Low handicap golfers or competent ball strikers may well be after a new set of golf blades to get the best feel and workability from a set of irons - but how do you know which set to choose? Well in this video, staff writer and irons expert Joe 'The Pro' Ferguson shares his thoughts on the best golf blade irons out there having tested 11 of them at the start of the year.
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00:00 Okay, so Best Blades 2024.
00:03 Now this is a category for the real purists,
00:06 the elite ball striker,
00:07 and maybe the more traditional golfer, if I'm honest.
00:10 And I'm really excited about this.
00:12 I've got 11 of the best blades
00:14 that I've tested over the last few weeks.
00:16 And I'm gonna put them through their paces.
00:18 I'm gonna talk about their looks, their feel,
00:20 their overall performance,
00:21 and stay to the very end where I'm gonna crown
00:23 my Best Blade of 2024.
00:26 (upbeat music)
00:29 So looks, now of all the iron categories
00:31 that I'm looking at this year,
00:33 looks might be the most pertinent in this blade category.
00:36 The Best Blades tend to follow a really established blueprint
00:40 of minimal offset, thin top lines,
00:43 and the shaping can really make or break
00:46 whether a blade looks great or not.
00:48 So I've picked out three of my favorites.
00:50 Let's take a look.
00:51 The Mizuno Pro 241.
00:54 So it won't be a surprise to anyone, I wouldn't think.
00:58 My first choice in the looks category for Best Blades
01:01 is the Mizuno Pro 241.
01:04 It's just a really stunningly crafted Mizuno iron.
01:09 And they do a great job, they always have.
01:12 So this shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone.
01:14 The branding is minimal.
01:17 I love how they've not bothered to put paint fill
01:19 in the Mizuno logo there.
01:20 I just think that gives it a really premium
01:22 sort of minimalist look.
01:24 And from a shelf appeal point of view, sat in your bag,
01:27 these are just absolutely stunning.
01:29 The only reason it probably hasn't won
01:31 this overall category for me,
01:32 and this is just a me thing more than a Mizuno thing,
01:35 down by the ball, just the head profiles of Mizuno irons
01:38 have never quite fitted my eye.
01:40 They just lack a bit of the symmetry
01:41 of some of the other models.
01:43 Like I said, that's a me thing,
01:44 and some Mizuno purists out there
01:46 will be banging their head against the sofa hearing that.
01:48 That's just what I think.
01:50 But like I said, from a shelf appeal
01:52 and sitting in the bag point of view,
01:54 it just doesn't get any better than this.
01:57 The Ping Blueprint T.
01:59 Right, maybe not one for the complete purists
02:02 and traditionalists, but I've got the Ping Blueprint T here.
02:06 And to my eye, again, it's a more modern blade,
02:10 if you like, it's a modern take on the traditional blade.
02:12 So it hasn't got the harsh, very bright chrome
02:16 that a lot of the blades have.
02:17 And this little notch is a little bit off-putting for some,
02:20 but the overall look of the head,
02:22 it's so clean on the back here, really minimalist.
02:26 And the shaping is just stunning.
02:28 Ping this year, they've increased the height of the heel,
02:30 transition into the hosel here,
02:32 and down behind the ball, it just frames it so, so well.
02:37 They're intimidatingly small,
02:38 they are quite tight from heel to toe,
02:41 and the top line is basically non-existent,
02:43 and there's no offset whatsoever.
02:45 So from a traditional down by the ball look, it's there.
02:49 A little bit more of a modern take on the back,
02:50 but I like something a bit different,
02:52 so that's why it's in there.
02:55 Wilson Staff Model Blade.
02:57 So this is a bit of an emotive pick for me.
02:59 There's something about picking up this set
03:01 of Wilson Staff Model Blades,
03:03 conjures up images of the 62 major victories,
03:07 slightly longer ferrules,
03:09 the little fluted bit on the hosel here,
03:12 a really, really sort of a trip back in time, if you like.
03:15 And it's, I really like that sort of nostalgia element
03:18 to these irons, but that's not,
03:19 that's probably not doing it justice.
03:21 Overall, they've added a bit more modern branding,
03:24 some more modern fonts,
03:25 and changed the badge up a little bit.
03:27 So they just look super cool in the bag.
03:29 Down by the ball, really, really classic profile.
03:33 They've got slightly longer heel to toe
03:35 than some of the others that I'd pick in this category,
03:37 but a really thin top line,
03:38 minimal offset, and a really classic look.
03:41 I just, I do, I love the more traditional feel of this,
03:44 and what it conjures up.
03:46 Like I said, a bit of an emotional pick for me, this one.
03:49 Tight List 620 MB.
03:52 From a looks point of view for me,
03:54 this was the absolute standout.
