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

[Nard_S]

1st round in trash can, lol. Did not play good but it is first in 6 months of near complete layoff. The 681's on mid & long are phenomenal. Best #4i &#5i I've ever carried. My solid swings have me up beat. Not so happy on Faldo wedges, may go back to Maruman's, but short game rust is always a thing for me this time a year. Looking forward to next week.

[RolandofGilead]

I’m playing FG-51 blades 3-8i and ‘99 Apex 9i and E for the time being and love this set up. The FG-51s have Hogan Apex 4 shafts and are a delight to hit. I can’t get the 9i properly reamed myself so I am going to send it out to the pros, and the original S300 that came with it makes the club too heavy relative to the rest of the set. I hit 14 GIRs en route to a 76 on Friday in 15 mph winds - great pairing with 975J driver and 975F fairways.

 

 

[craz-e]

4 minutes ago, RolandofGilead said:

I’m playing FG-51 blades 3-8i and ‘99 Apex 9i and E for the time being and love this set up. The FG-51s have Hogan Apex 4 shafts and are a delight to hit. I can’t get the 9i properly reamed myself so I am going to send it out to the pros, and the original S300 that came with it makes the club too heavy relative to the rest of the set. I hit 14 GIRs en route to a 76 on Friday in 15 mph winds - great pairing with 975J driver and 975F fairways.

 

 

 

Beautiful irons you have there Sir! 

[Nard_S]

Weird part of Sunday outing.  On one tee box, two carts, blasting two types of music. One was metal the other was country. Like dueling carts. Both loud too. On another tee box , 4 -some pull up, boom box is playing house dance music. Like the ecstasy induced thumping stuff. Guy who brought it on was all blinged out too. Tight burgundy shirt, black shorts, gold adornments. Like Studio 54 meets Bagger Vance. Wish I recorded, it was hilarious and so odd. 

[craz-e]

15 minutes ago, Nard_S said:

Weird part of Sunday outing.  On one tee box, two carts, blasting two types of music. One was metal the other was country. Like dueling carts. Both loud too. On another tee box , 4 -some pull up, boom box is playing house dance music. Like the ecstasy induced thumping stuff. Guy who brought it on was all blinged out too. Tight burgundy shirt, black shorts, gold adornments. Like Studio 54 meets Bagger Vance. Wish I recorded, it was hilarious and so odd. 

 

[dan360]

Almost ready to put the baby blades back in the bag after 2 years without them....honestly, if among friends, I admit to being a little nervous...

[Nard_S]

37 minutes ago, dan360 said:

....honestly, if among friends, I admit to being a little nervous...

We were playing, my buddy dropped a cold beer on top of bag, I said" thank you for the can of courage" Lol.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I got a set of MP-9s recently, which were US versions of Mizuno's TP-11s. I've wanted a set of these for years, as when I was growing up loads of good players around me used them.

 

Mine came with R300 shafts, which aren't ideal. I hit them really high, and so taking them out for the first time for nine holes in strong winds probably wasn't my best laid plan.

 

On the first, after hooking my 4w into a tree on the first and finding myself about 170 out on an iffy lie, I whacked a six iron to 10ft and almost made the birdie putt. Hey, these irons are OK!

 

They played pretty well, though they really do go high...Best iron shot was an 8i on a 155-yard downhill par 3 to about 5ft for a birdie. They look great in the bag, but they have quite a bit of offset, and that's after I bent them a degree weaker than standard.

 

Also sneaking in there is a Mizuno MS-203 2i.

 

[NRJyzr]

Long ago and far away, I had a chance to demo a Mizuno iron, that a friend had picked up as a demo club.  I was normally a borderline DGX or DGS player at the time, as was he, and this demo iron had DGR.  I've always wondered why, maybe that was all they had at the time.

 

It was a 6 iron.  I hit it higher than my own set's PW.  I didn't hook it, just enormously increased trajectory.  All due to the club being too soft.  (my friend saw the same).

 

Amusingly, DGS didn't do this for me, at the time.  My friend's clubs had DGS400.

