Last year Mizuno redefined its JPX category. Every previous consumer perception be damned, JPX wasn’t about forgiveness. The boundaries weren’t defined by handicap. JPX most definitely wasn’t a game-improvement family. The was proof of that.JPX, says Mizuno, is the company’s advanced technology line. Its existence creates an opportunity to leverage new materials (Boron), take a more aggressive approach to styling (harder lines), and in a nod to the realities of today’s market, strengthen lofts across an entire family of products.But if JPX is modern, shouldn’t MP be traditional?That’s always been the thinking behind the MP-18 family, but Mizuno’s Chris Voshall admits that the MP line had evolved beyond what Mizuno ever wanted it to be.
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Boron jumped the fence and worked its way into the MP-25. Head sizes expanded. Some designs displayed large, visible slot cavities, and in some instances, The MP’s normally soft flowing lines revealed a bit of their edges. The line between JPX and MP was fading.So in 2016, the company used the to firmly define, or perhaps redefine the JPX category. It also gave the company the time it needed to reset and refocus on everything an MP iron is supposed to be.JPX is modern; MP is sophisticated and timeless. JPX has aggressive lines;, MP is clean and flowing. JPX is technology-driven; MP is where art meets science.If you’re looking for illustrative proof of the undeniable contrast between Mizuno’s two iron families, the MP-18 is exhibit A.
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The MP Aesthetic. Achieving the desired MP look takes a bit of extra work. Consider that the shapes are profoundly influenced by the natural world. It’s rivers flowing over rocks, light emerging from darkness, or the soft almost blurred edges of clouds; no hard, straight, or abrupt transitions.To create an iron that lives up to the MP standard requires a departure from the industry’s standard practice.Most iron designs go directly from 3D software to the factory master mold. Expediency is the procedural benefit, but to create an MP iron, an additional step is required.
The raw shape produced by the 3D design is given to a Mizuno craftsman whose job it is to grind away any harshness to create the final flowing shape. Once the hands-on work is done; the head is digitally rescanned to create a new master mold.The differences between the 3D-generated mold and the final product are most appreciated in the transitions from the topline to the hosel, from the hosel to the unscored heel portion of the face, and in the shaping of heel and toe. The craftsman’s touch minimizes the presentation of offset while creating a more organic shape. When you need that softness, that flow, that perfect reflection of light, the craftsmen are able to grind that well beyond anything we can design in the 3D worldso that means the final product will not be what I designed, but what the craftsman has touched -Chris Voshall, Golf Club Engineer, Mizuno The MP FEELMizuno irons are synonymous with feel, and it certainly wouldn’t be an MP story if feel weren’t part of the discussion.Let’s get one thing out of the way right now; don’t expect any Boron in this story.
Remember, Mizuno is making MP MP again, and that means the MP-18, MP-18 SC, and MP-18 MMC irons are forged from 1025E Pure Select Mild Steel. Other than pointing out that 1025E is a soft material, I don’t want to get too bogged down in the metallurgy. That said, it’s worth taking a moment to explain that the E stands for Elite. That’s not industry hyperbole; it’s a designation that comes with tighter tolerances for impurities like phosphorous and sulfur. Fewer impurities mean better resistance to metal fatigue.
The bigger part of the feel story comes from the evolution of Mizuno’s Grain Flow Forging process. In Grain Flow Forging the billet of steel is stretched and bent before it’s drop in a mold and the forging starts. Mizuno claims the bending and stretching create long, continuous grains from heel to toe, which in turn create a softer, more pleasing feel at impact.In short, the combination of 1025E and Grain Flow Forging is what makes a Mizuno iron feel like nothing else.With the MP-18 comes an updated and patent pending forging process that Mizuno calls Grain Flow Forged HD. The HD stands for high-density, and that speaks to the concentration of the grains within the striking area of the club.In the typical forging process, as the hammer presses the metal into the mold, excess material escapes in all directions, creating a relatively evenly distributed flash (spill-over) area. Mizuno’s HD process uses what Mizuno describes as a partially closed mold that prevents material from escaping along the sole of the club.
