Golf

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Brian278

No offense, but this is entirely false. I agree that a guy shooting 110 isn't going see much of a difference no matter what he's playing. Somebody shooting 80-85 (who obviously isn't hitting all of their shots consistently) like the OP will see an improvement when fitted for lie angle, shaft flex in irons and wedges (which would also benefit from correctly spaced lofts and appropriate bounce angles), and shaft bend profile, flex, loft in the driver. At the very least, their drives will be longer and more accurate on average. Being closer to the green and in the fairway more often on average will, obviously, make it easier to score.

Are you only saying this cause you work at a country club?

Nahh, jk. I'm gonna get them custom fitted though. I just think that I would want the best I can have while I'm upgrading, right?

Anyway, this should be cool, right now I'm signed up for the city tournament. If I win (extremely unlikely lol) I get a free club membership for 1 year. That'd be pretty awesome b/c the owner of my company has wanted to play it for a while but doesn't want to pay the green fees for one round. I'm thinkin maybe a nice weekly Friday afternoon on the links with the boss probably wouldn't hurt me too much.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Brian278

No offense, but this is entirely false. I agree that a guy shooting 110 isn't going see much of a difference no matter what he's playing. Somebody shooting 80-85 (who obviously isn't hitting all of their shots consistently) like the OP will see an improvement when fitted for lie angle, shaft flex in irons and wedges (which would also benefit from correctly spaced lofts and appropriate bounce angles), and shaft bend profile, flex, loft in the driver. At the very least, their drives will be longer and more accurate on average. Being closer to the green and in the fairway more often on average will, obviously, make it easier to score.
I agree. Also, it is incredible how consistent most golf swings really are. They might be consistently horrible, but they are generally repeatable. When you have clubs with a lie angle that causes the toe (or heel) to dig each time, the results might look inconsistent when the impact position is not. Having your clubs set to the correct lie with the correct flex is incredibly important.

 

[distinctive]

Originally Posted by athletics

I believe golf clubs are also a matter of style so let me compare them to cars:

Callaway - Ford/Chevy
TaylorMade - Toyota
Titleist - Mercedes Benz
Macgregor - Jaguar
Ping - Honda
Mizuno - BMW
Bridgestone - Lexus



Sorry dude, but those are terrible comparisons.

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by distinctive

Sorry dude, but those are terrible comparisons.

+1

Shaft companies to car manufacturers would be a much more accurate analogy.

 

[greg_atlanta]

Originally Posted by Brian278

Somebody shooting 80-85 (who obviously isn't hitting all of their shots consistently) like the OP will see an improvement when fitted for lie angle, shaft flex in irons and wedges (which would also benefit from correctly spaced lofts and appropriate bounce angles), and shaft bend profile, flex, loft in the driver.

That's a slippery slope to spending $1000+ on a set of clubs. Better to get a good used set for $300-400 and spend $100 on lessons -- or greens fees.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by distinctive

Sorry dude, but those are terrible comparisons.

+1.

Not even wrong, for that matter.

 

[denning]

I generally shoot between 78 and 81 and last year got my first set of decent clubs. Until then I had been playing with my Dad's 20 year old set of Rams. I purchased a set of KZG forged blade heads off eBay and had them made up by a local club maker. All told, it cost about $500 CAD (I got a great deal on the heads).

KZG have been rated as the best forged clubs for the last number of years (made in the same factory as Mizuno's forged clubs I believe) as well as coming up with the Gemini driver which I would recommend over any other driver I have had the opportunity to try (my brother has one).

If you are semi-serious about the game it might be worthwhile to investigate them. Their blades are seriously pretty.

My uneducated 2 cents.

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by denning

I generally shoot between 78 and 81 and last year got my first set of decent clubs. Until then I had been playing with my Dad's 20 year old set of Rams. I purchased a set of KZG forged blade heads off eBay and had them made up by a local club maker. All told, it cost about $500 CAD (I got a great deal on the heads).

KZG have been rated as the best forged clubs for the last number of years (made in the same factory as Mizuno's forged clubs I believe) as well as coming up with the Gemini driver which I would recommend over any other driver I have had the opportunity to try (my brother has one).

If you are semi-serious about the game it might be worthwhile to investigate them. Their blades are seriously pretty.

My uneducated 2 cents.

They might work for you, but I would steer anyone who starts out the season shooting around 100 away from blades. That's a recipe for frustration and disaster.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Brian278

They might work for you, but I would steer anyone who starts out the season shooting around 100 away from blades. That's a recipe for frustration and disaster.

