Mizuno ES21 Wedge Review

[hartman29]

still pondering these, especially at the current price now. People still liking them. Finish holding up well after a season or 2? any CBX Full face users convert to the es21?

Still liking mine, great around the greens. Finish holding up quite nicely, though admittedly I only played about 5-6 rounds last year due to work/family obligations. Lots of mat range time with it and no issues.

Really spins, as others have said. I like to take full swings with all my wedges if I'm at a comfortable distance, and because of the spin I had to find some new realistic distances for this one.

Looks great in the bag.

 

[erock9174]

couldn’t pass up the $79 price on Budgetgolf

56/14 and 60/10 ordered.

 

[hackitup]

couldn’t pass up the $79 price on Budgetgolf

56/14 and 60/10 ordered.

Same here, but with the low bounce in both. I'm hoping I'll see some launch and spin consistency on shots from the rough where I usually hit it a bit high and towards the toe.

 

[hackitup]

Short game is normally indifferent for me. I was at a -0.61 SG against a 15 in short game this past year. Put the ES21 wedges I got from Budget Golf in play and I made a little bit of a turnaround. The smaller soles and bounce didn’t do great for full swings from the mushy fairways but get me close to the green and I was doing really good. The higher center of gravity did its job when I’d catch it high. Carry and spin were close enough to my good strikes and I didn’t see any dead low spin chips. The price at Budget was the primary reason I took a flyer on these. They’re a bit of an older release but I’m beyond happy with them.

 

[OldandStiff]

That's awesome @hackitup !!

I'm glad people are still talking about results with theirs. I was talking with a store manager here about them as he was marking them down the other day. Had most of their original order still. Think they were like $99, and we kind of agreed it'd be tough to get them sold at even half that maybe. They perform well enough, and great for some. They're just a hard pass on looks for most.

 

[hackitup]

That's awesome @hackitup !!

I'm glad people are still talking about results with theirs. I was talking with a store manager here about them as he was marking them down the other day. Had most of their original order still. Think they were like $99, and we kind of agreed it'd be tough to get them sold at even half that maybe. They perform well enough, and great for some. They're just a hard pass on looks for most.

I’m glad I did an Internet order. In hand they aren’t the prettiest belle at the ball. I’m not sure I bag them if I see them in person first. They just look big and clunky when you’re looking at the back. Getting people to even set one down at address is gonna be a tough sell. But they actually look pretty good at address. Not gorgeous, but pretty good.

People also think because it’s got a little junk in the trunk it’s not versatile. I was hitting mini-flops off my living room carpet. Versatility isn’t an issue. But that goes back to getting people to be willing to try it after seeing it. It’s tough to overcome first impressions. I don’t want to be over the top but a 7 stroke swing in the short game SG is game changer category. It’s pretty safe to say these are safely in my 2023 bag.

 

[JB]

I’m glad I did an Internet order. In hand they aren’t the prettiest belle at the ball. I’m not sure I bag them if I see them in person first. They just look big and clunky when you’re looking at the back. Getting people to even set one down at address is gonna be a tough sell. But they actually look pretty good at address. Not gorgeous, but pretty good.

People also think because it’s got a little junk in the trunk it’s not versatile. I was hitting mini-flops off my living room carpet. Versatility isn’t an issue. But that goes back to getting people to be willing to try it after seeing it. It’s tough to overcome first impressions. I don’t want to be over the top but a 7 stroke swing in the short game SG is game changer category. It’s pretty safe to say these are safely in my 2023 bag.

The looks didn’t have much to do with how they fared. After launch the line was killed.

 

[hackitup]

The looks didn’t have much to do with how they fared. After launch the line was killed.

Really? I thought it had to do with sales after Googling these. Well that’s a shame. I’ll probably take a closer look at Edison after these. I don’t want to give up the forgiveness.

 

[erock9174]

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Short game is normally indifferent for me. I was at a -0.61 SG against a 15 in short game this past year. Put the ES21 wedges I got from Budget Golf in play and I made a little bit of a turnaround. The smaller soles and bounce didn’t do great for full swings from the mushy fairways but get me close to the green and I was doing really good. The higher center of gravity did its job when I’d catch it high. Carry and spin were close enough to my good strikes and I didn’t see any dead low spin chips. The price at Budget was the primary reason I took a flyer on these. They’re a bit of an older release but I’m beyond happy with them.