Instead, the the majority of excess material is pressed out through the top of the mold. Mizuno says the HD forging process creates tighter grain structure in the hitting area, providing the player with more feedback than ever before.GFF HD isn’t about eliminating vibration. “One man’s soft is another man’s no feel,” says Mizuno’s Chris Voshall. “We want you to feel those vibrations.”. What all of that means is that the MP-18s should still feel every bit like what you’d expect from an MP iron, the difference is that with GFF HD, the good feeling will last a little longer.Voshall believes Mizuno believes Grain Flow Forging HD will redefine the industry standard for soft, solid and consistent feel, but let’s be honest, that’s already a standard Mizuno has owned and maintained for years. Three (and a half) Models – One FamilyNow that I’ve hopefully reset expectations for what an MP iron should be, let’s take a look at the 2018 lineup. We’ll eventually need to discuss why the concept of an iron family is so important to the MP-18 line, but first, let’s take a closer look at the individual models.
MP-18There’s no need to complicate something as pure as the by sticking MB on the end of it. One look and you know it’s a blade.
You shouldn’t need it literally spelled it out for you.Given that, you shouldn’t expect radical evolution either, and indeed what we get is a subtle iteration driven by Mizuno’s desire to make the MP-18 more playable and more forgiving, not by making it bigger (they made it smaller), but rather through intelligent engineering.So, while the MP-18’s sole is slightly wider than the two-generations-old MP-4, the head size has been reduced significantly over the MP-5 and slightly over the MP-4. Topline widths have also been reduced – again, significantly thinner than the MP-5 and similar to the MP-4 and generous cambering makes the topline appear thinner still.The sum total of the design efforts creates a compact, flowing muscleback that has no doubt already left many of you salivating – and we’re just getting started.While all this talk of shrinking MP-18’s footprint might suggest a drop-off in forgiveness, that’s not the case.
Mizuno says the new design has a sweet area that, despite its significantly shorter blade, is slightly larger than that of the Callaway Apex Pro and just a bit smaller than that of the Titleist 716 CB.Every element of the speaks to Mizuno’s commitment to returning to the traditions of the MP line. The one downside of that tradition is that it’s available in RH only. Mizuno MP-18 Specfications No.3456789PWClub Length38.7538.2537.7537.2536.7536.2535.7535.5Swing WeightD3D3D3D3D3D3D3D4Loft384246Lie59.1.56262.563Bounce22233456Offset0.1020.0980.0940.0910.0870.0830.0790.075Stock Shaft: Dynamic Gold S300Stock Grip: Golf Price MCC White/Black 60 RoundStandard Set: 3-PW (RH Only) MP-18 SCThe SC stands for Split Cavity. I’m inclined to describe the design as a traditional players CB, though for better or worse, it doesn’t offer a radical departure from the anything-but-standard MP-18.The is slightly longer from heel to toe, and the face is all of.5 millimeters taller.
And while the topline is a full millimeter ( oh, the horror) thicker, it too has been cambered to appear thinner than it is. Despite the subtly larger profile, the offset is identical to that of the muscleback.Once again, the performance story is one of boosting the sweet area while keeping the footprint of the iron compact. This time around your frame of reference is the PING S55.
The MP-18 SC offers a slightly in a significantly more compact package. Mizuno MP-18 SC Specifications No.3456789PWClub Length38.7538.2537.7537.2536.7536.2535.7535.5Swing WeightD2D2D2D2D2D2D2D3Loft384246Lie59.1.56262.563Bounce22233456Offset0.1020.0980.0940.0910.0870.0830.0790.075Stock Shaft: KBS TourStock Grip: Golf Price MCC White/Black 60 RoundStandard Set: 3-PW (RH & LH) MP-18 MMCAlmost certainly taking inspiration from two of my favorite recent Mizuno offerings – the MP-59 and MP-15 – the MMC portion of the name stands for multi-material construction. Who saw that coming?The multi-material part speaks to the use of Tungsten and Titanium in addition to the 1025E mild carbon steel.
Every iron has 8-grams of Titanium pressed into the body. As you by now should know, replacing steel with a lighter weight material (Titanium) allows more mass to be pushed to the perimeter. That gets you more forgiveness.In the long and middle irons (4-7), Mizuno adds 20-grams of high-density Tungsten to the toe to further increase the MOI.It’s worth noting that both the Tungsten and Titanium bits are locked in place by the forging process itself and the different contraction rates of the materials. There’s no glue, welding, or elastomer to hold everything in place or dampen vibrations.
