Mizuno Long Game - 2023 Forum Review

[Swood1994]

3 hours ago, GaryF said:

Congrats to the testers as I’ll be very interested in overall impressions. I was tempted to apply for this but then decided not to.  I was fitted for Mizuno irons back in May only to be told there was a 4-5 week back order for all Mizuno clubs.  That was 6 weeks ago.  Was told that the Memorial Day holiday caught them by surprise and seemingly set them back another 2-3 weeks.  Recently went through the hybrid/woods fitting with my fitter and decided enough is enough and opted not to try the Mizunos, and Pings won the day.  Still very excited to receive the new irons and sorry for the negative comments - just feel like they don’t care. 

That's a fair point/feeling. I will say from following the Cobra thread it seems that they were having issues getting things in a timely fashion as well. I think certain brands are still experiencing supply chain issues that is unfortunately out of all of our control. With golf being a short season in some parts of the country it is unfortunate we have to take those things into account when making a purchase. Here's to hoping MGS and Mizuno's partnership can bump these orders up so we can get these reviews over to all of you quickly! Who knows, we may convince you to go back and try the Mizuno's...

 

5 hours ago, josmi15 said:

I'm excited to read these reviews.  Lets get on those Par 5 greens in 2, that way you're putting for eagle.  (to loosely quote Tin Cup)

I never miss with my 7-iron... Oddly enough that's also a Mizuno! 

[billpierce]

Woohoo Mizuno rocks

[srooch2]

Look forward to it, this is the driver I’m most excited about!

[srooch2]

3 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

That's a fair point/feeling. I will say from following the Cobra thread it seems that they were having issues getting things in a timely fashion as well. I think certain brands are still experiencing supply chain issues that is unfortunately out of all of our control. With golf being a short season in some parts of the country it is unfortunate we have to take those things into account when making a purchase. Here's to hoping MGS and Mizuno's partnership can bump these orders up so we can get these reviews over to all of you quickly! Who knows, we may convince you to go back and try the Mizuno's...

 

I never miss with my 7-iron... Oddly enough that's also a Mizuno! 

While I understand your frustration, I tend to give companies a little break with out of stock and production delays. Mainly because no one wants to sell product more than them plain and simple. I assure you they care a lot especially when it comes to the . But I also love our country that affords us the right to take our dollars elsewhere  

[vandyland]

Very excited and honored to be a part of it. I will get a good mix of on the course and in the trackman studio. I am interested in the driver as I have never played a mizuno driver!!

[vandyland]

Update: I also now have access to Trackman through my club that we just got off the waitlist for so I don't have to hike out to Golf Galaxy anymore. I am a numbers guy (performance obviously matters too but the numbers don't lie) and my club also has a ton of other Demos so I can test the Mizuno against not just my Cobra XB but also numerous other heads. I was trying to think of what I want/look for out of my current stuff and what I could (reasonably hope for). Also some of my preferences...

Driver: For whatever reason I prefer a taller face and I am gradually moving down in loft again. Since I prefer more "active" and higher launching shafts for their feel, I combat that high flight with turning the head down to 9.5* so I am trying to get into a 9.5* degree (standard) Mizuno head. Could be an optical illusion but the ST-Z seems like it has a decently tall face:

The Cobra that I play now feels like it has a slightly WIDER face but also shorter. Titleist has always looked like taller faces so maybe I will have to try the TSR against the Mizuno. My driver miss is low on the face and toe side but I will say that I have been driving the ball quite well in the last few days so I feel like I am rounding into form!

What do I currently like about my driver (Cobra XB 10.5* turned down to 9.5* with a MCA Vanquish shaft): Launches high without a ton of spin and I don't lose it left. 
What do I dislike about my driver: Lose a lot of ball speed if I get even a few mm out towards the toe. Has very little feedback. 
 

Hybrid: Look, I don't like fairways. Never have. That is a ME problem but I knew that I have a pre-existing condition on fairway woods that I don't want to expose Mizuno to. As such, I opted for a 19* degree hybrid as my next longest club (I can turn it down to 17* if I need to!). Currently I play an 18* hybrid that hits it every bit as far as a 5W ever did (on the rare times that I actually hit a 5W on the screws). Offset doesn't really bother me from a looks perspective but like many people I always fear these things going left. 

