Do you find thin top lines intimidating?

[TR1PTIK 3,492]

The only "intimidating" top line I've seen in recent years has been on the Cobra RF Rev. 33 irons, but I'd still love to try them out of curiosity. I definitely don't like a thick topline or a bunch of offset. My current irons are just about the right balance for what I like to see.

[Kansas King 593]

On 8/6/2021 at 11:28 PM, Subdiver1 said:

You REALLY confused me here.  Forgiveness comes from numerous aspects of design, not j"from the sole."  Just having a wide sole to help put the weight lower in the club head and possibly move it back provides an opportunity to engineer in better launch characteristics and a "larger sweet spot," but if all it took to have a more forgiving club was a wide sole Nike might still be making clubs.  Swing type and conditions play a role in whether a player should consider a wider or thinner sole.  A thinner sole has less chance of bouncing off the turf allowing players who hit the ball first to 'pick' the ball cleanly; thick soles may be advantageous where you find fluffy lies or the ball sits up, but God forbid you have wide soles and thin/tight lies.  A sweeping swing may do better with a wide sole where there is less chance the sole will 'bounce' and cause thin contact.   

When I started playing it was pretty hard to find anything but blades (except maybe Spalding's Executive irons; anyone remember those?).  I played a set of '86 Titleist blades until the early 2000s, now those heads look so small next to a ball I wonder how we ever hit them pure.  The Rescue club was a great development and they are great for many shots, including long shots out of a fairway bunker, but I still cannot get into a thick top line and wide soles; for me they bounce like a saucer sled skidding across the snow causing more skulled than pure shots.  But again, that is my preference.

It was a confusing post. I was more or less saying that thin toplines are going to generally be paired with thin soles and thin soles don't provide a lot of forgiveness. Sole width is most certainly not the only determining factor on forgiveness but I personally think that it's generally one of the most overlooked. With wider soles you do get the benefit of pulling the rearward COG further back and just having a lot more flexibility on the mass and dimensional properties of the clubhead. 

Regarding wide soles for a player like you who has issues with bouncing off the turf. I think the primary problem for you probably isn't the sole width itself but the amount of bounce or effective bounce. Most wider soled clubs have overly rounded leading edges and too much bounce for a lot of people. If you want a SGI iron design that is likely going to be better for you, the Callaway Big Bertha irons of the 90s had a sharper leading edge with less bounce. I know they are old and have a unique look to say the least but you can most certainly take a solid divot with them without having to fight the club. Some of the Ping G series over the years have also been good but on the whole, it's a little harder to find a good SGI iron that has a sole that really allows a player to go at the ball. 

[BIG STU 9,628]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:09 PM, DiscipleofPenick said:

I grew up with MacGregor blades so no top line is too thin for me. I agree that the thick top line is a turn off, Callaway comes to mind. I guess it's all up to the person.

Got to agree with you 150%--- Grew up on Mac and Spalding blades so no thin top line is too thin for me--- Still play Mac blades .  Thick bounce soles and chunky top lines mess with me--- I also do not like a lot of offset

[aerobicsboytoy 0]

I grew up playing the thin, short, small, heads on my clubs. I prefer them over the the thick shovels I see on some of the new clubs.  But saying that I am older now and will take advantage of the newer clubs. You can teach a old dog new tricks.

[Badgermc76 3]

I perfer a thin top line when it get chunky it can be very off putting. 

[Green blues 0]

The thinner the better - I don't like fat clubs. 

[GaryBenson 1]

I like them.  I think it makes it look more like a golf club.  Thick top lines are distracting to me

[6 Aces 18]

Thin top lines do not bother me.  Golf used to bother me, but I'm almost 80 years old, and I became performance based when it comes to clubs a long time ago.  Hmmm.  I have 5 brands of clubs in my bag.

[Donn lost in San Diego 44]

Nope.

[StrikurJim 2]

The first thin top line club I ever hit was a Mizuno T-Zoid Pro ll.  It was intimidating to look at but when you hit them …. WoW!!!  What a feeling.  There was no turning back.  Went to Titleist 990’s because the T-Zoid Pro was no longer available.  Now I have the MP-64’s.  Top lines have to be similar to those or I think the clubs are to thick.

[mikedevine 2]

For six (6) years now I've played the Miura 1957 small blade irons. They have a somewhat thinner top line but I would prefer an even thinner top line. The thicker top lines scare me nowadays.

[BGRI 4]

I don’t take much of a look at the top line after setting up and focus more in the leading edge.However that said , if the club companies put a dot on the top line right over  the sweet spot that would be something That I would look at.

[Willie T 33]

On 8/2/2021 at 4:14 PM, Hook DeLoft said:

Reviewers like to mention that mid and high cappers find thin top lines to be intimidating to look at, but I don’t find that to be the case for me. Now, if an iron has a very small blade and an extremely thin sole I expect it to be unforgiving, but since you don’t hit the ball anywhere near the top line, I just don’t see that as intimidating. 

