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

[boggyman]

22 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I found I can hit the MP4 4i with the graphite shaft OK. The FG-62 4i I can just about hit, but it's more effort. I have the FG-62 3i, but don't bag it. Maybe I'll put it in the bag and try if on tee shots, but it's honestly too much club for me.

 

My graphite shafts are ATTAS 115X shafts, which I think makes them 14~15 grams lighter than the S300s in my FG-62s. 

That seems to make enough of a difference for me. I put a Modus 115 in a RAM TW 1i recently. Not tried it out yet, but I'm hoping to have some fun with it in my next persimmon and blades round.

My STAFFS have Px 5.5 80 gram in them. Originally ordered only 5-p but the 4 iron arrived today. Hopefully another strip or two of lead and maybe a tad below the grip will do the trick. Tomorrow’s round will only require a 7 iron at best other than one par 3 and the par 5 approaches. I’ve also got mid sized grips on the STAFFS vs OS on the 17s. The shafts  in the 17s are stout for a stiff flex. I’ll get there. 

[noodle3872]

I just took the plunge on a set of Fourteen RM-B Forged Blades. I’m excited to get back into a blade iron. Trying to decide whether to go MMT 105, SteelFiber 110CW or SteelFiber FC 115. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

47 minutes ago, boggyman said:

My STAFFS have Px 5.5 80 gram in them. Originally ordered only 5-p but the 4 iron arrived today. Hopefully another strip or two of lead and maybe a tad below the grip will do the trick. Tomorrow’s round will only require a 7 iron at best other than one par 3 and the par 5 approaches. I’ve also got mid sized grips on the STAFFS vs OS on the 17s. The shafts  in the 17s are stout for a stiff flex. I’ll get there. 

 

I've a set of FG-J8s, which I think were FG-17s for the Japanese market. They have dynamic R-flex shafts in them, but I'm sure they play little stiffer than modern DG R shafts. Stepping seems to be the same though.

 

Any idea what the weight difference is between those 80g PX shafts and the ones in your FG-17s? If they have tapered Dynamic S-flexes, there must be about 45g difference, which is huge.

[boggyman]

5 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I've a set of FG-J8s, which I think were FG-17s for the Japanese market. They have dynamic R-flex shafts in them, but I'm sure they play little stiffer than modern DG R shafts. Stepping seems to be the same though.

 

Any idea what the weight difference is between those 80g PX shafts and the ones in your FG-17s? If they have tapered Dynamic S-flexes, there must be about 45g difference, which is huge.

I’d say 50 grams beings the s300  is called 130 grams. It’s definitely different. Px 5.5 steel USE to be my go to so I thought I’d try them in graphite since the characteristics are supposedly the same. I like them just been an adjustment I’m not use to yet. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

38 minutes ago, boggyman said:

I’d say 50 grams beings the s300  is called 130 grams. It’s definitely different. Px 5.5 steel USE to be my go to so I thought I’d try them in graphite since the characteristics are supposedly the same. I like them just been an adjustment I’m not use to yet. 

 

Yeah, that's going to take some adjustment!

[Christen_The_Sloop]

4 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Now that's such a typical Japanese hole. Water (little ravine?) in front of the tee and OB, then OB both sides, and, if you go OB, a special tee for playing your next shot way more forward than most people could actually hit it. 

 

The left green being nice and tight to the OB is just an added bonus. Is the green as small as it looks on the diagram?

you nailed it. 
 

I have another sort of problem too. Found a set of Conductors I hadn’t tried and these ones are really nice. Reasonable offset, not tiny, not huge. They look very modern and playable. Hit them the other night. Other than the shafts being a little short, they are right up there. 
 

 

 

[craz-e]

8 hours ago, noodle3872 said:

I just took the plunge on a set of Fourteen RM-B Forged Blades. I’m excited to get back into a blade iron. Trying to decide whether to go MMT 105, SteelFiber 110CW or SteelFiber FC 115. 

looking forward to the review!

[boggyman]

Sheweeee what a difference a day makes…. 81 today with 34 stinking putts. Did hit 61% of the greens though. Greens had been rolled so we’re slick. Hit it solid but burnt edges off the cup. It’s golf! Have a great day gents! 

[Kingcat990]

16 hours ago, noodle3872 said:

I just took the plunge on a set of Fourteen RM-B Forged Blades. I’m excited to get back into a blade iron. Trying to decide whether to go MMT 105, SteelFiber 110CW or SteelFiber FC 115. 

