In this video, Joel Tadman tests the three new Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal irons on the launch monitor and the course at Longcliffe Golf Club to see how they perform. Interestingly, Mizuno has added a new High Launch model this time around and so Joel does a little experiment to see if golfers with slower swing speeds will actually get more distance from an iron with weaker lofts. Watch to the end to find out if this is the case.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Now it's always an exciting time
00:01 when Mizuno launches new irons,
00:03 especially within that JPX franchise
00:05 where they have models to suit every type of player.
00:08 But for 2023, there's a brand new model
00:11 that Mizuno say will help golfers
00:13 with slower swing speeds hit it further.
00:16 It sounds counterintuitive,
00:17 but it's really addressing the need
00:19 for game-improved irons to provide a more playable
00:23 and optimum ball fight.
00:24 The trend I've seen, with lofts getting stronger,
00:27 even at my swing speed,
00:28 I struggle to really flight the ball
00:30 in these game-improvement, super game-improvement clubs.
00:32 And Mizuno say they've combated that
00:34 with the launch of this new JPX range,
00:37 specifically the JPX 923 Hot Metal High Launch.
00:41 As you can see, I've got three Hot Metal irons
00:43 here in front of me.
00:44 It's a split launch this time,
00:45 so you're gonna have to wait until February next year
00:47 for the Tall and the Forge,
00:48 which are the two models that admittedly
00:50 would probably be more suited
00:51 to my swing speed and my handicap.
00:53 But I wanted to put these irons through their paces,
00:56 the Hot Metal, the Hot Metal Pro,
00:57 and the Hot Metal High Launch in this JPX 923 range
01:01 to see exactly what they're all about.
01:02 But even more specifically,
01:04 if I swing them slower,
01:06 can I get even more distance
01:07 out of that Hot Metal High Launch
01:09 than I can the other two models?
01:11 That's what we're here at Longcliffe Golf Club to find out.
01:14 Now, if you want to find out about the technology
01:16 in each of these specific heads,
01:17 go to the Golf Monthly website.
01:18 There's a story there you can read all about that.
01:20 We're not gonna cover that in this video,
01:22 but what we are gonna talk about
01:23 is the concept behind the changes
01:25 that Mizuno have made with these irons
01:27 versus the previous 921 range in that JPX franchise.
01:31 So Mizuno, as we know,
01:32 they have that shaft optimizer technology
01:34 where in three swings they can identify
01:36 what shaft a golfer needs for their irons.
01:39 And from all those different swings,
01:41 they've captured over 350,000 swings.
01:44 There were a couple of trends that really stood out,
01:46 and that has really helped shape
01:47 and influence the design of these new irons.
01:49 The first is actually that golfer swing speeds
01:52 are quite slow, average was about 82 miles an hour
01:55 with the 7-iron, and that has led to the introduction
01:57 of this high launch model, which we've covered already.
01:59 But the second trend was that golfers tended to present
02:02 quite a lot of shaft lean at impact,
02:05 and that's resulted in a change
02:06 in the bounce and the camber to these clubs.
02:08 So you'll notice there's a lot more bounce
02:09 and camber to these clubs
02:11 to give you a little bit more forgiveness through the turf
02:14 if you do tend to deal off the club into impact
02:16 and get that leading edge quite sharp into the ball,
02:18 so it gives you a little bit more margin
02:19 for error, Mizuno say, on your strike.
02:22 So those are the two key trends
02:23 that Mizuno have incorporated into this range.
02:26 I'm gonna hit some shots here
02:27 into this beautiful par four down here,
02:29 the 10th hole at Longcliffe Golf Pub.
02:31 Got the launch monitor, the full swing kit launch monitor,
02:33 gonna capture some data,
02:35 we're gonna assess the ball flight,
02:36 assess the feel, the sound, everything about these clubs,
02:39 and then we'll feedback afterwards.
02:40 So without further ado, let's hit some shots,
02:42 see what they're all about.
02:43 Oh, much higher.
