Practicing with a blade iron

[adog]

So, I'm wondering what some of your thoughts are on practicing with a players iron to improve your swing. I recently bought a demo mizuno mp4 6 iron off ebay. Not because I think my game's good enough for blades, but i was thinking if I can learn to hit a blade reasonably well won't it make playing with a more forgiving iron easier? At first I did not like it at all, definitely wasn't gonna be playing blades anytime soon, but I started grooving it pretty well. The thing I like about it is you get instant feedback. You know right away when you hit it thin/ fat/ off center.

At the moment I have been practicing alot at home into a net and was worrying that maybe my good strikes aren't as great as I think because im not seeing ball flight.

I feel l am more deliberate with my takeaway now and my tempo has gotten better. Im curious how it translates when i get back on the course. Anyone else practicing this way?

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

 

 

[NM01]

A blade isn’t going to make you better ball striker. Change in ball and distance loss in bad strikes will be more noticeable than a larger head. An over the top swing isn’t going to go away because one has a blade in their hand. 

Spray foot powder on your club and see where contact is. 

[cnosil]

Here are my thoughts.   Will it hurt...no,  will it help....as long as you use it correctly.   To get better at ball striking you have to be able to control where you hit the ball on the face and control the low point of the swing.    There are lots of ways to get better at those two skills.  For impact location,  use foot powder to see where you are hitting the ball on the face and work on controlling where you hit the ball on the face.   For low point,  use foot powder to spray a line on the ground or use a tee to make a line and work to have the club impact just in front of the line (your ball position).   I would suggest looking at some of Adam Young's (https://www.adamyounggolf.com/) stuff on these topics.   Practice these skills with your current clubs,  SGI club, blade,  1920s hickory shafted club, or whatever.   it isn't the club you use,  it is the skills you are practicing that are important.  

[chisag]

46 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 I would suggest looking at some of Adam Young's (https://www.adamyounggolf.com/) stuff on these topics.   Practice these skills with your current clubs,  SGI club, blade,  1920s hickory shafted club, or whatever.   it isn't the club you use,  it is the skills you are practicing that are important.  

 

... Yup. This has been a topic I have never understood as it seems to be unique to golf equipment. It is important to practice the shots you will hit with the exact equipment you normally use when you play. It is a very, very rare individual indeed that will hit the same shots with a MB they would with a SGI/GI iron. If you have the exact same apies, the exact same shafts and take the exact same swing there might be some benefit if used as a training aid for checking contact only, but then put it aside and use your normal irons. I also understand there are some undisciplined players that swing too hard with more forgiving irons but can't get away with reckless swings using an MB, so perhaps it could aid with tempo IF you are undisciplined, but even then the undisciplined p[layer would probably go back to reckelss swings on the course with their normal irons which is the definition of undisciplined. 

... Using P790's and T100-S for 3/4 shots produce different results for me. Under the pressure of scoring and needing an exact distance I sure don't wanna rely on the 3/4 shorts I hit with a MB on the range. Guys on tour hit hundreds of short iron shots on the range so they know exactly how the ball will respond concerning trajectory, spin and distance. All that would be different using an iron you don't actually play with. 

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Yup. This has been a topic I have never understood as it seems to be unique to golf equipment. It is important to practice the shots you will hit with the exact equipment you normally use when you play. It is a very, very rare individual indeed that will hit the same shots with a MB they would with a SGI/GI iron. If you have the exact same apies, the exact same shafts and take the exact same swing there might be some benefit if used as a training aid for checking contact only, but then put it aside and use your normal irons. I also understand there are some undisciplined players that swing too hard with more forgiving irons but can't get away with reckless swings using an MB, so perhaps it could aid with tempo IF you are undisciplined, but even then the undisciplined p[layer would probably go back to reckelss swings on the course with their normal irons which is the definition of undisciplined. 

... Using P790's and T100-S for 3/4 shots produce different results for me. Under the pressure of scoring and needing an exact distance I sure don't wanna rely on the 3/4 shorts I hit with a MB on the range. Guys on tour hit hundreds of short iron shots on the range so they know exactly how the ball will respond concerning trajectory, spin and distance. All that would be different using an iron you don't actually play with. 

I agree,  I want to play and practice with the same clubs.  But if someone wants to use a blade because they think it will help so be it.  It doesn't work to explain how differing head weights and shaft dynamics will alter how the club is delivered at impact.  I sometimes wonder if all the testing of clubs I do has a negative impact on my real golf swing.  

