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Irons: perimeter-weighteds vs. blades


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Everybody agrees that perimeter-weighted irons are more forgiving then blades.  So, why is it that most top-of-the-line irons are blades?  

For years, I've been hearing that blades are more workable than perimeter-weighteds.  Well, they are certainly less forgiving.  But more workable??  My engineering mind is having a really tough time wrapping itself around that idea.

Would somebody who likes to pedal that bit of golf gossamer (and knows his oats) please take a few minutes to explain to us engineering-types how it can be that a perimeter-weighted iron would be any less workable than a blade?

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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DUL9G80FIdwY&ved=2ahUKEwj74LG1wILkAhVSrJ4KHXLHBJUQwqsBMAB6BAgGEAU&usg=AOvVaw130nrZU13zZvSas7UZc1Ve

 

The TXG guys will explain better than me. But my understanding is that it is easier to control turf interaction with a thin soled blade than a shovel sized SGI iron (theoretically). 

Now Matty looks pretty close to a human robot swinging, so his ability to work a ball is better than a good portion of golfers. And if turf interaction has anything to do with it, hitting off a mat isn't going to do anything to differentiate one iron from another.

 

Their conclusion was that it IS a myth. Maybe the cavity back they used isnt so far into the SGI category to show much if a difference. Some iron are made to be alt-right, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were a little more difficult to co troll flight in every which direction. 

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Crossfield has also proven in his videos that game improvement (perimeter-weighted) clubs are workable too. However, due to mass properties of certain clubs it can be easier to move ball flight down with a blade. Right and left movement is possibly more difficult with a game improvement iron, but not considerably so (if at all) for anyone who really knows how to work the ball. I think the biggest piece missing from GI and SGI clubs is descent angle and spin. Most tend to lack spin and therefore come in at a steeper descent angle which may take a few shots out of a players bag. 

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The gi and sgi model of clubs are designed to fly high and straight. Higher launch and lower spin add in that golf balls are also designed to fly straighter the ability to move a ball up/down or left/right becomes harder. Clubs that produce more spin are easier...better players don’t move the ball nearly as much these days as in the past. A change in stance to help change face to path is used more these days to get the big movement ala Bubba. 

 

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If GI or SGI irons make it harder to 'shape' the ball flight how come i can slice it so badly with my Cobra F7s?

The problem I have is controlling MY swing, if I could do that well enough I think I could shape my shots more or less how I wanted.  Isn't a slice just an unintentional curve on the flight?  If it can be done that easily by accident, then with enough skill i don't see why it shouldn't be possible to produce the shape I want.

I can't say whether blades would be 'easier' to 'shape' or not, I haven't tried blades, but I can't imagine there would be a great deal of difference between similar lofted irons, certainly for most handicap golfers anyway.

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Wouldn't it be the center of mass located very tight to the center of the blade face?  Hatchet vs a horseshoe to create a more stable flight. 

Top of the line clubs are targeted at top of the line players.  So, all things being equal (ball, wind, face groove depth, etc) if Iron Byron was charged with shaping a shot, it doesn't seem unreasonable that a tight blade would perform better than that of a big cavity back with perimeter weighting.  I'm referring to small, incremental changes to swing path and face orientation, not the huge banana ball I can hit with my CB clubs. 

 

 

 

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This topic came up about three months ago and there was a healthy debate over several days.

From a simplistic view, GI irons are designed with mass focused beneath the ball to promote backspin and a straight flight.

Give any decent player a set of cavities and they’ll shape the ball, they just won’t be able to work it as easy as a blade.


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