Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “My experience gaming blades as a mid-high handicapper…”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from Andus, who shared his interesting experience gaming blades as a mid/high handicapper…
“A few months ago, I decided to buy a Mizuno combo set. I’m gaming 4-6 MP-18 SC, and 7-PW MP-18 MB. All of them have Modus 3 120 X flex shafts. To be honest, I almost wish I went 4-PW in the MB because I don’t find the SC to be any more forgiving than the MB; however, the feel is on par I’d say. My swing speed with driver is about 110MPH and with a seven iron is around 93MPH.
I was a pretty decent ball striker, but my handicap was awfully high due to my short game (putting & within 50 yards). I am a complete sucker for looks & feel, and those two attributes are probably most important to me when choosing clubs to play. With that said, the switch from GI irons to blades has been amazing for me. I personally don’t buy into the whole “forgiveness” thing too much. Sure, a big fat hunk of metal with much more toe weighting might help you pull a few more yards out of a mishit, but the reality is, regardless of the iron you’re playing the shot is going to be a bad shot whether you get five extra yards or not. Nevertheless, these irons have helped me find the middle of the club more often than not, and best of all have inspired me to play golf even more. Every time I see these irons in my golf bag, I can’t help myself put to go pull one out and just admire the beauty (I know, I’m a loser). Anyway, my point in writing this is to hopefully inspire somebody else on the fence about blades to give them a try. If you have any other specific questions, ask away!”
The post has garnered plenty of reaction from our members, who have been giving their advice and opinions to those mid/high handicappers out there who have been considering a switch to blades.
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.
- bub72ck: “We get this topic frequently, and I have to say I disagree. “Good” ball striking is a very relative term depending on what you are looking to get out of your game. If you find enjoyment out of that perfectly struck shot from a blade that’s awesome, but to sluff off forgiveness between MBs and CBs is really painting with a broad brush. I don’t know what your handicap is (you only said mid-high), but I am not sure you know what consistently finding the center of the club is. I don’t think I do either. A round of golf for most anyone, save the top players in the world, is about consistency and quality of mis-hits. Losing 5 yards on a mis-hit shot is the difference between being on the green and off, or in a bunker, or in a water hazard. You said that your short game was weak. That weakness is going to be magnified by missed greens and further distance from the hole. The bottom line is you can do whatever you wish with your game, but more than likely playing blades is costing you strokes.”
- Bimmer1: “I think about this topic often. Back in the early 80’s blades were pretty much all we had. As a 10-year-old in 1980, I started with blades and played my best golf a few years later as the high school team captain shooting in the mid-’70s with Wilson FG-17’s. A lot of great golfers started out as beginners using blades. There were no alternatives until Ping, Daiwa, and some others started making cavity backs.”
- Lefty96: “There is nothing wrong with playing blades if they simply bring more enjoyment to your game. Whether that’s because you like the way the feel/look at address, or because you just like being “able” to play blades. But, if you get more enjoyment out of shooting your best score, then you may want to consider making a change. Like people above have pointed out, you’ll just hit more greens with a GI or players GI club then you will with blades. If score isn’t really important to you, by all means, keep playing the blades. They will give you a hell of a lot of feedback about your strike and maybe you’ll even learn to find the middle of the face more often because of it. Most importantly enjoy golf! They are a pretty set of sticks!”
Entire Thread: “My experience gaming blades as a mid-high handicapper…”
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Brad
Apr 3, 2019 at 8:09 am
“Forgiveness” in irons is only relevant to a point. The blades of today are nearly as “forgiving” as many cavity backs from decades past. Besides, this guy has a swing speed of 110mph. He is probably hitting a wedge into most par 4s and no more than an 8 iron into most par 5’s after bombing it off of the tee.
The best sort of forgiveness comes from hitting clubs with more loft into greens from shorter distance. I’d say this guy has that covered. That’s why tour pros can kick your @r$e up and down the course, not because of their accuracy with mid or long irons, but their distance off the tee and wedge play for approach shots. They are simply hitting less club than you ALL of the time. That makes it much easier to have a much higher GIR than the average joe and putting it close to the pin makes putting easier too. Pretty simple.
