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Why do I hit blades better than CBs?


ZenGolfer

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So long story short, I like my Tommy Armour Atomics but I struggle to hit them solidly and consistently sometimes.  So, today I played a round with my vintage Mizuno Silver Cups.  These things are blades.  Not even musclebacks either, just blades.  Looking down at the 4-iron at address, it looks like a butter knife.

Heres the thing though, I was absolutely knocking the cover off the ball with them today.  Off the tee, out of the rough, off of a tight lie, whatever.  The shots were long, mid-high trajectory and dead straight.  The distances were super consistent too.

So, my question is, why?

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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What was your score with each?

 

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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10 hours ago, Shankster said:

PFM...

We’re they your old gamers?

Sometimes those things have magic in them, Seve won both times at Royal Lytham with the same set. 9 years apart, if what I read was correct.

Nope.  I just picked them up off Ebay and had never played them before.

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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10 hours ago, cnosil said:

What was your score with each?

 

I shot a 98 yesterday and IMO much of that was the persimmon woods.  I was only hitting it about 190 off the tee and I duffed probably about 1/3 of my tee shots.  I can usually hit it at least 230 with my modern driver.  

It got better on the back 9 but I had too many holes where I duffed it off the tee and was trying to play catch up the rest of the hole.

Part of that score too was my wedge game.  For some reason, I was airmailing my shots that were 70 yards and in over the green.

Anything from 100-160 yards was money though.  Even the 4-iron was super easy to hit.  I need to work on these persimmon woods but the irons are good.  I actually think that much of the issue with the persimmons is figuring out how high to tee the ball.  I could hit the 3 and 5 woods quite well off the tee and even off the ground halfway decent.  With the driver, if I teed it just right and made solid contact, it would go 200ish yards.  Sometimes though, I would either hit it fat and take a divot, which Im sure was costing me distance or if I teed it too high, it wouldnt feel like solid contact and the ball would go higher but shorter.

 

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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I shot a 98 yesterday and IMO much of that was the persimmon woods.  I was only hitting it about 190 off the tee and I duffed probably about 1/3 of my tee shots.  I can usually hit it at least 230 with my modern driver.  
It got better on the back 9 but I had too many holes where I duffed it off the tee and was trying to play catch up the rest of the hole.
Part of that score too was my wedge game.  For some reason, I was airmailing my shots that were 70 yards and in over the green.
Anything from 100-160 yards was money though.  Even the 4-iron was super easy to hit.  I need to work on these persimmon woods but the irons are good.  I actually think that much of the issue with the persimmons is figuring out how high to tee the ball.  I could hit the 3 and 5 woods quite well off the tee and even off the ground halfway decent.  With the driver, if I teed it just right and made solid contact, it would go 200ish yards.  Sometimes though, I would either hit it fat and take a divot, which Im sure was costing me distance or if I teed it too high, it wouldnt feel like solid contact and the ball would go higher but shorter.
 

Interesting, but I was looking for a score comparison between the atomics and you blades. I am just making an assumption that because you say you hit them so much better that scores would be better.

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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13 hours ago, ZenGolfer said:

Heres the thing though, I was absolutely knocking the cover off the ball with them today.  Off the tee, out of the rough, off of a tight lie, whatever.  The shots were long, mid-high trajectory and dead straight.  The distances were super consistent too.

Please don't take offense...

But if your hcp is truly a 20 as you've listed above then you're a real head scratcher. It's interesting to hear a high handicapper describe their ball striking in such a way. And especially with an old set of blades (probably not fit) which by most estimates require a player of advanced skill (low single digit or + hcp) to play effectively - if even then. I wonder what you'd be able to do with a properly fit set of modern irons like most tour pros play? (which btw are not blades)

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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Please don't take offense...
But if your hcp is truly a 20 as you've listed above then you're a real head scratcher. It's interesting to hear a high handicapper describe their ball striking in such a way. And especially with an old set of blades (probably not fit) which by most estimates require a player of advanced skill (low single digit or + hcp) to play effectively - if even then. I wonder what you'd be able to do with a properly fit set of modern irons like most tour pros play? (which btw are not blades)
Lol...no offense taken. I would say my 20 handicap is mostly short game and struggles with a reliable 200 yard shot from the fairway. I'm a fair iron player.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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Interesting, but I was looking for a score comparison between the atomics and you blades. I am just making an assumption that because you say you hit them so much better that scores would be better.
I should play a round with my modern woods and the blades.
If you followed the review thread on the Atomic irons, you'll find that I struggled with control with them.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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13 hours ago, jlukes said:

Could be a ton of reasons. 

