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

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

1 hour ago, Port and Starboard said:

I know that I'm probably being overly sentimental and showing my age here, but I keep on hoping that MacGregor will find some sort of resurgence like Hogan Golf has over the past few years.

 

A refined version of the M85 model blade would be a great start.

 

Yeah....... I know.  (Ok Boomer) 😆

 

Is the Macgregor brand still in existence in some small portion of the world? Sad to say, but I don't think it's ever making a comeback. Still, one can dream!

[lefthack]

1 hour ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Is the Macgregor brand still in existence in some small portion of the world? Sad to say, but I don't think it's ever making a comeback. Still, one can dream!

 

I'm sure some equity firm or somebody has the name they bought at a fire sale. Not sure if my first set was Spalding or Macgregor. I know my shoes were MacGregor Powers, I pulled the spikes and wore them to senior prom. 🤣

[Bigmean]

Back to the shafts from earlier.  I have had nippon 130,125,120 and the 1150s in my BB. Best metal shafts in market, all of them.  Even the 130 is nothing like an x100.

 

So first lesson is in the book.  Feeling positive.  Takeaway starts it for me for coming sharp inside.  I stand a little too far from ball (most apparent in driver) aiding to snap hook/push.   My grip has small separation (aiding to flipping/hook) and he basically gave me an anti left lesson.  This was Friday. 
 
Last night I played a round on sim, the warm up was ugly, lots of thoughts.  The round had some bad contact misses for sure as finding this a little.  BUT, haven’t driven ball so well in a while.  3 over 300.  My new miss when doing it right is Straightish small push  and leaks right from not releasing…. from past feeling a full release will hook, but super playable, like right rough playable.  And I need to learn to trust a release.
 

+3 on the sim,  but have a stupid generous putt system with 2putt all and 1put inside 10ft and obviously always a good lie.   I dropped a 91 pre lesson same conditions/course on sim. Now I did mulligan 2 drives that was more of a not right feeling and wanting it again for practice over less playable, but I think if I pound this out I can get a lot straighter.

 

He seemed to think I should be in 70s again by end of summer, so that is the goal I guess as I probably should have number goal even though I am more score aware than score obsessed.  
 

Right now contact is bad cause I need to find the ball again.  I’m not worried about missing the center of club for now.  If I release it I am actually farther with less effort, but I’m very far from not thinking about all I need to do and commuting to a smooth natural release without my Brian micro editing it to happen.  I think the better shots in round were better than warm up because you are seeing something to aim at and play instead of thinking over ball with blank grass.
 

tl;dr:  I’m pretty excited, a whole round with a few very small left misses and leaky right drives and irons is a big step forward.  

Edited February 7, 2022 by Bigmean

[wely324]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:13 PM, craz-e said:

 

 

As a serial toe striker the Blueprints have just caught my attention!

same! Anyone got a set? Lol

[Port and Starboard]

Who is playing the Hogan Icon irons on here?  I hit them a few times out of my friend's bag out on the course and they are about as nice as it gets as far as feel and looks go.

 

I set a goal and a promise to myself for 2022. 

 

My goal is to get back to single digits, and if succeed, I will reward myself with a set of Icon irons 4-PW

[Christen_The_Sloop]

one more sleep and the ta silver scot 986 tour will be in my hands. that is all.

[craz-e]

7 hours ago, wely324 said:

same! Anyone got a set? Lol

 

 

I am always on the lookout but haven't seen many in these neck of the woods (Australia) for a reasonable price 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

13 hours ago, lefthack said:

 

I'm sure some equity firm or somebody has the name they bought at a fire sale. Not sure if my first set was Spalding or Macgregor. I know my shoes were MacGregor Powers, I pulled the spikes and wore them to senior prom. 🤣

 

I'm that's the case, which is why I expect that somewhere in the world "MacGregor" is still putting out products. 

 

AAAAANNNNND, a 5 second internet search pulls up this:

https://www.macgregor.co.jp

 

So they might still going in Japan, although their latest press release is from January last year.

[lefthack]

39 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I'm that's the case, which is why I expect that somewhere in the world "MacGregor" is still putting out products. 

 

AAAAANNNNND, a 5 second internet search pulls up this:

https://www.macgregor.co.jp

 

So they might still going in Japan, although their latest press release is from January last year.

