Piranha A-Blades = Butter

I've recently had the pleasure of signing on with Piranha Golf to play their A-Blades via my position as Director of Instructor Accreditation with 5SK as well as my role here on The Sand Trap . I did so willingly. Many of you can attest to the number of sets of irons I have in my basement (I really should sell or donate some of them), so I assure you that I chose to play these Piranha A-Blades, and I'm receiving no incentives other than the chance to play them and share my experiences with others.

Piranha is an Aussie company with a home base in the U.S. out of Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ. I met with Antonio, Steve, and a few other guys from Piranha during a recent commercial shoot in Florida following the PGA Merchandise Show, and had a chance to talk with them about their design philosophy and other things. They're a great group of guys and it was fun to talk shop with a guy who's worked with Miura and several other of the game's bigger names.

From the first ball hit onward, the quality of the design and the tremendous soft feel became apparent. Fast forward two+ months later and the clubs have arrived. I've measured them on a loft/lie machine, a swingweight machine, and more and the specs we ordered came through to a "t". I slid some PURE grips on them and took the irons out for a spin (after taking the photos below).

The first thing both Dave and I thought when we set the clubs down was how much loft they appear to have. Trackman testing and on-course play indicate otherwise, but it's nice to stare down at a 3-iron that looks like it has as much loft as a 4- or 5-iron! Mucho confidence! The clubs have very little offset (less than almost any club I've hit), and the club appears slightly open at setup (which I like).

The actual look of the clubs is sleek, small, compact, and svelte. Can't say much more about them that you can't see in the pictures below.

On the course, the performance stacks up as well. If I had to describe these clubs in a word, that word would be butter . I've never felt softer clubs in my life, and I'm coming off a full season of playing Miura Tournament Blades . As Dave said, the ball just "melts" on the face of these things (Dave, too, as a two-time PGA Professional National Championship contestant could play any clubs he wants, and has chosen Piranha).

Trajectory control is a snap and the clubs feel surprisingly good, even on mis-hits. The ball travels well, and the feedback exists, but without quite as much harshness as you get from other musclebacks.

I'm really excited to play these irons in 2012 and beyond.

Scroll down for the pics.

You can find out more at any of these locations:

http://piranhagolf.com/

http://www.facebook.com/piranhagolf

http://twitter.com/piranhagolf

Quote ( Piranha Golf A-Blades ):

After an exhaustive period of research and development, and via the use of a very specific soft-forged carbon steel and our unique CNC milling processes, Piranha Golf delivers a premium “best in class” iron range. Each A-blade head is milled to exacting tolerances, without exception, and players can be confident in club head balance and weight right across the range of these irons.

The A-blade range is specifically designed for slightly better players and low handicappers who typically have a tighter swing plane and who will be able to access maximum benefit out of the club head. Via the use of a minimal offset, the A-blade translates into a tighter swing pattern which encourages the player to maximize the design benefits of the club head; feel and workability.

• Forged 1020 stainless steel
• .370 Parallel hosel diameter
• Thin top line permits easy visibility for exacting shot shaping
• Advanced head profile design for outstanding feel and control
• Reduced ball spin achieved through advanced head technology

Which look like every other muscleback out there, really. I mean, it's not like there's a lot of differences between muscle backs. They also look like the Tournament Blades they're replacing. No surprise there.

Loft differences of a degree produce the same launch if the CG is a bit higher, the ball will launch at a similar angle. I've seen sets of cavity backs and muscle backs that vary by two degrees yet due to the differences in the CG blend at every club in the set.

I didn't take it in a bad way. I just think it takes a lot to "screw up a blade." Kind of like how it's tough to screw up eggs, y'know?

They're now available for sale here at GolfShopCentral.com for $809.96 if you use the pro code "thesandtrap" to save 10% off the normal $899 price. I think GSC is the sole U.S. distributor for Piranha, at least for a little while.

I got them with more bounce, but I'm pretty much standard length and lie, so I haven't truly been "fit" for a few years. I know my fit pretty well, and get the shafts that I like.