Mizuno launch new MP-5 and MP-25 irons
Mizuno has introduced its next-generation MP-5 irons featuring a new channel back design, and MP-25 irons incorporating Boron-fuelled technology.
The MP-5 will suit the eye of Mizuno blade fans while the Boron forged MP-25 will also appeal to the better player but also offers added ball speed and forgiveness.
After the success of the JPX 850 Forged irons, Mizuno is bringing the proven ball speed advantages of Boron-fuelled technology to its MP line-up for the first time.
The stunning new MP-25 is a compact Boron forged iron boasting a tour-inspired design, with an injection of Boron for added ball speed and distance.
This is the first true high ball-speed iron designed specifically for tour players through to low/mid handicap amateurs.
We’re able to produce beautiful irons that play a lot more forgiving than you would imagine by looking at them” The MP-25 heads are Grain Flow Forged from a single billet of 1025 Boron steel, with the injection of Boron allowing a Micro-Slot pocket cavity to be engineered into the longer irons (from 3- to 6-iron) for greater ball speeds, while still delivering the feel and touch that tour players demand.
“We started off with a tour-preferred chassis, and developed our technology to get the most ball speed from that size,” said Tetsu Kanayama of Mizuno’s Japan R&D team.
“The craftsmen at Yoro, Japan kept the CAD engineers on a tight leash, so the final iron was something we could confidently show our tour players!”
Sitting neatly between Mizuno’s classic MP blades and smaller players’ cavity-backs, the MP-5’s ’Channel Back’ design keeps an appropriate degree of thickness behind the central impact point to deliver the blade-like feel better players crave on pure strikes.
The MP-5s also allow sufficient clubhead mass to be relocated to parts of the head where it can tangibly increase clubhead stability and performance on off-centre strikes.
The head may be larger than a traditional blade, and the top line a little thicker for a more powerful look as a result of extensive testing among professionals, but Mizuno have been able to retain the sense of proportion and shape needed to suit the eye of better players at address.
“Marrying the skill sets of our CAD-based engineers with the more traditional craftsmen in Yoro Japan, we’re able to produce beautiful irons that play a lot more forgiving than you would imagine by looking at them,” says David Llewellyn, head of design at Mizuno.
“I think Mizuno is pretty unique in still having craftsmen that worked in the era before CAD design, which means our irons have a kind of emotion and history built into them.”
Details
Available: September 2015
SRPs: MP-5 £115 per iron, MP-25 £115 per iron
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
