Mizuno 923 irons

[Ernie111]

I am interested in looking at Mizuno 923 irons.  If you play with those irons what is your likes and dislikes. Thanks 

[Will_Mac]

I've been playing the 923 Hot Metal Pro irons since mid-February. What drew me toward the 923's in general were the reviews I'd watched where people commented about the incredible forgiveness all-around, but particularly off the toe (my standard miss).

I clued in mostly to the standard HM and the Pro. Both were lauded for their toe contact forgiveness. But the video below is what gave me the deciding nudge to purchase. An off-center miss by nearly an inch (!) saw a minimal loss of yards. Long video, he's quite detailed (appreciated, personally), he talks about that particular miss and others at about the 17:05 mark.

In play, I've found his and others' findings to be 100% accurate. I've shown buddies where evidence of contact was on an iron's face, but relative to my result, they can hardly believe it. Forgiveness off toe strikes has been incredible, and while exactly the help I was hoping for, my surprise by the results may never cease. Thin shots, too, are very forgiving. I won't hit irons off heel as I might at times with driver, so no personal opinion there.

Because I was on the fence between the standard HM and the Pros, once I decided to add 5-iron to my 6-GW set, I opted to order the standard 5-iron with same shaft, of course. Curiosity and I figured that the potential for even more forgiveness in the longer irons certainly couldn't hurt.

While I won't go so far as to say that the standard 5-iron is more forgiving than the Pro 6-iron, I will say that they appear to be equally forgiving to me. Considering the lower loft of 5-iron though, I'd have to say that it confirms, at least to me, that the standard HM is, in fact, more forgiving than the Pros. Not much of a surprise to most, I'm sure, but it mildly was to me because the Pros are darned forgiving.

As to length, yeah, the 923 Hot Metals are longer than what I've been playing. I wasn't at all looking for that, I still swing plenty fast. For example, with my previous recent sets (Apex CF-16, i500), 9-iron was my 150 club. With the HMP's, though, it's PW (42.5°!) from that distance in neutral conditions.

Shafts are DG 105 stiff flex and I'd classify the launch as high. Definitely higher than my previous sets across the board. Even if I compare the longer hitting and much stronger lofted 9-iron of the HMP to the 9-irons of the previous sets played, the Pros less lofted 9-iron actually flies higher. It probably flies similarly to those sets PW, and we're talking a big difference in loft there. Yet although high, it's a strong flight throughout the set. We've had an extended streak of windy weather here stretching from late winter into spring. Never did I once have a ball that I deemed to be affected by the wind any more than I'd have anticipated.

Pre-purchase, I was modestly concerned about stopping power into greens with mid irons. I assumed that maybe the stronger lofts might further reduce spin (player distance irons mostly seem to do this but I guess that I'd classify the Pro as GI irons) and maybe affect my ability to hold greens. But that concern was quickly dispelled. They stop just fine, probably even better than previous sets due to descent angle. Fwiw, the only three balls I've played with this set are the Snell MTB-X, MTB, and the new version Mizuno RB Tour.

The 923 Hot Metals, in any iteration, imho, are fantastic golf clubs, and I'm extremely happy to have them.