Blade users thread (NO DEBATING CLUBHEADS! NO Buy Sell Trade!)

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I already have a set of the Callaway Protos waiting to go in the bag, but right now I'm looking forward to these beauties in play. I posted about them on the Classic Golf forum, and the consensus seems to be that they are a custom set, influenced perhaps by the '76-77 Tour Blades and the FG51s. I hit the PW and 6i last night at the range and they are beautiful

[craz-e]

stunners

[Jonesy]

Those are incredible No Catchy

[mahonie]

Square my toe!!

[granata10]

Wilson’s are ordered! Went back to the golf shop today to see if they were as good as I remembered and they were! Out performed everything i hit from Ping to Mizunos. It’s been a while since I have played a blade but looking forward to it!!

[DeNinny]

Welcome to the light! Wilson is one of the best blade manufacturers of all time.

And remember: "forgiveness" is a carney sham(e)! My opinion only. ?

[granata10]

It’s funny you say that, I wouldn’t consider the i210 game improvement clubs but the right side of the green wasn’t accessible to me. I am not saying I am the greatest ball striker of all time but I know what I am doing. I couldn’t cut the ball to save my life with i210. When I went to the store last week to try smaller heads, (after watching Paul Wood from Pings video on the effect of blade length) the best fits for me were the Wilsons of course, MP20s and JPX919 tour. I could hit whatever shot I wanted to with ease. My miss is the thin shot and even that wasn’t too bad. The small cavity backs were better than what I had but still like the left side. The blades were the most neutral and felt the best to me. Today reaffirmed it, I went to see if everything I felt and saw last week was still true and it was. Honestly I didn’t have my best swing today and the blades were still better than what I had. The unfortunate part is I have to wait 2 weeks for the clubs to come in. Guess I have time to work on my wedges!

[DeNinny]

"Forgiveness" is kind of like autism. It's not completely absolute. Rather, it's on a spectrum. The more "forgiving" the club, actually the more difficult it is to hit. At the extreme GI end you have the absolute worst designs for anyone to play and at the blades end you have the absolute best designs for everyone. And those i210s are somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, so it absolutely makes sense that they aren't nearly as bad to play as GI clubs but also aren't as playable as blades.

I had a similar experience to you. When I played both CBs and blades I was around an 18 index to start out. Not a good ball striker at all. But it didn't matter. Relatively speaking I could not control the ball as well and hit more poor shots with my mp60s CBs as compared to my mp67s blades. And then my absolute worst irons were my supposed "game improvement" mp FliHis. The mp67s were simply the best at forgiving poor strikes as well as creating shots and working the ball. And because it's all based on universal physics, it didn't matter that I was an 18 index hack or a 7 index decent player. Playing blades was always better for me. And again it's because of their technical superiority.

One of the biggest fallacies (and mind f*cks) of "forgiveness" is that there's some sort of inverse relationship between playing well with blades and their supposed difficulty to play. LOL the "logic" is that you have to be skilled to play them, otherwise they are more difficult the less skilled you are. ROFLMAO this makes zero technical sense and is just pure marketing by "forgiving" club manufacturers that want to falsely justify why you should play clubs that actually hamper your game. The real technical reason the better players play blades is because they make ball striking EASIER.

Anyhow, so as not to get into the technical minutia again, it's good that you proved the fallacy of "forgiveness" yourself and saw your own swing numbers benefit from the use of blades. Your story is no different to mine and most other blades users. So consider yourself surrounded by your peers and family here. We understand why you're a blade user despite what the "forgiving" club manufacturers want you to believe. And again, welcome to the light!

Edit: this is all based on my own professional opinion and personal experiences only. ?

[NRJyzr]

 

I'm sorry to be "that guy," but we really aren't supposed to be having those "versus" sort of discussions.

[DeNinny]

NRJ no worries I won't argue with anyone that disagrees with me.

I'm just sharing my personal view as a blade user and am just sharing it with another fellow one with a similar experience.

As I see it we were having a discussion and not a debate about anything.

And I can't help the fact that my blades journey has a lot to do with my own personal experience with the technical issues with the "other" irons. Is it a "debate" when it's my own experience? ?

[JStang]

Not much love from the Titleist 620 blades in here. I am playing a combo set (8-PW MB) and I have been impressed the two nights I got them on the course. I definitely missed the center of the club face a few times without seeing much drop off in distance.

 

Not to mention, they are such a good looking club.