 

Tourspec has the sweet putter that was on the site.

 

https://www.tourspecgolf.com/brand/macgregor_japan

[Christen_The_Sloop]

4 hours ago, lefthack said:

 

Tourspec has the sweet putter that was on the site.

 

https://www.tourspecgolf.com/brand/macgregor_japan

They ran a pretty good infomercial here on the Japanese golf channel. Think it's called Golfnow.

 

Those bad boys are pretty pricey. You could take a selection of old Mac putters and have them all refinished and have a night on the town for what they are asking...

 

 

[Kmagnuss]

16 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

one more sleep and the ta silver scot 986 tour will be in my hands. that is all.

 

Lol "One more sleep".  Let me guess... you have a kid around 4-6 years old?  🙂

[Christen_The_Sloop]

21 hours ago, Kmagnuss said:

 

Lol "One more sleep".  Let me guess... you have a kid around 4-6 years old?  🙂

Today was a good day. Oh, and you are right

[Bigmean]

Wow those are pretty!!!!!

[Nard_S]

Really nice!

 

[NRJyzr]

Interesting that your 986 Tours are a little squarer at the toe.  The set I have are a bit less so.  

 

You just have to enjoy custom grinds  🙂

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Love those Silver Scots. That look at address is magnificent.👍

[Christen_The_Sloop]

7 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

Interesting that your 986 Tours are a little squarer at the toe.  The set I have are a bit less so.  

 

You just have to enjoy custom grinds  🙂

 

 

did yours have paint in the grooves? mine do. i have a set of founders in chrome without and a couple sets in satin that do. think its a japanese thing. maruman, mizuno also did it.

 

from the back they look a lot like tm92s. looking down, the closest maybe hagen crenshaw grinds, obviously with less offset, but less than you might think.

 

I didn`t have time last night, but I want to talk about that round at Pinehurst. The yardage is 7400 yards. The range I play at uses balls that are flighted, so I max out around 270. I think I got a couple out there past 280. So, I`ve got an arm tied behind my back already.

 

Some fellow at my range took down my low score two days before, a 71 to my 72. I had a little time after work and it was warm, so I thought I`d give it another go. You can see I got off to a hot start. #2 is a little more difficult on the front than the back, I think. I was feeling good hitting the turn. Then the wind and the cold came. I slogged it out and narrowly missed some birdies - to make a birdie I hit to a green 110 yards away. Made a clutch bird on #17 to pull to one up. Pushed a drive into the bunker on the right on #18. Hit a beauty 5 iron from 189, slightly right of the pin. When I looked back at the screen it was bouncing along the fairway.

 

I thought I was going to have a nice putt for birdie for 69. I ended up with 77 yards, needing to get up and down for the win. Hit two nice wedge shots, a 3/4 60 degree to 12 feet and another 110 yard 52 inside 5 yards to seal it.

 

Practicing with this kind of pressure is going to pay off this year. Watch out.

 

 

[PeanutsDaddy]

Love the profile of those Silver Scots at address.  

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

did yours have paint in the grooves?

 

Mine are a rechromed set.  But, I remember the set I used to have prior to these did have paint in the grooves.

 

As far as I know, they were forged here in the US.  <shrug>

 

[Bigmean]

Embarrassing posting this after Christians maiden voyage with the new toys but first time I garage rounded the small blades and it is coming around.  More left misses than last time, no really good or big drives like last round, but no penalty drives either so that is just a huge relief to to fight for par and walk with that or bogey.   Birdies off 7 iron from 172 and actually scoring on a par 5 felt good.  Didn’t hit a lot of greens but again, containing misses to the actual course and close chips felt good mentally.  Still not full releasing at least half the shots and mostly driver but that’s ok.  Feeling so positive but a lot of work ahead.  Hopefully the time off will help etch new memory faster.
 

I have about 5-7 sim strokes to lose to be in goal territory on course.  

[Christen_The_Sloop]

1 hour ago, Bigmean said:

Embarrassing posting this after Christians maiden voyage with the new toys but first time I garage rounded the small blades and it is coming around.  More left misses than last time, no really good or big drives like last round, but no penalty drives either so that is just a huge relief to to fight for par and walk with that or bogey.   Birdies off 7 iron from 172 and actually scoring on a par 5 felt good.  Didn’t hit a lot of greens but again, containing misses to the actual course and close chips felt good mentally.  Still not full releasing at least half the shots and mostly driver but that’s ok.  Feeling so positive but a lot of work ahead.  Hopefully the time off will help etch new memory faster.
 