What Hook DeLoft said - first clubs I ever used were blades from the late 60’s - early 70’s so thin lines don’t scare me.  Yes the narrow soles will make you think twice….but. As Shankster points out below…

On 8/2/2021 at 4:30 PM, Shankster said:

Big wide soles, and chunky top lines intimidate me.  I feel like I’m going to thin everything.

I don’t feel comfortable behind them, they are so clunky.   That is why I parked the Callaway Diablo Edges. I have a good middle ground with the SLDR irons.  

 

 

[Golfnut0226 6]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:09 PM, DiscipleofPenick said:

I grew up with MacGregor blades so no top line is too thin for me. I agree that the thick top line is a turn off, Callaway comes to mind. I guess it's all up to the person.

How about Kroydon blades? Look that one up !

 

[Reedee 0]

1 hour ago, mikedevine said:

For six (6) years now I've played the Miura 1957 small blade irons. They have a somewhat thinner top line but I would prefer an even thinner top line. The thicker top lines scare me nowadays.

I am definitely the same way.  I’m not very good, but the thicker soles and top lines make a club feel almost out of control.  I don’t want the blade to be super short, but I do like the thinnest sole and top line I can get.  It was the #1 thing I looked for at the last demo day I went to with multiple manufacturers.

[MikeCR 1]

I prefer thin top lines. Thicker top lines look more like hockey sticks. PXG has got it right. 

[igme 0]

Not really as it was the kind of iron I learned on.  I've gotten to like the look of a thin to thin-ish top line.  A short blade length combined with a thin top line?  Then that would would be intimidating.  I tend to be more precise (as precise a semi-learned hack can be) with them.  My last set of irons I played with were Wilson Fi5s which was a combo perimeter weighted (3-7)/blade set (8-PW) and it still is one of my favorite sets.  I've now gone over to a full forged cavity back set of Titleist 712CBs.  The former has thin top lines while the latter, thin - ish.  Hehe.  Both I can hit solidly with some regularity and yes, the 712s are slightly easier.  I've tried the Mizuno JPX irons and those had thick top lines and quickly lost interest because I couldn't get comfortable looking at a huge clubhead.

[Subdiver1 56]

9 hours ago, Kansas King said:

It was a confusing post. I was more or less saying that thin toplines are going to generally be paired with thin soles and thin soles don't provide a lot of forgiveness. Sole width is most certainly not the only determining factor on forgiveness but I personally think that it's generally one of the most overlooked. With wider soles you do get the benefit of pulling the rearward COG further back and just having a lot more flexibility on the mass and dimensional properties of the clubhead. 

Regarding wide soles for a player like you who has issues with bouncing off the turf. I think the primary problem for you probably isn't the sole width itself but the amount of bounce or effective bounce. Most wider soled clubs have overly rounded leading edges and too much bounce for a lot of people. If you want a SGI iron design that is likely going to be better for you, the Callaway Big Bertha irons of the 90s had a sharper leading edge with less bounce. I know they are old and have a unique look to say the least but you can most certainly take a solid divot with them without having to fight the club. Some of the Ping G series over the years have also been good but on the whole, it's a little harder to find a good SGI iron that has a sole that really allows a player to go at the ball. 

Gotcha. Thanks for making it a discussion and not a contestation.  Yes, agree, bounce and sole width are not mutual, they can be separated.  I like the thin line and sharp leading edge so I can pick the ball off tight lies, or cut through wet turf without bouncing off and thinning or skulking shots, but I do realize that is what works for me, and in most of the conditions I play. 

Oh God, Callaway and BB are like asking me if I'd want liver and onions or tripe for dinner .  I couldn't hit the old BB metals; buck hooked them so bad the ball went left and circled back around and landed 2" to the right of where I originally hit it from.  I will, however admit, that I hit the Apex last year and found them to be very playable, looked good at address and felt good on contact. The old Ping Eye 2 was another club I could never feel comfortable behind; guess we could add that to the Executive as a 70s-80s alternative to blades.

The I500 was another iron that I found attractive and nice to hit.  Thanks again.

[Madstang72 1]

On 8/2/2021 at 3:14 PM, Hook DeLoft said:

Reviewers like to mention that mid and high cappers find thin top lines to be intimidating to look at, but I don’t find that to be the case for me. Now, if an iron has a very small blade and an extremely thin sole I expect it to be unforgiving, but since you don’t hit the ball anywhere near the top line, I just don’t see that as intimidating. 

As long as it has CG, I don’t mind thin top lines

[DStar 1,299]

I much prefer the look of my MP32 to the MX23 I had before. Just looks cleaner to my eye and I think the smaller head also focuses my eye better. 

Thick top lines just look too big to me.