What do I currently like about my hybrid (Callaway Rogue ST Max 18* with UST hybrid shaft): It is insanely hot and can sometimes compete with my driver for total distance
What do I dislike about my hybrid: It is insanely hot, haha! Not much precision with this thing. Also, it can hit these low spin knuckleballs that go left on me. Really hate those. 

 

Utility Iron: I only carry down to a 26* 5 iron in my iron set. So I need something in the 21-23* range that can work MOSTLY off the tee but also off the turf when necessary. I love love love the feeling of hitting a really solid utility iron and when those things are working...man...I feel like a real golfer. I am not a big stinger guy and I don't really "work" the ball except I am capable of hitting a host of different draw shots (can only hit fades/slices on accident unfortunately) so I like my utility to go mid high and straight where possible. 

What do I currently like about my utility (2014 Callaway Apex UT 21* with KBS Tour 120 shaft): Really good off the tee and doesn't hit the ball too low.
What do I currently dislike about my utility: Has zero feedback and feels like a rather blunt instrument, especially off the turf. 
 

Edited July 6, 2023 by vandyland

[russtopherb]

My intro and fitting notes are up. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have about the upcoming testing, I'm happy to answer!

[edingc]

On 6/27/2023 at 2:38 AM, russtopherb said:

At that point I have to admit that I was more than tired, I was gassed after 90+ shots in just under an hour, and starting to get a bit frustrated as well - I toed a fairway shot that ricocheted out of the hitting bay and into the store. Ben laughed it off and let me know I wasn’t even close to the “distance out of the bay” record held at the store and we decided to call it a day. I didn’t get to hit the hybrid unfortunately, however he let me know based on everything else he had seen that the stock LIN-Q Blue shaft would almost undoubtedly be fine. 

Been there, done that. Fittings can be so tough, mentally and physically. 

Can't wait for you all to receive your clubs!

[rkj427]

7 minutes ago, edingc said:

Been there, done that. Fittings can be so tough, mentally and physically. 

Can't wait for you all to receive your clubs!

+1 with Cody's remarks................ looking forward to seeing the testing and comments

[Beakbryce]

On 6/28/2023 at 5:38 AM, GaryF said:

Congrats to the testers as I’ll be very interested in overall impressions. I was tempted to apply for this but then decided not to.  I was fitted for Mizuno irons back in May only to be told there was a 4-5 week back order for all Mizuno clubs.  That was 6 weeks ago.  Was told that the Memorial Day holiday caught them by surprise and seemingly set them back another 2-3 weeks.  Recently went through the hybrid/woods fitting with my fitter and decided enough is enough and opted not to try the Mizunos, and Pings won the day.  Still very excited to receive the new irons and sorry for the negative comments - just feel like they don’t care. 

Sorry to hear that. We will see what the time frame is for receiving the clubs and a report on how they arrive. Stay tuned for those reports. Hopefully the Pings will aid your game.

[Beakbryce]

Here we go. To everyone reading this test, I promise this will be my longest post but felt the need for this preliminary story line.

My plan for testing while playing is to get some yardage numbers using my Sky Caddie SX 400. Since this is a 3 club test, I will be able to report straight up if they beat my present clubs. Of course, numbers aren’t the only determining factor, so reports on feel and playability will be judgement issues.

Current clubs

Woods purchased from Callaway golf pre-owned site in 2018. Hybrid also GCP purchased in 2020. Note these clubs are adjustable which really appeals to the golf nerd in me. I can't overestimate the Epic family line of woods and GBB 2019 hybrids adjustability. Ok, they don’t look new but between tweaking the loft and changing out the shafts, I never expected my game could still be as good as I have ever played at 70 years of age.

