Equipment
At what point is playing blades an advantage? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been talking blades. WRXer ‘Douglsss’ poses an intriguing question, “at what point is playing blades an advantage?” and kicks off the thread, saying:
“All things being equal – loft, lie, etc. – If I have a level of ballstriking to where playing blades vs player distance vs GI irons clubs each have similar average distances, why wouldn’t you play blades? IMO – easier to work multiple trajectories, easier to remove spin, better consistency( no hot faces ).
Another argument could be made that in this scenario – what are you losing in the scoring clubs, say 8i – PW, by not using a bladed club?”
And our members have been responding in their numbers.
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.
- Thebiles: “Considering that the majority of pros are moving away from pure blades, I don’t think there is an advantage given today’s technology.”
- llewol007: “Your argument is watered down because you ultimately got rid of the big differences in playing a blade versus a player distance and game improvement. That is the main reason most would or would not play a blade. So the comparison is really not comparing. If all things are equal as you say, it just becomes personal preference.”
- AsianGolfer1995: “It’s mostly personal preference at this point, but for most of the blade users I’ve played with, they want their mishits coming up short of the target instead of flying 3-5 yards longer so they know what a true ‘miss’ feels like so they can work on it in practice to hit the center more.”
- Red4282: “Advantages of blades would be thinner soles and generally less bounce. Flighting becomes a little easier. Distance control is more consistent on good to slight misses. You really don’t see much advantages from GI irons until you get to the mid and long irons and on bad misses.”
Entire Thread: “At what point is playing blades an advantage? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Custom-Built Titleist T150s.
From the seller: (@boff2guy): “Custom T150s 4-PW built by People’s golf, w/Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100 Black Onyx shafts. MCC Plus 4 Midsize. Only a few irons have been hit off the mat. Specs and Pics below. $1,150 shipped
- 4) 39.25 21 61
- 5) 38.75 24 61.5
- 6) 38.25 28 62
- 7) 37.75 32 62.5
- 8. 37.25 36 63
- 9) 36.75 40 63.5
- PW) 36.25 45 64″
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Custom-Built Titleist T150s
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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- Kevin Streelman what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
5-wood: Ping G (17.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 10 X
Irons: Wilson Staff Model CB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Wilson Staff Model (48-08, 54-08), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-L @59)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (48), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (54, 58)
Putter: Scotty Cameron TourType SSS TG6
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Streelman’s clubs here.
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The year was 2012. Gangnam Style ruled supreme, its infectious beats and ludicrous horse-riding dance moves hypnotizing us with their stupidity. Everyone was talking about the Mayan calendar, convinced that the end of days was near. Superheroes soared on the silver screen, with the Avengers assembling in epic fashion. Katniss Everdeen survived The Hunger Games. And the memes! The memes abounded. Grumpy Cat triumphed. We kept calm and carried on.
In much the same way that automotive enthusiasts love classic cars, we at GolfWRX love taking a backward glance at some of the iconic designs of years past. Heck, we love taking iconic designs to the tee box in the present!
In that spirit, GolfWRX has been running a series inspired by arguably the greatest fighting game franchise of all time: Mortal Kombat. It’s not “choose your fighter” but rather “choose your driver.”
Check out some of the standout combatants of 2012 below.
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Nike VRS
Often harshly critiqued during its years releasing golf equipment (right, Phil Mickelson?), Nike’s tenure in the club-and-ball business gets a gloss of nostalgic varnish, with many of its iron and putter designs continuing to attract admirers. Among the company’s driver offerings, the 2012 VRS — or VR_S, if you will — drew high marks for its shaping and toned-down appearance. The multi-thickness, NexCOR face was no joke either.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Callaway RAZR Fit
Callaway’s first foray into moveable weight technology (married with its OptiFit hosel) did not disappoint. With a carbon fiber crown, aerodynamic attention to detail, and variable and hyperbolic face technologies, this club foreshadowed the tech-loaded, “story in every surface” Callaway drivers of the present, AI-informed design age.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Cleveland Classic 310
Truly a design that came out of left field. Cleveland said, “Give me a persimmon driver, but make it titanium…in 460cc.” Our 2012 reviewer, JokerUsn wrote, “I don’t need to elaborate on all the aesthetics of this club. You’ve seen tons of pics. You’ve all probably seen a bunch in the store and held them up close and gotten drool on them. From a playing perspective, the color is not distracting. It’s dark enough to stay unobtrusive in bright sunlight…Even my playing partners, who aren’t into clubs at all…commented on it saying it looks cool.” Long live!
