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Forum Thread of the Day: “Why play a split set with blades? And why are we drawn to blades??”

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Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from mxkier who currently plays, and adores, his Apex Pro 19s but has an attraction to blades. Anxious about the forgiveness of blades from the low end of the bag, mxkier wants to split his bag by using them from 5-PW. Our members have been discussing the idea of playing a split set in our forums.

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.

  • smithy23: “The split set is a happy compromise and a bit more confidence-inspiring. I have two sets Mizuno jpx 900 tours and Nike vapor pro blades. I’m an 11 HCP so arguably not low enough to play blades but personal preference whatever etc. (another argument that one). If you love the way the blades look at address and strike it well get them, and just play your Apex pros in 4/5/6 etc. for the known feel distance etc. and then your blades in the rest. It’s what I do play 6 upwards in blades on the nikes and use cobra utility 4 iron and Mizuno 5iron. When I really start to get off things I go back to full mizzy bag. Split set is a great way to go, why do tour pros do it ?? cos its a good fit.”
  • WristySwing: “As to the question why, here it is. Blades are typically easier to shape shots with due to their weight distributions being more neutrally biased as opposed to the extremes of the perimeters. They also typically have higher CoGs, meaning they will flight the ball a bit lower, which is what most better players are after since they create enough height and lift due to their ball speed naturally. Lastly, there is no pro or con to playing a blade if you are good enough (solid, mid-low single-digit player at a decent course, not some dinky goat track that you can play with your eyes closed) apart from what I have outlined. I have hit fliers with blades just as well as I have with GI irons; fliers are caused by a significant reduction in spin due to a lack of efficient contact with face and ball. Rarely, if ever, is a flier caused by a “low spin” face…it just means the loft and/or ball aren’t fit to you properly.”
  • BCULAW: “I gravitate towards blades because of feel. Mind you; it isn’t not so much the feel of the strike – there are plenty of CBS that feel outstanding on contact. Rather, for me, there is a distinct feel of a thin-sole iron through the turf that a thinner sole iron cannot replicate. Without that “feel” of turf interaction, contact doesn’t feel solid to me. As a result, I want the thinner soles, which usually are found on blades. I generally don’t put much but stock in “forgiveness,” but I expect there will be a time when I will struggle to elevate blades to an appropriate trajectory. I’m not there yet, so I play a full set of MBs. The search will be an interesting one for me when the day arrives when I need help. At the end of the day, a lot of us don’t play for scores. And, even if we did, there’s plenty that will score as well, or better, playing blades for precision as opposed to something else for other reasons (distance, forgiveness, etc. ). Play what will provide you the most joy.”
  • Cptwiggly: “To me, the benefit comes with how the club goes through the turf. I grew up with Hogan and Mizuno’s in my bag. I don’t know if I was always steep or I became steep because I was hitting blades. Regardless, that’s where I am now. As I move to longer irons, I become less steep, and the wider soles become less of an issue. I tried to go more forgiving this year and put z585s in my bag. Even with the v sole, I can still don’t like the short irons, and I feel like I am a club short sometimes. When I get through the turf really clean, I’m 15 yards past the pin. Some of that comes from low spin fliers, but it makes it really hard to feel comfortable with my yardage. I just ordered a set of Z Forged with the same Modus 105s I have in my 585s. I’ll probably keep my 585 4 and 5 iron and go z forged down. I’ll have to adjust the lofts a little of course on the 585s, but I’m looking forward to going back to blades.”
  • Cachualo: “I have been playing blades for a bit, and my hcp does not support it…I love the feel of the good shots but recognize the lack of forgiveness in the longer irons especially. I am intrigued by the idea of a split set but haven’t moved that direction yet, hit the MP20 MMC the other day thinking it would be a night and day difference in forgiveness, but I did not feel the 7i was any easier to hit than my MP32s. I probably am leaving some shots on the table by playing a full blade set but with the amount of golf I play (not a ton) I can live with it.”

Entire Thread: “Why play a split set with blades? And why are we drawn to blades??”

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected]

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Equipment

Details on Jason Day’s latest prototype Avoda iron setup

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Jason Day is back in his V3 Avoda prototype irons. That’s not new for him. He’s been switching between irons this year to help as he goes through phases of what shots he’s looking to hit. One set will shape the ball more naturally for the Australian, while the other helps straighten up his ball flight.

What is new this week at the 2026 Memorial Tournament, hosted at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village Golf Club, is the concept of progressive swing weighting through Day’s iron setup. Each head has now been weighted using lead tape through the longer irons to increase the swing weight.

“We’ve seen that the majority of players, as the ball moves forwards in their stance, fractionally increasing the swing weight just helps delay the release a little bit,” said Tom Bailey, Avoda Golf Founder, when GolfWRX caught up with him to talk about Day’s newest endeavor. ” It gives them more time to get to that forward ball position.”

It’s a pretty simple philosophy for a company that does some really in-depth club concepts. Basically, the further back the ball position is, the more a golfer will need to release the clubhead earlier to square it up. Then, as the ball gets further forward in the stance, the time to release the club extends, and the golfer will need to do it later in the sequence. 