Driver. GBB Epic, 9 degree. I love this club. Battle tested and not found wanting. Originally, ordered with a regular shaft as I thought I was getting old and needed one. Hated it. Ordered a firm, Hzrdus Project X T800 6.0 shaft from GCP and never looked back. Using the adjustability, have settled on 10 degrees, neutral, with the back weight about in the center. Low to mid trajectory that either skips like a stone on the wet fairways or tumbles down firm fairways. I play a lot in the morning and the courses are soaked. Takes a lot of water to keep grass green when it is 110 degrees or more.

3Wood. GBB Epic, 15 degree. If any club has a chance to be replaced, this might be it. Off the tee, awesome. Needs a great lie to hit off the deck with any hope of success. I took the regular shaft from the driver above, Hzrdus Project X T800 5.5, and stuck it in this 3 wood. Set at 16 degrees, neutral. BTW, I don’t need to hit it off the deck that often as the 3 wood shaft is in my 5 wood and that thing is a monster for me.

4 hybrid. Big Bertha 2019, 21 degrees. UST Mamiya Recoil ZT9 460/F3 shaft. A low flying 180 yard solid club. Set at 22 degrees, neutral. To beat this club, the Mizuno will equal the yardage and fly higher. I can always knock it down. I don’t need it to beat 180 yards as my heaven wood covers above that, 190 to 200 yards.

This is what I know so far from the Mizuno web site about the clubs coming.

Driver: STRAIGHT, STABLE AND LOW SPINNING. A straight bias driver with great stability on off center hits. Similar in look and character to the previous ST-Z. Boosted by the CORTECH Chamber to be faster from the face, spin less and deliver an incredible, solid sensation at impact.

3 Wood: STRAIGHT, STABLE AND HIGH LAUNCHING. A low spinning, high launching, adjustable fairway wood – developed hand in hand with our tour advisors, yet midsized and playable for all levels. Utilizing a high energy MAS1C steel face boosted by Mizuno’s CORTECH Chamber for exceptional ball speeds and powerful, solid sensation at impact.

4 Hybrid: STRAIGHT, STABLE AND HIGH LAUNCHING. A low spinning, high launching, adjustable hybrid – developed hand in hand with our tour advisors, yet playable for all levels. Utilizing a high energy MAS1C steel face boosted by Mizuno’s CORTECH Chamber for exceptional ball speeds and powerful, solid sensation at impact. A slightly larger, more playable footprint than its predecessor the CLK.

The CORTECH Chamber encases a stainless-steel weight with elastomeric TPU, taking stress from the clubface and creating an additional source of energy. At the same time, it locates weight closer to the clubface to reduce spin rates, while contributing to a more solid, powerful sensation at impact.

I have hit some Mizuno irons on club testing days here at my community and liked them. Ok, loved them. If I change irons, would test Mizuno and Titleist along with Callaway.

My expectation for these clubs is basically the same for everyone testing clubs that are generations and years beyond what I already have, do they have the technology to be better.

What would get me to change from my proven companions to these Mizuno clubs? Longer, straighter. I’m pretty ambivalent about sound and feel if longer, straighter happens.

The Fitting

I have never had a fitting, so wasn't sure what to expect. 

Traveled to my local PGA Superstore in Glendale AZ, where walk ins were encouraged. Beautiful store. Well stocked. My wife and I shop here for tennis stuff as well as golf.

I am not a range rat. So 120 swings later… yup, I was tired.

Notes from testing. I worked with Robert, a PGA Professional, who had a lot of history as an instructor, including a ton of actors from the 60’s and 70’s. He mentioned Bob Hope and James Garner, others as well. I could see why he was a pro, very easy to get along with and knew his numbers. I was very confident we would find something that excelled. I really enjoyed my time during the fitting.

I hit the driver first and tried several different shafts. Started with a stiff shaft and there were a lot of shots going right. Robert then fit a regular shaft and I hit it well but then we looked at the Mizuno list and it wasn’t a stock shaft. We then tried a stock regular shaft and I really didn’t like it. Ball went nowhere. No feel. Jeez, maybe this test wasn’t going to work.

