In our forums, our members have been reacting to Kevin Na’s recent comments that blade irons are too difficult to hit and that he last played one in his 20’s when he was “dumb”. Speaking on Golf.com’s Fully Equipped podcast, Na said
“I can’t play a blade. It’s too difficult, and I’m a pro golfer. I think a blade goes shorter. Off-center hits aren’t going to perform as well as cavity-backs. I don’t see a reason why you’d want to play a blade. I really don’t. I played blades in my early 20s, maybe one year — when I was dumb. But I’m wiser now and play a cavity-back.
In the longer irons, I even look for more — I don’t want to say a high-handicapper club — a more forgiving club.”
Our members have been sharing their thoughts on Na’s comments in our forum.
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.
- llewol07: “If you have not figured it out already, golf is all about playing the equipment that suits you, the game that suits you and really playing your own game. The thing I like about Kevin Na is that he seems a bit cocky and can hold his own as seen when watching him on television. That being said, most tour pros end up playing a combo set anyways and rarely do I see too many blade players. Even pros need an edge to make the game that much more easier to reproduce. Lesson here is to play what works.”
- the bishop: “Na’s remarks need to be taken in context. He makes a living playing golf. If you gave him a set of Apex MB’s and an hour on the range and went out and played with him, you’d probably say he plays blades just fine. But for him, the difference between blades and cavity backs could mean a 25 place difference in his proximity to the hole from 150 yds ranking or something similar. As ThinkingPlus said, “he plays what makes him money”.
- golfpros1: “Play the bag that fits the course and game you play. There are pros and cons with everything. Do what works for you. Most good amateurs can play blades well because they play courses that are 6500 or less with little rough. They have 7 iron or less into most greens. You don’t have to be a pro to get a short iron blade into a receptive green. Start playing 7500-yard course and hitting 4 irons into greens, and you’d be silly to play blades if you do it for any other reason than it makes you happy. It’s all relative. I’ve played blades, CBs, GIs… really didn’t make much of a difference. I found the closer to a blade, the better the short irons would be. The closer to game improvement, the better the long irons would be. So for most people, a mixed bag makes the most sense. Best of both worlds.”
- mcc0819: “Kevin Na is a relatively straight ball hitter from what I’ve seen from him. So it makes sense that a cavity back would work best for him. But someone like Tiger has a blade, and he loves to shape his shots in every which way possible. So I think it depends on the player. If you are a low handicap/scratch golfer, your ball striking would be good enough to play blades especially if you shape your shots. Blades to me equal easier shot shaping but also easier to mishit. So the question is, are you willing to take the hit on the occasional bad strike? I’m a 3 handicap and still playing CB’s because I’ll take any advantage I can get. At the end of that day, that’s what I believe works for me. If you’re a 15+ handicap and want to play blades then, by all means, go get yourself fitted for some blades.”
- soap1984: “I like Na generally, but he’s saying you’re dumb for playing blades which I’m not sure is fair. Like Tiger and Rory play them, and both mis-hit the ball the odd time, the idea is why give up “forgiveness” for no gain, even if you only mishit one shot a round. Blades shouldn’t even exist I guess in his world. If I stink with blades, I will for sure go back to the ap2, but my numbers were not statistically different on mis-hits. If Mizuno made the jpx 919 tour in lefty, I’d prefer to play those, but I want new sticks and just can’t play clubs with thick soles, so my options are limited.”
