Good set of blades

Anyone have an idea about a decent set of forged blade irons out there. My handicap is 7 right now, and I'm a little tired of my current irons. I recently tried some of the mizunos and didn't like them very much, but I can't remember what model they were. I've heard good things about the titleist 960 mb's and the RAC LT's, but I just wanted to get some opinions.

I meant the RAC MB's, sorry. And any input would be great.

-Brad

The best blades out there in order of greatness (and yep, I have tried em all)...

1: Mizuno MP-33 The daddies, easy(ish) to use and great lookers
2: Titleist 690MB Seriously good bats, just a little prone to rusting
3: Mizuno MP-37 Were meant to replace the 33's but too demanding on the swing and a very small clubhead.
4: Hogan Apex Blade They've never got a set wrong yet, great clubs only let down by the Hogan branded shafts, get them with True Tempers.
5: Titleist 680 Titleists answer to the MP-37's
6: Taylor Made RAC MB Lovely to look at with a quality finish, but very small clubheads, none of the big name Taylor Made tour pros use them from 3-PW so that should tell you something
7: Cleveland TA-1 Good enough for Vijay, best in gunmetal.
8: Macgregor VIP 1025M Still capable of producing quality clubs these are their best in some time
9: Nike Forged Blade Well designed but still suffering a lack of attention to detail on the finish, basically a reworking of the old Mizuno MP-14's though.

All of the above are great bats, but I would say that off a 7 handicap you might want too look at Mizuno MP-30's or even my bats, the T-Zoid Pro II. Taylor Made RAC TP Combos are pretty much the top sticks in your market right now so give them a try too.

Above all remember Blades are for top quality ball strikers only, that doesnt always mean low single figure handicappers of course but theres a lot of big headed guys out there playing 2 or 3 shots more than they could be because they insist on the blade ego trip. I know a lot of young players that got to 9.4 and all a sudden decided to use blades because thats what "good players" use, result? Most of them stayed at 9.4 for a while.

Dont buy anything that you dont instantly feel you are striking the ball better with, chances are you would be as well sticking with what you have.

D.

__________________
Longniddry Golf Club Champ 2005.

In the Taylor Made Bag:

Callaway FT-3 Tour 9.5 Aldila NV 65S

Callaway Steelhead 3 Wood

Callaway Steelhead 5 Wood

Callaway X-16 3-PW

MacGregor Tourney 52 Degree

Cobra Phil Rodgers 59 Degree Rusty

Odyssey DFX 2-Ball

Callaway Tour iX

You didn't like the Mizuno's? What in particular was it that you disliked about them?

According to Golf Digest, the top irons for lower handicap players are:

1. Mizuno MP32
2. Ping S59
3. Titleist 704.CB
4. Taylor Made RAC TP
5. MacGregor M675
6. Titleist 690.MB
7. Ben Hogan APEX FTX
8. Cleveland CG1
9. WIlson Staff Pi5

I am not exactly sure, they just didn't feel right. It could be one of those things where it just takes awhile to get used to them, I know thats how my cleveland wedges were, and now i love them. Or it could just be that I would be better off not going to blades right now, but we'll see. Thanks for the input, I may run around to a few of the local shops and see if anyone's got a set of the cleveland TA1's that I can hit a few balls with. I couldn't find any reviews on the internet for them, but I really like my cleveland TA900 wedges, and the TA1's certainly seem to be one of the more affordable sets.

I really like the titleis 704's. My pro works with titleist and so i might pick them up sometime soon.

i currently play nike blades and I love them. I am a 7 handicap as well, and they work fine for me. They are possibly the most forgiving blade i have hit, next to the mp 32's. But the nike's are cheaper now, and are a great value.

I am a 10 handicap and went in to buy the Mizuno MP-30s. The salesperson sold me on the MP-32s. For me they have the look of a blade but the playability of a cavity back almost...I still have bought them yet as I too am scared that I'm not good enough for a blade??? What's the conventional widsom on that?

My game hovers around a 6 to 10 handicap depending on how much I play. I generally play about once per month and little to no practice. When I do play a few times a week and can actually practice, my handicap goes down to a 4 or so. My short game is rusty and touch is lost. That said....

I have always prefered blades as opposed to CB technology. I am currently playing Mizuno MP-32s and really like these irons. They offer great feedback as to where I make contact with the ball and offer me the ability to shape my shots. If I were single and had no children, I am certain that I would be playing golf at least 4 times a week and practice a lot. The Mizuno MP series irons are very good clubs but are really not for the golfer that has a poor swing. Good fundamentals will get good results from Mizunos.

__________________
Joe drinking Hacker

I've got some Slazenger Seve blades that i'm happy with. Bought used ... £1 each.

Yes I see that in Golf Magazine it was rated highest even with mid level handicappers. Golf Digest has the Mizuno MP-32 rated high as well but just for the "skilled" players. I too only play once a month and have never had a problem with ball striking but I am not an "accomplished" golfer by any means. I have hovered at a 10-14 handicap for 15 years. I am just reluctant to go from my old cavity back Titleist DCI's to a blade if they are too hard to hit. I hit my shot very high steep swing etc. so I was hoping blades might help me. Also, the MP-32's are not strictly a blade right a little relief so they might be a little more forgiving? The MP-30's look nice too but I have been told the MP-32's are the about the same to hit as the MP-30's but nicer.


Let me know what you think?

thanks,

BRettyd

I've got MP37's and love them. My handicap is about 10-11 and I find them easier to hit than my old ping I3's.

I like the MP32's as well though.

MP-37's are blades as well right...or muscle back blades? The Mp-30's are a slight cavity back...I am the same level as you STeve and I think that I need that extra forgiveness for as little as I play. How has you experience with the 37's been?

I am always ribbing my Pro, (He plays with Callaway X14'S) His answer is (golf is hard enough as it is, why make it harder) when we play a round with him, he never seems to have a problem controlling his x14's, very rarely gets into trouble. like someone else said, as soon as i got under 10 I started playing with a set of Titliest 982's lovely clubs (not blades) but were a lot smaller than my callaway x12's what I used at the time. they had a superb feel a lot better than the x12's. Started to play not so often and found I started to struggle a bit with them, now using Taylormade RAC LT'S just as nice as the Titliest to hit, but a lot more forgiving.

Pro II's are sadly underated, much like the T-Zoid True (the more bladed version) I have had mines for a few years now. I changed to MP-33's last year but ended up back with the Pro II's (partly because I made £150 profit on the 33's I admit). The MP-33's were great but every once in a while you would hit one and the tingle would spread up the hands and the ball would end up short or off line. That's the problem with blades when your playing well and your timing is on they are amazing. But when you are struggling they can be very hard to use.

If you must get blades let me give you a piece of advice, don't get stiff shafts. Regular are just fine for blades the design of the heads makes them hard enough to get in the air anyway.

D.

__________________
Longniddry Golf Club Champ 2005.

In the Taylor Made Bag:

Callaway FT-3 Tour 9.5 Aldila NV 65S

Callaway Steelhead 3 Wood

Callaway Steelhead 5 Wood

Callaway X-16 3-PW

MacGregor Tourney 52 Degree

Cobra Phil Rodgers 59 Degree Rusty

Odyssey DFX 2-Ball

Callaway Tour iX