So I played with shovels today

[Sluggo42]

My mp-33's will sell so I can't hit them anymore. So I drug out some old callaway x-12 beasts that I bought at a garage sale for $30 a year ago.

 

They actually worked pretty well! They are regulat graphite shafts too. Very interesting how forgiving they are, I had a few off center shots that still landed on the green, that would NOT have from my 33's.

 

The weird thing was the pure hits..... Nothing... No rewards... Just a weird muted "tic"...

 

Can't wait for some new mizzies...

[revkev]

What are you planning to switch too in the Mizuno line? I can tell you that the 825 Pros are forged GI's so they feel very nice on solid hits and correct nicely on slight misshits.

[Sluggo42]

What are you planning to switch too in the Mizuno line? I can tell you that the 825 Pros are forged GI's so they feel very nice on solid hits and correct nicely on slight misshits.

I have a bid in on some 825 pros, and if I get beat out of those, I have a set of mp-53's I can buy for $375 that are pretty clean.

Never hit either one, but I'm guessing both will be more forgiving than my 33's were....

[Sluggo42]

What are you planning to switch too in the Mizuno line? I can tell you that the 825 Pros are forged GI's so they feel very nice on solid hits and correct nicely on slight misshits.

Say, I see you are hitting the pros, are they as sweet as my brain is telling me they are?

[Super Tuna]

I've been trying out various shovels on and off lately and I'm coming to like them. I started golf with them, moved into blades and such and have been playing them up until now. My mantra these days is easy golf, and there are some smaller shovel like clubs out there that seem to work with such an idea while not being horride looking at the same time.

 

Hurrah for shovels!

[Sluggo42]

Huzzah for the shovels!

 

As long as they are forged and feel like butter. Crept for those thin hits which feel like butthurt.

 

Long live mizzy!

[whiskey golf]

Say, I see you are hitting the pros, are they as sweet as my brain is telling me they are?

 

I'm gaming a set of JPX 825 Pros and they definitely are a sweet set. They have great feel, look great, and perform very well. They are worth every penny

[The Dansome]

I'm gaming a set of JPX 825 Pros and they definitely are a sweet set. They have great feel, look great, and perform very well. They are worth every penny

 

From top down these look really nice

[Sluggo42]

From top down these look really nice

Maybe I should get a set with some reg flex graphite shafts. At 57, it might not be a bad idea to get a set that will be good to my arthritic knuckles too... Dang I hate getting older... It wouldn't be so bad if everything didn't hurt more!

[RoverRick]

Sluggo

 

Great to have you, but before you go completely to the dark side hear my story. I have a set of MP33's and a set of MP62's. I absolutely love the MP33's, but I do admit that the 2, 3, and 4 irons are replaced with Adams Pro Black. I have these shafted so that I can replace 3 irons with two hybrids, but I sometimes play a MP FLI HI 24* with a 3 iron shaft.

 

Last week I had decided to sell the 62's and get another set of 33's however before I got around to doing that I ended up swapping the 62''s for a set of MP59's. I am very excited about these irons because everything I read and everyone I talked to says the 59's are the best irons since the 33's. But hotter and more forgiving.

 

I will not have these until probably Thursday but will check back then and give my impression of them. I think that going from the MP33's to the JPX series is a huge difference that you may not be happy with in the long term. While a change from the 33's to the 59's will still give you the clean looks of the MP33's.

[Paul S]

Sluggo

 

Great to have you, but before you go completely to the dark side hear my story. I have a set of MP33's and a set of MP62's. I absolutely love the MP33's, but I do admit that the 2, 3, and 4 irons are replaced with Adams Pro Black. I have these shafted so that I can replace 3 irons with two hybrids, but I sometimes play a MP FLI HI 24* with a 3 iron shaft.

 

Last week I had decided to sell the 62's and get another set of 33's however before I got around to doing that I ended up swapping the 62''s for a set of MP59's. I am very excited about these irons because everything I read and everyone I talked to says the 59's are the best irons since the 33's. But hotter and more forgiving.

 

I will not have these until probably Thursday but will check back then and give my impression of them. I think that going from the MP33's to the JPX series is a huge difference that you may not be happy with in the long term. While a change from the 33's to the 59's will still give you the clean looks of the MP33's.