 

Based on that, it makes sense to me your MP-9s would threaten orbiting satellites.

 

Ironically, I find myself now firmly entrenched in the DGR world, thanks to age and injuries.  And possibly 40 lbs of weight loss.  <shrug>

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

2 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

Long ago and far away, I had a chance to demo a Mizuno iron, that a friend had picked up as a demo club.  I was normally a borderline DGX or DGS player at the time, as was he, and this demo iron had DGR.  I've always wondered why, maybe that was all they had at the time.

 

It was a 6 iron.  I hit it higher than my own set's PW.  I didn't hook it, just enormously increased trajectory.  All due to the club being too soft.  (my friend saw the same).

 

Amusingly, DGS didn't do this for me, at the time.  My friend's clubs had DGS400.

 

Based on that, it makes sense to me your MP-9s would threaten orbiting satellites.

 

Ironically, I find myself now firmly entrenched in the DGR world, thanks to age and injuries.  And possibly 40 lbs of weight loss.  <shrug>

 

 

Yes, offset and soft tip section = moon balls.

 

But I think I too am slowing growing into the R-flex. 

 

I've pretty much given up on X100, and find S300/S400 to be increasingly hard work. That said, S300/400 produce the sort of ball flight I'm after.

 

I have Attas 115X carbon shafts in my MP-4s, and while I like the fact I can practice with them and not feel any pain in my elbows and wrists, I do hit the ball a bit higher wth them than I'd prefer.

[anser85029]

Welcome to the DGR world fellas.

 

Reshafted my MP32s with DGR flex a couple winters ago.  Iron trajectory has returned with a simple drop in flex.

 

Funny, now in my late 60s I have returned to playing iron shafts I grew up playing as a kid during the 1960s.

[anth]

Well I thought I was done with blades and was getting too old. But I’ve been sucked in again. Playing my best golf ever this past summer (lowest index) coinciding with the release of Srixon’s new blade and…

 

Z-Forged II 5 - PW with Recoil 95’s have been ordered. I suspect I might end up mixing them with my current ZX7’s and play a combo set, but I wanted to order the full set just to see how I fare.

 

And now the waiting game begins…

[Kmagnuss]

Timely with all the regular flex and graphite shaft talk... I have a new set of Steelfiber i95 cw in R flex about to get some Nike VR TW heads put on them, 5-pw.  I don't need 120g steel shafts anymore. 

[NRJyzr]

18 hours ago, anser85029 said:

now in my late 60s I have returned to playing iron shafts I grew up playing as a kid during the 1960s

 

In the simulators over the winter, I was hitting my Vibration Matched Golden Rams roughly the same distance I was hitting my Frequency Matched Golden Rams in 2002.

 

The difference is where I was on the "story arc" of my golf game, LOL.  Then, I was in my 4th season of golf and building to my peak distance a few years later.  Now, I'm well past that peak.

 

Perspective is fun. 🤔

 

I occasionally wonder how far I would have hit the ball in my 20s.  I'll never know.   Maybe that's for the best...

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by NRJyzr

[lefthack]

I noticed Haywood was offering the MB in a 3-PW and I swear a 3 wasn't an option when I ordered mine. So they sent me one, should be here next week. Since I've been wanting to try a different shaft I got a UST Recoil 460 F4. Slightly heavier than my Kuro Kage, so it will be interesting. 

[NRJyzr]

5 minutes ago, lefthack said:

I noticed Haywood was offering the MB in a 3-PW and I swear a 3 wasn't an option when I ordered mine. So they sent me one, should be here next week. Since I've been wanting to try a different shaft I got a UST Recoil 460 F4. Slightly heavier than my Kuro Kage, so it will be interesting. 