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Titleist 910
While there’s no disputing Titleist’s “Titleist Speed” era of drivers perform better than its 2010s offerings, sentimentality abounds, and there was something classically Titleist about these clubs, right down to the alignment aid, and the look is somewhere between 983 times and the present TS age. Representing a resurgence after a disappointing stretch of offerings (907, 909), The 910D2 was a fairly broadly appealing driver with its classic look at address and classic Titleist face shape.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
TaylorMade RocketBallz
The white crown. The name. You either loved ‘em or you hated ‘em. TaylorMade’s 2012 offering from its RocketBallz Period boasted speed-enhancing aerodynamics and an Inverted Cone Technology in the club’s titanium face. Technology aside, it’s impossible to overstate what a departure from the norm a white-headed driver was in the world of golf equipment.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
Ping i20
Long a quietly assertive player in the driver space, Ping’s i20 was more broadly appealing than the G20, despite being a lower-launch, lower-spin club. Ping drivers didn’t always have looks that golfer’s considered traditional or classic, but the i20 driver bucked that trend. Combining the classic look with Ping’s engineering created a driver that better players really gravitated toward. The i20 offered players lower launch and lower spin for more penetrating ball flight while the rear 20g tungsten weights kept the head stable. Sound and feel were great also, being one of the more muted driver sounds Ping had created up to that time.
Check out our coverage from 2012 here.
GolfWRXers, let us know in the comments who “your fighter” is and why!
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Michael Sarijoen
Sep 18, 2022 at 6:01 am
If you want to fine-tune your swing to the highest degree, blades can help
Paulo
Sep 17, 2022 at 8:24 am
If golf clubs were cars the blades would be a 911. Beautiful to look at , probably going to make you look sexier but utterly impractical if you have a couple of kids and can’t practice every day . If there’s even one of the worlds
Too 1000 golfers using cavities then everyone reading this should be too
Brandon
Sep 17, 2022 at 8:13 am
In my experience my score doesn’t fluctuate based on what irons I have in the bag at all. Keeping my drive in play and not having any disasters around the green are all that matters. I can just as easily shoot 70 or 90 with blades or SGI clubs depending on how the other parts of my game go.
S
Sep 16, 2022 at 10:38 pm
It’s so laughable what has become of golf. All that manufacturers want to do is sell you expensive clubs. They don’t even care if they fit you, because they know that if it doesn’t work, you’ll just buy another one.
One of the most glaring problem with modern golf is general, is actually not the equipment but the courses. There’s literally barely any rough at most courses these days, and that makes it seem like you don’t need small heads in irons. As soon as there is some ankle high rough and the ball is sitting down in it, I dare you to try to hack it out of there with a shovel headed club. You can’t. You won’t be able to.
Barney
Sep 16, 2022 at 1:21 pm
I’m glad we can finally address this topic! Well done!
Prime21
Sep 16, 2022 at 10:56 am
This is the 4,167th time this has been a “subject” on this sight. Regardless of the situation, pick the club that allows you to score the best, period. Can we please stop using this topic?!
Bhickey
Sep 16, 2022 at 9:30 am
Please ban this tired old subject.
Hogan
Sep 17, 2022 at 7:06 am
Why ban this subject! This is the kind of stuff this site was built on. So what should we talk about? How the newest driver gets you 30 more yards, or maybe how the new irons hit every green.. no I got it how the new putters never miss putts. Don’t read the topic if you don’t like it… easy!!
Bhickey
Oct 11, 2022 at 5:34 pm
Seriously get a life and use another name besides Hogan.
Holden Tudiks
Sep 15, 2022 at 7:45 pm
They become an advantage when people gather around your bag in awe of blades. Men will do most anything to another man just to hold them.