Should more golfers play blades? Here’s what you should know

There are quite a few different schools of thought on how to select the right irons for your game.

Most of which come from players who refuse to get fit, because yes, that’s always the correct answer. However, there are lots of golfers who spend lots of time online looking through articles, forums, news feeds, and social media to find their answers.

One big question? Should more golfers play blades? If you had asked most folks at the end of the 2025 PGA Tour season, the answer probably would have been an astounding no.

“Rory just switched to cavity backs.”

“More and more Titleist staffers are going into the T-series every week.”

“Combo sets are the way to go.”

That’s all fine and good, but so far in 2026… quite a few big names are leading the way with blades in the bag, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, a switch BACK to blades for World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, and two-time winner in 2026 Chris Gotterup. The one common theme for these guys? They’re all PGA Tour professionals.

The Ridiculous Argument

The most common and most ridiculous argument that I hear for the average golfer to hit blades is, “You’ll learn how to hit the ball better if you start using blades right away.”

This is absurd. Golf is hard. Really hard.

Why are we encouraging players to start off on the most unforgiving foot possible? Even modern blades like the new 2026 Wilson Staff Model MB or a TaylorMade P7TW, which are more forgiving than their 10-year-old counterparts, are still difficult to hit consistently. These clubs are MEANT to give feedback to the golfer. These clubs are MEANT to be perfect out of the middle, and harsh outside of it. They are true elite players’ tools. Not meant for the hands of beginners.

The worst fear I have of this statement is that it takes the fun out of learning the game. I’ve seen more new golfers quit over frustration than anything else in the game. So in the opinion of this author, telling MOST players to pick up a set of blades is the absolute worst advice you could possibly give them.

Rory Stopped Playing Blades

A couple of weeks ago, a pretty big story emerged as Rory McIlroy elected to start playing a set of TaylorMade P7CB cavity back irons over his RORS PROTO set of blades.

This was the turning point that the forgiveness crowd had been begging for. Surely if RORY was going to switch to something more forgiving, there’s no reason why any normal golfer should be playing blades.

Well, that didn’t last long. They never actually made it to the PGA Tour, even. Ahead of his debut this week at Pebble Beach, he has switched back into his RORS PROTOS. But, I don’t think he’s done with the experiment yet. I have a feeling that this is going to be the catalyst for a new set of RORS PROTOS. Something we probably still won’t be able to get our normal hands on, but amazing nonetheless. He spoke in his press conference this week about the switch back, and gave a very unique answer.

While diving into his answer requires another article completely, I don’t get the sense from his tone answering the question that he’s giving up on the more forgiving experiment.

Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing what they develop and come up with. Because a cavity-back style iron that doesn’t have as much right bias in it with a little bit of reduced offset… could be quite something.

What about the average consumer?

Today, I ran over to a local simulator joint to test out the theory for myself. I am a +0.3 handicap golfer at the moment, and over the last few years, I have had blades in and out of the bag in one way or another. Some in the bottom end of the set with a combo or flow of cavity backs in the top, and some as full sets. Even now, I have begun the year choosing to play the new Cobra 3DP MB irons. Which are a different animal.

They certainly don’t play like an MB.

The reason I bring this up is not to brag in any way about my own game, but to say that I am probably in the small bucket of people who should even consider playing a blade. For me, at this level in my game, it really comes down to consistency of strike and turf interaction.

Blades or MB models typically have a very small sweet spot. The club heads themselves are much smaller, and getting the center of the face back to the ball isn’t as easy or as generous as something like a cavity-back or larger-style clubhead.

The soles tend to be very thin, so there isn’t much room for error in club delivery. When you have a thinner sole, it tends to go through the turf really efficiently, but it’s also very sensitive to attack angle. Come in too steep, and you’ll get stuck in the ground like a knife. Come in too shallow and your hands will know what the thin sting feels like off the bottom of the club face.

All this is to say that there are so many reasons for even skilled or scratch level NOT to play blade style irons, why would a 10 handicap feel like playing them is the right move? Because some guy in pit vipers on the internet told you to? Bad reason.

Testing the theory

I jumped into a local simulator bay this morning to hit some shots with the new Wilson Staff Model Irons lineup. 2026 brings us a new muscle back blade, a cavity back offering, and a brand new hollow-body in the Staff Model XB. I made sure to snag screenshots of the data, so let’s take a look. First, (out of 10 shots with each club) a look at the best three shots hit with each.

There is nothing really surprising about this data set from hitting a 7-iron of each model. The blade is the slowest and the hollow-body has the lowest spin with the Staff Model CB living right in the middle of the two. Where it starts to develop into more of a story is in the true 10-shot averages seen here.

Here we start to see a bit more separation. As we include more and more shots, the irons start to show their true colors. The worst shots from the Staff Model MB are going to offset the averages to be lower performing than the other two models. The XB and it’s hollow-body design start to really shine as the averages get closer to what the numbers were from the best three shots. And as we look at the worst three shots from each group, the full picture really develops.

This is where the MB style of iron can really fall apart. Again, I like to think that I am a fairly decent ball striker. I know how to get the club to the ball effectively. But every time I go into a bay and start swinging some blades, I am reminded that I need a little bit more forgiveness in my game. Losing six-to-seven miles an hour of ball speed just can’t happen. That can be a full club of distance on the course!

Why would I subject myself to even thinking that that would be an option if I am trying to get better at golf. Even just the small step up to the Staff Model CB proved to be a fantastic move. The standard deviation in the data between shots was wonderful to see, and it’s still a really good looking package that doesn’t damage the ego at all.

Advertisement

Wilson 2026 Staff Model CB Custom Irons

View Product

ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Wilson

All this for what?

As I stated before, the implication that the average or even recreationally good golfer should be playing blades is absurd to me. Does this mean that I think blades have no purpose in the game? Absolutely not. I have actually seen a fair bit of golfers who “shouldn’t” play blades get fit into them. There’s something to be said for a thin sharp sole and a small form factor. There are players of all skill levels who are going to find success with their delivery using this style of golf club. I don’t want to bucket the blade shape to be for a good or a bad player, just that it needs to be for the right player.

I certainly won’t say that anybody starting out should be anywhere near a blade, unless you’re showing them how far they need to go to truly understand how to hit the golf ball. At that point you’re really just making an aggressive statement, but I’ll allow it.

If you get fit for blades, the I believe in you and I wish the best for your game. Remind me not to bet you for any money, because I’ve made that mistake before. If you haven’t gotten fit for a set of blades and you really want to see what they can or can’t do for your game, make sure you go book a fitting with your local True Spec Golf fitter. They’ll set you straight.

Want to find the best irons for your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

“>