Blade users thread (NO DEBATING CLUBHEADS! NO Buy Sell Trade!)

[PARETO]

On 6/8/2023 at 7:07 AM, Bigmean said:

So much fun.  I love all that stuff, I actually picked up a weekend car in my last hiatus and I almost went the project route, I was dying to get something and a garage lift and go at it as a hobby.  I used to work on all my early cars, I taught myself how to work on cnc machines and it is on my wheelhouse to not be scared to mess with machines etc.

 

 I was laying in bed one Night and I realized I am so overworked at My company that at the end of the day I wouldn’t Be able to enjoy it.  I come home so drained that at of day I just wanted to shift Gears and enjoy a fun car and at this point in life it wouldn’t be as enjoyable as I think it would be when I am less stressed at work. 
 

I also wasn’t sure if a weekend car was just a midlife crisis phase or what, and I at least confirmed that I LOVE the car and love having a weekend alter ego.  I am firmly now In the camp of always wanting a manual sports car laying around, don’t care if it is a Miata or a 911, doesn’t matter,  it really is genuine youth fun to rip around a car you have to rip around in when you want to.  I get that it is a first world privilege, but what else do you work 60 hours a week for….

While I’m not a 60 hour work guy like you, I still really value somewhat inexpensive, fun, light and twitchy manual hot hatches. I’m 50 this year but LOVE this stupid little weekend ripper. Every time I think about selling it, it manages to stick around the garage a bit longer. 

[Bigmean]

7 hours ago, PARETO said:

While I’m not a 60 hour work guy like you, I still really value somewhat inexpensive, fun, light and twitchy manual hot hatches. I’m 50 this year but LOVE this stupid little weekend ripper. Every time I think about selling it, it manages to stick around the garage a bit longer. 

Ultimate first world problems for sure, but there really is something about ripping around a weekend car that makes the weekend have more weekend pop to it.   Love the green, that makes it even more fun. 
 

I have almost sold mine a couple of times because the smart thing for me to do would be to not question how I could have driven it for 2 years and made money on it and put that toward trading up on another one when what I think is happening plays out in the economy.  However I really love having it though and I haven’t been able to hang it on autotrader.  

[Bigmean]

9 hours ago, cliffhanger said:

After going through multiple sets of CB’s and such… I equaled my best round in the last three years twice (1st two rounds) with my MP20 mb’s. Go figure 

So funny how what this thread is about comes up still, and cliffhangers short post probably sums it up best.  Maybe I should have called it “blades, go figure…” 😆

[Mrgreen36]

Only 60 hours? Plenty of time for hobbies. I got 3 kids, 70 hours a week and way too many project cars amongst numerous other hobbies/endeavors/house remodel. Time management people 

[Bigmean]

Well, I can honestly Say that I really didn’t want to buy these irons, I was just completely compelled to from this listing sliding under the radar (also x flex is a Japanese auction death sentence I have noticed). Anyway l, since I am a golds factory super fan, I had to.  I have always missed the blade sets, and while I appreciate the novelty, I never lucked into a set as they are a few listings a year rare.  Until now.

 

  They look really utilitarian, who in hell knows who forged them, im sure something quality, Either way, I couldn’t pass this up.

 

Here is full listing.  I am going to have ti wait to see how bad the condition is in reality, but worth the dice roll. 
 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k1096114188#priceSummary

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Bigmean

[Bigmean]

Long story short I played again Sunday evening and when the cart guy asked how it went I looked him in the eyes and said “you probably won’t wash the clubs of another golfer here who just shot a legitimate 87 by going 50/37”.   
 

I feel like what started as a why are you even playing again ended with a much bigger takeaway than I ever could have had if I had better stuff and it was a really good round on both sides.  

 

I historically struggle with my mental relationship with score.  I want to not care, but you can’t help but be aware, it is your benchmark but thrn exoectations creep in and hurt the round vibes.  I’m not sure what that relationship is but Im still looking for it.  It was nice to play so bad, score so bad (last 2.5 rounds I really drove the ball best in years and nothing egregious but just bad breaks and bad scores and some sloppy putting.  Those last 10 holes at *1 after *14 on first 8 was a nice hurdle for me to cross mentally for the next time a round starts going really bad really fast.  

[Nard_S]

9 hours ago, Bigmean said:

I historically struggle with my mental relationship with score.  I want to not care, but you can’t help but be aware, it is your benchmark but thrn exoectations creep in and hurt the round vibes.  I’m not sure what that relationship is but Im still looking for it.  

Hear that.

[Nard_S]

BM, that's a pretty awesome comeback. Nice grit.

 

Only played back nine this week, Mom checked herself into hospital, had a pulse of 34 BPM. Let us know like 12 hours after the fact, lol. She was okay, went and saw her, then caught back nine. She's home now with pacemaker.

