Founded in Japan in 1906 as Mizuno Brothers Ltd, the sporting brand Mizuno is renowned for the wide variety of sporting goods they produce. From golf clubs to running shoes, the brand has established itself as a powerhouse in the sporting industry when it comes to producing performance-enhancing sports gear.
Mizuno is a great golf brand that produces some of the best golf irons and wedges on the market for some of the PGA and European Tours best players. They are one of the best manufacturers of bladed irons and have unrivaled knowledge when producing forged-iron clubs.
In this guide, I’m asking whether Mizuno is a good golf brand and whether you should use Mizuno clubs. We’ll also be looking at which professionals use Mizuno clubs on the European and PGA Tours and why their irons are so well revered in the industry.
Why Mizuno Is A Good Golf Brand
Mizuno produces reliable, performance-enhancing clubs that help golfers get a greater feel and precision on each of their shots. Their bladed irons are by far some of the best on the market for low handicap golfers, but the brand also produces clubs for mid-range and lower handicap golfers.
Japanese sporting giant Mizuno has been producing some of the most hardwearing and durable sporting equipment for the past 100 years. Interestingly, Mizuno helped design and build military ordinances to assist Japan’s efforts in World War II. From producing Rocket Interceptors to military gliders, the brand has an acute knowledge working across a variety of disciplines, but golf is perhaps their specialty.
The brand first started producing golf clubs in 1933, creating its legendary Star Line golf club range, which was the first-ever Japanese mass-produced golf club. In 1934, Mizuno opened a factory based near Osaka, and here they produced everything from skiing equipment to golf clubs. The company expanded and started selling golf clubs across Europe in the 70s.
At the time, many other club manufacturers struggled to achieve even consistency across all of their forged iron clubheads, making it harder for tour golfers to improve and work on their ball striking consistency. Still, Mizuno solved that problem for many golfers around the world.
Using a double mold forging process, Mizuno could produce more precise clubheads, which required minimal grinding to get the clubs into a specification fit for tour golfers; many other manufacturers had to complete an extensive amount of grinding operations to improve the consistency of the clubface, meaning each club was always going to be different from the last.
Fast forward to today’s technology used and with modern production equipment, club producers don’t have the same issues with grinding club heads down. However, it’s evident Mizuno’s heritage is one of the best producers of forged iron clubs in the world still stands true today, with the brand producing a range of bladed clubs that are a joy to use.
One issue the brand does fall on is that its clubs are very centered towards professional and high-handicap golfers. Producing mostly forged and muscle-backed irons, beginner and low-handicap golfers will struggle to use a lot of Mizuno’s clubs as they are less forgiving bladed irons, which notably beginners should avoid.
Instead, beginners should look to use cavity-backed irons, which have a higher center of gravity and a lower moment of inertia than bladed clubs, allowing you to hit more consistent and better shots. For more information on the pros and cons of using bladed irons, visit my guide, which discusses why beginner golfers should not use bladed irons.
But there is nothing quite like the feel of a Mizuno iron. Compared to perhaps a Titleist or a Taylormade club, if you’re a long hitter of the golf ball, you’ll find the brand’s higher-spec clubs like the JPX Series or their MP-20 muscle-backed clubs will give you more traction and control over the shots you’re striking.
Particularly with the MP-20 club, you’ll find the feel of the shot and moment of inertia on the clubface is a lot less than perhaps you might find on a Titleist iron. Titleist irons are still favored by many Tour pros worldwide, and to find out more about who uses Titleist clubs, check out my review of whether Titleist is a good golf brand.
But when it comes to using Mizuno’s top-spec MP-20 irons, golfers will get the feeling they can seriously rip through the ball with these clubs. With years of history and tailoring behind them, these clubs have been built for the needs of the modern professional golfer and feature multiple layers of soft copper, nickel-chrome, and forged steel, that give the club its precision feel.
Meanwhile, the MP-20’s slightly more modern and powerful cousin, the JPX 921 Series, gives golfers a vertically stable frame that allows you to add much more shape and precision to each shot. From striking low stingers to sweeping high draws, the full, vertical spread on the club allows players to play different shots more easily.
For mid-range handicappers looking to improve their ball striking abilities and hit more precision shots around the course, the JPX is the better iron series for you. If you’re looking to purchase a set of JPX irons, I advise you to purchase them on Amazon.com to ensure you get the best price. But you’ll need to be quick as stocks won’t last long!
Confused about what’s the best golf brand for you? To clear things up I recommend reading my complete golf brand guide.
Mizuno also produces a range of woods, drivers, and hybrids that can compete with some of the biggest hitting clubs on the PGA Tour, like the TaylorMade SIM. I go into more detail on the value that the TaylorMade SIM can bring to your golf game in my article assessing whether Taylormade is a good club brand. If you’re looking for a high-performing driver, you should check out my review of the club.
But if you’re a lower-range handicapper or a mid-range handicapper looking to take your game to the next level, I recommend looking at Mizuno’s ShowTime (ST) series of drivers, hybrids, and fairway woods. These are Mizuno’s latest long driving clubs from the tee and are an ultra-stable, low spin efficiency set of clubs that help golfers power the ball straighter and truer through the air.
The ShowTime drivers are a set of clubs I recommend trying when you next head to a club fitting session, and when driving with these clubs, you’ll note the club’s Z-Axis design, which balances the club’s sole against its clubface, provides a much truer ball flight.
You’ll also find when you try this club, you’ll be able to maximize ball speed’s using the multi-thickness core-tech face structure on each club’s face that helps to add more zip on each of your shots. You can pick up a Mizuno ST driver now on Amazon for a fantastic price, so don’t hang around, get your new driver today!
