Srixon 1 – Mizuno Iron Fitting at Bearwood Lakes

[srixon 1]

Firstly, I would like to say a very big thank you to Mizuno and Golf Monthly for this amazing opportunity. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before

With the fitting two weeks away I am starting to think about which model of irons and shafts are going to suit me the best. For the last thirteen years I have been using a set of KZG Cavity Backs fitted with Dynalite Gold regular shafts and a 1* upright lie. Like Mizuno’s the heads are forged in Japan but are made specifically for the custom golf market. (Mine were made for me by Rene Cleaver in Cheltenham). At address they look like a blade, but because of the cavity they have some forgiveness for those not so perfect strikes. They have been a fantastic club and I will no doubt miss them when they are retired from service They have taken my handicap to a new level, from being a mid-range SF chomper, to an all-time low of 3.1.

A few images of my well used 5 iron and 56* sand wedge.



Since hearing the good news on Friday I have been on the internet studying the Mizuno iron models on their website. I prefer the look of a blade type iron, and the Mizuno irons that have taken my fancy the most are the MP-59’s, closely followed by the MP-64’s. If my fitting determines that I get either of these clubs I will be ecstatic. (Actually, the MP-4’s look the best but unfortunately my skill level would not do them enough justice) Shaft wise I think I will fit a Dynamic Gold R400 or S300, but ultimately Trackman will decide that for me.

Ironically the Mizuno fitting has come at just the right time, as I have been actively looking for a new set of irons for a couple of months. After much pondering I had decided to go for Titleist AP2’s, and through my Pro booked a fitting with Titleist at Celtic Manor. (I had my driver and 3 wood fitted there a couple of years ago). The Titleist iron fitting is due to take place next Monday (10th March). I am still going to go ahead with this as I am making a weekend of it and taking my wife with me. Also, I can use this to get a closer look at the brand new SM5 wedge range, as even with the new Mizuno irons I will still need some new wedges to replace my KZG ones and complete the new set. I will keep my options open here though as I have never really liked the previous Titleist Spin Milled wedges, and my lob wedge has always been a Mizuno. My current one is an MP-T10.

I will post the results of both fittings in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see the difference in the fittings between two of the big names within the golf industry. Not just the outcome, but the total package, such as friendliness, professionalism, knowledge e.t.c.

 

[chrisd]

I, for one, hope you thoroughly enjoy both fittings and give us a decent story afterwards!

 

[JCW]

Firstly, I would like to say a very big thank you to Mizuno and Golf Monthly for this amazing opportunity. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before

With the fitting two weeks away I am starting to think about which model of irons and shafts are going to suit me the best. For the last thirteen years I have been using a set of KZG Cavity Backs fitted with Dynalite Gold regular shafts and a 1* upright lie. Like Mizuno’s the heads are forged in Japan but are made specifically for the custom golf market. (Mine were made for me by Rene Cleaver in Cheltenham). At address they look like a blade, but because of the cavity they have some forgiveness for those not so perfect strikes. They have been a fantastic club and I will no doubt miss them when they are retired from service They have taken my handicap to a new level, from being a mid-range SF chomper, to an all-time low of 3.1.

A few images of my well used 5 iron and 56* sand wedge.

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Since hearing the good news on Friday I have been on the internet studying the Mizuno iron models on their website. I prefer the look of a blade type iron, and the Mizuno irons that have taken my fancy the most are the MP-59’s, closely followed by the MP-64’s. If my fitting determines that I get either of these clubs I will be ecstatic. (Actually, the MP-4’s look the best but unfortunately my skill level would not do them enough justice) Shaft wise I think I will fit a Dynamic Gold R400 or S300, but ultimately Trackman will decide that for me.

Ironically the Mizuno fitting has come at just the right time, as I have been actively looking for a new set of irons for a couple of months. After much pondering I had decided to go for Titleist AP2’s, and through my Pro booked a fitting with Titleist at Celtic Manor. (I had my driver and 3 wood fitted there a couple of years ago). The Titleist iron fitting is due to take place next Monday (10th March). I am still going to go ahead with this as I am making a weekend of it and taking my wife with me. Also, I can use this to get a closer look at the brand new SM5 wedge range, as even with the new Mizuno irons I will still need some new wedges to replace my KZG ones and complete the new set. I will keep my options open here though as I have never really liked the previous Titleist Spin Milled wedges, and my lob wedge has always been a Mizuno. My current one is an MP-T10.

I will post the results of both fittings in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see the difference in the fittings between two of the big names within the golf industry. Not just the outcome, but the total package, such as friendliness, professionalism, knowledge e.t.c.

