With so many brands releasing so many clubs it can be hard to keep up, so in this series I’m going to go through the offering brand by brand and talk a little about what I’ve seen from them in a fitting scenario. Today we’re having a look at Mizuno.
For a company that are generally thought of as a more traditional choice in the market, Mizuno have come out all tech blazing with their current models. In the woods Mizuno have themselves admitted that they had ground to make up to catch the market leaders but boy they’ve come good now. The ST line is a model to rival any of the big boys in the woods market. The ST-Z is the first club I’ll give someone who needs to reduce their spin rate, and despite this profile it retains stability and forgiveness on off centre strikes which isn’t always the case for a driver with those kind of dynamics.The ST-X offers a more launchy, draw bias choice while again keeping that spin in a reasonable window to get distance. And the ST-G offers a really interesting option with the most adjustable head on the market. This club offers 3 weight tracks and 2 weights so you can tailor the club to hit the height and shot shape that you may want to see, all of this alongside a very solid feel.
Irons are Mizuno’s bread and butter so it won’t surprise you to find out that they offer a massive range in this market. The JPX 921 range contains more of a cavity back style, ranging from the Hot Metal, one of the best looking game improvement clubs out there, to the Tour which is very much geared towards the player wanting a slimmer topline and more feedback, don’t be fooled by this line being marketed as a cavity back line, it contains proper player’s clubs. The new release is the Mizuno Pro line which is very much a continuation of the MP20s, however with a more modern, tech based twist. The focus, particularly in the muscle cavity 223 and hollow back 225, is on ball speed. This is a very modern way of making and iron and these two clubs offer the ball speed to gain height, which is what makes the ball drop soft without sacrificing distance. The feel you get off these certainly isn’t far off of the softness you would associate with a Mizuno iron, just with a tangible amount of power added into the equation.
Mizuno’s T22 wedges are some of the spinniest wedges I’ve seen on the launch monitor in recent times. They are a fully forged construction which is actually a rarity, with a copper finish giving a softer feel, you can either choose the tour chrome or to have this copper exposed which in my opinion looks fantastic. The forged style certainly offers a solid feedback in the hands when striking these wedges. The big change from the previous T20 model to these is certainly the grind options of which there are now 4 of progressively less bounce and more heel/toe relief which allows you to open up the face and present more loft if you like to pay homage to Mickleson in your game!
If you’re into your tech and want to read more about what manufacturers currently have to offer, check back in here to see what I’ve found from all of the other brands offerings!
