Today…
- Listening to…Tour Coach with Tony Ruggiero
- Today’s Goodness…Could you play blades?
- Snippets
- Vid…Lucas Glover in slo-mo
- Where to play…Wanganui Golf Club
- Meme
- Coaches to see…Shelley Duncan
What have I been listening to?
Today’s Goodness – Could You Play Blades?
Blades. The very mention of conjures up visions of ball-striking genius. Shot making from clubs made of butter that resemble a butter knife. A club that has barely enough room for a ball on the face let alone be worried about the possibility of a mishit.
Oooohhhhh beautiful but scary
I was asked a couple of weeks ago whether anyone could hit a blade iron. One really only got to thinking about it properly just now.
Defining what a blade was and what a blade is now is relevant to this question.
A blade used to be a hunk of metal forged into shape with the intent of hitting a diameter 1.62″ ball made from rubber bands and goodness knows what else.
The clubs evolved and were shaped to fit the best players and for a while you didn’t have much choice anyway. You played blades or Pings. The best ball strikers weren’t worried about forgiveness because they didn’t miss the middle of the face and the ball suited higher spin play. The players wanted immediate feedback.
Now, a blade is a different prospect. The technology is such that even a hunk of steel can be much more game improving than the blades of old. Some newer ‘blades’ are even hollow!
This is because the ball doesn’t spin as much, the game has become more power based and with higher swing speeds come more minor mistakes meaning you need more forgiveness on mishits. Because the ball doesn’t spin we need the higher swing speeds and lower centres of gravity to launch the golf spud in the air.
The reality is, while you might get more out of a missed shot with a game improvement club, the sweet spot remains about the same with most clubs. If you hit the middle of the club ie sweet spot or percussion point, then there’s no reason you can’t play blades. If you’re prone to missing the sweet spot then I would suggest a more game improvement looking spanner.
Having said that…if you want to play blades – play them. If that’s what makes you happy then that’s awesome. Ewan Porter, Aussie pro and commentator, goes out and plays regularly with old blades and persimmon woods! Blades make me happy. I’m a total geek for blades. Love em. Will it make me play better? Hmmmmm
Snippets
Lucas Glover has won the last two weeks with a reported magic putter. Never mind the fact he led the field in ball striking!
Matt Fitzpatrick still uses PING s55 irons – almost 10 years old. Hey, if it works…
Anyone else think Phil Mickleson should just bite his tongue?
TaylorMade have just released some new wedges. They look puuuurre. Check out the grooves.
Cool Vid
Where to play
Meme
Coaches to see – Shelley D
I’m based at…
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