Yeah, if you can barely hit the ball 200 yards off of the tee, then blades are probably not for you. No doubt about that. If you are hitting it 330 yards over the back of the green off of the tee and are chipping when everyone else is hitting 7 iron into the green – then you can probably play with a LITERAL butterknife and still score well.
Dan
Mar 29, 2019 at 12:54 am
Ok folks here’s the skinny on all iron styles to clear up all the confusion. I’m a +2 and been fitting clubs since the mid 90’s. The sweet spot on every iron ever sold is the size of a dime(called the center of percussion) blade or GI iron. Forged clubs being of a softer metal spin the ball more due to the ball being griped by the grooves longer, so stopping spin and workability is high. Due to their high CG they rotate a lot on off center hits producing inaccuracies and distance loss. Pro’s play forged due to the amazing distance control of high spin reducing distance ( like a bag of wedges). Cast clubs are harder metal with spring like faces. The balls on the face a shorter time due to added velocity and so they spin less and go farther. The low CG rotates the club less when miss hit producing less inaccuracies and less distance loss. For forged the cb or blade option it’s purely a trajectory preference. Blade goes the lowest, cb a bit higher and so on towards hybrids. All irons are designed to fly properly as well so low trajectory blades have weak lofts and GI irons that go high have strong lofts. A 43 deg M6 pw still hits it higher than a forged mb 47 deg pw. Lofts aren’t strong for distance it’s for trajectory and distance is a welcomed secondary affect. Look at pro’s bags where it’s common to up the forgiveness of long irons due to tour green firmness. Go ahead and pick the weapon that fits your need and throw out your reservations. I play a rogue pro cast iron. Looks like an apex pro. Hits it like an M6 and reduces the high spin I have, their cheaper than forged and go easily a club + longer. That’s a win,win,win for me. If you don’t hit 7/10 balls solid don’t play forged, blade or not. Your welcome
sal
Mar 28, 2019 at 9:50 am
To each his own. But I will say that when I have played cast cavity back irons, my game goes south after a few weeks because I’m not as precise, especially in the short irons.
FG-17 irons. Back in the 80s, wow! Caddy Shack and big hair golf. Thanks for the article.
Michael Alonso
Mar 18, 2019 at 11:17 am
I’m a 19hdcp and play Mizuno MP-59s. My iron play has never been my issue. I hit the ball high and long and straight. Clubhead speed with a driver is 110 and with a 6i is 98. What’s keeping me from lowering my handicap is my driver and my putter. My putter’s been hot lately, so hopefully that will stay. I got fitted for a driver and will be receiving it next month. Hopefully, staying in the fairway will allow me to score better. As far as playing better/nicer looking/ player’s irons, I can’t see where I would gain anything from playing a GI iron. I recently hit my dad’s new set of Callaway Rogues with Catalyst shafts. Yeah, I can hit his 6i 210, but do I really need that? No. My gapping is fine with my set. Play what you like looking at or you’re not gonna wanna play.
pelling
Mar 15, 2019 at 5:22 pm
Here’s the thing. If you took 4 clubs, say a 3 wood, a 6 iron, a wedge, and a putter out for 9 holes, your score would be about the same as if you had 14 clubs fitted with the the latest shafts and technology. So don’t sweat it.
Leftshot
Mar 16, 2019 at 12:13 pm
Just because you said it doesn’t make it true. You provided nothing to back up your opinion.
Having played in dozens of 5-club and similar format tournaments and analyzed the results I think you are wrong. Here is what I conclude from this data.
A mid to high handicapper’s scores does on average suffer more than a scratch or low single handicap. However, in a net score tournament, the winner is still most likely a mid to high handicap player. This IMO is due to the wild variations in scoring day to day of such players. The same thing happens in net score tournaments with 14-clubs.
Scratch players generally have skills in this format that most mid to high handicappers do not. The ability to execute half and three quarter swings, knockdowns, vary ball height and sometimes shot shape, just to name a few.