 

New bag is good, smoked some nice approach shots. Settling in to them. Shot 42 with one triple. Can say T's are less forgiving on thin shot but better on flushed compared to 681. More accuracy. Ball stays in it's lane better. Shaft gets credit too.

 

Like BM,  when rolling sideways there's struggle with the mental  and I tend to "check out". I'm having fun, enjoy it but am not fully engaged. This aspect needs improvement, need to demand more but care even less while doing it, if that makes sense.

 

 

[Nard_S]

Might sound crass I go and play golf while Mom is in hospital but in context of who my mom is, it's not. Had a pulse of 34bpm at Urgent care, doctor wants to ambulance her to ER, she insists on driving herself. She checks in calls us late at night, they do diagnostics she gets a pacemaker but insists, no anesthesia, only local. She gets out, next day. She cleans house, does her chores, but understands that redo of 3rd floor dormer, the new sheet rock & new insulation with venting has to wait a few weeks. In her seventies she stained entire outside, 3 floors of  colonial with a 4" sponge brush & scaffold. Two coats. No sitting around and holding her hand is needed. She's a healthy spirited bird. Put herself through school, bought and paid off her own house and at 85 maintains it as well as Bob Villa. Spent few hours with her, tended to her cats, caught back nine. She is an inspiration to me & my kids. 

[subrew]

Three new sets of irons came in, two blades and one set that has the tiniest impression of being a CB.  As in, possibly the shallowest cavity I've seen on a cavity back.

 

First set is Dunlop Maxfli Australia Blades.  I have a few super skinny sets of blades, and these take the cake.  Especially the 2-iron.  One of the photos compares it to the Titleist Tour Model 2i from the bottom (that I filled and ground a couple months back)

 

2i-PW.  Usualy nicks and scrapes, and the ferules are pretty gone.  I'll be changing out the shafts anyways.  These appear to be a "half pin" which confuses me a bit.  Perhaps it is just cosmetic to look like the shaft is pinned?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by subrew

[subrew]

Second set is a 3-PW of Yamaha SX-25.  Also appear to be "half pinned", i.e. the pin doesn't go all the way thru the hosel.  These are in remarkably good shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by subrew

[subrew]

Last set is the "CB."  Cobra Greg Normans.  3-PW.  Super shallow cavity.  But maybe shallow enough for this thread?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by subrew

[Christen_The_Sloop]

On 7/2/2023 at 10:32 PM, Bigmean said:

Well, I can honestly Say that I really didn’t want to buy these irons, I was just completely compelled to from this listing sliding under the radar (also x flex is a Japanese auction death sentence I have noticed). Anyway l, since I am a golds factory super fan, I had to.  I have always missed the blade sets, and while I appreciate the novelty, I never lucked into a set as they are a few listings a year rare.  Until now.

 

  They look really utilitarian, who in hell knows who forged them, im sure something quality, Either way, I couldn’t pass this up.

 

Here is full listing.  I am going to have ti wait to see how bad the condition is in reality, but worth the dice roll. 
 

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k1096114188#priceSummary

 

They remind me of the Taylormade X-300 FCI... from the back anyway. 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

6 hours ago, subrew said:

Second set is a 3-PW of Yamaha SX-25.  Also appear to be "half pinned", i.e. the pin doesn't go all the way thru the hosel.  These are in remarkably good shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some really really great heads. They were designed by the fellow behind Fourteen golf. Endo forged. Scott Simpson used them to win a US OPEN (87?) and of course they are also made in a Hal Sutton grind. I might have a pristine set of them somewhere.

[Bigmean]

9 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

They remind me of the Taylormade X-300 FCI... from the back anyway. 

My favorite all time cb set is dci 962 (really why I don’t get these for peanuts and restart I don’t know, makes too much sense and hard to go back to cast I guess) and these have that same simple old school cb look.  My guess is they are going to be a little harsh as far as CBs go but we will see.  

[Christen_The_Sloop]

10 minutes ago, Bigmean said:

My favorite all time cb set is dci 962 (really why I don’t get these for peanuts and restart I don’t know, makes too much sense and hard to go back to cast I guess) and these have that same simple old school cb look.  My guess is they are going to be a little harsh as far as CBs go but we will see.  

Used the DCI 990 for about a decade. I remember hitting them well trying them out, better then some Cleveland form-forged Cb... I was getting them through a club I worked at for a discount, so choices were limited... I didn't love them, but they worked alright.

 

Now I have pretty well unlimited options - maybe it was easier then?

[Bigmean]

Much easier then.  I had no money,so no options,  got the best options around to me (mp14s and 962s) on eBay for less than $500 for both sets and played them from like 1995-2010 hahahaha.  No money, no choices, less problems.  

