Equipment

The hottest blade irons in golf right now

Published

6 years ago

Nov 21, 2017

As we’ve written before, the decision to put a new driver in the bag is usually obvious. Better numbers at testing, perceptibly longer distance, and as long as your bank account allows, you have your new gamer.

The iron switch, however, is a trickier beast. Comfort with the variety of shots one needs to hit is key. Confidence from one’s long irons through the higher lofts is critical. Thus, even the greatest enthusiasm for a new iron release isn’t always followed by a mass exodus to gaming said irons. This is doubly true at the professional level, where the tools are critical to a player’s livelihood.

That said, the combination of forum chatter, GolfWRX member enthusiasm, and what we’re spotting in our WITB photos from tour stops are a reliable indicator of the hottest irons in the game.

And judging by the response to our recent Instagram post, we’re confident that these four models are the hottest blade irons in golf right now.

Callaway Apex MB

Buzz built steadily for the Apex MB iron when we first spotted them in Tour players’ bags at the beginning of 2017. The irons are the product of direct feedback from the company’s Tour staffers, according to Luke Williams, Director of Product and Brand Management at Callaway. Forged from 1025 Carbon Steel, 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, and for tour-desired turf interaction.

Mizuno MP-18

The pioneers of Grain-Flow Forging, Mizuno went back to its roots with the MP-18 iron model. A throwback to the great muscle backs in the company’s history, Mizuno was shooting for the look of an iron that could have been forged a century ago. Shorter blade length, cambered top line, sharp, compact wedges, all combined with the most minimal badging make the MP-18 an instant classic that set the GolfWRX forums afire.

TaylorMade P730

TaylorMade’s P730, particularly in its prototype incarnations, made quite a splash on the PGA Tour. Building on the heritage of the TP-MB irons, P730 was developed in collaboration with the very best players in the world. The 1025 carbon steel irons irons feature a smaller profile and crisper lines than the MB series irons. The combination of the clean look and a deep rear groove have players drooling. Discussing working with Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose to design the P730, TM’s Senior Director of Irons, Tomo Bystedt said, “What these players need is a very low-inertia club that they can [manipulate] easily, almost like a surgeon’s scalpel.” Behold the scalpel.

Titleist 718 MB

“For the purist there is no substitute for a one-piece, muscle back iron. The 718 MB is the modern choice for those desiring a traditional forged look and feel,” says Titleist in the 718 MB marketing materials.

It’s hard to argue with that statement from the “appearance of a classic forged iron” standpoint. Purists appreciate that the 718 MB maintains Titleist’s traditional lofts (the 6-iron is 31 degrees, the pitching-wedge is 47 degrees), thin top-line, minimal offset, and limited badging. In short, if it ain’t broke…

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Ben Alberstadt

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21 Comments

Johnno

Mar 3, 2019 at 6:20 am

Fujimoto MB new best irons on the market

Reply Report comment
Benny

Dec 28, 2017 at 8:30 am

KZG shows amd details their forging process. Forging is not hard fellas for these manufactures. But in every industry huge companies all sub contract. I sell plastic and resin but some of the largest manufactures outsource everything as its cheaper than bringing it all in house. Instead these manufactures are trying other ways to market a “better club”. Like any manufacturing it’s about speed, process and profits.

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Crazy About Golf

Dec 14, 2017 at 11:35 pm

Used to game Titleist….Hit all four of these guys over several days and made the change to Mizuno MP18. Hands down the softest, best performing and best looking new blades currently on the market.

Reply Report comment
OB

Nov 23, 2017 at 12:03 pm

Okay, Ben, now tell us how each of the clubs were forged. Hot forged? Cold coin forged? Welded hosel?
You get the metallurgical data from the OEMs, but how about asking them about their forging method so GolfWRX denizens will know exactly what they are buying?

