Equipment

Mizuno to launch three new golf balls

Published

9 years ago

Feb 22, 2015

According to Mizuno Golf’s European website, the company will launch three new golf balls in March 2015.

The new golf balls will include Mizuno’s MP-S and MP-X models, which are designed for better players, but most interesting is the company’s new JPX golf ball.

The JPX golf ball has Mizuno’s new “dimple clusters,” which are micro-dimples located around the larger dimples on the ball’s cover that are said to improve aerodynamics. The design was created by working closely with the Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan, the company said.

[quote_box_center]”The micro-dimples have little effect at higher ball speeds generated at impact,” said Masashi Tamakoshi, head of golf ball development for Mizuno. “However as the ball peaks and slows, they start to take effect. By stalling the descent phase just a fraction, we were able to increase the JPX’s overall airtime.” [/quote_box_center]

According to Mizuno, at least five Japanese Tour players will use the MP-X golf ball, and Chris Wood, a Mizuno Golf staff player on the European Tour, is also testing the the MP-X golf ball.

The balls are not expected to be available in North America.

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13 Comments

Mark R

Mar 9, 2015 at 1:45 pm

Not available in the US? Quite frankly My Dear – Who gives a Damn about the US?
And – Dear Fellow Gearheads – hadn’t you considered that the Rest of The World also logs into GOLF WRX, not just you guys? Take your heads out of your butts and concentrate on finding a way to win the Ryder Cup or perhaps you never will again. Just keep telling yourselves how good your (made for television) PGA Tour is! Heard the latest? Sponsors want 15 hole rounds and 3 day tournaments – makes better television, don’t you know?

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Speedy

Mar 5, 2015 at 7:40 pm

Now, if they’d just made them two-tone.

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Mlight

Feb 25, 2015 at 6:35 pm

Why bother reporting about it if there not available here in states?

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AIN

Feb 24, 2015 at 1:25 am

If it ain’t available in the US, it ain’t news lol

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John Ineson

Feb 23, 2015 at 4:38 pm

Not available?? So what! You never lusted after something that was not available? Oh man, they’re over there with their balls in the air a fraction longer thanks to those dimples so unavailable to me! I want those dimples so bad I’ve already put a tour ball in my vise and with a 6 penny nail am pocking it with heretofore unseen dimple clusters. Now it’s non-conforming? Oh no! What’s a poor, unproperly dimpled westerner to do? Time to remember the rule: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors balls, nor his cup-faced irons, nor his fourteenth driver released by that company this year . . .” Believe me . . . in just about all our cases it’s NOT the ball!

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christian

Feb 23, 2015 at 4:01 am

I have used the older Cross Eight Mizuno balls occasionally, and those were really good, excellent performance/feel

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MHendon

Feb 22, 2015 at 11:56 pm

You’ll be able to get them in the U.S. as long as you’re willing to pay a premium for them on ebay.

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brian k.

Feb 22, 2015 at 11:03 pm

“The balls are not expected to be available in North America.”
“The balls are not expected to be available in North America.”
“The balls are not expected to be available in North America.”

ghey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply Report comment
Mike

Feb 22, 2015 at 8:30 pm

Just like the car manufacturers European model shown in advertisements not available in the US. Why tease us and looks cool.

Reply Report comment
Sebastien

Feb 22, 2015 at 7:48 pm

If the micro dimples help, why not have it on the higher end ball????

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- Claude
  
  Feb 22, 2015 at 10:16 pm
  
  Wait ill next year when they launch their new ball which uses their hyper super micro tri-dimples technology. The design was created by working closely with the Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan, the company said.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Jengus
  
  Feb 23, 2015 at 5:30 am
  
  Obviously didn’t read the article. They aren’t effective on higher ball speeds so they are pretty much redundant to better players. Hence part of the JPX brand rather than MP.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - NaborsX
    
    Feb 23, 2015 at 11:46 am
    
    And you obviously mis-interpreted the the article… They have little effect at IMPACT, but take effect as the ball starts to slow down and descends.
    
    “The micro-dimples have little effect at higher ball speeds generated at impact,” said Masashi Tamakoshi, head of golf ball development for Mizuno. “However as the ball peaks and slows, they start to take effect. By stalling the descent phase just a fraction, we were able to increase the JPX’s overall airtime.”
    
    Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

10 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

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And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

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