WRX Forum Buzzz
TaylorMade holds Speed Pocket World Challenge from 4 cities
Times Square being converted to a TaylorMade driving range at 11pm the night before
To help kick off golf season, TaylorMade is turning Times Square into a driving range by hosting the TaylorMade Speed Pocket World Challenge. That’s right. On Tuesday March 11 from 11am to 2pm, consumers will be able to compare traditional irons to TaylorMade Speed Blade irons and track their distance gains.
FlightScope will track all results on a Global Leaderboard, allowing participants to compete against others in London, Toronto and San Francisco. Aside from local winners, one person will be crowned “Speed Pocket World Champion.” Participation is free and open to everyone.
Famed instructor Hank Haney and Golf Channel’s Charlie Rymer will also be on-hand for the NYC festivities. GolfWRX will be providing some live updates on the site and social media for you, so stay tuned.
GolfWRX will be covering San Francisco and New York events. With temperatures expected to climb north of 55 degrees on Tuesday, timing couldn’t be better.
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In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:
“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.
I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.
I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”
And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.
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.
- boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
- drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
- BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”
Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”
In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:
“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.
I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.
Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.
Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer
- MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
- Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
- Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot
Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”
And our members have been sharing their reactions in our forum.
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.
- Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
- Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”
Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”
A second version of PXG’s Secret Weapon has this week landed on the USGA’s conforming list, much to the interest of our members.
The original version of the brand’s Secret Weapon launched in January of 2025, with the second version also featuring four distinct weight ports in the head and coming with 13-degree of loft.
In our forums, our members have been assessing the new version and sharing their thoughts.
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.
- DTorres: “Kinda looks like the face on the new one might be slightly deeper. Little bit more rounded leading edge.”
- snagy2000: “The current version is REALLY good, long…This one looks like they’re bringing some lightning tech to it…”
- SEP1006: “Agree with this, hard to tell from that angle but looks like the face may be the same as the Lightning. If that’s the case may have to give this a serious look. Absolutely love my 2wd which is also a 13* loft. But that Lightning Tour Mid Driver face is hot and forgiving.”
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Gary Jones
Mar 11, 2014 at 11:14 pm
I went today in San Francisco. Took about 15 seconds to stretch and hit 2 balls. Then hit 3 with the R11 6 iron which has 28 degrees of loft and then hit 3 balls with the Speedblade 6 iron which has 26.5 degrees of loft. I gained 12 yards. I think if I would of hit the R11 again I would have got the 12 yards back just because I was getting loose by each swing. So I don’t really thing that was a valid test, but it was a beautiful day in SF and it was fun to get out of the office.
Gary Jones
Mar 11, 2014 at 11:18 pm
Oh – I got a free T-shirt and koozie too!
DJ
Mar 13, 2014 at 1:56 am
I was in SF too. Was really thrown off by the length of this iron. The R11 I hit was about 201(long) and the Speedblade was 228(long). At this point that is equal to my 3 iron… on a really good day. I know I nutted those shots, but do you think the flightscopes were off? How were your distances compared to your normal?
Gary Jones
Mar 13, 2014 at 4:28 pm
Wow- you must loosen up quick. 🙂 I hit mine quite a bit shorter. Only like 136 with the R11 and 148 with the Speedblade.
DJ
Mar 13, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Walked from Civic Center so I was pretty loose by the time I got there. I emailed TM to get flightscope numbers but nobody’s answered me. I know loft is a lot stronger, just sounds waaaay off and wanted to see if you had overly-inflated numbers. Or… they’re just crazy long!
Steve
Mar 11, 2014 at 7:25 pm
Yeah do a loft for loft challenge! Then you can prove to everyone complaining that you NEED to lower the loft unless they want to hit skyrockets with every fricken club.
Kevin
Mar 12, 2014 at 6:42 pm
these are the comments that show the low IQ of some golfers.
wouldn’t it make sense that lowering the loft would lower the launch angle. go get on a flight monitor, hit a speedblade and compare to whatever club you want at the same loft.
i could care less what people think of speedblades. but thinking that they gain distance only because of loft is downright ignorant.
speedblades deliver distance, but they also deliver improved launch. they are taking a TM 6iron, getting 5 iron distances, but getting 6 or even 7 iron launch angles. go hit a Speedblade 6iron against your own clubs comparable iron in loft, or most likely 5 iron. I’m willing to bet the TM 6 iron goes as far or farther, yet you’ll launch much higher. that is where the technology and improvements are being made.