I have about 5-7 sim strokes to lose to be in goal territory on course.  

It's all good... Glad you are back posting, back at the grind. When I see the 3 bogies in a row there, it reminds me a lot of me. When I played in college, looking back, I did that all the time. I would hit a couple loose shots here and there or a couple missed putts... In short, a breakdown. I thought a little about why that happened and I seemed to have it worked out there once, but I forgot what the hell it was.

 

Maybe it's having a solid routine. That's what I've really worked on the last few years. Hard to believe it's been that long really now it feels a lot more part of me. It's all take from Bob Rotella and folks he has worked with, Jim Furyk etc. I used to think Furyk was infuriating to watch (still do), but I've tried to hybridize what he does.

 

Maybe it's also a bit of ritualization. Every process naturally filters into the finished product making the end result less likely to deviate from the straight line or crisp shot. In this way, it's maybe how Ben Hogan broke down the golf swing in his 5 lessons. It's had a huge impact on the process I've developed.

 

I hit a ton of good shots yesterday. i hit a few bad shots too and few others that looked great only to hit a tree and end up a little unlucky. But, I stuck to my process and my next shot was generally quite good. I rarely followed a bad shot with another bad one or two. 

 

I've talked about the process a little bit in posts while you were away. let me know if you want to know more. I'd love to know what you are thinking as you are over the ball / over each shot - That goes for anyone here. 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Christen_The_Sloop

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I decided I needed some long iron and wedge practice today, so I drove a bit further to a range that has a practice chipping green and fairly decent range rocks, instead of the low-flight balls at my usual place. Those low-flight balls are depressing to hit with long irons as they just drop out of the sky. 

Anyhow, I took a Wilson FG-17 2i with an DGS200 shaft that's a bit on the short side (about 38.75 inches), a Mizuno MS-7 2i with a DGS300 at 39.25 inches, a Mizuno Masters 3i with a "PowerArc" shaft (38.5"), and a RAM TW Custom Grind 1i with a Dynamic R shaft, at 39.5").

 

While I may be stating the bleeding obvious, the 1i is challenging to hit...😄

I was mainly hitting them off the tee, because that's how I'd usually hit them on the course. While the regular flex shaft in the 1i made it easy to get good height, it also made it easy to turn over. After a few shots to get used to it, though, I was hitting it straight enough and well enough to put it in the bag. Even little mishits were carrying over the 180 yard mark and into the back net, and good strikes were really promising.

 

The FG-17 is a bit short, which makes it harder to get up in the air. I might extend the shaft or put a new one in. It goes straight, but only 3~4i distance. Probably a good club for links golf, but there's none of that where I am.

 

The Mizuno Masters 3i was a beauty, probably my favourite of the four. Great feel, great ball flight, and a good looking club at address.

 

The MS-7 was the biggest disappointment. I just couldn't find the middle with this club. I hit a few OK ones, but nothing that felt like a Mizuno! Funny, because I like the rest of the set it came with.

 

edit: checked the shaft lengths

Edited February 11, 2022 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[mbwannab]

25 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

I decided I needed some long iron and wedge practice today, so I drove a bit further to a range that has a practice chipping green and fairly decent range rocks, instead of the low-flight balls at my usual place. Those low-flight balls are depressing to hit with long irons as they just drop out of the sky. 

Anyhow, I took a Wilson FG-17 2i with an DGS200 shaft that's a bit on the short side (about 38.75 inches), a Mizuno MS-7 2i with a DGS300 at 39.25 inches, a Mizuno Masters 3i with a "PowerArc" shaft (38.5"), and a RAM TW Custom Grind 1i with a Dynamic R shaft, at 39.5").

 

While I may be stating the bleeding obvious, the 1i is challenging to hit...😄

I was mainly hitting them off the tee, because that's how I'd usually hit them on the course. While the regular flex shaft in the 1i made it easy to get good height, it also made it easy to turn over. After a few shots to get used to it, though, I was hitting it straight enough and well enough to put it in the bag. Even little mishits were carrying over the 180 yard mark and into the back net, and good strikes were really promising.