True in most cases. However, if you're serious about improving, they give you serious feedback and force you to pay attention. I spent a summer lugging around a set of odd-number (3-5-7) MacGregor blades, plus wedges and putter, and while my scores early in the season could have been better, my swing improved markedly and I was in the low 80's midway through the season.

Of course, you have to be serious about working to get better...

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Thomas

True in most cases. However, if you're serious about improving, they give you serious feedback and force you to pay attention. I spent a summer lugging around a set of odd-number (3-5-7) MacGregor blades, plus wedges and putter, and while my scores early in the season could have been better, my swing improved markedly and I was in the low 80's midway through the season.

Of course, you have to be serious about working to get better...

I'm more than serious about working to get better.

Now, what exactly are blades?

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

I'm more than serious about working to get better. Now, what exactly are blades?
They're a specific design of clubhead, which nearly every professional used 40 years ago, and a very small group even on the PGA Tour still play. They have no mass removed from the rear of the clubhead like a cavity back does. Moving mass from the back of the club and to the edge and sole of the clubhead increases distance and direction forgiveness on mishits as well as raising the natural trajectory of the club. They may also be referred to as musclebacks, though I believe there is actually a distinction between the two even though it's admittedly a very subtle one. The feedback (read: increased vibration on impact, and some pain when thinning the ball on a winter morning) that comes with it can be useful to some, but I would argue you that at the good-to-very-good amateur level you'd get more than enough feedback and more forgiveness out of what they would call a "player's" cavity back, exemplified by the Mizuno MP-60, or Bridgetone's J33 CBs, or Titleist 695.CBs. Even a combo set makes much, much more sense than having someone who plays 6 months a year playing true blades 3-9 iron. There's just no reason to. Blades make it easy to work the ball and control trajectory with more precision, something that someone who doesn't break 80 isn't going to benefit that much from.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Brian278

They're a specific design of clubhead, which nearly every professional used 40 years ago, and a very small group even on the PGA Tour still play. They have no mass removed from the rear of the clubhead like a cavity back does. Moving mass from the back of the club and to the edge and sole of the clubhead increases distance and direction forgiveness on mishits as well as raising the natural trajectory of the club. They may also be referred to as musclebacks, though I believe there is actually a distinction between the two even though it's admittedly a very subtle one.

The feedback (read: increased vibration on impact, and some pain when thinning the ball on a winter morning) that comes with it can be useful to some, but I would argue you that at the good-to-very-good amateur level you'd get more than enough feedback and more forgiveness out of what they would call a "player's" cavity back, exemplified by the Mizuno MP-60, or Bridgetone's J33 CBs, or Titleist 695.CBs. Even a combo set makes much, much more sense than having someone who plays 6 months a year playing true blades 3-9 iron. There's just no reason to. Blades make it easy to work the ball and control trajectory with more precision, something that someone who doesn't break 80 isn't going to benefit that much from.

Hrmmmm.... well thanks for the info! Sounds like something I may want to look into a few years down the line... but doesn't sound like my kinda thing in my golf life right now.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I suggest avoiding blades.

At my best, I was pretty fair. I think I had a handicap of 4 or so for several years, and for much of that time I insisted on playing with blades. When I switched to Callaway Pro Series irons (x-14) I found that my game became much more consistent and that I had a lot more fun. My handicap went down to 1.5 and I practiced much less than before.

I think that it is a fallacy that when you are really on you will shoot lower scores with blades. I shot more rounds under par in a week with my Callaways than I ever did with blades, and my score, both average and best, got a lot better. Unfortunately, I do not play at all anymore because I don't have the time and hate playing badly when I do.

Just my .02.

 

[denning]

For the record, I wasn't necessarily advocating blades for the OP. I agree that in most situations they are not appropriate. For myself it took a month or two before I was finally able to adjust to them.

I was more so advocating for the company KZG. They don't only make blades but cavity-back irons of all types, forged, not forged, all of which, for the quality you get, are rather undervalued when compared against the big brands.

Again, my uneducated 2 cents.

 

[callen]

my two cents.

go to your local Golfsmith, Edwin Watts, or Pga tour superstore and hit every single iron in there. Once you find one you like they might have a used set. Buying a new set of irons is liked buying a new car. Not the best financial choice

If you have access to a country club ask to borrow demo clubs.

I am a similar handicap as you and I love the x-20 tours. Much thinner topline then older Callaways. Golf clubs need to be as visually appealing to you as they are technologically sound. so to me if it is ugly i don't care how "great" a club is.

Best of luck

Craig