Just go there steve with an open mind , in fact don't even look at the club or shaft , just go by feel and let the fitting boys tell you what you hitting that's giving you the best results , then tweak if you must mate You don't play of 3 for nothink , I have played enough with you to know , enjoy the day and follow what you feel and what the experts tell you , all the best ........................EYG

 

[TeeItHigh]

Well sounds like you got the fitting at just the right time, hope it goes well and look forward to seeing your review, will be interesting between the two manufacturers!
I think I like the look of the mizzy more personally

 

[garyinderry]

you could get a nice mp54-mp4 combo! :cheers: best of both worlds!

 

[Khamelion]

Oh you're going to love the MP-64's, forged head and such a gorgeous feeling when you flush one and the beauty is with being forged you're not going to get any erratic distances or dispersion.

 

[Tommo21]

The KZGs will take a bit of beating..........it will be hard for Titleist and Mizuno to compete. Will be interesting.

 

[Hallsy]

Congratulations on the fitting :thup: I must admit at the KoK day at burnham your ball striking seemed excellent from what i could see so i look forward to seeing what you choose.

 

[G_Mulligan]

although I always look at the shiney mizunos in the shop especially when a new one is released I don't know the full ins and outs. I tried not to look at their full range after hearing the good news on friday but that lasted about 6 hours.

Being a mizuno player already I can't see me going for either of their JPX cast options but I am going in very open minded with regards to the rest of their forged range. Obviously at my handicap the EZ forged and 825 pro will be the two I am most wanting to test. The write up about giving attacking players the confidence to go for it really excites me as I am a very conservative player and would love something to nudge me out of that comfort zone.

The irons that look most like my current MX25s are the MP54s with the deep cavity in the long irons and cut muscle in the short but I don't think they are going to be as forgiving. I am looking to really push my game on though and my ball striking has improved a lot in just a few short weeks this year since having a couple of lessons and practicing regularly. Ultimately I will let the numbers do the talking and see what I end up with.

It would be funny if Mizuno are looking to show off their whole range and we all end up with the MP54s though

 

[garyinderry]

although I always look at the shiney mizunos in the shop especially when a new one is released I don't know the full ins and outs. I tried not to look at their full range after hearing the good news on friday but that lasted about 6 hours.

Being a mizuno player already I can't see me going for either of their JPX cast options but I am going in very open minded with regards to the rest of their forged range. Obviously at my handicap the EZ forged and 825 pro will be the two I am most wanting to test. The write up about giving attacking players the confidence to go for it really excites me as I am a very conservative player and would love something to nudge me out of that comfort zone.

The irons that look most like my current MX25s are the MP54s with the deep cavity in the long irons and cut muscle in the short but I don't think they are going to be as forgiving. I am looking to really push my game on though and my ball striking has improved a lot in just a few short weeks this year since having a couple of lessons and practicing regularly. Ultimately I will let the numbers do the talking and see what I end up with.

It would be funny if Mizuno are looking to show off their whole range and we all end up with the MP54s though

no chance of that! you may well get on with the mp54s. you do not have to be the worlds greatest ball striker to get on with irons like that! go in with a completely open mind!

 

[Deleted member 17920]

I am totally going with an open mind with the clubs. I am going to rely on some expert advice from Mizuno and what they tell me I hit best and get the best results from will be the winner for me. Still cant believe it though, What an experience

 

[pbrown7582]

I, for one, hope you thoroughly enjoy both fittings and give us a decent story afterwards!

second that, I would also make sure you can record as many stats or get print out from 1st session to compare at 2nd.

enjoy you lucky person!

 

[Bratty]

After much pondering I had decided to go for Titleist AP2’s, and through my Pro booked a fitting with Titleist at Celtic Manor. The Titleist iron fitting is due to take place next Monday (10th March). I am still going to go ahead with this as I am making a weekend of it and taking my wife with me.

I think you should stop being selfish and give someone else from the forum a chance to get custom fit once, let alone twice!

Enjoy both days, mate.

 

[srixon 1]

WARNING - LONG POST

Before I start I must say thanks again to Mizuno, Golf Monthly, and Bearwood Lakes for hosting us. It was a long but fantastic day and one that I will remember for a long time.

I was first to arrive so after having a coffee in the splendid clubhouse I made my way to the driving range to warm up and to hit a few balls before the fitting started. I must have hit around 60 balls before the GM team turned up (they were stuck in traffic on the M25), but the majority were good so it gave me confidence that the fitting would go well. Greg and Glyn soon appeared closely followed by Jake from Golf Monthly (GM). The Mizuno team had finished setting up their gear in the fitting centre so Jake asked if I would be happy to go first.