02:47 (upbeat music)
02:51 (upbeat music)
02:54 Well, so I've really enjoyed my testing session
03:09 on the full swing kit launch monitor
03:10 with the three new JPX 923 hot metal irons,
03:14 and I've also thrown in the JPX 921 hot metal iron
03:18 as a comparison, which we're gonna touch on now.
03:20 So I'll flash up the data on the screen,
03:22 you can click pause and peruse at your leisure.
03:24 But there were some trends that I noticed
03:27 during the testing from the data that we got.
03:29 The first being that I love how the spin is pretty high.
03:32 For what is a game improvement iron range,
03:34 where we see lofts getting stronger, spin coming down,
03:37 the fact that these clubs are spinning close to 6,000 RPM,
03:41 we saw with the prior generation,
03:42 and that's been continuing to this one.
03:44 So that's gonna help players
03:46 keep the ball in the air for longer
03:47 and get more stopping power into greens.
03:49 So that's the first thing that I really observed
03:50 across all three of the new irons.
03:52 So coming on to numbers, worth pointing out
03:54 that the hot metal and the hot metal pro
03:56 in this 923 range is half a degree stronger
03:58 than where we were in the 921.
04:00 But looking at the numbers,
04:01 actually it wasn't necessarily getting anything more
04:04 out of this new version.
04:05 Both were carrying similar, in the hot metal,
04:07 starting with the hot metal iron,
04:09 both were carrying around about that 170 range.
04:11 But what I did notice was the ball flight
04:13 was a little bit higher.
04:14 So even though it's stronger in loft,
04:15 actually the ball was launching a little bit higher
04:17 and it was flying a little bit higher too.
04:19 Notice that testing here on this hole
04:21 at Long Cliff Golf Club.
04:22 It was like one or two yards higher through the air,
04:24 which is a change that I like to see
04:27 given those stronger lofts.
04:28 And then we move on to that,
04:29 the hot metal pro is actually,
04:31 this is the club I got the most out of,
04:32 despite it being a slimmed down version of the hot metal.
04:35 Actually hit a little bit further than the hot metal.
04:37 Definitely prefer the look of it.
04:39 It's got a more compact look down at address,
04:41 whereas the hot metal iron in the 921 and 923,
04:44 very similar, really confident in sparring.
04:47 A little bit of offset there, thicker top line.
04:49 Hot metal pro, a little bit more slimmed down.
04:51 So it definitely suits my eyes,
04:53 lower handicap a little bit more.
04:54 And then we move on to the hot metal high lodge.
04:56 Now you might think, well, this club is weaker in loft.
05:00 It's two to three degrees weaker through the set
05:03 than the hot metal.
05:04 In the 7-iron it's 31 degrees, so it's significantly weaker.
05:07 And as a result, the testing I did on launch monitor,
05:10 my speed would suggest that it's not going to give me
05:13 the distance compared to the other two models.
05:15 It was around about seven or eight yards shorter
05:17 on average than the hot metal and the hot metal pro.
05:21 But we know this club is not designed for a golfer like me.
05:24 It's designed for slower swing speeds.
05:25 And so, now we're going to do a little experiment
05:28 where I'm going to test this hot metal high lodge
05:31 up against the hot metal,
05:33 slow my swing speed down to 75 miles an hour,
05:36 and see actually by doing that
05:38 and switching into this new iron, do you get more distance?
05:42 'Cause I think if you do,
05:43 that's going to suit an awful lot of players
05:45 looking for a club like this.
05:47 Okay, so I'm going to start with the JPX 923 hot metal.
05:50 Going to hit three shots with each of that
05:52 slower swing speed and see which one
05:55 gives us the most distance.
05:59 Okay, it's a good hit.
06:08 Swing speed 79.
06:12 Only carried 115 yards.
06:16 Ooh, slightly slower that one.
06:25 66.
06:28 That's a good shot.
06:35 70.5.
06:38 One, two, one, okay.
06:40 Let's move on to the hot metal.
