Equipment
Do blades negatively impact performance? Or is it all in our heads? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been having an in-depth discussion on blade irons. WRXer ‘Royal Mustang’ has questioned whether ‘solid’ players are mistakenly scared off of playing blades, posting
“A lot has been written here about pro-blades/anti-blades. My question for those of you who play them or don’t play them: do they negatively impact your performance? Could you shoot a lower score if you had played a GI or SGI iron? Is that 8-iron you hit slightly thin and left 160 and in the bunker really 164 and a birdie putt with a GI iron? Or is that just your assumption as you have no data to back it up with? Do you see higher scores with blades and lower scores with other irons? Enough to statistically matter to get to a 95% CI?
I have only played 2 rounds with blades, but I can say that they were both pretty low rounds. I had some good iron strikes. It is anecdotal evidence, however: perhaps I was playing well, perhaps I got lucky. I was well-positioned off of the tee. I can’t say for sure that I was better with these irons. Perhaps I was better as I dialed down my expectations and made smooth swings. I know a blade 8i isn’t going to fly 175, so I don’t try to hit it 175. That is completely mental, however. Make a smooth swing and hit to 165.
For what it is worth, I play Mizuno MMC MP20s, but I also have a hybrid set of Callaway MB21/Apex Pros. And no, I don’t have enough rounds to say either way. I sure do like the way the MB21’s look when I line up, however!
I should preface this in that I am talking about people with solid swing fundamentals. The guys/gals you see swing and say “low single digit/scratch/plus”. Their wear spot on their 7 iron might not be the size of a dime, but a nickel is pretty typical.”
- Related: Kevin Na: “I don’t see a reason why you’d want to play a blade” – GolfWRXers have their say
And our members have been having their say on the matter 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.
- PuttingMatt: “Honestly, my scores stay relatively the same, whether I play musclebacks or player cavity backs. Ball striking is on the player, not the equipment. When I started playing, blades were your only choice; it is up to you to decide if your irons perform well for your game. The swing you deliver to the ball is everything.”
- b.mattay: “Yes. Thin shots hang in there much better with a cavity back IMO. Long irons are also much easier to hit. I’m switching into cavity backs and a 4 hybrid for this next year. Don’t have data yet, but I guarantee my par 3 and par 5 scoring will drop this next year!”
- Jim E: “Pure blades aren’t hard to hit in the short irons. In fact, I think it’s easier. It’s when you get to the 5,4,3 irons that pure blades are difficult. Higher cog means you need a more pure strike with decent clubhead speed to get these on a playable trajectory.”
- bladehunter: “If you have some speed, there’s no negative effect that I’ve ever seen anybody quantify from say 5 iron down. Obviously, 2-3 iron will require pretty good everything ….. but many play a hybrid there anyway. Personal preference should be the reason for the Choice either way. If you’re hitting the relative middle it’s not performance.”
More From The Forums
- Tested some irons nobody talks about, but damn they’re impressive! – GolfWRXers discuss
- TaylorMade P770 vs Srixon ZX7 irons – GolfWRXers discuss
- Best Vokey wedge series? – GolfWRXers discuss
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Charles Sinacole
Jan 22, 2022 at 10:22 pm
I’ve been playing blades since 1993, my asst pro at my country club gave me a set of Mizuno MP29s after I had been playing for only a year and had gone thru at least 3 sets in that time. Since then I have played with Mizuno MP9s , but I’ve settled on a set of Taylormade P770, their a tad larger than your traditional blade but nothing feels better when you hit a blade on the screws. Nothing goes thru the grass better than a blade. So, no blades don’t hurt your game. Just your bad swings do. Blades make you concentrate harder.
Brandon
Jan 22, 2022 at 10:33 am
If you can keep your tee shots in bounds and have a reasonable short game the type of irons you play will have very little impact on your score. My handicap has remained pretty steady for about 20 years and I’ve tried every style of iron under the sun. Having a iron shaft that fits your swing is more important than the head attached to it in my opinion.