 

The FG-17 is a bit short, which makes it harder to get up in the air. I might extend the shaft or put a new one in. It goes straight, but only 3~4i distance. Probably a good club for links golf, but there's none of that where I am.

 

The Mizuno Masters 3i was a beauty, probably my favourite of the four. Great feel, great ball flight, and a good looking club at address.

 

The MS-7 was the biggest disappointment. I just couldn't find the middle with this club. I hit a few OK ones, but nothing that felt like a Mizuno! Funny, because I like the rest of the set it came with.

 

edit: checked the shaft lengths

And the ram?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

22 minutes ago, mbwannab said:

And the ram?

That was the 1i, which I talked about first. The Dynamic Regular shaft is easy to elevate, but also liable to turn over a bit too much. When I figured it out, I was hitting it well...for a 1i😉

[Christen_The_Sloop]

20 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

That was the 1i, which I talked about first. The Dynamic Regular shaft is easy to elevate, but also liable to turn over a bit too much. When I figured it out, I was hitting it well...for a 1i😉

Was inspired to hit the Seve today. That Ms-7 looks a little skinny. I’ve got a ms-3 deuce us model that is similarly difficult to hit.

 

I didn’t try to hit the seve at all last year. As you can see it’s pretty temperamental. The last ball I hit, at the very top, was perfect. A touch of fade. Oh, and I think the balls maybe similar to the range you avoided. 
 

with some reasonably decent balls I should see 5-10 more mph ball speed, more elevation etc. I don’t know what else.

 

Oh yeah, my back is feeling it - going to soak in some epsom salt and drink a glass of Yebisu.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

3 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

Was inspired to hit the Seve today. That Ms-7 looks a little skinny. I’ve got a ms-3 deuce us model that is similarly difficult to hit.

 

I didn’t try to hit the seve at all last year. As you can see it’s pretty temperamental. The last ball I hit, at the very top, was perfect. A touch of fade. Oh, and I think the balls maybe similar to the range you avoided. 
 

with some reasonably decent balls I should see 5-10 more mph ball speed, more elevation etc. I don’t know what else.

 

Oh yeah, my back is feeling it - going to soak in some epsom salt and drink a glass of Yebisu.

 

Now that Seve 1i is a real butter knife. The sole looks barely a centimetre thick.

 

[Bigmean]

Christian, I definitely go streaky both ways, even when I was playing better.   36/42 type stuff.  I am for sure battling confidence now, but .  I played bad last night but hit some of best irons since I started playing.  Some laser 6 irons from 190 range and solid 5s from 200, felt great.  But me hitting 6 iron 4 times in a round with a few 5s is not ideal(tee shots)….So lessons taking hold there, but driver was not good again, and that means scoring not good.  It is in the bag, had some drives where it came together.  This sounds dumb but I’m going to have some drinks this evening while I play.  
 

I have had some of my best rounds with some beers.  I don’t like that persay(I mean I like fun rounds with buddies but not my game performance crutched by it) but I have a real edge now and still lots of thoughts preshot and over it.  2 things I know that I did if I was drinking in round was actually not think about the release and be loose through it, and no thought for real….just look, I want ball to go there, hit ball.  I can say that is my thought in preshot but I find my mind double crosses me through takeaway and impact….

[bogeypro]

I picked up my Mizuno 221 this week.  I'm just going to say it ... These may be the best blades they've put out.  I've played many Mizuno irons over the last 25 years.  These are right there with the best, imo.  

[Nard_S]

Speaking of long irons:

 

My thing is I just don't practice them enough. If I'm hitting 100 balls might be 5 that I use a 4i or 3i. Need to change that. Truth, longer than #5i just don't do anywhere near enough. Even driver. So not enough. My bet is I'm not alone and most never drill on long irons all that much. It's so not fun to work on weakness, we want to have a good time, no matter, don't make me rep with #3i when my percentage is dog doo. Need to square all that and get fitted for metals because I hate working on those too. Lol, new & shiny might fix that.

 

[Nard_S]

20 minutes ago, bogeypro said:

I picked up my Mizuno 221 this week.  I'm just going to say it ... These may be the best blades they've put out.  I've played many Mizuno irons over the last 25 years.  These are right there with the best, imo.  

I think they look fantastic and tempting and I'm not even all that attracted to Mizuno's MB's. Good luck and keep us posted.