[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":20},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-pxg-golf-clubs-pxg-0317-st-who-should-play-a-blade":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"subtitle":6,"image":7,"imageAlt":8,"category":9,"html":12,"wordCount":13,"prev":14,"next":17},"pxg-0317-st-who-should-play-a-blade","PXG 0317 ST: Who Should Play a Blade","A proper muscleback in a range full of forgiveness, and a short list of golfers it is for.","\u002Fimg\u002Fpxg-golf-clubs\u002Fpxg-0317-st-who-should-play-a-blade_0317-st-blade.png","PXG 0317 ST: Who Should Play a Blade illustration",{"slug":10,"title":11},"pxg-golf-clubs","PXG Golf Clubs","\u003Ch3>What it is\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>The 0317 ST is a blade — a compact, minimally forgiving iron built for players who strike the ball consistently and want maximum feedback and control over flight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It exists because a small group of golfers genuinely benefit from it, not because everyone should aspire to one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>Who genuinely benefits\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Golfers whose strike pattern is genuinely tight.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Not “usually good” — measurably tight, with contact within a small area of the face on the great majority of swings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Golfers who need to shape shots deliberately.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A blade responds to face manipulation in a way a hollow-body iron does not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Golfers who want feedback.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A blade tells you exactly where you struck it. For a player working on their swing, that information is valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>Who does not\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else, and that is most people. The distance penalty on a strike half an inch off centre is severe, and it does not just cost yards — it costs height, which means the ball lands flatter and does not hold the green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A golfer who mishits one iron shot in four will lose several strokes a round to a blade compared to a players’ distance iron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>The combo set answer\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>Very few players are best served by blades through the whole set. Long irons are the hardest clubs to strike, and that is exactly where a blade punishes hardest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A common and sensible build is 0311 P or XP in the long irons and 0317 ST from the 7-iron down. You keep the feel and control where you have it and the forgiveness where you need it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>Vanity is expensive here\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>The honest reason most blades get bought is how they look in the bag. That is understandable and it costs shots. If you want the look, take a compact players’ iron like 0311 T — it addresses well and forgives considerably more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>Find out how tight your strike really is\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>The whole blade decision rests on one question — how consistently you find the middle — and almost nobody has an honest answer to it. FocusGolf runs on a Wear OS, Apple Watch or Garmin watch and picks up your swings automatically without any sensors on the club, building a session history of your distances and consistency over weeks rather than a single good afternoon. If your 7-iron distances scatter across a wide band over ten sessions, that is your answer about blades, and it will save you an expensive mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Coach’s tip:\u003C\u002Fstrong> Before committing to blades, hit twenty 6-irons and mark the face with impact tape. If the marks cover more than a coin-sized area, buy something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>Model names current as of September 2026.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n",447,{"slug":15,"title":16},"pxg-black-ops-irons-the-forgiving-alternative","PXG Black Ops Irons: The Forgiving Alternative",{"slug":18,"title":19},"pxg-0311-sugar-daddy-iii-wedges-bp-s-and-c-grinds","PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy III Wedges: BP, S and C Grinds",1788299817832]