Golf Monthly
  • 6 months ago
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Transcript
00:00And when it comes to choosing a new set of irons,
00:02there are often quite a lot of boxes
00:03that need to be ticked, whether it's looks,
00:05feel, forgiveness, performance, all those sorts of things.
00:08And often, irons will typically excel in some of those areas
00:11and maybe fall down in one or two.
00:12But I think I've found an iron here
00:14that ticks an awful lot of boxes.
00:16Pretty much all the boxes a golfer looks for
00:18when it comes to a new set of irons.
00:20It's a really exciting new iron for this year.
00:22So without further ado, let's find out exactly what it is
00:25and why I think it could well be the perfect iron.
00:28Okay, so I won't hold you in suspense any longer.
00:30The iron I think could be as close to perfect
00:32as you're likely to find this year
00:34is the Mizuno JPX9234s.
00:37Now this is one of five models in the range.
00:40This is one of the later releases within it.
00:42And I think it combines a lot of attributes
00:44that golfers look for from a set of irons.
00:46Good looks, good feel, good forgiveness,
00:48and good distance as well.
00:49This 7-iron is lofted down at 30 degrees.
00:52So it's a bit stronger than a lot of irons
00:54that have a similar size to this.
00:55And it's gonna give you really good feel as well.
00:58I think the first box golfers are looking to tick off
01:00when it comes to choosing a new set of irons
01:02is how it looks.
01:03And I think this iron looks absolutely fantastic.
01:05Loads of shelf appeal.
01:06It's relatively subtle in the back,
01:07but there's a lot to like about how it looks.
01:09In the bag, on the shelf, and also down at address
01:12because the dimensions of this club
01:14are absolutely perfect for me.
01:16You know, it's not too compact.
01:17There's a bit of thickness to that top line,
01:19but there's not much offset.
01:20That's something I look for from an iron.
01:21Don't want it to be too offset.
01:23There's a hint of it, but not too much at all.
01:25The finish is absolutely fantastic.
01:27Really premium down behind the ball.
01:29It's compact, but it's not intimidating.
01:31There's enough size there to inspire some confidence
01:33at address.
01:34So I think it looks great.
01:35And the other thing I really like about it
01:37is the feel of this club off the face.
01:43I think this iron feels so nice.
01:45It's really soft.
01:46It's got a really nice, short, dense sensation at impact.
01:49It feels like a blade, to be honest with you,
01:51but it has maybe a little bit more spring to it.
01:53So you're getting a bit more kind of energy off the face
01:56versus a muscle back, which can come off a little bit dead.
01:59You get a little bit more liveliness here off the face.
02:01So I think feel-wise, it definitely ticks the boxes
02:03for feel.
02:04And I tested this iron indoors on a GC quad launch monitor
02:07with premium golf balls, looking at the performance
02:09in real great detail.
02:10Because I was interested to see, you know,
02:12were there any trade-offs in how this iron performed?
02:15And you know, when I'm looking at performance,
02:16I'm really looking at consistency of ball speed
02:18and the consistency of the carry distances.
02:20And that's where this iron really stood out
02:22versus anything else I've tested this year.
02:24Well, I hit 10 shots with this iron indoors
02:27and the carry distances ranged from 167 yards
02:30to 169 yards, which is incredible, really.
02:33You could have thrown a pretty small blanket
02:34over where these shots finished.
02:36And it's blown away about how consistent it was.
02:38And that is going to give you really good repeatability
02:40out on the golf course.
02:41If you're looking to hit a very specific distance,
02:43this iron is going to deliver that.
02:44And even slightly off center as well,
02:46I felt like there was enough stability in the head
02:48to save a poor strike.
02:49It's not the most forgiving iron in the Mizuno range,
02:52but I think if you're a mid to low handicapper,
02:55there's enough help built in with this club
02:56to help you get away with making a poor swing.
02:59So, yeah, I've been absolutely blown away
03:01by how well this iron performed.
03:03And even though it's quite a strong lofted,
03:04there's enough trajectory there
03:06to get the ball stopping on the green.
03:08And hopefully you can see that.
03:09If I hit another shot for you.
03:14That kind of mid ball flight is going to give you
03:16a combination of distance and stopping power.
03:19Those windows are exactly where I want an iron
03:21to be flying through.
03:22And even though it's quite a strong lofted,
03:24it doesn't actually go too far.
03:25The spin was relatively high with the Mizuno irons.
03:28We've seen that with other Mizuno irons down the past.
03:30They don't like to get the spin
03:32down to like four, four and a half thousand RPM.
03:34This was over 5,000 RPM.
03:36So that's going to give you a nice ball flight
03:38that kind of goes low, climbs a little bit,
03:40and stops quickly on the green.
03:42So for me, this Mizuno JPX 923 Forged Iron,
03:46it ticks the boxes for looks.
03:47It definitely ticks the boxes for feel.
03:49It was plenty forgiving enough for myself
03:52or maybe even a mid-handicap golfer,
03:53and it was consistent.
03:55Possibly the only box this iron doesn't quite tick
03:57is for value for money,
03:58because it does come in at a slightly premium price
04:01versus other irons within its category.
04:03185 pounds per club means it kind of equates
04:06to around about 1,300 pounds for a seven piece set.
04:08But based on everything I've talked about in this video,
04:11I think you kind of get what you pay for with this club,
04:13because really it doesn't have a weakness.
04:15It looks great, feels sensational,
04:17and gives you really good stopping power
04:19and consistent distances.
04:20And that's what I would be really looking for from an iron.
04:23I think the only thing that would stop me
04:24from putting it in the bag right now
04:25would be the fact it probably sends the ball
04:27a little bit too far, given those stronger lofts.
04:30So that's something you can maybe work on in a fitting,
04:32maybe combo with some other models,
04:34or just work on that loft configuration
04:35so the gapping issues aren't too great.
04:37But hopefully you've enjoyed this video
04:39in terms of summarizing what this JPX 923 Forged Iron
04:42has to offer.
04:43For me personally, I think it's one of the leading contenders
04:46as the best golf irons in 2023.
04:48But that's all from me
04:49from the beautiful Black Bear Golf Club here in Florida.
04:52I'll see you next time.