Taking the plunge with MP52s

[RC]

Well, heck... we all get a little older, so after hitting some MP52s on the range and really being impressed, I thought maybe I needed a set of these. They look big, but not huge. I guess they are in the gap of a traditional blade and a game improvement club. They were very easy to hit. I was impressed with the feel, and could work the ball fairly well. This will be something different for me, but perhaps having something new will turn out to be better. Anyway, they should arrive next week after a little special shafting/fitting request. They are going to get a good setup and checkout by a very capable guy. This will be my first set of Mizunos, so I am excited -- always wanted to give them a try. Everyone tells me Mizuno does a great job with their forging technology. Anyone else play the MP52s?

[TinCupTampa]

Well, heck... we all get a little older, so after hitting some MP52s on the range and really being impressed, I thought maybe I needed a set of these. They look big, but not huge. I guess they are in the gap of a traditional blade and a game improvement club. They were very easy to hit. I was impressed with the feel, and could work the ball fairly well. This will be something different for me, but perhaps having something new will turn out to be better. Anyway, they should arrive next week after a little special shafting/fitting request. They are going to get a good setup and checkout by a very capable guy. This will be my first set of Mizunos, so I am excited -- always wanted to give them a try. Everyone tells me Mizuno does a great job with their forging technology. Anyone else play the MP52s?

I have a set of 57's and 32's... love them both. Good luck with your 52's.

[Dub]

Awesome sticks.

I've always though Mizuno made the best looking irons on the market. I just don't have the game for them.....now.

Best of luck with them...I'll bet they feel great.

[PiKapp23]

While I do not have a set, I go to Golf Galaxy every weekend and hit the demo 6 iron in the MP-52 and MP-62 and love them. I just wish I could afford them. I just love the way Mizuno's feel and the 52's are a great transition between a true players iron and a game improvement iron. I usually describe them as being on the game improvement side of a players club.

[RC]

Thanks guys, sounds like the common idea of people liking Mizumo is also here at the Sand Trap. I know they make good clubs. I just read that the MP52 faces are only 2 & 1/2 percent larger than their normal clubs -- amazing that the eye picks this up so easily.

After playing very small headed forged blades for years, and then changing to a club that was really for all intent a blade with a small decorative hint of a cavity (the J33's), I thought why not take advantage of the technology of a bit more cavity and a little under cutting -- as long as the forged feel was still there. The MP52s still felt soft like a blade, but I think I was a little longer, and the one-groove thin hits did not lose as much as my J33s (which will drop an automatic 10 yards short if you do not flush them.) Pured shots with the MP52s felt just like any flush, pure hit, and I could still tell when a less than good contact was not on the spot, but the distance loss seemed less.

I some ways, I view the new forged or player type cavity clubs like I do the 440 and 460 drivers. It really is easier to hit the new drivers more consistently -- they don't go any further, just reduce the dispersion. Plus, watching Q-school on the golf channel, I was amazed at the number of good young players that were using clubs with cavity backs. After playing the new clubs a while, I will attempt to report back with a few comparison comments. Because we are duplicating shafts and swing weights, I should be able to make some level of comparison.

[RC]

Today I played for the first time with my MP52s. I am very happy with them. There is always something different on the course compared to on the range. So, as I said I would, here is my report:

First of all the feel is really great -- I did not notice any loss of feel and pretty much hit the same kinds of shots as with my old J33s... but the ball definitely carries longer. I would guess I am about 3/4 to a full club longer in the mid and longer irons, and 1/2 a club longer in the 7-PW. Part of the reason may have been the confidence I had with these clubs. There was no problem hitting them a little harder when needed and the extra distance was there. That is not something I get much with blades -- I have a little more trouble when really going after them. On two par 3s (today at 201 and 208) I hit a club less and got there with no problem. The best part was being able to hit both my normal shot and the little hold off fade. To be honest, I think these are the best clubs I have ever hit because I had so much confidence hitting them.

Right now I am a very happy camper.

[Petden]

Hearing you priase them as such makes me want to dirve 2 hours and test them right now. If only there were more left handed clubs in-store.

Anyway, good purchase, and I hope they contiue to perfomr as well as they do, for rounds to come.

[Island Par]

Congratulations on your new set of MP52s! Glad they worked out so well for you. I've had the chance to demo them a couple of times and loved them, but it will be awhile till i get one...sigh!

Happy Golfing!

[hypergolf]

Mizzy irons are great. They are the only clubs (MP60) that have stayed in my bag for years. Can't go wrong with Mizzy irons. Great choice!

[miller72]

yep, best irons out there, no doubt. you just cant beat that buttery feel of a mizuno.

[ks8829]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NWT-MIZUNO-IRON-...QQcmdZViewItem

Mizuno head covers

[Titleist Man]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NWT-MIZUNO-IRON-...QQcmdZViewItem

65$ thats pretty high for a few headcovers.

[201-pb]

I do not mean to steal your thread here, but my question is on a similar topic so I decided it was best to add on rather than start a new thread. I have been debating back and forth whether or not to get the 52's (I prefer them over the 57's) And I have noticed a small loss of distance with them. Now I have not hit them on a course, just at the range and in Golfsmith. However I have been playing with Full Cavity Ignites and I have never owned any Blades or anything similar and I was wondering if the loss of yardage is normal with blades or if I am not hitting the ball squarely... my shots are on target so that is not an issue.

[Dub]

I tested some out the other day at a local golf shop.....OMG is all I cand say. The feel was sublime. I was perfectly content with my irons until I hit these. Even the harshest distance balls they had felt great as I was slapping them into the net. I thinned a couple and felt the feedback right away.

I could see a set of these in my future.....sweet sticks.

I hope you continue to maintain this thread so we can see how they "settle-in" with you.

[RC]

I'll take a stab here...

It may be that game improvement full, cavity backs have a bit less loft for the same club. Rather than a 47 or 48 degree wedge, the wedge may be 45 or 46 degrees and the whole set can be lofted down accordingly -- and that can create more length. For newbies, you may not know but today's wedges used to be what a 9 iron loft was. I don't care what the number on the bottom of the club says, I just want ball flight and feel.

When I hit someone's X-20, X-22s, or r7s, etc., for example, they go longer. But (as someone has said here) I don't get the buttery feel I get with Mizunos. It is not abnormal to find more blade-like or forged clubs being a little shorter, but I find the feel well worth the slight difference. I tried the Taylormade r7 TPs and while they were not as strongly lofted as the normal game improvement irons, they were long. But the feel was like a trampoline on flush hits and harsh on off center hits. I am sure these are great clubs, but it is hard to beat a forged club's feel, especially if you have played forged clubs a long time.

The dual muscle back design of the MP52s is combined with a cavity, but I still feel like I can work the ball better and know a flush shot. Compared to blades I have played in the past, the MP52s are actually longer, just not as long as the stronger lofted clubs.

I don't think any one club is the right answer for everyone, of course. I searched through many clubs before finding that the Mizuno MP52s seem to be the feel I wanted, the control I am used to, and some extra benefits that I am enjoying. I played today plus hit three large buckets of balls, and I am still happy as a clam with my new irons. Whatever you do, I hope you find something that you enjoy hitting -- there are few feeling to compare with a flush iron shot (if you love golf.)