New Mizuno MP-S ball opportunity

[PaulOHagan]

Thanks for all of your Mizuno ball reviews, there has been some excellent feedback and I will pick a winner of the six dozen balls early next week. The guys at Mizuno also want to hear some feedback from those who have bought the balls. If you have bought a pack and tried them out please post your reviews on here. I will then select another winner in about a month from those not involved in the original competition and will send out two dozen balls to the person selected.

 

[MendieGK]

I have used the balls for a couple of rounds now and have been fairly impressed with them. Even the box they come in looks classy.

They compare favourably to the balls they are competing against, especially when looking at the feel on short irons. Durability is key for me as i often find my Pro-Vs look a little beaten up after a few holes and these balls looked brand new for a long period of time.

It will take long time for the target market for these balls to be converted (as it did with TaylorMade balls) but i think as the become more widely available in shops they will gain popularity.

 

[Fish]

I wasn't involved originally but have used a Mizuno MP-S ball. I found it a little soft for me and as such I didn't feel I was getting my usual distances off the tee. As has been said a few times, it was quite cut up and scuffed after the first round and I only used it for another round before retiring it. I also didn't feel it as much when chipping and I lagged a few putts with it until I realised I had to thump it and attack it a little more. I was using Callaway Hex Black Tour balls at that time which is a more solid/heavier ball I think so it wasn't really for me. Could I get used to it, not sure, two dozen balls might do the job though :smirk:

 

[Levell]

I bought a sleeve of the MP-S ball about a week ago to try them out as I'm a big Mizuno fan. I normally play with ProV1's but I was very impressed with the MP-S ball and there is very little between the two types. I'm seriously considering changing over. The prize is pretty much the same, they performance for me, is also about the same and to be able to add another Mizuno item into my bag only makes me happy. I'll give it a few more rounds before I decide. Good job Mizuno, very impressed

 

[BTatHome]

Mizuno MP-S

Can't comment on the packaging, as I was only given one from a friend (swapped for a new Srixon Z -Star), but from the pics elsewhere its nice and minimalistic, and would actually stand out from the shelves because of that. You definitely need to handle these balls to get the idea of the 'tacky' comments they are quite weird in that respect, and they certainly look bright too.

Driving and distance wise I don't think they have any specific advantage over others. The sound is nice from the driver, and similar to many premium balls. Distance wise they performed well enough into the wind to stay on most fairways and that's at least a placebo that will remain in my head for a while.

Irons and wedges were good amounts of spin and feel was good off the scoring clubs. Similar levels of spin to the usual suspects, nothing spectacular for me on our slightly harder greens. I compared it to a z star and 330rxs later and it stopped slightly faster for me, but I'm not a great back spin person so wouldn't expect to see it spinning off the greens.

Putting is a good sound, and rolls out well enough without needing extra heft to get it to the hole. Not a huge fan of the logos on the ball, as they quite a bit bigger than my putting line, and can be a little distracting. In fact I moved my line to the other side so I didn't have the big mizuno logo showing.

Beware of sand, they appear to have an allergic reaction to it as they look dreadful after a couple of visits. I did wonder if the tacky comments were related to this but couldn't figure put how to get a 'sandy balls' comment into the review. Overall durability, well its still white (rather than creamy off white) when not used in the sand, or the trees, big positive from me as I'm used to the whiteness of the Srixon and Bridgestone's.

Overall
Hmmm, its very hard for a newbie to come into the market and get traction, mainly due to the fact that golfers will buy what is popular and what is used on tour. Mizuno has neither at the moment, and they will suffer because of it. Which is actually a shame as I don't think they have a bad ball, just a tough market to penetrate. I could be persuaded to buy more of these but the big stumbling block for me will be pricing. I just don't think they can deserve the higher prices that are being charged without the heritage and presence. I do think Mizuno may have missed a chance here as they could have brought in something this year at a lower price and then another one next year with a higher price tag. The low price would have got a market for them, which they could of improved upon. As it is, my choice of ball will probably be one of the lower priced premium balls but at least I'll keep my eyes on the ball in the future as it could become a winner and certainly has the pedigree to do it. Not one for the shag bag ... I wonder if they can do a yellow one for me

 

[BTatHome]

Apendum to the above ..... they don't float !

 

[One Planer]

Apendum to the above ..... they don't float !

:rofl:

 

[ger147]

I bought a sleeve of 3 to try them out and I was very impressed. I usually play Pro V1x and these balls definitely feel softer off the face than the V1x and I loved the feel of them off the putter.

Performance wise they are very similar to the Pro V1 and V1x but I definitely like the feel of the MP-S. I didn't have a problem with it scuffing but I don't normally have an issue with scuffing up any ball so pretty much the norm for me.

I can definitely see me buying more of these balls.

 

[BTatHome]

Anybody else still using these? I managed to lose another after just 2 holes in play, shame as I thought the bite on our hard greens was much better than when I previously played one.

