Equipment
Mizuno JPX 900 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids
In the golf equipment world, it’s rare for new releases and technologies to produce drastic distance gains in off-the-rack purchases, mostly due to limitations by the USGA. But where many new releases excel is in their increased adjustability, which allows golfers to fine-tune their clubs to fit their preferences and needs. That can create big distance gains, and a host of other benefits as well.
Mizuno is at the forefront of the custom-fitting movement with its JPX-900 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids, which were designed with focus on allowing golfers to optimize their swings and properly gap their clubs. That means golfers can get their games dialed in more than ever before.
Thanks to the added adjustability of the new JPX-900 driver, golfers can optimize spin rates, fine tune their visual preferences and help reduce their big miss. The new JPX-900 fairway woods have a central sliding weight that allows the clubs to perform as either a rocket launcher from the tee or high-ball hitting clubs that will stop shots abruptly on greens. The new JPX-900 hybrids have also undergone design changes to better fill a golfer’s yardage gaps, and look better, too.
Learn more about each of the new offerings below, and join the discussion about Mizuno’s JPX-900 clubs in our forums.
Mizuno JPX-900 driver
When designing the JPX-850 driver, which the JPX-900 driver is replacing, Mizuno “pulled out the stops,” says David Llewellyn, Mizuno’s Director of R&D. “We changed our attitude to make premium and aspirational drivers to match up with our irons.”
With a blue crown, adjustable center of gravity (CG) and adjustable hosels, Mizuno definitely broadened the scope of their drivers. Now, the company is expanding its technologies to cast an “even wider net,” according to Llewellyn, with a goal to “bring the most adjustable driver ever to the market.”
To do that, Mizuno’s new JPX-900 driver offers an “Infinite Track,” which allows golfers to adjust center of gravity forward or rearward for trajectory and spin rate adjustments. It’s different from the familiar “Fast Track” of its predecessor, because there are no longer pre-determined spots on the track to put the weights; thus, the new track has infinite settings.
Also, like the JPX-850, JPX-900 drivers have two additional weight ports in their soles on the heel and toe of the clubs. They allow golfers to take one of the two weights and make the head either draw or fade-biased. The drivers also have adjustable hosels for lie angle and loft adjustments.
Also new on the JPX-900 heads is VFA (visual face angle) adjustor that allows golfers to alter the soled face angle of a club, making it more open or closed at address. This is especially beneficial for gear heads who want their club head to look a certain way, or protect against missing shots a certain direction.
Not only is the 450-cubic-centimeter JPX-900 made to be more adjustable than ever, but it’s also designed to be more forgiving on off-center hits. This is accomplished through added technology you can’t see. With its new “CORtech” face design, Mizuno added support behind the face at the equator, but also vertically along the center of the face. This means that shots hit off center, or too high or too low on the face, will have additional forgiveness compared to their predecessors.
The JPX-900 drivers are adjustable from 7.5-11.5 degrees in 1-degree increments. The stock shaft family is Fujikura’s Speeder Evolution II shaft, which has a counter balance design and comes in a variety of flexes and weights.
Why the Evo II? “With a linear bending profile, it’s perfect for a max-adjustable driver,” Llewellyn said.
Mizuno JPX-900 fairway woods
Mizuno also implemented the new infinite-track technology in its JPX-900 fairway woods to allow golfers to fine-tune spin and trajectory, so whether your fairway wood is primarily used off the tee or from the fairway on approach shots, you can maximize its effectiveness.
Move the track forward and a JPX-900 fairway wood becomes a lower-spinning, lower-flying option from the tee. Move it rearward and it becomes a higher-spinning, higher-launching club with more forgiveness to give you a better chance of hitting and staying on the green with your long approach shots. With Mizuno’s infinite track, spin rates can change by 450 rpm, according to Mizuno’s testing.
Also in the JPX-900 woods are a “Shockwave” sole, a waffle crown and a new head design. The Shockwave sole helps give the fairway wood a more forward CG, but is said to maintain high-COR on shots hit low on the face, which is a common spot for golfers to contact their fairway woods, especially when hit off the turf.
“The shockwave acts like an accordion, and concentrates weight forward and low on the face,” Llewellyn said.
A “Waffle Crown” on the fairway woods refers to the multi-thickness design, which allows weight to repositioned for better forgiveness and lower CG while maintaining strength.
The JPX-900 faiway woods, which are available in 15, 18 and 21-degree stock heads, will come stock with a Fujikura Evolution II shaft and Golf Pride M31 360 grips. They will sell for $299.99 starting on September 16.
Mizuno JPX-900 hybrids
For its hybrids, Mizuno focused on providing golfers with clubs that will bridge the gaps between their woods and longest irons. To accomplish that, Mizuno put emphasis on head shaping, which gives the clubs a more streamlined appearance that blends better with a golfer’s fairway woods and long irons
Each hybrid head (16, 19, 22, 25 degrees) was individually designed for the task, with the common goal of giving each club the right look at address. If you’ve ever looked at a high-lofted hybrid and shook your head — the leading edge seems to jut way too far in front of the hosel — you know the problem Mizuno was trying to fix. To solve the issue, Mizuno gave the hybrids a progressive amount of offset as loft increased, which gives the club faces a more traditional, iron-like look.
In terms of tech, the hybrids were designed with a 1770 maraging steel face, a shockwave sole and a thicker sole-design than its predecessors for a lower CG.
The stock shaft in the JPX-900 hybrids is a Fujikura Pro available in 83X, 73S, 63R and 63R2, and the clubs will sell for $249.99 beginning on September 16.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Rich
Sep 2, 2016 at 3:23 am
Link to forum thread doesn’t work for me. Keeps saying error and that I don’t have permission to view that thread and I’m logged in. Please fix it.
Mark
Aug 30, 2016 at 9:49 pm
How can a company that makes such gorgeous irons constantly get their woods so wrong? They look bling and Cobra ish and not in a good way. No wonder our local stockists stick to irons and wedges only.
Dave R
Aug 29, 2016 at 8:35 pm
Mizuno are probably the best iron I have played, been a ping guy for years but switched this year and not looking back. Still play the g25 woods though hard to get rid of them.
Jeff
Aug 29, 2016 at 5:45 pm
For $1200 the JPX 900 better go 325 yards right down the middle every time.
Sm
Aug 30, 2016 at 1:56 pm
You must be an eejit
Bigboy
Aug 29, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Stick to irons Mizuno.
DevilDog18
Aug 29, 2016 at 11:46 pm
Why not hit it first then judge in Bigboy
Chance
Aug 29, 2016 at 5:07 pm
I loved the 850 and still do as I am gaming it. Never had the respect for Mizuno before I tried that driver. These look just as fantastic. Would love to try.
Lester Diamond
Aug 29, 2016 at 12:17 pm
$300 for a fairway wood, and $250 for a hybrid? I also see there is no price listed for the driver.
Shank.
S Mizzle
Aug 29, 2016 at 9:00 pm
Hardy har har