Equipment
Greatest Mizuno blade irons of all time
Forged blade irons are generally very similar in design because of their intended purpose is to provide the ultimate ball flight control to golfers looking to execute precision shots. We can go back decades and see familiar shapes represented in clubs that were just recently released because they are a utilitarian in their function.
However, just because all blade irons in some way resemble each other doesn’t mean that some don’t stand out from the crowd the same way all two-door coupes are not created equal—although they have two doors, four tires, and an engine.
This leads us into our list of the greatest Mizuno blade irons—their intended purposes are all the same, but details make the difference, and these five all stand out from the crowd.
Mizuno Pro MS Line – Released mid-1980s
I’ll admit that this is a bit of a cop-out but we could call this entire Mizuno Pro line the grandfathers of all modern Mizuno blade irons. They came in three distinct models meant to tailor to golfers with different swing profiles and blade shape preferences—something you would never see today from an OEM because of the cost associated with producing the tooling (see catalog page below). Eventually, the MS name was dropped in favor of the MP (Mizuno Pro) moniker, and as we say, the rest is history.
Mizuno MP-29 – Released 1992
The MP-29s were available from 1992 all the way up until 2000! A remarkable run for any set of irons and something we’re probably never going to see again from any major golf manufacturer.
The MP-29s are most well known for being part of the combo set used by Tiger Woods when we won his first major championship, the 1997 Masters. The set he used consisted of 2-4 iron MP-29s and 5-PW Mizuno MP-14s, which were chosen because they offered the least amount of offset of the two sets combined.
Mizuno MP-33 – Released 2002
This curved muscle back blade was a favorite to many golfers, including future world No. 1 Luke Donald. From a design and aesthetics perspective, the MP-33 closely resembles the MS-3 blade featured off the top, but with an updated profile and sole grind.
What made the MP-33 so popular amongst better players across the board and not just touring professionals is they had a slightly lower center of gravity compared to other blade models to help get the ball in the air just a bit easier. These are 100 percent still a blade designed for workability and not forgiveness, but at the end of the day, who would say “no” to a little extra help once and a while?
The MP 33 had one of the longest runs in Mizuno iron history and existed in Mizuno’s lineup for more than four years. After its retail life ended, it was still available for custom orders many years after that.
Mizuno MP-32 – Released 2004
Two words: Cut Muscle! The Mizuno MP-32 irons were designed from the ground up to offer not just workability but a little extra forgiveness thanks to an innovative cavity design. The “Cut Muscle” cavity precisely locates the Center of Gravity while also pushing slightly more mass to the perimeter of the club in aid in forgiveness. Speaking of forgiveness, the MP-32 is just a hair bigger than other blade irons, and thanks to the Cut Muscle, also had a lower center of gravity in the mid to long irons to aid in trajectory.
They were one of the last Mizuno irons to have a full four-year life span, and are still considered one of the most innovative MP irons ever.
Check out the video below for a more in-depth explanation of why these irons are so well-loved.
Mizuno TN-87 – Released 1988
The TN-87s were named after Tommy Nakajima, who at one point was the number one player on the Japanese PGA Tour and was also a popular Mizuno staff player. The TN-87 originally came out in 1988 and to this day are still considered one of the best Mizuno irons of all time. It wasn’t just Tommy who made these irons well known, another very famous Mizuno staff player, Nick Faldo, played a set of custom blank TN-87s in 1990 to win both the Masters and Open Championship.
Considering they resemble other blade designs, including (a tip of the hat) to original Hogan models, what has made the TN-87s stand the test of time as such a beloved set of clubs.
Let’s go deeper here.
Shape and sole: For a lot of players, the TN-87 represents the perfectly shaped iron head, from blade length to toe profile, it was just “one of those clubs” that kept people’s attention. This along with the sole shape, which was considered quite modern in this era, meant a lot of people trying then instantly fell in love.
Copper Underley: Raw iron heads are made from carbon steel, but they still need a layer of chrome to help them maintain durability, and prevent rust. There are several thin layers placed on top of the steel during the plating process. The metals involved in the layering process include both nickel and copper to help the chrome stick to the head. The copper layer became a thing of legend in golf circles for its ability to make a club feel softer. Golfers clamored for irons with copper underlay to help soften the feel and give better feedback.