Weight 

Length 

Swing weight 

Blade length 

Sole width 

 

All those variables and more play a role into why one club fits someone better than another

Bingo

Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4

Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white

Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid

Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120

Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60

Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1

Ball: Titleist Prov1

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Now Im wondering if its the shafts.  I believe those Mizuno have stiff shafts in them (theres no shaft band but just flexing the shafts in my hands they feel stiffer than the Tommy Armours are).

I say that because all of my clubs are r-flex and sometimes I struggle with solid contact with them.  My swing speed is kind of right on the borderline between regular and stiff (I think I was at like 89 with the driver when I bought it) and I wonder if sometimes, when my transition gets the bit quick that the shafts are just too soft.

I recently picked up a Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 18* with a KBS V 125 (supposedly stiff+) and a ST-190 3-wood in stiff flex for fairly cheap and we'll see how those work.

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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Was this a single round and it sounded like you were using all old clubs? There may be a little mental nostalgia bias, as well as just a good ball striking round. I felt this happened to me playing some MP33s they felt great looked great and i was convinced they flew great. Once I started doing more comparative with my gamers that were much more of a GI club the strikes and consistency showed the truth. 

Driver:  Ben Hogan GS53
4W:  Maltby KE4 
2i: Maltby KE4 FDI 
4-PW:  Maltby TS-1 - C-Taper 120g 
50,54,58: Maltby TSW

Putter:  L.A.B. DF2.1 Accra Shaft 2023 Forum Testers - L.A.B. Putters
Ball: Mixed prefer ProV1 or Snell
Handicap: 9.2  -  Best Score: 72 (E) Springdale CC, Canton NC -2022

2020 Forum Tester - Ben Hogan GS53 Driver

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Why do I hit blades better than CBs?

The answer is obvious:  you're a zen golfer.

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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On 4/15/2020 at 9:50 AM, ZenGolfer said:

Lol...no offense taken. I would say my 20 handicap is mostly short game and struggles with a reliable 200 yard shot from the fairway. I'm a fair iron player.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

Ok if I may I can give you a little advice on the 200 yard club. First off from 200 yards try to make the green and know what areas to steer away from. Now for a 200 yard club experiment on finding a club you like and hit well from that distance I do not care if it matches your set or not do not care if it is a hybrid or a 5 or 7 wood or even say a iron that is different from your matched set. Once you find one you can hit practice it and become confident in it. And practice that short game. If you get to where you can get it up and down at least 75% of the time it takes pressure off that 200 yard game. When I was younger I could play the long irons pretty decent. With age I do not have the Swing Speed I once had. Now do not get me wrong I can still hit long irons but not as high and efficient as I once did. So I sorta revamped my game plan. I use either a 20* hybrid or 22* 7 wood. I switch back and forth between the 2. I carry a 16* 4 wood and only hit it about 220 or so. I also changed my strategy somewhat upon guidance from a friend who before he retired was one of the best instructors on the Beach. On par 5s depending on circumstances If I can not for sure fly the green or fringe in 2  I back off and lay up to my wedge range. Not tooting my own horn but I am still a decent wedge player and have gotten my putting back. That is what I was telling you on practicing your short game and getting creative around the green and in the 100 yard range. But you gotta practice it and go about doing it your own way. Sometimes you have to adapt your short game play to different courses. Normally I do not give instruction per say but figure I would throw my .02 in FWIW

