Evok
Don't worry, Be happy!
congrats on your purchase dude, you'll love em!
TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons Review Thread
That's exactly what I said to the guy during my fitting. Very smooth. I went into it very skeptical about the irons and the stock shaft. But a couple factors lead to me keeping the stock shaft. One was that the 85g compared to the heavier DGS300 I had just made it seem like I didn't have to swing so hard to get the ball out there. The second factor was the price I was getting. If I decide later on to upgrade the shaft, I'll still be way below list price. So I'm gonna game the stock shaft for a bit and see how it goes
ImaBeRealReal
New member
Played my first 9 holes with these irons today. WOW! They go high, straight, and land soft. They are workable but it takes a good amount of effort. Of the 7 greens in regulation that I had a chance to hit on the 9 holes I hit 6 of them, and the 1 I didn't hit still left me with putter in hand just off the edge. there is a challenging par 5 to start the back 9 and it has a generous island fairway that runs about 50 yards wide and from about 150-220 yards deep (it makes you take 3 shots to the green because there is about 100 yards of water between the first and second halves of the fairway... I striped a 5 iron right towards the island and picked my tee up to get in the cart knowing I'd have hit it about 180-190... I came upon where I thought the ball would've been sitting to find that it had rolled through 220 into the water. So that will be a point of emphasis at the range with the rangefinder is averaging distances but knowing I can pull the 5 iron and get to a long par 3 rather than having to pull a 3H or 4H is going to put a lot of confidence in my game. Could not be happier with this purchase.
By the way, the point and shoot AW as some have tagged it, absolutely correct. I dialed it up from 110 twice with a full swing and landed w/in 10 yards of the pin on both. If you play the ATV wedges you will find a seamless transition to the AW in the Speedblade set.
By the way, the point and shoot AW as some have tagged it, absolutely correct. I dialed it up from 110 twice with a full swing and landed w/in 10 yards of the pin on both. If you play the ATV wedges you will find a seamless transition to the AW in the Speedblade set.
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mark blanchard
New member
Your comments are dead on. Your main adjustment will be in getting over your disbelief that the longer irons are going so long. When in doubt pull the shorter club. I've actually gotten longer as I've gotten more comfortable with the clubs. This is due to hitting more shots flusher. I crowd the ball more because they hate being hit high and on the toe. As a result my distances have probably crept up 3-5 yards over 2 months ago.
I also hit an ATV 50, 55, and 60 wedge (on occasion when I drop the 3 iron) and I find no gapping or adjustment problems. My full shot gaps are 55-110 yards, 50-120 yds, PW-135 yds, 9i-150 yds, 8i-162, 7i-175, 6i-187, 5i-205, 4i-220, 3i- 230 to 250.
I thought the AW was fine, but I didn't like the set SW and LW. So I bent the ATV's to match their lofts. Don't overlook the phenomenal long irons.
And BTW, my irons are all stock lengths and stiff 85 gram shafts. Imagine my surprise when the stock setup produced the best monitor numbers.
Regarding Bald Guy's occasional flyers: I still get them. My distance meter is largely recalibrated and that has taught me that I can club down in many situations where I would previously have gone over, but today I had an uphill, into the wind shot at a back pin at 155. So I pulled my 150 club which is my 9 iron. Flushed it. Over the green, into the trees on the fly. Went maybe 165 in the air. Oh well. It was out of light rough so maybe it was a true "flyer".
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baldguy
Part-Time Sasquatch
what's strange to me is that I never saw that happen with the stock shafts. not once in several months of gaming these clubs. Then I put a fitted shaft in one of my 6 irons and thought I saw a few on the range (hard to tell there)... then definitely saw a few on the course. I guess I just wasn't hitting them flush with the stock shafts. Either way, if I can't count on my distances then that will be a problem. I should be putting the new shafts in the rest of the irons tonight so this weekend will hopefully be a good test. it'll be interesting to see how much finding the center of the face more often really will affect distances.
So today was the first time I hit these irons outside. And it took me a few swings to make solid contact. But when I did, wow. I've never seen a ball fly like this off of an iron. And it wasn't just a couple of them. Every club had the same type of flight. The range was into a nice 10-15mph wind and I was still longer than my old TM CBs. I made it a point to hit every iron and I was so shocked at how the 4 iron felt. I've never EVER hit a 4 iron well and the speedblade 4i felt amazing. Can't wait to get these out on a course
mikedean441
6X HOF
Evok
Don't worry, Be happy!
Glad you're liking them so far dude. That ball flight and added distance took some getting use to for me. I still have to tell myself to take a certain club when I think there's no way I'm going to make it, I do haha. Blew over a few greens before I really started to trust the distance.
