Equipment
Spotted: Mizuno’s new MP-5 Channelback irons
Mizuno posted a photo of its new “MP-5 Channelback” irons on its official Mizuno Golf Facebook page on Monday.
The first official pictures of the MP-5 Channelback just posted on the Open Championship blog. Posting live now at http://goo.gl/ASE1G4 #nothingfeelslikeamizuno
Posted by Mizuno Golf on Monday, July 13, 2015
More photos can be seen here in Mizuno’s Open Championship forum.
Based on photos from Mizuno, the irons will be Grain-Flow (GF) Forged from 1025E carbon steel. Also, based on comments from the company on Facebook, the irons will have more redistributed weight from previous MP models.
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the MP-5 Channelback irons in our forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- 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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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
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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Ude
Jul 5, 2017 at 7:20 pm
Miz sculptured, re-sculptured and then re-re-sculptured in 2015. What’s next? Scotch Blades?
joro
Mar 3, 2017 at 11:03 am
Mizzens are nice clubs and as a club maker and repairman you get to know what is quality and Mizunos are quality clubs and are made right. I had a set years ago and liked them a lot. Then I went on the TM staff for a few years. I just retired and bought some Hot Metals, very nice, good quality and a good club for us Seniors. Love em.
Ted Till
Nov 2, 2016 at 1:05 am
Comment: I have been playing Mizuno irons since 1995. Started with 29s then 33s then 52s then 67s then 58s then 69s then 4s and now 5s. All the irons have been great, I originally replaced my Hogan PCs with the 29s because of superior feel, accuracy and distance versus the Hogan PCs ( realizing that the PCs had the smallest sweet spot of any Hogan iron)
The MP5s are by far the easiest to hit and best feeling Mizuno irons that I have ever played. The 4s are very close to the 5s but not as forgiving. I think the KBS shafts also add to the feel and playability. I also continue to play my MP33 1-iron with an Aldila graphite shaft. The thicker top line and wider sole is not an issue. They are still a beautiful set of blades.
A s abdeen
Aug 1, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Pl m.ore info to a senior player.
Jericho
Aug 7, 2015 at 3:43 am
Ya know I’m kinda thinking I might like these ..I’ve had most of the mizzy blade line since the 29’s ..14’s,33’s,37’s,68’s and the Mp-4’s ..then Miura tournament blades and two sets Miura 1957 Baby Blades.. now I’m not sure how these are going to feel because they are supposed to be somewhat hollow’ish ..was really never a big fan of that ..I think the Mp-4 is somewhat the same way ..hollow’ish..the Mp-4 still felt really nice but nothing like the 14’s when flushed..the Mp-5 is supposed to still have the great Mizuno feel but with technology built in .. Wider camber/sole : a far cry from the Baby blades : .. Weight taken out of the middle and placed on the muscle pad ” low on the 3i higher on the P wedge muscle pad wise..and some weight added to the top line that would come in handy if you ground load a little heavy and take the ball off the top so there’s still some meat behind the ball ..I was a +3 years ago on the mini tours when I played the baby blades and now a non competitive low single but just can’t get away from blades ..I think these “helper blades” might get it for me , they look outstanding ..they look every bit a blade/with a technological edge.. Still love taking my 14’s out for a crack but missing them just enough to not break par I have some rounds 68’s with my 714 ap2’s ..a great club as well but miles away from that Mizzy feel..and like I said I just feel better behind a blades ..I don’t really compete anymore so now it’s just about having a great time with the guys ..would be great if these Mp-5’s gave me a little more help to miss a little better ..either way can’t wait to bagg’em!
Buddy Mack
Jul 15, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Agreed: top lines are huge as are the soles w/o closer inspection. Like the finish and muscle shape. Maybe the performance results will mitigate the above negatives?
KCCO
Jul 15, 2015 at 10:34 am
I will always probably be mizuno biased, but still waiting for a 64 direct replacement
Ugh
Jul 14, 2015 at 3:18 am
Let me rephrase: that top line is too flat and way too thick.
Ugh
Jul 14, 2015 at 3:14 am
Top line is too thick.
Slimeone
Jul 13, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Good to see Mizuno getting back to their roots…of ripping off Hogan’s designs!
MHendon
Jul 13, 2015 at 5:42 pm
Great looking blades as all Mizuno’s are. What’s the purpose of the channel though?
Chuck
Jul 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm
What’s the “channel” part? That vague shaping on the back of the iron? I think of “channel backs” as having a significant undercut. Many will remember the fascination with the old Titleist 690.CH. That was the ultra-rare Japan-only set for which the 3-iron found its way into Ernie Els’ bag and became his go-to utility iron.
http://www.anserfreak.ne.jp/d-report/2003/0310/images/ch1.jpg
Mizuno (always creating some of the most beautiful irons in the game) has plenty of its own experience with true undercut channel backs. The MX-25 and MP-53 come to mind. There are many more I am sure; almost too many to think of. Are they doing something more “channel-ish” in the long irons?
Ugh
Jul 14, 2015 at 3:13 am
Not that kind of channel. Just a wave-y scoop out near the top half of the head, to distribute weight lower to the muscle. No slots, no cut outs, not that kind of channel.