 

I, too, will be interested in your impressions of the 59s. I can't wait to get the 62s to the indoor range and see how they feel. They'll probably remain in the back seat behind the FG Tour V2s because they're literally addictive.

 

Paul

[JMiller]

The FG62s are a great blade there is nothing wrong with them, the MP-33s and MP-68s are also great blades. But does that mean everyone should run out and buy them probably not. I tend to push blades a little more because people seem scared to play them when they shouldn't be.

 

I think that regardless of handicap, you should have a 6iron blade laying around the house if your set is a Players CB or GI clubs. Set it up at the same length, lie, shaft everything as your normal set. Take it to the practice tee (range) with you and hit some balls. The blade gives great feedback on miss hits, you are going to know exactly where you made contact in the club. If you can Identify a common miss then you are closer to identifying a flaw in your golf swing possibly. For example: a lot of thin and fat shots chould be you getting stuck on the downswing and flipping the club into impact / chopping.

 

For me I sort of get the following feedback on misses on blades

Thin ~ it will sting like hell espesually if it is a bit cold outside, this one might hurt the hands a little.

 

Fat ~ Just feels like pure dirt and doesn't sound like a strike of the ball at all.

 

Toe ~ Comes off very dead feeling and has a thud, the thing that's easiest to tell about it is the club will attempt to twist in your hands open assuming you don't have a death grip you should be able to feel it attempt to twist.

 

Heel ~ Comes off a lot better then a tow doesn't feel terrible but you lose a little distance, it is slightly more of a dead feeling / sounding hit then pure.

>> If you are going to miss on a blade inside the sweet spot is the best place. Majority of Modern blades have gotten a little better about distributing the weight from toe to heel more evenly but you still get a slight cheat towards the hosel of the head having a little more weight their.

 

High ~ Normally would happen if ball is setting up in deep rough or sitting high on a tee. You will feel the vibrations prominently, the ball comes off the face dead as well.

 

 

You swing the blade long enough and start hitting them pure then switch back to your Players CBs it should and obviously create more confidence in a pure strike.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

The FG62s are a great blade there is nothing wrong with them, the MP-33s and MP-68s are also great blades. But does that mean everyone should run out and buy them probably not. I tend to push blades a little more because people seem scared to play them when they shouldn't be.

 

I think that regardless of handicap, you should have a 6iron blade laying around the house if your set is a Players CB or GI clubs. Set it up at the same length, lie, shaft everything as your normal set. Take it to the practice tee (range) with you and hit some balls. The blade gives great feedback on miss hits, you are going to know exactly where you made contact in the club. If you can Identify a common miss then you are closer to identifying a flaw in your golf swing possibly. For example: a lot of thin and fat shots chould be you getting stuck on the downswing and flipping the club into impact / chopping.

 

For me I sort of get the following feedback on misses on blades

Thin ~ it will sting like hell espesually if it is a bit cold outside, this one might hurt the hands a little.

 

Fat ~ Just feels like pure dirt and doesn't sound like a strike of the ball at all.

 

Toe ~ Comes off very dead feeling and has a thud, the thing that's easiest to tell about it is the club will attempt to twist in your hands open assuming you don't have a death grip you should be able to feel it attempt to twist.

 

Heel ~ Comes off a lot better then a tow doesn't feel terrible but you lose a little distance, it is slightly more of a dead feeling / sounding hit then pure.

>> If you are going to miss on a blade inside the sweet spot is the best place. Majority of Modern blades have gotten a little better about distributing the weight from toe to heel more evenly but you still get a slight cheat towards the hosel of the head having a little more weight their.

 

High ~ Normally would happen if ball is setting up in deep rough or sitting high on a tee. You will feel the vibrations prominently, the ball comes off the face dead as well.

 

 

You swing the blade long enough and start hitting them pure then switch back to your Players CBs it should and obviously create more confidence in a pure strike.

 

Have a Nike Pro blade for just this purpose. Good call JM

 

 

 

[apprenti23]

Or you can use face tape like a normal person- much cheaper and gives you exact feedback.

 

It's nice knowing where your miss is, but blades won't correct that miss. You have to correct it. Sure practicing with them can make you a better ball striker- if you know how to correct what you're doing wrong.

