Two weeks ago, Mizuno unveiled the JPX 921 line of irons and if you missed our preview, check it out here. Over the last two weeks, we have been busy in the THP Tech Studio putting each of the four sets to the test.
The lineup consists of the Hot Metal, Hot Metal Pro, Forged and Tour. We wanted to not only tell you about the results, but show you the testing and talk you through some swings.
In the video below, we take each set for a test drive and talk a little bit about the tech, but go a step further and compare all four to each other in the wrap up with all of the data.
After watching the swings and hearing about the clubs, which set do you think fits best for your game?
The Details
In Stores: 9/17/2020
Cost: $1000-$1400 depending on set
I was going to hit the 921 Forged and some potential combos today but I got distracted. I’m heading back this weekend to fix that.
921 HMP are definitely on my radar
[QUOTE=”mikeg_74, post: 9697545, member: 15992″]
the way I understand it is that the Forged are the first iron to be forged from chromoly materials. Those smarter than I can correct me if I’m wrong.
[/QUOTE]
MP 20 HMB was the first with forged Chromoly but only the face and neck are forged Chromoly. The back of the hollow body is stainless steel.
[SIZE=5][B]COMPLEX, LOFT SPECIFIC CONSTRUCTION[/B][/SIZE]
Our multi-thickness Grain Flow Forged Chromoly (2-8 iron face and neck) is dialed in to be consistently hot across the clubface. Twin 12g Tungsten weights (2-7 iron) deliver stability and an easy launch. A softer 1025E Pure select mild carbon steel makes the short irons (9/pw) soft and responsive.
The 921F would be the first full iron head wholly of Chromoly forged.
[QUOTE=”Stemmy66, post: 9697910, member: 41999″]
921 HMP are definitely on my radar
[/QUOTE]
If you need the forgiveness, the HMP are definitely doable. But I compared the length of the faces of the MP 20 HMB and 919 HMP – and voila, from heel to toe, about the same. So do not fear the HMB. At least take a look.
I have now played 27 handicapped rounds with the 921 Tours in the bag, along with a few practice rounds and a fair bit of range time.
My handicap has dropped 3.4 shots which I can largely attribute to these clubs along with some short game improvement.
What I have enjoyed the most is how consistent the 921 Tours have been for me. I am extremely confident with distances and absolutely never miss long. When it comes to consistency these clubs deliver. What has surprised me the most is how forgiving these clubs are. The soles get through the turf with ease making it very difficult to hit a heavy shot that loses carry. The clubs do let you know when you’ve hit it poorly, and my game is benefiting from the feedback, but on bad strikes I do not feel that the distance drop off is any different to my previous clubs (Apex 19) which are apparently meant to be game improvement clubs.
I still feel they are the best looking irons on the market that are not blades. The look at address is amazing and bag appeal is off the charts.
Only negatives are what I paired the 921 Tour heads with. I’m not a fan of the Tour Velvet Cords and will likely regrip. The Project X 6.5 shafts are delivering very tight dispersion, but I would like to experiment with some options ~5g lighter and a little less stiff.
I’ve got an order in for a set of Srixon ZX7’s with KBS $ Taper 120 Stiff shafts. They will go straight in the bag when they arrive, but I think it will be very tough to keep the 921 Tours out of my bag for too long.
[QUOTE=”GraniteRoost, post: 9697629, member: 40185″]
I was going to hit the 921 Forged and some potential combos today but I got distracted. I’m heading back this weekend to fix that.
