What is it like using forgiving irons for a good golfer who prefers forged?

It's actually kind of frustrating. Now I'm not a "good" golfer by any means, but I feel I am a pretty decent iron player. I think a big part of the reason why I'm a pretty decent iron player is that I've been playing most forgiving irons blades for so long. I get instant feedback on a mishit, and a good hit goes exactly where I'm aiming. This means that if I make the same mishit 2-3 times in a row, I can make an adjustment to save my round. When I go back to cavity back irons, I don't get this feedback. All shots feel good, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong when the ball doesn't react the way I expect it to.

sunil5545 said:

It's actually kind of frustrating. Now I'm not a "good" golfer by any means, but I feel I am a pretty decent iron player. I think a big part of the reason why I'm a pretty decent iron player is that I've been playing most forgiving irons blades for so long. I get instant feedback on a mishit, and a good hit goes exactly where I'm aiming. This means that if I make the same mishit 2-3 times in a row, I can make an adjustment to save my round. When I go back to cavity back irons, I don't get this feedback. All shots feel good, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong when the ball doesn't react the way I expect it to.

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Forged blades....It really depends on how often you're able to hit it square and how many mishits you have per round and the resulting score on those holes.

There are clubs now that sound like they are right up your alley...kind of a cross between "player irons" and full out game improvement irons. These can be forged if you so choose. They will offer more feedback on mishits than you will get from a full game improvement, but still get you more distance than a mishit with a blade will get you.

You see a lot of tour players using these type irons now, especially the longer irons. Good example of a forged offering.



If you have the game for blades, by all means keep using them, but if you're leaving strokes out on the course with them, yet not wanting to go with game improvement iron...this is a good option.

I play a Taylormade cast version of this type of iron....minimal offset, so you can work the ball to shape shots.

Playing a forged blades these days especially for a good weekend rec golfer...a rarity.

I like playing with blades. I think a lot of it is in peoples heads to tell you the truth. If you hit the sweet spot they're both going to respond and if you don't you're going to have to do some work on the next shot. The only big difference I noticed would be with a 4 iron. Old, forgiving clubs I could maybe get hot for 5 or 6 strokes with it. Now it's so hit and miss I don't swing it. If they had remedial drivers/woods I'd be all for them now. I used to be money with my 3 and 5 and one day I literally forgot how to swing the fucking things.

AP2’s are the best of both worlds. They’re forged with the forgiveness of a cavity back.

gohusk said:

I like playing with blades. I think a lot of it is in peoples heads to tell you the truth. If you hit the sweet spot they're both going to respond and if you don't you're going to have to do some work on the next shot. The only big difference I noticed would be with a 4 iron. Old, forgiving clubs I could maybe get hot for 5 or 6 strokes with it. Now it's so hit and miss I don't swing it. If they had remedial drivers/woods I'd be all for them now. I used to be money with my 3 and 5 and one day I literally forgot how to swing the fucking things.

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Considering the average weekend golfer...(not the guy that plays once a month) hits maybe 4 or 5 iron shots flush and on line per 18 holes, I think it's more than mental.

The beauty of the newer more forgiving clubheads...#1 the sweet spot is larger than a blade, and secondly, you don't have to hit center face to get most of what you want out of that club.

You're right about sweet spot contact on a blade and a cavity back club, but golf is a game of managing your mistakes. Blades for the avg Joe will mean more mistakes.

ATL96Steeler said:

Considering the average weekend golfer...(not the guy that plays once a month) hits maybe 4 or 5 iron shots flush and on line per 18 holes, I think it's more than mental.

The beauty of the newer more forgiving clubheads...#1 the sweet spot is larger than a blade, and secondly, you don't have to hit center face to get most of what you want out of that club.

You're right about sweet spot contact on a blade and a cavity back club, but golf is a game of managing your mistakes. Blades for the avg Joe will mean more mistakes.

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For some reason I feel more comfortable looking at the cavity back...I know it's a dumb reason, but.....

fknhippie said:

For some reason I feel more comfortable looking at the cavity back...I know it's a dumb reason, but.....

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Not at all.

Having some level of confidence at address goes a LONG way in this game.

Back when I thought I was a player...8.6 index iirc...I thought my game improvement Cobra irons were holding me back from shaping shots, etc.

I tried to graduate to some Hogan blades...worse move I could've made at the time...my high 70s low 80s turned into mid/high 80s...after about 20 rounds I raised the white flag. Fortunately forged Hogan blades were all the rage back then so I got a pretty penny for them lightly used and went back to my Cobras for the rest that season.

Why the fuck wouldn't you use the most forgiving club known to mankind?

Never understood the ego thing where a player is happy shooting higher scores than they have to.

I call bullshit on the feedback thing. I can tell precisely why I didn't strike the ball squarely with any club.

Cripes.

NEhomer said:

Why the fuck wouldn't you use the most forgiving club known to mankind?

Never understood the ego thing where a player is happy shooting higher scores than they have to.

I call bullshit on the feedback thing. I can tell precisely why I didn't strike the ball squarely with any club.

Cripes.

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Marketing feeds the ego. They are generally good looking clubs, but if you really care about scoring, most of us should be playing fitted, cavity back clubs

sunil5545 said:

It's actually kind of frustrating. Now I'm not a "good" golfer by any means, but I feel I am a pretty decent iron player. I think a big part of the reason why I'm a pretty decent iron player is that I've been playing most forgiving irons blades for so long. I get instant feedback on a mishit, and a good hit goes exactly where I'm aiming. This means that if I make the same mishit 2-3 times in a row, I can make an adjustment to save my round. When I go back to cavity back irons, I don't get this feedback. All shots feel good, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong when the ball doesn't react the way I expect it to.

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What irons are you hitting ?? I agree a blade or forged irons gives more feedback to your hands which helps a golf swing.

