Using Blades for pratcise

Claude Harmon

I am thinking of getting a few bladed irons to practise with, to help improve my ball striking. While i don't think i am currently good enough to use them in a round, i think it may improve me.

Does any body do something similar? Where could i pick up one or two for practise?

I have looked on ebay, where there are lots of old demo ones, but they're all in the UK.

foxyboxer

Have a titleist mb 6 iron ex-demo blade that I use as a litmus test every so often.
Very humbling if your off at all. Maybe worth picking up 1 or 2 single clubs to get an idea.

Kace

You should be able to find oceans of these over here also.

People probably just don't have them for sale as there is limited / no demand these days due to the tiny heads and sweet spots. I have 2 sets knocking around myself - some sweet old TaylorMade 'Tour Preferred' and Titleist 990B. Still take out the 2 irons from these sets to knock around sometimes.

Ask around your club or put an ad in Adverts.ie

charlieIRL

i have a full set of mizuno mp1's i'd sell if your intersted. Old but good enough for practice.

Claude Harmon

Are they MP-11? (Can't find anything on internet for MP-1)

PM with your price and shaft details - thanks

Rabidlamb

I was a blades player in my teenage years, handicap varied from 7 to 9..
I bought into the peripheral weighted hype in my 20's & went through a few sets, never went any lower, in fact I went out to 11.
Kids came along so hadn't played for years but just got back into it & got a 2nd hand set of Mizuno blades from a forummer on here.
I'm never changing again, the quality of strike is just too rewarding.

fullstop

Why would you practice with something that feels completely different to your normal clubs? Would make it even more difficult than it already is to take your practice onto the course.

Tones69

Ive never actually had a shot of bladed iron, im hitting my irons pretty ok now and would like a go of one, must get on it

charlieIRL

Claude Harmon wrote: »

Are they MP-11? (Can't find anything on internet for MP-1)

PM with your price and shaft details - thanks

sorry, they are pro ms-1's (about 20 odd years old i reckon)

dvemail

It could help you if the blades have a similar weight and look to your own irons. Would give you better feedback on your ball striking. Otherwise id say it mightn't do you much good.
Can never hurt to try though.

Russman

Op, it depends on what you want to get out of the game, what level you're at, what age you are etc etc.
If you're young and learning then learning with blades isn't a bad thing at all.

If however, you may not have the time to spend on technique etc its probably a waste of time, with all due respect. You should practice with whatever you take onto the course, be they Mizuno blades or graphite shafted Callaways

I grew up using a set of Mizuno TP9s and they were great but when I changed to cavity back irons a few years ago, the difference was amazing. OK, they look a little chunkier and feel perhaps a little less sweet, but they're so much easier to hit than blades. I went from 6 handicap to 3 in my first year with MX20s. I'm not saying it was all the irons' doing but it helped. And don't buy into much of what you'll read saying its easier to shape your shots with blades bla, bla, the amount of players that actually try or need to "shape" their shots is very small in reality. If you're good enough to need to shape shots then you're good enough to do it with whatever iron makes the game easy for you. Plenty of pros using cavities (and blades too in fairness) but you get the point. Look at Monty, winning Order of Merit after Order of Merit with oversize irons.

Obviously if you're at a high level and looking to chase pins then shaping will help, and ignore what I've said above, but if not, then hitting the middle of any green with a straight shot is rarely a bad thing.;)

sternpeak

I am currently using the titleist 710 mb blades, i dont have an official handicap but i would play off 18, ever since getting blade clubs it has improved my striking alot compare to my old irons, not saying it has gotten me brillaint, but I feel my striking is improved, they are soo nice to hit when you hit the sweet spot, Im 19 and i wanted to jump straight into the deep end, and got these, If u can pick up 1 or 2 of these and see if u like them it only took me 3 rounds to get use to them and i wont be going back to cavity clubs even if you paid me )

Irishvillian

You can buy practice irons they have smaller heads than normal irons,some pros use them to practice,Alex Noren for one,don't know if if you have to go direct to the club maker or if they can be bought of the shelf.

ImDave

Claude Harmon wrote: »

I am thinking of getting a few bladed irons to practise with, to help improve my ball striking. While i don't think i am currently good enough to use them in a round, i think it may improve me.

Does any body do something similar? Where could i pick up one or two for practise?

I have looked on ebay, where there are lots of old demo ones, but they're all in the UK.

We have mountains of ex-demo bladed 6 irons ranging from current model to about 5/6 years old. If you are ever around the midlands just let me know and you can take one or two of them!

k.p.h

TBH I think the most important thing about blades (I use that term sparingly because the jury is still out over whether or not muscle backs are officially blades ) is the fact that they are nice and shiny and look good in the bag.

