Best Mizuno Irons 2020
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Which Mizuno irons should I buy? Your guide to each iron in Mizuno’s 2020 line-up, and which golfers they are aimed at.
Most major brands have five, six or even seven irons in their 2020 line-ups, which shows the importance of having solutions for all golfers, irrespective of ability or personal preference. Choices range from slimline musclebacks to hollow heads and cavity backs, and while some are forged, others have springy faces just like a driver.
RELATED: Which 2021 Mizuno irons should I buy?
So with such a huge amount of choice out there, we felt it was far too easy for golfers to get confused about which model best suits them. Even golfers who have a good idea of which iron suits them probably don’t realise what they put on the line in terms of ball speed, carry and forgiveness by choosing a set above their station.
So as 2020’s irons hit pro shop shelves, we felt the time was right to show how a brand’s whole iron range compares against each other.
As well as launch monitor data from our pro, we’ve given every iron a forgiveness rating and a handicap guide to spell out simply what sort of players should be considering what sort of models, and why.
TESTED: Best Forged Irons
Mizuno MP-20 MB iron
RRP: £150 per club
Construction: Forged from a single piece of 1025E HD mild carbon steel
Who are Mizuno MP-20 MB irons for?
Thanks to the MP family sporting more traditional finishes, they’re likely to appeal to the eye of very good ball-striking traditionalists.
Our data has the MP-20 as Mizuno’s least powerful iron, so if your game demands keeping an eye on speed or distance they’re absolutely not for you. In reality you’re only really a good fit for a set if your game requires shots to be regularly shaped and you aim to feed approaches on to shelves and ledges on a green, which is less than 1% of us, really.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno MP-20 irons from Scottsdale Golf
RELATED: Best irons
WATCH: Should you play the Mizuno JPX921 Tour, Forged, Hot Metal or Hot Metal Pro Irons?
Mizuno JPX921 Tour iron
RRP: £150 per club
Construction: Forged from a single piece of 1025E HD mild carbon steel
Who are Mizuno JPX921 irons for?
Very much a modern muscle cavity, the JPX921 Tour predecessors (the JPX900 and JPX919 Tour) have been a big hit for Mizuno – and Brooks Koepka, who played them unpaid.
A classic, compact head shape with the shallowest of cavity backs to offer a small degree of forgiveness, but still very much a muscle cavity-style iron. Mizuno say the Tour often fall into the hands of point-and-shoot golfers, so those who hit straighter shots, instead of trying to shape the ball, where the MP-20 MB’s would be a better option.
Interestingly, our samples had different shafts in the MP-20 MB (Dynamic Gold) and JPX921 Tour (KBS S-Taper), which from the same 7-iron loft gave very different amounts of ball speed, launch, backspin and descent angle, which just shows how much difference shafts can make.
Mizuno say the Tour are often a good match for 0-4 handicappers, but if you’re within that player bracket and want something more forgiving, look at the MP-20 MMC. If though you want extra workability try the MP-20 MB, and if your game needs extra distance the MP-20 HMB are a brilliant option.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno JPX 921 Tour irons from Scottsdale Golf
Data comparison: Mizuno irons
Mizuno MP-20 MMC iron
RRP: £165 per club
Construction: Forged from a single piece of 1025E HD mild carbon steel
Who are Mizuno MP-20 MMC irons for?
Mixing a traditional head shape with tungsten toe weighting and a titanium muscle means improved forgiveness over Mizuno’s musclebacks.
Our data has the improvement equating to 2% of carry distance drop off, which is really important to above-average golfers when hitting approaches to very tight flags and steeply banked green ledges.
A brilliant compact players iron, that gives up six yards of 7-iron carry to the similar lofted but hollow body and fast-faced MP-20 HMB.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno MP-20 MMC irons from Scottsdale Golf
RELATED: Best Mid-Handicap Irons
Mizuno MP-20 HMB iron
RRP: £180 per club
Construction: Hollow body with forged chromoly steel face and neck
Who Mizuno MP-20 HMB irons are they for?
The HMB is Mizuno’s first full set of hollow body irons and our data shows it’s a very strong iron this year. Look closely at our data and you’ll spot the real wins are high flighted high spinning shots that hit the green at a steep landing angle, which for decent players means excellent control particularly as you move into the mid and long irons.