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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4 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Ok if I may I can give you a little advice on the 200 yard club. First off from 200 yards try to make the green and know what areas to steer away from. Now for a 200 yard club experiment on finding a club you like and hit well from that distance I do not care if it matches your set or not do not care if it is a hybrid or a 5 or 7 wood or even say a iron that is different from your matched set. Once you find one you can hit practice it and become confident in it. And practice that short game. If you get to where you can get it up and down at least 75% of the time it takes pressure off that 200 yard game. When I was younger I could play the long irons pretty decent. With age I do not have the Swing Speed I once had. Now do not get me wrong I can still hit long irons but not as high and efficient as I once did. So I sorta revamped my game plan. I use either a 20* hybrid or 22* 7 wood. I switch back and forth between the 2. I carry a 16* 4 wood and only hit it about 220 or so. I also changed my strategy somewhat upon guidance from a friend who before he retired was one of the best instructors on the Beach. On par 5s depending on circumstances If I can not for sure fly the green or fringe in 2  I back off and lay up to my wedge range. Not tooting my own horn but I am still a decent wedge player and have gotten my putting back. That is what I was telling you on practicing your short game and getting creative around the green and in the 100 yard range. But you gotta practice it and go about doing it your own way. Sometimes you have to adapt your short game play to different courses. Normally I do not give instruction per say but figure I would throw my .02 in FWIW

You sound a lot like Golf Sidekick on Youtube.  You are right though.  I think much of my problem is that I have no course management.  I simply hit whatever club goes the fartherest and try to hit it as hard as I can.  I need to start at the green a work my way back.  Sometimes that may mean hitting an iron off the tee to set me up with a 120-150 yard second shot on par 4s and sometimes that may mean laying up to 120 yards on par 5s for my 3rd shot, if need be.  Right now, I just bash it and I often lead myself with a lot of tricky partial wedge shots, which can be difficult to get close and which I sometimes duff.

Ive been watching a lot of Golf Sidekick's videos on Youtube lately and I think that I going to adopt, "the way of the playa" and play more conservative golf.  I wont be surprised at all if Im routinely shooting in the mid 80s once I stop playing stupid golf.

 

Edited by ZenGolfer

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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29 minutes ago, ZenGolfer said:

You sound a lot like Golf Sidekick on Youtube.  You are right though.  I think much of my problem is that I have no course management.  I simply hit whatever club goes the fartherest and try to hit it as hard as I can.  I need to start at the green a work my way back.  Sometimes that may mean hitting an iron off the tee to set me up with a 120-150 yard second shot on par 4s and sometimes that may mean laying up to 120 yards on par 5s for my 3rd shot, if need be.  Right now, I just bash it and I often lead myself with a lot of tricky partial wedge shots, which can be difficult to get close and which I sometimes duff.

Ive been watching a lot of Golf Sidekick's videos on Youtube lately and I think that I going to adopt, "the way of the playa" and play more conservative golf.  I wont be surprised at all if Im routinely shooting in the mid 80s once I stop playing stupid golf.

 

Trust me back in my younger days my course management was terrible. I took a lot of chances and was aggressive as heck. I shot myself out of the money quite a few times on the Mini Tours by being aggressive when I did not need to be. Had a couple of tournaments won and got aggressive when par or bogey would have gotten me out of the hole ok. But that was me in those days full speed ahead damn the torpedoes. A lot of the settling down comes from age and maturity.

My late partner Big John ( RIP) summed it up one time when he saw me blow a 3 shot lead with 2 to go. "Stuey you hit the ball good and you are one hell of a wedge player and putter but simply your course management absolutely sucks". Sometimes with age your swing speed and distance declines and you can not pull off that 3 wood shot 230 over water. Yep that was the shot that done me in on the 16th hole that day. John told me "What were you thinking?" I told him in Tin Cup fashion I can hit that shot. He said yeah 5 years ago at the time I had just turned 52 or so.

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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27 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Trust me back in my younger days my course management was terrible. I took a lot of chances and was aggressive as heck. I shot myself out of the money quite a few times on the Mini Tours by being aggressive when I did not need to be. Had a couple of tournaments won and got aggressive when par or bogey would have gotten me out of the hole ok. But that was me in those days full speed ahead damn the torpedoes. A lot of the settling down comes from age and maturity.

