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Best Blade Irons Ever


TheSecondZ

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Gents - perhaps this is the best ongoing thread for this question. While searching eBay for various old clubs (JNP, Muirfields, Ram Tour Grinds, etc.), it seems that there're no X-Stiff available. Many "regular" sets, some "stiff" sets, but little to zero X-flex available. Did the 70's-90's tour players use Stiff instead of say X-100's? One thread I read said some thing like, "... Jack used Stiff until the X-100 was developed." Where the Pro's just tipping S-300's to make them stiffer, or did then on-average play a whippier shaft compared to today's players? Thx Jim

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Gents - perhaps this is the best ongoing thread for this question. While searching eBay for various old clubs (JNP, Muirfields, Ram Tour Grinds, etc.), it seems that there're no X-Stiff available. Many "regular" sets, some "stiff" sets, but little to zero X-flex available. Did the 70's-90's tour players use Stiff instead of say X-100's? One thread I read said some thing like, "... Jack used Stiff until the X-100 was developed." Where the Pro's just tipping S-300's to make them stiffer, or did then on-average play a whippier shaft compared to today's players? Thx Jim

 

Anecdotally speaking, the curve on shaft flex was steeper then, than today. Pre-1995 .355" tapered tipped S300's are plenty stiff and stout. The parallel type were heavy but not as tip stiff. A lot of today's' "S" offerings are of the SL variety and are much lighter. An S300 then is much like an S400 now.

 

Best recommendation I can offer is go with a tapered tip "S". Doubt it will be too whippy. If it's not heavy enough, add heavily corded or leather grips.

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Read like 4 pages and couldnt understand why the MB2 werent mentioned........Then I realized all the posts predate the MB2's lol

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Taylormade Sim 9° (set to 7°) - Fuji 53k X 

Cobra Rad Speed Tour 5 Wood 16° - Speeder 757 Evo TS X

Mizuno MP Fli Hi 18° - C Taper 125 S+
Mizuno MP Fli Hi 23° - C Taper 120 S
Srixon z785 5-PW - KBS TourV X

Cleveland ZipCore 50° - Tour S400
Ping Glide Pro Forged 54°/ Eye Toe 59°  - Tour S400
Seemore mFGP2 
Podcast - "Rough Fairways - A Journey to the PGA Tour" available on Spotify - Pandora - Apple

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Gents - perhaps this is the best ongoing thread for this question. While searching eBay for various old clubs (JNP, Muirfields, Ram Tour Grinds, etc.), it seems that there're no X-Stiff available. Many "regular" sets, some "stiff" sets, but little to zero X-flex available. Did the 70's-90's tour players use Stiff instead of say X-100's? One thread I read said some thing like, "... Jack used Stiff until the X-100 was developed." Where the Pro's just tipping S-300's to make them stiffer, or did then on-average play a whippier shaft compared to today's players? Thx Jim

 

Hogan Apex 5's are X-stiff. Apex shafts date back to the late 60's and were made into the 2000's.

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  • 2 years later...

10 year old thread!! Impressive.

Not a lot of difference between blades. They're all good.

 

Ping G430 Max 10.5

Ping G430 5&7 Wood

Ping G430 19°,22° Hybrids

Callaway 2007 X-Forged 5-PW/ PXG Gen 6 XP's 7-SW

Ping Glide 58ES Wedge

Ping PLD DS72 / Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2.5+ 

Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving

 

 

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Are you a Wilson rep?

 

There are many terrific blades made the past 20-30 years. I believe the 1999 Ben Hogan Apex blades are one of the best blades ever made. The feedback was terrific. The playability to control shots was outstanding. This iron was even considered a forgiving iron to play but keep in mind you still have to put a good swing on the ball. This iron is so good I still game a set. I would also say the MacGregors of the 1980s were terrific. I have a mint condition set of Muirfield 20th irons (3-SW) in a bag sitting in my office. I gamed a set of these from 1989-1991 when I replaced them with a set of MacGregor VIP blades (reintroduced blades).

Driver:  TaylorMade 300 Mini 11.5° (10.2°), Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S Velocore

3W:  TaylorMade M4 15°, Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7S

Hybrid:  TaylorMade Sim2 2 Iron Hybrid 17°, Mitsubishi Tensai AV Raw Blue 80 stiff

Irons:  Mizuno Pro 223 4-PW, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

GW / SW: Mizuno T-22, 52° (bent to 50°)/ 56° (bent to 54°), True Temper S400

LW:  Scratch Golf 1018 forged 58° DS, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

Putter:  Byron Morgan Epic Day custom, Salty MidPlus cork grip

Grips:  BestGrips Augusta Microperf leather slip on

 

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Nike Forged and MP 32’s are 3rd and 4th on my list. Srixon Z945’s sneak in one spot ahead of them.

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Driver- Titleist TsR2 with Graphite Design Tour AD

4w - Titleist Tsi2 with Tensei Raw Blue shaft

19 Hy - Titleist 818 H1 with Atmos Tour Spec

23 Hy - Titleist 818 with Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shaft

5i-PW - Bridgestone J15 CB with Recoil F4 110 shafts

50,54,and 58 Wilson Staff wedges with SF shafts

Ping Prime Tyne 4 PSD

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Those are what I played in HS in 1973 and 1974.