 

I think that's always been there, but when you go to order, it defaults to the 4-PW.  Apparently they don't get as many requests for a 3i?  🙂 

 

[lefthack]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I think that's always been there, but when you go to order, it defaults to the 4-PW.  Apparently they don't get as many requests for a 3i?  🙂 

 

 

I swear I would have picked it had I noticed. I just got my driving iron and had it on course a couple of times with good success. I realize the 3 might be a bit much, but it makes the set. 🤣

[NRJyzr]

4 minutes ago, lefthack said:

 

I swear I would have picked it had I noticed. I just got my driving iron and had it on course a couple of times with good success. I realize the 3 might be a bit much, but it makes the set. 🤣

 

As I remember it, you were at the leading edge of the redesigned blades.  Maybe they really didn't have 3 irons when you ordered?

 

[lefthack]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

As I remember it, you were at the leading edge of the redesigned blades.  Maybe they really didn't have 3 irons when you ordered?

 

 

Yeah, I ordered day one. It might have been an option. I actually ordered both the MB and CB day one, sold the CB's a month later as they just weren't gonna get played. 

[PedronNiall]

Went down the rabbit hole of the JPN specialty market after watching Peter Finch's back alley showcase and range session from Dragon Golf. Not a good idea. Easiest way to burn through $2-3k without thinking about it outside of waking up in a casino and being certain you're just one bet away from cleaning out the house.

 

Luckily Dragon is only in the UK/EU and the manufacturers are all across the Pacific from me so I can keep myself at a safe distance. Still a bit tempted regardless.

[Scottyrocket]

Well I did it. After too much overthinking I am going to play 5-6 T100 7-P 620 MB with the 105T shafts. I still have the i230 irons and maybe if this doesn't work I will go back but yesterdays range session was pretty fun with the MB. I'm actually not that good, 9hc, and I am hot and cold with irons. But the look and feel of the MB was worth it, unless I start shooting in the 90's. I for sure had misses that went short but very few were crazy offline. I guess the true test will be the 140 shot over a hazard that I slightly miss hit. 

[bodhi555]

Howdy strangers, how we all doing? Good to see still plenty of blade love going round, and happy to confirm my VR Pros are firmly still in the bag:

 

 

Only real addition is a P770 3 iron which is proving to be quite a weapon off the tee or the deck and compliments the rest of the set superbly - I had it knocked a degree weak to around 20.5 so it would fit the other lofts better and remove a little offset, and with a trusty S400 TI fitted it's a huge amount of fun. 

 

However I will admit I've been losing the blade love slightly recently - not because of the head shape or lack of MOI, but the leading edge and sole grind. Our place in the UK is still pretty wet, and as it's clay soil it is massively unforgiving if you catch it slightly behind the ball, and the blades are just adding to that. 

 

Weirdly the long irons are still going superbly, it's the shorter irons I'm struggling with. I am having lessons at the moment to sort my backswing out (too inside the line and a little long) which has steadied the ship off the tee, struggling to get my ballstriking with the irons back though. 

 

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

8 minutes ago, bodhi555 said:

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

 

Oddly enough, when I was playing in winter conditions in the Uk many, many years ago, I found that 1) leaving the 3i and 4i out of play off the turf worked well, and 2) if I had to use a long iron, put the ball forward in the stance rather than back.

That would encourage a sweeping hit, which meant less chance of a really fat shot. 

 

But it's hard to get good distance off a long iron in those conditions; I think it's because you can't compress the ball properly.

[Nard_S]

4 minutes ago, bodhi555 said:

 

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

Doing well with longer but not shorter is a signal you are moving from left tilt to right tilt too early in downswing. You are not holding that "at the top" body angles long enough or getting hands down fast enough in relation. So net is a more sweeping motion across the board that works with longer but not shorter. I do this and always have, I'm working this now, it requires you "hold" body angles longer post transition, a feeling of swinging with back to target longer than comfortable at times, a greater sense of pivot left to side-> swing down-> turn through and move to right tilt. It's a re-calibration of sorts but this will change how short irons descend into a ball and cleanly handle muddy conditions. 

 

All that nonsense or just move ball back and chop it a bit more, :)

 

[FirstFlight]

12 minutes ago, bodhi555 said:

Weirdly the long irons are still going superbly, it's the shorter irons I'm struggling with. I am having lessons at the moment to sort my backswing out (too inside the line and a little long) which has steadied the ship off the tee, struggling to get my ballstriking with the irons back though. 

