Two weeks ago, Mizuno debuted the ES21 wedges and the curiosity from readers immediately rose. A first of its kind design, with the sweet spot centered exactly in the middle of the face and marked on the back.
The wedge has a forged 1025, boron infused carbon steel face attached to a hollow body stainless steel body with two different sole options (wide and standard). Coming in lofts from 54 degrees up to 60 (in 2 degree increments), the goal was to provide not just more spin, but more control for the player looking for performance.
We decided to give it a test in the THP Tech Studio and show you the swings and the data. Does the tech live up to the hype and give us the spin we are searching for? Find out in the Range Days episode below.
The Details
In Stores: 9/17/2020
Cost: $200 Each
Shaft: KBS Hi-Rev 110 Black Wedge Shaft
The GW?
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I’m pretty tempted on these….
I think there is little chatter because it’s a Mizuno wedge and they don’t bring a ton, which is a shame. Combine that with half the golfing public believes it’s a larger soled game improvement style wedge and it’s a recipe for some golfers to stay away, which is a shame because they are incorrect.
I suppose if the perception is game improvement, then the price point certainly doesn’t do them any favors.
In person these wedges look fantastic behind the ball. I don’t like black wedges, but the grey face on these frames the ball soooo nicely.
For me it’s purely because there’s no 50* stateside, otherwise I’d have bought all three lofts I want after hitting them in the Club Lab. They’re crazy impressive.
I bought 50• and 56• in Japan, and just ordered a 60• from the US…
Haha! I won’t lie, I was close to doing the same, but I resisted.
Easier living in Singapore
That’s fair….
For me 100% totally. It’s my favorite looking wedge at address out right now but to swap out 3 wedges at $600 plus tax I just can’t do it.
Especially with other capable offerings like the CBX2/CBX Full Face at a more palatable price point. Also I play a 64* and the mizuno is not offered in a 64*.
This is kinda my thinking as well.
I’m between these and Jaws wedges I think. But to unload an extra hundo on these is tough. Especially when I can’t really test them in playing conditions. Hitting short wedges off a mat and into a net is mostly useless in my mind, as it relates to testing/deciding. Turf interaction, feel for chipping, pitching etc. is king with the wedges.
They are so purdy though….its tempting.
But that is no more.
I play Mizuno MP T20 Wedges, which are very functional, have the wet tech, feel great, and come in raw and $149 with Nippon 125 wedge shaft. The ES21 are appealing and with demo day use, I’d probably grow accustomed to the high toe. They’d probably sell a lot of these if the giant demo days were still around – miss those events.
Yes, in fact that is how you hit some lofts
Thank you!! 56 to 55 it shall be!
Going to take the 56 to 55 and 60 to 61.
Will be very curious to read your thoughts.
btw the 921 gap is phenomenal
Sharp looking club.
Great concept but too unconventional for it to be accepted. Price probably hurt its chances too.
Unconventional has done just fine.
PM Grind. CBX. Smart Sole.
I think Mizzy wedges are sort of synonymous with players wedge. Similar to say a Vokey. Maybe that hurt it’s chances.
The es21 was sort of confusing. Is it a players wedge? is it a game improvement wedge? Is it a hollow body distance wedge, is it a high spinning designed wedge with the higher cg point?
I’m still confused lol
It did get really good reviews.
I love the look. But even with the price reduction, I’ve never been able to pull the trigger on one given how well my CBX Full Face wedges work.
my local shop still has a ton of them which usually they don’t have anything in the back meaning these have been around on the floor for a long time and not selling.
Short game, this wedge has done everything I want – chips, pitch, flop. Love what it does and love the look.
But full swings are another story. Maybe it’s super high spinning, but it’s much shorter full swing wise that what I was expecting and experienced in my previous 58. It’s enough of a gap to my 52° where I’m thinking I need a 56 instead of a 58.
Anyone else seeing similar results if taking full swings?
Yes I have the same issue with my 54. Short game is great but full swings are shorter than my Callaway cb56 or at best the same distance. I just bought a cbx zipcore 54 but have yet to compare them.
I’m thinking of doing the same thing and comparing to a cbx as well. Or I might keep the es21 in the bag along with the beat up 58 it was supposed to replace and play 4 wedges when needed. I can hit the same yardage with that a 60 or 62 could.
You know you want to
I’ll push if you need it
The question is, do i need a 60 degree, a 2 iron, or both?
This wedge in a 60 in your hands sounds fun
I still have a 56 that I use all the time in this line. Love the wider sole model for bunker work
How’s the black finish holding up ?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the dark finish on my CBX full faces. But have always been curious about this wedge.
The question is: Who doesn’t need a 2 Iron?
I thought the question was "Who would buy a 2i?"
Rough wasn’t high but it was thick, and this guy came through every time on high pitches or chips. Even chipped in for par on one hole. The few times it came up shorter than expected it was due to me not giving it enough oomph, not the club’s fault.
Worked great on some full swings where I choked down a bit, and another full approach shot where the height and distance were perfect but I misaligned and went left of the green. The chip on with this got me up and down for par.
Just a fun club to hit. Looks great in the bag too.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The looks didn’t have much to do with how they fared. After launch the line was killed.