No welds means no disruption to the grain structure, and that helps preserve the signature Mizuno feel.I’ll discuss what it means from a performance perspective in a bit, but as you can see from the spec chart below, lofts in the run a bit stronger than they do in the MP-18 and the SC, and there’s a bit more offset built into the design as well.If you’re considering a combo set, you might have just seen your long, and potentially your middle irons. Dude, Where’s My Gap Wedge?Before we move on, astute readers may have noticed that none of the three full sets in the MP-18 family offer a gap wedge. It’s hard to argue with Mizuno’s reasoning.“In the MP world, there are so many good gap wedges on the market. The doesn’t want a set wedge.” – Chris Voshall.While you may feel differently, I thought about my experiences and realized that across close to a dozen sets of irons, I’ve only had a single set wedge I liked (well done, Cobra).Save your money for the wedge you want.One Set, Not Three and a HalfWhen one looks at the 2018, Mizuno lineup, I suppose it’s natural to see the, and the MP-18 MC FLI-HI and count 3.5 sets of irons. Decide which one is right for you, maybe toss in one of those DLRs and move on.Throw that thinking out the window.While you’re certainly welcome to purchase any of the MP-18 sets in its entirety, what fun would that be? MP-18 isn’t designed to be one or the other (or the other), it’s designed to provide the building blocks for the ideal combo set.With more permutations than I care to calculate, MP-18 gives you the freedom to mix and match from across all of the individual models.
Have it your way 100% your way.It’s like Burger King – if Burger was Smith and Wollensky.Now I know what you’re thinking. Haven’t I always been able to mix and match Mizuno irons?Pretty much, yeah. Nobody in golf has encouraged the combo set or made building one more user-friendly than Mizuno, but this is the first time an entire family of irons has been designed explicitly with combo sets in mind.And the key to making that happen? In a word, it’s ConsistencyWhat exactly does that mean? Here’s the rundown.Consistent Head WeightAcross all of the MP-18 models (even the FLI-HI), head weights are consistent. Typically, head weights are driven by the weight and length of the stock shaft. If a company is using a DG XP in one model and SG S300, and the plan is to make both sets swing weight at D2, the heads have to be different weights.With the MP-18 family, Mizuno has chosen to ignore the shaft and make heads weights the same across all four models.
An example for the sake of clarity: an MP-18 5-iron head weighs the same as the 5-iron head in the SC, MMC, and FLI-HI sets. Pick any iron, find the one in the other sets with a matching number on the sole, and the weights will be the same.This matters because when you mix and match the various sets, consistent head weighting means your swing weights will be consistent regardless of the shaft you choose or the length of that shaft. No need for tip weights or other means of balancing everything out.Consistent Loft and OffsetFull disclosure – loft and offset specifications between models are more accurately described as consistent-ish.Stamp for stamp, the MP-18 and MP-SC are identical in both loft and offset from the 21° 3-iron to the 46° Pitching Wedge. That’s right, the 46° PW isn’t dead yet.With the and the MMC FLI-HI, however, the lofts are a bit stronger, and the offset is more generous. Compared to MP-18 and, lofts in the MMC and FLI-HI models are 2° stronger from the 4-8 iron (the FLI-HI is only available in 2-6), 1° stronger in the 9-iron, before returning to all square with a 46° PW.If you’re thinking combo set, the discrepancies might sound like a recipe for poor gapping, which is why you should remember that gapping is largely player dependent.We’ve already talked about how the FLI-HI compares to the SC.
The story is similar for the MMC; you’ll get a bit more distance with similar launch conditions, and that might not be a bad thing as far as gaps are concerned.A healthy percentage of the players we see during club testing have less than perfect gaps, particularly on the long end of the set. It’s not unusual for us to find alarmingly narrow gaps between, for example, the 5 and 6 irons in our tester’s bags. So, in some – arguably many – cases, reducing loft in the long irons actually produces more even gaps.Of course, if your gaps are close to perfect and you want the added forgiveness of the MMC or the MMC FLI-HI, Mizuno will be happy to bend either to match the rest of your set.Along a similar line, for those who are looking for more distance, or if you’re like me and need a little help bringing spin down, Mizuno offers the MP-18 line in a strong loft configuration. Your fitter should be able to determine if that particular option is right for you.Consistent PriceTrue to the spirit of the idea behind one family of irons, Mizuno wanted to remove every barrier that might prevent you building a combo set. To that end, every iron in the MP-18 family is $150/per club. Unlike some of its competitors, Mizuno won’t ask you to pay more for a compact players iron, and it won’t ask you to pay more for a utility (DLR) club either.The MP-18 is $150, the SC is $150, the MMC is $150, and your case in point about how serious Mizuno is about eliminating obstacles, even the hollow body MP-18 MMC FLI-HI DLR is $150.And yes, as has been the case in recent years, every shaft and every grip in the Mizuno catalog is available at no additional upcharge.Can I get a golf clap for Team Mizuno?
