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

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Just noticed @NRJyzr has "liked" a set of Titleist irons! Is this a first???🤣

 

Brother NRJ, is Achusnet holding you hostage? Blink if you're OK!

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Just noticed @NRJyzr has "liked" a set of Titleist irons! Is this a first???🤣

 

Brother NRJ, is Achusnet holding you hostage? Blink if you're OK!

 

It was a moment of weakness   LOL

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

On 2/19/2022 at 1:53 AM, PeanutsDaddy said:

First progress pics are in . . . 
 

a few irons were pulled for re-plating . . . 
 

hints of black to come. 

 

I took my Mac R58s out for 9 holes yesterday. They are an incredible feeling iron. The PW and 9i are a little funky looking, but they flat out perform. 

I was thinking of selling them last year because the shafts are on the short side for me, but I think I'll be hanging on to them.

[PeanutsDaddy]

38 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I took my Mac R58s out for 9 holes yesterday. They are an incredible feeling iron. The PW and 9i are a little funky looking, but they flat out perform. 

I was thinking of selling them last year because the shafts are on the short side for me, but I think I'll be hanging on to them.

Totally agree with your assessment of the short irons. I have the SW and it’s also ‘interesting’.  I originally considered sending them to Ken Flanigan to have him work some magic, but ultimately decided to save the funds and head down the copper plate path. 
 

Your set looks to be in near mint condition. How short are the shafts?

 

I’ve only hit the 9 iron a few times, and the shafts were too stout (6.5s) for my SS, so this will be a new experience. 
 

Pretty much what I’m here for . . . An experience. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

1 hour ago, PeanutsDaddy said:

Totally agree with your assessment of the short irons. I have the SW and it’s also ‘interesting’.  I originally considered sending them to Ken Flanigan to have him work some magic, but ultimately decided to save the funds and head down the copper plate path. 
 

Your set looks to be in near mint condition. How short are the shafts?

 

I’ve only hit the 9 iron a few times, and the shafts were too stout (6.5s) for my SS, so this will be a new experience. 
 

Pretty much what I’m here for . . . An experience. 

 

The PW is 35", and they go up in 1/2" increments.

I have the SW as well. I've used it. Once. It is, as you said, "interesting." In fact, I'll go a little further than that. It's one of the worst sand wedges I've ever played. As I think you noticed in the photo I attached above, I don't use the SW anymore.

 

The shafts in mine are also 6.5. New Brunswick Precision 6.5FM. Stiff for sure, but not as stiff as a DGX100. I've some 6.0FMs in a set of Mizunos, and they are easier but if anything a touch too soft for me. I find the 6.5s OK, but a touch too stiff for me. However, they do provide a nice kick in the longer irons.

 

I have toyed with the idea of getting mine reshafted, but I think I'll just keep them as they are. What are you thinking of putting in yours?

[PeanutsDaddy]

NCN,

 

I don’t think the SW will see much, if any, play. Thankfully I have a stable of wedges that will pair perfectly with these irons. Oddly enough, the SW has seen the most use in the set I own. The Macgregor script on the sole has noticeable wear.

 

I seem to gravitate toward graphite in the 80 - 100 gram, and steel in the 90 - 110 gram range.  I have sets of Recoil 680s, Dynalite Gold XPs, Nippon 850s, V2 Proforce 75’s, and Steelfiber 110s that I could drop in. A few other sets I could pull shafts from and drop them in.  I’ve even thought about try AMT reds. Point being, I’m not sure. 
 

Heads will eventually arrive and I’ll figure out a ferrule that I like the look of and pair a shaft that speaks to me and I’ll press play.  Some may depend on head weights. 
 

 

[NRJyzr]

10 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

The PW is 35", and they go up in 1/2" increments.

I have the SW as well. I've used it. Once. It is, as you said, "interesting." In fact, I'll go a little further than that. It's one of the worst sand wedges I've ever played. As I think you noticed in the photo I attached above, I don't use the SW anymore.

 

The shafts in mine are also 6.5. New Brunswick Precision 6.5FM. Stiff for sure, but not as stiff as a DGX100. I've some 6.0FMs in a set of Mizunos, and they are easier but if anything a touch too soft for me. I find the 6.5s OK, but a touch too stiff for me. However, they do provide a nice kick in the longer irons.

 

I have toyed with the idea of getting mine reshafted, but I think I'll just keep them as they are. What are you thinking of putting in yours?

