Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “Your favorite blade irons?”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from moorebaseball, who asks fellow members what their favorite blade irons are. Our members discuss what blades they consider to be best for them, and why, while also contributing plenty of great photos of their prized possessions.
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.
- greenpiece: “MP-14 is my all-time favorite. Great feel, turf interaction, and control.”
- BMC: “The Callaway 2018 Apex MB feel incredible and are fairly easy to hit. I started playing blades in 1988 – Wilson Staff fluid feel. Those Apexes are sweet.”
- bodhi555: “I’d say any of the models Nike brought out when they were in the game – the OGs, VR TW or VR Pros. Current favourites are the VR Pros, usual great Nike looks and crisp feel, but the grooves are savage and put unreal amounts of spin on the ball. No harder to hit than a player’s CB either. Only challenge is finding a decent set. It took me 18 months of scouring eBay and Golfbidder to find mine.”
- bfp9: “My favorites: 2006 Hogan Apex. OG Nike Blades. Taylormade RAC TP MB. Mizuno MP-32. I’ve only hit older blades as you can see. I tried the PXG experiment, and that failed, so I’m sticking to what I know. To me old blades = new blades. Nothing has changed significantly enough to warrant new ones for me, except the grooves wearing thin on my Hogans.”
- kiwi1982: “MP-69. Traditional, proper weighting, great feel.”
Entire Thread: “Your favorite blade irons?”
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
Scottie Scheffler WITB 2024 (March)
Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
Joaquin Niemann names 3 PGA Tour events he’d love to play each year ‘in a perfect world’
Spotted: Bettinardi irons at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here. Driver: TaylorMade...
WITB Time Machine: Jordan Spieth’s winning WITB, 2022 RBC Heritage
At the 2022 RBC Heritage Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole after nearly holing his greenside...
Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)
Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10) Shaft: TPT...
Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)
Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)...
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pelling17
Apr 24, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Mizuno MP5 4-PW TT Dynamic Gold S300
Vokey SM5 wedges
Ping G30 driver, 3,5 and hybrids Ping Tour shaft
PING Zing2 putter
Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Have a new set of 2013 Taylormade Rocketbladez Tour irons 3-PW and some Taylormade V Steel woods, and a Titleist 905R with ACCRA SC75 shaft I goof around with, too.
Pelling
Apr 24, 2019 at 4:59 pm
Currently playing Mizuno MP5, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300. Vokey SM5 wedges, Ping G30 driver, 3, 5, and hybrids, Ping Tour stiff shaft.
Recently bought a great set of Taylormade Rocketbladez Tour 2013 just to try as alternative, KBS 120 Stiff
Have played Mizuno MP 32, MPT wedges
Ping G2 driver, Titleist 905R, Titleist 975D
Taylormade V Steel 3,4,5, woods
Adams Idea Pro hybrids
In the old days, played:
Walter Hagan Haig Ultra fluid feel
Spalding Top Flite Professional
Powerbilt Citation
Wilson Staff Dynapower
Wilson X31 (1968)
Toney Penna irons/woods
Tommy Armour 845 EVO v25
Pederson persimmon
Ping Zing2 putter, Ping O Blade, Odyssey White Hot 2 Ball
Always have played Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Tom54
Apr 24, 2019 at 2:45 pm
Best blade irons I ever saw was a 1982 Ben Hogan limited edition that I think was only a thousand numbered sets. They were $1000 back which was a lot of dough for clubs back then. I was told from a good source that the Mizuno mp 29s were pretty much a direct copy of those. I was never a fan of Ben Hogan irons but those were something special.
Pelling
Apr 24, 2019 at 2:10 pm
Going back to 1968, I’ve played Walter Hagan “Haig Ultras”, Toney Penna Originals, and Penna woods, Spaulding Top Flight blades, Tommy Armour EVO V-25, Mizuno MP 32, and Mizuno MP5 irons. I recently bought a set of Taylormade Rocketbladez Tour irons from 2013, beautiful wrenches! Play Ping G30 Woods, hybrids. In the past, played Taylormade V-Steel Woods. Have also used Adams Idea a2 hybrids, Mizuno F50/60 woods, and Titleist 975D and Titleist 905R drivers. Ping G2 driver. Mizuno MPT wedges, Vokey SM5 wedges. Ping Zing 2 putter. Ping O blade putter. Odyssey White Hot 2 ball. Golf Pride Velvet Cord grips, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300. Graffaloy Pro Launch Blue shaft. This covers almost 52 years…
KevinK
Apr 24, 2019 at 1:18 pm
I played Wilson Staff blades in high school and college then switched to MP-14’s. The rounded leading edge on the MPs gave much better turf interaction – less digging in compared to the Wilson Staffs. Played the MPs seemingly forever, up until about 4 years ago when I switched to AP2’s. I still have 2 sets of the MPs in my closet though…
vasquez
Apr 24, 2019 at 12:50 pm
1971 wilson staffs and 1988 hogan redlines. The distance control is phenomenal on these kinds of old blades. Much easier to hit than you would expect.
Alex
Apr 23, 2019 at 1:49 pm
I don’t really understand the blade thing for am golfers when only 35% of tour players use blades? Bad shots get killed with blades.
Dad
Apr 25, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Bad shots are bad shots no matter what iron you use. In my opinion, a bad shot gets compounded by a game improvement iron. Going further into the woods left or right if missed. A fat shot still falls short. A thin shot still comes out low spinny.
Blade or game improvement, you still need to find the middle of the club and control face to path to hit a good shot.
Dad
Apr 25, 2019 at 4:20 pm
Not to mention, blades are seen as a classic club. Hence why many of the comments note older clubs. They’re seen as traditional and are often sought after for nostalgic purposes. And if you have the confidence in your ball striking to game them, knock yourself out.
Irons these days are too expensive to not play exactly what you want to play with.
[email protected]
Apr 22, 2019 at 8:33 pm
Ive played MP-14’s, MP-29’s, MacGregor VIP’s, and MacG pro-m series, but i mixed 3,4,5 irons from my mizuno MP-29’s with the 6,7,8,9,PW from the MP-29set, along with Titliest Vokey sand wedge and Titliest Vokey gap wedge with a cobra trusty rusty lob wedge, Cobra Driver and 5 wood, that set worked the best, gave me playability, and easiness thru the rough, gotta love the blades man !