBears]

Thanks for the advice, additional input by other members is greatly appreciated. cheers

[Nard_S]

Really interested in this forum, I've seen a lot of talk that higher handicap players need to stay away from blades but on the other side blades are supposedly a training aid if you will. Myself being a plus 9 handicap looking to maximize my game should i look in to purchasing a set of old blades to help further my game? Also can't find an iron that isn't a blade or cb that fits my eye. currently gaming the MP-25 but them and everything else i SHOUL play as a plus handscap is to bulky.

 

Here are some questions to the forum that would help me answer some other questions i have about blades

 

What was your first experience switching into a bladed irons (Bladed irons players). My second question goes out to anyone who has played blades and doesn't anymore and anyone who has never owned a set of blades, Why don't you game blades?. My third question is simply what you personally think makes a great bladed iron?

 

My first experience is with MB's is I learned how to not continually hit it out on the toe and went from fade biased to draw biased shot fixing it. It took a couple of months but it worked. Blades do not tolerate toe shots gladly. CB's do. Played those a prior decade doing so.

 

As for 3rd. I can recommend TM RAC MB TP (2007). They are 'blade' that performs much like any other players' CB and yet feel like a real deal MB. A great 1st blade imo.

 

A little more hard core MB? 1999-2000 Hogan Apex, a great club, one of the best of that era.I carry those week in week out. Own 2 sets. If working the ball is your desire, these are Formula 1.

[Sir Slicealot]

I have only ever played blades and I'm too dumb to be scared of them. Toe shots are excellent adventures in finding the ball. I've been playing a few months now and I'm hunting 100. I like the fact that bad shots are not tolerated by my clubs. My 1&2 iron are possibly my favorite clubs followed by 7 iron and pitching wedge. MP-29 in the 1&2. MP-4 3-PW. I like these clubs immensely, but I have a Titleist 716 MB 7 iron that is quite nice also, so there may be some goodness in that set of clubs too.

[DaBears]

I have only ever played blades and I'm too dumb to be scared of them. Toe shots are excellent adventures in finding the ball. I've been playing a few months now and I'm hunting 100. I like the fact that bad shots are not tolerated by my clubs. My 1&2 iron are possibly my favorite clubs followed by 7 iron and pitching wedge. MP-29 in the 1&2. MP-4 3-PW. I like these clubs immensely, but I have a Titleist 716 MB 7 iron that is quite nice also, so there may be some goodness in that set of clubs too.

Mp-4's have my interest, would you recommend a change in shafts? Also my biggest concern is there any change in the way you approach a shot as blades are less forgiving?.

[Bigmean]

Nope, it is mental, just hit down and through and they work like "regular" clubs.

 

If mp4s have your interest then just do that. They are great irons.

[Sir Slicealot]

Mp-4's have my interest, would you recommend a change in shafts? Also my biggest concern is there any change in the way you approach a shot as blades are less forgiving?

I play the shafts they came with: S300. The way I approach the shot with blades is as confidently as possible. I envision the shot I want and I go and try like heaven to execute that shot. The majority of my high score comes from an overpowered short game where I fly by the green at least once ensuring that the runway is clear. LOL. I'll be a lot better as soon as that gets resolved. Until then, life is still awesome.

[DeNinny]

Really interested in this forum, I've seen a lot of talk that higher handicap players need to stay away from blades but on the other side blades are supposedly a training aid if you will. Myself being a plus 9 handicap looking to maximize my game should i look in to purchasing a set of old blades to help further my game? Also can't find an iron that isn't a blade or cb that fits my eye. currently gaming the MP-25 but them and everything else i SHOUL play as a plus handscap is to bulky.

 

Here are some questions to the forum that would help me answer some other questions i have about blades

 

What was your first experience switching into a bladed irons (Bladed irons players). My second question goes out to anyone who has played blades and doesn't anymore and anyone who has never owned a set of blades, Why don't you game blades?. My third question is simply what you personally think makes a great bladed iron?

 

1) My experience switching to blades (mp67s) at a 16 index was a positive one. I found that they enhanced my play on my good ballstriking days, and I am more likely able to shoot my personal best with blades in my bag. Overall they have been better for my game at any handicap, whether it be 16 or 8 or anything in between. But it is a marginal improvement over CBs and SGIs that is only most evident when I am playing well. Also I can't go back to CBs. I am a blades player for life. I used to switch back and forth between blades and CBs for almost 10 years. But not anymore. Blades give me the best ball control possible, feedback is great, and there really isn't a better feeling in golf than hitting a blade pure. There's really no need to play anything else. All CBs do for me is take away from my golf experience.

 

2) N/A (BLADES FOR LIFE!!!)

 

3) A great bladed iron is one that has a simple muscle that spans the length of the head. It should have relatively even thickness and height. There should be some muscle still attached to the hosel. It should be made from high quality steel, with minimal defect density and even carbon distribution throughout. Bounce should be minimal and the leading edge not too rounded.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

MP-4s are great irons. I keep going back to them. Clean, with muscle in all the right places. The feel is great. I've experienced no problems with digging, and I feel that I can work the ball (even though I can't really hit a fade to save my life anymore).

 

/btw, a plus nine handicap should be able to get the round the course using just a small grapefruit spoon