 

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

I can relate. Though, I have a tendency to overcorrect and play my 9 thru wedges(for full swing shots) about a half ball too far back in my stance. I also have a tendency to 'crowd the plate' with those same shots as well. When I remember to avoid these, my shots are way better. My longest iron works best when I choke down about a half inch on the grip.

 

It's a never ending effort to backwards engineer and find the bottom of my swing...its probably high time I attempt to try a 3/8" length gapping & MOI weighting style with my irons.

 

Cheers

[dan360]

2 hours ago, bodhi555 said:

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

Don't wear white shoes or white pants.

[dmgiffen]

Second set of MB-101s. Not sure why I’m tempted to try something else. 
 

[mahonie]

4 hours ago, bodhi555 said:

Howdy strangers, how we all doing? Good to see still plenty of blade love going round, and happy to confirm my VR Pros are firmly still in the bag:

 

 

Only real addition is a P770 3 iron which is proving to be quite a weapon off the tee or the deck and compliments the rest of the set superbly - I had it knocked a degree weak to around 20.5 so it would fit the other lofts better and remove a little offset, and with a trusty S400 TI fitted it's a huge amount of fun. 

 

However I will admit I've been losing the blade love slightly recently - not because of the head shape or lack of MOI, but the leading edge and sole grind. Our place in the UK is still pretty wet, and as it's clay soil it is massively unforgiving if you catch it slightly behind the ball, and the blades are just adding to that. 

 

Weirdly the long irons are still going superbly, it's the shorter irons I'm struggling with. I am having lessons at the moment to sort my backswing out (too inside the line and a little long) which has steadied the ship off the tee, struggling to get my ballstriking with the irons back though. 

 

Any other blade users have strategies for dealing with thick heavy mud? 😃

Similar issue...several holes at my course have been under the River Severn for a few weeks!!

 

Long irons are very good atm and I've never hit my 3-wood off the deck better, but I am coming in very steep with short irons, catching it slightly fat and taking dinner plate sized divots with the ball going nowhere!! I've noticed my swing becomes very 'armsy' with shorter clubs and I'm trying to focus on properly turning my shoulders and turning through the ball rather than chopping into the back of the ball...limited success so far!!

[lefthack]

So nobody has hit these? I realize they are cast, but they look awesome and $500 for a set of heads. They are on my list for sure. 

 

https://www.2ndswing.com/golf-clubs/iron-sets/handmade-stix-lb-1-iron-set/left-handed-steel-d-12328602056

 

 

[charliebrown]

On 12/21/2022 at 6:52 AM, NRJyzr said:

 

After switching to Frequency Matched Golden Rams for the 2001 season, I began embarking on a similar nostalgia blade tour.  The difference for me is that I'd only begun playing a couple years prior; 1999 was my first full season of golf.

 

As I began to realize the clubs I'd avoided through my lack of interest in golf through my 20s and early 30s, I started sampling everything.  Not just blades, as I also played PHD Tours, Precept Tour Premiums, etc.  Which is part of why I picked up my set of Eye2+ in 2011; I felt I needed to see what they were about.

 

After reading all these comments, I spent a dangerous amount of time on ebay last night, looking at various Wilson Staff Fluid Feel and Dynapower sets, with regular shafts (because I'm now a DGR guy, it seems).  I really shouldn't, but I admit I'm half tempted.  LOL

 

You gents are very likely on the naughty list.  😉

 

 

Many are on my naughty list. I picked up a set of the Golfworks/Toski T-54s from an established/good guy club maker on GEA *new. Guy he built them for wanted "Mizuno" stamped into the heads so I took them. Rifle 6.0 shafts. Played them for 6 months before rotator cuff/ligament tear. Pulled the shafts while doing rehab for 3 months. Boxed the heads in bubble wrap and unpacked them last week. I have grips, ferrules, epoxy. Seemed a waste just having them in a box in the garage. Need to make a shaft decision. Should be fun.