[/QUOTE]
Tub spout broke last night and I had to go to Home Depot first thing this AM, which happens to right next to the golf store. Had a fun little session, here are 6-8 shot averages from some contenders:
[ATTACH type=”full” alt=”5F1B3C8B-2877-4205-B85E-401AB9F73785.jpeg”]8983096[/ATTACH]
[QUOTE=”GraniteRoost, post: 9698657, member: 40185″]
Tub spout broke last night and I had to go to Home Depot first thing this AM, which happens to right next to the golf store. Had a fun little session, here are 6-8 shot averages from some contenders:
[ATTACH type=”full” alt=”5F1B3C8B-2877-4205-B85E-401AB9F73785.jpeg”]8983096[/ATTACH]
[/QUOTE]
No spin makes a difference.:ROFLMAO:
[QUOTE=”Desmond, post: 9697960, member: 24109″]
If you need the forgiveness, the HMP are definitely doable. But I compared the length of the faces of the MP 20 HMB and 919 HMP – and voila, from heel to toe, about the same. So do not fear the HMB. At least take a look.
[/QUOTE]
[media=giphy]cjzkCDL3jZTZB6ki1B[/media]
[QUOTE=”GraniteRoost, post: 9698657, member: 40185″]Tub spout broke last night and I had to go to Home Depot first thing this AM, which happens to right next to the golf store. Had a fun little session, here are 6-8 shot averages from some contenders:
[ATTACH type=”full” alt=”5F1B3C8B-2877-4205-B85E-401AB9F73785.jpeg”]8983096[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
So much roll. GC must have been set to simulate hard fairways.
Finally set up a net in my garage to practise the rest of winter. Why do I suck so bad hitting off a mat?? When I do make a good swing/contact the 921 forged feel awesome. I’m not giving up though, I have a cheap mat which i’m sure doesn’t help
[QUOTE=”MH, post: 9704654, member: 38594″]
Finally set up a net in my garage to practise the rest of winter. Why do I suck so bad hitting off a mat?? When I do make a food swing/contact the 921 forged feel awesome. I’m not giving up though, I have a cheap mat which one m sure doesn’t help
[/QUOTE]
Opportunity to work on eliminating the fats and thins. A tough habit to break, assuming that’s the issue.
Spent time with the forged 7i today. It is the club in this jpx921 lineup that I feel should be a good fit for me; however, I have preferred both the tour and HMP in previous hitting sessions. Feel/sound is satisfying. I get about 10 yards more carry compared to my mmc’s, more than I would expect from 1* loft difference. Forged is also about 1K lower spinning and spin varies a bit more. Forged is more forgiving. There is a lot to like. Distance control could be a small concern. Very interesting club. I still lean toward Tour and think the HMP is right there with the forged, at least when hitting 7i. More testing needed.
I ordered a set of 921 forged on the 17th November after a fitting with Mizuno here in Thailand. Their Rep said 20 – 30 days delivery, being Asia I guessed it would be on the longer side of his estimate. 2 weeks ago I received a message they had shipped from Japan and expect to receive them around the 25th December. Yesterday the Rep finally spoke and said they still have not left Japan and more than likely will not ship until the 4th January. The delay I can accept, new product line, covid etc etc, what really annoys me is being told they had left the factory in Japan when they haven’t left Japan. I’m supposed to be travelling to Europe around the 8th for a couple of months work, so I won’t even be here to receive them.
Apologies for the rant.
Since being fit into the 921 Hot Metals (but I didn’t get to hit anything else in the line), I’ve been wondering:
Why don’t the Hot Metals factor more into the decision when people are choosing from the Mizuno JPX-921 Lineup?
It seems like everyone jumps right to the Hot Metal Pros, the Tours, and the Forged.
What is the draw to the other models over the Hot Metals?
I still want to try the other models, but wonder if it will just leave me confused about the original fitting.
[QUOTE=”Mad_Brad, post: 9719696, member: 9473″]
Since being fit into the 921 Hot Metals (but I didn’t get to hit anything else in the line), I’ve been wondering:
Why don’t the Hot Metals factor more into the decision when people are choosing from the Mizuno JPX-921 Lineup?
It seems like everyone jumps right to the Hot Metal Pros, the Tours, and the Forged.
What is the draw to the other models over the Hot Metals?
I still want to try the other models, but wonder if it will just leave me confused about the original fitting.