[adog]

I guess I should clarify, i currently game a set of older mp30 up to 5i and a mp52 4i, so I dont feel im too far off of a blade iron as far as ball striking goes. Looking also to upgrade into a newer set of mp irons. I shoot in the low 80's and if I could straighten my drive out, would break 80 more consistently. That is my goal at this point. My iron play is probably the most consistent aspect of my game but it can always be better. So, its not like im playing some chunky GI iron trying to skip into something unrealistic. Im trying this as a way to find the sweet spot more consistently.

[cnosil]

5 minutes ago, adog said:

I guess I should clarify, i currently game a set of older mp30 up to 5i and a mp52 4i, so I dont feel im too far off of a blade iron as far as ball striking goes. Looking also to upgrade into a newer set of mp irons. I shoot in the low 80's and if I could straighten my drive out, would break 80 more consistently. That is my goal at this point. My iron play is probably the most consistent aspect of my game but it can always be better. So, its not like im playing some chunky GI iron trying to skip into something unrealistic. Im trying this as a way to find the sweet spot more consistently.

Even with the added information,  the general consensus will be to use the same irons you play and work on improving ball striking with those clubs. 

[aerospace_ray]

23 minutes ago, adog said:

I guess I should clarify, i currently game a set of older mp30 up to 5i and a mp52 4i, so I dont feel im too far off of a blade iron as far as ball striking goes. Looking also to upgrade into a newer set of mp irons. I shoot in the low 80's and if I could straighten my drive out, would break 80 more consistently. That is my goal at this point. My iron play is probably the most consistent aspect of my game but it can always be better. So, its not like im playing some chunky GI iron trying to skip into something unrealistic. Im trying this as a way to find the sweet spot more consistently.

So I agree with most regarding practice with your clubs/irons you game.

However, there are training aids that fit your "blade" like criteria regarding improved impact with your irons.

See older MGS info below:

I tried this type practice several years ago. For me when IF I were to use the training aid and/or older blade to practice it would be for impact purposes only and not ball flight. When I work on impact, its in my golf net. I am not concerned with ball flight. For ball flight I work driving range and par 3 courses. That is my approach, everyone is different. Good luck. 

[chisag]

25 minutes ago, adog said:

I guess I should clarify, i currently game a set of older mp30 up to 5i and a mp52 4i, so I dont feel im too far off of a blade iron as far as ball striking goes. Looking also to upgrade into a newer set of mp irons. I shoot in the low 80's and if I could straighten my drive out, would break 80 more consistently. That is my goal at this point. My iron play is probably the most consistent aspect of my game but it can always be better. So, its not like im playing some chunky GI iron trying to skip into something unrealistic. Im trying this as a way to find the sweet spot more consistently.

 

... Many times a reply is meant for the forum as a whole. This is a recurring theme on wrx but if there were benefits of using players CBs and practicing with a MB, we would see the guys on tour doing it. Their pay check depends finding the sweet spot more consistently. I shoot in the 60's and 70's and I too could always be better, but I would never think of practicing with anything other than what I will use on the course. That said, if you think it will work for you, knock yourself out. 

[bens197]

These topics seem to resurface quite often. I’ve offered my thoughts over the years so I’ll keep this short. 
 

Practicing with a blade iron WILL remind you when you make poor contact. What it won’t do is find the error of your swing and improve that swing. Poor contact can be a product of swaying, bowing, sliding and a myriad of other random flaws. 
 

If you want to improve, heed the advice of @chisag and practice with your own clubs while taking a lesson and watching video of your swing

[Shankster]

I used to think this was a good idea...

But take a look at Bryson for example. Uses a hopped up CB.

Jordan, and numerous other Professionals use a CB.

The last person to win with a full set of blades in the bag was Tiger at the Masters last year... I’m sure there was someone else, but if the dudes that are getting paid to play, especially the ones that aren’t in the top 50 each week are using something with a touch of forgiveness... it’s worth looking at.

Blades are absolutely gorgeous. What a golf club should look like. But technology has given us a lot of good things, like canned cheese, gasoline, urethane golf balls, self driving cars, we are going to mars according to Elon... so maybe a high tech blade like the Blueprint, but unless you can put HOURS a day in of practice it is not worth it, in no way shape or form.

But hey, I won’t argue with you if you decide to practice with blades.

[Firebird]

Agree with all the comments plus one additional question. Does it have the same Shaft, Offset, Lie angle etc as you normal clubs?

[Fieldrj]

A few years back i bought a Mizuno MP68 6I off ebay for maybe $25. Just for the fun of it. I love the way it looks