Texasbrons
FXDF FatBobs Rule!!
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Its been a fun run with these clubs, but Im giving them up and going back to my R11s. Why you ask? My 14 year old wants to take up golf and play on his HS team. I figure with the ability of these to get the ball up in the air and the forgiveness they have he could use them. With some of the deals I've heard about though, I may trade the R11s in for another set of speedblades. I only gamed them once before we found out we were testing the speesbladez. We were originally going to be testing the SLDR driver so I bought the R11s from a fellow THPer. A week after I got them we found out about the change.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
LEFTY57
Active member
Loving the speedblades , 6 rounds with since do my purchase and haven't hadi a round over 80 yet. I have never hit a flyer or extra hot shot with them.
Got a question though . I am play the stock shafts but I do really like the px 95 flighted shaft . Anyone do an aftermarket reshaft ? I am worried about messing up the
finish of the irons . Any thoughts ?
Thanks gb
Got a question though . I am play the stock shafts but I do really like the px 95 flighted shaft . Anyone do an aftermarket reshaft ? I am worried about messing up the
finish of the irons . Any thoughts ?
Thanks gb
ImaBeRealReal
New member
I played a round with them this morning. 13 of 18 GIR's shot an 84, by far my best round since returning from injury a couple months ago, these irons really are a game changer. I'm tempted to order a 3 iron and drop the hybrid because the 4 iron has really helped my game. Pretty much any par 4 under 400 yards I pull the 4 iron off the tee, a consistent and accurate 230 that is so dependable there is no need to hit anything else.
I almost went with an aftermarket shaft when I bought mine, but PX flighted were for sure not one of the options I was looking at. No way do I need any more help getting the ball in the air lol
tpluff
I <3 GAWLF
Flighted shaft to get the ball up in the air more? I don't think that'd be necessary with these at all. These head launch super high and the stock shaft does that as well.
As as for the finish, it is pretty darn durable. I don't think anyone doing normal club work and playing could mess it up without playing for a long time.
Ty did you end up changing shafts?
tpluff
I <3 GAWLF
Nope I stuck with the stock stiff. They actually taught me to take a nice controlled swing otherwise they would go too high.
That's exactly where I am right now and most of the reason I kept the stock shaft
baldguy
Part-Time Sasquatch
what a difference a shaft makes. two rounds with new shafts in my speedblades and it's like they are totally different clubs. I think I have identified the "flyer" issue as more of a "this is what happens when you hit the center of the face" issue. it's not a random jump in distance, it's just that they are so forgiving on mishits. I was hitting off center so often before, but not being punished like I should have. I built my distances around mishits. Now that I've got the right shafts I'm hitting the sweet spot nearly every time. My new distances are longer with the new shafts. Mishits still go the old distance... but I have a whole new set of "correct" distances for these clubs. it's a difference of about 15-20 yards in the 4-6, 10-15 yards in the 7-9 and about 8-10 yards with the PW. give or take... I'm still dialing them in.
Second range session in the books. A lot better results today than the first time but today was off of artificial grass. Not exactly matts but not real grass. I'm still having the occasional shank off the hozzle. So that's telling me two things. One is I'm still not used to the lighter club and shaft and the other is my swing is still way too far over the top. With time and work, I can get past this. And I can't wait until I do because I love these irons
Thedoswells
Member
can you say, or point me to a post, what shafts you went from and to, and what made you decide to change? Do you have a fast swing speed? Loving my speedblades. Not sure whether a shaft change would make a difference for my slow swing speed. Thanks..
mark blanchard
New member
I completely agree with your latest assessment. I had the same experience. The "correct" distance was that monster you only saw once out of every five and you got used to the sub-standard average which was still pretty good. In my case my former average was a slightly toe-y average that became really toe-y on bigger mishits. I moved closer to the hosel as Freddie suggested and I started hitting many more center face. I saw many less 80% 'mishits' and that reshaped my expectations. Plus I stopped shooting at back pins with the 'right' club and going over, instead I now select a club less and end up surprising myself.
Stock shafts are there for the high ballflight. if you want lower, swap 'em out.
for imabereal: i bought the 3i aftermarket. superb decision, i use it as a driving iron 3-4 times per round. goes 250 when flushed, 210 when mishit. don't tee it up too high, though.
baldguy
Part-Time Sasquatch
I went from the stock 85g steel stiff to Aldila 115g RIP Tour graphite stiff. it's a very different shaft. You can read about my fitting experience here: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/showthread.php?58424-Baldguy-s-Club-Champion-Fitting-Dallas
I don't think how fast you swing is as much of a determining factor as how you move through your swing. For me, the heavier shafts make the club significantly more controllable. The same might be true for you with heavier or lighter ones. After the weight and balance are figured out, flex points and stiffness come into play. I'm not a professional fitter, but there are plenty of them out there - go see one and find out what is the best fit for you!
