Equipment
GolfWRX Members Choice: The best blade irons of 2018
We asked GolfWRX members for their three selections for best blade irons of 2018 based on their testing of the forged offerings from 17 different manufacturers.
And as all forum members generate in excess of 120 mph clubhead speed and need to carve the ball to tucked pins, blades are the only choice, so the data set is sure to be solid (kidding!). But really, WRX members are both discerning and carry handicaps lower than the general golfing population, so OEMs ought to (and do) take note of their feedback.
With the votes tallied, it’s time to take a look at the top-five vote getters of the bunch. And many thanks to all who voted! (See the thread here)
No. 5: Srixon Z 965 (8.19%)
The better player’s weapon from Srixon’s Z-65 lineup, Srixon’s Z 965 beat out some bigger name blades. Building on the popular Z 945, the 1020 carbon steel 945 irons feature V.T. Soles for improved turf interaction and five percent larger grooves.
Check out our review of the Z 965 here.
No. 4: TaylorMade P730 (10.43%)
TaylorMade’s successor to the 2014 TP MB iron line was developed in collaboration with TaylorMade staffers, and it looks like GolfWRX members liked the result. Clean, compact,with a smaller blade profile and milled rear channel, the P730 is popular both on Tour and in the forums.
Related: TaylorMade expands forged iron offerings with P730, P790
No. 3: Callaway Apex MB (16.38%)
Another club with a long release cycle, Callaway made the faithful wait for an update to the 2013 Apex MB. These irons have the shortest blade lengths, the thinnest soles and the smallest overall heads in the vast line of Callaway irons. They’re designed for maximum workability, for tour-desired turf interaction, and to cut through the thick rough that tour players face week-in and week-out on Tour, as we wrote in our review last October.
Related: Callaway finally launches Apex MB
No. 2: Titleist 718 MB (17.67%)
A favorite of purists everywhere, Titleist’s traditional-looking 718 MB irons scream “classic,” but the company optimized CG locations for maximum shotmaking possibilities using capabilities that those who first forged similar-looking irons could only have dreamed of. Big and bold “Titleist” stamping was a hit, too.
Related: Titleist 718 MB irons
No. 1: Mizuno MP-18 (27.16%)
Nearly 10 percentage points more preferred than the No. 2 iron, the Mizuno MP-18 is the clear winner. The least forgiving/most workable member of the mix-and-match MP-18 family (MP-18, MP-18 SC, MP-18 MMC, MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi) is immensely popular. The irons are forged from 1025E Pure Select Mild Carbon (a departure from some recent boron offerings), and are smaller than both the MP-4 and MP-5 models. WRX members were particularly drawn to the irons’ simple, clear, classic look.
Related: Mizuno brings the family closer together
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- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align 
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
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Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)...
Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)
Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus...
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees...
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19th Hole2 weeks agoDave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
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19th Hole2 weeks agoTiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
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19th Hole2 days agoJustin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
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19th Hole2 days ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
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19th Hole3 weeks agoReport: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
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19th Hole1 week agoTwo star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
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19th Hole1 week agoNeal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
toyzrx
Jun 20, 2018 at 12:02 am
Such as the women in our lives, we’d all be better off with something a little bit chunky and forgiving,
tlmck
Jun 12, 2018 at 3:13 pm
It’s not a muscleback, but I prefer the Maltby TE.
David Floyd
Jun 7, 2018 at 9:50 am
When is a survey going to happen that would be helpful to the majority of consumers?
joro
Jun 8, 2018 at 11:46 am
Good question, and the answer is never. It is all about the tour and scratch players, of which there very few. Fact is todays MB is much more forgiving easy to hit then the ikd days, yet that is all we had and learned to play with until PING came along.
It is past time some of the smaller companies get in on the act also and not just the big ones that spend Millions to convince we should play their clubs.
The dude
Jun 7, 2018 at 9:35 am
Bring back the TN 87’s!!
rex235
Jun 7, 2018 at 12:43 am
Both the Taylor Made P-730s and the Mizuno MP-18s are RH Only.
The 2018 NCAA Champion uses LH Titleist AP2s.
Dave r
Jun 6, 2018 at 3:27 pm
No surprise at all .
SV
Jun 6, 2018 at 8:29 am
I vote for Titleist and Callaway. Being left-handed they are the only two of the five I have access to and it’s not any better with other brands. As a generalization, it seems most manufacturers think left-handers are all hacks and only need SGI clubs.
Thomas A
Jul 6, 2018 at 10:19 am
No, they are just a small enough market to ignore.
S
Jun 6, 2018 at 8:25 am
I’ve been gaming my MP-37 for about 10 years but I would have to go with Apex MB if I was forced to replace mine because they look the closest to MP-37 especially at address. And I miss the M logo… not a huge fan of this new hip younger gen runbird.
DS
Jun 6, 2018 at 9:29 pm
I hate the term ‘gaming’.
Boyo
Jun 7, 2018 at 6:17 am
+1000
The dude
Jun 7, 2018 at 9:33 am
Not when he’s working on his dead arm traj….
