Mizuno Pro Irons from £165 per club
The MP or Mizuno Pro series of irons has long been preferred by the game’s elite players, and the latest iteration comprises three models – the 221, 223 and 225 – as well as a Fli-hi driving iron. But that’s not to say they’re exclusively aimed at the single-figure handicappers of the world – the appeal is much broader than that.
All three models boast the soft copper underlay we saw on the MP-20S to improve the feel, but these irons have been made more compact than their predecessors. The Mizuno Pro 221 is billed as the ultimate muscleback, inspired by Mizuno blades of old with incremental refinements that will make it more playable. The head has been bevelled for the appearance of a shorter face profile and narrower topline, all without losing any mass in the upper portion of the blade. The 221 is also more compact in the scoring irons than the prior MP-20 model.
The Mizuno Pro 223 is an elite players’ cavity iron where the 4- to 7-irons combine Mizuno’s chromoly forging and a concealed Flow Micro-slot to produce faster ball speeds from a small, tour-ready profile.
The Pro 225 represents the second generation of Mizuno’s Hot Metal Blade and is the most playable iron of the new series. The 2- to 7-irons feature a COR Forged Hollow Body and a 28.5g tungsten weight to produce a higher, more stable ball flight and enhanced ball speed, helped by the strongest lofts in the line (the 7-iron is 30°).
Finally there is the Mizuno Pro Fli-hi, a long-iron replacement with a longer head, extra offset and a wider sole versus the Pro 225 long-irons. It features a dark finish and a graphite shaft as standard.
The Mizuno Pro irons go on sale on February 3 with the following RRPS per iron: Mizuno Pro 221: £165; Mizuno Pro 223: £180; Mizuno Pro 225: £200; Fli-hi: £250.
1. Does this traditional logo mean more traditional clubs?
Traditional looking? Yes. But traditionally performing? Not at all. When we use this logo and this name on an iron, we’re not looking to make the most traditional club that can be made, we’re packing a lot of technology into our irons. Our goal with Mizuno Pro is to cater for the needs of the better player and to give them things in a golf club they’re afraid to ask for themselves, because they often link technology with a loss of traditional looks. The Mizuno Pro is an amazing execution of classic looks and unreal performance.
2. Why has the traditional MP launch cycle been broken?
The honest answer is this was the right thing to do from our end. We had planned to launch these irons in the autumn of last year, but with everything going on with the supply chain issues being experienced globally, it would have been a shame to let people order their brand new Mizuno Pro irons and all of a sudden have to wait weeks and weeks to get them. We made sure to get the structures internally ready so we can deliver these clubs quickly once the orders start coming in.
3. Is there more or less scope to create combo sets?
I really think the three sets of irons and the standalone driving iron don’t stand on each other’s toes at all. We’ve got three very different sets of irons here and that should really help the fitting process. We’re not a brand that launches irons just to tick a box, so each of these irons is here to fit a specific bill. Of course, you can split these if you want to and the fitters will be able to talk each golfer through that, but they each fulfil a specific brief and look after themselves.
“THE REFINEMENTS MAY SEEM TO BE FAIRLY MINOR, BUT THE MP-20 LINE SET THE BAR EXTREMELY HIGH”
Joel Tadman, GM technical editor