When Rory McIlroy makes a change to his golf bag a few people tend to take notice. But, when he recently switched to a set cavity backs the whole golf world was put on notice.
The Northern Irishman has been famed for playing a blade set of irons throughout his professional career.
Whether they were Titleist 660s he started golf journey with or the various Nike and TaylorMade offerings he has switched between, the same thing has been constant throughout; they were all blades.
But that wasn’t the case when he rocked up to the Crown Australian Open. He was seen gaming a set of TaylorMade P7CB irons.
After a T33 finish on the DP World Tour at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the 29-time PGA Tour winner switched back to his RORS PROTO muscle-backs.
His switch back to blades is a timely reminder that seeking extreme forgiveness isn’t always the way to go.
So, should us club golfers still game a set of blades? Let’s take a look
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Why McIlroy went back to blades
At the elite level, iron play seems to be about precision over forgiveness.
Speaking to the media ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the grand-slam champion claimed; “That experiment’s over.”
“I felt like the cavity backs just had a little bit of a right bias in them,” he added.
“So whatever way the weight of the head was or whether it was the blade length, I would hit shots – I’d make swings that I feel like I’d make with my blades that would be a very neutral ball flight, and then with the cavity backs they would just like start to tail off to the right.”
McIlroy has seemingly prioritised comfort and control in his iron-set.
Why club golfers should still use blades
Blades have a reputation for being hard to use. I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I was under the belief they were the reserve of the better player and lower handicappers only.
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But is this really the case?
“Blade irons are not a club golfers’ enemy,” said Nicola Slater, a Ladies European Access Series player.
“While it’s true that they are less forgiving and demand more precise ball striking, these characteristics can actually be beneficial.
“Unlike cavity-back irons that ‘mask’ mishits, blades provide instant, honest feedback. An off-centre strike is felt, and some club golfers benefit from this because it helps them learn and improve ball-striking skills.
“So, over time using blades can help golfers develop a more controlled and confident swing, as they learn to reward proper contact rather than rely on the forgiveness of the club.”
You may not swing the club like McIlory, but is there any harm in thinking like him?
This season alone 10 out of the 13 winners on the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour have had blades in their bag. So, maybe, just maybe, their time might not be over just yet.
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