Mizuno irons popularity

[sboardz006]

I bought Cleveland CG4's earlier this year before i really got into golf. Now I'm having buyers remoarse about never hitting any Mizunos until a few weeks ago. now I want some...

[Brandonink2001]

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.

Everyone has made superb points and my reaction ranges from "ah yes, confirmation of my assumption" to "wow, I never would have suspected that." But your comment jumped out because you note that you are a clubfitter. Other respondents may be equally qualified, given the quality of their opinions, but I suspect you're quite intimately familiar with club specs and the differences each clubmaking variable makes.

I went back to Dicks tonight and hit the Mizuno MX25s, MX19s, TM RAC OS, King Cobra FP and S9s, Callaway X20. By far, I still preferred the MX25s, perhaps moreso than after my first test. My next step will be to test them on a range with a fitter. My Dick's retailer doesn't have the fancy measuring tool and virtual range I can find in larger cities. Big thanks to everyone for giving me good feedback. From my home theater and photography forums, I am used to flame wars breaking out over simple matters. This forum of golfers is great. Big Lex, would that be W&L;?? I work at an ODAC school, and think very highly of your alma mater, if so.

[Divot Tool]

....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.

That's an interesting point Quag. I recently read Johnny Miller's book "I call the Shots" and in it he confesses switching club manufacturers, from Macgregors to Wilson after being pressured from an outside source. I can't recall who it was who influenced him to make the switch or if money was a motivating factor in this move. However, he would later regret his decision. Miller asserted that from even lies the Wilson irons were on par with the Macgregor irons, however from uneven lies and rough, the Macgregors cut through better and were far superior.

As for Mizuno, you won't see many double page spreads in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. It's my belief that they let their clubs do the talking. Players who play Mizuno know exactly what they want in terms of feel and consistency. Before the years of endorsements, they were widely played on Tour and for years held top spot as the No.1 Iron. With Mizuno, you are getting unsurpassed feel and a reputation for quality. In terms of marketing, I think they're pretty quiet. I find with manufacturers such as Titleist, Callaway, Wilson and Ping you're buying quality products with rich golfing heritages. These brands are the quintessential golf brands. So much tradition and knowledge. With Taylormade, you're buying the latest in technological innovation, sleek industrial design, edgy graphics. Quality stuff that appeals to a newer golf generation. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

[gbk56]

I just moved to Korea from the US, and hardly saw anyone playing Mizuno's in the US. However, here in Korea Mizuno is probably one of the top sellers. I was going to get the Callaway X-20's, but tried the Mizuno's because of the popularity in Asia. Wow, what a difference!! The ball feels so pure when hitting the MX-25's that I bought them instead of the X-20's. I think Mizuno golf clubs just are not marketed as well in the US.

As for forgiveness, I find the MX-25s pretty forgiving on mishits. Just a little loss in direction and distance.

[sandtrap]

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.

His Nikes and his titleists before them were clones of his Mizunos.

It takes a while duplicate a set of clubs and change the name for a guy that doesn't change clubs very often In years past when Mizuno paid players, David Duval and Nick Faldo and numerous others played them. Also if you notice, when pros are between contracts they almost always are playing mazuno irons. It just seems that maybe the forged irons tend to be a little pricey for the regular guy to experiment with. I got my MP33's used and had the shafts changed to fit perfectly for way less than new. you have got to love the look of the MP 32's and 67's

[boodaboy16]

I wouldn't use Tiger as an example that Mizuno irons are great clubs. That guy can hit anything. Besides, irons are very personal and it takes awhile to get comfortable with a set. Tiger probably didn't want to mess with a good thing (for him at least). I've had a set of Mizuno grads and I've demod several of the new Mizunos and I must say they are not the club for me. I find them somewhat difficult to hit and even when I pure it I am noticeably shorter in distance. I will say these irons are very crisp, if you like that feeling. I just prefer softer irons.

[J_Bone]

I originally sent this to someone else, but I will regurgitate it her too...