They looked great, until that 42° PW. 

[noodle3872]

8 hours ago, Kingcat990 said:

They looked great, until that 42° PW. 

Honestly, that’s part of their allure. I haven’t used blades for 6-7 years and I’ve been wanting to jump back into a set. During those 6-7 years I have had a revolving door of player’s distance irons like my 921F. I like the extra distance however I miss the higher and more consistent spin I got from a blade. Not to mention the narrow sole just works better for my shallow swing. So the RM-B are an experiment to see if I can get more spin consistency without giving up distance. Time will tell if it works out. 

[Kingcat990]

I have a set of Jbeam T-801 blades and they have a 42° pitching wedge, and they took a fair amount of time to get used to. Regardless, the rmb is the best looking set of MB's they've made to date 

[mahonie]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:01 PM, boggyman said:

Sheweeee what a difference a day makes…. 81 today with 34 stinking putts. Did hit 61% of the greens though. Greens had been rolled so we’re slick. Hit it solid but burnt edges off the cup. It’s golf! Have a great day gents! 

Thing I find playing blades...I have my both my best scoring and worst scoring rounds with them in the bag. Same goes with putting...my best and worst putting rounds have been with 8802-style, proper blade putters, like the Radius currently in the bag.

 

Once in a blue moon, everything aligns and shooting par is not such a distant target!

[boggyman]

25 minutes ago, mahonie said:

Thing I find playing blades...I have my both my best scoring and worst scoring rounds with them in the bag. Same goes with putting...my best and worst putting rounds have been with 8802-style, proper blade putters, like the Radius currently in the bag.

 

Once in a blue moon, everything aligns and shooting par is not such a distant target!

All about the feel. Totally different each round, even the GOAT said that him! It’s just that us mere mortals are “unfortunate?” to play and practice every day. I’m totally good with playing 2-3 rounds a week if able. Just thankful to be able to get out and enjoy the round! 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Played a course today that I played for the first time last month and shot 75 on. It's a real tee shot course: hit good tee shots and the rest is easy, but poor tee shots mean OB and hazards, and the score will soon add up.

 

Last month my swing was on, but I've felt it slipping away from me this last fortnight.

 

I decided to have the same setup as last time, with the Srixon Pro 100s as the irons from 5i to PW (49*).

Started off with no warmup and managed a lucky birdie after a wild tee shot ended up in a safe spot and I pitched on and holed a good 10-footer for the bird. 

 

Knew it wasn't going to last, and three-putted the next hole, a par 3, for a bogey, then hit into a hazard on the next and walked off with a double. The next was a par five, and I drove out of bounds but managed a 6 after a beautiful 4i (not a blade. Mizuno Fliu-hi) for my fourth shot (almost made a par).

 

Finished the front nine six over, with another OB on the second par 5, but felt the swing coming back. 

 

Back nine I finished one over, and really should have gone much lower as I missed a lot of VERY makable birdie putts.

 

Love the Srixon irons. Great feel and not hard to hit...at least down to the 5i. 

 

Mostly a tee shot + wedge course, but pretty and fun to play.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

On 9/30/2022 at 4:52 AM, boggyman said:

All about the feel. Totally different each round, even the GOAT said that him! It’s just that us mere mortals are “unfortunate?” to play and practice every day. I’m totally good with playing 2-3 rounds a week if able. Just thankful to be able to get out and enjoy the round! 

I used to believe that it was all about feel too. I think feel is very important. It takes quite a bit of playing to really develop it. Unfortunately, I just don't have time. So, instead I rely on set-up and sequencing. If I get my weight where it should be and start my swing with a good full turn not a lot can go wrong. If I let things happen and not get in my own way decent golf generally follows.

[Nard_S]

32 minutes ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

used to believe that it was all about feel too. I think feel is very important. It takes quite a bit of playing to really develop it. Unfortunately, I just don't have time.

I think "feel" is more about awareness than anything else. Tuning in, listening and observing, almost in 3rd person but not really.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Nard_S

[boggyman]

32 minutes ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

I used to believe that it was all about feel too. I think feel is very important. It takes quite a bit of playing to really develop it. Unfortunately, I just don't have time. So, instead I rely on set-up and sequencing. If I get my weight where it should be and start my swing with a good full turn not a lot can go wrong. If I let things happen and not get in my own way decent golf generally follows.