Moved on to the 3 wood and hybrid and was hitting some pretty straight shots. For an old guy, distance was fine for both clubs. Robert wasn’t helping just me and became occupied in another bay. Picked up a driver sitting there with another conforming stiff shaft. I changed my setup, bringing the hands higher and started hitting some pretty good shots. I was well pleased with this last combo. Went with that one for the fitting results. My ball speed was around 120-125 and spin 2400. Launch angle varied a little as the tee height was not what I was accustomed to but the reported angles were in the pocket so figured it would work out with my 4 more yard tee while playing. The launch monitor didn’t indicate clubhead speed but utilizing smash factor of 1.3 to 1.5, that puts the clubhead speed in approximately the 84-91 mph range.

The 3 wood was getting up there to 117 ball speed when I hit it well. Wouldn’t mind taking that to the course. Spin rate was also around 2400.

The 4 hybrid dialed right in to 180 yards which is what I wanted. I carry 2 other hybrids that are 155 and 165 yards. I can choke up on my current 4 hybrid to hit it 170 or 175 which I hope to duplicate with the Mizuno.

Results:

Driver: STZ 230

9.5 degree, Kai' li blue 60 stiff

3 wood:

15 degree

Kai'li blue 60 regular

hybrid:

22 degree

Linq 75 regular

If you read this far, you will get a kick out of this. The wife asked why I didn’t have a launch monitor! Ah, ya, gotcha. Seeing one in the future. Have my eye on that sweet little new Rapsodo MLM2PRO Mobile Launch Monitor + Golf Simulator.  I see myself and the wife on the back porch playing Pebble Beach and Augusta National. Good times.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Beakbryce

[GaryF]

1 hour ago, Beakbryce said:

Sorry to hear that. We will see what the time frame is for receiving the clubs and a report on how they arrive. Stay tuned for those reports. Hopefully the Pings will aid your game.

Update - one week ago today, I was told my Mizuno clubs were going into production the next day and would have the next week.  The next afternoon, one of our assistant pros called and said my clubs arrived and were at the distribution center.  They are assembled about 1 1/2 hr drive from my home.  He picked them up and delivered to my home.   Lots of family visiting so only have hit a few times, including 9 holes today (43).  Going to take some patience to get them dialed in.  Hope my Pings get here in the next week.  Cleveland wedge fitting tomorrow.

I thought the Mizuno woods look great and hope they play well. I really liked the Ping hybrid and woods and have to admit I have somewhat of a brand bias as I’m hanging up my 14 yo Ping  G15 irons that have served me well. I like the Callaway woods also but didn’t get the results I got with Ping.
 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by GaryF

[Swood1994]

Sorry for the delay on my intro but vacation is getting in the way. I know you’re all eager for another read and I will be sure to get it up in the next couple of days. 

I’ll lead with a short prelude on my current set up. Right now I’m playing all Callaway on the top end of my bag. Big stick is a Paradym with a Ventus Blue 7S shaft, 3-wood is a Rogue ST Max 16.5. Hybrid is a Rogue ST Max 4H (20°). Both in a Tensei Blue 75S shaft. 

I’m excited to put the Mizuno’s against the Callaway’s as I’ve had really good luck with them and they’ll be hard to beat. Stay tuned for my intro and fitting coming soon!

[Beakbryce]

14 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

Sorry for the delay on my intro but vacation is getting in the way. I know you’re all eager for another read and I will be sure to get it up in the next couple of days. 

I’ll lead with a short prelude on my current set up. Right now I’m playing all Callaway on the top end of my bag. Big stick is a Paradym with a Ventus Blue 7S shaft, 3-wood is a Rogue ST Max 16.5. Hybrid is a Rogue ST Max 4H (20°). Both in a Tensei Blue 75S shaft. 

I’m excited to put the Mizuno’s against the Callaway’s as I’ve had really good luck with them and they’ll be hard to beat. Stay tuned for my intro and fitting coming soon!

That setup sounds like it will result in quite the tussle. It will be interesting to read the comments for both our threads on how new generation Mizunos fair against both old and new generation Callaways. This should be fun.

[Swood1994]

3 hours ago, Beakbryce said:

That setup sounds like it will result in quite the tussle. It will be interesting to read the comments for both our threads on how new generation Mizunos fair against both old and new generation Callaways. This should be fun.

