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Muscle Back "Blade" Irons --- History and Future?


Titleist-Golfer

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As you can tell by my username, I am (and always have been) a big Titleist fan. So, from that brand alone and their amazing club archive, as well as my personal experience, I felt it worth writing a little bit about "blades". I mean real blades, the kind that grass cannot get caught in the back, the kind that most golfers fear, but would help each of them with their games if only if used on a range for practice.

 

Before I get into the history of the blade (at least from the last 30 years using Titleist), I wanted to point out that blades are back with a vengeance (or are they)?

 

Below is the current top 10 world golf rankings, where as you can see, 7 of 10 use true blades. And of course there is another pretty big name (currently outside the top-10) named Tiger Woods.

1. Dustin Johnson (BLADES)

2. Justin Thomas (BLADES)

3. Justin Rose (BLADES)

4. Brooks Koepka

5. Jon Rahm

6. Jordan Spieth

7. Rickie Fowler (BLADES)

8. Rory McIlroy (BLADES)

9. Jason Day (BLADES)

10. Tommy Fleetwood (BLADES)

 

Back to my experience that led me to this topic. Really it was just a Titleist brochure I picked up at my local GolfMart while buying a SM7 wedge a few days back. Tonight I finally got around to looking at it and I was pretty surprised. See cover below and tell me what's missing (completely not even mentioned)?

 

 

 

That's not fair, from the title you probably guessed correctly ... the 718MB (and CB) are missing completely, not even a mention.

 

Also, the other day I saw a flier in the mail from the Roger Dunn Superstore, which as I flipped through were missing blades for every manufacturer. Now this may be due to blades not being a high buy-rate item so they made a marketing decision, but not a mention (no where, no OEM).

 

So, what gives? This is where I wanted people to follow the Titleist club history to think about what happened, when and why things have evolved to today's current market conditions. In responses, I would like fellow WRXers to project blade volumes going forward ... do they trend ever downward despite players using them every weekend on TV or do they make a resurgence?

 

Let't start with Titleist. Again, using my history and this handy website (which I think every OEM should keep (other than TM because they would break the internet - slight dig on how frequently they change club models)) ... we can look through the history of Titleist blades.

 

Long time ago (1990s), Titleist made blades because that was pretty much what everyone played on tour, either blades or Ping Eye2s. The sole grinds had not been figured out yet, but they were sweet (but not being purchased), so the last blade (Titleist Tour Model) was made pretty much unchanged from 1991 to 1997. Titleist then stopped making blades.

 

Along came this guy named Tiger Woods, who used a set of Mizuno blades to absolutely dominate Augusta National in 1997. Titleist wanted to get him on their staff, so they went into hyperdrive trying to create a set of blades to get Tiger on their staff. Born was the 681MB and "T" version (Tiger's specs of the 681 blank stamped simply with a T). Due to popularity of Tiger and his incredible run in 2000, Titleist released the 681 to the public and even some "T" versions in 2001. The 681 continued in 2002 along with the 690MB, which was easier to hit with the muscle lower in the head and longer heal to toe. This is where Titleist went a bit haywire, deciding that one type of blade was not enough. They decided to bring out over the next few years the 680MB (likely most beloved of all - and still played by many on the PGA tour including major champions), the 670MB and 690.MB.

 

Back to my own experience, in 2004, I was stationed in Everett, WA. There was a golf shop having a Titleist trial and when I got there as a Titleist and blade lover, it was one of the best experiences of my life ... I was able to try 680MB, 670MB and 690.MB all at the same time (pure heaven), all shiny and new. Wish I had stocked up on some 680MBs right then.

 

Anyway, that was Titleist's blade hayday from a build quality and variety standpoint. I cannot think of any single OEM that built three types of blades at the same (or near enough the same) time as Titleist did during 2002 to 2004.