✅

[Yoshifan151]

Kinda talked about it in another thread but people really overstate the difficulty of blades and you could easily play them if you're good enough to play a one piece players CB. I've played about 5 rounds with the 718 MBs now and absolutely love them. Awesome feel, great flight and stopping power into quick greens. I ditched 3i since I wasn't getting enough height and went with a 7w, it's working out a lot better. 

[craz-e]

2 hours ago, Yoshifan151 said:

Kinda talked about it in another thread but people really overstate the difficulty of blades and you could easily play them if you're good enough to play a one piece players CB. I've played about 5 rounds with the 718 MBs now and absolutely love them. Awesome feel, great flight and stopping power into quick greens. I ditched 3i since I wasn't getting enough height and went with a 7w, it's working out a lot better. 

 

Good man!

Always great reading other peoples success stories and seeing a greater love for the game whilst swinging away with a set of blades 

[NRJyzr]

Have an update or two....

 

So, because my inner golf nerd is tickled by the concept, I've built a set of Pinhawk Vertex irons.  The concept here is dual length, 3-5 irons at 5i length, 6i on down are at 8i length.  Decidedly not blades.  😉   I've installed Apollo standard stepped steel iron shafts in them.  Early testing of a 4i showed a bit of promise. 

 

At the same time...  I'm contemplating an attempt to fully return to steel with some blade sets, in the Nippon universe.  As test clubs, I've assembled the 7i and 9i in my Tommy Armour 986 Tour set, with Modus3 105 stiff shafts.  I'm curious about the shafts, and it's damn well about time I do something more concrete with the 986 Tours.  I've only had them sitting around for 8-10 years, if not more.  

 

All of the above are waiting to be trimmed to length, and gripped.  Intend to use them all this weekend.

 

Great fun.  🙂

 

[FirstFlight]

43 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

The concept here is dual length, 3-5 irons at 5i length, 6i on down are at 8i length. 

Taking great interest in what you're doing here...I've considered tinkering with building a dual 'plateau' set. Take a 70's set, and plateau the long irons(3-5) to the 5i length, and plateau the short irons(9-PW, along with a 56' and 60') to the 9i length. The 5i thru 9i will still maintain the same sweet length gapping, as they are money. Cheers

[lefthack]

1 hour ago, FirstFlight said:

Taking great interest in what you're doing here...I've considered tinkering with building a dual 'plateau' set. Take a 70's set, and plateau the long irons(3-5) to the 5i length, and plateau the short irons(9-PW, along with a 56' and 60') to the 9i length. The 5i thru 9i will still maintain the same sweet length gapping, as they are money. Cheers

 

My short irons 9, PW, 52, 56 are all the same length. I'm 6'4" but my "regular" irons are standard graphite length (1/2" over steel).

[Nard_S]

3 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

Great fun.  🙂

Good stuff, love the tinkering itch. Have several things sitting & waiting, so yeah cool beans you're doing it. 

[NRJyzr]

Making my dual length experiment blade-topical...

 

It might be hard to find, but Ari of National Custom Works (and formerly Scratch Golf) has posted a thread about a set he had done, that was built with three club lengths to it.  He referenced Bobby Jones, it was apparently something Jones had done, and similar to a set Spalding may have sold 80-90 years ago.

 

It's intrigued me enough that I've thought about trying it myself, with some of my lighter blade clubhead sets.  It's not like I don't already consume lead tape like a whale does plankton.

 

May someday try this route.  🙂

 

I should search for Ari's thread....

 

Turns out my memory is faulty, it's more than just three lengths, but it's along those lines.  This is the thread, the pics that were included were lost in the forum transitions

 

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by NRJyzr

[Nard_S]

50 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

Turns out my memory is faulty, it's more than just three lengths, but it's along those lines. 

There's SW issues to be dealt with and trimming too. The whole MOI matching thing might help. There's lots of info in Tech section on that.

[NRJyzr]

24 minutes ago, Nard_S said:

There's SW issues to be dealt with and trimming too. The whole MOI matching thing might help. There's lots of info in Tech section on that.

 

I've done some thinking about that.  Shocking, I know.  🙂

 

If I'm working on a parallel set, I would tip based on how I'd like the midpoint of whatever clubs are being made the same length.  If I'm bundling 5-6-7 irons, I'd tip them all to be 6 iron length, trim them to that length, and swingweight them accordingly.  With just two irons, I'd either tip the shaft according to the length I'll be building the club, or go halfway between the tipping for both clubs.  And again, swingweight accordingly.