Reggie
Jun 8, 2018 at 9:49 am
I hate the term “gaming” too for some reason, but I have to agree that in the lexicon of golf logos, the run bird is a nonsequitur.
Funkaholic
Jun 22, 2018 at 2:18 pm
Settle down Francis
Mick
Jun 5, 2018 at 10:40 pm
Titleist , by far number 1. Just as Webb Simpson !. Wins on tours all over the world, Mizzy is good but not near the wins the Titleist has.
joro
Jun 6, 2018 at 11:29 am
Do you thing that one of the reasons Titleist wins more is because they have 50 players and Mizuno only has a couple ? Could it be ? MBs today are much easier to hit than in the old days, and that is all we had.
Michael H
Jun 6, 2018 at 12:47 pm
Wins would partially be a result of sheer numbers of playing them no?
Brian
Jun 6, 2018 at 1:10 pm
Perhaps because Titleist has nearly 40 guys on staff and Mizuno has, what, two or three?
Dragos Racolta
Jun 6, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Titleist is used more frequently on tour because the players have contracts with Titleist. Mizuno doesn’t pay as much, or as many. However, look at any players without contracts, and most will use Mizuno irons.
Boyo
Jun 7, 2018 at 6:18 am
Professional club ho’s don’t count.
Funkaholic
Jun 22, 2018 at 2:21 pm
This is just a stupid comment, I know a couple of club makers on the tour and even they will tell you there is nothing like a Mizuno forging. Taylormade has far more divers on tour than anyone so they have the most wins, it is a meaningless metric.
Dan
Jun 5, 2018 at 6:20 pm
I hit them all and still prefer my MP 29’s
shawn
Jun 5, 2018 at 3:12 pm
What about all those hollow blades filled with jello… and those with skrews allover the heads? They look like ‘blade’ irons too.
3offthetee
Jun 6, 2018 at 11:43 am
Troll much?
Mower
Jun 16, 2018 at 6:52 pm
Made by Tonka? ;-P
Jeff Smythe
Jun 5, 2018 at 2:39 pm
At the end of the day – how much difference is there between all these and and the Nike blades of the late 90s & early 2000s – (VRs, VR red, TW VRs etc) and each other ? (gotta love frequent reference to “sole redesign for optimum turf interaction” – is Terry Koehler silently laughing?)
Justin
Jun 5, 2018 at 10:25 pm
Jeff – I doubt it, but I hope he is. . . his Fort Worth 15’s are exceptional clubs and are a whole lot more fun to play than the MP18’s
Bill Wood
Jun 6, 2018 at 12:16 pm
Jeff – there’s just so little difference in the top 3. The Titleist really does remind me of the design a decade ago. In fact I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference, other than the large Titleist logo on the back.
Scott Longmore
Jun 5, 2018 at 2:06 pm
I have the MP18’s and love them. I love the clean look and great feel of them.
Jeff
Jun 5, 2018 at 2:01 pm
I think the Cobra MB should be in this mix also, very solid club blew the Titleist and Srixon out of the water.
Shaker
Jun 5, 2018 at 1:37 pm
Tested all and mizuno was dead last. Mp-18s way overrated. Surprisingly the Apexs were tied for top with the srixons. I play miura professionals so i know what im talking about.
HAHA
Jun 5, 2018 at 3:30 pm
“I play miura professionals so i know what im talking about”… do you realize how stupid that sounds?
Realist
Jun 5, 2018 at 8:28 pm
Cuz any guy playing miuras is wayyy better than someone else. Get over yourself
Quit the BS
Jun 5, 2018 at 8:50 pm
Exactly! Shaker you play Miuras so your opinion is supposedly more reputable than those that don’t?! Are you for real!? I play Miuras too and the Mizuno MP-18’s are definitely phenomenal and in my opinion tops of this list. Unreal the arrogance of some people. And I must know what I’m talking about too because of what I play…
Mizzle Fizzle
Jun 5, 2018 at 11:27 pm
At this point it’s not even… oh whatever.
joro
Jun 6, 2018 at 11:32 am
Just curious, but just what do you know about clubs, design, what makes them work, weights, shafts, etc. Please tell us.
Nigel Kent
Jun 12, 2018 at 2:26 pm
I play Miuras too , and sometimes I can break 140 .
Travis
Jun 5, 2018 at 10:12 am
I would’ve put P730 and Cally’s far ahead of the Mizuno blades. I think Mizuno’s MP18 are one of their worst blade design so far, but clearly I’m in the minority there…
2putttom
Jun 5, 2018 at 11:13 am
not in the minority . 14 days, 198 votes cast out of thousands of wrxer’s. In that time period MP 18 got 27% of 17 choices.
Realist
Jun 12, 2018 at 11:12 pm
Agreed….but 730’s, really? Come on guy…get over the hype.
Woody
Jun 4, 2018 at 8:15 pm
What a snoozer list..might as well be a billboard ad.
James
Jun 4, 2018 at 7:54 pm
I would put Titleist at 5 and move the others up one. Mizuno is the real winner I think.
larrybud
Jun 5, 2018 at 9:17 am
You realize the results are based on player’s rankings, right?