[/QUOTE]
People fear forgiveness.
Mizuno fans tend to lean towards less forgiving.
HMPs are spectacular irons.
There’s probably way too many reasons, but I also think that is a nice compliment to a product like HMP.
[QUOTE=”GraniteRoost, post: 9698657, member: 40185″]
Tub spout broke last night and I had to go to Home Depot first thing this AM, which happens to right next to the golf store. Had a fun little session, here are 6-8 shot averages from some contenders:
[ATTACH type=”full” alt=”5F1B3C8B-2877-4205-B85E-401AB9F73785.jpeg”]8983096[/ATTACH]
[/QUOTE]
Are those all the same club??
Forgiveness is my friend…. I do not fear it, even if she is ugly to others 😉
[QUOTE=”NVGOLFER80, post: 9719725, member: 53139″]
Are those all the same club??
[/QUOTE]
All 7 irons
[QUOTE=”Mad_Brad, post: 9719696, member: 9473″]
Since being fit into the 921 Hot Metals (but I didn’t get to hit anything else in the line), I’ve been wondering:
Why don’t the Hot Metals factor more into the decision when people are choosing from the Mizuno JPX-921 Lineup?
It seems like everyone jumps right to the Hot Metal Pros, the Tours, and the Forged.
What is the draw to the other models over the Hot Metals?
I still want to try the other models, but wonder if it will just leave me confused about the original fitting.
[/QUOTE]
its natural on online forums with hardcore equipment people, but they will be the number one selling iron if I was a betting man.
[QUOTE=”GraniteRoost, post: 9719869, member: 40185″]
All 7 irons
[/QUOTE]
interesting.. THanks!
[QUOTE=”Faiz, post: 9720299, member: 16351″]
My Hot Metal Pro 4 iron arrived! [emoji3060]
Quite excited to get out there and try it against the club its replacing but it’s started snowing! Just my luck.
As a recap it’s replacing my Titleist 710MB 3 iron which is 21°, the HMP 4 iron is 19° so I should be getting slightly more distance based off loft and tech.
I bought it for forgiveness off the tee, I hit the 710mb well most of the time but I wanted a more forgiving club that I felt more comfortable with when under pressure.
Anyway I’ve got a few pictures, you can see it’s a huge size difference. I’ve got a pic showing the HMP’s ‘junk in the trunk’. It doesn’t bother me but I haven’t hit any shots with it yet so we’ll see.
In general though it’s a great looking club, you can see the baffles for audible tuning to improve the feel. Can’t wait to get out there! [IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201229/08d12f31c6b5734a9b12ee20a4acfd56.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201229/4bfbb4c1d0148f2de15200455adb95fc.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201229/a800e5740e82810275e62be033685e94.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201229/4075de5702b8e2dd85d4178572852058.jpg[/IMG]
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[/QUOTE]
I’m interested to hear your thoughts. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The 4i definitely has more junk in the trunk than what I was used to, but it’s a beast of an iron and I don’t find the little extra distracting.
[QUOTE=”Jeff Spicoli, post: 9720974, member: 10545″]I’m interested to hear your thoughts. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The 4i definitely has more junk in the trunk than what I was used to, but it’s a beast of an iron and I don’t find the little extra distracting.[/QUOTE]I’ve booked in to play on Thursday, hopefully the course is open again then.
I can’t wait to get out there. Haha
Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk
Interesting data on the 921 forged Vs. HMB
[ATTACH type=”full”]8984924[/ATTACH]
Mizunos are just amazing looking this year..so well done
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[QUOTE=”DNice26, post: 9725716, member: 45706″]
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[/QUOTE]
Think I would consider a blended set of HMPs in the long irons and Forged in the lower ones.
[QUOTE=”Bryndom, post: 9725722, member: 53516″]
Think I would consider a blended set of HMPs in the long irons and Forged in the lower ones.
