Golf is a fun and rewarding sport. At times, it can make you feel that you are the only person in the world and that you’re in control of your surroundings. It can also be very cruel, punishing and have you wondering why you ever started playing the game. Today’s technology gives the player many options when choosing equipment.. One of these technologies is bladed irons, bladed irons have smooth, full backs and their weight positioned directly behind the club face. The opposite is the cavity back irons which have a gap of space behind the larger club face. I believe that beginning golfers should not use bladed irons for multiple reasons.
Beginning golfers do not have the proper mechanics to use the club correctly. An example is their swing plane. In order to make correct contact with the ball you must come down on the correct plane upon impact. I often help my friends by placing a club in front of their feet parallel to the target line. This visually helps them to keep the proper line on the down swing. Another issue is proper alignment. Beginners need to align their feet, knees, hip, and shoulders parallel to their target. Popular golf magazines like Golf Digest state that many swing flaws start with improper alignment. Many beginners are also unaware of how important their grip is. There are several grip positions but all stress the importance of the pressure applied. The idea is to hold the club as if you holding a bird, enough to keep it in your hands but not enough to kill it.
Blades are less forgiving than cavity or half-cavity back irons. Blades are sometimes called muscle backs because of the solid material behind the club. This puts the weight directly behind the club face making the center of gravity much lower. The club heads for blades are smaller than cavity backs, resulting in a smaller sweet spot. The sweet spot provides a more penetrating and workable ball flight for complete shot control. When I first started playing, I tried using my friend’s blades. I had a hard time with club vibration and distance. I discovered that the vibration and distance issue was from not hitting the sweet spot.
The most important factor in my opinion is experience. Most beginners do not have the experience to use bladed irons. Experience ranges from understanding why the ball slices or hooks in mid air. Experience is understanding the shot selections that a blade can provide. For example, a bladed iron has an average trajectory of 12 degrees, which results in a piercing ball flight, this is important when it is windy, with a lower trajectory means that it will be less affected by the wind. Experience also means the amount of time put into practicing. I try to practice at home everyday and at the driving range a couple times a week. Most beginners do not practice enough and with any activity, practices makes perfect. Experience also comes into play when a player is analyzing their swing, for the most part a player that has been playing for years will know his swing better than a player that just started. The experience can help him pin point swing flaws or breakdowns in the swing.
Tim's a reasonable guy and decided to heed my advice, although I'm no professional I gave him my best logical reason why he shouldn't invest in blades right now. Tim feels that blades are a right of passage for serious golfers that ascend to the next level, I told him golfers don't care what you're playing, but rather how you're playing so if cavity back irons can get you within three feet on an approach shots then who cares what you're playing.