The pros and cons of using them is actually on a sliding scale which is completely relevant to ability. So if you are a bad ball striker their is no advantage to playing them what so ever , if you are OK their are a few advantages but also as many reasons not too, if you are a good ball striker their is no disadvantage in playing them.

Good game improvement irons are not the same IMO. Their is no real disadvantage playing them no matter what your handicap. Ok they might look a little bulky and have a little less feel but that would only take a little getting used too. But if you hand a scratch player a set of G15s he is going to hit them ace, same if you hand him a set MP-62's he will do the same.

Jul3s

Irishvillian wrote: »

You can buy practice irons they have smaller heads than normal irons,some pros use them to practice,Alex Noren for one,don't know if if you have to go direct to the club maker or if they can be bought of the shelf.

They are called tour strikers and look to be an excellent practice aid. I haven't bought one yet but will definately buy in the near future.
Here's a link http://www.tourstriker.com/ .

spacecoyote

If u can make ur way to south county golf club,they were selling off individual mizuno mp irons (pretty sure they were mp-67s) for I think €5-10.was talking to guy in golf shop who said they are completely over-stocked so selling them off in batches (only had 6-irons out that day)

Definitely worth a look if u fancy giving them a try

GreeBo

I flat out dont like the look of cavity backs and as such have little confidence when standing over the ball with one in my hand.

My MB's fill me with confidence as I love looking down at them. I strike the ball well and can feel exactly where Im hitting the ball on the face. With CB's I have no idea whether or not Ive hit it well until it lands.

I just dont find it as enjoyable to be honest. That said, maybe if I gave them a year Id possibly find lower scores and that would be enjoyable. But then again maybe if I just practices more Id get the lower score with the MB's too.

Each to their own, depending on your level IMO.

AldilaMan

GreeBo wrote: »

I flat out dont like the look of cavity backs and as such have little confidence when standing over the ball with one in my hand.

My MB's fill me with confidence as I love looking down at them. I strike the ball well and can feel exactly where Im hitting the ball on the face. With CB's I have no idea whether or not Ive hit it well until it lands.

I just dont find it as enjoyable to be honest. That said, maybe if I gave them a year Id possibly find lower scores and that would be enjoyable. But then again maybe if I just practices more Id get the lower score with the MB's too.

Each to their own, depending on your level IMO.

On the other hand I've been using Wilson Deep Red cavity backs for nearly 9 years and the feedback in incredible when you hit one off the sweet spot. Doctors differ.......

sweetswing

Practice with what you play with !

ciarancummins7

Halpennys in Airside have a load of ex-demo 5-6 irons in the second hand area. I'm sure there are a few blades in there too. Must stop reading this thread, before I decide that I need to change to blades to be a "better" player...

L.O.F.T

ciarancummins7 wrote: »

Must stop reading this thread, before I decide that I need to change to blades to be a "better" player...

Keep reading, keep believing you need blades http://www.adverts.ie/810972

charlieIRL

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Keep reading, keep believing you need blades http://www.adverts.ie/810972

You link not is working LOFT but here they are. Was looking at them myself.

http://www.adverts.ie/810972

L.O.F.T

charlieIRL wrote: »

You link not is working LOFT but here they are. Was looking at them myself.

http://www.adverts.ie/810972

Thanks Charlie.
As for the clubs I'm just not playing enough to get the best out of them any-more. Its not easy letting them go, they are so good to look at and when struck pure there is no other feeling like it. If your genuinely interested make me an offer as we have previous selling history and Ill look after you.
Sorry OP / mods to take away from the original post.

charlieIRL

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Thanks Charlie.
As for the clubs I'm just not playing enough to get the best out of them any-more. Its not easy letting them go, they are so good to look at and when struck pure there is no other feeling like it. If your genuinely interested make me an offer as we have previous selling history and Ill look after you.
Sorry OP / mods to take away from the original post.

Cheers for the offer, I'm am gonna change my irons shortly but i think yours might be beyond my ability for another while yet though. I'm selling the mid rescue as well so you never know!!

Sorry to the OP as well.

Claude Harmon

They're sweet looking irons - but might be better to get one before i invest in a whole set!

I thinking having one or two and using them at the range for 20 or so shots can't harm - it will help you focus on a clean strike, exactly the same as the "tour striker" does.

And at worst, they look good in the bag.

By the way 14 handicapper, was down to 10 but drifted out due to wife, kids etc,....

Claude Harmon

Picked up a couple of old Mizuno Pro SS-1 blades (3iron - 8 iron). I'll take these up to the range next week and let you know how i get on. Looking forward to a few stingers!:)