Bailey likes to think of it as Avoda’s own take on moment of inertia matching, where clubs are built to require the same amount of force.

“We just did some testing over the last couple of weeks and found that he (Day) does get along better with a progressively heavier swing weight,” Bailey added. “He gets fractionally heavier by about half a swing weight, so he gets a few swing weights through the set and then through to his woods; they continue progressing.”

Day’s scoring clubs start at around D3 in swing weight, and then, with a little Andrew Von Lossow lead tape action, he transitions up to D5 in his 4-iron, which works perfectly as Day’s 7-wood is D6. Bailey told GolfWRX that Day’s woods continue to progress up to D9 in his driver.

The progressive weighting isn’t the only new option in Day’s bag for Muirfield Village. He’s added a brand-new sand wedge, or should it say sand iron.

“He’s hitting his pitching wedge and his 9-iron and going, these just go through the turf so good, I wish I could have this in my wedges as well,” Bailey added. “… So, we started with making him an iron-head gap wedge. And he used that straight away instead of a wedge-head … He called and said, ‘I don’t really open the face of my sand wedge much either, so why don’t I just have my sand wedge the same as my irons.’ So we built him the exact same head shape, and sole as he’s got on his irons.”

The sand wedge in Day’s bag is similar to the blade prototype irons, which he used earlier this year at the RBC Heritage, if you’re able to keep up.

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Equipment

Odyssey extends Damascus Milled lineup with 3 new putters

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Odyssey Golf announced Tuesday that the already popular Damascus Milled putter lineup is getting more options.

Initially launched back in April, only in a Damascus Milled #7 head (in plumbers or double bend configurations), the family grows to four with a One Wide, Two and Rossie S shape, all available in the second limited-edition drop at retail on June 6th.

“Damascus Steel is a beautiful material, and the patterns tell the story, because every one is different” said Odyssey General Manager, Jacob Davidson. “But what stands out is that  as beautiful as these putters are, the feedback from Tour has been the exceptional feel of these putters. We wanted to deliver the most premium performance-driven putter we’ve ever done at Odyssey. When you look at this product, we have so much confidence because there is not one thing we’d do different. On this one we really took our time over  the last couple years to try to perfect the design.”

Created from a layered construction of multiple steel alloys, this Damascus Steel insert is forged, folded and pressed to create a unique, striking pattern in every piece. Think of it like a fingerprint. Each Damascus construction comes with its own 1-of-1 style pattern. No offerings will ever look the same.

The layered structure, combined with a specialized heat treatment, delivers a finely tuned, highly responsive feel different from other insert materials. The Damascus steel is audibly different compared to other inserts, potentially with slightly more feedback. Odyssey also uses AI-designed back contours to maintain consistent ball speed across the face, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern tech.

Each head in the line is precision-milled from stainless steel and features a blasted silver finish to complement the Damascus insert and sole plates.

With Tour feedback, Odyssey has also developed, in collaboration with Golf Pride, a grip featuring meticulously crafted edges, pistol shaping and a classic modern tour feel.

Odyssey Damascus Milled One Wide
Odyssey Damascus Milled Two
Odyssey Damascus Milled Rossie S
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Equipment

L.A.B. Golf launches new VZN.1i putter

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L.A.B. Golf has been the pioneer when it comes to Lie Angle Balanced putters for years now. When you talk to another golfer and zero torque putters comes up, as it will since it is the hottest thing in golf, the first brand out of their mouthes is L.A.B. Golf. Currently their putter line up has something for every golfer, wether your like blades or mallets. But the company has a new creation for golfers that we saw out on tour just a few weeks ago and is now available to us, the VZN.1i putter.

One of the big stories with the new VZN.1i putter is alignment in the form of the shape. L.A.B. has always given us plenty of alignment options in their putters with different line formations and shapes that can be laser etched onto the top of the putter. With this new design they used the shape of the head and the open cavity in the middle to help enhance the alignment for players. These shapes help players lock into their intended line to improve accuracy and concistency.

“VZN.1i was approached formulaically by combining everything we’ve learned from the success of previous L.A.B. Golf models into a familiar mallet shape that’s easy on the eyes and even easier to putt with,” said Cameron Day, Senior Vice President of Product at L.A.B. Golf. “Every L.A.B. putter is engineered to roll the ball on its intended line through Lie Angle Balance technology. With VZN.1i, we took things a step further by simplifying another critical aspect of putting: alignment.”

Like most of the other L.A.B. mallet putters the VZN.1i is machined from a solid block of aluminum and features a 303 stainless steel face insert. Steel face inserts on all L.A.B. putters not only enhance the sound and feel but they improve ball speed for better distance control. The new shaping also offers two ways of picking up your ball, using the sole or the rear flange can scoop up the ball. The company is offering the VZN.1i with a 1.5 degree forward shaft lean or a vertical shaft option in order to fit more golfers. Each VZN.1i is hand balanced and 10 other stages before it is complete and ready to ship. L.A.B. has its custom program where the golfer can select their length and lie but also head color, shaft upgrades, and grips to make their VZN.1i fit them perfectly.

The VZN.1i is available now starting at $499 for stock models and $599 for custom.

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