 

But, horrible sales led to Titleist not making a single blade in 2005 (head scratcher), but in 2006 they brought out the beautiful 660MB (but only for pros or custom orders) and the horrifically ugly 695MB. From that bad taste in their mouths, Titleist again gave up on blades until 2009 when the beautiful 710MB was brought to market, which was the start of the 7-series designating irons and "10" designating the model year (sort of). Titleist then got on an every other year thing with MBs in 712 (2012 sort of), 714 (I have a set of these), 716 (trying to resemble 680) and the most recent 718 (which look nice).

 

Shifting away from Titleist for a moment over to TaylorMade with their most recent development of the P730 blades (also very nice looking), and versions specifically for big-headed PGA pros like "Rors", "Rose" and most recently "Tiger", it seems they are now following the Titleist 2002-2004 path (history repeating itself?).

 

Anyway, hope you think about this topic and let me know what you think with this trip down blade-memory lane.

 

My raw 680MBs and SM6 wedgeworks (in away bag).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[size=3][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][url="https://www.usna.edu/homepage.php"]Go Navy![/url]

[b][u]WITB[/u][/b]
Titleist 915 D4 8.5 Oban V430 6.5 75g
Titleist 915 F2 15 Rogue Silver 80S
Titleist VG3 18.5 JDM PX 6.0
Titleist 680 raw 4-PW Nippon MODUS 125S
Titleist TVD raw C-C 53 and Indigo SM5 58 DGTI
Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless Newport Beach 340g 35"
Scotty Cameron MilSpec Gen2 330g 35"[/font][/size]

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Average Joe Golfer can't/won't hit blades and the CBS aren't as buzzworthy as the AP2.

 

Some bean-counter privacy decided the advertising wasn't worth it, even though they already had to release a photograph of the lineups anyways.

 

*shrug*

 

Edit: also, I disagree with the 695s being characterized as ugly. They're not as pretty as the 716 or 680, but they're certainly not hideous.

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Let't start with Titleist. Again, using my history and this handy website (which I think every OEM should keep (other than TM because they would break the internet - slight dig on how frequently they change club models)) ... we can look through the history of Titleist blades.

 

 

 

Actually.. Taylormade does have this.. https://www.taylormadegolf.com/product-specs.html

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It's also worth mentioning the type of folks who enjoy blades are:

 

(1) folks like me who aren't going to pay $1k for brand new irons when I can get a lightly-used set off Ebay for half the price

(2) folks who are shopping online and helping only the warehouse-style retailers thus promoting a future of 1 single Amazon-like supplier

(3) folks who only invest in replacing their irons once every 5 or so years.

 

 

It is a smaller market of players but those players are also not doing much to encourage the production of blades. I have played blades for the majority of my 10 years in this game and never once have I even thought about walking into a store and plopping down $1k on a new set. No thank you.

 

So, we're sort of admonishing the OEMs for limiting their selections while at the same time finding reasons not to buy them anyhow. This is sort of what happens when we complain about the traffic in the Wal-Mart check-out lines, haha. We're helping to cause our own issues.

 

I'll be the first to admit that when we see this reduction in availability, we have to look in the mirror to some degree. It's not just that OEMs are opting to serve the "general" market more and more. I think they very much want to have "pro" lines but we're not helping regular stores by shopping online and buying 2nd hand.

 

 

I could see a day when those sort of clubs aren't even on the walls at all and they become "custom order only." If that's the case, they'll be made in small quantities and you'll probably have to order "custom" and pay big bucks to buy into the guy's time who's making some PGA Tour Pro's clubs in the van.

TSR3 (9o) (Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-6)
TSR2+ (14.5o 3w) (Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7)

TSR2 (21o 7w) (Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7)

zU85 (4-6) (UST Recoil)
Z-Forged (7-Gw) (Nippon Modus3)

SM9 56-F / 60-S
Maltby PTM-5CS

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'A long time ago' started well before the 90s ;)

 

Below is the current top 10 world golf rankings, where as you can see, 7 of 10 use true blades. And of course there is another pretty big name (currently outside the top-10) named Tiger Woods.