Lets start by saying I just started Golf in October of 06 and was using some eBay knock offs. I was around a 33 handicap till about March-April(bought MX-25's with tax return). Before I bought these clubs I was seriously searching for new clubs. I tried and tried Cobra FP & S9's, Taylor Made R7's, Callaway 20's and the MX-25's for about 3-4 months. I was very frustrated because I really didn't know which clubs I wanted and didn't want to make a bad choice. Not to sound conceded, but I knew I was going to practice and practice to get better. Then it came down to 2 clubs, Callaway 20's and the MX-25's. I knew how good the 20's are, but I couldn't get over how good a forged club feels to hit. The MX-25's were by far the best feeling club out of them all, but I too was worried they were to advanced for me, especially at a 30+ handicap. After talking to many people around the golf course and my golfing buddies, every one who uses Mizuno clubs, loves them. So my local Golf shop offers 90 day money back guarantee and I thought what a good idea to buy the Mizuno's and if I didn't like them I could take them back. As you can see, I still have them.
They did take a while to get use to them with the narrower sole compared to other game improvement clubs. I would have to say they are very forgiving across the club face and in the same boat, very good club as I'm now shaping some of my Iron shots. My Iron game is by far my best aspect of my Golf game (driver and inconsistent wedge shots are my handicap). I'm very pleased with these clubs and don't have any urge to buy anything else. These will probably be in my bag for a long time.
I read a lot of stuff that guys lost yardage with these clubs though. But I still went and bought them. Needless to say, I'm hitting farther now than I did before. I hit my 3 Iron about 230yard and my 4 Iron 200-220. My 7 Iron gets me 175 yards no problem so I didn't loose any yardage. I think maybe it's that I have built up so much confidence with them I get a good swing on them and that's what it takes with forged clubs. The only bummer to me, is that I don't have a MX-25 Gap wedge instead of my 52* typical wedge. I like them that much.

[AndrewM]

I think that as a player gets better, he/she realizes that you dont have to play blades to prove you know how to play.

Often times amateurs play blades just because they *think* they can, not because they actually offer some benefit. Regardless of the money factor, IMO very few pros play true blades anymore. When millions of dollars are on the line, why not add a bit of forgiveness to your game? Why penalize every single mishit.

Walk down the line at a high level amateur/open event (like a US Am qualifier or a US Open qualifier) and notice the amount of blades being played... then go to a pro tournament and note how many sets of Non-blades are being played. For some reason amateurs feel the need to prove how good they are with the clubs they buy. Pros dont need to do that so they use what works best (notwithstanding a few notable exceptions mentioned here).

It goes the same for a guy buying an 8* driver with a tour stiff shaft because once every 150 drives he hits one 300 yards. Pros are past the point of proving themselves with equipment.

I bring all this up here in this post, because I think mizuno and titleist have the market wrapped on amateurs playing their blades and players clubs purely to make themselves look better. Not because of any performance advantage perceived or otherwise.

[boodaboy16]

One major reason that some pros don't play (but many still do) blades is that they are given a lot of money to play with that company's new club, which is marketed to a broader range of golfers - low to mid handicappers. It really doesn't matter what the pros play. They hit it flush nearly all the time. And they have swing coaches, caddies and their own expertise to give them feedback.

I'm a mid handicapper and I play blades because they look better (thin topline, narrow sole), feel better and usually hit better. I got news for you, blades aren't all that tough to hit and they give much better feedback. Also, playing blades forces me to focus on making a smooth pass with good contact. That is my idea of a game improvement club.

[Young04]

one caveat i want to note is that everyone on this thread (and virtually all middle handicappers) seems to say that their iron game is their strongest aspect of their game. i've always taken statements like that with a grain of salt for several reasons. firstly, the iron game is the easiest to pick up and get better with. even some pros struggle with the driver, and i can't think of a single golfer out there that has mastered the putter.

[J_Bone]

one caveat i want to note is that everyone on this thread (and virtually all middle handicappers) seems to say that their iron game is their strongest aspect of their game. i've always taken statements like that with a grain of salt for several reasons. firstly, the iron game is the easiest to pick up and get better with. even some pros struggle with the driver, and i can't think of a single golfer out there that has mastered the putter.

And your point is? A pro struggling with his driver and putter?

[Young04]

And your point is? A pro struggling with his driver and putter?

make the mental leap.

take a mid handicapper's statement that he is good with his irons with a grain of salt. that's what almost all mid handicappers say, and by definition, not everyone can be "good" relative to other mid handicappers. a 14 handicap may think that his handicap may be a little high for playing blades, but that he may be ok for them because he thinks strong iron game makes him unlike other 14 handicaps. in fact his iron game isn't any better than other 14 handicaps because the strength of the majority of 14 handicaps is their iron game.

[J_Bone]

Enlighten us mental guru.