With modern releases, Mizuno has offered irons with a copper underlay in the Japanese market but the MP20s are the first North American release with the extra layer in well over a decade.
The TN-87s were so revered, that in 2014 Mizuno did something few golf companies ever do: a full re-release (no custom orders) of the TN-87s from 3-PW, AW, SW. The question now is if we will ever see a re-release of any of the other irons on this list.
Have your say, GolfWRXers, what are the greatest Mizuno blades of all time?
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Jay
Aug 29, 2020 at 10:37 pm
The Original Mizuno Pro Blade is the sleekest coolest most confidence giving at address club I’ve ever seen. I traded a set of orange dot square groove ping eye 2s to a guy on my college golf team in 1988 for this set of irons. It’s just my opinion but i’ve picked up every new club made each year and none of them have tempted me to even consider purchasing them. Feel, length, work-ability…..the irons almost have an arrogance and if they could speak, they would say, “go ahead and try another set” laughingly. And so yea, the original Mizuno Pros are it for me.
Bob Dixon
Jul 21, 2020 at 8:15 pm
I play nothing but Mizuno irons. I can’t believe that you haven’t mentioned the Pro 2 blade…best shape, metal and feel EVER. The best ever
John
Apr 6, 2022 at 5:48 pm
LMFAO
Mark J
May 8, 2020 at 1:37 pm
my Favorite Clubs have ALWAYS been Blades, raised on a Blade, nothing feels better, more pure, than a clean struck Forged Blade, still have my MP-33’s and play them a couple of times a year.
Brad
May 7, 2020 at 5:26 am
Probably the most playable Mizuno blades are the ones I’m currently using, the MP-32. The most beautiful Mizuno blade I’ve laid eyes on is the MP-5, which I owned for short while. If I could hit the MP-5 long irons anywhere near as well as my MP-32’s I would game the MP-5’s until I couldn’t play golf anymore.
Rob
May 1, 2020 at 3:36 pm
The TP originals were on sale from 1982 to 1993 – slight name change for the US version – in the UK, so slightly longer than the Ping Eye 2s.Though with being grain flow forged, you ran the risks of dead spots.
The TP 9s had a similar run, though the copper supposedly in them did not have that much of an impact to my mind.
And together with the MP 18s – far easier to hit than these earlier versions that it is almost a joke – these remain the only three of 16 different Mizuno blade sets that I have kept.
stanley
May 1, 2020 at 11:59 am
i don’t know about blades. but my favorite mizuno irons are mp-30. this is the iron that got me into mizuno.
mick
Apr 27, 2020 at 1:39 pm
69, is Actually a forgiving type blade. 60 was/is ICONIC.
Joe
Apr 21, 2020 at 2:24 pm
No 14’s or 67’s? Come On Man!!!
Robert Miller
Apr 20, 2020 at 4:49 pm
I’ve got MP-18’s now and they are incredible. Previous set was MP-29’s purchased around ’96 and then rechromed in 2005. Before that I was using Hogan Apex since age 15.
Tried all the latest stuff and settled on the MP-18’s without flinching.
tonks
Apr 20, 2020 at 11:52 am
What about the TP9. Didn`t Faldo win a major with them after developing them with Mizuno? I purchased mine about ten years ago after they had been used 4 times since 1990. I had them regripped and use them all the time. Shafts are S400.
William Davis
Apr 20, 2020 at 11:47 am
Half the pleasure of Mizuno blades is looking at them. TPs don’t get a mention – Nick Faldo won a few things with 11. Bought new set of TP9 in about 1995. Still playable now and again for fun. Can’t face selling them.
JimmyRay
Apr 20, 2020 at 10:00 am
I have a set of LH MS-4’s that I bought in ’86 and re-shafted 3 times. Amazing feel.
jgpl001
Apr 20, 2020 at 9:54 am
MP-33 hands down the winner, but my best iron set ever was a set of MP-32, they stayed in my bag for 5 years…this is a lifetime for a dedicated ho
MP-18 is under rated, its a great iron, and a future classic
Shawn M
Apr 20, 2020 at 9:43 am
I have a set of TN-87’s from 1988. Been told they’re basically the MP 14’s.
I use them to practice strike. Maybe one day I’ll get the courage to take them to the course.