Mizuno is also a market leader when it comes to short-game clubs. Outgunning the likes of Cleveland and Scotty Cameron for their grain flow forged wedges and perfect precision putters, Mizuno can seriously help you save shots in approach, around the greens, and on the greens.
The brand’s top-of-the-range T-22 wedges are some of the most forgiving clubs on the market and provide golfers with unparalleled control when chipping around the greens. Forged with copper, the T-22 wedges are ground down in a variety of formats which golfers can choose to give them the best bump and chip off the turf.
That also provides you with a ton of forgiveness which is essential to have when cutting shots out of the rough or around tight lies on the fairway, and for that reason, you should look to purchase a T-22 wedge. You’ll find these wedges at great value at Amazon.com, so if you want to save shots in your approach play, head pick yours up today.
Once you’ve tapped onto the green, you’ll need a good putter to swipe your ball home for par, and Mizuno’s range of M.Craft putters cater to all putting styles and abilities. Mizuno produces some of the best feeling putters, from bladed putters to mallet putters on the market, each coming with a high-performing sweet spot that will help you avoid hitting fat or wayward shots on the green. For more information on what type of putter is best for your playing style, please take a look at my guide assessing whether mallet putters, blade putters, or high MOI putters are the best.
If you thought Mizuno’s production stopped at their clubs, you thought wrong. The brand is also a market leader when producing equipment and golf apparel. It’s worth noting Mizuno also produces a range of soft layered golf balls, and these are great for mid-range golfers looking for a soft compression strike on their shots.
But when it comes to equipment, Mizuno’s golf bags are the highlight and are perhaps one of the best brands on the market for producing high-quality and lightweight carry and stand bags that can protect your posture.
From Style to durability, Mizuno’s BR-DX 14-Way Hybrid Stand Bag ticks all the boxes of what a golf bag should do. With individual slots for each of your clubs, this bag will not only help you keep your clubs safe and secure on the course, but it will also hold onto all your belongings and valuables in its intricate network of pockets. The bag is being released on Amazon.com on December 5th 2021, and securing your bag, pre-order it today!
Mizuno is one of the best brands in the golfing world, and whether you’re using a mixture of Mizuno irons, wedges, drivers, or putters, you’ll always find yourself saving a ton of shots around the course.
My word of caution is to air on the side of caution when buying Mizuno clubs if you’re a beginner golfer or are a mid-range handicapper. Mizuno is a performance club that is designed and built to the specification of professional or low-handicap golfers. For that reason, they are very hard to use for the average golfer, and it is advisable to steer clear of these clubs if you’re a beginner golfer. For more advice on the best clubs for beginners, check out my guide on how much a beginner should spend on golf clubs here!
Are Mizuno Irons Any Good
Mizuno irons are a high-performance alternative to many of the clubs you’ll find on the market. They are designed and built for low-handicap, and scratch golfers who can benefit from the Mizuno forged iron’s accuracy and precision in approach to the greens.
Mizuno currently has a range of golfing irons available to purchase on their website. The one thing to note about these clubs is that they are all high-performance irons built to the specifications of professional golfers. That means beginner golfers should steer clear from using these clubs as they are very unforgiving and require golfers to have prior experience playing with bladed irons.
For beginner golfers, I’d suggest purchasing a set of Tour Edge irons, which are designed with the needs of beginner golfers in mind; with cavity-backed clubheads, wide club heels, and large club faces, it is much easier to strike a good shot with these golf clubs. You can find more details of the Tour Edge brand in my deep dive article into the brand’s products and general performance here. But if you’re still wondering about how Mizuno can change your game, continue reading.
As noted above, Mizuno is currently producing two sets of irons, their JPX irons and their MP-20 irons series. The MP-20 series are the more unforgiving of the pair and are primarily designed for professional golfers. The JPX series are a great club-set for mid-range handicappers looking to progress to becoming scratch golfers.
Coming in three different styles, the JPX series are the clubs I would most highly recommend to golfers looking to reduce their scores. Their Forged and Hot Metal clubs are a little more forgiving; both feature cavity-backed clubheads and provide elite ball speeds for those looking to add more distance to their shots.
Then comes the Tour range of clubs, and these are perhaps the best clubs for those looking to add more precision to their approach play. The Tour range is the hardest of the three clubs to use, and if you’re still looking to improve your handicap, I’d recommend investing in the JPX921 Hot Metal Iron set on Amazon. Here you’ll find an elite club for an excellent price.
It’s also worth trying the MP-20 irons, even if you aren’t a scratch or professional golfer. Getting a good feel for high-quality blade irons is important if you want to improve and develop better skills as a golfer, and for that reason. I advise in my article for golfers to always book a club fitting session at their nearest driving range where players can get a much better feel for their clubs while also trying out different types of clubs with professional advice.
What Golf Pros Use Mizuno?
Tiger Woods notably used Mizuno MP-29 irons before he switched to Nike and won the 1997 masters with Mizuno clubs. A variety of tour pros currently use Mizuno irons across golf’s professional tours, including Luke Donald, Olivia Cowan, and Greyson Sigg.
Luke Donald is perhaps the most notable professional golfer to use Mizuno clubs on the PGA Tour. Donald notably is one of two players, including Lee Westwood, ranked No.1 in the Official World Golf Rankings while never winning a major championship. With five wins on the PGA Tour, seven on the European Tour, one Race to Dubai winners trophy, and has starred in four Ryder Cups, never finishing on a losing side.
In his bag, Donald is fully kitted out with Mizuno clubs, using MP-20 irons, CLK hybrids, and an ST200G customized driver. Ladies European Tour player Olivia Cowan holds a similar fit-out to Donald and has used Mizuno clubs to achieve four professional wins throughout her career, including a win on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series in London. Cowan uses JPX919 Tour irons as opposed to the MP-20 series and also chips around the greens with Mizuno’s mill ground T-20 Wedges.