[/QUOTE]
Is that even needed? The HMP short irons look pretty good….
A little update on my 921 thoughts after several rounds under my belt
– Not to sound like a broken record, but the feel is so good with these irons. I thought the CF-19 Apex pros felt great when struck well, but the Mizunos are another level imo.
– No hard numbers other than on course results, but I am at least 1/2 longer through the bag and might be a full club longer in the 5-7 irons. The HMP’s are so easy to hit and appear to be retaining ball speeds really well on off center hits
– Dispersion is better as well. I am not sure if that is because the 921’s are not spinning as much as my CF-19’s or the switch to Recoils, but I am seeing tighter results on well struck shots and shots off center are not as offline.
– The HMP’s have some forgiveness packed into them. They are the easiest long irons I have ever hit. At address some of that is visible, but nothing that bugs me. I can see how that could bug others.
– Whatever is going on with the sole is working. Turf interaction is really good, even on some heavy shots. These irons get through the turf really well and while not quite on the level of the VSole that Srixon offers, these do really well. I’ve played on some dormant and very thin/hard bermuda the last couple of rounds, and these irons had no issues allowing me to make the contact I want/needed.
[QUOTE=”mikeg_74, post: 9725736, member: 15992″]
A little update on my 921 thoughts after several rounds under my belt
– Not to sound like a broken record, but the feel is so good with these irons. I thought the CF-19 Apex pros felt great when struck well, but the Mizunos are another level imo.
– No hard numbers other than on course results, but I am at least 1/2 longer through the bag and might be a full club longer in the 5-7 irons. The HMP’s are so easy to hit and appear to be retaining ball speeds really well on off center hits
– Dispersion is better as well. I am not sure if that is because the 921’s are not spinning as much as my CF-19’s or the switch to Recoils, but I am seeing tighter results on well struck shots and shots off center are not as offline.
– The HMP’s have some forgiveness packed into them. They are the easiest long irons I have ever hit. At address some of that is visible, but nothing that bugs me. I can see how that could bug others.
– Whatever is going on with the sole is working. Turf interaction is really good, even on some heavy shots. These irons get through the turf really well and while not quite on the level of the VSole that Srixon offers, these do really well. I’ve played on some dormant and very thin/hard bermuda the last couple of rounds, and these irons had no issues allowing me to make the contact I want/needed.
[/QUOTE]
Nice to read the ongoing positive update. I think your mix of forged (P-8) with HMP (7-5) is genius. You are getting the soft 1025E in the forged and chromoly boom and forgiveness with the HMP after that. It is a tempting setup for me. My only concern is distance. Forged are a club longer than my current irons. I have a hard time processing how that would work with wedges.
[QUOTE=”GoldenBuff, post: 9725803, member: 25892″]
Nice to read the ongoing positive update. I think your mix of forged (P-8) with HMP (7-5) is genius. You are getting the soft 1025E in the forged and chromoly boom and forgiveness with the HMP after that. It is a tempting setup for me. My only concern is distance. Forged are a club longer than my current irons. I have a hard time processing how that would work with wedges.
[/QUOTE]
for a higher swing speed player I can definitely see the distance jump. For me, even with the slight jump in distance, it hasn’t made me alter my wedges. I also don’t full swing my wedges so I am probably a player where the extra yardages is welcomed and rely on my short game to clean anything up.
[QUOTE=”DNice26, post: 9725716, member: 45706″]
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[/QUOTE]
I continue to wonder the same thing myself. Almost everybody who tries both seems to get better numbers with the HMPs. They are less expensive, too.
[QUOTE=”DNice26, post: 9725716, member: 45706″]
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[/QUOTE]
For me, the Forged has an overall sleeker profile which suits my eye. I know it’s just a matter of a millimetre or so but it’s a millimetre in all directions. The feel difference is not as much of a concern having played the 919F and 919HMP in the past. In fitting, the 921F had better standard deviation in ball speed, spin and distance. Front to back dispersion was better by 4 yards but left/right dispersion was 1 yard worse than HMP.
