Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “Main reason to play blades?”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from randywall and delves into discovering why those who play blades choose to do so. With many WRXers currently playing blades, our members explain just what they find advantageous about blade irons, with a variety of reasons mentioned in the thread.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- MadGolfer76: “For me, they are just more maneuverable. Better distance control too.”
- RobotDoctor: “I game a set of ’99 Ben Hogan Apex blades (3-PW). Not only do these blades look outstanding, but they are relatively easy to hit. These are definitely not game improvement clubs but are not clubs reserved for a tour quality swing. I prefer blades because of great feel and the ability to better control the shape and trajectory of shots. The ’99 Ben Hogan Apex blades are among the best blades I have ever played, and I have gamed a lot of different blades from several manufacturers.”
- GolfManCollin: “The feel. Many have said that if more people played blades there would be a lot more good ball strikers.”
- mizuno player: “For me a few reasons. They spin rate is where I need it. I don’t always release the club. The smaller size of blade helps that. Less offset helps with my big left miss. I will be buying the new MP20 MMC. See how that goes.”
- Redjeep83: “Blades have a nice clean look and turf interaction, pretty consistent between different blades. It’s the old saying a blade is a blade, they aren’t really that different. I haven’t played a blade set for years, and I kind of want to go back, but I’ve been spoiled by players irons, so it’s been a hard choice to switch. I don’t want to lose distance and I think I probably would overall. I have a 6 iron blade in my bag that I hit on the range every once in a while with my other clubs and I find that I tend to gravitate back towards my players 6 iron instead because it gives a little more confidence and stronger flight.”
- Warrior42111: “For the average Joe, blades are like a supermodel; fun to look at, but you have no chance in real life.”
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Brandon
Oct 11, 2019 at 11:52 am
Because they are cool and the irons you carry have very little effect on your score compared to penalty strokes from ob drives or chunky chips.
Greg
Oct 11, 2019 at 2:03 am
Great post. I have been with the Ben Hogan Ft Worth 15s the past 3 years.
It reminds of the early 70s when blades were like all there was.
Ditto james, “because I can”
Rich Douglas
Oct 11, 2019 at 12:34 am
“Because I have the self-delusion of a lunatic and think that playing clubs I can’t hit somehow make me a better player. I secretly know it isn’t true, but I like to brag about my sticks–which is a good thing, because my game is certainly nothing to brag about. I carry a vanity handicap and lie like mad on Golf WRX whenever possible.” — Typical Golf WRX poster
James
Oct 10, 2019 at 6:15 pm
Why play blades? Because I can.
Alex Gasper
Oct 10, 2019 at 11:31 am
If golf is your job aka you play on a tour from PGA all the way down to a mini tour or high level collegiate golf then have at it.
Fay Kanews
Oct 10, 2019 at 4:38 pm
But what if golf is not your job and you wanna play golf without training wheels???