[subrew]

Since this thread may have more experience dealing with older heads than the equipment forum, quick question about two of these sets of heads that appear to be half pinned.  See photos below.

 

I've confirmed the pins are metallic (not just a hole filled with epoxy)

 

Seems like the only method to remove these shafts is to attempt to drill out the pin, then do the usual light heat and pull the heads off.  Or, cut the shaft leaving about 1.5"-2" sticking out for the clamp/vice to grab, and run a drill bit down thru the remaining shaft and drill the end of the pin off, then push the remaining pin thru the hole in the hosel until it falls out inside the shaft.

 

One set I don't want to damage the shafts, as they have some value to someone else.  Other set the shafts aren't marked/labelled, and have a bit of rust, so I don't mind cutting them.

 

Perhaps the pins are super short, just long enough to catch one wall of the shaft.  So I could push it in and it will fall out inside the shaft.  That may be step one, just trying to see if the pin will push/tap out.

 

Any other tips?  I figure I would tackle the Maxflis first since the heads need more work.  

[subrew]

And success on the Maxfli head, at least the pitching wedge.  

 

I was able to push the pin down about 1/8" or so, until it obviously bottomed out.  Looking at the wall thickness on the hosel (after removing) that was enough for it to clear the hosel.  I then heated up the hosel per usual, and right when it gets to the point where the epoxy starts to flow a little smoke came out the pin hole.  The head pulled right off, no problems.  I cleaned up the pin hole, the shaft, and inside the shaft where the little pin was still residing.  Photo below.

 

The bottom right photo is attempting to show the pin (vertical shiny bit) inside the shaft, which was absolutely packed with epoxy.  So it took a fair bit of digging out to find the shaft, then I scraped the exposed edge enough for it to show up on a photo.  It does not appear as if the pin is short enough to "fall out" inside the shaft.  Or if it is, I'll have to spend a lot of time digging out the epoxy so it can dislodge.  But it doesn't matter at this point. 

 

Hopefully the Yamahas have this same setup, and I can get those heads off easily enough.  And the rest of the Maxflis too.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by subrew

[Nard_S]

32 minutes ago, subrew said:

Since this thread may have more experience dealing with older heads than the equipment forum, quick question about two of these sets of heads that appear to be half pinned.  See photos below.

 

I've confirmed the pins are metallic (not just a hole filled with epoxy)

 

Seems like the only method to remove these shafts is to attempt to drill out the pin, then do the usual light heat and pull the heads off.  Or, cut the shaft leaving about 1.5"-2" sticking out for the clamp/vice to grab, and run a drill bit down thru the remaining shaft and drill the end of the pin off, then push the remaining pin thru the hole in the hosel until it falls out inside the shaft.

 

One set I don't want to damage the shafts, as they have some value to someone else.  Other set the shafts aren't marked/labelled, and have a bit of rust, so I don't mind cutting them.

 

Perhaps the pins are super short, just long enough to catch one wall of the shaft.  So I could push it in and it will fall out inside the shaft.  That may be step one, just trying to see if the pin will push/tap out.

 

Any other tips?  I figure I would tackle the Maxflis first since the heads need more work.  

Hit it on center with sharp center punch.

Grab a drill bit that's slightly smaller, drill out, heat and twist off. if remaining wall is thin enough it will easily break. If concerned  about damaging things finish drill to size for a 2nd pass. A $20 caliper would help size things correctly.

[Nard_S]

2 minutes ago, subrew said:

And success on the Maxfli head, at least the pitching wedge.  

 

I was able to push the pin down about 1/8" or so, until it obviously bottomed out.  Looking at the wall thickness on the hosel (after removing) that was enough for it to clear the hosel.  I then heated up the hosel per usual, and right when it gets to the point where the epoxy starts to flow a little smoke came out the pin hole.  The head pulled right off, no problems.  I cleaned up the pin hole, the shaft, and inside the shaft where the little pin was still residing.  Photo below.

 

Hopefully the Yamahas have this same setup, and I can get those heads off easily enough.  And the rest of the Maxflis too.

Yeah much better way.

[subrew]

It didn't take much effort to push the pin down, using a small center punch and tippy hammer.  I started drilling it for a brief second before I thought I would try to just heat it up and remove it.  So I don't think any drilling will be required.  

[Nard_S]

6 minutes ago, subrew said:

It didn't take much effort to push the pin down, using a small center punch and tippy hammer.  I started drilling it for a brief second before I thought I would try to just heat it up and remove it.  So I don't think any drilling will be required.  

Good to know, I have a few pinned sets too.

[Bigmean]

On 7/5/2023 at 4:27 PM, subrew said:

Three new sets of irons came in……..

 

 

This was just what I needed to read to feel less bad about myself! 
 

