For decades, better players have fawned over Mizuno’s MP line of forged irons, while mid-to-high handicappers covered their eyes, but still looked through the creases in their fingers. The new MP-H5 and MP-15 irons still don’t invite high-handicappers to join the party, but the company improved their forgiveness while maintaining the looks, sound and feel that better players have come to expect from the clubs.

Related: Learn about Mizuno’s 2015 JPX irons

As for the new MP-T5 wedges, Mizuno has expanded its offering to include 25 different loft, bounce and grind combinations for both left and right-handed players. That puts Mizuno among the industry leaders in wedging offerings, making Mizuno’s latest wedge line a fit for a wider variety of players than ever.

MP-H5

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Mizuno’s MP-H5 irons are smaller, yet more-forgiving than the MP-H4 irons that they replace.

“MP” stands for “Mizuno Players,'” which means these clubs were created for the better players among the golfing population. According to Chuck Couch, vice president of product development at Mizuno, today’s golfers are bigger and stronger than ever, but golf courses are getting progressively more difficult as well. That had lead to many of those golfers opting for longer-flying, more forgiving irons to deal with the challenges of long courses, thicker rough and faster greens.

Mizuno’s MP-H5 irons (left) and the MP-H4 irons they replace.

Last year’s MP-H4 line was designed as hittable irons for better players, placing them at the more-forgiving end of the MP spectrum. Despite the performance boost they received from their slightly larger size, Couch admitted that the irons were a bit too large for the player they were targeting.

“With the H4 irons, we hit a par 5 in two, but ended up making bogey,” Couch said. “We changed that with a pure-looking club and an understated design [in the H5].”

The MP-H5 irons have a topline that is considerably thinner than its predecessor, as well as a thinner sole that allows for better maneuverability through the turf. That gives them a more understated look than the MP-H4, but the new irons also have a higher moment of inertia (MOI) to produce better launch characteristics. How’d Mizuno do that?

The MP-H5 irons (right) have considerably thinner top lines than last year’s MP-H4 irons. Impressively, the MP-H5 irons are actually more forgiving. 

As with previous Mizuno irons, the MP-H5 irons are made with the company’s Grain Flow forging process that improves the look and feel of the irons. Their 1770 maraging steel faces were able to be made thinner than their predecessors, however, saving engineers weight that could be redistributed around the perimeter of the club head to improve forgiveness. Additional forgiveness was added to the clubs with their hollow construction, which drives weight low and deep in the head to improve their launch conditions, particularly in the long irons.

Whereas the MP-H4 irons were a mixed set, with hollow long and mid irons and solid-faced short irons, the MP-H5 irons have an all-hollow construction that creates more consistency throughout the set.

MP-15

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The MP-15’s are the direct replacement for the company’s MP-59 irons, which were known for their workability, as well as their classic shape, look, sound and feel. The new MP-15’s maintain those characteristics and add 20 percent more forgiveness to the design.

Mizuno’s MP-15 irons (left) and the MP-59 irons they replace.

With the MP-15’s, Mizuno engineers found a way to remove 38 grams of weight from the Grain Flow Forged irons — roughly 15 percent of their total weight — from their cavities, which is nearly double the weight the company was able to redistribute in the MP-59 irons. The weight was then added back to the irons in the form of a 7-gram titanium insert behind the impact area, which was blended with 3 grams of ABS polymer to improve feel. The rest of the weight was placed around the perimeter of the clubs to boost their MOI.

[quote_box_center]”We took everything that Luke and 1000 other tour players that we talked to liked about the MP-64 and Mp-59’s,” Couch said. “They feel the same as the 59’s, but we were way more strategic with our weight distribution to allow for a higher MOI. The pyramid shaped insert behind the hitting area allows for a larger sweet spot providing more forgiveness, without sacrificing the best qualities from the MP-64 or MP-59.”[/quote_box_center]

At address, the MP-15 (right) and MP-59 irons are nearly identical, but the MP-15’s add 20 percent more forgiveness. 

Mizuno also used its Harmonic Impact Technology (H.I.T.), which measures feel and sound based on frequency and decibel-readings, to confirm that the MP-15’s closely replicated the feel of the company’s MP-64 irons, which are known as one of the best-feeling irons the company has produced in its history.

[quote_box_center]”There’s a difference between looking cool and being cool,” Couch said. “Although we spent a lot of time on cosmetics, we made a multi-material club head that maximized its discretionary weight … These irons are cool.”[/quote_box_center]

Both the MP-H5 and MP-15 irons will sell for $999 for an eight-piece set with a steel shafts ($1099 with graphite). The MP-H5 irons come stock with KBS Tour C-Taper Lite shafts, while the MP-15’s are sold with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold shafts.

Mizuno anticipates that better players will mix and match the long and mid irons from the MP-H5 line with the mid and short irons of the MP-15 line, so the company dropped the price of the MP-H5 irons by $100 to make it the same as the MP-15 irons and make it easier for them to do so.

According to Couch, it’s likely that Mizuno staff players Luke Donald and Charles Howell III will put a mix of the MP-H5 and the MP-15 in their bags after the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The MP-H5 irons will be available in 1-PW, while the MP-15 irons will be available in 3-PW. They’ll be in stores on September 19 and available for presale August 29.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the MP-H5 and MP-15 irons, as well as the MP-T5 wedges in our forum.

MP-T5 Wedges

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To compete in today’s hypercompetitive wedge market, equipment companies have looked to offer the widest possible variety of grind, bounce and loft options so they can have a wedge that’s a perfect fit for each consumer. With its new MP-T5 wedges, Mizuno looked for a way to expand its wedge offerings without making the process of purchasing a wedge too confusing for consumers.

[quote_box_center]”We took away that confusion by grinding the soles according to the bounce and loft of each wedge,” Couch said. “You don’t have to pick the grind and run the risk of mismatching the options because we did it for you.”[/quote_box_center]

The MP-T5 wedges are available in 25 different loft and bounce combinations, for both left and right-handed golfers, in lofts ranging from 49-to-62 degrees. The only choices you have to make is what loft you want, what bounce suits your game and what finish you desire, because Mizuno has already decided the grind and groove configuration depending on the choice you make.

• Low lofts: Mizuno’s MP-T5 gap wedges (49-to-53 degrees) have a classic C-grind with soft trailing edge relief. These wedges are mostly played from the fairway or rough using full swings, so golfers don’t need aggressive grinds, Couch said. These wedges also have the narrow, deep grooves that are designed to perform best on full shots.
• Mid lofts: In the 54-to-58 degrees models, Mizuno gives golfers two different bounce options. Its low-bounce wedges have an aggressive C Grind for more versatility, while its high-bounce wedges have a soft trailing edge and a significant heel grind to aid performance on open-faced bunker shots. These wedges have wider, shallower grooves that perform better on open-faced shots around the green.
• High lofts: Like the mid-lofted wedges, Mizuno’s MP-T5 high-lofted wedges (58-to-62 degrees) come in two options: high bounce and low bounce. The high-bounce wedges have an M Grind that stands for max bounce and max heel and toe relief, which helps prevent digging while still providing the versatility golfers need to hit delicate shots around the green. The lower-bounce models add more trailing edge relief and more grind on the heel. They also have wide, shallower grooves that add more touch around the greens.

Below is a chart highlighting the specifications of Mizuno’s new MP-T5 wedges.

The MP-T5 wedges are available in two finishes: Black Ion, which won’t rust with extended use, and White Satin. The wedges will sell for about $129.99 with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold Wedge shaft.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the MP-H5 and MP-15 irons, as well as the MP-T5 wedges in our forum.