Irons: The big debate
Do you prefer the look of a blade or a game-improvement iron? For many of us, the iron we WANT to put in the bag is different from the one that we NEED to play better golf.
Equipment
Golf is a very old game, and over recent years, the technology found in golf clubs has changed dramatically.
Centuries ago, golf clubs were carved out of wood, and by the mid-18th century, golfers of the time had access to the first iron clubs. Wooden hickory clubs became the norm for the sport right up until the early 20th century, when steel shafts revolutionized the game.
Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to play with crudely carved hickory clubs? How thrilling it must have felt to pull off just the right shot with one?
What about the world’s best golfers of the time? Do you think playing golf to such a level with comparably worse equipment than we have today would make them more talented than our modern players?
We’ve had an awful lot of technological advances in the past 50 years. Modern research and development as well as the convenience of established supply chains means we have a mass production of new and improved golf clubs with each year that passes.
Mizuno makes fantastic golf irons, and today we’re going to take a trip down memory lane. We’ll be looking at some staple now decades old Mizuno irons and comparing them to this year’s release.
You may or may not have been playing golf back in the early 00s, and if you were, this wonderful golf iron from Mizuno might be bringing back some memories.
The head on the T-Zoid MX-15 features a deep cavity back with lots of surrounding perimeter weighting. The club’s name is sensibly stenciled on the back of the head, with a single line running beside the insert.
This club was a real marvel when it was released in 2002. The rounder, more pear-shaped clubhead is an example of how the golf iron as a piece of equipment has transitioned away from the square iron heads that were a staple of the early-to-mid 20th century.
The golf irons we have today don’t only perform better than those of decades-gone, they look better, and help us feel more confident when we’re lining up our approach shots.
Let’s look at a club that's a decade old. The JPX 825 that was released in 2013 is the perfect marriage of performance and aesthetics.
The golf iron looks like a race car thanks to the matte black vents and blue badge housing the iron’s name on the glossy cavity back.
Mizuno gave this club plenty of oomph, and if you were playing with it a decade ago, you would have been no doubt taking advantage of the club’s performance-enhancing technologies.
This iron was designed to help you make excellent turf contact, and had a low center of gravity that helps pop the ball up in the air to give you plenty of height when you’re hitting into the green. These forgiving clubs were an excellent example of the kind of tech and shape it takes to make a superb distance iron.
The golf irons of 2023 are pushing the known limits of how far you can hit a golf ball with this type of club. Not only do they give you tremendous distance, they’re also designed to give you lots of forgiveness and are a lot of fun to play with.
Among Mizuno’s latest iron releases is the JPX 923 Forged, the cutting edge of golf iron technology. The iron will give your shots exceptional ball speeds and feel thanks to Mizuno’s grain flow forged design.
It goes without saying that the iron is very nice to look at. The club has a V-Chassis that results in a thinner topline, and the white-satin brush reduces glare from the sun.
You’ll be hitting bombs right at your target when you pull one of these out of the bag. Mizuno have engineered the Forged JPX 923 to have more beveled leading edge to give you better turf interaction. Mizuno’s choice of carbon steel used to make the iron will give you strikes excellent precision and control.
The Forged is just one of five models in the JPX 923 range. From the sleek and workable JPX 923 Tour to the confidence-inspiring JPX 923 Hot Metal HL, there’s will be an excellent iron available for a player of your unique ability.
In the pro shop, we’ll be able to tell you all the ins-and-outs of modern golf clubs in detail so you’ll know exactly how your clubs work. If your current set is looking a little weathered, why not consider getting yourself an upgrade? When you come in for a club fitting we’ll take a look at how you play and give you a recommendation of what kind of golf iron would be most appropriate for you.