I hit Hogan blades most of my life. Went to the AP2s a few years ago and hit them great at first but then I started hitting them too high and not as far. Went back to titleist blades in 2013 or so and haven’t changed since.

NEhomer said:

Why the fuck wouldn't you use the most forgiving club known to mankind?

Never understood the ego thing where a player is happy shooting higher scores than they have to.

I call bullshit on the feedback thing. I can tell precisely why I didn't strike the ball squarely with any club.

Cripes.

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Best way I can answer your question is the almost year I switched to the AP2s from Hogan blades, it was great at first. Then it went downhill. When you have forgiving clubs like that it kinda makes you lazy in terms of fundamentals of a golf swing. Your hands/arms don’t have to be precise and the misses are definitely better but my game actually went downhill and I was missing more greens with AP2s. I could be just weird like that but I actually hit blades further and when hitting them I score better/hit more greens.

When your sweet spot is smaller, I guess it makes you focus in a little more on other certain fundamentals which will only make your game better. Aim, set-up, path, and tempo are things if you get lazy... bad habits will creep in. And that’s really the name of the game in golf

What if you both use easier clubs and you don't let bad habits creep in?

NEhomer said:

What if you both use easier clubs and you don't let bad habits creep in?

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Whatever works for the individual. Everyone is different and uses their strengths to score differently. But even the best players in the world get bad habits. I’m just saying when you use more forgiving clubs the average human and even great player can get a little lazy with their fundamentals.

Golf is a game of misses not perfection. You’re only as good as your best miss

This is what I hit now. Rory was hitting these back before he switched. Adam Scott still hits these as do a lot of other good players. I want to say maybe 2012-2013 model

Hit these Hogan 1999-2000 blades from about 2000 on to around 2010-2011. Wish I still had my 1984 Hogan PC blades. Passed my PGA PAT with those in 1998. I hit 845s in high school back in the early to mid 1990s




This is from an old poster in my garage

SJ76 said:

This is what I hit now. Rory was hitting these back before he switched. Adam Scott still hits these as do a lot of other good players. I want to say maybe 2012-2013 model


View attachment 197964

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These things are sweet brand new

http://www.titleist.com/golf-clubs/irons/mb-710

Well none of that shit I've heard before convinces me.

I should use a club that's more difficult to hit so that I don't get lazy and hit easier shots.

Cripes.

SJ76 said:

Whatever works for the individual. Everyone is different and uses their strengths to score differently. But even the best players in the world get bad habits. I’m just saying when you use more forgiving clubs the average human and even great player can get a little lazy with their fundamentals.

Golf is a game of misses not perfection. You’re only as good as your best miss

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SJ...obviously you have a far more advanced game/swing than the average player. IMO...Feedback only helps if you know how to fix it on the next swing. On a 45 deg if you hit a hand rattling thin shot...most any club will tell your hands that....but slight mishits, most avg players are not able to fix it on the next shot...70% of their shots will be probably mishits with clubs like those.

To your point about bad habits...for players that play a lot, having a blade 7i might not be a bad club to swing every now and then. I kept an old Snake Eyes 7i that was a forged CB, but very little offset, thin topline solely for that purpose. It and several other older old golf clubs didn't survive the move to the new house.

ATL96Steeler said:

SJ...obviously you have a far more advanced game/swing than the average player. IMO...Feedback only helps if you know how to fix it on the next swing. On a 45 deg if you hit a hand rattling thin shot...most any club will tell your hands that....but slight mishits, most avg players are not able to fix it on the next shot...70% of their shots will be probably mishits with clubs like those.

To your point about bad habits...for players that play a lot, having a blade 7i might not be a bad club to swing every now and then. I kept an old Snake Eyes 7i that was a forged CB, but very little offset, thin topline solely for that purpose. It and several other older old golf clubs didn't survive the move to the new house.

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Golf is defintely a game where you have to adjust on the fly as far as being on the course. It could be me and my feelz lol but blades actually make me a better player. Takes a bit more effort as far as a little practice but most people put in a little work anyway.

My hands, arms, body, tempo all have to be right or close to really good to hit it solid. But my misses even with a blade are not “hand rattling” unless it’s under 40 degrees and I don’t play in cold weather — that probably has a lot to do with why at this point in my life. My misses aren’t bad but like you said, you miss a green or 2 in a row and you start to go through reasons why and then adjust. Yeah it’s probably easier for me to adjust since I’ve played competitively in college and as a pro.

But the feedback I get in terms of feel is huge with a blade vs cavitity. It also makes me practice and focus a bit more on my grip, aim, path, tempo which makes it easier is a must for me.

But yeah I hit blades longer/lower and they get me dialed in when I get playing once a week or so. Didn’t play a lot last year due to kids and I’m about 1.6 handicap. That’s the highest it’s been since I was probably 15 years old.

I honestly think if you’ve always had a good swing you can hit blades. People are scared but really no reason to be. If you’re swing ain’t right and you don’t know a lot about the golf swing then AP2s or something like those are great. Mizuno makes a great iron as well.

I’ve been lucky to be around the game early in life and was around some solid teachers. Had a teacher in Orlando back in the day that was awesome. Really old dude “keep it simple stupid”. And I worked around teaching academy’s and was at Lake Nona in Orlando when David Leadbetter had his academy at the back of the range. Watched Nick Price land his helicopter on the range to get a lesson in the late 90s, then jump back in a few hours later and fly back to south FL

@ATL96Steeler

As far as some of those clubs that didn’t make it to the garage on your move...

If you don’t like a club for any reason, get rid of it. If the bounce doesn’t seem right or you just look at it and don’t like it/can’t hit it.. just let it go and go find one you like. Golf is so mental and you don’t want any negative creeping in