We've launched the new forums! Read more here

TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons Review Thread

SuperStroke
I recently got a SB 6 iron to try thanks to my good buddy dcbrad. To me the head feels a lot heavier than my RBladez 6 iron, even though TM's site has the RBladez listed as having a heavier swing weight. On top of that, my irons are + 1/2", so that should increase the swing weight even further right?

Anyway, I haven't spent a ton of time with it yet so the jury is still out. But I flushed two shots into the green the other day, one with the RB, and the other with the SB, and the SB went about 10 yards further than the RB. I was not expecting to see a huge gain over the RB's since they are both considered distance irons. Of course, it was just one shot, I need to get to the range so I can really do a good side by side comparison.
 
Havent gotten a round in with these yet so I will reserve judgement but from what i have seen, I absolutely LOVE them. Forgiving on mishits, and I am hitting my irons further and higher than I ever have.
 
Parshooter36 said:
I recently got a SB 6 iron to try thanks to my good buddy dcbrad. To me the head feels a lot heavier than my RBladez 6 iron, even though TM's site has the RBladez listed as having a heavier swing weight. On top of that, my irons are + 1/2", so that should increase the swing weight even further right?

Anyway, I haven't spent a ton of time with it yet so the jury is still out. But I flushed two shots into the green the other day, one with the RB, and the other with the SB, and the SB went about 10 yards further than the RB. I was not expecting to see a huge gain over the RB's since they are both considered distance irons. Of course, it was just one shot, I need to get to the range so I can really do a good side by side comparison.
Click to expand...

Averaged out over time, I didn't notice a lot of distance difference or holding power difference between the Rbladez that I used to play and the Speedbladez. With shot height, there is a noticeable difference however.

But I noticed that with both irons you will occasionally catch one so pure that it becomes a shocking beast that will go 15 - 20 yards more than you expect. You must have caught a shocking beast. This still happens to me about once a round even now that I have my new SB distances grooved. Yesterday I had 200 to a back pin on a par 5 for my second, I took my SB 5i which is a 200 club. I nuked it and it was over the back in one hop and over the back bunker in two. Went about 220. I wish I would catch them all like that, but I haven't figured out how to do it consistently. What this tendency has done is make me much more wary of back pins. The SB's have definitely caused me to see the backsides of greens this year that I've never seen before.
 
Got a call from Golfsmith. My speedblades are in! Standard lie, stiff metal shafts, add 1/2 inch. Had to go out to the range. Haven't played much the last 10 years so the ball striking is inconsistent. Irons are longer than my old ones. I'm not a long hitter but would hit my old 6i to the 150 flag at the range. Now hit the 7i with ease. The speedblades are forgiving but since my ball striking needs work the yardages were hard to dial in. Will take some range time. Noticed when I hit it off center would make it to the flag but when I hit it pure it would fly well over the flag, 10-15 yard difference. Overall vey pleased. Wedges were crisp and fun to hit. Hit the 4 iron 200. Ordered the 4-sw. I don't like hybrids so think I'll order the 3 and add the lob wedge as we'll. Can't wait to get them out to the course! :call-me:
 
mark blanchard said:
Averaged out over time, I didn't notice a lot of distance difference or holding power difference between the Rbladez that I used to play and the Speedbladez. With shot height, there is a noticeable difference however.

But I noticed that with both irons you will occasionally catch one so pure that it becomes a shocking beast that will go 15 - 20 yards more than you expect. You must have caught a shocking beast. This still happens to me about once a round even now that I have my new SB distances grooved. Yesterday I had 200 to a back pin on a par 5 for my second, I took my SB 5i which is a 200 club. I nuked it and it was over the back in one hop and over the back bunker in two. Went about 220. I wish I would catch them all like that, but I haven't figured out how to do it consistently. What this tendency has done is make me much more wary of back pins. The SB's have definitely caused me to see the backsides of greens this year that I've never seen before.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I know I haven't had the Speedblades for that long but I haven't seen that 15-20 yard flier on the course or range yet.
 
Striker said:
I was just fitted for these and the TM rep wants to put me in a +.5, stock stiff shaft, standard lie. He states that he wants me to stand up taller and I'm almost 6ft so that +.5 should fit me better. Here is my worry, I have been hitting my 10year old nike slingshots very well and if these clubs by default are longer shafted and he is adding more length, this could be a big switch. Do you thing I have a valid Concern or do you think I should trust him?
Click to expand...