06:42 So we're looking like we're averaging
06:44 around about 120 yards with the hot metal.
06:49 Now we're going to try the high lodge.
06:51 Oh, I might have been a little heavy.
06:56 Swing speed's bang on, 75, 112 carry.
07:02 I think I hit that a little bit chunky.
07:04 That's a much cleaner strike.
07:09 Higher flight, much noticeably higher flight on that one.
07:14 So that's really interesting.
07:15 Swing speed of 71, or 70.6, carry of 125.
07:20 So that's the longest shot I've hit
07:22 in this experiment so far,
07:23 and not the fastest swing speed by any means.
07:27 Again, noticeably higher flight,
07:32 a good four or five yards higher.
07:34 71 swing speed, carry of 129 yards.
07:39 So this experiment, this little experiment,
07:42 has proved to me definitely that I think
07:44 slower swing speed golfers, mid-high handicap golfers
07:47 who struggle to get the ball in the air
07:49 are really going to enjoy what this
07:51 hot metal high lodge has to offer.
07:52 And they're actually going to get
07:54 a bit more distance out of this
07:55 because your ball flight is optimized for your swing speed.
08:00 So while these three JPX 923 hot metal irons
08:03 are probably not aimed at me,
08:05 I've really enjoyed my time testing these.
08:07 And there's three really key takeaways
08:09 that I would offer to you in terms of
08:12 how these irons perform and the user experience
08:14 that you will expect.
08:15 The first being these irons look absolutely fantastic.
08:18 I don't think they move it on a great deal
08:20 in terms of looks or performance
08:22 versus where we were with the JPX 921.
08:26 In fact, I think like for like models,
08:28 you're not going to see huge gains.
08:29 You might see a little bit more distance
08:31 from that stronger loft and a slightly,
08:33 maybe higher ball flight as well
08:34 from the technology they've packed into this club.
08:36 But you're not going to see huge gains, I don't think,
08:38 versus generation to generation.
08:40 But the other thing that really stood out for me
08:42 was the turf interaction.
08:43 So it's hard to pinpoint exactly how it felt differently,
08:47 but it definitely felt different.
08:48 I think a little bit more give through the turf.
08:51 So maybe you're not getting,
08:53 I felt like my divots were a little bit shallow,
08:55 a little bit smaller.
08:57 And I think your margin for error is a little bit greater
09:00 if you just catch the ground slightly heavy.
09:03 So that's the other thing I would kind of observe
09:05 from generation to generation.
09:06 I think the feel is absolutely fantastic.
09:09 These clubs feel hot, but they don't feel harsh or clicky.
09:12 They actually feel relatively soft,
09:14 but explosive at the same time.
09:16 It's an interesting combination,
09:17 but through the set, it's a very pleasing feel.
09:20 And I think across all three of these hot metal clubs,
09:22 if you're a mid to high handicapper,
09:24 there's definitely going to be something for you.
09:25 Even if you're maybe a single figure,
09:27 high single figure golfer,
09:28 I think you'll really enjoy
09:30 what this Hot Metal Pro has to offer
09:31 in terms of that visual package,
09:33 nice and compact down behind the ball,
09:34 but gives really good speed,
09:36 good launch, and good distance as well.
09:38 So lots of like about this new JPX 923 range.
09:41 Hopefully you've enjoyed this video.
09:42 If you do, click the like button down below
09:45 and do comment on this video.
09:46 We'd love to hear from you.
09:47 Which iron are you most excited to try
09:49 within this new hot metal franchise?
09:51 If you're after those better player irons,
09:52 you've got to wait until February,
09:54 but I think this hot metal irons,
09:56 from what we've seen so far,
09:57 there's a lot to be excited about
09:58 with this new JPX 923 range.
10:00 But that's all for me from Longcliffe Golf Club.
10:02 I'll see you next time.
10:04 (upbeat music)
10:06 (upbeat music)
10:09 (upbeat music)
10:11 (upbeat music)