 

If I'm working on a tapered set, it's the same as above, except selecting three of the same dedicated shaft.  If it's two clubs, I'd use the desired finished club length to be my guide; I play a 38" 5 iron, if my 5/6/7 are to be 37.5" (6 iron length), I'd use 6 iron shafts.  If I'm between two clubs, I'd do similar, picking one of the two depending on the intended club length.

 

If I were to choose something perfectly between two clubs, I'd just pick one of the two.  It's only a couple cpm at that point.  😉

 

The bigger point, at least in my mind, is how to adjust the lofts for the varied club lengths.  I prefer 4* gaps throughout my iron set.  The gapping there is based on the clubs all being 1/2" longer or shorter than the next club in the set.  If we make two, or three, clubs the same length, that's changed a bit.  The thought in my head is to go to 4.5* gaps, maybe 5*, between clubs the same length, and then 3.5* or 3* between the (presumed) larger length change.

 

All of the above assumes I'm building two or three clubs at length X, roughly the "normal" average of the two or three clubs.  The next two or three clubs would be at the "normal" average length for that particular sub-group.  Such as, with my 38" 5i above, maybe I make 3/4/5 at 38.5", then 6/7/8 at 37", and so on.

 

A lot of room for doing something in between that, obviously.  🙂

 

I'm not sure I've articulated this particularly well....

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by NRJyzr

[Nard_S]

30 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I've done some thinking about that.  Shocking, I know.  🙂

Yeah you have, sounds right  too but how are you dealing with weight differential? Tape? Lightening a #5i and adding lead to a #6i?* Or just match heaviest head of batch?

 

The set i built 2 years ago I did it in a MOI match format of 3/8" gapping and stepping down SW points as the lengths go longer. I like the 3/8" part, not sure I love the D2-D6 ranging so much though it's not that big of a deal. Reason i never play them is lie is 2* upright on heads and I've decidedly become a 2* flat lie guy. So every nice shot was 10 yards left. I was never concerned with lie but pretty sure I should have been along the way. 

 

EDIT: It's lightening a #6i and add weight to a #5i....doh.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Nard_S

[NRJyzr]

32 minutes ago, Nard_S said:

how are you dealing with weight differential? Tape? Lightening a #5i and adding lead to a #6i?* Or just match heaviest head of batch?

 

Lead tape.  I've got some sets that are a bit lighter, requiring me to add lead tape.  Add to that my tendency to have heavier swingweights, though I'm not going as heavy as I used to.  It might just mean a bit more on the (traditionally) longer iron at a given length, and less on the shortest.

 

Meaning, in the 5/6/7 example above, 7 iron might have little or no lead tape, depending on the weight, the 6 iron the normal amount, and the 5 iron about 7g more.

 

My MP37 set turns out to have pretty light clubheads.  When I shafted them with the Recoil Proto 125's, I had to load them up quite a bit.  There were a lot of tip weights in the DGS I'd pulled from the 37s, which were also a bit overlength.  These could be a good candidate for this sort of experiment.  🙂

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by NRJyzr

[NRJyzr]

Not sure you could get them to do it, but Ping irons could work for something like this, since they now control weight with tip and toe weights.

 

Getting them to understand what you'd want, and properly executing it....   perhaps a bit more problematic.  😉

[Carsten Svensgaard]

Relative beginner here, I played a lot from 2006-2009 until kids arrived and changed priorities. I bought probably the last set of new MP32´s in Denmark and played them 2008-2009 and then they went on layover. Finished at 13.2 index and then played 0-1 rounds a year until this season, enjoying the few good shots I managed along the way...

 

I started again this summer, bought She Who Must Be Obeyed a trial membership which converted to full membership and then I started hitting the range...

 

Playing with irons only I manage a comfortable ~20 index but I feel a move downward coming after hitting a few thousands practise shots over the winter. What I see already however is a much tighter dispersion on my approaches compated to the "real" golfers I play with, enough that my partner for the Club Championship commented on it. I may hit the occasional/frequent bad shot but those that are workable are much tighter than a co-players shots.

 

Either way I am not giving them  up, they look pleasing to my eye and I am playing for my own pleasure. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Carsten Svensgaard