Softest-feeling current production blade irons?

[jaconbits]

I'm unable to try all types of irons without shelling out cash, but I'm looking for the absolute softest blade irons on the market today.

 

I've tried Ben Hogans (very soft), Titleist 620mbs (firmer), and Blueprint (somewhere in the middle). I'm open to DTC brands as well, like Haywood, New Level, Sub70, etc, as well as any major brand.

[RogerinNewZealand]

Don't assume you will like the Softest,just because you are told here you should dream of it.Im a huge Mizuno fan,so test Miura,Srixon,Tm,are you ok with 10 years old? JDM Yamaha,Tourstage, etc.Ping Blueprint...

[phizzy30]

Miura or Epon if money isn't an issue. 

[braincramp52]

Softest are probably Mizunos. Best in my opinion are still the Wilson staff blades

 

[Kmagnuss]

 

It's been awhile since I watched this but if I remember correctly the Miuras were the softest but they liked the Mizunos the best.

[mogc60]

You can keep soft…I like solid. Srixon, Wilson Bridgestone fit the feel I most prefer. 

[lefthack]

This is so personal, you can't measure it. Soft, supple, velvety, it's all subjective. There isn't a unit of measure and if there was, each OEM would measure it different. 🤣

 

<edit> but my money is on Miura or Mizuno.

Edited October 1, 2021 by lefthack

[craz-e]

Surprised the Callaway Apex MB's haven't been mentioned yet, they have been the softest I have hit in the last few years.

As others have mentioned though, try everything because sole design can really influence feel, especially when testing off grass.

[NRJyzr]

16 hours ago, lefthack said:

This is so personal, you can't measure it. Soft, supple, velvety, it's all subjective. There isn't a unit of measure and if there was, each OEM would measure it different. 🤣

 

This is so true.

 

Fellow WRXer Chisag tells a story of a time on the range years ago.  He and another guy, they get to chatting about their clubs.  One of them is talking about how amazing his new Mizunos are, they're so soft, etc.  The other is saying he just got rid of Mizunos because they felt mushy and indistinct, and talks up his Hogans, which have a much better feel.

(Hogan irons were generally accounted on the firmer end of the feel spectrum in the prime years of Ben Hogan Golf)

 

Golf is not one size fits all.  🙂

 

[lefthack]

18 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

This is so true.

 

Fellow WRXer Chisag tells a story of a time on the range years ago.  He and another guy, they get to chatting about their clubs.  One of them is talking about how amazing his new Mizunos are, they're so soft, etc.  The other is saying he just got rid of Mizunos because they felt mushy and indistinct, and talks up his Hogans, which have a much better feel.

(Hogan irons were generally accounted on the firmer end of the feel spectrum in the prime years of Ben Hogan Golf)

 

Golf is not one size fits all.  🙂

 

 

I say this all the time about balls. I've been trying to tell the difference for a year now and I still really can't. I currently have at least 5 brands of ball in my bag and it's anybody's guess which one I pull out to play. Some are white, some are red, some are orange. Other than that, I genuinely have no idea what ball I just hit. 

 

I'm just happy my game doesn't "require" a left dash Pro V1 limited edition tour only. 🤣

 

<edit> today I am strictly playing matte orange and matte white Inesis Soft 500's to see about stains and stuff. But it's purely scientific. Otherwise it's whatever I have in my hand at the tee.

Edited October 2, 2021 by lefthack

[Whodamon1]

Sooo subjective, individualistic, or even situational.  Have to take in to account the shafts used, ball/balls being used, quality of strikes, acoustics... etc, etc.  People will translate the firmer feelings or mushier feelings differently.  It is really only personal opinion/experience.

The Miura's I hit were nice, but, they happened to have my Modus shafts in them.  Had to hit them well though.

The 620's I hit were really nice feeling too.  But again happened to have Modus shafts in them. Same thing...👆

I haven't hit anything new from Mizuno in a while.

I still think my old Titleist 670's feel really good.  ...although I'm not good enough to game them anymore

[Tar_Heel_93]

As others have stated feel is very personal. My favorite of recent MB irons is the 2018 Callaway Apex MB. It is very soft and performs great. There are lots of online reviews of the iron and how soft it is. I have tried most of the current MB irons and nothing has beat out my Apex MBs. I have spent significant time with Miura MB 001 and Bridgestone J15 MBs and they could not beat out the Apex.  Both felt great but I would say the Apex were the softest. Miura had a distinct heavy dense satisfying feel. My friends jokingly called them my erotic irons. But at the end of the day you really have to figure out what works for you.

[dokex]

On 10/1/2021 at 11:16 AM, jaconbits said:

I'm unable to try all types of irons without shelling out cash, but I'm looking for the absolute softest blade irons on the market today.

