22 replies to this topic

[Vegaman]

I have a set of VEGA Raf-CM blades that I fitted with my SP blues today. The shafts are now just half an inch over standard at 38.5 for the 5 iron. The heads look great with these shafts, but the SW came out at D9 (!) and even E1 and E2 for the 9 iron and PW. I had bridgestone J38s with these shafts before and SW was around D5-6. I have not hit the VEGAs yet, but became a bit worried about the SW. Will try them tomorrow and see how it goes.

[Eca]

Did the static weight change much?

[Vegaman]

Eca, on 20 December 2011 - 06:16 AM, said:

Did the static weight change much?

Forgot to check..I was in a bit of a hurry when I was a the club builder today. Does anybody else play with a SW this high? Or near to it?

[potuna]

I have but that was at 1.5" over length. I was younger and stronger than, no problems.

[Blader-X]

Vegaman, on 20 December 2011 - 08:01 AM, said:

Forgot to check..I was in a bit of a hurry when I was a the club builder today. Does anybody else play with a SW this high? Or near to it?

Certainly do. Irons are at D8, and my wedges at E2-4 depending upon the wedge. I actually prefer swingweights to be this high. For me, it works well.

[charge]

Most jdm irons standard is 37.5" for 5 iron so you are 1" over standard. every 1/2 " = 3 swing weight points....

[Vegaman]

charge, on 20 December 2011 - 09:29 AM, said:

Most jdm irons standard is 37.5" for 5 iron so you are 1" over standard. every 1/2 " = 3 swing weight points....

That's correct. I was thinking about US standard length these days. And isnt 37.75 the standard JDM spec? The heads are the international line so I was a bit surprised at the SW, the heads must be heavy..Will take them out for a spin today.

[potuna]

Miura and Mizuno make lighter heads for over length. KBS tours are counter balanced and help a lot with SW on longer irons if they fit you.

[Vegaman]

potuna, on 20 December 2011 - 09:48 PM, said:

Miura and Mizuno make lighter heads for over length. KBS tours are counter balanced and help a lot with SW on longer irons if they fit you.

I have tried the KBS tours and quite liked them so I might go for that if the irons feel to heavy today. About the counterbalanced feel, I read somewhere that the SP orange shafts have a counterbalanced feel as well, similar to the KBS. Anybody know?

[Vegaman]

Had a go with the Vegas today, and had no issues with the swingweight, hit some really good shots and had a great day when it comes to accuracy. A bit surprised since these are real blades, and it's the first set of pure blades I have actually owned, didn't find them to small to look at and hit both 4 and 5 iron without any problem. Height also no problem, if anything I liked that this combo of shaft and head gave me a slightly lower flight.

I'm not the best ballstriker in the world by any means, hit some shots a bot thin today but still got some good results, just lost a bit distance and missed a green on a par 3 after a slightly thin shot, but just by a few meters and still pin high. I'm convinced anybody, absolutely anybody can play blades and their score would not suffer. Starting to believe all this talk about GI this and that is nothing but a myth. Ok, maybe if somebody is an extremely slow swinger, but I'm pretty sure a lighter, high kicking shaft would fix that too.

To add, one "problem" I encountered today was that the PW was extremely nice around the greens, with a compact and clean look to it. It made my Yururi Rupas wedges seem a bit oversized and almost a bit clumsy! A matching gap wedge would be nice to be able to get.

Edited by Vegaman, 21 December 2011 - 05:42 AM.

[idrive]

I haven't played a club with that kind of SW. When you pick it up, address the ball etc. can you feel much difference?
Can you tell it;s no D1 SW? You know it's heavier?

[Vegaman]

idrive, on 21 December 2011 - 08:39 PM, said:

I haven't played a club with that kind of SW. When you pick it up, address the ball etc. can you feel much difference?
Can you tell it;s no D1 SW? You know it's heavier?

Yeah, maybe if I waggle it a bit, I might feel that it's a bit head heavy. But nothing much really, together with an Xstiff and heavy shaft like the SP blue it might even be a good idea to get the SW up in order to feel the clubhead a bit more? Like I feel the head better and not only the shafts..? maybe? I've noticed this with lighter and softer shafts, like graphite shafts, tha the head feels noticably heavier even though the SW is just D2 or something. Maybe, just maybe heavy shafts should mean more headweight and not less? My driver is pretty light when it comes to SW, D1, and I don't feel thats it's out of balance with my irons..Had a driver with D5 before and actually thought the club felt way way too head heavy during the swing..Maybe it's the effect of a longer shaft.

Played 18 holes today with the blades, hit some really good shots, a gimme birdie from 170 yard out for example. I did not have my best day ever ballstriking-wise but the VEGAs were pretty forgiving, I hit a few shots thin and the ball went very straight and only came up a bit short. I feel like I only lose a bit of distance when I dont hit it ok, not direction like I have experienced before. Weird.

[Eca]

I have a possessed club which is the PW in my new set. It's short, hefty, everything just felt wrong so I either grip down on a 9 or jump on my GW. Finally had it
Checked, should be a D3 & it's a D7. There's obviously a limit to what I can handle with full swing.

