The best blade golf clubs that elite ball-strikers will love

• Some blades may not be the most forgiving golf irons of 2023
• Some golfers still choose them for their unrivalled looks, feel, and control
• The PXG 0317 ST irons look very modern

Although blades may not be the most forgiving golf irons of 2023, some golfers still choose them for their unrivalled looks, feel, and control. But what are the best-bladed golf clubs? Let’s look at the leading models and what each has to offer.

PXG 0317 ST

The PXG 0317 ST irons look very modern, with lots of straight lines and a changeable weight port in the back of the club head.

Head-to-head testing of all the leading models saw the PXG 0317 ST emerge as one of the longest blades for carry distance, while also offering category-leading forgiveness and accuracy.

A PXG 0317 ST irons 2023 golf club. Photo/MyGolfSpy

PXG clubs don’t tend to come cheap, but if you buy five or more irons, the 0317 ST drops to £169 per club, which is good value for one of the best blade golf clubs available.

Cobra King MB

Cobra offer a brilliant family of forged irons, comprising the MB as well as the CB, Tour, Forged Tec and Forged Tec X, and there’s the option to create a mixed set using any combination of models.

The Cobra King MB are sleek, classic blades, which are five times forged to offer a feel that rivals any iron out there.

Blades aren’t renowned for being overly forgiving, but testing saw the Cobra King MB lose just 6 yards on mishits compared to pure strikes, which is markedly better than average for a blade.

Takomo 301 MB

Sat in your golf bag, people would assume this is a set of premium Japanese irons, yet the Takomo 301 MB cost half the price of most other blades. That’s because Takomo only sell direct to consumers online, which limits custom fitting options, but means they can save a lot of middleman costs and therefore offer far lower prices than most brands.

The Takomo 301 MB was a few yards shorter than average in terms of carry distance, but performed strongly in all three accuracy metrics (carry distance drop-off on mishits, left-to-right dispersion, and shot area), which will be more important than yardage for the type of high-speed golfer likely to be considering blades.

TaylorMade P7MB

TaylorMade P7MB Iron blade gold club. Photo/TGW.com

With design input from some of the world’s best golfers, it’s clear that the TaylorMade P7MB are aimed at elite ball strikers with plenty of swing speed.

Testing showed the P7MB irons carrying five yards shorter than the longest blade on a test, but perhaps more importantly, into the smallest total shot area, proving that these irons are all about precision.

For a further boost in accuracy and consistency, the P7MB irons have CNC-milled faces and grooves, a feature you don’t find on all blades.

Vega VMB

Some golfers say that nothing can match the pure craftmanship and feel of a Japanese forged blade, and the Vega VMB’s profile is just about as classic as they come.

The Vega VMB isn’t just about looks; testing showed it hitting shots into a very tight dispersion area and dropping just 7 yards of carry distance on off-centre strikes.

If you want ultimate quality and a unique set of irons that turns heads, the Vega VMB could be just the ticket. The only downside is the price, as a set of Vega VMB irons will set you back £1,350.