Reply Report comment
- Mick
  
  Nov 25, 2017 at 10:43 am
  
  If Mizuno is so good, how come no one plays them. PGA Tour, NCAA, Mizuno is the least played and NCAA guys dont get paid to use clubs. Titleist, PING, Taylormade are in most golf bags.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Brian
    
    Nov 27, 2017 at 11:50 pm
    
    There was a survey a few months back in one of the major golf publications asking tour players what iron they would play if given the choice. Mizuno was atop this list by a large margin. Mizuno also has several sets on the tour in players bags without contracts- any NCAA school with a decent golf program is under a contact with major manufactures. Example PGX supplies several schools with FREE equipment. Mizuno has never spent in this fashion and thus you do not experience the propaganda you may expect.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Mike
    
    Dec 6, 2017 at 3:26 pm
    
    Actually when Nike stopped making equipment it left a number of players without a club contract for a while. Overwhelming those players put Mizuno’s in their bags for free.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Benny
    
    Dec 28, 2017 at 8:23 am
    
    Yes but schools get their clubs, gear, and clothing from sponsured OEM’s. You think the schools pay for everything for their teams? Adidas sponsored Louisville for $180mil over 6 years to play all of their gear. Mizuno doesn’t sponsur like these other brands but certainly doesn’t mean their irons aren’t ontop right now.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Hutstar
    
    Dec 28, 2017 at 12:34 pm
    
    “Titleist, PING, Taylormade are in most golf bags.” Right. You could add Callaway. Those 4 spend the most at Pro and College level by far. I still remember seeing a really good amateur player using Taylor Made a few years back and being surprised – it just hadn’t occurred to me that someone who knows what they’re doing would use Taylor Made irons by choice (and it’s possible they were holdovers from college days or something). BTW, those companies make decent stuff, but it wouldn’t be the choice of most top players and therefore they are forced to buy their way into bags.
    
    Reply Report comment
- SteveK
  
  Nov 29, 2017 at 3:07 pm
  
  Full forged or fake forged….. that’s the issue.
  
  Reply Report comment
Anthony

Nov 22, 2017 at 8:21 pm

I’ll stick with my Z965’s. Tried them all and the Srixon’s felt the best…

Reply Report comment
Bob Jones

Nov 22, 2017 at 12:36 pm

Still doing well with my Hogan Red Lines.

Reply Report comment
The General

Nov 22, 2017 at 12:04 pm

no Cobra KING Forged MBs? They came out late last year, but still, they are some of the best feeling/best looking irons out there and they come in 2 different colors. You guys made a mistake not adding them to this list.

Reply Report comment
Paul Dooley

Nov 22, 2017 at 10:10 am

I’m playing the Apex MB’s currently, and love the feel. Granted I’m a Callaway loyalist, but getting the ball to do whatever I need it to comes really easy with these irons.

Reply Report comment
Woody

Nov 21, 2017 at 6:58 pm

It would be cool to see some other companies from time to time..

Reply Report comment
Andrew

Nov 21, 2017 at 4:57 pm

Why is Mizuno the only one that shows the public their forging process from start to finish? Because the others only cold forge? Because the others have a welded hosel? Take away the money, Mizuno is the best forged iron on the planet.

Reply Report comment
- JOEL GOODMAN
  
  Nov 22, 2017 at 7:59 pm
  
  MIZUNO FORGES THEIR OWN. MOST OF THE OTHERS ARE FORGED BY KENDO OR OTHER GENERIC FORGES
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Adam
    
    Nov 25, 2017 at 1:21 am
    
    Its called Endo, who actualyl forge their own 1 piece irons no welding of of hosel. Who are the generic forgers.
    
    Reply Report comment
- SS
  
  Nov 24, 2017 at 2:53 pm
  
  Mizuno = 100% hot forged throughout.
  Others = Cheap coin “forged” stampings = 1% surface-only forged.
  Does it matter, particularly since PING are double annealed 17-7 cast steel, to allow for lie bending?
  Perhaps that soft ‘buttery’ impact feel is only due to hosel and shaft design and the ‘feel’ attributed to the clubhead is illusory.
  
  Reply Report comment
Steve Sands

Nov 21, 2017 at 4:49 pm

The Miura’s are the best, and and the Srixons are right there too. How come we only mention the same major companies over and over again?

Reply Report comment
Michael Riechmann

Nov 21, 2017 at 4:22 pm

Srixon 965’s All Day

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Whats in the Bag

Richy Werenski WITB 2024 (May)

Published

5 hours ago

May 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Richy Werenski what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Houston Open.

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX

Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 S

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (54-M, 58-L @60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Onyx (46-50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Onyx (54-60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash

Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

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Equipment

Adam Scott testing green “Masters Use Only” putter + 6 interesting equipment photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

5 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which, for your geographical reference, is about 25 minutes from Dallas.

