Any blade guys tried weaker "Tiger" lofts?

[MelloYello]

Just got a sweet deal on some old VR TW Blades in great shape. I remember these being some of the best blades I ever hit. Little longer blade length, little bigger face. I've heard the current TaylorMade TW models are similar. I was thinking of maybe weakening the lofts by a couple degrees a la TW just for kicks. It would only add launch and spin so I can't see it being a bad thing.

 

I was just calculating what effect it would have on offset (-1.5mm per club) and it looks like that would basically take the least offset clubs of the set (short irons like the 9- and Pw) down to ~0. Heck, maybe that's part of why he does it?

 

I'd probably ditch a wedge but that's no problem. I basically use my 60 for everything anyway. Blending my 52 and 56 into a single club is really a non-issue.

[Valtiel]

Not a blade guy, but i'm pretty similar from PW to 7i in my current set (not the MP59's in my sig). I like it, it works well with wedge gapping for me which is mainly why I do it.

[uglande]

I've got some MP-20 blades on order and I'm thinking about bending the PW from 46 to 48 and the 9 iron from 42 to 43, with Vokeys in 54 and 58 (or possibly 60).

Tiger's 9 iron is 44.5 and his PW is 50.0. And of course his wedges are always 56 and 60, although once in a blue moon he'll use a 62.

[MelloYello]

Where are you getting his specs from?

 

I'm going off (1) that old photo of Nike's Excel file with all the player info and (2) the new TM "Tiger Lofts" info which agrees with (1).

 

Also, I don't think his actual wedge lofts are 56 and 60. I think they're stamped that way but I believe he's a 53 /59 guy (or something like that). Not 100% positive though.

 

Just curious.

[uglande]

There is a video interview of him from earlier this year where he talks about his specs and specifically mentions the lofts on his 9 iron and pitching wedge. On the TaylorMade site, the "Tiger Specs" for his signature irons list the 9 iron at 45 and the PW at 49, but in the interview he said 44.5 and 50.0. I haven't heard him say that his wedges are anything but 56 and 60, but maybe. In that same interview he did say that he experiments with a 62 but I assume that was based on certain course conditions.

[bodhi555]

Yes, spent 13 years playing a set of Nike OG Blades, which as far as I can tell are pretty close to Tiger lofts. They were a lovely set of irons - perhaps a club shorter than usual, but really easy to launch, and the 49 degree PW saved carrying an extra wedge, Also meant you could go all the way to 1 iron (17 degrees) if you were feeling brave, which I usually was.

 

Still have them in my spare bag. Upgrading to the VR Pros I noticed about 15 yards extra per club, a slightly lower trajectory and more bite on the greens.

[BMC]

My '18 Apex 18s start at 51` (AW) , so yes I do play old school lofts, just different numbers on the bottom.

[BirdieBob]

I have a PW that is a bit dated....lol....loft is 51*…9i is 47*……..com'on Tiger, Man`up.

Does it really matter? Today, that 9i is 40 - 42 normally....it is all just a change in the numbers on the club.

[Exactice808]

Hey Mellow!

So I have a set of the older Nike Forged blades, with the traditional specs

Club, Loft, lie, length, offset

3 23 59 38.75" 0.115

4 26 60 38.25" 0.100

5 29 61 37.75" 0.090

6 33 62 37.25" 0.085

7 37 62.5 36.75" 0.08

8 41 63 36.25" 0.070

9 45 63.5 35.75" 0.060

PW 49 64 35.5" 0.050

 

Played these for a little while, But I then ended up bending them to VR pro specs

Club, Loft, lie, length,

3 21 59 38.75"

4 24 60 38.25"

5 27 61 37.75"

6 31 62 37.25"

7 35 62.5 36.75"

8 39 63 36.25"

9 43 63.5 35.75"

PW 47 64 35.5"

 

This was basically 2 degrees stronger per iron, the offset from the original was somewhat noticeable when looking down (but not much in reality) , BUT it still looks like current generation blades.

 

That being said in its original form factor and offset, the PW was 0.050" in offset its hardly if at all noticeable for the 4iron and DOWN, so unless you plan to play the 3 & 2iron. I dont think it would be a huge visual difference if you weekend the lofts and it reduced the offset. 2* weaken to get to TW specs might not be earth shattering in my opinion. Especially if you are capable of hitting the clubs to begin with anyways.

