Equipment
Miura MB-101: The first new Miura blade since 2013
It has been six years since Miura unveiled a new forged blade iron. For 2020, the Japanese company is introducing the all-new Miura MB-101 iron—aimed at golfers looking for a classic, compact, shotmaking tool.
The last blade iron Miura launched into the market was way back in 2013: The MB-001. Since then, there have been quite a few new additions to the Miura family of irons, but no pure blade until now.
“This is a model of which the entire Miura family can be proud,” says Shinei Miura. “My father is as passionate about the MB-101 as any club he has ever designed. Our hope is that it will be recognized as one of the finest irons our factory has ever produced and will remain in our model lineup for years to come.”
Muira’s heritage is based on creating timeless forged irons, including blades—and don’t for a second think that this is just a rebadged Miura Baby Blade with a new name. Miura prides itself in their endless pursuit of perfection—their design philosophy is “kaizen,” which means” continuous improvement.” With respect to the MB-101, every detail has been refined to create the ultimate shotmaking tool for golfers seeking the absolute best in precision performance.
The muscle shape is much more organic and rounded to go along with the new sole design that greatly improves turf interaction. The other part of the iron that has gone through a tremendous change, thanks to Shinei and Yoshitaka Muira, is the transition from the hosel to the topline. This is, for the most discerning player, the telltale sign of a well-designed club: The hosel should look like it almost melts into the topline of the club, and with the new Muira MB-101 iron, you get exactly that.
The new Miura MB-101 embodies the theory that the smaller the clubhead, the more focused a player will be over the ball, resulting in better strikes. Along those same lines, the more compact head means more mass will be behind the ball, even on mishits, providing better results and offering the greatest level of feedback.
“Miura’s reputation is centered on its history of crafting exceptional, championship-caliber blade irons, and the MB-101 continues that legacy,” Hoyt McGarity, President of Miura Golf.
Miura MB-101: Tech specs & availability
The Miura MB-101 is forged from premium S25C soft carbon steel and finished in satin chrome to visually delight the most discerning golf purists.
The MB-101 set runs 3-PW and is available for $280 per iron. Golfers can purchase the MB-101 and all other Miura products at authorized club fitters around the globe or fully assembled at www.Miuragolf.com.
- LIKE185
- LEGIT12
- WOW16
- LOL5
- IDHT3
- FLOP2
- OB2
- SHANK13
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.
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
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.
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
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.
View this post on Instagram
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
- LIKE23
- LEGIT2
- WOW1
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole3 days ago
Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Equipment1 week ago
Golf fans left surprised by LIV’s choice of course for its 2024 individual championship event
-
19th Hole1 week ago
LIV star splits with swing coach after working together for 14 years
Ken
Dec 4, 2020 at 3:43 pm
I currently have the miura mb001’s and I am looking for a new set. Thinking about these but also like the WIlson Staff model staff blades. Any comparisons between the two??
Dave Bryce
Oct 14, 2019 at 6:40 pm
Simply as good an iron as anything out there! Like the fact that the lofts are not beefed up!
s
Oct 5, 2019 at 4:36 pm
Real men’s lofts. Love it.
MhtLion
Oct 4, 2019 at 11:22 am
Looks like Japan issued MB-5001/3.
Miuralovechild
Oct 3, 2019 at 11:15 pm
Not sure about the MORE rounded toe! Other than that they’re perfect. Appear to be smaller than the mb001. What ever happened to the 2019 baby blade????? Is this the same thing?? The ferrule is most likely BB&F (Patrick Boyd).
Randy Wall
Oct 3, 2019 at 1:45 am
Wish my game was capable of playing these. They’re gorgeous, and I’ll bet buttery soft when well struck.
Jim
Oct 19, 2019 at 8:36 pm
Randy – your game IS capable. These and similar blades (we used to just call them golf clubs) will improve anyone’s ball-striking ability. Unfortunately for most, they require a little practice once in a while. Most people today do not want to bother themselves with practice – it’s time-consuming.
James
Oct 2, 2019 at 10:23 pm
Miura has always considered the hosel to be the most important part of the head – it was always the most meticulously crafted part ‘where the shaft unites with the club head. When they came to visit our shop before opening our account & certifying us to build them, they made sure we had a quality drill press…the heads used to come with a pilot hole and builders had to bore it to whether or not you were using a taper or parallel tip, assuring the tightest shaft to head fit. Only a small amount of glue was needed & helped ‘lubricate’ the shaft as you pounded it down that last 3/8″ or so to seat it all the way down. Miura believed this accounted for the exceptional distance & feel.
Take apart any Mizuno or Titleist – even PXG and you can wiggle the tip around in the hosel. They dimple the shafts to give the glue more to bond with and more than a few times we needed to shim all of the above brands.
The difference is real. Still the best.
Milton Taylor
Oct 2, 2019 at 4:31 pm
$280 per club…… Bye Miura. They look exactly like my 620s
Jarnio Bubly
Oct 1, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Every manufacturer should go to a 7 year cycle on irons!
BO BO
Oct 2, 2019 at 7:56 pm
I thought the exact same thing when I saw the article.
rex 235
Oct 1, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Ryan-
“…and don’t for a second think that this is just a rebadged Miura Baby Blade with a new name.”
If theres a LH model, OK. Otherwise…
CJ
Oct 1, 2019 at 1:47 pm
Check out the 901s, which also dropped today
dat
Oct 1, 2019 at 10:49 am
Perfection
Casey Crooks
Oct 1, 2019 at 9:15 am
How does the size compare to the baby blade and MB001?
Cookazz
Oct 2, 2019 at 5:09 pm
3mm longer
VS
Oct 2, 2019 at 5:41 pm
Can you provide the source of this info? would like to see the dimensions of baby blade vs MB-101
Brian Audia
Oct 31, 2019 at 2:10 pm
+1 This comment. Where can you find full specs?