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Ever since we saw Nike Golf’s exit in the hard good industry of the sport, it feels like more and more “free agents” – golfers with no equipment contracts – are choosing to play Mizuno Golf. The company and it’s Grain Flow Forging process has once again become a major player on TOUR with their irons, particularly when these free agent players are choosing to play Mizuno and winning. The best example of this is Paul Casey, winning the 2018 Valspar Championship with Mizuno MP-25 (4i) and Mizuno MP-5 (5i-PW) in the bag and of course, the back-to-back 2017 and 2018 US Open Champion and 2018 PGA Champion, Brooks Koepka, with the JPX900 Tour irons.
With more usage on TOUR also comes more player feedback for the development of new products, such as the new JPX919 series. The JPX919 replaces the JPX900 series and consists of three models: Tour, Forged and Hot Metal. Gathering feedback from players is something Mizuno has always done, especially with Luke Donald, who was the face of Mizuno Golf over the past couple of years, but with even more players giving their input, the products can only keep getting better. You have to believe that #NothingFeelsLikeAMizuno!
JPX919 Tour
The Tour model in the JPX series has been put into the spotlight by Brooks Koepka, who used the JPX900 Tour to win three majors in the past 14-months. With Koepka and other players’ feedback, the JPX919 Tour now has a roughly 10% thinner topline compared to the JPX900, which already had one of the thinnest toplines on the market. While the topline is thinner, designers paid particular attention to the draft angle and added a slight bevel to reinforce the top of the club. Weight saved from the upper portion, as well as the heel section, was repositioned in the sole and toe to increase forgiveness.
For just the second time since Mizuno’s MP-18 was introduced, JPX919 Tour will feature the company’s HD grain flow forging process in the 1025E carbon steel, which compacts more grain structure in the hitting area to improve feel. A redesigned cavity, which came about through blind testing with TOUR players at THE PLAYERS Championship, is designed to dial-in the acoustics, while the pearl brush finish helps reduce glare at address.
Lofts remain fairly traditional, with the pitching wedge at 46 degrees in the Tour model. Mizuno’s JPX919 Tour retails for USD $1,200 (3-PW, right-handed only) with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold 120 shaft.
JPX919 Forged
Photo from mygolfspy
We feel that the JPX919 Forged will probably be a model that a lot of golfers will gear towards – a compact, players iron, with a bit of help. Boron has once again been added to the 1025E carbon steel to create the JPX919 Forged. Because of this, designers were able to improve durability and significantly thin out the face to a COR of .810 — an improvement of .10 when compared to its predecessor. During testing, most players saw an increase of 1 mph ball speed.
A 52-millimeter CNC pocket cavity can be found in the back of the head that was redesigned using a new drilling process. Instead of entering from the top portion of the head, a cut-through slot was made in the sole that allowed the drill to run the length of the score lines. That means the whole face now flexes more at impact, whether you find the center of the face, toe or heel. The pocket cavity also creates a lower center of gravity to help with launch angle and spin — two thing players wanted to see in the new long irons.
Mizuno’s JPX919 Forged retails for USD $1,300 (4-GW, right- and left-handed) with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold 105 shaft.
JPX919 Hot Metal
Photo from mygolfspy
The best selling model in the previous lineup, JPX919 Hot Metal is made from a high-strength Chromoly 4140M steel alloy that greatly increases overall face deflection. The one-piece casting features a 360-degree undercut, multi-thickness face and re-engineered sound ribs in the topline developed to “hit specific vibration patterns” for feedback enhancement at impact.
With a sweet spot that’s about half a millimeter lower in the 4-iron through 9-iron, lofts were strengthened in the 4- through 7-iron to keep launch angle in line with the previous version while increasing distance at the same time. The set has a steeper transition into more compact scoring irons and wedges, with set-matching gap, sand and lob wedges (Nippon Modus 105 shaft) made from X30 steel for feel. Each wedge has a moderate sole grind and profile reminiscent of the S18 wedge. The grooves and faces are also milled and optimized for spin characteristics at each particular loft.
JPX919 Hot Metal retails for USD $1,000 (4-GW, sand wedge and lob wedge offered, right- and left-handed).
Source: Mizuno Golf, PGA TOUR