@ vegaman re comment about myth of GI. I think anyone who is a decent ball
Striker can handle the newer blades. The accuracy & consistency is really cool. I had a GI before here my 8i can go 140m to 160m on well struck shots. My blade on well struck is 135-140. There is that almost taboo thing about blades unless ur practically scratch. Blade is blade & the design really is just classic with very little variations compared to cavities. Some GI's are starting to look like from outer space & the designs & supposed technology advances make them very marketable to the masses. So i doubt you will see many blades being advertised on tv :) & so the myth continues...

Edited by Eca, 22 December 2011 - 01:48 AM.

[Vegaman]

Eca, on 22 December 2011 - 01:47 AM, said:

I have a possessed club which is the PW in my new set. It's short, hefty, everything just felt wrong so I either grip down on a 9 or jump on my GW. Finally had it
Checked, should be a D3 & it's a D7. There's obviously a limit to what I can handle with full swing.

@ vegaman re comment about myth of GI. I think anyone who is a decent ball
Striker can handle the newer blades. The accuracy & consistency is really cool. I had a GI before here my 8i can go 140m to 160m on well struck shots. My blade on well struck is 135-140. There is that almost taboo thing about blades unless ur practically scratch. Blade is blade & the design really is just classic with very little variations compared to cavities. Some GI's are starting to look like from outer space & the designs & supposed technology advances make them very marketable to the masses. So i doubt you will see many blades being advertised on tv :) & so the myth continues...

Aha, interesting stuff about your SW experience there. Yeah, I was thinking the newer, "modern" blades like the VEGAs I have might be a lot easier than the traditional stuff. My buddies today were very sceptical when they saw my new sticks today, and they were saying things like "Are you sure you have the game to bag these Musclebacks?" But like i wrote, I hd no problem with these. The consistency might be very true, and I also have felt that I hardly know where to place the ball at adress with large oversize clubs. i've been through various stuff and weirdly, these smaller blades feel easier to aim with, and they sit very well behind the ball somehow..Lost one ball today, and that was after a crooked drive, ha ha.

[Eca]

Vegaman, on 22 December 2011 - 04:52 AM, said:

Aha, interesting stuff about your SW experience there. Yeah, I was thinking the newer, "modern" blades like the VEGAs I have might be a lot easier than the traditional stuff. My buddies today were very sceptical when they saw my new sticks today, and they were saying things like "Are you sure you have the game to bag these Musclebacks?" But like i wrote, I hd no problem with these. The consistency might be very true, and I also have felt that I hardly know where to place the ball at adress with large oversize clubs. i've been through various stuff and weirdly, these smaller blades feel easier to aim with, and they sit very well behind the ball somehow..Lost one ball today, and that was after a crooked drive, ha ha.

You just nailed it in the head with "I hardly know where to place the ball at adress with large oversize clubs." The builder handed Jonathan and I an Adams CB (apparently John Daleys heads someone scored) and a KZG CBs with lighter swingweights for me to check. Gotten so used to the LE Blades and i did experience that addressing problem. I was like your friends though in 2010 when i met someone around 10 hcp using blades. I recall saying/asking the same things. Next thing you know, i joined the bandwagon.

[Shambles]

Many years ago I stuck 3 grams of lead on the flange of each of my Ping ISI-K's to get the feel of my over long Eye 2's that I was trying to stop using. The standard irons were zero weight in my hands and made me swing much too fast. The added weight had the effect on me of calming my swing down because I was used to the heavier feel of overly extended clubs. I gained no distance, got the ball flying higher a bit, but did have better control because of a more relaxed organized swing. I also got more backspin because it became a lot easier for me to swing through the ball with a good follow through. It also developed a funny sound that I describe as hitting something with a pillow. I played that set that way for almost two years after which I removed the lead because I had learned to lighten my grip on the clubs thereby allowing me to better feel the head during the swing and get the same results.

On me, longer shafts had the effect of forcing me to swing with more deliberate pace and I have grown to prefer this way so that I now still use much the same pace with standard length shafts. I think less overall weight and shorter shafts allows me greater flexibility in adjusting my swing though it does require a bit more swing speed. I just have to pay more attention to where the ball sits when I swing at the ball.

I doubt the greater swing weight is any real advantage.

Shambles

[Vegaman]

Shambles, on 22 December 2011 - 05:21 PM, said:

Many years ago I stuck 3 grams of lead on the flange of each of my Ping ISI-K's to get the feel of my over long Eye 2's that I was trying to stop using. The standard irons were zero weight in my hands and made me swing much too fast. The added weight had the effect on me of calming my swing down because I was used to the heavier feel of overly extended clubs. I gained no distance, got the ball flying higher a bit, but did have better control because of a more relaxed organized swing. I also got more backspin because it became a lot easier for me to swing through the ball with a good follow through. It also developed a funny sound that I describe as hitting something with a pillow. I played that set that way for almost two years after which I removed the lead because I had learned to lighten my grip on the clubs thereby allowing me to better feel the head during the swing and get the same results.

On me, longer shafts had the effect of forcing me to swing with more deliberate pace and I have grown to prefer this way so that I now still use much the same pace with standard length shafts. I think less overall weight and shorter shafts allows me greater flexibility in adjusting my swing though it does require a bit more swing speed. I just have to pay more attention to where the ball sits when I swing at the ball.

I doubt the greater swing weight is any real advantage.

Shambles

I agree with your last statement, but I'm just a pleasantly surprised it didn't bring any real and noticable disadvantage.

[charge]

Once heard that even amongst the pros on a blind folded test, only Greg Norman could tell the difference in 1 swingweight point.