So, first off I want to say how freaking amazing this weekend was. THP's evolution of the idea that the best way to put products through their paces is to get them in the hands of amateurs like us is nothing short of awesome. To be parts of one of the first two of these events is nothing short of amazing. If you get the chance and can make it happen, take the leap, you won't regret it.
Now, to the TaylorMade SpeedBlades. As you all know, I like words, so, lets get at it...shall we?
Preface
The whirlwind journey that was the lead up to this past weekend still boggles my mind. From an unknown item to a driver and then to the new SpeedBlade irons it kept me on my toes and quite honestly I liked it. In an effort for a little background information I was fortunate enough the get to play last years RocketBladez for an extended amount of time and really get to put them through their paces, so when these were announced I had similar thoughts that some here on the forum did of wondering if the SpeedBlades would simply be a re-hash. Thanks to knowing the predecessors as well as I do, the answer to that became clear to me very early...but we'll get to that later. I was actually luck enough to get 3 rounds in with the SpeedBlades this weekend Friday through Sunday. So, lets get to it.
Unboxing
No matter what club it is, I love unboxing, I adore it. I like shiny things. That said, on this one I came into it having seen the pictures from Hawks kick ass play by play of the TM SpeedBlade debut event and believing that they were just a slight change on the RocketBladez before them. It became apparent as soon as I pulled the first iron out of the box that this was not at all the case. These things look good to my eye, I mean really good.
Aesthetics
I love the move to a two-tone finish and a bit of a throwback to the 2.0's by including that dark finish. The darker color on the majority of the iron make them have a much smaller appearance to my personal eye compared to what the RocketBladez did. The black and gray when combined with the move to blue ad the badging accent color looks really nice together, one thing you have to admit is that TM is notoriously effective in the way they use colors in their products, these are no different.
Something to note is the topline, much like the RocketBladez before them the SpeedBlades have a more SQUARE topline than many irons out there do, that said they truly are not any bigger than the topline of something like the i20's, those irons toplines are just more rounded and meet your eye differently because of that. What TM has done to combat that in the SpeedBlades is the same thing they did in the RocketBladez, the matte finish that covers the actual grooves on the face of the club doesn't extend over the ENTIRE topline, rather its about 3/4 of it. Last year this didn't work as well as it does with the SpeedBladez because of the DARK color contrast you have on the rest of the iron compared to the face finish. Its brilliant IMO. The eye can play tricks on people and as we know golfers are particularly fickle when it comes to things like the topline. Very well done here by TM.
Fitting w/ Bob VanSweden
I touched on this before in other threads but want to give another short rundown. I actually went through my fitting before others showed up. I hit an older TM iron (5 years) first as most people (not THP'ers) are on a 5 year iron cycle because they don't believe the tech changes enough for them to need to make a switch, both irons I hit were 6 irons. The long and short of it is this, I gained 5 degrees of launch 6i to 6i, mind you, the older iron had a HIGHER LOFT as well, it another example of people focusing too much on loft when it is LAUNCH they need to look at. I also gained a significant amount of distance between them as well. As Bob said during my fitting, if you take two water hoses with the same pressure and have one at a 10* angle and another at 14*, the higher angle will be longer every time.
My numbers were quite good with the stock setup of the SpeedBladez, I will be getting them bent 2* up and also altering the grip thickness (more there later) though. Additionally, Bob informed me I could basically play S or X in my irons depending on how I felt dispersion was for me in S's. He also said though the stock shaft did give me some good numbers if weight was an issue for me because of my transition that I should take a look at the C-Taper Lites and the PX Flighted shafts as well. What an AWESOME experience, Bob is amazing, so mellow and just flat out knowledgable with the ability to get it across in an understandable way. Loved it.
Speed-Pocket Irons (4-7)
Sound/Feel
Alright, straight to it, this is the major place where the RocketBladez lost a lot of people last year, the slotted irons sounded VERY "different", it was a super harsh click to the ears and just different than maybe any irons released before them. Performance was there from the start with the slot, it flat out works, but personal preference is huge for golfers and beyond that SOUND IS FEEL. Fast forward to the SpeedBlades and on Friday as we went to play JB told me I'd be surprised, which I definitely was. How do they sound/feel now? To me JUST like the non-slotted irons. The tweaking of the slot and the undercut cavity has deadened the click and the sound is a very nice and more muted sound off the face leading to a "softer" feel.