 

Those 6.5s are similar (IMHO) to a hard stepped DGS, maybe S400 hardstepped.  Seems to be a Braly family preference, going stiffer in the butt section with a softer tip, as compared to the Dynamic world.

 

If you put them on a frequency meter, they'll read a bit higher than DG but will play a bit softer than the same butt-frequency DG, due to that softer tip.

 

[Nard_S]

32 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

Those 6.5s are similar (IMHO) to a hard stepped DGS, maybe S400 hardstepped.  Seems to be a Braly family preference, going stiffer in the butt section with a softer tip, as compared to the Dynamic world.

 

If you put them on a frequency meter, they'll read a bit higher than DG but will play a bit softer than the same butt-frequency DG, due to that softer tip.

 

Pretty spot on. Good way of describing them. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

6 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

Those 6.5s are similar (IMHO) to a hard stepped DGS, maybe S400 hardstepped.  Seems to be a Braly family preference, going stiffer in the butt section with a softer tip, as compared to the Dynamic world.

 

If you put them on a frequency meter, they'll read a bit higher than DG but will play a bit softer than the same butt-frequency DG, due to that softer tip.

 

 

Precisions were made by a Braly? Kim Braly's father, I presume? I didn't know that.

 

However, you're assessment is spot on. In the round two days ago, I hit a 5-iron lay-up on a par five. I really felt the shaft kick and through impact (in a good way) and the ball whistled off. I kid you not, but right after hitting it, I thought "that felt like a KBS kick".

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Precisions were made by a Braly? Kim Braly's father, I presume? I didn't know that.

 

However, you're assessment is spot on. In the round two days ago, I hit a 5-iron lay-up on a par five. I really felt the shaft kick and through impact (in a good way) and the ball whistled off. I kid you not, but right after hitting it, I thought "that felt like a KBS kick".

 

Yes, Joseph Braly, the originator/inventor of frequency matching.  Such as I've seen, Kim was also involved in getting everything going with Precision shafts.  

 

[deejaid]

As I creep towards the age of 50 and am working even more now than I have in the past 8 years I recently thought I should follow conventional wisdom and move into graphite shafts and more forgiving cavity backs.  Well after the last few Sundays of middling rounds in the mid 80’s where I didn’t hit the ball particularly well but was saved by my short game, everything fell apart.   I was thinning shots, hit very few GIR and overall had one of the worst ball striking days I can imagine.

 

I was so disgusted with my play I went home and put my modern bag in the garage and grabbed my bag with my old stand-by’s, my mid 1980’s Peerless Palmers.

 

I went to the range and I couldn’t believe the difference.  I was putting the ball wherever I wanted.  I didn’t even need to think.  Where my modern gamers I had so many thoughts going through my head the Palmers just allowed me to swing freely.    These nearly 40 year old blades with zero bounce and narrow sole I just understand.

 

I went back out in the afternoon for a quick nine and had one of the best ball striking days since I abandoned these Palmers for a custom fitted set of irons with graphite shafts, which, funny enough, I paid less for the Palmers than for one shaft in my modern clubs.

 

I’m sorry for straying my blade-loving brethren but I think I finally learned my lesson.

 

[Kingcat990]

The light shaft theory was an atrocious experiment. On a day where I needed the 6i a lot, I handicapped it by gluing ramen to the head. High, short, hooky with wrist action. I calculated terribly. Now I have a ferruled stick to poke stuff with. 110-120 seems to be my wheelhouse. The conductor pro irons were otherwise great. 

[PeanutsDaddy]

A pleasant surprise waiting on the doorstep today. Going to pair the set with the pictured ‘Monarch’ ferrules. Thinking TT Dynalite shafts, but that’s still TBD. 

 

 

 

[NRJyzr]

Reasonably attractive  🙂

 

[PeanutsDaddy]

10 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

Reasonably attractive  🙂

 

I think my wife said this to herself when we met 30 years ago. 
 

 

[Kingcat990]

Have any of you had an experience with the Dynamic Gold Tour Concept series of shafts? Constant weight, flighted. Not sure if those were ever a stock offering on any OEM set, as they appeared to fetch the $60/per range in the early 2000's. Kicking the tires on trying a heavier, softer shaft. 

 

[NRJyzr]

Got the chance again to hit balls on the simulator in my friend's apartment complex (they have an interesting array of amenities).  Some interesting things I found...