It will be a challenge for the Mizuno’s BUT I am throwing a curve ball into the set up from the fitting and going with lower spinning shafts which according to the data proved a little more accurate and slightly longer. So there’s a possibility the Mixuno’s have an edge already. More to come on that when I get my fitting notes up!

[Swood1994]

Hey everyone! I was able to get my intro up finally after my vacation! I'll have a longer post on the fitting in the thread and have more photo's of the current set up and the older Mizuno clubs, I have in the equipment room. Please feel free to let me know if you all have any specific wants/needs on what you want to see in the new vs. old or against my Callaways. Now the waiting game continues for the much anticipated Unboxing & First impressions!

[Swood1994]

Fitting:

So I went to my local Golf Galaxy with a pretty good idea of what shafts I'd be getting put into based on my current set up.

I'll start a quick story. I brought my clubs to get some baseline numbers in the fitting to make some comparisons against. Hitting a ProV1 in the bay I noticed all of my numbers were way lower than I usually get clocked at (club speed 108-112, ball speed around 160). Chalking it up to variance on the indoor Trackman we moved over to the Mizuno's. Same problem persisted and I continually saw low numbers. Oh well, I thought, until my fitter said "I think I found your problem.." he showed me a Titleist ProV1 cracked in half! I'm sure it was due to the New Coretech Chamber and not the fact that the ProV1 I was handed looked like it had seen about 100,000 hits in the bay.

We were restricted to non-upcharge shafts so with that I went in thinking the Kai'li 70 gram Stiff shaft would be a winner based on my current Ventus Blue 7S shaft in my Paradym. To my surprise I could not get my spin numbers down enough to stop my fade from tailing to far right. It felt whippy. Next, we tried the HZRDUS Smoke Green and I took about 3 swings and knew that profile was WAY too stiff. Mike, my fitter, had me try the HZRDUS Smoke Black in 6.0 60 Grams. Reluctantly I agreed and ended up being extremely surprised by the results which we will get into. I have always stayed away from the HZRDUS lineup as it always felt way too stiff from tip to butt. Also being a lower launching shaft I was too afraid to hit low bullets as I always have had a lower launch angle and a consistent negative AoA. Yet here we are and I can say the numbers don't lie.

I'll talk averages for the best 5 shots on each shaft. Both were set up to 11.5° and upright on the tip selection and I like to increase my loft due to a negative angle of attack and move the head upright to shut the face down.

As you can see the strikes are fairly consistent from a club and ball speed perspective but the HZRDUS gained 26 Yards more overall which I think can be attributed to the 643 less RPMs of spin. The average dispersion on the Hzrdus Black was 7.5 feet right of center.

Results:

Driver: ST-X 230 set to 11.5° +1 UP W/ Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.0 60G

3-Wood: ST-Z 230 15° Set to 16° W/ Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.0 70G

Hybrid: ST-Z 230 19° set to 20° W/ Ventus Blue HB-8S

 

If the lower launching lower spinning shaft works best for me in the Mizuno I'm going to try and pick up a Ventus Black 6 or 7s shaft to fit into my Callaway for an equal comparison.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Swood1994

[Swood1994]

Alright folks! Let’s get this test back in the top of the recent content. As we are all eagerly awaiting our shipping notices I figured it’d be a fun idea to do a full bag of Mizunos. So I’ll be swapping out my driver, 3W, 4H for the older ones from my testing post. And I’ll take out my 4 vokeys and replace them with my PW from my Mizuno MP-18MMC set and a 56° Mizuno MP T-4 wedge. The putter will either have to be a Scotty or an Odyssey 7. 
 

Any bets on score? I’ll be playing a par 67 at my local executive course. The front side is par 34 with 2 par 3’s and 7 par 4’s. Plan is to get the 9 holes in Thursday morning (can’t mess up league night on Wednesday)

[vandyland]

@Swood1994 best of luck with the vintage equipment! I would guess you shoot around 70 on the exec course. 

I am chomping at the bit to get my shipping email and I am looking at my current driver like its days are already numbered! 

