By Justin Pahl, Club Fitter
Traditional look, smooth buttery feel, and consistent high-end performance are just a few things you will hear about Mizuno irons. No matter what model of Mizuno you look at whether it be the MP line or the JPX line just know when looking for a new set of irons Mizuno should definitely be at the top of your list. What I’m here to discuss today is the new JPX 921 line of irons from Mizuno. With four models: Tour, Forged, Hot Metal Pro And Hot Metal, there is definitely a Mizuno iron that can fit almost anybody’s game.
First, let’s talk about performance. All golfers, no matter their handicap, desire, and demand performance from their irons. This is something Mizuno has achieved many times in their irons over the years. This New JPX 921 line is no exception. With four different models they are able to cover all ranges of playing ability. From the touring pro to the weekend warrior, this JPX line has something for everybody. The JPX 921 Tour offers a clean, traditional look, sharp lines, and minimal offset, providing tour level performance with more forgiveness than Mizuno’s MP 20. They accomplished this by adding more offset than the MP 20 and adding a slight (and I mean little!) cavity to increase face stability. Make no mistake these things are still very much a tour level iron. The biggest difference they made from their previous generation of the JPX 919 Tour to the JPX 921 Tour is the 921 is more compact with a slightly thinner topline.
This compact style was also incorporated into the JPX 921 Forged, the first iron to incorporate their Chromoly metal in a completely forged head. This combination creates an amazing feel with very explosive ball speeds. The compact head gives players the ability to work the ball while still getting that increase in ball speed found in game improvement irons.
The Hot Metal and Hot Metal Pro are absolute beasts. If you want fast ball speeds, high launch and consistently lower spin coupled with extreme forgiveness these are great irons to try. Both models are not forged and use the full capabilities of the Chromoly 4140M metal. This metal is 0.2mm thinner than the previous generations resulting in faster ball speeds and a larger sweet spot. Both models have extreme perimeter weighting to help promote stability across the entire face. The Seamless Cup Face on both these models help increase the flexibility of the face which again helps promote faster ball speeds. The difference between the Hot Metal Pro and the Hot Metal is the Pro is a more compact design with less offset for a player who still wants forgiveness and extreme ball speed but doesn’t like the look of a larger iron head. The Hot Metal is larger with more offset to increase forgiveness and stability off miss hits.
Now onto the fun part, let’s look at some data I collected with these four models. I was testing using Trackman. The ball I was using was the TP5x and the shaft I used was the Project X LZ 6.5. 5 clean strikes with each club.
Club (7-iron) | Ball Speed (MPH) | Club Head Speed (MPH) | Launch Angle (Degrees) | Spin Rate (RPM) | Carry Distance (Yds) |
Tour | 125.9 | 92.5 | 16.3 | 6656 | 176.7 |
Forged | 131.8 | 92.8 | 14.2 | 5717 | 192.1 |
Hot Metal Pro | 135.1 | 93.9 | 14.3 | 5824 | 196.8 |
Hot Metal | 136.7 | 94.7 | 15.3 | 5708 | 201.5 |
As you can see the JPX 921 Tour definitely had a slower ball speed and a higher spin rate than the rest of the group. This is what you would expect out of a product that is designed more for precision than distance. It is also weaker lofted to promote higher spin. It felt and looked amazing. This is a product I would definitely recommend to someone who is looking to better their distance control as well as increase their ability to work the ball.
The JPX 921 Forged was a great looking iron as well. More compact than the previous generation which looks exceptionally clean. What really surprised me was the ball speed from the JPX 921 Forged. Mizuno did what they set out to do with the JPX 921 Forged, explosive ball speed with a great feel and look. This iron is the best of both worlds as you can see from the data. Fast ball speeds for raw distance but still a small compact head for workability.
The Hot Metal family is a different animal all together. The multi-piece construction offers a larger effective sweet spot providing more forgiveness and an explosive club face. What I really liked about the Hot Metals was the consistent launch and spin on every shot. As you can see both hot metals had considerably more ball speed than the Tour and even the Forged. The Hot Metals are a great iron to investigate if you are looking to gain distance and maintain forgiveness.
I must admit that I really enjoyed testing all these irons. From the JPX 921 Tour to the JPX 921 Hot Metal, the amazing feel and consistent ball flights make me want to recommend these irons to any skill level. Mizuno came out with an amazing iron lineup, arguably their best ever. All I can say is, hit em’ and see for yourself.