Equipment

GolfWRX Members Choice: The best blade irons of 2018

Published

8 years ago

Jun 4, 2018

We asked GolfWRX members for their three selections for best blade irons of 2018 based on their testing of the forged offerings from 17 different manufacturers.

And as all forum members generate in excess of 120 mph clubhead speed and need to carve the ball to tucked pins, blades are the only choice, so the data set is sure to be solid (kidding!). But really, WRX members are both discerning and carry handicaps lower than the general golfing population, so OEMs ought to (and do) take note of their feedback.

With the votes tallied, it’s time to take a look at the top-five vote getters of the bunch. And many thanks to all who voted! (See the thread here)

No. 5: Srixon Z 965 (8.19%)

The better player’s weapon from Srixon’s Z-65 lineup, Srixon’s Z 965 beat out some bigger name blades. Building on the popular Z 945, the 1020 carbon steel 945 irons feature V.T. Soles for improved turf interaction and five percent larger grooves.

Check out our review of the Z 965 here.

No. 4: TaylorMade P730 (10.43%)

TaylorMade’s successor to the 2014 TP MB iron line was developed in collaboration with TaylorMade staffers, and it looks like GolfWRX members liked the result. Clean, compact,with a smaller blade profile and milled rear channel, the P730 is popular both on Tour and in the forums.

No. 3: Callaway Apex MB (16.38%)

Another club with a long release cycle, Callaway made the faithful wait for an update to the 2013 Apex MB. These irons have the shortest blade lengths, the thinnest soles and the smallest overall heads in the vast line of Callaway irons. They’re designed for maximum workability, for tour-desired turf interaction, and to cut through the thick rough that tour players face week-in and week-out on Tour, as we wrote in our review last October.

No. 2: Titleist 718 MB (17.67%)

A favorite of purists everywhere, Titleist’s traditional-looking 718 MB irons scream “classic,” but the company optimized CG locations for maximum shotmaking possibilities using capabilities that those who first forged similar-looking irons could only have dreamed of. Big and bold “Titleist” stamping was a hit, too.

Related: Titleist 718 MB irons

No. 1: Mizuno MP-18 (27.16%)

Nearly 10 percentage points more preferred than the No. 2 iron, the Mizuno MP-18 is the clear winner. The least forgiving/most workable member of the mix-and-match MP-18 family (MP-18, MP-18 SC, MP-18 MMC, MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi) is immensely popular. The irons are forged from 1025E Pure Select Mild Carbon (a departure from some recent boron offerings), and are smaller than both the MP-4 and MP-5 models. WRX members were particularly drawn to the irons’ simple, clear, classic look.

Related Topics:featured

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44 Comments

toyzrx

Jun 20, 2018 at 12:02 am

Such as the women in our lives, we’d all be better off with something a little bit chunky and forgiving,

Reply Report comment
tlmck

Jun 12, 2018 at 3:13 pm

It’s not a muscleback, but I prefer the Maltby TE.

Reply Report comment
David Floyd

Jun 7, 2018 at 9:50 am

When is a survey going to happen that would be helpful to the majority of consumers?

Reply Report comment
- joro
  
  Jun 8, 2018 at 11:46 am
  
  Good question, and the answer is never. It is all about the tour and scratch players, of which there very few. Fact is todays MB is much more forgiving easy to hit then the ikd days, yet that is all we had and learned to play with until PING came along.
  
  It is past time some of the smaller companies get in on the act also and not just the big ones that spend Millions to convince we should play their clubs.
  
  Reply Report comment
The dude

Jun 7, 2018 at 9:35 am

Bring back the TN 87’s!!

Reply Report comment
rex235

Jun 7, 2018 at 12:43 am

Both the Taylor Made P-730s and the Mizuno MP-18s are RH Only.

The 2018 NCAA Champion uses LH Titleist AP2s.

Reply Report comment
Dave r

Jun 6, 2018 at 3:27 pm

No surprise at all .

Reply Report comment
SV

Jun 6, 2018 at 8:29 am

I vote for Titleist and Callaway. Being left-handed they are the only two of the five I have access to and it’s not any better with other brands. As a generalization, it seems most manufacturers think left-handers are all hacks and only need SGI clubs.

Reply Report comment
- Thomas A
  
  Jul 6, 2018 at 10:19 am
  
  No, they are just a small enough market to ignore.
  
  Reply Report comment
S

Jun 6, 2018 at 8:25 am

I’ve been gaming my MP-37 for about 10 years but I would have to go with Apex MB if I was forced to replace mine because they look the closest to MP-37 especially at address. And I miss the M logo… not a huge fan of this new hip younger gen runbird.

Reply Report comment
- DS
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 9:29 pm
  
  I hate the term ‘gaming’.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Boyo
    
    Jun 7, 2018 at 6:17 am
    
    +1000
    
    Reply Report comment
  - The dude
    
    Jun 7, 2018 at 9:33 am
    
    Not when he’s working on his dead arm traj….
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Reggie
    
    Jun 8, 2018 at 9:49 am
    
    I hate the term “gaming” too for some reason, but I have to agree that in the lexicon of golf logos, the run bird is a nonsequitur.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Funkaholic
    
    Jun 22, 2018 at 2:18 pm
    
    Settle down Francis
    
    Reply Report comment
Mick

Jun 5, 2018 at 10:40 pm

Titleist , by far number 1. Just as Webb Simpson !. Wins on tours all over the world, Mizzy is good but not near the wins the Titleist has.