 

There's apparently a boost mode in the sim.  It's multipurpose, parents take their kids there for soccer, lacrosse, baseball/softball, the boost mode is available for those purposes.  It's possible/likely someone turned it on and it applied to our golf efforts, as we were hitting the ball cartoonish distances.  One of our guys hit a ball that carried 290+, in spite of the fact that he normally tops out at 260, with roll.

 

We all got a laugh out of the distance.  

 

On a lark, I'd picked up a friend's Rac OS 6 iron.  It's shafted with a fairly lightweight steel.  I was pounding it pretty straight, with no vibration irritation.  Possibly because it's softer/lighter than what I'd been using?  <shrug>  It's giving me thoughts of trying something like the Nippon 1050GH, might pick up a couple shafts for testing.  At minimum, going with a lighter swingweight than I've been using.  Also, overall results weren't that different from my Rams, when accounting for loft.

 

Always fun when you find more toys to play with.  LOL

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by NRJyzr

[deejaid]

Have had three straight rounds of very strong iron play with the old Peerless Palmer blades, so much I sold a couple of sets of my graphite shafted irons.  My GIR are way up with the Palmers.
 

 My regular playing partner asked why I haven’t been playing them before since I hit them so well.  I must admit switching to graphite shafted cavity backs was mostly due to my elbow pain, there was a bit of vanity involved, having a more modern set to keep up with the guys at the club that have the latest and greatest.   
 

I did purchase a set of Honma TW747V irons because I wanted a forged players cavity with Modus 120’s in them, but if these don’t outperform the Palmers I’m done chasing something new.

 

The thing is, I know what it is about the old irons I like, the lack of bounce or even negative bounce.  I learned to swing irons like that on my grandfather’s farm where the lies were atrocious and you had to pick it clean.  All that bounce with the leading edge a few millimeters of the ground look completely foreign to me, like I’m going to skull every shot.

 

 

[deejaid]

Switched out the Peerless Palmers for my 1979/80 Spalding Top Flite Customs yesterday and shot even better than I have been with the Palmers shooting an 80.  If I can just get my driver sorted I am going to be so happy with my game.  It’s getting there but while I am definitely hitting more fairways my angle of attack is still too steep which in turn is making me lose a lot of yards off the tee.

 

Love the Spaldings and even bought another set off eBay to perhaps experiment with some graphite shafts in some vintage blade heads.

 

My last two sets of modern irons are now up for sale.  I’ve come to the realization that modern irons just aren’t for me.

 

 

 

[BIG STU]

7 minutes ago, deejaid said:

Switched out the Peerless Palmers for my 1979/80 Spalding Top Flite Customs yesterday and shot even better than I have been with the Palmers shooting an 80.  If I can just get my driver sorted I am going to be so happy with my game.  It’s getting there but while I am definitely hitting more fairways my angle of attack is still too steep which in turn is making me lose a lot of yards off the tee.

 

Love the Spaldings and even bought another set off eBay to perhaps experiment with some graphite shafts in some vintage blade heads.

 

My last two sets of modern irons are now up for sale.  I’ve come to the realization that modern irons just aren’t for me.

 

 

 

I am going to agree 110% on modern irons not being for you or me either. After doing quite a bit of experimenting with the Modern TM CBs with graphite I figured out they were not for me. I went back to my trusty MacHogans. I did change my swing a lot to avoid pain. I have really narrowed my stance and shortened my swing quite a bit. I also added the 9 wood back in the arsenal. I do not have to swing hard to elevate it. Since the weather is great except this past weekend I have been really grinding on it. With a different diet and eating habits I have lost weight and have slowly picked up distance but it is not where it was pre accident. But I can live with it because I can play without pain. 

[deejaid]

26 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

I am going to agree 110% on modern irons not being for you or me either. After doing quite a bit of experimenting with the Modern TM CBs with graphite I figured out they were not for me. I went back to my trusty MacHogans. I did change my swing a lot to avoid pain. I have really narrowed my stance and shortened my swing quite a bit. I also added the 9 wood back in the arsenal. I do not have to swing hard to elevate it. Since the weather is great except this past weekend I have been really grinding on it. With a different diet and eating habits I have lost weight and have slowly picked up distance but it is not where it was pre accident. But I can live with it because I can play without pain. 