[Swood1994]

Alright so I was able to sweep some dew this morning and give the old Mizuno’s a go. I only got nine in and have to say I quite surprised. 
 

score: 38 (+4) 4 bogeys, 5 pars

FIR: 3/7

GIR: 4/9

Putts: 15

I was quite surprised with the distance I was still getting on the driver considering the age. Consistency was way worse than newer models, but that is to be expected. Some notable drives using markers on the tee box shooting with my laser range finder were a 305 yard drive into the wind on 3 (thank you 8.5° of loft). 300 yard power fade off an elevated tee on hole 7.

one of the bigger takeaways was only having 1 wedge (2 if you count the set PW). I had a lot less to think about on short game shots. 

All in all it was a fun 9-hole round with some clubs I haven’t used in a long time. the way the old clubs performed is getting me really excited to test out the newest from Mizuno. Now back to waiting for my shipping email

 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

On 7/13/2023 at 11:00 AM, Swood1994 said:

Alright so I was able to sweep some dew this morning and give the old Mizuno’s a go. I only got nine in and have to say I quite surprised. 
 

score: 38 (+4) 4 bogeys, 5 pars

FIR: 3/7

GIR: 4/9

Putts: 15

I was quite surprised with the distance I was still getting on the driver considering the age. Consistency was way worse than newer models, but that is to be expected. Some notable drives using markers on the tee box shooting with my laser range finder were a 305 yard drive into the wind on 3 (thank you 8.5° of loft). 300 yard power fade off an elevated tee on hole 7.

one of the bigger takeaways was only having 1 wedge (2 if you count the set PW). I had a lot less to think about on short game shots. 

All in all it was a fun 9-hole round with some clubs I haven’t used in a long time. the way the old clubs performed is getting me really excited to test out the newest from Mizuno. Now back to waiting for my shipping email

 

looks like that was a fun idea! looking forward to seeing you guys get your new gear in.  Will be fun to see some side by side of old vs new!

[golfrdude]

Congrats! Hopefully the clubs make it to you before winter

[zackww77]

Congratulations to those selected.  Looking forward to the feedback 

[Swood1994]

19 hours ago, GolfSpy BOS said:

looks like that was a fun idea! looking forward to seeing you guys get your new gear in.  Will be fun to see some side by side of old vs new!

I think I’ve hit the daily refresh limit on my inbox since the order was placed! Looking forward to getting these clubs out on the course. If my dispersion is consistent with the trackman numbers during the fitting there could be a big shake up at the top of my bag. 

[russtopherb]

8 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

I think I’ve hit the daily refresh limit on my inbox since the order was placed! Looking forward to getting these clubs out on the course. If my dispersion is consistent with the trackman numbers during the fitting there could be a big shake up at the top of my bag. 

I’ve been obsessively checking my email as well. I’m headed away this week for a short 25th anniversary getaway with my wife, so you just KNOW they’re going to show up while we’re gone

[Swood1994]

11 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

I’ve been obsessively checking my email as well. I’m headed away this week for a short 25th anniversary getaway with my wife, so you just KNOW they’re going to show up while we’re gone

Hopefully we are all on the same schedule for delivery then. And if so, I appreciate you taking one for the team!

[vandyland]

Checking email a lot here and panicking when I am deleting junk and it refreshes....I am always afraid I accidentally deleted my Mizuno email...haha. 

[vandyland]

Looks like Mizuno is debuting a new driver at the Open this week (or maybe I missed it earlier)? Looks like they will have a ST-G in play that has two moveable weight tracks. Pretty cool!

[Swood1994]

9 hours ago, vandyland said:

Looks like Mizuno is debuting a new driver at the Open this week (or maybe I missed it earlier)? Looks like they will have a ST-G in play that has two moveable weight tracks. Pretty cool!

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one… it’s a 440cc head and there is a lot going on with the double track movable weights. But the ST-G fairway looks really good and reminds me of the Sim Ti 3-wood that was an absolute rocket. I’ll be curious how they perform this week at Hoylake 

[russtopherb]

These new ST-G are the ultra low spin line right? I’d be hitting 200 yard knuckleballs with those