I was introduced to Kevin (the GM photographer) and the Mizuno guys, Simon the fitter and Tony from the marketing department. Dan, one of the Bearwood Lakes assistant pro’s was also in the fitting bay so it was a little crowded. Kevin started taking photographs almost immediately whilst Simon started to explain the process of the fitting to us all. We would be using the Flightscope in conjunction with the Mizuno software, which was used in combination with the Mizuno DNA Swing Analyser. (A 6 iron head fitted to a shaft that has a strain gauge fitted inside it. This measures your tempo, release, the shaft forward kick and toe down. There is also an accelerometer fitted to the shaft just below the grip, which measures your club head speed. This is the part of the Swing Analyser that via a digital readout is interpreted by the Mizuno computer to give each individual his/her “Swing DNA”).

Now for the serious stuff, time to start hitting balls. Firstly I hit a few balls with my own 6 iron to get a marker for the Flightscope. The first few shots were a bit nervy and I seemed to be rushing so they were not the best, especially when Kevin was snapping away in a position where a good shank would stop him from having children. Having settled my nerves with a few good ones I hit balls with the Swing Analyser a few times, and when I had hit three good ones we had enough data to get my Swing DNA. I was well happy when the computer suggested a choice of head between the MP 4, MP 64 and MP 54.

As sexy as it looked I discounted the MP 4 straight away and tried the MP 64 and the MP 54. They both felt amazing when flushed but I settled for the MP54 head with a KBS stiff shaft. My reasoning is that being more forgiving, a bad shot with the MP 54 should give a better result than a bad one with the MP 64. (Golf is not always just about the good shots). I cannot remember all of the shaft choices but I tried a few different ones until I settled for the KBS stiff flex. We also had a choice of grip so I went with a Lamkin full cord which is the same as I currently use.

Simons “proper” job is working in the Mizuno European tour van, so it wasn’t just a case of going with the equipment that was suggested by the machines and gadgetry. He asked if you wanted to hit the ball lower/higher etc. and what you wanted from your game, so the equipment choice also had a little bit of input from the person getting fitted. To some players two shafts might give identical stats but have a completely different feel, so this is also taken into account, and obviously the fitter can have no input into this part of the process.

The fitting, although done as a group was very much done on an individual basis and was a very different experience from my one-on-one Titleist fitting at Celtic Manor the week before.

The morning flew by and when the fittings were complete we were treated to lunch in the clubhouse where we had a chance to chat to Simon and Tony. I learned that there are some new Mizuno Irons in the pipeline for later in the year (don’t quote me on this) but the product names are still top secret at the moment. Simon talking about where he would be staying during The Ryder Cup and Open made me very jealous of the job that he has. And, according to Simon, the only qualification that you need to work in the tour van is the ability to drink, especially copious amounts of red wine. Form a queue behind me.

After the meal I had a game with Paul (PNWokingham) whom had gate crashed the party and managed to grab himself a free lunch. Unfortunately Greg and Glyn had to shoot off so they missed out on a great golf course. The course really is a stunner and is certainly up there as one of the best I have played in Britain.

For anyone that is still awake the results of the Mizuno fitting were almost identical to the Titleist one. With an AP2 head, Trackman suggested either a KBS shaft or a Project X PXi 5.5. The stats showed hardly any difference at all between the two fittings. The only real difference was that at Titleist you hit Pro V1’s whereas at the Mizuno fitting we hit a decent quality range ball. Judging by the results it doesn’t seem to matter which type of ball you hit, and I think the only stat that is affected by the ball type used is the Smash Factor.

I am well happy with what I will be receiving. MP 54's, 3 iron thru to wedge with KBS stiff shafts

Right, where has the Parcel force deliveryman got to

 

[Crow]

Great write up, sounds like you got the maximum benefit from the opportunity, hope the new clubs do the business for you!

 

[Wayman]

great review!
sounds like a cracking day so jealous
need to get some pics up of the new bats when they arrive!

 

[mcbroon]

Great write up, sounds like you got the maximum benefit from the opportunity, hope the new clubs do the business for you!

Yeah, that's a quality write-up. Sounds like a great experience

 

[Alex1975]

Awesome!! That's for the write up.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Great write up and hope the new bats arrive soon. Agree that Bearwood Lakes is a superb course too

 

[srixon 1]

Thanks guys, it really was a great day. I can safely say that will never buy another set of golf clubs without getting fitted. It really does make a difference to the shaft selection.