Performance
Having tested the Rocketbladez, the slot works, it just does. The science is there for COR and what it does for launch etc, the SpeedBlades are no different, it works. The launch that I got off of the 4-7 is really nice, even with the vaunted lower lofts that some harp on, the launch is higher, and the LAUNCH is what matters in the end. The additional benefit is that shots that are lower on the face (main miss of am's) still get up in the air moreso than most irons out there, that much I saw all weekend long and have experienced myself as well. By widening the slot TM claims they have added more heel and toe forgiveness, in my early time, I can say that they impressed just as much off the toe as the RocketBladez did, but I'm not sure if it has increased just yet. We shall see with time.
Non Speed-Pocket Irons (8-AW)
Sound/Feel
The biggest thing for me in the non Speed-Pocket irons as far as the sound/feel goes is that they feel like the same sound/feel flows throughout. There are no major changes audibly now, the whole set sounds like these 8-AW irons and that is a really good thing. Shots across the face have a nice sound that is a little more muted and leads to a really nice softer "feel". That said there is still plenty of feedback across the face for me.
Performance
The only real thing that I want to address here is that the 8-AW irons do NOT possess any crazy gaps in them from the Speed-Pocketed irons all the way to the AW in these, my gaps are constant and not at all what I would consider too large. Additionally they flow into my 54 and 59 wedges nicely. I credit this to the fact that it appears the undercut cavity in the 8-PW is larger than that of the irons with the Speed-Pocket slot in them allowing TM to better control the launch, spin, and gaps throughout the set. Although the undercut appears larger, they still look the same from almost every angle in hand. I really like that.
9i w/o Speed-Pocket Cavity Undercut:
6i w/ Speed-Pocket Cavity Undercut:
Overall Turf Interaction
As is usually the case with my golf game I hit these from all sorts of lies over the weekend good, bad, and horrendous and the turf interaction for my swing was nice. I had not problem taking nice divots and cutting through the turf. Additionally, I didn't have any issues out of the rough and didnt feel like the irons were any more or less susceptible to grabbing than others I have gamed, but I am more accustomed to playing out of bermuda than some of the guys since its all we have around here for whatever that is worth.
Shafts
The 85g shaft in the SpeedBlades shocked a lot of guys this weekend, having hit the shaft that was in the RocketBladez last year I sort of suspected this is what we see, though I'm as guilty as anyone I really think many people jump to too many conclusions about stock steel shafts today and if they could hit them and see some numbers they would realize that companies pair shafts with these heads for a reason. We saw some big swingers hit these really well. I myself really enjoyed them when I could keep my transition in check and saw a nice flight all weekend with zero ballooning. I do think that in time I'll be going to something like the C-Taper Lite after talking with Bob at the fitting, but that is solely because I like a little bit more weight and in all honestly that my change after I take these out a few more times. Either way, after seeing the numbers that I got and people like our very own Canadaniel got as well, I really hope people will not sleep on these shafts and will actually put them through their paces.
Grips
One thing I've always been a bit critical of is the stock TM grips, they just struggle a little bit in the conditions that I play in (humid) and I saw the same thing this weekend as well. Comfortable under the hands for me, but they just got a little slick for what I like. But, I'm a guy that believes stock grips aren't that big of a deal and will never be a killer for me because its such an easy thing to change.
Current Overall Thoughts:
I'm impressed. Not by the distances, I knew those would be there for me since I played the Bladez (though it was INCREDIBLE seeing some of the jumps some of the other guys got). Instead, I'm more taken so far with the consistency throughout the set from a sound/feel perspective and the fact that for my personal eye they are flat out lookers. The initial pic's did not do them justice, as is the case with most clubs, the SpeedBlades are leaps and bounds better looking than the RocketBladez were in my eyes. I honestly cannot wait to get more time in with them and see how my thoughts evolve.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to post them in here for the 12 of us to hop in and try to get you some input on them!
I hate to admit it because I did a ton of homework on these irons and never came across this, but this is the first time I read this review. And you nailed it. Very well put
LarsTheGolferDK
New member
Greetings from Denmark;-)
My very first post ever in a Golf Forum - but I really had to post my first fullround (18 holes) experience with my Speedblades. Especially having such benefits of reading through most of this thread before buying my set.
Until now I have gamed a very nice set of Mizunos (MP52) but I have felt the urge to try a GI-set, as I dont play as much as I used to before (3 kids - dif. priorities ;-). 3 weeks ago I bought a set of Speedblades 4-AW with stock shafts at our local pro. With regular shafts, as I am not a big hitter - have always had a swing speed inbetween regular and stiff in my clubs (prefer a slow and a bit more controlled swing).
