First Season With Blades - Let's Discuss

[OrangeDot]

Originally, I had Callaway X-18s. I was in an after work league, and was hitting terrible with them. My partner, a more seasoned retired golfer, said, "were you fitted for those?". I told him where I bought them, but said no, I wasn't fitted.
He said, "they should have fitted you"..."most clubs are designed for taller men"..."you can go get fitted, but I suggest you take a Ping Dot measurement, easier and cheaper, and get a set off of eBay and try them out".

So, I did that. First, I tried my wife's Lady clubs on a Par 3 and was shocked at the score. I measured. Orange Dot. Score dropped 10 strokes the following week (43 on 9 holes). I was excited.
I traded the Callaway X-18s for 2 sets of clubs: Harvey Penick Take Dead Aim, and Titleist CB690s.

I cut the Titleist CB690s down half an inch and regripped them. Started playing with them, and wow, I started hitting better than the Ping Eye 2s (more distance, same or better accuracy).
I didn't hit well with the Harvey Penicks, so they have sat in a box. I have considered pulling them back out.

Finally, I decided to try Blades. Felt like this was the year because I might be aging out of them.
I bought a used set of Par Ace Tour Blades for $50 off FB Marketplace. There is a 1 iron all the way down to Sand Wedge. They seem heavy (maybe it just seems heavier due to the 2 extra clubs, the 1 & 2).
I took the blades in, and had them bent (2 degree flatter, or lower, per club). This makes them match the Ping Orange Dot lie angles.
Played with the blades last Summer and Fall. They're accurate! If you can hit consistently in middle of club, which I do, they do quite well. But they seem to cost me a lot of distance - at least 10 yards per club.

I was thinking of completing a full 2026 with these blades, but after going to Top Golf for a virtual round, I noticed I was getting smoked on the distance, and am now re-thinking which clubs, of the ones I have, would be best to play with.

So now, I am wondering...if you had these sets to choose from, which set would YOU choose?
- Ping Eye 2
- Titleist CB690
- Blades (Par Ace Tour Blades)
- Harvey Penick Take Dead Aim

.... and yes, at some point, I will probably get more current and get a nicer newer set. But for now, this is what I have to choose from.

[Clemsonfan]

I am pretty familiar with equipment and I have never heard of Par Ace Tour Blades. If they are old their lofts might be weak, which would cause the perceived distance loss. A few years ago I had a friend upgrade his old irons to modern equipment and his PW loft was 6* stronger than his old clubs. May not be the case, but just a thought.

I think you might have better luck being fitted, or spending time on a launch monitor comparing these 4 irons. Then you can identify the distance gap between irons. You may find the ones you hit longer are really close together at the top of the bag.

Good luck!

[tomfig]

I’d go with the Titleist if you liked the look of the blades but were suffering with distance. They should be a little more forgiving than a full blade and still retain some workability. Also remember to consider the shafts each have as this will be a big contributor to how they feel. Clemsonfan is right though… get fit or spend a bit of time on a launch monitor 🤙

[OrangeDot]

The launch monitor is a good idea actually.

Par Ace was a company that came about in the late 80s through the 90s, and wound down in the early 2000s (based out of Florida). They were known for budget/clone clubs, but they were known for hitting surprisingly well.

Harvey Penick, he wrote a number of golf books (including the legendary Little Red Book of Golf). He was a golf instructor in Texas, and taught/influenced golfers like Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and others. The Take Dead Aim clubs were designed by him and licensed to Golfsmith. So these are older clubs, although in mint condition and regripped.

The Ping Eye 2s, well, everyone knows about those and those clubs are awesome. Mine were in great shape (I gave them to my son in law but he discovered he is a blue or black dot so he said he is going to return those to me).

The Titleists, I cut those shafts down 1/2" and regripped them myself. Those were my go-tos before trying out these blades. 

But, as accurate as they seem to be - even MORE accurate than the Titleists - I cannot afford to be hitting short all the time, and confused about what club I should be grabbing.

I will try out that launch monitor and see what happens! When it gets warmer that is.