Mizuno irons popularity

[Brandonink2001]

I am hunting for irons right now and an odd question struck me (its 545 a.m. and I am having an insomniac's morning).

In 12 years of playing golf, I have seen perhaps a couple of guys playing Mizuno irons. Plenty of Callaways, enough TaylorMade's, and enough Pings to stretch from Virginia to Arizona.

The Mizuno tour players are solid golfers but certainly not necessarily proving Mizuno's superiority or dominance over other club brands.

And yet, I join this awesome forum and find Mizuno to be one of the leading brands on here, a community of presumably more-committed amateur players. Which is great considering I am very close to plunking down a lot of money to get into a set of MX25s. You're reinforcing my purchasing decision.

Finally, my questions: why aren't Mizunos more visible or popular in the retail market? Are they popular among your golf buddies? Why did you end up choosing Mizuno for yourself?

[quagmire]

i've played the nike pro combo's but didn't like them so much.

i bought the mizuno mp-32 and they are great for me. But if there better "fabricated" then e.g. ping i wouldn't know (and also wouldn't know). the reasons why: i played a round with the guy in the shop. he adviced mizuo to me (although he also works for titleist).
If i would to choose again, i'd maybe go for the KZG blades

but don't look so much to the tour players and their clubs, there is a lot of marketing involved. Ernie played titleist for years. last year callaway offered him 25.000.000 dollar to play with their clubs. He accepted the offer, but imo that does not say he rathers play callaway then titleist.

[Young04]

I am hunting for irons right now and an odd question struck me (its 545 a.m. and I am having an insomniac's morning).

on the PGA front, marketing and endorsement deals dictate what brand is more prevalent. in terms of us amateurs, i find that lower handicaps play mizuno. even the MX25s are aimed at the 18 handicap bogey golfer (if you shoot 90, you're a true hacker anymore). the vast majority of what mizuno sells is aimed at the sub 12 handicap market.

[bluenar9]

definitely a marketing thing that is causing the bias in representation. I just bought a set of Cleveland CG Golds because I like the feel of the club over the mx-25... but after reading reviews and quality reports I am having buyer's remorse (better for my new irons than for my new car ;) ).

Mizuno has always served me well in other sports; their volleyball equipment is the best in the world, hands-down, and their running shoes and other apparels are amazing quality and comfort... so that is why I have a personal preference of Mizuno anything.

[EGS]

I was also in your situation about a month ago. I had heard the same stories about Mizunos and how they were great. I thought the same thing as you: "If they are so great, why doesnt everyone and their mother have them."

I went to a few places that had simulators and started to hit some larger cavity back clubs, and was hitting them great. I tired the cavity backed Mizuno's and they felt good. I was talking to the guy who owned the store and told him about my game and what I shoot. He told me I should be looking and a forged or blade. I tried a few forged clubs and what a difference.

I later went to a range to try the MP-60's. I was warmed up and hit my 6 iron (DCI oversize) three times, then hit the MP-60 three times and I felt like I was hitting a great 5 iron. I had also hit Titleist, taylor made, the new callaway x-forged (which were nice) and bridgestone blades (also nice). The Mizunos just felt better when I hit them pure.

I am absolutely thrilled with the purchase I made. I have taken a few strokes off simply because my distance has increased in my 8,9,pw. These clubs are great and I would reccomend getting forged over cavity backs if you play frequently.

My logic for why you do not see many people with Mizunos is because they are generally thought of as clubs that are harder to hit. Either that, or it could be that they usually run hundred shy of a grand!

I love my mizunos and if you are going to get some, get the forged. In the long run, they will force you to strike the ball better.

[quagmire]

i thought all the current mizuno irons were forged, except for the mx-19?

[Big Lex]

Brandonink:

Your question shows me just how different perceptions can be.

I don't know the stats on tour iron usage, but my feeling was always that Mizuno had a pretty substantial presence on tour at least for irons. I thought many people considered them "players" irons.

I've been part of a huge testing program for golf equipment for a few years now, and my personal impression of Mizuno has been very good. Trouble is, my impression of most golf equipment is very good. Overall, quality for all types of clubs across all major brands is excellent. This wasn't necessarily the case 15 years ago. But today, component manufacturing is centralized for most equipment lines (in the same factories, in China), and assembly methods (often in the US) are also standardized and are excellent. I'm talking about major brands here, like Callaway, Nike, Titleist, Mizuno, Cleveland, Taylor Made, Ping, etc., not fringe companies or cheap stuff that's sold in big boxes at Wal-Mart.

There are of course differences in the design of different iron heads, some having greater MOI, lower center of gravity, different sole shapes, bounce, etc., all of which can have a big effect on the shots you hit. There probably are some iron head designs which are better than others, but again, the differences are small. Most companies sell at least 2 or 3 lines of irons, varying from blade or almost blade like to massive, maximum-game-improvement spatulas. You should choose based on what you like to look at, what you think is best for your game, but most importantly, what you happen to hit best in your first 8-10 swings on an outdoor range or on a golf course.

The idea that every low handicap guy should play players' type clubs and every 18 hcp should be in the spatula line isn't terrible advice, but it isn't a law, and you shouldn't feel like you must follow this. I know a club pro who made it to the Assistant's nationals in the US, and he plays Big Bertha irons, Callaway's ultra game improvement club. I improved more than I ever had over a 4 year period in which I played with a slightly bottom weighted blade, the Henry Griffitts offset iron head. You have to try clubs out, and go with what makes you happy.

