Equipment

Why a blade isn’t “just a blade”

Published

4 years ago

Jun 9, 2020

Saying “a blade is just a blade,” is like equating all coupes to just two-door cars because of their similar design characteristics, when in fact, just like cars, every line and transition along the body is as important as what’s under the hood.

To define a “blade,” it is a club design that features a solid mass behind the hitting area, with a thinner sole and higher center of gravity to create greater workability. Blades are less forgiving than cavity backs and were given their name thanks to their thin look resembling knives.

Blades are easy to recognize even from a distance, although there are irons on the market that resemble blades by appearance but offer a lot of technology and forgiveness.

If we’re going to stick with the car analogy, it’s the equivalent of rolling up to a red light with a “sleeper”—it looks docile but is packed with horsepower.

Most OEMs do not replace blades in their lineups as frequently as other models because of the lack of technological advancement compared to game-improvement clubs. Instead, blade models are generally replaced as player preferences change and are a reflection more of playing conditions than technology.

If we compare older blade irons to modern ones, for example, the easiest difference to spot is the sole profile. Older clubs have flatter, less cambered (radius from the leading edge to the back of the head) soles compared to modern clubs that are much more rounded to help improve turf interaction. These are the other key design elements that make up the profile of an iron.

Topline: The topline of a club plays one of the biggest factors on how the club looks from address. The general rule of thumb is thick toplines inspire confidence since there is more “mass” behind the ball, but in some cases—like Rickie Fowler’s new irons, thinner is the winner.
The topline of Rickie Fowler’s 7-iron
Sole: Over time, sole profiles have become more homogeneous compared to other design elements because they have evolved as turf conditions have improved. As mentioned earlier, modern blades with more bounce and camber are much easier to hit in varying conditions.
1960s Hagen (left) vs. 2020 Mizuno (right)
Toe profile: Similar to the topline, the toe profile will drastically change the look of a club. Although each one of slightly different they generally fall into three categories; square, rounded, and teardrop. Square toe irons are less common and the result in a sharper angle where the toe meets the topline. Round is the most modern style that you see on most irons today, and two of the best examples are the Mizuno MP20, and the Titleist 620 Blade. The teardrop profile is more commonly found in JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) clubs but a good representation of this would be the Ping BluePrint.
Address profile of the Ping Blueprint

The toe profile also plays a big part in how long the blade length appears from the address position, with the square toe making the club look the shortest.

So next time you are looking at a set of blades, pay close attention to the small details around the head to help you figure out the ideal clubs for you.

You can also find discussions on blades, among many other topics in our GolfWRX General Equipment Forum

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Equipment

Rory McIlroy spotted testing a new TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron at the 2024 Valero Texas Open

Published

14 hours ago

Apr 3, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Update, 5:30 p.m.: Regarding his prototype iron, McIlroy offered this in his pre-tournament press conference:

“Yeah, I went out, spent a couple of days with the TaylorMade guys at the Kingdom. Yeah, they just produced these couple of proto, I guess like are they the MC replacements maybe…

“They performed really well. It’s just as fast as the 760 that I was using. Launch is a little higher actually, which was surprising, and it’s just sometimes I felt like when I hit my 5-iron in the blade and then the 4-iron in the 760 it was such a different feel. To go from a 5-iron now to that 4-iron, it feels a little closer to what I feel in the 5-iron. So just a little bit more responsive, but didn’t lose any performance from it, which is great. Yeah, it will be in the bag this week.”
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Now just what do we have here?

On Wednesday at the 2024 Valero Texas Open, GolfWRX.com spotted Rory McIlroy testing a new, mysterious TaylorMade “PROTO” 4-iron.

Clearly, the 4-iron is a prototype, but since it doesn’t say “Rors Proto” or “RM” on it, then maybe it’s a prototype for an upcoming iron release from TaylorMade. Or, maybe it’s an upgrade for a previous or existing iron model from the company.

For reference, the photo below shows what McIlroy’s previous P760 4-iron looks like…

If the new prototype was an upgrade on the former P760 design, that would certainly be a large design departure, aesthetically speaking. It’s not impossible, but the new proto definitely looks significantly different.

McIlroy’s new proto – aesthetically, at least – looks more similar to TaylorMade’s P7MC irons, a model that Collin Morikawa uses for his 5 and 6-irons, as pictured below.

The new proto is also reminiscent of TaylorMade’s old P750 and P770 irons:

So what could McIlroy’s new TaylorMade “Proto” be? Is it a one-off prototype for McIlroy? Is it a re-design of an older model? Is it a harbinger of a bigger release in the future?

What is it?!

Unfortunately, TaylorMade hasn’t yet commented publicly on the prototype iron, so for now, we wait. And enjoy the photos of McIlroy testing it on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Here’s what it looks like from address…

And here’s what McIlroy’s numbers looked like while testing it on the range…

Uhh, yeah. Those are pretty good 4-iron numbers.

Will McIlroy make the switch into the new prototype 4-iron this week? That remains to be seen, but it should be noted that it was the only 4-iron in his bag on Wednesday.

*We’ll update this post as further information becomes available

See what GolfWRX members are saying about the TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron here, plus more photos!

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