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We exist to help golfers get more out of the game they love. Our team of passionate golfers and experts produce authoritative in-depth reviews of the latest golf equipment to help you buy better, tips and advice to improve your game, ideas for golf courses to play and places to stay and coverage of the game at every level from grassroots up to Tour.
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00:00 And when it comes to choosing a new set of irons,
00:02 there are often quite a lot of boxes
00:03 that need to be ticked, whether it's looks,
00:05 feel, forgiveness, performance, all those sorts of things.
00:08 And often, irons will typically excel
00:10 in some of those areas and maybe fall down in one or two.
00:12 But I think I've found an iron here
00:14 that ticks an awful lot of boxes.
00:16 Pretty much all the boxes a golfer looks for
00:18 when it comes to a new set of irons.
00:20 It's a really exciting new iron for this year.
00:22 So without further ado, let's find out exactly what it is
00:25 and why I think it could well be the perfect iron.
00:28 Okay, so I won't hold you in suspense any longer.
00:30 The iron I think could be as close to perfect
00:32 as you're likely to find this year
00:34 is the Mizuno JPX9234s.
00:37 Now this is one of five models in the range.
00:40 This is one of the later releases within it.
00:42 And I think it combines a lot of attributes
00:44 that golfers look for from a set of irons.
00:46 Good looks, good feel, good forgiveness,
00:48 and good distance as well.
00:49 This 7-iron is lofted down at 30 degrees.
00:52 So it's a bit stronger than a lot of irons
00:54 that have a similar size to this.
00:55 And it's gonna give you really good feel as well.
00:57 But I think the first box golfers are looking to tick off
01:00 when it comes to choosing a new set of irons
01:02 is how it looks.
01:03 And I think this iron looks absolutely fantastic.
01:05 Loads of shelf appeal.
01:06 It's relatively subtle in the back,
01:07 but there's a lot to like about how it looks.
01:09 In the bag, on the shelf, and also down at address
01:12 because the dimensions of this club
01:14 are absolutely perfect for me.
01:16 You know, it's not too compact.
01:17 There's a bit of thickness to that top line,
01:19 but there's not much offset.
01:20 That's something I look for from an iron.
01:21 Don't want it to be too offset.
01:23 There's a hint of it, but not too much at all.
01:25 The finish is absolutely fantastic.
01:27 Really premium down behind the ball.
01:29 It's compact, but it's not intimidating.
01:31 There's enough size there to inspire some confidence
01:33 at address.
01:34 So I think it looks great.
01:35 And the other thing I really like about it
01:37 is the feel of this club off the face.
01:39 I think this iron feels so nice.
01:45 It's really soft.
01:46 It's got a really nice, short, dense sensation impact.
01:49 It feels like a blade, to be honest with you,
01:51 but it has maybe a little bit more spring to it.
01:53 So you're getting a bit more kind of energy off the face
01:56 versus a muscle back, which can come off a little bit dead.
01:59 You get a little bit more liveliness here off the face.
02:01 So I think feel-wise, it definitely ticks the boxes for feel.
02:04 And I tested this iron indoors on a GC quad launch monitor
02:07 with premium golf balls, looking at the performance
02:09 in real great detail, 'cause I was interested to see,
02:12 you know, were there any trade-offs
02:13 in how this iron performed?
02:15 And you know, when I'm looking at performance,
02:16 I'm really looking at consistency of ball speed
02:19 and the consistency of the carry distances.
02:20 And that's where this iron really stood out
02:22 versus anything else I've tested this year.
02:24 I hit 10 shots with this iron indoors,
02:27 and the carry distances ranged from 167 yards
02:30 to 169 yards, which is incredible, really.
02:33 You could have thrown a pretty small blanket
02:34 over where these shots finished.
02:36 And it's blown away about how consistent it was.
02:38 And that is gonna give you really good repeatability
02:40 out on the golf course.
02:41 If you're looking to hit a very specific distance,
02:43 this iron is gonna deliver that.
02:44 And even slightly off-center as well,
02:46 I felt like there was enough stability in the head
02:48 to save a poor strike.
02:49 It's not the most forgiving iron in the Mizuno range,
02:52 but I think if you're a mid-to-low handicapper,
02:54 there's enough help built in with this club
02:56 to help you get away with making a poor swing.
02:58 So, yeah, I've been absolutely blown away
03:01 by how well this iron performed.
03:03 And even though it's quite a strong lofted,
03:04 there's enough trajectory there
03:06 to get the ball stopping on the green.
03:08 And hopefully you can see that.
03:09 If I hit another shot for you.
03:10 That kind of mid-ball flight is gonna give you
03:16 a combination of distance and stopping power.
03:19 Those windows are exactly where I want an iron
03:21 to be flying through.
03:22 And even though it's quite a strong lofted,
03:24 it doesn't actually go too far.
03:25 The spin was relatively high with the Mizuno irons.
03:28 We've seen that with other Mizuno irons down the past.
03:30 They don't like to get the spin down to like 4,
03:33 4,500 RPM.
03:34 This was over 5,000 RPM.
03:36 So that's gonna give you a nice ball flight
03:38 that kind of climbs low, climbs a little bit,
03:40 and stops quickly on the green.
03:42 So for me, this Mizuno JPX 923 Forged Iron,
03:46 it ticks the boxes for looks.
03:47 It definitely ticks the boxes for feel.
03:49 It was plenty forgiving enough for myself
03:52 or maybe even a mid-handicap golfer,
03:53 and it was consistent.
03:55 Possibly the only box this iron doesn't quite tick
03:57 is for value for money,
03:58 because it does come in at a slightly premium price
04:01 versus other irons within its category.
04:03 185 pounds per club means it kind of equates
04:06 to around about 1,300 pounds for a seven-piece set.
04:08 But based on everything I've talked about in this video,
04:11 I think you kind of get what you pay for with this club,
04:13 because really, it doesn't have a weakness.
04:15 It looks great, feels sensational,
04:17 and gives you really good stopping power
04:19 and consistent distances.
04:20 And that's what I would be really looking for from an iron.
04:23 I think the only thing that would stop me
04:24 from putting it in the bag right now
04:25 would be the fact it probably sends the ball
04:27 a little bit too far, given those stronger lofts.
04:30 So that's something you can maybe work on in a fitting,
04:32 maybe combo with some other models,
04:34 or just work on that loft configuration
04:35 so the gapping issues aren't too great.
04:37 But hopefully you've enjoyed this video
04:39 in terms of summarizing what this JPX 923 Forged Iron
04:42 has to offer.
04:43 For me personally, I think it's one of the leading contenders
04:46 as the best golf irons in 2023.
04:48 That's all from me from the beautiful
04:50 Black Bear Golf Club here in Florida.
04:52 I'll see you next time.
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