Reply Report comment
- joro
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 11:29 am
  
  Do you thing that one of the reasons Titleist wins more is because they have 50 players and Mizuno only has a couple ? Could it be ? MBs today are much easier to hit than in the old days, and that is all we had.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Michael H
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 12:47 pm
  
  Wins would partially be a result of sheer numbers of playing them no?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Brian
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 1:10 pm
  
  Perhaps because Titleist has nearly 40 guys on staff and Mizuno has, what, two or three?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Dragos Racolta
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 2:55 pm
  
  Titleist is used more frequently on tour because the players have contracts with Titleist. Mizuno doesn’t pay as much, or as many. However, look at any players without contracts, and most will use Mizuno irons.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Boyo
  
  Jun 7, 2018 at 6:18 am
  
  Professional club ho’s don’t count.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Funkaholic
  
  Jun 22, 2018 at 2:21 pm
  
  This is just a stupid comment, I know a couple of club makers on the tour and even they will tell you there is nothing like a Mizuno forging. Taylormade has far more divers on tour than anyone so they have the most wins, it is a meaningless metric.
  
  Reply Report comment
Dan

Jun 5, 2018 at 6:20 pm

I hit them all and still prefer my MP 29’s

Reply Report comment
shawn

Jun 5, 2018 at 3:12 pm

What about all those hollow blades filled with jello… and those with skrews allover the heads? They look like ‘blade’ irons too.

Reply Report comment
- 3offthetee
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 11:43 am
  
  Troll much?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Mower
  
  Jun 16, 2018 at 6:52 pm
  
  Made by Tonka? ;-P
  
  Reply Report comment
Jeff Smythe

Jun 5, 2018 at 2:39 pm

At the end of the day – how much difference is there between all these and and the Nike blades of the late 90s & early 2000s – (VRs, VR red, TW VRs etc) and each other ? (gotta love frequent reference to “sole redesign for optimum turf interaction” – is Terry Koehler silently laughing?)

Reply Report comment
- Justin
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 10:25 pm
  
  Jeff – I doubt it, but I hope he is. . . his Fort Worth 15’s are exceptional clubs and are a whole lot more fun to play than the MP18’s
  
  Reply Report comment
- Bill Wood
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 12:16 pm
  
  Jeff – there’s just so little difference in the top 3. The Titleist really does remind me of the design a decade ago. In fact I’d be hard pressed to tell the difference, other than the large Titleist logo on the back.
  
  Reply Report comment
Scott Longmore

Jun 5, 2018 at 2:06 pm

I have the MP18’s and love them. I love the clean look and great feel of them.

Reply Report comment
Jeff

Jun 5, 2018 at 2:01 pm

I think the Cobra MB should be in this mix also, very solid club blew the Titleist and Srixon out of the water.

Reply Report comment
Shaker

Jun 5, 2018 at 1:37 pm

Tested all and mizuno was dead last. Mp-18s way overrated. Surprisingly the Apexs were tied for top with the srixons. I play miura professionals so i know what im talking about.

Reply Report comment
- HAHA
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 3:30 pm
  
  “I play miura professionals so i know what im talking about”… do you realize how stupid that sounds?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Realist
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 8:28 pm
  
  Cuz any guy playing miuras is wayyy better than someone else. Get over yourself
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Quit the BS
    
    Jun 5, 2018 at 8:50 pm
    
    Exactly! Shaker you play Miuras so your opinion is supposedly more reputable than those that don’t?! Are you for real!? I play Miuras too and the Mizuno MP-18’s are definitely phenomenal and in my opinion tops of this list. Unreal the arrogance of some people. And I must know what I’m talking about too because of what I play…
    
    Reply Report comment
- Mizzle Fizzle
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 11:27 pm
  
  At this point it’s not even… oh whatever.
  
  Reply Report comment
- joro
  
  Jun 6, 2018 at 11:32 am
  
  Just curious, but just what do you know about clubs, design, what makes them work, weights, shafts, etc. Please tell us.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Nigel Kent
  
  Jun 12, 2018 at 2:26 pm
  
  I play Miuras too , and sometimes I can break 140 .
  
  Reply Report comment
Travis

Jun 5, 2018 at 10:12 am

I would’ve put P730 and Cally’s far ahead of the Mizuno blades. I think Mizuno’s MP18 are one of their worst blade design so far, but clearly I’m in the minority there…

Reply Report comment
- 2putttom
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 11:13 am
  
  not in the minority . 14 days, 198 votes cast out of thousands of wrxer’s. In that time period MP 18 got 27% of 17 choices.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Realist
  
  Jun 12, 2018 at 11:12 pm
  
  Agreed….but 730’s, really? Come on guy…get over the hype.
  
  Reply Report comment
Woody

Jun 4, 2018 at 8:15 pm

What a snoozer list..might as well be a billboard ad.

Reply Report comment
James

Jun 4, 2018 at 7:54 pm

I would put Titleist at 5 and move the others up one. Mizuno is the real winner I think.

Reply Report comment
- larrybud
  
  Jun 5, 2018 at 9:17 am
  
  You realize the results are based on player’s rankings, right?
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

4 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

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, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

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.