1. Dustin Johnson (BLADES)

2. Justin Thomas (BLADES)

3. Justin Rose (BLADES)

4. Brooks Koepka

5. Jon Rahm

6. Jordan Spieth

7. Rickie Fowler (BLADES)

8. Rory McIlroy (BLADES)

9. Jason Day (BLADES)

10. Tommy Fleetwood (BLADES)

 

 

They are not using 'true blades' though are they? They're using modern muscle back irons and not like the old days of razor-thin 2i on down.

In the case of Rory, Justin, and Tommy at least, only from 5 iron down as well.

 

BTW, cool irons.

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

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I will admit, the 660s were probably my favorite blade just from a looks standpoint. I've never hit the 670, 680, 690 or 695 so can't say from a performance perspective. I really liked that concave muscle look and if I recall right they had a satin finish and not polished chrome.

----> See my current WITB
Callaway Rogue Sub Zero 9°, Fujikura VENTUS Red 6 X
Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 15° Tensei AV Blue 75 X
Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 18° Tensei AV Blue 75 X
Mizuno MP-18 MMC 3 Fli-Hi | 4-PW, Project X LZ 6.5
Mizuno T7 52-09 | 58-12
TaylorMade TP Mullen
 

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Blades didn't fall out of favor because of "market conditions," they fell out of favor due to the invention of products that perform better for most golfers. Blades will probably have their own place in the market for many years to come, given that they perform very well for a small but influential spectrum of players, are more comfortable for some other players regardless of skill level (for example, folks who grew up playing blades and can't get accustomed to newer designs), and also are desired for reasons aside from pure performance (looks, cool-factor, or simply because they can be fun to use). But it is unlikely that anything would cause them to overtake more forgiving clubs ever again unless there is a massive roll-back on technology.

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

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People often neglect the production side factor of this. Blades are higher cost/ lower margin to produce than cast CB. On the retail side they are harder to fit too.The window of shaft and weighting profile is smaller/tighter. Easier to fit masses in a GI club than a traditional imo. There's a lot of plain economics behind promoting MOI laden clubs vs traditional. "Rational" thinking is sell to needs. Make a hard game slightly easier. "Rational" is also making clubs that the best in the world still demand to play. No doubt to me there was point where some OEM's thought they could do away with traditional clubs altogether. The market has spoken on that too.

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I never pass up a chance to show mine :)

 

 

14ipt8j.jpg

14ipt8j.jpg[/img]

Taylormade Sim 9° (set to 7°) - Fuji 53k X 

Cobra Rad Speed Tour 5 Wood 16° - Speeder 757 Evo TS X

Mizuno MP Fli Hi 18° - C Taper 125 S+
Mizuno MP Fli Hi 23° - C Taper 120 S
Srixon z785 5-PW - KBS TourV X

Cleveland ZipCore 50° - Tour S400
Ping Glide Pro Forged 54°/ Eye Toe 59°  - Tour S400
Seemore mFGP2 
Podcast - "Rough Fairways - A Journey to the PGA Tour" available on Spotify - Pandora - Apple

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There isn't much that can be said to market a blade. The guys buying them are typically making their decision based on looks or loyalty to a certain brand. If every $1 spent on marketing a blade results in only a $0.10 increase in sales then it just isn't worth it.

Titleist 910D2 9.5* Tour Issue
TEE XCG7 15*
Srixon Z545 4-PW
Vokey SM6 46* 50* 54* 58*
John Byron DaleHead 2

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what is it about blades the bring out the evangelist in 95% of the people that use them on this forum?

Ping G400 @ 10.5° (Ping Tour 65S)

Ping G400 5 wood @ 16.5° (Ping Alta CB 65S)

Ping G410 7 wood @ 20° (Ping Tour 75X)

Titleist 818H2 @ 22° (PX 6.0)

Ping i210 PowerSpec 5-U (DG S300)

Titleist SM7 54° F / 60° K (DG S200)

Ping Heppler Floki

Titleist ProV1x/AVX

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Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Take the high and the low out and with the 770s your offline is a consistent -12 to -17. So only 5yds difference.

Do the same with the 730s and it's -3 to -29. A substantial 26yds difference.

