TEST: Mizuno MP-25 irons

Our testers loved the look of these irons, but how did these ‘Grain Forged’ irons feel at impact?

MODEL AND SHAFT PLAYED: Mizuno MP-25 4-iron to pitching wedge, fitted with stiff-flex steel shafts.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: They’re nice-looking clubs. The topline view is very good, which is what I’m big on, and the feel is really great. I like the lie angle at address of these irons – exactly what I’m looking for in a club.

VERDICT: Impact with the Mizuno MP-25s feels great. There’s a nice soft feel off the clubface, which is what I’m after. You can’t put into words how good they feel off the face. This set strikes me as a nice compromise between blades and more forgiving irons – you get the best of both. I draw the ball and the MP-25s did turn my draw with the longer clubs into a ballooning hook, but I sense that was down to the shaft. The Project X 5.5 is not really stiff enough for me. I’m a powerful hitter of the ball so need something stiffer to control the ball flight. That said, the shorter irons and wedge were far easier to control. Overall, the ball flight was higher and I did hit the ball longer than my previous set.

WHAT I LIKED: The feel. The impact with the clubface alone is enough to tell you when you’ve hit good shots.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Just the shaft not being stiff enough.

MODEL AND SHAFT PLAYED: Mizuno MP-25 4-iron to pitching wedge, fitted with stiff-flex steel shafts.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: These clubs are very similar to the irons I use now so there wasn’t much of an adjustment to make. The only difference I noticed was the clubheads feel a little lighter compared to my set. These look good and feel comfortable to setup with.

VERDICT: The feel of the Mizuno MP-25s is just fantastic. I used the set for three rounds and often thought to myself on the course, “How good’s this?” They felt that good and I hit a lot of good shots with them. The only disappointing aspect was that I would strike the ball in the centre and the ball would fly nicely but come up five metres shorter than usual. I still loved the feel of impact, though and found taking one extra club helped. The MP-25s were also really straight – my accuracy definitely improved. Between that and the feel, I can live with the slight loss of distance. They have the best feel ever and there’s a self-satisfaction to the strike – and the ones I hit a shade thin didn’t turn out that bad.

WHAT I LIKED: The feel at contact when you hit the ball.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: That they didn’t go as far as I was expecting.

FACTS & FIGURES

SUITABILITY: Ideally Tour players through to low-to-mid handicaps.

SHAFTS: Dynamic Gold R300, S300 and Project X 5.5 are the standard offerings; a range of custom shafts is also available.

SET COMPOSITION: 3-iron to pitching wedge.

LEFT-HANDED MODELS?: Yes.

HOW MUCH?: $209 per iron.

MIZUNO SAYS: “A stunning, Tour-inspired design with an injection of boron for added ball speed and distance, the MP-25 is the first true high ball-speed iron. Grain Flow Forged for the feel and touch that is indispensable on Tour, these suit Tour players through to low-to-mid handicaps.

“The first true distance iron for Tour players: The MP-25 is the first to start with a pre-determined Tour-dictated profile and then engineer ball speed, rather than cramming a distance technology into a smaller shell.

“The highlights:

“New boron-infused steel: A boron-injected steel billet allows the engineering of a Micro-Slot pocket cavity in the 3- to 6-iron for greater ball speeds.

“Ultimate feel: Forged in Hiroshima, Japan, at Mizuno’s exclusive plant – the manufacturer of grain forged heads for Mizuno for more than 30 years – these are Grain Flow Forged from a single billet of 1025 boron steel.

“Precise distance control: Grain Flow Forging compresses and maintains a consistent grain through the neck and hosel, ensuring consistency through every clubhead for predictable distances.”

Contact Mizuno on (03) 9239 7100 or visit www.mizuno.com.au