Good to hear you are recovering Stu.  And you are right, we talked about it before.  If you are used to playing a certain kind of club growing up it is hard to play something completely different.

 

For me it’s irons with bounce.  Learning the game on my grandfather’s farm back in the mid 80’s with 1950-60 era store line clubs, I learned early on how to keep that sharp leading edge from digging by getting my hands out in front of the club head and just “scraping” the turf.  Put a modern iron with a ton of bounce in my hand and my brain doesn’t know exactly what to do with it.

 

Tell you the truth, I’m tired of being the guy at the club with old clubs that everyone comments in when they see my bag.  I’m tired of explaining why I play them.  I’ve tried going modern spending more $$$ on two graphite shafts then my entire set of Spalding irons cost me.

 

 

It just isn’t for me I guess.

[greenomics]

First set of clubs were hand-me-down PowerBilt Citation blades when I got into golf after high school. Struggled mightily due to the sharp leading edge and shaft length being -1/2" (I game +1/2" today). Donated them to First Tee after grad school when I could afford my first "new" set. 

 

My game is good enough now that I wanted to pick up a set of blades for occasional gaming. Found a used set of Wilson Staff fg tour 100 for a steal. Shot 83 the first full 18 holes with them. Shot +4 on the front 9 this afternoon. I like them so much I placed an order for the new Staff blades.

Edited March 15, 2022 by greenomics

[BIG STU]

18 minutes ago, deejaid said:

Good to hear you are recovering Stu.  And you are right, we talked about it before.  If you are used to playing a certain kind of club growing up it is hard to play something completely different.

 

For me it’s irons with bounce.  Learning the game on my grandfather’s farm back in the mid 80’s with 1950-60 era store line clubs, I learned early on how to keep that sharp leading edge from digging by getting my hands out in front of the club head and just “scraping” the turf.  Put a modern iron with a ton of bounce in my hand and my brain doesn’t know exactly what to do with it.

 

Tell you the truth, I’m tired of being the guy at the club with old clubs that everyone comments in when they see my bag.  I’m tired of explaining why I play them.  I’ve tried going modern spending more $$$ on two graphite shafts then my entire set of Spalding irons cost me.

 

 

It just isn’t for me I guess.

Thanks man it has been a long journey back. Around my club no one gives me any flack about my stuff none of our members anyhow. Where I catch some looks is from the Tourons which are in droves here this year. I guess what draws looks to begin with is maybe my 15 year old R-7 carry bag. The prim and proper will look. I was on the range today hitting my recently acquired Toney Penna Jupiter Slugger. I just got it Thursday and we have had bad weather since. I had to restrain myself and properly warm up. I had about 20 assorted Soft Feels and old Lady Precepts to hit. I got warmed up and properly loose and went to hitting it. Of course the thawack of solid persimmon was drawing attention. A Touron asked 'why in the hell I was hitting that old thing for?" I told him because I still can. He did not back down and stated as if I did not know that they made drivers out of metal now. I pulled the Honma out of the bag and asked "like this?" He shut up and went back to his business. I think for a 64 year old I hit it decent semi high trajectory with a 3 yard butter cut and about 180 carry with 25 yards roll out. On the putting green I was messing around with a old Cleveland Designed by 8802 style and was canning putts and getting looks. I then switched to a old Spalding TP Mills and did the same thing with it. I was getting looks from the shiny putter crowd. One of my fellow members quipped wait until he pulls that rusty Scotty Cameron out.

LOL I love it

Yeah you learned the game the same way I did with little offset and no bounce with knife sharp leading edges. Only difference I may see in our swings and AOA is I hit a trap and go down and through the ball. But like you these modern bouncy soles throw everything off for me. I also can not get down and through with blunt modern leading edges. It is the era and equipment that guys like you and I learned the game with. I am and always been a strictly feel and instinct player and blades give me feel and feedback.

Yeah I do not give 2 hoots what someone thinks or says about what I choose to play. I play what I want to and I feel others should do the same no matter what they choose to play

[BIG STU]

35 minutes ago, greenomics said:

First set of clubs were hand-me-down PowerBilt Citation blades when I got into golf after high school. Struggled mightily due to the sharp leading edge and shaft length being -1/2" (I game +1/2" today). Donated them to First Tee after grad school when I could afford my first "new" set. 