Our test pro recorded his smallest carry distance drop-off with the HMB, too, which proves how its 24g of internal tungsten weight (split between the toe and heel of the 2-7 iron) is doing a great job of controlling drop-offs on mishits.
To some it will be a deal breaker that the HMB isn’t forged from the same material as Mizuno’s classic one-piece forged irons. But if truth be known, our test pro didn’t spot a difference in feel between them until we told him, so many are unlikely to notice.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno MP-20 HMB irons from Scottsdale Golf
Mizuno JPX921 Forged iron
RRP: £150 per club
Construction: Forged from a single piece of 4120 chromoly steel
Who are Mizuno JPX921 Forged irons for?
Mizuno promised the JPX921 Forged was their smoking gun of the new JPX921 line up and our test data absolutely backs up their thinking. Mizuno’s engineers toiled for 3 years working out how to forge such a lively, energetic material as chromoloy steel and we’re glad they did, as it absolutely works.
Some will bemoan the slightly stronger loft (1deg) than the previous 919 Forged, and how backspin has dropped (11%), but our test pro really enjoyed hitting this model. Put it like this, the Forged is faster (0.8%), higher launching (6%), higher flying (6%) and lands steeper (0.9%) as well as being 6 yards longer than the previous Forged model, and that’s an equation most club golfers won’t be able to ignore.
Mizuno say the Forged target golfer is a 10 – 14 handicapper.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno JPX 921 Forged irons from Scottsdale Golf
How do they compare – Handicap Guide
Brands hate giving an indication of which handicap of golfer each iron typically suits, as it pigeon-holes their models. We’ve given each a handicap guide below though to help ensure you buy the set most suited to your ability.
Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Pro iron
RRP: £135 per club
Construction: One-piece cast from 4140M chromoloy steel
Who are Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Pro irons for?
The JPX921 Hot Metal Pro, thanks to it’s thin fast chromoly steel face and strong loft is a brilliant choice for golfers who want to chase distance, yet insist on using a players’ iron shape head. We love the lack of hosel offset in this model, it’s what seperates it from competitors like the Ping G410, TaylorMade SIM Max and Callaway Mavrik.
With a very solid spread of ball speed, backspin, peak height, descent angle and carry distance it’s a brilliant all-rounder.
Just remember it’s not forged, hence why it costs less than Mizuno’s other forged models. In a blind test, though, we reckon many golfers at this ability level would struggle to hear or feel much difference.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Pro irons from Scottsdale Golf
RELATED: Tested – Mizuno JPX921 irons
Watch: Which Mizuno MP-20 iron suits me?
Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal iron
RRP: £120 per club
Construction: One-piece cast from 4140M chromoly steel
Who are Mizuno Hot Metal irons for?
Mizuno’s game-improver iron. A deep cavity back, with excellent perimeter weighting, offers good off-centre hit forgiveness, along with a decent sound and feel. But compared to some max game-improvement irons, the Hot Metal is still a beauty to look at.
We had a few questions last year asking why we didn’t give any Mizuno iron a 28-handicap ranking. Our thinking is that, while the Hot Metal is lovely, there are more forgiving models out there which would probably better suit a 28 handicapper.
It’s worth remembering that even as a distance iron the Hot Metal’s 7-iron loft is two-degrees weaker than the strongest on the market (27°). It’s also weaker than TaylorMade’s SIM Max and Ping’s G710, which obviously affects launch monitor numbers if you test them all head-to-head. Worth bearing in mind.
BUY IT NOW: Get the Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal irons from Scottsdale Golf
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About the author
Simon Daddow – Today’s Golfer Equipment Editor
Having tested and played more than 10,000 clubs in his life, what Simon doesn’t know about golf clubs isn’t worth knowing.
He spent a large part of his career as a golf club maker and product development manager, and has worked in the golf industry for more than 30 years. He joined EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) as Equipment Editor in 2006 and has worked for both Today’s Golfer and Golf World.
You can contact Simon via email and follow him on Twitter for loads more golf equipment insight.
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Best Mizuno Iron 2020
