Taylormade Speedblades - what is this witchcraft?

So I've been doing a lot of iron testing at the range lately looking to get a new set. I tried out all the top brand game improvement irons; Callway X2 Hot, Ping G30, Titleist AP2, Nike Covert 2.0, Ping i25 and a few more whose names escape me.

To say the Taylormade Speedblade blew them out of the water is an understatement! So much height, so much carry, so easy to hit, so consistent, so straight. They are amazing! After 3 seperate days of testing I found myself always coming back to them over and over. There was even a slightly amusing/awkward moment when a Yonex demo guy was there with new Yonex clubs and trackman and he invited me to pit them against his clubs and they comprehensively out performed them in every department. He tried to diss them by saying something about the speed pocket creating distance inconsistency if you hit an air pocket (even though the dispersion on accuracy and distance was excellent) but frankly I think even he had to aknowledge how good they were eventually.

Don't get me wrong, they have flaws. The feel off the face is a bit dead, in that its tough to feel were out the face you struck it. The sound is a bit hollow and plasticky. The material also feels and looks a tad cheap, the 'brushed metal' look not doing it for me. Also the stock 'stiff' shaft flex is a joke. 85g is not stiff.

But all this doesnt matter when you hit the things!

Am waiting for my custom fit set to arrive (with dynamic gold shafts)!

Well I just got them and a couple thoughts on your post and a question. I hated the sound and at first but after 5 rounds and range session I don't even notice it anymore. My ball flight went down with them versus the burner 2.0s. That probably had something to do with learning I've been playing my irons with a wide open face for years and changing that recently but it came down a lot. As far as feelin mishits I've never played with blades so don't know exactly what everybody feels with them but I can feel a toe hit with these as well as hitting too low on them. My question is about not being able to have a stiff shaft at the light weight. Is that true and why is that? I ask because I have the stock stiff shaft. After I got them I did a fitting with a Mizuno shaft analyzer, because I do stupid things like that, and it said I should hit extra stiff. So are you telling me there is no way my shafts are even stiff?

Shaft weight and flex are two separate variables. You absolutely can have a light weight shaft that is still a stiff flex. Whether or not it is a good fit for you is a whole other story though.

Taylormade are basically cheating you in many ways with these irons.

The shafts are incredibly light and whippy, which creates more clubhead speed, height and distance.

Theyre also half and inch longer in standard setup and the lofts are very strong.

I dont mind all that at all, as it works, but I do mind having to fork out and extra £70 on actual stiff shafts because of the old man shafts they have fitted.

All I have to say is, so what?

Clubs are easier to hit now. Bigger sweet spot, lower COG. It is only natural to lower the lofts, lighten the shafts. Really it doesn't matter. I think people get hung up on if it is a 5 iron versus a 6 iron for other clubs. Still you have yardage gaps, you can still play shots. Heck you probably end up hitting your longer irons better and more accurate. I don't see an issue with the trends in golf technology over the past 10 years. Golf is golf, just adapt to the yardage change and go play.

Those statements make me smile (and shake my head).

You ordered them because you hit them better in almost every way than the other clubs but you are going to change shafts because you think they are too "light and whippy" for you.

You seem to think that weight automatically = flex and that there is an industry standard for labeling flexes that those clubs are violating and "cheating" the consumer.

A particular "Flex" is not the same from each company and never has been. In addition there are variations in kick points and weights to suit each individual. That's why players hit the clubs, find the combination that works best for them, and either buy that particular set or at least one as close as possible to the one they actually tested by frequency testing the new shafts.

If light and whippy creates more clubhead speed with no downside wouldn't everybody play with light and whippy? Lol. I can see it now "Man I hit that drive 350 yards but it doesn't count because the shaft was light and whippy"

Also as I stated in my earlier post I switched to these from the burner 2.0s recently and I don't really feel like it's whippy and I did not add yardage at all. Do you have proof of that somewhere? I am not doubting they may because I had my pro hit them and he said they don't really feel light at all to him. So I took that as the club head was heavy with a lighter shaft which would seem to be optimal to create a whippy action but is there actual proof that these clubs do?

Ha! Guys, you're missing my point!

Firstly when I say 'cheating' I basically mean it in a good way. Taylormade, like most other manufacturers, are kind of deceiving us about the true power of their forgiveness irons. The reality is they take a 6 iron, add a half inch to the shaft and then wack a number 7 on the head and gleefully tell us their irons are 10-15 yards longer than other irons. Is there anything wrong with this? No, not really. Its only a game. And heck, if I feel mentally more at ease hitting what i think to be a 7 iron than I do a 6, then great! My only issue is if you improve to a single handicap, when you come to 'upgrade' to more of a players iron, suddenly you've lost 10 yards of carry off your yardages. Again, is this an issue? no, just take a club extra.

My issues with the shaft are personal really. My swing speed is such that I need a stiff shaft around 115-125g. But the Speedblade only has two stock options and the stiffest/heaviest shaft is 85g, which means the ball flight is too high for me. I guess I wish they had more shaft options, but I obviously see that they put that shaft in for a reason as its ideal for their target market. The KBS tour shaft they put in the CB tour preffered iron would be ideal, but it was a very pricey upgrade for the speedblades.

Why?

If you hit these clubs so much better than any of the others is it possible that the above assumption could be wrong?

Several reasons really:

1) The main one. The pro who did my fitting said my swing speed and tempo dictated I need said shafts in said flex. They had a little shaft flex determining gadget on the club. Who am I to argue with the expert?

2) My swing speed allows me to get the ball up with ease anyway and when we tried stiffer shafts I got better, more controllable trajectory and straighter shots. On a windy day I'd like to be able to hit lower shots.

3) Too light a flex/weight can cause hooking.

4) The clubhead itself is designed to get high launch. The shaft is designed to boost that.

I should say I opted for the middle ground of Dynamic Gold S300 SL's, which are 105g, as I feared if I went too heavy I would lose the power they delivered with the 85g shaft. I should also say I was so close to getting the Taylormade CB irons instead of these, but I have to have clubs which are ideal for my game as it is right now. In a few years time no doubt I will need different irons, possibly lower launching and more workable.

thanks

Did you consider going to a different place for a fitting just to compare the results and recommendations?

I had 4 seperate club testing sessions each with a different pro and each reaching the same conclusions.

I never heard of a club fitter that had you hit clubs until you found what was best for you and then had you order something entirely different.

It would be like test driving cars until found one that was just right and then ordering an entirely different car.