Are Taylormade Speedblade Irons Still Good? Are They Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The Taylormade Speedblade irons have a very striking look and even though they came out in 2013, they have a design that keeps them looking modern.”

The Taylormade Speedblade irons have what all good iron sets have: progressive design. Every iron in your bag is different and meant to hit different distances so why should they all be designed the same?

In reality, it’s your cheaper iron sets that don’t have progressive design and the Taylormade Speedblade irons certainly aren’t cheap.

But are they still good for high handicappers? We went out and tested the Taylormade Speedblade irons to find the answer to that very question.

Are the Taylormade Speedblade Irons Still Good?

“The soles and toplines of the short irons are narrower while the long irons feature thicker toplines and soles.”

Right off the bat, this is a very thoughtful and effective design. The progressive design allows for better playability in the long irons and more control in the short irons.

The Taylormade Speedblade irons also feature a two-tone satin nickel chrome plating that plays off the dark smoke satin ion plating to create a contrasting effect.

The Taylormade Speedblade irons look beautiful in the bag and behind the ball. They were designed to give you more distance and launch and they certainly deliver on those two fronts.

For instance, the 7-iron in this set has 30.5 degrees of loft so you get beautiful launch throughout the set. Gapping was very consistent with this set as well.

Really, the only time you won’t get good distance and consistency is when you totally miss the sweet spot.

The Taylormade Speedblade irons feature widened and elongated Speed Pockets that have also been reshaped to resemble handlebars.

This feature is present in irons 3-7 so you get great forgiveness from your mid and long irons.

Are the Taylormade Speedblade Irons Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“One of the first things we noticed about the Taylormade Speedblade irons was that low-face shots were flying incredibly far.”

Even on low-face shots, the carry distance these irons produced was spectacular. With the 7-iron, we were getting an average distance of 153.9 yards after three swings.

Most of that came from carry distance too because the roll was minimal.

The redesigned Speed Pocket makes the long and mid irons very forgiving – you basically get more sweet spot to work with. The Taylormade Speedblade irons play long but also have a soft feel.

They play like distance irons but the soft feel makes the performance reminiscent of player’s irons. The multi-material badge is part of what creates this softening effect.

It’s made of a soft polymer that effectively dampens harsh vibrations – even when you mis-hit.

While the Taylormade Speedblade irons aren’t the biggest on the market, they are still very forgiving. The forgiveness drops off a bit in the short irons as the toplines and soles get narrower though.

Taylormade Speedblade Vs taylormade Stealth Irons

“The Stealth irons place more emphasis on toe-side forgiveness.”

More mass has been moved out to the toe and the effects are noticeable.

You can actually see the added weight in the toe and toe-side misses fly much straighter. However, forgiveness near the heel is minimal.

We liked the strong lofts of the Stealth irons but it’s clear that they were made for better players.

The Taylormade Speedblade irons are still better for high to mid handicappers.