[Duffman57]

I just got a set of MP-32's to get something a little more challenging, since I've played my old x-14's that my dad got me for high school golf into the ground. Do I get to join the cool kids table now? haha

Anyway, at this point I just hope that I'm good enough to play it. No rounds yet (looking forward to wednesday) but have a few range sessions in the bag and I've been hitting them really well. Just started playing consistently after playing 1-2 times a year for the last 10 years, but played HS golf and took lessons and all that in HS, so I can swing it ok. Really excited about the clubs, they feel beautiful when you hit them consistently and I'm getting there after the 2 range sessions.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

I like the course because the tree lines force you to focus, but I might be in them all day if it's windy. With the last two holes out in the open, I bet they are fun into the wind too. It'll be fun to watch the tourney next week now that I am more familiar with the course.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

You're right that they don't get many mentions here. They indeed are a good looking blade, and with not a lot of offset, either. How many different Titleist blades have you played from the 710 to the 620? I've whacked a few in the net at the shop, and noticed some differences in terms of offset, but I can never remember which I like more! I *think* the 710s have a fair bit of offset compared to the 712s and 714s. The 712s and 714s appeared pretty similar to me but with a different finish. The 716s I really like the look of, and the 718s I don't remember.

I grew up playing a secondhand set of original Titleist Tour Blades. One thing that's not often mentioned with these clubs is that the SW that came with the set was actually pretty good. Very versatile.

[DeNinny]

MP-32s are nice. I bought my father a set and have hit them a lot. They are very similar to my mp67s with the cut muscle and all. If you like them and how they feel, aka Mizuno buttah, check out some full blade (without the cut) Mizzys like the mp29s, mp33s or mp4s.

And challenging? Nah! ?

[BIG STU]

LOL there ain't any telling where you I or anyone else may be if the wind blows no joke. One thing there or at least for me if the wind blows a hybrid or high lofted FW can be as useless as a screen door on a submarine. Both times I have played it I ditched the 5 wood and put my 1 iron and 3 iron in. One time I beat 2 players I was playing with that I had no business beating because I darn near wore that 1 iron out. Spieth or any of the Texas boys ought to do well in the wind. Do not count out DJ either he is used to the coastal winds since he played a lot here in college. Yep it will be fun for you watching now that you are familiar with the course

[BIG STU]

You yes you Ninja talking about Mizunos have gotten me to thinking about my MP-68s again and wanting to work on them some as soon as I can hobble out to the shop.

[Nard_S]

Have 681's & T's. Use the Pro V x1, & have a classic stand bag of theirs The TS4 is a real nice looking stick to me. Guess, I'm a Titleist fan boy, though never intended to be. Like how they do their blades, like their "click" & clean design. The 620 is a fine looking club. Good luck with them.

[Duffman57]

Hahahah, well i guess challenging is subjective. I came from the ultimate game improvement irons in the Calloway X-14's. So far so good on the MP32's though. I'm not good enough, and don't play enough to dedicate to full blades yet, or any time in the near future, but if I ever get to the point and want something more challenging, I'll look into it. But I absolutely LOVE how they feel, no doubt about it. I also love how they look at address, I really didn't like how thick and bulky the GI Irons I had were. For some reason out on the range, my most consistent clubs have been the 4 iron and 8 iron haha.

Just because of look as much as performance, I REALLY want the JPX 900/919 Tours though (or the forged to give me something forgiving). Not quite Blades but trending that way.

[JStang]

I haven't played many blades for a long period of time. The set that I have played the most is a set of Nike VR Pro Combo's with the blade in 8-PW. I remember reading that the 718 MB's had some offset which was rumored to cater to Adam Scott's preference. I just like the simplicity of the 620 and prefer the satin finish. For $625 shipped I couldn't say no to them.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

For a current edition of Titleist blades, that's pretty good. Titleist tend to maintain their value here in Japan, which is one reason why I haven't bought a set (recently). I did get a set of 690s a few years ago and liked them a lot, but the shaft wasn't a great fit for me at the time (S200). My local second hand shop has a nice set of custom 714s with DG Tour Issue X100. I've hit them through the set, and the balance is fantastic, but the DG shafts are USA Ryder Cup limited editions with the Stars and Stripes on them....for me, on the "other side", that's a bitter pill to follow....

(Actually, the price is the main reason I haven't bought them).

[NRJyzr]

May be a repeat on my part...

Put my Golden Rams in my bag the other day, the 1980 Tour Grinds. I found my iron game improve instantly, in spite of there being a fair bit of wind involved. I wound up messing up to shoot 7 over, with two doubles in my first three holes, in spite of having a less than adequate tee game.