 

Unless you can wear a quarter sized spot on the center of the face you have NO business playing blades- period. There are way too many quality options out there! Everyone needs a little forgiveness!!!

[Sluggo42]

Sluggo

 

Great to have you, but before you go completely to the dark side hear my story. I have a set of MP33's and a set of MP62's. I absolutely love the MP33's, but I do admit that the 2, 3, and 4 irons are replaced with Adams Pro Black. I have these shafted so that I can replace 3 irons with two hybrids, but I sometimes play a MP FLI HI 24* with a 3 iron shaft.

 

Last week I had decided to sell the 62's and get another set of 33's however before I got around to doing that I ended up swapping the 62''s for a set of MP59's. I am very excited about these irons because everything I read and everyone I talked to says the 59's are the best irons since the 33's. But hotter and more forgiving.

 

I will not have these until probably Thursday but will check back then and give my impression of them. I think that going from the MP33's to the JPX series is a huge difference that you may not be happy with in the long term. While a change from the 33's to the 59's will still give you the clean looks of the MP33's.

Lol, "the dark side".... Mizzuuuuuuuu, I am your father!

 

Yes, the 59's... I did hit them, and I hit the 64's as well. Loved them. Also loving the 53's, in fact the 53's are the other set on my short list.

My thoughtt is that the 825's with some graphite shafts will be my best bet for the future. In terms of both softness, and shock damping. But still transmit the forged pure shot. I'm blessed with arthritis already, and I can't take Advil due to my heart meds. (Yes, getting older deeply sucks) it's getting to where I can barely hold the club by the end of the round. Hence the "soft clubs" approach. I agree I will miss the blade, but it's time to be honest with myself, and play clubs that my ego doesn't pick...

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Or you can use face tape like a normal person- much cheaper and gives you exact feedback.

 

It's nice knowing where your miss is, but blades won't correct that miss. You have to correct it. Sure practicing with them can make you a better ball striker- if you know how to correct what you're doing wrong.

 

Unless you can wear a quarter sized spot on the center of the face you have NO business playing blades- period. There are way too many quality options out there! Everyone needs a little forgiveness!!!

 

I'm no pro - just a "normal" 11 'capper working to get better. I like hitting the blade - helps me get a nice feel for my swing and gives me confidence when I hit it well. As far as needing forgiveness, dude - I been married twice - I'll tell you about needing forgiveness!

 

Anyway, no arguments from me - one of the reasons I love golf is the challenge of getting better and setting goals...and wearing that quarter sized spot on the center of the face is one of my goals. That, and meeting Blair O'Neil....

[fozcycle]

I gamed the 53's for a year before trading for new Nike Pro CB's........the Project X graphite shaft in the 53's was a 4.5 and I traded for new Project X 5.5's The 53's were very "buttery" when hit correctly, but the shaft was bit weak......even for me at age 62.

[JMiller]

Unless you can wear a quarter sized spot on the center of the face you have NO business playing blades- period.

 

There are way too many quality options out there! Everyone needs a little forgiveness!!!

 

Please show me anyone that has a perfect quarter sized wear mark on any club? I have yet to see it, I have seen a lot of clubs have around a 50cent piece sized wear spot (Tiger Woods included in this), but never in my life seen something as small as a quarter. Blades have a little forgiveness but not a lot, I hit a ton of blades last year to figure out what set I wanted to buy and hell the Adams MB2 played more like a Players CB then a blade, it was impressive how much give it actually had.

 

If everyone needs a little forgiveness then why is it that between 25 and 35 percent of the PGA Tour player still use blades?

 

Yes impact tape does the same thing but impact tape also doesn't develop a FEEL for the shot at impact. I personally like the feedback I get from a blade.

I hated the AP2s as I couldn't feel a damn thing on them it either felt good or it felt bad nothing in-between.

 

i think the players CBs i have tried were only about 10-30% larger then a 50cent piece to get away with it, hell if you are striking the ball worse then that take lessons.

[silver & black]

^^^ That's why I decided to to go with the MP-64's when I bought new irons a while ago.I loved the way they felt when I hit them sweet, and I liked the feedback I got when I didn't. I hit the 59's and I just didn't seem to hit them as well as the 64's. I don't know what my game will be like with them this year, but I'll just keep hitting them untill I get a good feel for them. Not only that....... they are just so nice to look at.