03:57 And when I talk about looks,
03:58 especially in the blade category,
03:59 I'm not just talking about this,
04:00 it's kind of two dimensional.
04:01 I'm not just talking about sat in the bag,
04:03 and I'm not just talking about
04:04 how it looks down behind the ball.
04:05 It's a combination of those,
04:06 and this has absolutely everything.
04:09 Behind the ball, so clean.
04:10 All we've got on the back here
04:11 is just a really nice, plain, simple tight list,
04:14 and then the beautiful chrome
04:16 just does the rest of the talking for it.
04:18 Really unfussy, really clean,
04:20 and exactly what you'd want.
04:22 Coupled with that, down behind the ball,
04:24 I just cannot fault the shape of the head.
04:27 Such a square leading edge,
04:29 no sort of chamfering, no offset, no onset,
04:31 just perfectly lined up.
04:34 Leading edge, sorry, top edge is really thin,
04:37 and the head shape's just throughout the set,
04:38 even from pitching edge all the way up to the longer irons.
04:41 The dimensions are just great,
04:42 they frame the ball perfectly.
04:44 So for those reasons,
04:46 this is my best looking blade of 2024.
04:51 So feel is a super important category for blades here.
04:56 There's just really no compromise.
04:57 They've got to feel buttery soft,
04:59 and they've got to provide maximum feedback
05:01 so you know exactly where you're striking them.
05:04 There are nuances within that, however,
05:06 and they can feel slightly different.
05:08 So I'm going to take a look at those,
05:09 and I've picked out a few of my favorites.
05:12 Right, but before we get to that,
05:13 if you do enjoy this video,
05:14 please do hit the like button,
05:16 and comment down below what's your favorite blade of 2024.
05:18 I'd be really interested to hear it.
05:20 And please subscribe to the channel
05:21 so you can see all of our upcoming videos.
05:24 The Cobra King MB.
05:27 Okay, so these were a real surprise to me,
05:29 'cause I hadn't really gotten much
05:30 into Cobra blades before now.
05:33 But where the first strike really, really got me.
05:36 Super, super soft.
05:37 One of the softest, probably, of the bunch.
05:40 And the feedback's really, really good.
05:41 So I'm just going to hit one away,
05:42 just so you can get a feeling for the audio,
05:45 and see if you can pick it up.
05:46 (upbeat music)
05:49 Yeah, so as I said, that was really nicely struck.
05:55 And on the centered hits,
05:57 you can barely feel it off the face.
05:58 It's super, super soft.
06:00 I will say, you certainly know when you've missed the middle,
06:03 which is absolutely fine,
06:04 because that's what you want in this category.
06:06 But overall, this is a great feeling iron.
06:08 The Mizuno Pro 241.
06:12 So Mizuno fans, relax.
06:15 It's in here.
06:16 The Pro 241.
06:18 Years of forging experience,
06:21 and you can absolutely tell, it just feels fantastic.
06:25 Super, super smooth.
06:27 It's got a lovely sort of profile of soft, smooth,
06:29 but solid, all at the same time.
06:32 And I think that's really to do
06:34 with the exquisite forging process
06:36 that goes into these irons.
06:37 So again, let me just hit one away,
06:38 and see if you can pick it up in terms of sound.
06:41 (upbeat music)
06:44 (whooshing)
06:46 Just slightly, yeah, it's slightly more nuanced
06:51 than the Cobra.
06:52 It has got that softness, but maybe not quite as much.
06:56 It's just a little bit more depth,
06:57 a little more solidity to that strike,
06:59 which I really, really like.
07:01 And it was very close to winning this category,
07:03 but it didn't because of the Tacomo 301 MB.
07:08 Now this might be a surprise to some people,
07:10 and some of you might not have even heard of Tacomo.
07:13 They're a direct-to-consumer brand.
07:15 They've been around a little while now,
07:16 and they're starting to get some tour traction
07:18 with players like Wesley Bryan,
07:20 from the Bryan Brothers, who plays on the PGA Tour.
07:22 He's got these in the bag,
07:24 or a combo of these and the CBs.
07:26 And I was just so surprised by the performance
07:28 when I got them.
07:30 To take on some of the more established blades,
07:32 and in my opinion, come out on top in terms of feel,
07:35 is pretty remarkable.
07:37 They're super, super soft.
07:39 Again, the ball, when you hit it,
07:40 just sort of melts into the face,
07:42 and it's just a joyful impact, really.
07:45 Like the rest of them, again, off-center,
07:47 you do know about that, but I would want that in a blade.
07:49 If I'm taking a blade,
07:50 I want the feedback of where my strike is.
07:53 So that's another plus point.
07:54 The narrow soles and the slight grinding of the leading edge,
07:57 just a pre-worn leading edge,
07:58 help it slip through the turf.