Tim
Mar 15, 2019 at 2:41 pm
My issue with blades has always been the stock shafts that most blades come with. I’m not that strong and have always hated Dynamic Gold shafts, they’re totally wrong for me. Now that fitting is so widely available, I’d like to try a Mizuno blade with lightweight steel shafts. Currently I use a Nippon Zelos shaft in my Titleist AP1 irons, but based on my results. I know I could play fairly well with those shafts in a blade. It’s a very girly shaft, but who cares; it works for me.
Mike Cleland
Mar 15, 2019 at 1:11 pm
Whatever works. Both blades & game improvement clubs have positives & negatives. Most golfers, not scratch players, should be playing woods & hybrids down to a 7 iron anyway.
Mike Cleland
Mar 15, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Whatever works.
Under the roof
Mar 15, 2019 at 7:19 am
I really love the feeling of a well struck shot using a traditional blade, it is that “feeling” which is one of the reasons that I play the game. For me the issue with a full set of blades was at the long end of the irons; as the carry distances between clubs started to get compressed, thus leaving a large gap from my 4-I to hybrid.
-My solution to this gaping problem has been playing 7-pw cb as a degree strong, then 6/5 ap2 and a 4- as an ap3 into a hybrid keeping a 4 degree loft gap between clubs and letting the “more forgiving” faces of the longer irons keep better gaping.
I know it’s not the same as a pure set, but I’m not 32 anymore either.
Brandon
Mar 14, 2019 at 9:22 pm
I’ve played every style of irons over the last 10 or so years and my scores have remained fairly consistently in the low 80’s with the occasional round in the 70’s or 90’s. A chunk is a chunk and a skull is a skull regardless of that club is in your hand. Hitting drives OB and duffing chips is where doubles or worse come from.
Kelso
Mar 15, 2019 at 3:55 pm
You nailed it.
Michael Alonso
Mar 18, 2019 at 11:19 am
AMEN!
Swirley
Mar 14, 2019 at 4:47 pm
Guys, thank you for not making fun of Gianni. I can’t stand all the Gianni bashing. He is a good person.
drew
Mar 14, 2019 at 1:54 pm
i’d love real strokes gained proof either way. Prove to me GI work to actually improve my game. Prove to me that blades hurt my game. I really don’t know, especially if you are comparing a well fit set of players clubs vs. a well fit set of game improvers. Until there’s good data, I really don’t care what irons any cap picks up as long as they pay out their bets after the round.
Straight
Mar 14, 2019 at 5:45 pm
Have you ever been on TrackMan? What a moron…
Raj lp
Mar 15, 2019 at 2:56 am
Not a great comment “straight.” Makes you look more like what you’re calling someone who stated an opinion.
Tom Zanarini
Mar 15, 2019 at 10:15 am
Hey Straight, take a 7i AP1 and a 6i MB on Trackman. Check the lofts. Don’t go by the number stamped on the sole. Get back to us.
Brad
Apr 3, 2019 at 8:19 am
Ever heard of D-plane? Hitting a 7 iron with the loft of a 5 iron is NOT going to improve your scores. Yes, you will hit it further than the 7 iron with a more sensible loft, but that GI club with a 5 iron loft is also going to be as hard to hit consistently as a – 5 iron. Because fo D-plane.
You’re only fooling yourself if you are playing Trackman golf aka “look how far I can hit this 7 iron, dudes!” If GI clubs improved scores so dramatically, then it would be expected that the guys depending on playing well for their livelihood (PGA Pros) would be playing the $h1t out of those GI irons all around the world. Funny though, because they don’t – at least not until you get down to low lofted long irons where even some of them can apparently use the help as well because of – D-plane.
Sean
Mar 14, 2019 at 1:25 pm
I play Srixon 785s and 13hcp I love them. Recently went for a shaft fitting an he gave me jpx919 hotmetal and ap2 I struck them very badly compared to my own. My theory is you won’t improve strike unless you get feed back and you can’t get feed back from GI irons.
TR1PTIK
Mar 14, 2019 at 1:16 pm
Play whatever you want to play/makes you happy. Enough said.
P
Mar 14, 2019 at 11:22 am
This dude had 110 mph swing speed. Duh.
Most mid-high handicaps that the retail fronts sell those giant tech clubs are for the weekend hacks who swing at 90mph.