My late partner Big John ( RIP) summed it up one time when he saw me blow a 3 shot lead with 2 to go. "Stuey you hit the ball good and you are one hell of a wedge player and putter but simply your course management absolutely sucks". Sometimes with age your swing speed and distance declines and you can not pull off that 3 wood shot 230 over water. Yep that was the shot that done me in on the 16th hole that day. John told me "What were you thinking?" I told him in Tin Cup fashion I can hit that shot. He said yeah 5 years ago at the time I had just turned 52 or so.

Yup, thats me.  I pull driver on every par 4 or 5, pull 5-wood when Im in the fairway and sometimes out of the rough if the ball is sitting up or if I think I can get the club on it and its just both barrels loaded, guns blazing, etc.  

Like I said, Ive been watching a lot of Golf Sidekick's videos where he talks about the, "way of the playa" where you play conservative golf and play your shots that you can hit and rely on shortgame and putting to bail you out when you need it.  I like his 6-6-6 system (6 over par holes, 6 greens in regulation and 6 up and downs for par)

That, in addition to getting some stiffer shafts for my clubs, should help.  We'll see.  I know that when I got fit for my driver, I went after I had worked all day and my swing speed was 87 mph.  Also, I wasnt really going after the ball because I was afraid I would pop up the ball and put a ding on the driver, so Im probably really closer to 90 mph, which is really more stiff range.  With my r-flex clubs I have now, I feel like if I swing easy, I can make good contact but I always feel like Im backing off and if I go after the ball, the accuracy goes out the window.  I might block it, I might duck hook it, I never really know.

When I played these vintage Mizunos the other day, I could swing however I wanted however I wanted and the shots were straight and high.  I picked up a few used clubs off of Ebay with stiff shafts, so we'll see.  Worst case, is that it doesnt work out and I simply relist the clubs on Ebay in a month or so.

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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So, the course that I played last week with my persimmon woods and blades I played again but this time with my modern woods.  With the persimmons I shot a 92, this past Monday with the modern woods and blades I shot a 92.  I probably could have shot in the 80s but I was playing an old, worn out, vintage wedge and just couldnt get enough spin with it.

I want to play that same course again next week with the Atomics and see what I shoot.  I have a feeling that with the distance of the Atomics and playing wedges with fresh, sharp grooves; I probably will shoot in the high 80s but we'll see.

As much as I want to play blades because theyre such beautiful clubs (even my old beat up ones), Im also coming around to accepting that I probably should be playing the Atomics because Im not the longest hitter in the world and I probably need the distance and forgiveness of the Atomics.  Even still, I do love me some blades. LOL

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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Alright, so, long story short I shot an 84 today with my Atomics.  I know that scores should be all that matters but Im still struggling here.  I hit the CBs longer but the blades are more accurate and feel more controllable.  The only problem is the blades are short.  If my target is more than 160 yards away I cant get there even if I hit the 4-iron.  With the CBs, I can hit the 7-iron and easily get there.

The only problem with the CBs is that the distances are kind of inconsistent with them.  I seem to be getting a 10 yard variation in distance and I pretty much have to shoot for the front edge and pray.  Take today for example: I had a 125 yard par-3.  OK, so I hit an easy 9-iron.  Result: I fly the green by 10 yards.  The only problem is that most of the time, 125 yards is right in the range for the 9-iron for me but sometimes I absolutely smoke it and hit the ball farther than I ever have or have any business hitting it.  Thats what drives me crazy about the Atomics.  I do love them in that they are very friendly and easy to hit but they arent very precise sometimes and the distances can be difficult to get a feel for.

So, what am I going to do?  Im going to play the Atomics.  I may look at getting a set of player's CBs at some point in the future but for now, I think I need to be playing the Atomics.  Any way you slice it, shooting an 84 is nothing to sneeze at.  Had I hit some fairways today, I easily could have broke 80.