08:00 I just want you to experience the sound with me,
08:02 the sound and the feel.
08:03 So I'm just gonna clip one away.
08:05 (upbeat music)
08:08 (upbeat music)
08:11 So just, again, it's just so nice.
08:15 That was a little bit towards the toe,
08:17 a couple of mil towards the toe,
08:18 so it wasn't totally, totally flush,
08:20 but that absorbed it quite well, I think,
08:22 just 'cause the softness of this material,
08:24 the softness of the forging,
08:26 it's just something really, really special about this iron,
08:29 and I really like it.
08:30 So that's why it's won the Best Feeling Blade of 2024.
08:33 (upbeat music)
08:37 So all very well making a beautiful looking,
08:39 sounding and feeling blade,
08:40 but it still has to perform right.
08:42 So it's probably a good time to pop up
08:44 some data on the screen,
08:45 so you can see the numbers that I got during my testing.
08:48 Now there's a lot to take in there in terms of data,
08:50 so if you need to pause the video,
08:51 feel free to and then come back to me.
08:54 But once you have, let's take a look
08:56 at some of my favorites that I've picked out.
08:58 The PXG ST milled blades.
09:02 So the first mention in the performance category
09:04 was a little bit of a surprise to me.
09:06 And if you look at the data table,
09:07 it was a little bit shorter on carry
09:09 than some of the other irons that I've tested,
09:11 but that's not what you enter the blade market for.
09:14 You enter the blade market for that consistency,
09:17 the workability, all those things
09:19 that come along with a blade.
09:21 And this PXG blade provided that in abundance.
09:24 There was a real consistency of flight
09:25 and a really tight dispersion
09:27 that I absolutely loved about these irons,
09:29 and that's why this is mentioned
09:30 in that performance category.
09:32 The Vega Mizar Pro.
09:36 So my second mention in performance
09:37 is something of a niche product.
09:39 So it won't suit everyone this,
09:40 but I wanted to mention it
09:42 because I think it's a really nice option
09:43 in the blade category.
09:45 Traditionally, in seven iron,
09:47 we're looking around 34, 35 degrees
09:49 of loft in the blade category,
09:51 but this comes in at 32.
09:53 So instead of having to bend your iron strong
09:56 if you're a high ball hitter in blade,
09:57 which increases offset and reduces bounce
10:00 and things like that,
10:01 the Vega Mizar Pro comes strong lofted.
10:04 So you get all the benefits of the blade
10:06 in terms of the lovely feel,
10:07 the lovely look and the feedback,
10:09 but you still get a much more penetrating ball strike
10:12 and ball flight rather.
10:13 So for me, I think it's a really nice option.
10:16 I don't know why more manufacturers
10:18 aren't offering some stronger lofts
10:21 to counteract that.
10:22 Vega have done it.
10:23 So if you are someone who wants to play blades
10:25 and you want a more penetrating ball flight
10:27 'cause you pop the rest up,
10:28 then the Mizar Pro might be the one for you.
10:32 The Ping Blueprint T.
10:34 So the reason I've picked the Ping Blueprint T
10:36 for performance is it's just a really high performing iron
10:40 across all of the data categories.
10:42 Good ball speed numbers, good levels of spin,
10:44 good peak height, just did exactly what I wanted it to do.
10:48 But again, the unquantifiable, the immeasurables
10:51 that don't come up on launch monitor
10:52 like workability and trajectory control,
10:56 the Ping allowed me to do anything I wanted to do with it.
10:58 It's got such little offset,
10:59 so you can manipulate that leading edge
11:01 to create any sort of ball flight that you want.
11:04 This is a really superb performing blade.
11:07 Okay, so the time has come to name my best blade of 2024.
11:12 I've got it here in my hand.
11:13 It might be a surprise to you.
11:14 It was certainly a surprise to me,
11:16 but the winner is the Tacomo 301MB.
11:21 I've already alluded to the feel
11:22 by naming it the best feeling blade of 2024,
11:25 which I thought was super impressive,
11:27 but its raw data numbers were fantastic.
11:30 It was very competitive with everything else, if not better.
11:33 The immeasurable stuff, such as shot shaping,
11:35 trajectory control was also there.
11:38 You get into the aesthetics, it's just super clean,
11:41 so minimal, and it just really suits my eye.
11:43 The head shapes from fore iron all the way down
11:45 to the pitch and wedge were just absolutely spot on.
11:48 And one other point that you have to note
11:51 is a direct-to-consumer brand,
11:53 four to pitch and wedge set comes in nearly half the price
11:56 of some of the other major manufacturers.
11:58 So when you've got a great looking blade
12:00 that feels as good or better and performs as well
12:03 and is nearly half the price, what's not to like?
12:06 And that's why the Tacomo 301MB is my best blade of 2024.