Should You Buy A Combo Set?As you digest all that Mizuno has to offer for 2018, you may find yourself wondering if a combo set is right for you. Obviously, I can’t answer that question with absolute precision, but we have made some interesting and relevant observations over the past season of iron testing. Combo Sets Make SenseWhen players hit less forgiving designs alongside game improvement irons, our data suggests that a majority of players achieve better results with the more forgiving long irons. Not only is accuracy (and often distance) better, standard deviations for ball speed and carry yards are tighter, and we see fewer outliers (really bad shots).As we move to middle irons, things begin to level off a bit. While perhaps not quite a 50/50 split, it’s not the least bit uncommon for single digit and even low to mid double-digit handicap golfers to achieve better results with more compact designs.As we move into the scoring clubs (in our case often 9-iron and pitching wedges) we’ve seen plenty of evidence to suggest that the majority of golfers we test get better perform performance from more compact scoring irons. Differences in standard deviations are often minimal, and pin proximity is often appreciably better.Food for thought, I suppose.
Tony is the Editor of MyGolfSpy where his job is to bring fresh and innovative content to the site.In addition to his editorial responsibilities, he was instrumental in developing MyGolfSpy's data-driven testing methodologies and continues to sift through our data to find the insights that can help improve your game.Tony believes that golfers deserve to know what's real and what's not, and that means MyGolfSpy's equipment coverage must extend beyond the so-called facts as dictated by the same companies that created them.Most of all Tony believes in performance over hype and #PowerToThePlayer. My local shop got the demo’s in today. I was amazed at how the FLI-HI’s looked.
They genuinely look like a solid players both profile and at address. You can barely tell the difference between the MMC and the FLI-HI at address.
Just amazing work by mizuno. This is a tremendous job by them. My only concern is that you have to watch the spin rates on the FLI-HI if you are going to go with them in a combo set down to the 6 iron. I found them to spin much more than the 100 that this article claims and I wish I could demo the six and seven iron with my shaft to make sure that the spin rates flow and distancing is distributed properly. Makes more sense with them consolidating the MP ‘number’ and then adding the letter suffix as an identifier (SC, MMC, etc), since most of their fittings results in combo sets. Makes it neater and more uniform.Also, don’t discount the FLI-HI long iron models. I currently have a MP-H5 4-iron (MP-64s for 5i-PW) and I love that thing.
Launches high and love the extra mass in the head to put a nice thwack on the ball, but still feels sweet at impact. Given, it is a bit chunky, and the new MP-18MMC Hi-Fli 4 iron looks noticeably leaner in the photo above than my H5. I’m just wondering if they sacrificed any forgiveness. It looks fantastic, though.
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Along similar lines to my comment about the AP2 vs MP18 SC in terms of forgiveness. What’s the deal with JPX 900 Tour and the MP MMC. The jpx is a forged cavity back with nothing fancy going on. The MMC has both tungsten and titanium. If you look at this article and mizunos website they literally have the exact same blade length and “sweet area”. So why bother making both clubs? The MMC is redundent.
And if you are going to make both, shouldn’t the club with all the “advanced technology” i.e. Tungsten/titanium, be called the JPX and the forged cavity back (that doesn’t even have boron in it) be the MP?
Again, I’m not trying to hate on Mizuno, but it doesn’t make a ton of sense. Let me preface this by saying I have never owned a Titleist iron (I play Wilson fgtour v4 that I got off eBay for a great price) but with the combination of their marketing and their “Tour validation” I can’t help but feel like the ap2 is a great and forgiving players iron. I could be wrong but I feel like titleist pioneered tungsten in irons with the AP2 and now you see almost every manufacturer using it. Including the MMC in this very article, which uses it because they say it increases forgiveness.