Stop with the nonsense about jacked lofts. it only shows how little you understand. todays clubs, in many brands, are going higher with better spin numbers. the only way to prevent crazy high launch angles is to lower loft.
Justin
Mar 12, 2014 at 11:49 pm
Finally someone who understands. Even blades of today have “jacked up lofts” as compared to irons from, say, the 80s
jack
Mar 14, 2014 at 1:38 am
If you would read his comment you would understand that he was saying exactly what you said in a drawn out explanation. Possibly your the ignorant one?
Francis Linnane
Mar 11, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I just try it out today in Time Square ,it up my game.Thank you TaylorMade
Bryan
Mar 11, 2014 at 5:20 pm
Will i be able to use my 4 iron against there 6 since the lofts are nearly the same. Lol.
Kevin
Mar 12, 2014 at 6:51 pm
these are the comments that show the low IQ of some golfers.
wouldn’t it make sense that lowering the loft would lower the launch angle. go get on a flight monitor, hit a speedblade and compare to whatever club you want at the same loft.
i could care less what people think of speedblades. but thinking that they gain distance only because of loft is downright silly.
speedblades deliver distance, but they also deliver improved launch. they are taking a TM 6iron, getting 5 iron distances, but getting 6 or even 7 iron launch angles. go hit a Speedblade 6iron against your own clubs comparable iron in loft, or most likely 5 iron. I’m willing to bet the TM 6 iron goes as far or farther, yet you’ll launch much higher. that is where the technology and improvements are being made.
Stop with the nonsense about jacked lofts. it only shows how little you understand. todays clubs, in many brands, are going higher with better spin numbers. the only way to prevent crazy high launch angles is to lower loft.
Gus
Mar 12, 2014 at 8:42 pm
Did you actually go do the test?
I did – Taylormade started me on the R11 6-iron (28*) for 3 shots then another 3 shots on the Speedblade (26.5*). My carry with the R11 were 170, 177,179, and Speedblade was 172, 178, 187. Based on this TM claimed that I gained 17 yards – basically taking my worst R11 shot and my best Speedblade shot!
In fact, there were loads of people testing this club who don’t even golf, and one lady ahead of me only managed to hit one good shot with the Speedblade while shanking all the ones with R11, contributing to a whopping 91yards gained. I think they eventually removed result, but still loads do people in the 60+ yards gained…
I took home the free 6-iron and went to range to compare it with my Miura Tournement blade 6-iron. Speedblade was a club longer, but only a yard or two longer than my 5-iron if I did the comparison based on loft.
Loft is loft, TM can call it whatever club they want but it doesn’t change the fact that people are given the specs from a longer club with labeling of a shorter club.
While everyone should have their loft and lie adjusted to achieve ideal launch conditions and proper yardage gaps, TM advertising distance gains is misleading.
Justin
Mar 13, 2014 at 9:23 am
You might have done the test, but it doesn’t matter. If they made the speedblades 28 degrees everyone would be crying they hit the ball too high.
LorenRobertsFan
Mar 11, 2014 at 2:19 pm
Sorry TM, but if rather have a 7 iron that goes 145-150 rather than a 7 iron that goes 150-165
LorenRobertsFan
Mar 11, 2014 at 2:19 pm
*i’d
Kevin
Mar 12, 2014 at 6:54 pm
haha seriously? why? don’t kid yourself. first, even at 165yds that is a short 7iron on tour.
what we want is the correct spin numbers for a 7 iron at the proper launch angles, and most importantly consistency. no hot spots.
speedblades are MUCH more consistent than previous burners.
what i don’t like, lightweight shaft and longer lengths.
but stop acting like you wouldn’t want an extra ten yards per iron and the proper launch or trajectory.
Lazza
Mar 11, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Should make sure that loft for loft (° for °) is used as a comparison. No good comparing “4i” with 20° loft with 21° 3i blade! All other specs to be identical too (shaft, length, swing weight, flex, etc) and then we see veracity of distance claims.
Kevin
Mar 12, 2014 at 6:56 pm
i bet that TM 20* club goes farther and even with lower loft goes higher. explain that genious. lower lofts on TM speedlines, yet higher launch angles than other clubs at similar launch angles.
Reggie Ramos
Mar 11, 2014 at 1:51 am
I wish i could try it. I like taylormade golf clubs. My golf set are taylormade burner. I like it.
Johnny
Mar 11, 2014 at 1:09 am
I live in Indiana sure would be nice to be able to get into that contest, I just recently purchased an r1 driver,have been using Callaway the last 2 years I am loving the r1 I’m heading Mizuno irons but would like to try the MC TaylorMade