Butch
Apr 20, 2020 at 9:39 am
In addition to the MP blade designs mentioned Mizuno also had a TP-18 blade. I purchased in Dubai and played with for years, 3 step muscle back design, great clubs.
BingHogan
Apr 19, 2020 at 12:24 pm
Great Article!! Thank You!
Favorite iron is between the MP 33 and the MP 4’s. Set up on the 33’s were perfect and easy to hit. MP4’s are the best feeling irons!
Just can’t seem to like the new MP 20’s. Not sure why I would switch from the 69’s. Tried to like them but they just doesn’t feel the same as an MP4.
Currently playing 69’s, JPX 919Tours.
So if Mr Vosh is on here why not do a redux MP 33 with the feel of the MP4.
MP 60 was fantastic too!
BingHogan
Apr 19, 2020 at 12:27 pm
Correction: don’t fell the same as an MP 4. So much for all that grammar ????
Andrew
Apr 19, 2020 at 8:54 am
Mp5s turned out pretty good
Paulo
Apr 19, 2020 at 3:20 am
I’ve owned lots of mizuno a sets including most of the ones posted. The mp18-s deserve to be up there. They feel abs look great . Not impressed with the 20’s mind
Madeline Morgan
Apr 19, 2020 at 3:07 am
Although there are vintage Ping Eye 2, MacGregor Muirfield, and Wilson Staff sets in the garage, the only irons I’ve ever seriously played are Mizuno. Starting with MP-30, followed in order by 33, 57, 62, 5, and now 18. They’re simply the best.
MBH
Apr 18, 2020 at 7:23 pm
I’ve had 3 sets of Mizuno’s: MP-57, MP-63 and MP-18. IMHO they are all great, classic models. I will continue to purchase Mizuno irons until the day I can’t swing anymore.
GolfMan
Apr 18, 2020 at 6:19 pm
What about the MP-18 ?
Scott
Apr 18, 2020 at 6:17 pm
No doubt the MP 33’s where the best blade line as they are as good. Ow as they where back in the day! I still strip it with them! Luv em. Let you know where you are on the face all the time. And when you flush it it’s sublime!!!
NRJyzr
Apr 18, 2020 at 5:28 pm
I would put the MS-11/MP-11 ahead of the MP-29. The latter had that lovely offset in the short irons, while the 11’s were the set that introduced a bit more bounce to blades.
Chuck Woolery
Apr 18, 2020 at 5:21 pm
MP-33’s, period!! All others bow down.
JBro
Apr 18, 2020 at 4:43 pm
The MP-33 and MP-37 were great, but they were the last of the flat standard lie angle. The 32s went more upright and that is what truly made them successful.
Jbone
Apr 19, 2020 at 7:55 am
Very interesting
ForgedMB
Apr 20, 2020 at 10:44 am
Actually, I believe that Mizuno changed their standard lie angles from 62° on the PW to 63° on the MP-33. The lies on all of those models that you mentioned were off of a 63° PW.
Dave Bryce
Apr 18, 2020 at 3:21 pm
Mizuno irons are as good as anything on the market! The only irons I did not like, were the True Zoids from decades ago that I played.
Garrett
Apr 18, 2020 at 3:11 pm
Where are the MP-4’s?? I was expecting those at the top!!
Shane
Apr 20, 2020 at 9:30 am
I have a set of the original Tzoids in my close to this day. I tried the ‘Trues’ and hated them as well. Also had some MP 14s and MP67s. I liked the 67s quite a bit.
GolfMan
Apr 18, 2020 at 1:59 pm
Mizuno makes the best irons, hands down.
Timothy Murphy
Apr 18, 2020 at 12:33 pm
29’s over 14’s? Not so sure about that one.
JR Goddard
Apr 18, 2020 at 3:36 pm
I felt the same way. My MP-14’s were the best clubs I ever played.
kfree
Apr 20, 2020 at 7:14 am
Absolutely. I have yet to find a Mizuno that beats the MP-14. I wish they would re-release this set.
Charles Leu
Apr 20, 2020 at 1:16 pm
+1
James
Apr 18, 2020 at 11:55 am
The TN-87 and it’s not even close. If you have a set, as I still do, you will understand. They were gifted to me after a successful business deal when Japan was busy buying up California and Hawaii.