I didn't really answer your questions, but I hope what I said will help you as you shop for new irons.

[mkoreiwo]

I like the Mizuno's I recently purchased (used).... They're MX-25s. Perhaps it is the forged club thing - I don't know... I do know that going from r7s to the MX-25 is eye opening. The MX25 is perhaps not as forgiving, but there is a definite "feeling" when you hi these well. I know there are pundits out there who claim that you can't tell the difference between cast and forged with today's technology, but I think that is not true.

If you compare similar price point irons and give them honest evaluation by testing them in a proper session, you may see what all the fuss is about - or you may not....

YMMV....

Mike

[quagmire]

Brandonink:

i gotta agree with your post.

I sincerely agree that they don't make bad irons any more (except for those like u say Wall-Mart). The problem is that there is so many choice out there. Just find one that suits you. I think a lot of the golf game is mental.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

I don't know the stats on tour iron usage, but my feeling was always that Mizuno had a pretty substantial presence on tour at least for irons. I thought many people considered them "players" irons.

For what it's worth (info from 08.18.07 issue of Golfweek, page 24 "Equipment usage at the PGA"):

From "Category leaders from the PGA Championship": " Irons: TaylorMade 38, Titleist 32, Ping 18, Callaway 14, Nike 14, Cleveland 11." This accounts for 127 sets of irons played in the PGA. I think there were 156 players in the tournament, so there were 29 sets among (assuming 156 sets of irons in the tournament) Mizuno, Adams, Srixon, Wilson + whatever other brands PGA entrants might have been playing. BTW, Mizuno was not listed among the leaders in any category: balls, irons, drivers, fairway woods, hybrid woods, wedges (sand, lob, approach), putters, gloves or shoes.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I also agree that all name brands, such as the one's Big Lex mentioned, make excellent equipment. The overall quality seems to have done way up. It's tough for the consumer to pick just one set of irons, one driver, one wedge, etc because there are so many high quality clubs out there it's really hard to tell the difference sometimes. But this is a good thing to have companies competing against each other and as a consumer it's really hard to make a bad choice.

As far as Mizuno goes I think they are excellent. My next set (whenever that may come) may very well be Mizuno. One of the reasons you may see more Taylor Made, Callaway, Nike etc. out amongst your buddies is because they tend to offer some equipment that is a little more forgiving. They also put a lot more money into marketing. As others said, Mizuno tends to appeal to the better golfer but these days even their higher handicap clubs are getting better and better.

As far as tour presence, it's all about endorsement deals and as I said earlier, companies such as Callaway and Taylor Made tend to offer quite a bit more money. I love looking at equipment counts, bag checks, etc but just out of curiosity, I don't read a whole lot into it. I'd love to see some sort of equipment count for the top amateurs, the guys not getting paid to play certain equipment. I bet Mizuno irons would be much more prevalent.

[EGS]

One more thing about the guys playing Callaway, Nike, Taylor Made, etc on the tour. These guys have their clubs tinkered with and changed around so much, that it almost does not matter what brand they play because in most cases, it is far from what the average consumer buys. They get the pay check to play a brand, but what they actually go to the tournaments with is far from what that brand sells.
I would be interested to see if there are any pros that play with "off the rack" clubs.

[janzaruk]

Marketing and money to make it simple. I believe even Tiger used Mizunos in college before Nike got ahold of him.

From my experience, its a love them or hate them thing, and I personally love them.

If you are a Mizuno fan, you probably will be for life. They just have a special feel

Most the posts have great points, but I think the most relevant one is that Mizunos, until recently, have really been aimed at the better golfer.

[NM Golf]

Personally I find that Mizuno products are not as readily available as other manufacturers equipment. The shop I work at carries no Mizuno stuff, and the retail outlets around town don't seem to carry much either. In fact we don't even have a Mizuno rep with which we can order stuff even if we wanted to. So since I never see anyone with Mizuno equipment I am just not interested in owning any myself.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

I believe even Tiger used Mizunos in college before Nike got ahold of him.

Tiger used Mizunos before Titleist got aholt to him.

Then Tiger used Titleists before Nike got aholt to him. I don't know whether Tiger was ever paid to play Mizunos, but I do know he had Mizuno's in his Titleist bag, as a pro, for a (short?) while prior to actually switching to Titleist clubs.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I don't know whether Tiger was ever paid to play Mizunos, but I do know he had Mizuno's in his Titleist bag

I want to say he played the old MP 14's but I could be wrong. Found this information online regarding his equipment before his deal with Titleist.

Driver - Cobra 3 Wood - Titleist Irons - Mizuno Wedges - Cleveland Putter - Titleist/Cameron Ball - Titleist

[indacup]

I know awhile back Mizuno did not do an aggressive Pay to Play program as the Callaway, TM etc...so many pros would not do so...but (I don't know the numbers now) but a few years back, Mizuno was one of the top, most popular irons in the amature ranks.

To me, that means that most of those that had to PAY for their irons, chose Mizuno...to me, that was a better selling point than which company has the most money to toss around.

As a clubfitter, I would say the overall quality and consistency of the Mizunos that we work on are pretty much better than anything out there.

The attention to detail is wonderful...

[c_mack9]

when im striking the ball a little more consistantly i plan on upgrading to mizuno irons. hopefully next year or the one after. i wish i had some friends playing them so i could play a round with theirs.