Blades

[William Tipton]

I played a round with a guy who volunteers at my home course. He is one of the best long game players Ive met so far. Hits long and straight as hell and rarely misses a GIR.

So he tells me about this old Ben Hogan blade he got off ebay. Had it regripped and put it in his bag because he wanted to have the 3 since his set of Callaways didnt come with a 3 iron.

He offered to let me hit it but Ive heard over and over and over how people at my skill level cant hit blades because they are just too hard to hit.
After a few holes we were on a medium length 5 so I decided to give it a go and had a really good shot that just pushed about a degree or so. Actually I think I liked his Hogan 3 iron blade better than I do my irons Im carrying now.
Hit it a few more times and other than one more slight push that still flew really well I didnt have a single shot that wasnt better than acceptable...at least as long and straight if not moreso than my irons I have now.

So my questions are;

1. what is the deal with blades? Are they harder to hit or what?
2. If I hit this Hogan 3 iron this well should that translate to other blades?
3. If I hit blades well overall, should I consider buying a set or are the not any better than cavity backs?

Thanks in advance.

 

[dedicatedhacker]

I switched to a set of old, made in 1966 old, Ben Hogan blades last month. I can't say enough how much I love them. Was playing some game improvement irons before that. Had trouble keeping my iron shots going where I wanted them before, have no issue with that at all now. And a good strike with the forged hogans feel so perfect. My last HC calculation showed I was at a 10.6 if that matters and I have no issues with them at all.

Def had helped my game, and had forced me to improve my swing. If I miss hit I know instantly what I did wrong, couldn't say that with my GI irons, no feed back at all. Good thing if your interested in hogans is older forged sets go for next to nothing

 

[BigJim13]

I played a round with a guy who volunteers at my home course. He is one of the best long game players Ive met so far. Hits long and straight as hell and rarely misses a GIR.

So he tells me about this old Ben Hogan blade he got off ebay. Had it regripped and put it in his bag because he wanted to have the 3 since his set of Callaways didnt come with a 3 iron.

He offered to let me hit it but Ive heard over and over and over how people at my skill level cant hit blades because they are just too hard to hit.
After a few holes we were on a medium length 5 so I decided to give it a go and had a really good shot that just pushed about a degree or so. Actually I think I liked his Hogan 3 iron blade better than I do my irons Im carrying now.
Hit it a few more times and other than one more slight push that still flew really well I didnt have a single shot that wasnt better than acceptable...at least as long and straight if not moreso than my irons I have now.

So my questions are;

1. what is the deal with blades? Are they harder to hit or what?
2. If I hit this Hogan 3 iron this well should that translate to other blades?
3. If I hit blades well overall, should I consider buying a set or are the not any better than cavity backs?

Thanks in advance.

What do you play now? How many times did you hit the club? What shaft did the Hogan have?

 

[eclark53520]

The proven honeymoon law. It has struck.

 

[warbirdlover]

I played a set of Ping S59's for a couple years. I hit those as well as any game improvement club. They weren't forged but they definitely weren't cavity back GI irons. I never hit so many iron shots at the pins for tap in's. nututhugame traded me for the Wilson irons I have and I've been hitting those probably as well as any. I learned on McGregor muscle back forged irons. And didn't learn much! All there were back in the "olden days".

 

[William Tipton]

What do you play now? How many times did you hit the club? What shaft did the Hogan have?

Ping Eye 2 clones.
I owned the real Eye 2's but didnt like them as well as I do the clones I have. I think it was the shafts that were the problem with the Pings
I hit about 10-12 times total with the Hogan club. I figured once or twice getting a good hit was a fluke but after getting so many that felt better than my irons I started to wonder.
Not sure about the shaft. It didnt look old so it may have been reshafted. It was a True Temper but there are so many different TT shafts. Definitely steel though.

 

[eclark53520]

I've been playing way better golf since switching out my shovels for my players cavity irons. I think it has something to do with knowing you need to swing well and make good contact. The difference between the two sets on good contact is nill. The difference on off center contact is where i see the difference.

With the shovels the feel was the same pretty much no matter how i hit them within reason. I know when i hit my new irons off center. Not only by reduced ball flight, but by feel. I can then make adjustments quickly to get back to swinging like i should instead of it getting to a point of swinging so bad not even shovels can work their magic.

 

[BigJim13]

Ping Eye 2 clones.
I owned the real Eye 2's but didnt like them as well as I do the clones I have. I think it was the shafts that were the problem with the Pings
I hit about 10-12 times total with the Hogan club. I figured once or twice getting a good hit was a fluke but after getting so many that felt better than my irons I started to wonder.
Not sure about the shaft. It didnt look old so it may have been reshafted. It was a True Temper but there are so many different TT shafts. Definitely steel though.

So the Hogan probably had a heavier overall weight and a heavier swingweight, yes? Also, you are probably feeling the difference between a clone and a real club.

It's not like your scores are going to change much by switching to blades. In the long run id you play and practice enough with the blades you will get better. You could always find a cheap set on eBay and give it a try.

 

[William Tipton]

So the Hogan probably had a heavier overall weight and a heavier swingweight, yes?

Actually MUCH lighter swingweight than mine are. Felt like swinging air

Also, you are probably feeling the difference between a clone and a real club.

yeah...that crossed my mind as we were playing.

It's not like your scores are going to change much by switching to blades. In the long run id you play and practice enough with the blades you will get better. You could always find a cheap set on eBay and give it a try.

Sound advice.
He got the 3 iron for $15 shipped. I may see if I can find one blade and toss it in the bag.

The thing that really amazed me was that it wasnt just a blade, but that it was a 3 iron as well.
Seems like a perfect combo for a newbie like me to blast every ball into the woods

 

[TrickyPutt]

I play the new Cleveland 588 blades. Before that I played the Cleveland cg1 tour blades.

A couple of points..

Shafting needs to be more flexible as the mass of metal in the head is more centered behind the ball and not down low like a game improvement design. This more flexible shaft helps get the ball up - its real easy to find blades built on the misconception that the blade head and the GI head do the same thing. They are all over ebay. I love seeing the blades with x100 shafts. Makes me laugh. And they are always in good shape -magically. Generally...if you hit stiff driver use firm or regular irons so your accuracy shots still get up in the air.

Mass is measured in Kg. The volume of that can vary. Blades arent big because they are a solid chunk of metal. They weigh/ mass the same as Cavities or GI blades in part because of club length standards and swingwieghting. The metal taken from behind the ball is pushed out to the edges making the head larger. This is why people say blades have a smaller sweet spot..its all smaller it just weighs the same.

You will get the best result from blades if you respect the history of the design. They did not come from hot faced, super long distance, over long shafted bomber origins. The courses were shorter for example...like miurfield where Phil just won without his driver.

 

[trumb1mj]

I actually have an old set of hogan Apex PC blades that I love practicing with. I play a club that is not quite a blade and has some help--Mizuno MP57s.

If you are looking for a nice set of clubs to replace your irons, want something to grow into and improve with but want a little help, I'd definitely check out the MP line from Mizuno.

 

[dedicatedhacker]

I actually have an old set of hogan Apex PC blades that I love practicing with.

Those are some pretty blades, I wouldn't mind having a similar set

 

[TrickyPutt]

Its funny how a lots of guys I play with in addition to the more involved golfers on this site seem to either own or have owned or have a deep appreciation for hogan clubs.

 

[dedicatedhacker]

From everything I've googled on them prior to them being bought out they were heavily desired and viewed as up there with the top of the line for quality irons.

 

[trumb1mj]

These APEX PCs are so pretty and I bought them for $50 at a garage sale...