Equipment

Miura X Nicklaus irons: A blade years in the making

Published

4 years ago

Jul 20, 2020

To the untrained eye, blade irons all appear to be quite similar, small flat-backed golf clubs absent of a cavity—but to a trained eye and hand, a quick glance or simple pass of a finger over a surface or edge will reveal more information than a small book could ever hold.

Now when it comes to two men that could write books about how a blade iron should look and feel, Jack Nicklaus and Katsuhiro Miura are names on a very short list and their years of experience that have been brought together to create a single set of irons years in the making—these are the Nicklaus X Miura collaboration blades.

We were teased this collaboration in early June (Miura Golf teases Nicklaus collaboration) and now the details have arrived.

The Specs

Although they look similar to another blade in the Miura line, the MB•101, this is an entirely new iron that has been meticulously crafted to match the specs of Mr. Nicklaus with a reconfigured flatter sole profile with additional bounce and adjusted offset through the set. Jack was never known for taking divots and his preference has also been to see the leading edge sit closer to the ground with a straight leading edge—these irons deliver on the preference.

The specs are very similar to the MacGregor sets Jack used throughout his career crafted by legendary club maker Don White while he was with MacGregor, the difference now is that instead of being forged in the United States, these new irons will be forged and ground by the skills craftsman at Miura golf in Himeji, Japan.

The last detail beyond the sole comes down to looks, and these new irons have been subtly ground where the hosel meets the leading edge of the iron to create Nicklaus’ preferred look from address—creating an almost underslung leading-edge, something that was popular with both original MacGregor Nicklaus irons and before that original Hogan blades.

As mentioned in the original teaser, a collaboration between Nicklaus and Miura would almost seem inevitable since both brands are held under the 8AM Golf umbrella, which also has Golf Magazine and True Spec golf, among others, but the origin of this project dates back many years before Miura was held by 8am and was actually set in motion in 2014 when Jack himself made a visit to meet the legendary club maker Mr. Miura in Japan and to tour the Miura factory.

“The day Jack visited the factory was the best day of my life,” Miura-san.

It was around that same time Jack started getting spotted playing in events like the PNC Father-Son with Miura irons in the bag. These types of collaborations don’t just happen overnight and it shows the amount of time it took to build this relationship and collectively bring these clubs to market.

Availability

These will be extremely limited and to get your name on the pre-order list check out Miuragolf.com/Nicklaus. The price will be $2,750 USD, and if drawn from the pre-order list, a deposit will be required with the irons being delivered in early 2021.

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Equipment

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

Published

9 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

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

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.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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