I just got my clubs today and took them to the range. I am blown away how far these seemed to go. The grass area did not have markers today but the ball just seemed to explode off of the club face. I elected to go with the 3 iron on addition to the 4-gap. The 3 iron was so ez to hit that I feel really confident that I will be able to use it when I play my first round Sunday. Now I just have to get a good bag to go with it. Any suggestions?
 
I love the way the R11 Staff bag looks with my R11 Irons. I love the SLDR bag... too bad it says "SLDR" though.
 
I was thinking the exact same thing about the sldr bag
 
StanTheCaddy said:
Interesting. I know I haven't had the Speedblades for that long but I haven't seen that 15-20 yard flier on the course or range yet.
Click to expand...

To be fair, most of the beasts I see are with the longer irons, 7 and up. Maybe it's the pocket. Not that it's a big problem. A lot of times when I'm hitting 3 or 4, I'm just trying to get all I can out of it. I use the 3 as a driving iron off a tee primarily so when it sometimes goes 240 I don't care.
 
I've had mine now for a while and I play quite often. I haven't seen those huge random overshots, either. 5 yards here and there occasionally, but I think that's really more related to my swing than the club. If it goes farther than I'm expecting, it's generally not as high. I always assume I just de-lofted it a bit too much with that shot, or caught it a bit thin. Overall the distances I'm seeing have been incredibly consistent.
 
I played the hell out if these when I had them with 30+ rounds and never saw any jumpers in them, just great ball flights again and again. I'm adamant that these are the best irons in TM's line and it isn't even close. Now we shall see with the SLDR's, but I regret moving these to be honest.
 
I played another 36 holes yesterday & used the 6i a lot. It was my 165-200 club depending on whether or not I laid off or swing a little more. Jank was my playing partner for the last 18 and was shocked at not only how well I hit it, but the distances I was getting. This is a solid offering from TM & the only thing I don't like is the sound on contact. Not sure of its just the 6i, but it's a very 'clicky' sound and it was hard for me to tell if I hit it pure or mishit. Either way the forgiveness is there & can see how those who game these irons will be pleased.
 
I took a few more swings with the 6 iron yesterday, there is no doubt in my mind now that it is longer than my RBladez 6 iron. I'm not a long hitter, so the extra distance could really change my game.
 
And if you could get that kind of distance with a driver man, WOW you would be putting some low scores on that card.
Parshooter36 said:
I took a few more swings with the 6 iron yesterday, there is no doubt in my mind now that it is longer than my RBladez 6 iron. I'm not a long hitter, so the extra distance could really change my game.
Click to expand...
 
coers said:
And if you could get that kind of distance with a driver man, WOW you would be putting some low scores on that card.
Click to expand...

A guy can dream right?
 
mikeg_74 said:
I played another 36 holes yesterday & used the 6i a lot. It was my 165-200 club depending on whether or not I laid off or swing a little more. Jank was my playing partner for the last 18 and was shocked at not only how well I hit it, but the distances I was getting. This is a solid offering from TM & the only thing I don't like is the sound on contact. Not sure of its just the 6i, but it's a very 'clicky' sound and it was hard for me to tell if I hit it pure or mishit. Either way the forgiveness is there & can see how those who game these irons will be pleased.
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you are talking about with the clicky 'mishits'. I get them on long irons a fair amount. They look and sound bad, but then you look up and you see that the results aren't all that bad. So you question yourself, "Was that a mishit or not?" They just don't feel as smushy pure as the really good ones, but you can live with the results. I've come to think that these are actually mishits that the clubs have corrected back towards being decent.

I also find it interesting that you confessed that you could hit it 165 to 200 depending on how you swung. That's a 35 yard range! Very doable with an SB, I don't doubt you a bit. My normal 6i is 185, but 190 to 195 is very possible. There's no way with any of my old Pings I could find an extra 10 or 15 yards possibly on tap!

