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Review: Mizuno MP-59 Irons

Has the “Holy Grail” been found?
In golfing terms the “holy grail” refers the last set that you will ever need to own because they offer everything a golfer could ever want; the best-of-the-best.  As club junkies, we are always in search of that illusive set.  It needs to be forgiving, yet workable;  look like a players club, but not too demanding; and have great feel, excellent sound, and just plain work.  So are the MP-59s the “holy grail” of irons?  Find out at the end.

For starters, these are pure Mizuno.  They have that clean look when it comes to graphics and are grain flow forged for that soft pure feel at impact.  If you have never hit Mizuno, you need to find a set to try out, any forged set will do, but the MP-59 irons should be at  the top of your list to try.

While Mizuno makes a variety of muscle backs and cavity backs, these have a more muscle back look with a hidden cavity.  This design factor proved to be really interesting for me.  Instead of hollowing out the areas next to the sweet spot and leaving the majority of the mass behind the sweet spot, they removed the forged metal there and put in lighter titanium.  This created a more forgiving head by keeping the mass out near the edges, yet somehow didn’t create a hollow feeling.  It is amazing what Mizuno can do with a forged iron.  A mix of metals and design factors yet the same solid feel with even a little more forgiveness.

So just how forgiving are they?  I played 5 rounds with mine in some extremely different conditions.  I played in January in MN, which meant frozen turf, I played in Orlando, FL with near ideal conditions and in Miami, FL with soggy conditions.  In each round the sole grinds offered near perfect turf interaction.  They were sharp enough to cut in just a little yet the bounce and relief were enough so that they didn’t dig deep even in soft conditions.  I hit small shallow divots from just about any turf.  (the frozen MN turf didn’t offer much in the way of divots, but I was still able to hit the ball cleanly off the ground.)

While I found them forgiving as a single digit handicap, they are still probably too demanding for very high handicap players.  I would say that for someone who is moving their handicap downward, these might be a nice fit as your last set to buy for a while.  I think they are forgiving enough for a middle handicap player, Mizuno suggests no more than a 13handicap, but I think even a little higher than that is OK, as long as you are working at your game and trying to get better.   They also will serve the very accomplished player even as low as a pro. 

  I don’t think that what tour pros play should impact what the amateur chooses for clubs;  pros are just so much better.  But consider this, if Luke Donald switched from his MP-62s,( which took him to world #1) to the MP-59s you know that there is something special about these irons.

I had mine build to specs with KBS stiff shafts and stock tour velvet grips.  They came in spot on at D3 swing weight.  The lofts are more traditional, which is what I am used to playing, so I didn’t need to adjust for distance gain or loss, they really fell right into my normal range.  Trajectory was basically what I expected, a tad on the higher side because of the KBS shafts, but strong flight even into the wind.   I continue to be impressed by Mizuno’s soft forged heads durability.  They seem to really hold up well, even bag chatter was minimal.

While I don’t know if these are the “holy grail” of irons, they sure are close.  They offer everything you expect from Mizuno irons with a couple of surprises hidden in the design. 

For more information: www.mizunousa.com/golf

Quick Hits
+Excellent feel
+Generous forgiveness
+Stunning looks
+Players appeal

–Not for the high handicap

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