[QUOTE=”noodle3872, post: 9726806, member: 56″]
For me, the Forged has an overall sleeker profile which suits my eye. I know it’s just a matter of a millimetre or so but it’s a millimetre in all directions. The feel difference is not as much of a concern having played the 919F and 919HMP in the past. In fitting, the 921F had better standard deviation in ball speed, spin and distance. Front to back dispersion was better by 4 yards but left/right dispersion was 1 yard worse than HMP.
[/QUOTE]
That is super interesting because stark different than mine. Were you comparing deviation on all shots or just good ones?
[QUOTE=”jdtox, post: 9728262, member: 5944″]
I think I need to go take some swings with this lineup….soon
[/QUOTE]
I think you are going to like a couple of them
[QUOTE=”JB, post: 9727183, member: 3″]
That is super interesting because stark different than mine. Were you comparing deviation on all shots or just good ones?
[/QUOTE]
Only gross mishits were removed. The numbers generally favoured the Forged shot to shot. Forged just felt more comfortable. The front to back and left/right numbers I posted were based off the averages for each club hitting session.
I may be doing a thing …..
[QUOTE=”DNice26, post: 9725716, member: 45706″]
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[/QUOTE]
During my fitting dispersion was better and my spin was higher which lead to less rollout with the Forged. I was longer with the HMP over the forged, which in turn were approximately 9 yards longer than my current clubs.
[QUOTE=”Bryndom, post: 9729290, member: 53516″]
I may be doing a thing …..
[/QUOTE]
Nearly, couldn’t quite get the numbers to work out….solidly on pondering list again
So I got out there today and it was cold. Just above freezing, 2°C/35°F. So as you can imagine not ideal, plus the snow had melted so it was very boggy underfoot.
Anyway to be fair that’s how it’s been since I got Shotscope so at least it’s a fair comparison, all carry and no roll.
Tbh I really struggled to hit the centre of the club, I kept hitting it heelside. I think this is because my blades are so much shorter in terms of blade length compared to the HMP.
It was quite funny though as the very first shot, which came out of the heel, ended up being the exact same length as my longest strike with my 710MB 3 iron. If that’s not an endorsement for forgiveness then I don’t know what is! Haha
I think once I get used to it and start to strike it then it’s really going to come into its own. My previous longest in these conditions with the 710MB was 209 yards, on the last hole today I struck one right out of the centre and got 227 yards and that was solid carry as I picked it out of its pitch mark.
I can’t really say anything for feel etc because it was so cold. What I can say is that it seems to be ridiculously forgiving in terms of distance from all over the face.
So far I’m really pleased and reckon it’ll be quite easy to develop consistency with it. [IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201231/2f5f1d54df785de52dfa6e371ac502b4.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201231/020adcffce55a5361dd009d952ded23b.jpg[/IMG]
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Okay so I have been hitting my 921 forged into the net in my garage and I think I may have picked the wrong shaft. When getting fit (using this term very loosely) it came down to the modus 120 and project x lz. The lz’s were a bit less spin and the launch was a degree or 2 less with a flatter ball flight and distance was a few yards longer carry. This was done with just the 7 iron, I am not enjoying the feeling of these with the lz’s for some reason and my distance is down. I should have stayed with the modus as I played them all last year and really enjoyed the performance and feel of them. The fact that the LZ shafts were the blackouts was one of the final deciding factors. I will try these on grass this spring and if they don’t work out I will either move them or re-shaft them. Absolutely love the look of them though
Hard to argue with stats, these are winter numbers so more or less pure carry. I state that because it makes the comparison fair but more importantly I am excited to see what bombs will be produced in the summer.