Have been drilling them intensively at the driving range and on a few holes in the late evenings. Must admit that I had a longer process than expected to dial them in. Distance gains are not huge - max. 1 iron compared to the Mizunos, but when I do not hit them center I really got the advantage I was looking for with GI irons; almost no distance loss and still on target. Such hits really hurts with my Mizzies. And the feel is surprisingely comparable to the forged feeling from the MP52's. The wedges are nice - still; had to dial them in - took a while. Only negatives; sometimes they feel a bit 'springy' in contact - like the ball is jumping off the face rather than being compressed + the club heads with the longer irons are a bit bulky (applies trust in the shot - on the other hand).
So the Speedblades should pass my first real test of them last night, when I played 18 holes at my home course with my oldest son (13 yrs. - playing off hcp. 13). Beautifull evening - no wind, sun slowly dimming and a course in very nice conditions. And I left the course with a BIG smile on my face! Broke 80 for the first time in many, many years (hcp. before yesterday was 9 - but have not being able to play into single figures since...yeah, since my oldest son were born ;-). I shot 77 (6 over - par 71) playing in a very comfortable way. Was helped by an unusually (for me) stable driver, but when hitting the irons I hit one green after another. The misses were only 1-2 meters off the green, and not finding trouble. Several apporaches gave me great putts for birdies (only managed to gain 1 though). Some off the shots were not hit weel, but they still found the green - awesome! Had one experience where my 8 iron suddenly (off a great fw lie) shot 10 meters past the flag - kind of a flier - don't know what happened there. Sometimes the ball did not produce as much backspin at the green as my Mizzies, but quickly learned to adjust the distance to include some roll off (2-3 meters). In addition, they do not feel as 'laser pinpoint accurate' as my Mizuno MP52's, when I really have my A game going - but I am very happy to trade that in, for greater consistency and forgiveness!!!
Conclusion: Might be honeymoon days, but what a feeling matching my personal course record already at the first try! Cannot wait to my next round *S*.
My very first post ever in a Golf Forum - but I really had to post my first fullround (18 holes) experience with my Speedblades. Especially having such benefits of reading through most of this thread before buying my set.
Until now I have gamed a very nice set of Mizunos (MP52) but I have felt the urge to try a GI-set, as I dont play as much as I used to before (3 kids - dif. priorities ;-). 3 weeks ago I bought a set of Speedblades 4-AW with stock shafts at our local pro. With regular shafts, as I am not a big hitter - have always had a swing speed inbetween regular and stiff in my clubs (prefer a slow and a bit more controlled swing).
Have been drilling them intensively at the driving range and on a few holes in the late evenings. Must admit that I had a longer process than expected to dial them in. Distance gains are not huge - max. 1 iron compared to the Mizunos, but when I do not hit them center I really got the advantage I was looking for with GI irons; almost no distance loss and still on target. Such hits really hurts with my Mizzies. And the feel is surprisingely comparable to the forged feeling from the MP52's. The wedges are nice - still; had to dial them in - took a while. Only negatives; sometimes they feel a bit 'springy' in contact - like the ball is jumping off the face rather than being compressed + the club heads with the longer irons are a bit bulky (applies trust in the shot - on the other hand).
So the Speedblades should pass my first real test of them last night, when I played 18 holes at my home course with my oldest son (13 yrs. - playing off hcp. 13). Beautifull evening - no wind, sun slowly dimming and a course in very nice conditions. And I left the course with a BIG smile on my face! Broke 80 for the first time in many, many years (hcp. before yesterday was 9 - but have not being able to play into single figures since...yeah, since my oldest son were born ;-). I shot 77 (6 over - par 71) playing in a very comfortable way. Was helped by an unusually (for me) stable driver, but when hitting the irons I hit one green after another. The misses were only 1-2 meters off the green, and not finding trouble. Several apporaches gave me great putts for birdies (only managed to gain 1 though). Some off the shots were not hit weel, but they still found the green - awesome! Had one experience where my 8 iron suddenly (off a great fw lie) shot 10 meters past the flag - kind of a flier - don't know what happened there. Sometimes the ball did not produce as much backspin at the green as my Mizzies, but quickly learned to adjust the distance to include some roll off (2-3 meters). In addition, they do not feel as 'laser pinpoint accurate' as my Mizuno MP52's, when I really have my A game going - but I am very happy to trade that in, for greater consistency and forgiveness!!!
Conclusion: Might be honeymoon days, but what a feeling matching my personal course record already at the first try! Cannot wait to my next round *S*.