However, the MMC uses 20 grams and the AP2 uses like 50 grams. Now lets take the MP18 SC which has 0 grams of tungsten. Somehow it has a larger “sweet area” than the AP2 which has 50 grams of tungsten while at the same time being much smaller than the AP2. How the hell is that possible?
Again, I am not a titleist fan boy and based on looks and feel I would take the MP18 SC any day of the week over the AP2 but I don’t understand how it could possibly be more forgiving. Anybody have any comments/ideas? Just stunning is the first thing that comes to mind. I don’t think I have seen a more beautiful looking set of irons. I thought the Srixon 765/965 irons were nice and loved the looks of the Titleist 716 CBs but Mizuno just showed everyone how it’s done and I mean everyone no matter the cost.I am looking at getting some Ping irons this summer they performed very well for me but I may have to wait and see these in person and hit them first. Thank you for getting pictures of what is going on under the hood.
I was really wondering what the MMC irons were made like. I like how Muzino made it one giant set to mix and match to suite your game. Well done Mizuno.
I am so excited to see that I will get a change to at least look at 2.5 of the 3.5 irons in this set. I game the MP 54 irons now and have been a big fan. These look beautiful. I am not a huge fan of the look of the JPX900 forged or I would have taken a serious look at them.
I love the fact they are all the same price and that they are all the same weight heads.This was a great write up Tony. It is obvious you are a big Mizuno fan.I can’t wait to try the Fli-Hi long driving irons. I have been debating on putting one of these in my back for a few years now.
I am still a hybrid man but these could swing me. Of course, I will probably have to wait till December until the Lefties come out. When I first got the email with the link to this article I thought, “Jesus, about time they discussed the 2018 MP lineup. Can’t believe they waited this long and published that Taylor Made iron (they just don’t compare to Mizuno) preview before this one.”Well, as I began reading I discovered why.
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A lot of care and deliberation went into this piece of journalism, and for that I am thankful. Excellent work covering this exciting release in such thorough fashion. I have been monitoring the Mizuno Europe website for the last month or so as they rolled out details for these irons, but this article really does a great job covering it.Have played Mizuno irons since 2013 when I really started playing the game and I will never purchase another iron from another manufacturer. I will be scheduling a fitting in November for a combo set that will take my current Mizuno combo set out of the bag. Thanks again for this excellent read. Ah Tony I feel the rare coin of your syntax.
Nicely written. Mizuno has been my favorite iron maker for years and I am in good company as many will chime in. I have a blended set that I’ve had for years and had planned to do a JPX blended set very soon. Now I will have to consider this new line.
Let’s face it, golf clubs are like pretty women and fast cars. What catches your eye isn’t always the easiest to live with. Mizuno is an interesting company that also makes baseball equipment and other sports gear that are top sellers in their category. They will remain in business for a long time because they are well run, profitable and smart. I especially appreciated your test comments on game improvement vs blades within a set.
I can attest that blades are easier to hit for short irons than long mainly because most golfers swing easier with a shorter swing. Contrast that with a full swing 3-iron. Blended sets just make sense. Most iron makers have done it for years for the high handicap golfer but their clubs look goofy with huge heads and offset. These Mizuno’s probably are just a result of marketing looking at their orders coming in for blended sets within the JPX Tour line and MP clubs. Cudo’s to Mizuno getting ahead of trend.
No doubt others will follow. Nice detail on the write up and I think it is great these guys are refocusing on MP line with a good blend on tech vs. I think combo sets are smart but you will either have a combo that is pre-built (like Cobra and Callaway do) or it is fitted and if fitted, in many ways the process needs to evolve. Most fittings are jump on launch monitor with a 6 iron and everything works from there.
The guys up in Canada do the blueprint run through your bag and a bit more here but this level of detail is costly (note my recently fitted purchase of 716cb with Paderson sst pured shafts $$$ ) it will just be interesting to see from a market perspective where we settle. Just a phenomenal write up Tony. I can’t express enough gratitude for the time and depth you put into the descriptions, I finally know what Grain Flow Forging means, in a very understandable way!!I don’t know of any other OEM that went to the extent as Mizuno has done here to make the different models of a line, blend so seamlessly into each other, and be able to explain to the readers (through yourself) the hows and why’s of it.One of the more enjoyable review pieces of any club I’ve read in quite a while.
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