Today I was really getting my strike out of the centre and the distance was fantastic. More importantly the accuracy speaks for itself. I guess when you look at the numbers it makes you realise how tough it is to play a blade 3 iron with any consistency, I wasn’t missing the fairway by loads but a miss is a miss. The distance gain is quite frankly ridiculous, I don’t know what more to add.
Super pleased I went this route.
Excited to see what adding more forgiving irons throughout the bag will do for my game.
[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210102/25a388770f174ff15ddd2d5a86540f05.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210102/43955bd532700f0d20ea61998a0a60b7.jpg[/IMG]
Nothing like some testing to validate your feeling and getting the results you thought you would. Sometimes its just plain nice to get a win with a club change on a hunch. My testing on new clubs is always done in the sim where available, but ultimately the real test is on the course and that is where the true validation on what you got from the sim in confirmed.
[QUOTE=”time4tim, post: 9661392, member: 9186″]
As much as I love the HMP’s…the gap wedge is not a very good compliment to this set. May be time to move it out of the bag.
[/QUOTE]
What didn’t you like about the GW?
The AW or GW is just not a good club for me. I never seem to get the distance I expect out of that club. Plus as nice as the set is, the one Mizuno designed for this set just isn’t that great looking.
[QUOTE=”DNice26, post: 9725716, member: 45706″]
Curious….for those considering the Forged……why not the Hot metal Pros? Or vice versa?
[/QUOTE]
I’m leaning HMP aggressively for 2021. I love the Forged feel and performance, but I feel like the HMP are just them on steroids.
[QUOTE=”time4tim, post: 9751427, member: 9186″]
The AW or GW is just not a good club for me. I never seem to get the distance I expect out of that club. Plus as nice as the set is, the one Mizuno designed for this set just isn’t that great looking.
[/QUOTE]
This is helpful, thanks. Probably lean 5-PW if I go the HMP route.
A couple months ago I decided to take a chance and get myself some real irons. For years I’ve been a game improvement irons guy and felt comfortable with the extra forgiveness while sacrificing feel and workability. I was fitted for a set of 921 tour irons 4-PW with steelfiber i95s shafts and the adjustment has been interesting to say the least.
Feel is amazing, hitting draws or fades at will but everything was short and kinda frustrating. I realized that I went from a 30.5* 7iron to 34* more natural loft. Went back to the fitter and was hitting 7 iron 150 yds on the launch monitor… not happy with that distance. He bent it 2* strong and right back to my usual distance 160-165yds range. The rest of my irons were bent 2* and I feel better about the set.
Consistent ball striking and finding the center of the face is still a work-in-progress, but overall these irons are pretty damn good when you hit them right. What’s the saying… once you go Player irons, you never go back? [emoji1787]
[QUOTE=”Canes, post: 9756089, member: 5685″]
A couple months ago I decided to take a chance and get myself some real irons. For years I’ve been a game improvement irons guy and felt comfortable with the extra forgiveness while sacrificing feel and workability. I was fitted for a set of 921 tour irons 4-PW with steelfiber i95s shafts and the adjustment has been interesting to say the least.
Feel is amazing, hitting draws or fades at will but everything was short and kinda frustrating. I realized that I went from a 30.5* 7iron to 34* more natural loft. Went back to the fitter and was hitting 7 iron 150 yds on the launch monitor… not happy with that distance. He bent it 2* strong and right back to my usual distance 160-165yds range. The rest of my irons were bent 2* and I feel better about the set.
Consistent ball striking and finding the center of the face is still a work-in-progress, but overall these irons are pretty damn good when you hit them right. What’s the saying… once you go Player irons, you never go back? [emoji1787]
[/QUOTE]
Tours bro??!!?? I definitely gets pops next time we tee it up! Lol
[QUOTE=”mikeg_74, post: 9756099, member: 15992″]Tours bro??!!?? I definitely gets pops next time we tee it up! Lol[/QUOTE]It’s [USER=48932]@BigDill[/USER] fault lol
I am so on the fence between the 921 Forge and the MP20 HMBs. Love both?????