Do not hit the Mizuno MP-64 unless you are ready to buy on the spot. Unbelievable feel, superb ball flight, and reasonably tolerant of slight misses to the toe or thin. The last clubs I hit that felt this good were Hogan Apex from the early '90s. The MP-64 head with a PX 5.5 seemed perfect for me.
I was getting my range clubs re-gripped (two lonely 6 irons purchased for $10 from a demo bin) and asked the salesman if I could hit some clubs while I waited. Tried the MP-64, MP-69, MP-59, Ping Anser (new model), and Tour Stage X-Blade 705 (basically a Bridgestone J40 cavity back). The MP-64 was in a class by itself.
Slight misses to the toe and thin cost little in terms of distance - trajectory suffered as one would expect. Slight misses to the heel were punished harder in both distance and trajectory. I found it quite a bit harder to produce consistent trajectory with the MP-69. This is to be expected for sure but I was surprised at the difference. I was likewise surprised that the MP-59 felt rather dead by comparison. I've owned more Ping clubs in the last 25 years than any other brand and was excited to try the new Anser. It was a let down in both looks and feel. I noticed no difference in performance from the i20s I'm currently playing and the i20s actually feel more pleasing to me. The Tour Stage felt solid but seemed to be a little less forgiving out toward the toe. Thin shots were affected about the same as the MP-64. It had a stock Nippon shaft so I couldn't really get an apples to apples comparison with the shaft I had settled on in the Mizzy clubs.
I was surprised how effortless it was to work the ball to the left, flight it down, or both. I can do this with my i20s but it seems I have to be more conscious about doing so. With the 64s, I just visualized what I wanted, set up, and swung away. Some might say this is a blinding flash of the obvious. I was not surprised that is was easier to work the ball with MP64 than the i20 - I was surprised at the magnitude of the difference. Other than trouble shots I rarely flight the ball left to right intentionally with my irons so I didn't try that. I'm sure somebody with talent would find it quite easy to fade the ball with authority.
My swing is kind of all around moderate: slow-mod tempo, mid release, 86ish mph swing speed with 6 iron. I had no trouble getting the ball airborne and suspect I would find the same in the 5 iron. North of 5 iron I'd probably go with hybrid or perhaps try a MP-H4 or JPX 825 pro.
After the grip work was done, I paid and ran to my vehicle like a teenager that had just been caught peeking in the girls locker room by the principal. I knew if I stayed any longer an order would have been placed and I would have had some explaining to do to Mrs. Claus.
I was getting my range clubs re-gripped (two lonely 6 irons purchased for $10 from a demo bin) and asked the salesman if I could hit some clubs while I waited. Tried the MP-64, MP-69, MP-59, Ping Anser (new model), and Tour Stage X-Blade 705 (basically a Bridgestone J40 cavity back). The MP-64 was in a class by itself.
Slight misses to the toe and thin cost little in terms of distance - trajectory suffered as one would expect. Slight misses to the heel were punished harder in both distance and trajectory. I found it quite a bit harder to produce consistent trajectory with the MP-69. This is to be expected for sure but I was surprised at the difference. I was likewise surprised that the MP-59 felt rather dead by comparison. I've owned more Ping clubs in the last 25 years than any other brand and was excited to try the new Anser. It was a let down in both looks and feel. I noticed no difference in performance from the i20s I'm currently playing and the i20s actually feel more pleasing to me. The Tour Stage felt solid but seemed to be a little less forgiving out toward the toe. Thin shots were affected about the same as the MP-64. It had a stock Nippon shaft so I couldn't really get an apples to apples comparison with the shaft I had settled on in the Mizzy clubs.
I was surprised how effortless it was to work the ball to the left, flight it down, or both. I can do this with my i20s but it seems I have to be more conscious about doing so. With the 64s, I just visualized what I wanted, set up, and swung away. Some might say this is a blinding flash of the obvious. I was not surprised that is was easier to work the ball with MP64 than the i20 - I was surprised at the magnitude of the difference. Other than trouble shots I rarely flight the ball left to right intentionally with my irons so I didn't try that. I'm sure somebody with talent would find it quite easy to fade the ball with authority.
My swing is kind of all around moderate: slow-mod tempo, mid release, 86ish mph swing speed with 6 iron. I had no trouble getting the ball airborne and suspect I would find the same in the 5 iron. North of 5 iron I'd probably go with hybrid or perhaps try a MP-H4 or JPX 825 pro.
After the grip work was done, I paid and ran to my vehicle like a teenager that had just been caught peeking in the girls locker room by the principal. I knew if I stayed any longer an order would have been placed and I would have had some explaining to do to Mrs. Claus.