[RoverRick]

Please show me anyone that has a perfect quarter sized wear mark on any club?

 

My 7 iron is slighly smaller than a quarter, and the 9 iron is the size of a quarter but the 8 and PW are slightly larger. I attribute this to hitting more partial shots.

 

 

These are Mizuno MP 33's with the chrome stripped and dyed gun blue.

[JBones]

I've only gamed the RocketBladez through the winter and I have rounds of 67, 68, 68, and I have a 2.1 handicap with them..............damn shovels.

[apprenti23]

Hit practice balls this past Thursday for the first time since last October... I'm not a great ball striker by any means but I'm close to a quarter- it'll get better come may when I don't have to hit off of a mat in a dome and after a few more practice sessions. Oh and I'm not good enough to play blades!

[The Dansome]

Just for the sake of conversation.

 

So 25-35% of PGA pros play blades and those pros make up probably about 0.01% of players out there? That's almost an argument against playing blades.

 

http://www.usga.org/handicapping/articles_resources/Men-s-USGA-Handicap-Indexes/

 

[JMiller]

apprenti23, that is not the literal size of a quarter. If it were then you would have no marks outside the parameter of the ware. If you cover the entire wear spot it would be around a 50cent piece. This is not a LITERAL quarter sized mark it has SOME room outside the marks were you clearly have wear in the face. The marks that are on the face pictured are extremely high on the blade. So it makes me question what in the hell you have been doing to get the marks that high in the first place.

 

As for you RR, If you took a picture of that face close yup, with the quarter sitting on it I am willing to take an educated guess that is a sand paper mark. You would not have a circle that is that clean period.

 

Here is an image of some real wear marks, clearly the outsides of the circle have jagged edges like apprenti23 has pictured, but they are also WAY lower on the face:

 

There is not a point to attempt to prove me wrong, arguing about it is also pointless. The words that got on my nerves were EVERYONE and NO BUSINESS, they are extremely poor choice of words. Because EVERYONE doesn't necessarily need more forgiveness, that's a stupid statement. Also modern blades you can get away with a 50cent piece wear on the face and be find the LITERAL quarter sized mark and having no business playing blades is inaccurate.

[JMiller]

Just for the sake of conversation.

 

So 25-35% of PGA pros play blades and those pros make up probably about 0.01% of players out there? That's almost an argument against playing blades.

 

http://www.usga.org/handicapping/articles_resources/Men-s-USGA-Handicap-Indexes/

 

 

PGA Tour pros don't keep handicaps they play off scratch, that stat is for AMs that hold an official Handicap.

[The Dansome]

PGA Tour pros don't keep handicaps they play off scratch, that stat is for AMs that hold an official Handicap.

 

So you're probably saying it's even a smaller percentage.

[JMiller]

That's not the point, the keywords were EVERYONE could use more forgiveness, that is an inaccurate statement. There is NOTHING in golf that EVERYONE needs or should be doing.

[The Dansome]

That's not the point, the keywords were EVERYONE could use more forgiveness, that is an inaccurate statement. There is NOTHING in golf that EVERYONE needs or should be doing.

 

I agree with this statement 100%. It's a to each his own game and whatever gets you there.

[RoverRick]

 

 

As for you RR, If you took a picture of that face close yup, with the quarter sitting on it I am willing to take an educated guess that is a sand paper mark. You would not have a circle that is that clean period.

 

 

 

An educated guess? Seriously? Or is this simply another literal versus figurative saying. I will not argue that the sanding made it rounder, but it damned sure made it bigger also and also more pronounced. Please do not attempt to tell me how close to the center I hit the freaking ball every time unless your education includes sitting in my back yard and watching me hit into a net.

[JMiller]

An educated guess? Seriously? Or is this simply another literal versus figurative saying. I will not argue that the sanding made it rounder, but it damned sure made it bigger also and also more pronounced. Please do not attempt to tell me how close to the center I hit the freaking ball every time unless your education includes sitting in my back yard and watching me hit into a net.

 

If you thin kI am wrong post a close up of that head, I am willing to bet if I investigate the grooves on that face they will not be worn out like they should be. Maybe I am wrong but if it's legit then why are the other three head triple the size in wear?

 

If your ball striking is that good all the faces would have a tighter circle, simple as that.