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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On 4/27/2020 at 4:50 PM, Pingistheanser said:

Alright, so, long story short I shot an 84 today with my Atomics.  I know that scores should be all that matters but Im still struggling here.  I hit the CBs longer but the blades are more accurate and feel more controllable.  The only problem is the blades are short.  If my target is more than 160 yards away I cant get there even if I hit the 4-iron.  With the CBs, I can hit the 7-iron and easily get there.

The only problem with the CBs is that the distances are kind of inconsistent with them.  I seem to be getting a 10 yard variation in distance and I pretty much have to shoot for the front edge and pray.  Take today for example: I had a 125 yard par-3.  OK, so I hit an easy 9-iron.  Result: I fly the green by 10 yards.  The only problem is that most of the time, 125 yards is right in the range for the 9-iron for me but sometimes I absolutely smoke it and hit the ball farther than I ever have or have any business hitting it.  Thats what drives me crazy about the Atomics.  I do love them in that they are very friendly and easy to hit but they arent very precise sometimes and the distances can be difficult to get a feel for.

So, what am I going to do?  Im going to play the Atomics.  I may look at getting a set of player's CBs at some point in the future but for now, I think I need to be playing the Atomics.  Any way you slice it, shooting an 84 is nothing to sneeze at.  Had I hit some fairways today, I easily could have broke 80.

You're that short with the blades for a few reasons. 

 

1. They're shorter because theyre older.  Your Atomic 180yd 7i is the same loft as that blade 5i, most likely. 

2. The Atomic has WAY more tech in dealing with any shot not dead center on the face.  In fact the blade probably doesnt even deal with a dead center strike.  Modern "blades" are "musclebacks" and have a bit of meat behind the sweet spot.  But even most of those have perimeter weighting, tungsten plugs, invisible things under the pretty surface that deal with GC, MOI, COR.  

So your blades falling short are probably a combo of loft and less power due to missing the sweet spot.  

I bet it's super fun to play them though.  Don't let anyone stop you.  But knowing why is good 🙂

 

 

:cobra-small:   RADspeed 10.5, :projectx: Evenflow Riptide CB 6.0s

:cobra-small:  Bio Cell 3/4w, :projectx: PXV 6.0s; AMP 3h 19deg Aldila RIP R.  Bio Cell 4h 22.5deg :projectx: PXV R. 

:titleist-small:          2021/22 T200 5-7, T100 8-P (bent 1deg strong), :projectx: LZ 5.5 

:cleveland-small:      CBX-2 50/11 

:taylormade-small:   ATV 56/16deg 

:1332069271_TommyArmour:  Impact No.3 Align putter

:Arccos:     Caddie for tracking.     

:titelist-small:            Pro V1X balls

 

Previous forum tests:

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus 4 grips, Lynx Black Cat 5-PW.    2020:  :skycaddie: LX5 Watch.    2021:  :1332069271_TommyArmour: Impact #3 Align putter

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7 hours ago, knightsofnii said:

You're that short with the blades for a few reasons. 

 

1. They're shorter because theyre older.  Your Atomic 180yd 7i is the same loft as that blade 5i, most likely. 

2. The Atomic has WAY more tech in dealing with any shot not dead center on the face.  In fact the blade probably doesnt even deal with a dead center strike.  Modern "blades" are "musclebacks" and have a bit of meat behind the sweet spot.  But even most of those have perimeter weighting, tungsten plugs, invisible things under the pretty surface that deal with GC, MOI, COR.  

So your blades falling short are probably a combo of loft and less power due to missing the sweet spot.  

I bet it's super fun to play them though.  Don't let anyone stop you.  But knowing why is good 🙂

 

 

True, you sure know it when you hit those blades on the screws though because it doesnt even feel like the ball in there and the ball just goes and goes.  On the other hand, you know when you miss it too because the club vibrates like a tuning fork.

Im back to playing the Atomics because I know theyre the clubs that I should be playing for the level that my game is at and long-term, Im going to play better with them.  I still dont always love the Atomics though.  I still struggle with the distance control of them sometimes and some days I just dont hit them very well at all.