The only real adjustment was mental, changing the thinking due to the one-club-weaker lofts of this set. My MP37s are 20 to 47 for 3-PW with a 52* GW, my 80 Tour Grinds are 2-PW at 20* to 52* in even 4* increments. There's no real difference.

I found I really liked hitting the smaller clubheads of the 80 Tour Grinds, compared to the MP37s. I'm sure a fair number of folks feel the 37s are already on the smallish side, yet I find them a bit larger. Were I inclined to "chuck it all and play a set of graphite shafted Pings to save my elbows," I expect that size difference would come into play for me, negatively.

Just another example of how one size does not fit all in this funny little game we play.

Another interesting side effect of the recent couple rounds, I really have no real use for a fairway wood in my bag. I've had a couple instances where I could hit a fwy wood and it's not gone particularly well. A couple times, I had the choice between a 3w and a hybrid, and found I hit the hybrid considerably better. I'm inclined to drop the fwy wood, carry a 2 hybrid above my irons, and maybe go 55/60 in the wedges.

Oh the humanity!

[DeNinny]

Before you write yourself off as not "good enough" to play those MP-32s, I highly encourage you to hit both sets of irons out at the range in side by side comparison to each other and see which ones you truly hit better or worse. Better yet, play and switch between the sets playing them on the course from round to round. If you find that you hit the MP-32s as well as the X-14s, then you are definitely good enough to play them. And those X-14s aren't really "helping" you at all.

Forget what you *think* you know about the supposed qualifications to play blades. Just go out and play them and compare that play to how you do with your X-14s. Assuming there's no other major differences between the sets like shafts or major loft differences, I'm sure you'll be fine with the MP-32s. But it starts with attitude and not thinking that your iron type defines your game. There's A LOT of technical benefits behind those MP-32s that apply to all golfers of all skill levels as compared to those X-14s. And I'm confident you'll realize them on your own and that you'll realize that anyone can play blades fine! (Spoiler alert: all other things equal there's no technical detriment to playing them!)

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I can see where you're coming from re. the size of the Mizuno 37 heads compared to the Ram Tour Grinds, especially in the short irons. I was chipping inside with the pitching wedges from my newly acquired Wilsons and fairly newly acquired Mizuno MS-7, and the head of the MS-7 looked huge after using the Wilson PW.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Yep, best way to find out is to hit them on the course, and see if your scores are any different.

 

[buzlin]

I've been swapping between T200s (great forgiving irons that I was fit for) and my Tour Stage 909 X-Blade, with zero difference in scores. In fact, my lowest round (1-under, 71, with elevated cups) was with the 909s, second lowest (72, with elevated cups) with T200s. I will continue to play both because it's fun to swap between two very different irons. Some shots are better with one, some shots are worse, but on average, it balances out FOR ME.

 

Feel free to ignore or delete this off topic post (I blame DeNinny)

[DeNinny]

I choose to respond to this post and say, IMHO only, it's not off topic when you are a blade user talking about your experience using blades.

And LMAO I must point out that you, just like me, still shot your lowest all time best score with your...

 

...wait for it...

 

BLADES!!! ???

[braincramp52]

I now have 9 rounds (9hole) under my belt this year with my new Wilson Staffs and I couldn't be happier. Shot a 40 last night in league with a double on 18. The weirdest thing I've experienced so far is the fact I lost no distance from my Ping G410's that I played last year. Golf is fun again!!

[3_Jack_Par]

Somebody needs to talk me out of ordering a set of the black Hogan Icons. I've been one click away from ordering a set a couple of times. The thing that I keep going back to that I think would be helpful for me is that the Hogans have a wider loft gap in the longer clubs than my SB-1s (the 4 iron is the same loft as my 3 iron, and the shorter irons are mostly about 2 degrees stronger than my current irons), which would allow me to carry one less iron and put in another wedge. I was originally thinking that I could go 50-54-58, but I played a round this weekend where I put my 62 degree wedge in the bag and it was handy as hell around the greens (it was the only thing that worked all day during an otherwise dumpster fire of a round), so I would probably stick to my current 52-58 setup and use the extra spot for the 62. I absolutely don't need to buy a new set of irons, but they're so pretty, and I did try out the 6/9 irons in the chrome finish through their demo program, and they are nice feeling clubs that seemed to perform well.

[DeNinny]

@3_Jack_Par Let me get this straight...you want WRX blade users to talk you out of buying new Hogan blades...?
?????