 

Have fun with them I use my the Nike blades in my practice net at home so I hit it quite a bit still. I was tempted to ship them up to my In-laws in Japan and leave them there to play with them when I visit every year. But I would miss them too much locally HAHAAH!

 

 

GAWT DANG sorry mellow when I rush and type I have so many errors sorry.... corrected most of it LOL

[wobgon]

I played for a lot of years before I started using stronger lofts like Tiger uses.

[MerryTex]

I'd LOVE to find a mint set of VR Pro Blades or Pro Combo irons. Played some of my best iron shots with those clubs. The blades just cut through the turf and had such a pure feeling at impact. My MacGregor blades come close but not close enough.

[Golfingfanatic]

I use 680s which go from a 22* 3 iron to a 48* PW. Pretty weak for today's standards, but I like them that way. Afterwards I go for a 53* GW and a 58* lobber.

[jhaw]

interesting. whats your wedge bounce angles like?

[WristySwing]

I'm with @Golfingfanatic I have a set of Titleist 660s that are about as traditionally lofted as you will in the recent past off a 48* PW. I bent them 1* weak to IIRC (it was a few months ago when I bent them) from 20* to 49* (3-PW). I haven't them outside yet but I am getting about 3-4mph less ball speed with the 660s than out of my current 6i (28*) indoors on GCQuad, which is actually a bit faster than it should be as it is expected that about 5mph seperation is seen per "club". I am excited to try them for giggles and see how I do, as I have always hated a GW, I've never found one that felt and looked right. Worst case I can easily sell them for what I paid or more so I'm not too worried if the experiment doesn't work out.

[Nessism]

2 degrees weaker will only change offset half as much as you note here. I've done testing before to see for myself.

[Golfingfanatic]

I've got a RTX4 mid grind 54/10 bent to 53* (takes off one degree of bounce I think) and a RTX4 full grind 58/9.

[driveandputtmachine]

Not blades, but I played a set of J40CB's with a 49* PW and 4* rough gapping back to the 3 iron for a long time. I rotated through 52, 56, 60 wedges to 54 and 59 some years. Roughly 3/4 of the time was four total wedges after college as I didn't have time to practice a ton of three finger and the like shots and tended to have more short irons and wedges into greens than anything else.

[MelloYello]

The only time I've ever heard about him using a 62 was that one, particular year at Augusta to try and negate some of the chipping challenges he felt had gotten tougher. It was sometime in the last decade. As I recall, he didn't do particularly well so I figured he abandoned it.

[jasonp87]

I did this with my MP4s

 

4* constant gaps from a 24* 4i to a 48* PW followed by a 54 and 60* wedges. Best thing ive ever done for my game.

 

[NRJyzr]

I'm all over the map with my lofts, with my various sets. TW276 Golden Rams and my Mizuno MS-11s run 21-49 for 3-pw. TW282 are 19-51 for 2-pw. 1980 Ram Tour Grinds are 20-52 for 2-pw (not too far off std specs).

The sets that have been bent weak do indeed have a noticeable reduction in offset; the Mizunos above are 2* weak in 5i-9i, and you can tell the difference when comparing to the 3i, which is std at 21*.

What I like best is cutting the number of added wedges to two, or even one. The added bounce is a nice bonus.

[jhaw]

You find 9 deg of bounce enough for soft bunkers?

[Golfingfanatic]

Yes, I think it is plenty for me. The Full grind is really versatile imo.

[jhaw]

Nice. For some reason Cleveland wedges were never on my radar but they are now

[Jake0331]

I have always played, and continue to prefer, weaker PW lofts. 990B was 49 (49.5?), MP-33 was 48, my 714 MB’s are adjusted to the 33 lofts, and I have a set of old Tour Models now with a 49 PW and 45 9 iron.

I have always played a 60* lob so sometime I knock the sand wedge for a 53/52 or you can jump to 56 and then the 60. It’s easy for me to chop yardage off the weaker PW and get that 110-115 type shot, he’ll sometimes it may only be 100 into some wind.

 

Overall, at higher swing speeds there is a great argument for 4 wedges, I find that for myself I can do well with three.

[cw1209]

The number on the bottom of the iron is irrelevant. 4* gaps between all irons is a great way to go. My 24* iron says 5, I have 5 wedges, don't care. Gapping is perfect.