Nice pick up on the Aussie blades!  I am happy to have not ever reshafted any pinned clubs.  

 

So after I tell you all how I bought a set I didn’t even want cause I was compelled to because only a handful come up a year, I see a set of blades now up at a low low start.  Now I’m hoping that it gets bid to $550 like the last one so I can ignore it, but If it stays under the radar I know damn well Im buying them.

 

WTF is wrong with me.  I can’t even find cbs I love earnestly trying, doesn’t matter cause I only play one set 85% of the time and I know damn well whatever I’m buyung has literally zero chance of kicking it.  I’m having the most fun playing since before I lost my driver, from Feb to now I don’t even want to type it for fear of jinx but 2 months of thousands of drives in the garage is now yielding 10+ fairway rounds and somehow I am longer.  Sure I’m shooting bad but the real reason deep down I don’t care isn’t that my mental approach is angelic as much as I know with my boogie man gone I am the work it takes to lose 3 bad swings a round and get sharper wedges and irons away from where I want to be AND my kid is getting into it naturally and without being pushed which is so completely awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything more from golf….
 

SO WHY am I so compelled to accumulate these things? I’m not a hoarder, I’m out of closet space between putters and the copper onoff blades.  I always hit my muiras better than anything, however many stupid sets I went through….I should be buying more sets of those, but instead I’m “compelled” to get these things even though they inevitably are going to end up on eBay and I know all this and I’m still going to do it.  I feel like that is actually the insane part.
 

-I am pretty stoked about the Kyoei blades though 😎

Edited July 6, 2023 by Bigmean

[Double Dodger]

On 7/1/2023 at 6:31 AM, Bigmean said:

Nice double dodger.  You just Described why my gamer set never gets kicked from the bag.  But more importantly, how exactly did you fix that tug hook?  Apex? Grips? Asking for a friend lol.

 

So today should be good.  As I said my buddy is getting into golf. A Couple of years now, baseball player, so his hood cracks are 260, but man his chipping sucks.  He shoots mid 90s to mid 100s. My son has latent ability to hit good shots but again 90s but with streaky play.  
 

Today they want to play Me vs them playing a best ball scramble against me, $2 a hole each for them, $4 for me.  First nine is no handicap then go from there if it is out of balance.   I have no clue how this will go.  In theory perfect as they should post if I had to guess low 80s because Their short game isn’t going to be good enough to go 70s but then again I have played in plenty a church tournament where I am best or second best on a team and we go 13/14 under so best ball can get interesting.    I am kinda pumped and last weekend. They both had hard rounds so I think this will bring some fun back for them to not feel behind the 8 ball all round.  We will see.  

 

Seriously, nothing  but changing clubs. Grips are the same Grip Masters I always use. The KBS tours could be a factor. This game is strange at times. 
 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Just bought a set of irons that I already sort of have. Different stampings, and a 1-iron were all it took for me to break down and bid😂

 

 

 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

8 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Just bought a set of irons that I already sort of have. Different stampings, and a 1-iron were all it took for me to break down and bid😂

 

 

 

Mizuno? Classic? Faldo design?

[Christen_The_Sloop]

I've shown some restraint the last little while. Plan to play a bit of golf in Canada. Trying to think of what I should take for equipment. There's always the worry about bringing clubs... Got a back up fairway shaft - The Attas G7 has always been money for me... Now I am not so worried bringing my favorite fairway wood. I think the shaft plays about 44 inches... So I might grab a Ping adapter and put the g400 head in it for the trip

 

I am thinking of giving the Founders 200 series a chance. I've already got a couple sets of irons at my parents house though... They are so pretty, they've got some new tour velvet Founders Club logo grips and a nice shaft...

 

Also considering taking the MP-4s. I picked up 10 tour velvet full cord with Mizuno script (odds of being fake are pretty slim) for 800 yen a grip. I was considering going with lamkin crossline midsize cord, but I think I did good there. May end up waiting on the MP as I am not sure if s200 TTDG is the direction I want to go with them. I might pull the shafts from my current set up and go that way - if I do, I'll probably wait until the end of golf season in Japan.

 

Also grabbed a Yonex Tour putter, the JP version of the Mickelson ADX forged. It's really really light and it's giving my Mizuno MP 9001 and Maruman Conductor blades a real run

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

2 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

Mizuno? Classic? Faldo design?

 

I hope you weren't the other bidder...

 

Funnily enough, I have that same Yonex putter and it is my number one candidate to take back to the UK as I don't have a decent putter over there.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

5 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I hope you weren't the other bidder...

 

Funnily enough, I have that same Yonex putter and it is my number one candidate to take back to the UK as I don't have a decent putter over there.

I have the MS-203... I need another blade one iron like I need another hole in my head... It was tempting. Those are a unicorn set.