 

My game is good enough now that I wanted to pick up a set of blades for occasional gaming. Found a used set of Wilson Staff fg tour for a steal. Shot 83 the first full 18 holes with them. Shot +4 on the front 9 this afternoon. I like them so much I placed an order for the new Staff blades.

One of my favorite sets of all time were a set of custom grind 66 PB Horse Shoe blades. I got them used and finished wearing them out. Those FG Tours you had were nothing to sneeze at either. Even though per say I am not a Wilson man I do like the new Wilson blades. I have like 8 sets of Mac blades some like new so I really do not need to buy new stuff. I do not play comps or stipulated events or keep a stipulated handicap any more so the equipment rules I do not care about. In fact I just sold my "legal" set of MP-68 blades last week. I had did a deal on them a few years back because I had entertained the thought of going back on the minis in the super senior division. But the last 4 years or so I have been having the most fun playing golf than I ever had before. I play what sticks I want to. I just play around my club now and in the Saturday shootout and no one gives 2 rips if something is conforming or not. If you look at my signature to most it seems vintage enough. But when I really play vintage I play my 62 FC-4000s with persimmon woods. There I do not care about the score. I just like the feel and sound of the old stuff. 

[BIG STU]

On 2/13/2022 at 11:57 AM, Nard_S said:

My own stats indicate that if my tee game was more solid, my index would drop like a rock. The 225-yard bullet proof poke would be a real asset. My practice emphasizes 125-to-190-yard ball striking too much. I'm looking to get swing back to form a bit, add more long iron reps and then go pay for a fitting and buy a premium set of woods. The Tsi line, the ST line from Mizuno and maybe Stealth, all are on my radar.

I will tell you what will help you on the driver or at least it does me. I take a old PB laminate and practice with it on the range. It will help your hand eye coordination trust me. It is a regular part of my practice routine. If you get to where you can hit a old small driver fairly good then a modern metal is a no brainer. Note I use the old beater with range rocks because it is rougher than a night in the county jail to begin with and if I happen to crack it no big deal. 

[PeanutsDaddy]

I posted a few pictures of a set of T-Rails I have been dabbling with in the ‘shovel’ thread, so I will bring balance to the force by showcasing the Mac 58’s I finished this morning.  
 

Was really pleased with how the build played out. Nippon 850s were the final shaft selection. 4 - 8 gram tip weights landed swing weights between D2 and D3.5. Wish I would have weighed the heads before I sent them to be dipped in copper,  suspect I lost 6 - 10 grams per head. Will need to have loft and lies checked and set as needed.  
 

Really looking forward to putting these through their paces when the courses up in my area.

 

 

[bogeyman71]

Killer combo!  The ferrules go great with the copper.

[PeanutsDaddy]

4 hours ago, bogeyman71 said:

Killer combo!  The ferrules go great with the copper.

Thank you for the kind words. Reminds me of a Monarch butterfly. In my youth there were scores in the area during their period of migration, but they don’t seem so prevalent now.  

[tomc262]

9 hours ago, PeanutsDaddy said:

I posted a few pictures of a set of T-Rails I have been dabbling with in the ‘shovel’ thread, so I will bring balance to the force by showcasing the Mac 58’s I finished this morning.  
 

Was really pleased with how the build played out. Nippon 850s were the final shaft selection. 4 - 8 gram tip weights landed swing weights between D2 and D3.5. Wish I would have weighed the heads before I sent them to be dipped in copper,  suspect I lost 6 - 10 grams per head. Will need to have loft and lies checked and set as needed.  
 

Really looking forward to putting these through their paces when the courses up in my area.

 

 

Wow, those are soooo good looking! We’ll done!!

[deejaid]

9 hours ago, PeanutsDaddy said:

I posted a few pictures of a set of T-Rails I have been dabbling with in the ‘shovel’ thread, so I will bring balance to the force by showcasing the Mac 58’s I finished this morning.  
 

Was really pleased with how the build played out. Nippon 850s were the final shaft selection. 4 - 8 gram tip weights landed swing weights between D2 and D3.5. Wish I would have weighed the heads before I sent them to be dipped in copper,  suspect I lost 6 - 10 grams per head. Will need to have loft and lies checked and set as needed.  
 

Really looking forward to putting these through their paces when the courses up in my area.

 

 

Those look so good.   I love the look of the R58 and R68 but have never hit either.  There was a set of R68’s on eBay a few weeks ago and I took too long to make up my mind and missed out on them. 😦