I've now played my SB's about 3 times a week since December and I'm not close to trading them in, so don't get me wrong. I love them in spite of their quirks. I read about guys who've switched to CB's and then found themselves missing the SB distance. I'm not tempted. They fix 5x more flubs than they ever give me a few over-long screamers. I love how straight and high they go. I love hitting them from fairway bunkers. I love actually hitting driving irons for the first time in my life.

Yes, I do see more backs of greens than the fronts I typically used to see. Yes, I have to club down when I laser to a back pin or I'll frequently hop over. This is not due to the SB's failure to check up, BTW. I've never had a complaint with their stopping power or shot height. It's due to a greater range in distance 'potential' for each club. My old 8 iron would go 150 to 152 and even if I nuked it, I couldn't horse more distance out of it, no matter what. But the SB's seem to have an 'overdrive' that you can tap sometimes. My SB 8's go 160 to 165 and every so often (usually when I'm slowing my swing down and doing everything right) it'll go 170. So I have to watch that overdrive on the PW to 7. On the 6 thru 3 I just let it fly.

UPDATE: Case in point, I caught the 'overdrive' twice in 9 holes last night. First one I had a back pin at 145, I clubbed down to a PW which is my normal 135 club (my PW used to be only 125 with Pings) and I swung easy. Caught it absolutely pure and it carried 142, stopped at 150, over the back. (I have a Bushnell hybrid laser/GPS and it can measure off shots hit -- extremely useful, BTW.) Second 'overdrive' shot was a 3i off a tee to a tight par 4. Again, I flushed an easy swing and it rolled out to 246. No complaints there. I didn't even carry a 3i in my Ping set because I could never hit it. Now I can hit low runner SB 3 irons 230 to 245.
 
Last edited:
Jman said:
I played the hell out if these when I had them with 30+ rounds and never saw any jumpers in them, just great ball flights again and again. I'm adamant that these are the best irons in TM's line and it isn't even close. Now we shall see with the SLDR's, but I regret moving these to be honest.
Click to expand...
Jman--Did you play them in the stock steel? R or S ? Sorry if this has already been asked and answered. Really pondering these!
 
Just had my best session on the range with these. Think I was over pressing with them. Now I just get a great consistent flight so often. Will have to wait to see if I can translate it onto the course.
 
I am having alot of trouble hitting out of deep rough with these clubs. My old cavity back clubs this was not a issue. I was curious if anyone other then me was having trouble with this.
 
Striker said:
I am having alot of trouble hitting out of deep rough with these clubs. My old cavity back clubs this was not a issue. I was curious if anyone other then me was having trouble with this.
Click to expand...
I don't think I've found this. Can you say what you mean by having trouble? Are the clubs twisting more than you expect, are you having trouble getting the club smoothly through the rough etc? Is it about power, height, direction and so on...?
 
I recently bought a set of Rocket Bladez and noticed a nice distance increase over my previous irons and then d_in_la played it forward to me with a Speed Bladez 6 iron with the stock stiff graphite shaft. I took to the range with my the last 2 times and hit it side by side with the Rocket bladez and was getting even more yardage! I had been hitting the RB 6 iron about 185 to 190 and then I pick up the SB and im hitting it 200 to 220 with the mishits being in the 180 to 185 range. It had me shaking my head at how long they are. I may but a SB 3 iron and use it like a driving iron as someone else mentioned. If I had had enough extra money I would have gotten the SB's over the RB's, but that will have to wait.

Oh yeah and I agree with the "clicky" mishits. Sounds and feels bad, but still goes out there pretty well.
 
I played by myself today, so every time I hit my Rbladez 5 iron I followed it up with a SB 6 iron. The 6 iron kept up with my 5 iron on every shot but 1. I continue to be amazed at the difference I'm seeing over the Rbladez, I expected them to be similar distance wise.
 
I wish I had picked up one of those six irons from TaylorMade in graphite. At the time, I only had eyes for the Apex irons, haha. But, now it would be cool to be able to compare the SB to my old RBladesz. Of course, now I have the SLDRs on my mind as well.
 
v.man said:
I wish I had picked up one of those six irons from TaylorMade in graphite. At the time, I only had eyes for the Apex irons, haha. But, now it would be cool to be able to compare the SB to my old RBladesz. Of course, now I have the SLDRs on my mind as well.
Click to expand...


PM me your address, I've got one staring at me right now with your name on it if stiff is ok
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top