Mizuno JPX EZ Forged Irons

I have not been golfing as much as I could. However, as I have always mentioned my quote: ''Golf as in life, play as it lies'', I am not done with experiments in life and golf. You have to keep going.

So as I reached the next plateau, I have to make decisions like that of an eagle after 40 years. Fly to a corner of a mountain, use its beak to peck away its claw, wait for new claws to grow, use its claw to claw away the beak then wait for a new beak to grow, then peck and claw away its old and heavy feathers for new ones to grow and finally fly away like new and live with excellence for another 30 years.

I have decided to go on to forged clubs with yes, steel shafts. Many social golfers have swing speed of 75-85 mph. If you have 95 and above you can play with steel. The goodness of steel has its own draw back. Steel provides more feedback to the discerning golfer which also draw its ire - it also gives more vibration that could cause golf elbow (like tennis elbow). Most graphite shafts for irons weigh in at 50-55g or 60-65g for Asian spec while for American spec example Titleist they come in at 75g. 

That was the reason I have been resisting steel but graphite means sometimes my shots would spray as it has too much flex and not as consistent but steel shafts usually mean that shots will experience reduced distance by 5-10 yards. 

There was a guy on his way home who left a couple of golf balls in his pants' pockets after a round and when he entered the lift, he met a lady who enquired what were in his pockets. He told her those were golf balls. The lady looked a a bit concern and asked: ''Are golf balls as painful as tennis elbow"?

So, to celebrate SG 50, I got myself a Father''s Day present. SG50 here I come!

(Steel or Graphite):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNXbRoT21l4

Mizuno

If you are not familiar with Mizuno you do not do much golf, swim or sports. Mizuno is not just a top brand in Japan but also the world. They are great craftsman and made some of the finest ''forged'' clubs in the golf world.

Why Forged?

Better players play forged clubs because they are more discerning golfers who prefer better feedback and ''feel''. Forged clubs have better and greater feel because they are made from a whole soft metal much like milled putters. As they were made from whole soft metal, there is lesser or no impurities. Think of making ice cubes from water. After freezing it in the refrigerator, you break them into cubes and you could see bubbles formed in every cube. It is the same if you are making cast iron clubs. Technology has improved quality but they can't be as pure. As they are softer and purer, the feel is priceless. There is a description in golf often quoted "as smooth as knife cutting through butter''. However, you need to take a bit more care of it as they can get easily dented even knocking onto each other in a golf bag. Cast iron clubs normally come with inserts to manufacture an artificial softer feel.

This is the same reason why audiophile are picky and choosy about their hifi equipment, the quality of the music recording, what kind of amps, music, mid-range, the lowest bass that do not cause tremble. In another word, they are purists.

Mizuno JPX EZ Forged

Super Game Improvement irons look like changkul. For beginners or higher handicap golfers, these bigger club heads are built with one main aim - to get the ball up, flying and going further. Bigger heads have larger sweet spots (for off-center hits), lower centre of gravity (more forgiving), extra perimeter weighting (higher MOI - moment of Inertia) and thicker soles (gliding through turf). It is more of an auto-pilot type of club.

Now look at this baby face to face. Most golfers like their clubs shiny. Not me. You should understand why when the afternoon sun's reflection on the club hits your eyes. These JPX EZ Forged come in a dark tone like  your specialty wedges. This is lovely as it curtail glint from chromed silver club heads. It is a result of Black Nickel plating.

While these are not blades like those MP series, they are built as a progression and transition set for you to ease into it if you so desire it'or develop the skills. This set comes in the following lofts: 5-iron at 25 degrees, 6 at 28, 7 at 32, 8 at 36, 9 at 40 and PW at 45.

The fiery orange badge signals that they are fiery hot! Really handsome and a departure from the usual Mizuno silver and blue insignia. Look carefully at the ferrule as it has the words made famous by Mizuno in grain flow technology: ''Grain Flow Forged''. Forging processes began thousands of years ago when they were making swords, tools and other weapons. 

Forging

Mizuno is reputed to be one of the world's best in forging irons. Here Mizuno uses 1025E pure select carbon steel billet, heat it carefully before the forging process with a 1,000 ton hammer press. In doing so, it aligns the grain in the metal and prevent small bubbles from building during typical casting process. During forging process, the internal grain deforms to follow the general shape. Continuous flowing grain gives improved strength characteristics.

Forged clubs give consistent feel, precise feedback and better distance control. Watch: (Mizuno Forging):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9rVM4-QwiY

You will immediately notice a slim sole (with less perimeter weighting). This means while it is more forgiving than blades, they are not auto-pilot. These are much more playable for shot shaping eg, if you want to shape your shot to fade or draw or simply hit a low running shot, etc. = better control.

The club face is also smaller and has a lighter shade in colour. I found that shots are lower in flight of course compared to graphite shafts. 

Remember these are transition clubs and as a result it has less offset and naturally too, a thinner top line. As it is forged and fitted to a steel shaft, the club transmits plenty of information to your hands. A good shot provides a soft and pleasing sensation. The dark finish is to me classy. Minimal offset and the clean lines are what many would like at address. These will of course not be as forgiving as Game Improvement Irons. 

High handicappers would generally prefer thicker top line, bigger club face and wider soles which gives them confidence while better players prefer thinner top line, smaller face and slimmer soles.

The typical mizuno blue graphic on the grip. 

These NS Pro are at 95g. If they are True Temper then it will be 105g. Bob at Golf House recommended me to use steel with a stiff shaft. I said no thanks. Steel in a Regular shaft is good enough. Playing in the heat and humidity under the afternoon can be no joke. It is energy sapping. Steel with Stiff shaft would wear me out faster. Besides, we are not getting younger each year. 

Steel Shaft

Steel shaft are stronger and less expensive than graphite and are made from carbon steel or stainless steel. Steel shafts do not go through as much lateral twisting as graphite shaft known as torque. The emphasis when using steel is accuracy and control rather than distance. However, you will need to generate a faster swing speed than graphite to get the same distance. Oblivious to many, a golf shaft from the top and down through impact goes through a series of turbulence or twisting, therefore, the stiffer the shaft, the lesser the twist the higher the accuracy.

To me, it also makes more sense as in the long run, you may find that golf is all about timing, rhythm or tempo - they are the same thing. Good timing creates a rhythmic swing at the right tempo that connects your golf club face's sweet spot to the ball causing the ball's rapture. The heavier weight of steel provides a natural tendency for you not to hit harder and rather just swing through the path of the ball. You will also be playing almost to same weight of the specialty wedges (mostly steel of 105g). It could eventually sharpen your short game inside of that 100 yards when called upon to use your wedges.

I just hope that wear and tear would not cause the nickel plating dark tone to turn ugly.

I spun it around and put it side by side to reveal the soles of both the Muzino JPX EZ Forged (top and darker) and compare it to the TaylorMade RSi 1 (bottom and silver) and you can easily detect the difference as the RSi has a bigger club head and thicker sole taking into consideration the the RSi was designed to look slim.

Comparing the top line you could see that this Mizuno though smaller is not totally unforgiving. I just need to ring in the distance of each club after a few rounds. 

It rewards good swings and is a balanced performer that gives off a nice feel. Unfortunately, I am playing like Tiger Woods now if you know what I mean. Golf as in life, sometimes things may have to get worse before they get better. However, I shall be back.Watch this name.

If you are a scratch golfer looking for something a little less taxing and easier or a mid-handicapper wanting to play forged irons that has more forgiveness then I feel you owe it to yourself and should at least try these awesome irons before you just go and buy something else. 

Golf as in life, play as it lies.