In early-week equipment news, we saw some interesting putter testing from Adam Scott, a Maxfli golf ball signing on the PGA Tour, a 16-year-old’s WITB, a PGA Tour player using another PGA Tour player’s backup putter, and Jordan Spieth weighed in on why he recently switched out just his 7-iron (and then made a hole-in-one with it).

With so much to report and so little time to waste on the intro, let’s get right into this week’s equipment rundown from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

See all of our photo galleries from the week here

Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. putters

Before we get into a couple of the new prototypes Scott has been testing, above is a photo of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max prototype putter that he’s been using, and will likely continue to use this week in Texas.

That being said, following the Masters, Scott was looking to try a couple putters with a slightly lighter weight to help with his feel on fast greens.

One of the new prototypes we spotted on Tuesday was a L.A.B. Golf DF3 “Proto 2.1”, custom-built with Scott’s preferred blue colorway, and an Australia-inspired Kangaroo laser engraving…

We also spotted him with a green-colored “For Masters Use Only” Mezz.1 Max prototype…

While it’s unlikely Scott will make a switch this week, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward, especially on courses with faster greens.

We also got a peek into Scott’s full WITB this week, which consists of a super-mixed set of Srixon irons, including a ZX Utility 3-iron, a ZX-5 MkII 4-iron, ZX-7 MkII mid-irons (5-7) and Z Forged II short irons (8-9).

See Scott’s full WITB from the CJ Cup here

An update on Daniel Berger’s Odyssey Jailbird

Last week in New Orleans, we highlighted Daniel Berger’s Ai-One Jailbird Mini putter because of its unique sightlines.

Well, we have an update.

According to Callaway Tour Manager Joe Toulon, who spoke with GolfWRX.com this week, Berger’s Jailbird Mini is actually from fellow Tour player Tom Kim’s stash. Kim is a prolific putter tester, and the exact putter Berger is currently using was actually originally made for and tested by Kim. The putter didn’t make it into Kim’s starting lineup, however, so he gave the putter back to Odyssey, and it eventually made it’s way onto Berger’s gamer roster.

Jordan Spieth’s new 7-iron

As the story goes, Jordan Spieth changed out his Titleist T100 7-iron on Wednesday before the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and then on Thursday, he used the 7-iron to make a hole-in-one from 199 yards on the 16th hole.

Good timing on that switch, Jordan.

On Tuesday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, GoflWRX.com caught up with Spieth to get the full story on why he switched just the 7-iron.

Our full story is over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s a snippet of what Spieth had to say:

“I hit my 7-iron a lot, especially on my own. The spin rates, relative to my 6-iron and my 8-iron, were lower, so it was going too far. I was trying to figure out why, if it was something in the makeup of the iron. I got the lies and the lofts checked, and everything was fine. So finally I was like, ‘Can I just get a new one and see if it fixes it?’

“Maybe there was one other time throughout my career where I changed just one iron, so it’s very unusual. I think it’s just because the grooves were worn down from hitting it too much.”

Ben Griffin signs with Maxfli to play the golf ball

At the beginning of the year, LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson signed a deal with Maxfli to play the company’s golf ball, and now, Griffin has officially joined team Maxfli, as well, thus expanding the company’s Tour presence.

GolfWRX.com caught up with Griffin on Wednesday in Texas for a video interview about his new golf ball of choice, and how he marks it…

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A 16-year-old is playing on the PGA Tour this week, using a 2-iron!

Amateur golfer Kris Kim, at just 16 years of age, is making his PGA Tour debut this week after receiving a sponsors exemption into the event. In 2023, Kim won both the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the European Boys’ International Championship.

On Tuesday in Texas, we got a look into Kim’s bag, which revealed that he’s currently playing a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron, and a bag full of TaylorMade clubs.

Check out Kim’s full WITB here

A smart golf ball stamping

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a big math guy, because I’m not. However, I do recognize David Nyfjall’s purple ball marking as a square root symbol.

While I don’t know the particular significance of the square root symbol for Nyfjall, I do know you have to be fairly intelligent to even consider using a marking like that. Pretty cool stuff from the Northwestern alum, and 2023 Byron Nelson Award winner.

And, with that, we say goodbye to Texas and TPC Craig Ranch. We’ll see you next week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for more insider equipment news and storylines.

For now, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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Whats in the Bag

Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)

Published

8 hours ago

May 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400