Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from mxkier who currently plays, and adores, his Apex Pro 19s but has an attraction to blades. Anxious about the forgiveness of blades from the low end of the bag, mxkier wants to split his bag by using them from 5-PW. Our members have been discussing the idea of playing a split set in our forums.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

• smithy23: “The split set is a happy compromise and a bit more confidence-inspiring. I have two sets Mizuno jpx 900 tours and Nike vapor pro blades. I’m an 11 HCP so arguably not low enough to play blades but personal preference whatever etc. (another argument that one). If you love the way the blades look at address and strike it well get them, and just play your Apex pros in 4/5/6 etc. for the known feel distance etc. and then your blades in the rest. It’s what I do play 6 upwards in blades on the nikes and use cobra utility 4 iron and Mizuno 5iron. When I really start to get off things I go back to full mizzy bag. Split set is a great way to go, why do tour pros do it ?? cos its a good fit.”
• WristySwing: “As to the question why, here it is. Blades are typically easier to shape shots with due to their weight distributions being more neutrally biased as opposed to the extremes of the perimeters. They also typically have higher CoGs, meaning they will flight the ball a bit lower, which is what most better players are after since they create enough height and lift due to their ball speed naturally. Lastly, there is no pro or con to playing a blade if you are good enough (solid, mid-low single-digit player at a decent course, not some dinky goat track that you can play with your eyes closed) apart from what I have outlined. I have hit fliers with blades just as well as I have with GI irons; fliers are caused by a significant reduction in spin due to a lack of efficient contact with face and ball. Rarely, if ever, is a flier caused by a “low spin” face…it just means the loft and/or ball aren’t fit to you properly.”
• BCULAW: “I gravitate towards blades because of feel. Mind you; it isn’t not so much the feel of the strike – there are plenty of CBS that feel outstanding on contact. Rather, for me, there is a distinct feel of a thin-sole iron through the turf that a thinner sole iron cannot replicate. Without that “feel” of turf interaction, contact doesn’t feel solid to me. As a result, I want the thinner soles, which usually are found on blades. I generally don’t put much but stock in “forgiveness,” but I expect there will be a time when I will struggle to elevate blades to an appropriate trajectory. I’m not there yet, so I play a full set of MBs. The search will be an interesting one for me when the day arrives when I need help. At the end of the day, a lot of us don’t play for scores. And, even if we did, there’s plenty that will score as well, or better, playing blades for precision as opposed to something else for other reasons (distance, forgiveness, etc. ). Play what will provide you the most joy.”
• Cptwiggly: “To me, the benefit comes with how the club goes through the turf. I grew up with Hogan and Mizuno’s in my bag. I don’t know if I was always steep or I became steep because I was hitting blades. Regardless, that’s where I am now. As I move to longer irons, I become less steep, and the wider soles become less of an issue. I tried to go more forgiving this year and put z585s in my bag. Even with the v sole, I can still don’t like the short irons, and I feel like I am a club short sometimes. When I get through the turf really clean, I’m 15 yards past the pin. Some of that comes from low spin fliers, but it makes it really hard to feel comfortable with my yardage. I just ordered a set of Z Forged with the same Modus 105s I have in my 585s. I’ll probably keep my 585 4 and 5 iron and go z forged down. I’ll have to adjust the lofts a little of course on the 585s, but I’m looking forward to going back to blades.”
• Cachualo: “I have been playing blades for a bit, and my hcp does not support it…I love the feel of the good shots but recognize the lack of forgiveness in the longer irons especially. I am intrigued by the idea of a split set but haven’t moved that direction yet, hit the MP20 MMC the other day thinking it would be a night and day difference in forgiveness, but I did not feel the 7i was any easier to hit than my MP32s. I probably am leaving some shots on the table by playing a full blade set but with the amount of golf I play (not a ton) I can live with it.”

Entire Thread: “Why play a split set with blades? And why are we drawn to blades??”