 

[One Planer]

Anybody else still using these? I managed to lose another after just 2 holes in play, shame as I thought the bite on our hard greens was much better than when I previously played one.

I used a few yesterday at a works outing to Izacc Walton GC.

Course was baked hard and the greens were giving some pretty spectacular bounces (High) if they were hit into. I could have hit a balata covered ball into those greens yesterday and it wouldn't have held.

I'm still torn betwen the MP-s and the Pro V1. The short game control with the MP-s is great, there's very little difference for me here, aside from me finding the Pro V1 a little softer.

Having said that I hit longest drive yesterday with a lovely raking push draw, started out towards the right rought then turned back to the fairway (GPS'd at 269) and a good 30 yards past the previous best drive on a pretty flat fairway. The ball comes off the longer clubs really well and I'm finding myself a little longer with the MP-s.

I'll probably end up going back to the Titleist when my stock of the Mizuno runs out. Still a pretty good ball IMHO :thup:

 

[GreiginFife]

Anybody else still using these? I managed to lose another after just 2 holes in play, shame as I thought the bite on our hard greens was much better than when I previously played one.

I'm still using them and love them. I find them to be superior to the Pro-V, unlike my learned friend in the previous post, I find the Pro-V a bit hard and clicky (especially off the putter) but the MP-S is soft all round and like a rocket off all the woods.

There is still a rarity factor around them though. I played in a comp last week and my oponent asked what I was using, he looked puzzled when I said Mizuno and said "no, I mean what ball?" to which I seemed to puzzle him even more when I said Mizuno again and had to show him. He said he had no idea they made balls, this speaks volumes of Mizuno advertising IMO, no loud drum banging or flashy imagery for anything.
In a way that saddens me as it means that less people become aware of what I feel is a fantastic product that really needs more oomph in it's advertising to get it out there.

 

[One Planer]

I'm still using them and love them. I find them to be superior to the Pro-V, unlike my learned friend in the previous post, I find the Pro-V a bit hard and clicky (especially off the putter) but the MP-S is soft all round and like a rocket off all the woods.

There is still a rarity factor around them though. I played in a comp last week and my oponent asked what I was using, he looked puzzled when I said Mizuno and said "no, I mean what ball?" to which I seemed to puzzle him even more when I said Mizuno again and had to show him. He said he had no idea they made balls, this speaks volumes of Mizuno advertising IMO, no loud drum banging or flashy imagery for anything.
In a way that saddens me as it means that less people become aware of what I feel is a fantastic product that really needs more oomph in it's advertising to get it out there.

This, I feel, I why choosing a ball should be done on how well you feel you hit it rather than being told how it plays.

Saying that, I found a spon new, 2013, Pro V1x in the clag yesterday looking for a partners ball.

I'll be giving that a whirl, purely to see how it plays.

 

[DCB]

Got some two ball sleeves as freebies when they came out earlier in the year. Whilst they were good \i didn't rate them during the cooler weather. However, now that the air temp has warmed up, I'm more than happy with them. Still a premium priced ball, so careful where and when I use them, but as good as the opposition IMO. Certainly equals the main opposition on and around the green. plays well off the wedges and putts really nicely off my milled face putter. No complaints from me.

 

[BTatHome]

This, I feel, I why choosing a ball should be done on how well you feel you hit it rather than being told how it plays.

So true, I doubt many people would have picked up a Mizuno ball from a shelf of other premium makes.

 

[One Planer]

I found a spon new, 2013, Pro V1x in the clag yesterday looking for a partners ball.

I'll be giving that a whirl, purely to see how it plays.

Reporting in. Didn't like it. Cosigned to practice bag.

 

[patricks148]

I've been playing a fair few comps of late but playing a bounce game on Wed evening so might give one another go.

 

[ger147]

Did anyone get picked to win some balls?

 

[BTatHome]

Did anyone get picked to win some balls?

I don't think they did.

 

[Ethan]

I have tried these and liked them. Happy to get some more.

To be honest, though, I think the high end balls are so good these days that you can use any of them and see similar results. OK, feel varies a bit, but the result of the club varies a lot less. I am happy to use Pro V1x, Cally Hex Black, TM Penta or Mizuno interchangeably.

 

[BTatHome]

I have tried these and liked them. Happy to get some more.

To be honest, though, I think the high end balls are so good these days that you can use any of them and see similar results. OK, feel varies a bit, but the result of the club varies a lot less. I am happy to use Pro V1x, Cally Hex Black, TM Penta or Mizuno interchangeably.

I've come to a similar conclusion, as I don't particularly like the Callaway balls due to the click off the club face, but the performance is much the same between them all.

Plus I don't think we have enough consistency to truly be able to distinguish performance differences. Certainly from my own testing of playing 3 very different balls around 9 holes I wouldn't be able say one ball over another was a clear favourite ( I wrote a tread about it earlier in the year)