Take today for example.  I shot an 87.  Good score, sure but I was absolutely garbage with my irons.  Part of it was because I was play in very wet and slopping conditions, so a lot of my shots were fat (the ground was almost like you were always hitting out of a bunker) but I just was all over the place with them.  Pulls, blocks, fat, thin; just not very good.  Had I not been hitting the ball so well off the tee and been so good with my short game, I dont know that I would have broke 100.

Edited by Pingistheanser

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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Sounds like a normal round for me.  Lol.  I shoot 80s when firing on all cylinders. 

 

I have 4 Iron sets.  Current gamers are in my sig but Ive bounced between GI and MB combos a bit.  But my Lynx clubs are like a do-it-all good enough type of thing, very happy with them, might go for a different 4i though

:cobra-small:   RADspeed 10.5, :projectx: Evenflow Riptide CB 6.0s

:cobra-small:  Bio Cell 3/4w, :projectx: PXV 6.0s; AMP 3h 19deg Aldila RIP R.  Bio Cell 4h 22.5deg :projectx: PXV R. 

:titleist-small:          2021/22 T200 5-7, T100 8-P (bent 1deg strong), :projectx: LZ 5.5 

:cleveland-small:      CBX-2 50/11 

:taylormade-small:   ATV 56/16deg 

:1332069271_TommyArmour:  Impact No.3 Align putter

:Arccos:     Caddie for tracking.     

:titelist-small:            Pro V1X balls

 

Previous forum tests:

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus 4 grips, Lynx Black Cat 5-PW.    2020:  :skycaddie: LX5 Watch.    2021:  :1332069271_TommyArmour: Impact #3 Align putter

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You could equally ask the question: with the same equipment why is it that one day I can shoot 75 and the next 85?

That's the beauty and frustration of the game we love. How you are feeling physically/mentally on any particular day is a huge factor for me, as big as or more important than the irons in the bag.

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I’m in the same boat - hitting bladed better than CB irons. I just had my eye on Titleist T-200 irons and got fitted. During the fitting I hit them absolutely horrible. After dozens of shafts and 6 or 7 different heads I was fitted to some Mizuno MP-20 irons with the Titleist MB being the second best. As a 9 handicap I’m not an incredible ball striker but was finding the sweet spot regularly on the blade style clubs.

The fitted and my club pro were both amused. They chalked it up to my swing being steeper than average and the great turf interaction and speed through impact that the thinner soles provided.

 

Man, am I happy with these new irons! They are pretty and feel like a hot knife through butter!

5A442FEB-3252-4D90-A690-8F1F6557F52E.jpeg

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On 5/2/2020 at 6:28 PM, sltroyer said:

I’m in the same boat - hitting bladed better than CB irons. I just had my eye on Titleist T-200 irons and got fitted. During the fitting I hit them absolutely horrible. After dozens of shafts and 6 or 7 different heads I was fitted to some Mizuno MP-20 irons with the Titleist MB being the second best. As a 9 handicap I’m not an incredible ball striker but was finding the sweet spot regularly on the blade style clubs.

The fitted and my club pro were both amused. They chalked it up to my swing being steeper than average and the great turf interaction and speed through impact that the thinner soles provided.

 

Man, am I happy with these new irons! They are pretty and feel like a hot knife through butter!

5A442FEB-3252-4D90-A690-8F1F6557F52E.jpeg

goodness gracious, are those irons beautiful! 

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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On 4/14/2020 at 5:27 PM, Pingistheanser said:

So long story short, I like my Tommy Armour Atomics but I struggle to hit them solidly and consistently sometimes.  So, today I played a round with my vintage Mizuno Silver Cups.  These things are blades.  Not even musclebacks either, just blades.  Looking down at the 4-iron at address, it looks like a butter knife.

Heres the thing though, I was absolutely knocking the cover off the ball with them today.  Off the tee, out of the rough, off of a tight lie, whatever.  The shots were long, mid-high trajectory and dead straight.  The distances were super consistent too.

So, my question is, why?

I hit the Atomics at the store and was very inconsistent with them because the shafts were to light for me. I couldn't deliver the club consistently because I was used to the heavier shafts in my irons I was gaming. 

I have also found most blades or pro players clubs have heavier shafts as well. My guess is that is the culprit.