Smaller soles— What were you playing before ?

I just got my 56 and 60 in and they are wider sole wise than my full face cbx’s.

 

[erock9174]

As for the looks. In the bag next to my CBXs I think these actually look better. But I’m a sucker for black clubs so maybe that’s why.

 

[erock9174]

The looks didn’t have much to do with how they fared. After launch the line was killed.

Can you elaborate on the “the line was killed” ? Is that Meaning they won’t go back to this tech/design etc ?

 

[hackitup]

Smaller soles— What were you playing before ?

I just got my 56 and 60 in and they are wider sole wise than my full face cbx’s.

Coming from the Jaws wedges in W grinds. I went to the Jaws from Mack Daddy CB wedges. I have the smaller sole with less bounce option in the ES21 wedges - 10 degrees in the 56 and 6 degrees in the 60. I wonder if my swing just adapted to being able to get away with being steeper with the W grind and it’ll take time to shallow it again or if the W is where I should have gone.

 

[erock9174]

Coming from the Jaws wedges in W grinds. I went to the Jaws from Mack Daddy CB wedges. I have the smaller sole with less bounce option in the ES21 wedges - 10 degrees in the 56 and 6 degrees in the 60. I wonder if my swing just adapted to being able to get away with being steeper with the W grind and it’ll take time to shallow it again or if the W is where I should have gone.

Ah got it. With wedges I play the ball back so I tend to get steep plus rarely play on tight lies so I take all the bounce I can get.

 

[Iceman!]

Ah got it. With wedges I play the ball back so I tend to get steep plus rarely play on tight lies so I take all the bounce I can get.

Any thoughts as of yet on these wedges. I have a used 54* and new 58* sitting in my eBay account that I just can't seem to pull the trigger on.

 

[erock9174]

Any thoughts as of yet on these wedges. I have a used 54* and new 58* sitting in my eBay account that I just can't seem to pull the trigger on.

Given winter is here no on course experience yet but I did hit them last week at the heated range off mats. No issues there and though they felt really nice.
In my opinion they feel nicer than the CBX Full Face wedges...then again they are forged so I was kinda expecting that.

The two tone face to my eye makes it look larger than the Full Faces even though they measure the same.

Are the prices used any better than new? Budget has them for $79 new. When I was looking for used I couldn't beat the new price.

 

[Iceman!]

Given winter is here no on course experience yet but I did hit them last week at the heated range off mats. No issues there and though they felt really nice.
In my opinion they feel nicer than the CBX Full Face wedges...then again they are forged so I was kinda expecting that.

The two tone face to my eye makes it look larger than the Full Faces even though they measure the same.

Are the prices used any better than new? Budget has them for $79 new. When I was looking for used I couldn't beat the new price.

Budget doesn't have a 54* so I'd get a used one and the new one from the same place to save on shipping, It's less than $200 with tax and shipping for both.

 

[hartman29]

I’m glad I did an Internet order. In hand they aren’t the prettiest belle at the ball. I’m not sure I bag them if I see them in person first. They just look big and clunky when you’re looking at the back. Getting people to even set one down at address is gonna be a tough sell. But they actually look pretty good at address. Not gorgeous, but pretty good.

People also think because it’s got a little junk in the trunk it’s not versatile. I was hitting mini-flops off my living room carpet. Versatility isn’t an issue. But that goes back to getting people to be willing to try it after seeing it. It’s tough to overcome first impressions. I don’t want to be over the top but a 7 stroke swing in the short game SG is game changer category. It’s pretty safe to say these are safely in my 2023 bag.

They are big, I remember this first time I saw the non-wide sole in the shop I started to wonder how wide the wide sole actually was, but the regular sole looks fairly hefty. But they perform, and that's the bottom line.

I love the way they look. Real cool looking club for me, heck sometimes when I'm driving I'll see someone go by and think "When did Mizuno make cars?" Then I realize it was a BMW logo I saw, not the COG tab on the back of the ES21.

I kind of wish they had some lower lofts, I'd be interested to see what those would have done.