Driver: Callaway Epic Flash 10.5 w/ Project X Evenflow Green 55 R shaft Fairway woods: Callaway Epic Flash 5 and 7 wood Hybrids: Callaway Big Bertha 4i and 5i Irons: Srixon ZX5 6-AW, Wedges: Cleveland RTX Zipcore 54 and 58 degree Putter: mySpider X

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I don't mean to blaspheme in the house of Hogan, but having played the '88, '99, and '03 Apex models, I think the '03's are the best of that bunch. I know the clamshell ridge on the back turns some people off, (me included, at first) but there is an extra feeling and extra forgiveness I feel the '99 lacks. That said, I do rotate both sets in and out of play; neither one is 'bad'

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LOL, there is no blaspheme the House of Hogan. Whether a person plays a particular Hogan iron, or even an iron from another brand, it's all good in the golfing world. This '99 Hogan Apex blade fan is certainly happy you have your preferred iron. Play well.

 

Cheers!

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Driver:  TaylorMade 300 Mini 11.5° (10.2°), Fujikura Ventus Blue 5S Velocore

3W:  TaylorMade M4 15°, Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7S

Hybrid:  TaylorMade Sim2 2 Iron Hybrid 17°, Mitsubishi Tensai AV Raw Blue 80 stiff

Irons:  Mizuno Pro 223 4-PW, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

GW / SW: Mizuno T-22, 52° (bent to 50°)/ 56° (bent to 54°), True Temper S400

LW:  Scratch Golf 1018 forged 58° DS, Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 stiff

Putter:  Byron Morgan Epic Day custom, Salty MidPlus cork grip

Grips:  BestGrips Augusta Microperf leather slip on

 

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  • 1 month later...

Phew, coming back to this thread a few days short of 10 years from the day it started. I figured I'd add some more to this list now that a full decade has passed - and it's become more of a comprehensive list of blades, rather than a short list of best blades.

If I had to choose a shorter list of the best blade irons (that I've also been able to have a good amount of experience with hitting), I think I'd say Miura MB-001, Mizuno MP 14, Mizuno MP 33, Nike VR TW, Taylormade MB TP, and Titleist 681.

 

Adams MB2 (previous gamer set)

Callaway X Prototype AKA Razr MB

Fourteen FH-1000

Miura MB-001 (current gamer set)

Mizuno MP 14 (not sure how I missed this the first time despite putting MP 29)

Mizuno MP 20

Nike VR TW (previous gamer set)

Nike VR Pro

Ping Blueprint

 

Additionally, I could probably add any Titleist MB, as they're all solid. This may be blasphemy for some, but none of the 710, 712, 714, 716, 718, 620, etc.. really stood out to me as having a different character than the previous generation. That's in comparison to the (mostly older) Mizunos, which I thought felt unique and had their own character (e.g. MP33 was far and away the softest, most "buttery" blade ever IMO, MP32 was quite forgiving for a blade, MP37 was a bit harder feel and looked a lot smaller/thicker than other Mizunos, MP14 felt like a nice in-between of everything, MP20 felt incredible with the copper underlay brought back from the TN87).

TaylorMade SLDR 10.5˚, Kuro Kage Proto TiNi 70X
TaylorMade R7 TP 17.5˚, GD Prototype Model 902X OR TaylorMade SLDR 17˚ Kuro Kage Black Proto 80X
Titleist 712U 3i, Nippon Modus3 120X
Miura CB-501 (4, 5) & Miura MB-001 (6-PW), Nippon Modus3 120X
Miura Wedge Series 51˚, Nippon Modus3 120X
Fourteen RM-12 56˚, 60˚
Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line, Garsen Max

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Mizuno fan here, so I'm definitely a little biased.

The MP4, to me, is the best pure blade out there. I game MP32 (as a backup set) and love them, but the 4s are as close as you can get to a perfect mix of old school looks and current technology for a blade.

Haven't hit the MP33, but based on what I've read here and elsewhere, they belong in this conversation as well.

Titleist TSR3 10*: LA Golf Olyss 65S

Titleist TSi2 16.5*: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 70S

Titleist TSR3 19*:  LA Golf Ozik Black Tie 105S

Titleist TSi2 22*: Aldila Tour Blue 105TX

Grindworks PR-202 6-PW: Nippon Modus3 120X

Edel SMS 48*V / 60*T:  Nippon Modus 125 Wedge 

Grindworks Barrett 52* / 56*: Nippon Modus 125 Wedge 

Scotty Cameron 2014 Select Fastback

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Blades are about playing the game with ball control and solid contact. The best I have played are the MacGregor 785 reverse muscle backs. Unmatched for controlling trajectory and spin makes it ideal for windy conditions and workability. Not among the longest or highest launching but hard to beat for shot making and ball control which are the best measurements for blades, imo.

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the only downside of x-protos is the offset. ted too much IMO.

__

DR Callie Epic Flash 💎💎💎 8.5º TC + House of Forged Ballistic LD-S

3W Royal Collection CV Pro 13° + LAGP House of Forged Tour Limited 70X 

5W PXG 0341X Proto 18º + LAGP HoF Platinum 70S 

HYB Royal Collection 505V BBD 18º + NS PRO 950FW X, PXG 0317X 21º + Fujikura Pro 95i Tour Spec X

DI Nike VFP #4 + KBS Tour HYB Proto 95X, Callie X Forged ‘18 #3 + Modus Tour 120X

IRONS Callie X Forged 2013 5-PW MMT 95S

WEDGES Scratch 8620 47º, 50º, 55º STI 60º, Edel 60º

PUTTERS Nike Method 001, Edel The "Gold" Brick, John Byron Winner Seven

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

You can't leave the Wilson name out of any talk of blades.

 

Ping G430 Max 10.5

Ping G430 5&7 Wood

Ping G430 19°,22° Hybrids

Callaway 2007 X-Forged 5-PW/ PXG Gen 6 XP's 7-SW

Ping Glide 58ES Wedge

Ping PLD DS72 / Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2.5+ 

Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving

 

 

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