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On 5/5/2020 at 11:29 AM, TimoTe said:

I hit the Atomics at the store and was very inconsistent with them because the shafts were to light for me. I couldn't deliver the club consistently because I was used to the heavier shafts in my irons I was gaming. 

I have also found most blades or pro players clubs have heavier shafts as well. My guess is that is the culprit.

Could be.  Id bet those Mizuno have something like S400s in them.  They definetly feel heavier than the Atomics do.

"I suppose its better to be a master of 7 than to be vaguely familiar with 14." - Chick Evans

Whats in my Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag?

Woods: Tommy Armour Atomic 10.5* 

Hybrid: Mizuno MP Fli-Hi 3H

Irons: Mizuno T-Zoid True 5, 7 and 9-irons

Wedge: Mizuno S18 54* and Top Flite chipper

Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi A-02

Ball: Maxfli Tour X

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On 4/19/2020 at 9:31 AM, BIG STU said:

Trust me back in my younger days my course management was terrible. I took a lot of chances and was aggressive as heck. I shot myself out of the money quite a few times on the Mini Tours by being aggressive when I did not need to be. Had a couple of tournaments won and got aggressive when par or bogey would have gotten me out of the hole ok. But that was me in those days full speed ahead damn the torpedoes. A lot of the settling down comes from age and maturity.

My late partner Big John ( RIP) summed it up one time when he saw me blow a 3 shot lead with 2 to go. "Stuey you hit the ball good and you are one hell of a wedge player and putter but simply your course management absolutely sucks". Sometimes with age your swing speed and distance declines and you can not pull off that 3 wood shot 230 over water. Yep that was the shot that done me in on the 16th hole that day. John told me "What were you thinking?" I told him in Tin Cup fashion I can hit that shot. He said yeah 5 years ago at the time I had just turned 52 or so.

Stu, absolutely spot on regarding how many of us play.  I, too, have had many examples of attempting to pull off the "Tin Cup" shot because (fill in the reason here).  If I had pulled off a shot once then I believed I can do it again, and again.  If I saw a shot on TV that a tour pro hit I believed I could pull if off.  I wanted a Maple Syrup Roasted Macadamia Nut ice cream shot when a plain Vanilla shot would have produced great results.  I wanted to have flair because I had this course management thought floating in my head.

"Suppose there's this guy, and he's standing on the shore of a big wide river, and the ... river's full of all manner of disaster, you know, piranhas, alligators, eddies, currents, <stuff> like that. Nobody'll even go down there to dip a toe. And on the other side of the river's a million bucks, and on this side of the river is a rowboat.  What would possess the guy standing on the shore to swim for it?  He's a helluva swimmer.  His problem's more like why does he always have to rise to the challenge?"

No wonder I love this movie because that was a snapshot of my mind at the time I was playing my best golf, the inner crapola, inner debris .... garbage .... loose wires, <horse poop> in staggering amounts."

Had I just taken the rowboat and ate the vanilla I would have probably saved 4-5 strokes a round but I had to rise to the challenge with a less than stellar short game.  Today my short game is pretty solid and the other parts are coming along well after years of being married to the Anti-Golf.  My driving was the strength once upon a time ago but is now work in progress but is coming along.  I am back to single digit handicap (just under 4 currently per CGA handicap system) because I eat a lot of vanilla ice cream and always take the rowboat.  I don't have to rise to the challenge because I realize that ultimately it is about the score, not the glory.

 

Driver:  TaylorMade 300 Mini 11.5° (10.2°), Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S Velocore

3W:  TaylorMade M4 15°, Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7S

Hybrid:  TaylorMade Sim2 2 Iron Hybrid 17°, Mitsubishi Tensai AV Raw Blue 80 stiff

Irons:  Mizuno 223 4-PW, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

GW / LW:  Scratch Golf 1018 forged 50°/ 58° DS, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

SW:  Callaway MD5 Jaws 54°, TT DG Tour Issue S200 115g wedge shaft

Putter: Byron Morgan DH89 GSS custom, Salty MidPlus cork grip

Grips: BestGrips Augusta Microperf leather slip on

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