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

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Has there been a blade topic this week? OP, blades were played way back, even before the '90's and Tiger. And no, they do not automatically make you a better player.

that's debatable... *wink wink nudge nudge just a joke wink*

 

hard to believe we've never had a blades vs gi thread...

PING G430 LST / 9* (dialed to 10.5*) / HZRDUS Smoke Green 60 6.5

Dark Speed LS / 3w (dialed to 15.5*) / Denali Blue 70TX

Mizuno Pro 24 Fli-Hi / 3i / HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 100 6.5
Mizuno Pro 245 / 4-GW / KBS Tour X

SM9 Black / 54,58 / KBS Tour S+

____________________________________________

Odyssey AI-ONE 7CH 35”

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

 

Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Excellent data to show that blades do perform, and if you stick with them, they will make you a better golfer.

 

My first set of "real clubs" were Hogan Apex blades, which I bought in Orlando, FL in 1987. Loved them, but got caught up in all the Ping Eye2 madness in 1989, so sold my beloved Apex for the Pings. Loved the Pings for their distance and forgiveness, but always something was missing. I truly could not use them around the greens. Everything had to be a full shot and even then, I hit a lot of hot shots well over the green.

 

1991, moved to Monterey for post graduate school, and there at a golf shop found a set of Maxfli "Made for European Tour" blades 1-PW (yes 1 and 2 irons were in the set). They were absolute butter knives. Many people know about Aussie blades, but these were not the Aussie blades, which are also very nice. Anyway, sold the Pings and never looked back. Have been playing blades ever since.

 

Blades I have tried: Hogan Apex, Maxfli European Tour, Ram Tour Grind, Titliest Tour Model (nearly every year including the box blade), Titleist 670, 680, 681, 681 "T", 690MB, 690.MB, 710MB, 712MB, 714MB (still have those in home bag), 716MB, Crazy LTD MB, Mizuno MP14 (stayed in bag a long time), Vega MB, Miura MB001, Gauge Design, Scratch, Fourteen, Wilson Staff button backs, and others.

[size=3][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][url="https://www.usna.edu/homepage.php"]Go Navy![/url]

[b][u]WITB[/u][/b]
Titleist 915 D4 8.5 Oban V430 6.5 75g
Titleist 915 F2 15 Rogue Silver 80S
Titleist VG3 18.5 JDM PX 6.0
Titleist 680 raw 4-PW Nippon MODUS 125S
Titleist TVD raw C-C 53 and Indigo SM5 58 DGTI
Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless Newport Beach 340g 35"
Scotty Cameron MilSpec Gen2 330g 35"[/font][/size]

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I'm not good enough to need to play blades, but I really enjoy bagging the 8 - pw in blades. They are fun to play and I hit them good enough that they don't make my score any worse.

 

hit em good

Driver: Ping G25

4w & 7w: Ping G25

23° Hybrid: Ping G25

5i - pw: Mizuno MP64

54° & 58°: Cleveland RTX 4 raw

Putter: The Wilson 8802 (vintage model)

Ball:  Titleist Pro V1x
Bag: Original Jones Golf Bag (green)

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

 

Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Excellent data to show that blades do perform, and if you stick with them, they will make you a better golfer.

 

 

C'mon. Actually look at it with some degree of objectivity. The side spin and offline numbers show a huge range with the 730s versus whatever the 770s.

Based on that data he is simply more accurate with the 770s.

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

 

Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Excellent data to show that blades do perform, and if you stick with them, they will make you a better golfer.

 

 

C'mon. Actually look at it with some degree of objectivity. The side spin and offline numbers show a huge range with the 730s versus whatever the 770s.

Based on that data he is simply more accurate with the 770s.

 

Very different shafts. Do we know which he hit first? Usually takes a few swings to warm up.

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

 

Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Excellent data to show that blades do perform, and if you stick with them, they will make you a better golfer.

 

 

C'mon. Actually look at it with some degree of objectivity. The side spin and offline numbers show a huge range with the 730s versus whatever the 770s.

Based on that data he is simply more accurate with the 770s.

 

Very different shafts. Do we know which he hit first? Usually takes a few swings to warm up.