 

I've tried Ben Hogans (very soft), Titleist 620mbs (firmer), and Blueprint (somewhere in the middle). I'm open to DTC brands as well, like Haywood, New Level, Sub70, etc, as well as any major brand.

Softest SOUNDING.

[bladehunter]

Raw Vega.  Or yururi flat backs ( also Kyoei ) forged. If you don’t buy them. You didn’t buy  the softest.  

Edited October 2, 2021 by bladehunter

[craz-e]

36 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Raw Vega.  Or yururi flat backs ( also Kyoei ) forged. If you don’t buy them. You didn’t buy  the softest.  

Vegas are very soft, I agree 

[mgoblue83]

Sub70 649 Mb Raw

 

I'm coming from very soft Scratch SB-1s and before that Titleist 712mbs and I do my own loft and lie adjustments. The first time I adjusted the 649 Mbs I gave it a small nudge (enough to move about 0.5 degrees on the SB-1s) and it moved almost 1.5 degrees SO EASILY. Had to significantly reduce my force and almost relearn the feel that I've developed from adjusting many forged MBs from all of the major companies. These heads are insanely soft and feel amazing but the downside is they require more frequent loft/lie checks and nick/gouge very easily if you happen to hit a rock or pebble.

 

 

[Soccerrick10]

PXG 0211 ST - $99.99 / club.  Great feel and turf interaction.

[toddba11]

Wilson Staff Blades 2020 production year

[leftylama]

The under rated Wilson Staff blades get very high reviews

[jomatty]

A lot of votes for Miuras but they don’t feel super soft to me.  They feel fantastic but more dense…shows how subjective this is

[oz dee cee]

Just to add to the dilemma, shaft choice can have an influence on sensations also 👍

[RobotDoctor]

Find some old balata golf balls.  EVERY forged blades will feel soft.  😁

 

Seriously, I play Ben Hogan Icon blades and they’re pretty soft feeling when struck on the sweet spot.  Not so much when missing the sweet spot significantly.  Mizuno blades have the reputation of being buttery soft.  I know MP32s certainly were.   Ben Hogan 1999 Apex blades, my previous gamers, are buttery soft.  

[hypergolf]

On 10/2/2021 at 1:16 AM, jaconbits said:

I'm unable to try all types of irons without shelling out cash, but I'm looking for the absolute softest blade irons on the market today.

 

I've tried Ben Hogans (very soft), Titleist 620mbs (firmer), and Blueprint (somewhere in the middle). I'm open to DTC brands as well, like Haywood, New Level, Sub70, etc, as well as any major brand.

 

There are different kinds of "soft" imo.

 

Following are what I have tried and how I would personally catgorize them.

 

Solid "dense" soft

1. Srixon Z Forged

2. Miura MB 101

 

Meaty "dense" soft

1. Kyoei

 

Meaty "mushy" soft

1. Mizuno

 

 

[Red4282]

Of the more commonly found mainstream brands… callaway apex and srixons feel the best to me, but its splitting hairs. If you want soft, play a soft ball, the you can play any blade you want.

[wam78]

I found the mp20’s to be very soft!  Apex MB’s right behind them.

[JD3]

best bet mizuno, titleist are historically hardest, callaway somewhere in between

[Rocky Ball-boa]

Just the fact that I quite often read people in our very midst say things like ".. feels really soft, solid and nice"

We clearly have very different ideas of what the word "soft" even means! In my mind they're the complete opposites.

Soft = mushy

Solid = hard (opposite of mushy)

 

Something can be soft to the touch yet solid, I guess.. like a fur covered rock. It's soft when stroked, hard when poked.  But why would anyone use that definition of "soft" in relation to golf equipment? I doubt even the most deidcated club ho has that kind of relationship with clubs!

 

But you wouldn't describe a pillow as soft and solid. A soft pillow is one that's soft to poke.

 

Or is it just me?

 

Ps. for the metallurgists out there; are there no measures of softness one can apply to materials at least get an inkling?  Like how we have compression for golf balls. Sure, the shell of the ball still impacts what we perceive as softness, but it's a start to a conversation at least.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Rocky Ball-boa
Added ps.

[PixlPutterman]

just put some sensicore shafts in what ever you think looks good, they will be plenty soft lol

[Barracuda]

Honma TR20B

[Z1ggy16]

Feel is primarily linked to sound so it depends on what you perceive to "sound" soft. It will depend on ball choice, too. 

 

Trying to ignore as many variables as I can, Mizuno has felt the softest to me, that is the sensation of ball actually being hit was the least perceptible. After that I'd probably say Wilson forged cb/mb. I did not find Miura to be soft/squishy or whatever you want to call it. On the contrary they felt quite solid to me. Somewhere in the middle would be Titleist/Cobra which feel quite crisp... Not soft mushy but not solid/firm.