MIZUNO M.Craft Putter TYPE 03

[CSiders12]

Hello all! I'm a first-time unofficial tester here, but I love golf and telling others about my experiences. For those who haven't read my bio, I am a special education teacher by profession and an avid golfer by passion. Two and a half years ago, I had a 5 handicap and I put out on an adventure to become a scratch golfer at the end of three years. I have this season to complete my goal and am currently floating between a 1.7 and 2.2 handicap. 

The biggest weakness of my game was my approach game and my putting. I put a ton of work into my approach game, figured out how far I hit each club, and improved drastically. However, although the shots started getting closer to the hole from my approach shots, my putts weren't dropping. I went from my dad's old Ping Anser 2 putter to the Taylormade Spider SR Bend putter, and the putting didn't get any better. Then, I stumbled into my local golf shop and stumbled my eyes upon this beauty... enter the Mizuno M.Craft Type 03 Putter. 

Looks:

If you are a fan of a classic, mid-mallet look, then the M.Craft Type 03 putter is yours for the picking. I'm a fan of the symmetrical look that this putter head has paired with a bold, yet simple alignment aid. There are three different colors that you can get; silver, black, and blue. I wanted a more classic look, so I went with the silver, but for those of you looking for something that would stick out, the other options may suit better for you. The milling on the face is very consistent and looks very professional. Lastly, the bottom side of the putter has two interchangeable weights and some wording, but nothing offensive. 

   

Feel and Sound:

First of all, this putter head is heavy compared to other putters. Something that I have grown to love, may not be for everyone. The putter comes standard with two, 8-gram weights in the putter, but also comes with two, 3-gram and two, 13-gram weights. So, if you want a different weight for the head, that is available. Secondly, the feel of the ball coming off of the putter is softer than extra plush pillows. Across the entire face, the feel is very soft and very consistent. Big win for me!

Performance:

Ultimately, regardless of how good golf equipment looks, if it doesn't perform, then there is no use putting it in the bag. The part of my putting that I was struggling with most was lag putting, and I was getting punished by my other putters for having off-centered strikes on long putts. The main reason that I purchased this putter was the consistency it provided on long putts and the forgiveness on off-centered strikes. 

I'm a data enthusiast, so I had to delve into the numbers and see how the putter performed with putts from different distances. I hit putts from 10 feet, 20 feet, and 30 feet and broke each distance into 10 putts from the toe, 10 putts from the center, and 10 putts from the heel. So, I hit 30 putts from each distance and had a total of 90 putts. Also, to try and make the swings as consistent as possible, I marked the ground to note how far back the putter should swing in the backswing and tried to hit that mark each time for each respective distance.

*All distances are averages across all 10 hits*

As you see in the table, the results speak for themselves. When compared to the Ping Anser 2, the M.Craft Type 03 won in every category. Especially in the 20 and 30-foot putts, the Mizuno takes the cake. Due to these results, this club has found a comfy space in my golf bag. 

Consensus:

I love this putter! Since having this club in my bag, I bet I have shaved 1-3 strokes off of my 18-hole scoring average. The consistency that this club has provided has been an absolute game-changer. For those of you that are in the market for a new putter, I would strongly suggest giving the M.Craft Series a test. They are very professionally made and the performance speaks for itself. I have no regrets about this purchase and don't foresee any changes in the near future!

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by CSiders12
Picture at Bottom should have been deleted.

[cksurfdude]

Very nice and good luck to you dropping those last 2.2 strokes off your handicap .. sounds like you're on the way there!

[CSiders12]

21 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Very nice and good luck to you dropping those last 2.2 strokes off your handicap .. sounds like you're on the way there!

Thanks! I'm really hoping that I can get the work in this summer and get past that point. I'm feeling pretty good with my golf game so hopefully it drops quickly!