 

Oh sure, but you're OK with saying the data proves 'blades do perform'?

But if it doesn't, then we should consider the other factors? ;)

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

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Probably would be better content for the "Blade Users" thread echo chamber.

 

I lol’d out loud

Ping G400 @ 10.5° (Ping Tour 65S)

Ping G400 5 wood @ 16.5° (Ping Alta CB 65S)

Ping G410 7 wood @ 20° (Ping Tour 75X)

Titleist 818H2 @ 22° (PX 6.0)

Ping i210 PowerSpec 5-U (DG S300)

Titleist SM7 54° F / 60° K (DG S200)

Ping Heppler Floki

Titleist ProV1x/AVX

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I like most have watched Shiels, Crossfield, Newton, and others saying how the P730's are for elite ball strikers and pro's and I can say that this is just not the case for me. I am still recovering from knee surgery in March, and my rounds are limited to 9 holes typically, for most of this season I have been playing P770's that I had a member on here custom build for me. REcently I picked up a set of stock specs P730's and to be totally honest, my scores are no worse using them versus any other irons. What I do find is that I can hit the 4 & 5 irons in the P730's my expected distances, yet the 9 & PW tend to come up short for me. Perhaps due to the weaker lofts the ball spins up the face and loose distance. I have played z945's and z965's before, but I wouldn't call those true blades as they definitely have a fair amount of help. And for reference, I usually score from 39-45 for 9 holes, again, much of that is my knee still but regardless, if I can put a decent swing on the P730 or P770 I still get desired results.

 

Here's some sim testing I did recently, more amazed at how similar they are than not.. (no comments of swing speed or spin please.. my rehab is still a work in progress..)

 

Taylormade P770 7i DG 120 Tour Issue S400;

 

 

Taylormade P730 7i KBS Tour FLT 120s;

 

 

Excellent data to show that blades do perform, and if you stick with them, they will make you a better golfer.

 

 

C'mon. Actually look at it with some degree of objectivity. The side spin and offline numbers show a huge range with the 730s versus whatever the 770s.

Based on that data he is simply more accurate with the 770s.

 

Very different shafts. Do we know which he hit first? Usually takes a few swings to warm up.

 

Oh sure, but you're OK with saying the data proves 'blades do perform'?

But if it doesn't, then we should consider the other factors? ;)

 

Simply saying I'm not a fan of data when shafts are different and when the golfer isn't warmed up regardless of what type of head it is.

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Do you consider the Ping G25s a blade?

 

Asking for a friend.

 

Of course not. But the Ping i3 & i3+ Blades and Ping iBlade are blades. I mean it's right there in the title!

[url="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTOZNxdsDKajrKxaUCRjcU8eB7URcAMpaCWN-67Bt6QG8rmBUPYW3QAQ7k87BlYizIMKJzEhuzqr9OQ/pubhtml?gid=0&single=true"]WITB[/url] | [url="http://tinyurl.com/CoursesPlayedList"]Courses Played list[/url] |  [url="http://tinyurl.com/25GolfingFaves"] 25 Faves [/url]

F.T.

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Classic blade design (I.e., a chunk of homogeneous metal whacked with multi-ton hammer) seems to be on the way out. I think most of the forged clubs now are actually multi-material components, some of which are forged, that are welded together.

 

I think the reason is that most people gravitate towards distance or forgiveness and are willing to sacrifice some feel to get it. All the new clubs now feel good, so you have be very discriminating to want a specific feel that can only be obtained with a true forging.

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I would not consider them blades

[size=3][font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][url="https://www.usna.edu/homepage.php"]Go Navy![/url]

[b][u]WITB[/u][/b]
Titleist 915 D4 8.5 Oban V430 6.5 75g
Titleist 915 F2 15 Rogue Silver 80S
Titleist VG3 18.5 JDM PX 6.0
Titleist 680 raw 4-PW Nippon MODUS 125S
Titleist TVD raw C-C 53 and Indigo SM5 58 DGTI
Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless Newport Beach 340g 35"
Scotty Cameron MilSpec Gen2 330g 35"[/font][/size]

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