Irons

2018 MOST WANTED PLAYERS IRON

BY MyGolfSpy
Jul 9th 2018
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120

Hours
Researched

9,481

Shots
Hit

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Products
Considered

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Readers

OUR JOB IS YOUR GAME.

What characteristics determine a great players iron?

Is it distance? Accuracy? Control? A little added forgiveness? We’ve found that it’s a combination of all of the above. This year we leveraged our testing facility in Virginia to deliver the most comprehensive, unbiased Players Iron Test in the world.

For this year’s test, we have yet again refined our analytics and added another piece to the puzzle – statistical significance. Our 2018 Most Wanted Players Iron test has more iron models, more shots, and more reliable results than ever. If you’re in the market for new irons in 2018, this is for you.

DEFINING THE PLAYERS CATEGORY

17 of the top non-blade players irons were put to the test. The clubs tested, while not quite the butter-knife blades your grandfather played, maintain the workability better players demand and offer that bit of forgiveness we all need.

The target handicap for this iron category ranges from scratch(or better) to the high single-digits. The designs of these irons feature more compact head profiles, small cavities, and minimal offset.

DISCLAIMER: While we all want to game the same irons as the pros, the clubs in this category aren’t for everyone. These players irons are designed for golfers who hit the center of the club face more often than not. Miss and the punishment will be more severe than with game-improvement or super game-improvement irons.

ADVANCED GOLF ANALYTICS

Data matters. And when it comes to finding the right equipment, it’s critical. We help solve this by applying the largest connected set of head-to-head data to tackle one of golf’s biggest challenges.

All testing was conducted inside our fully independent test facility located in Virginia. All testers used Bridgestone Tour B-RX golf balls for consistency and to reduce test variables. All ball data was collected using the world’s most trusted launch monitor, Foresight Sports GCQuad. All head data was captured using the Foresight’s HMT.

SHOTS HIT: 9,481
DATA POINTS: 426,645
TIME: 120 hours
TESTERS: 20
HANDICAP RANGE: +2 – 8
AGE RANGE: 23 – 64
DRIVER SWING SPEED RANGE: 90 mph – 120 mph
IRONS TESTED: Three irons, a short, middle, and long iron from each set

Data. Aggregated. Normalized. Delivered.

RESULTS AND RANKINGS

Our rankings aren’t determined inside a conference room. We don’t have a panel, and there are no votes. The launch monitor is the one and only judge. For our 2018 Most Wanted Players Iron test, we collected a standard set of launch monitor metrics (ball speed, launch angle, spin rates, distance, etc.).

Our Most Wanted winner is the club that finished in the statistically significant top group (based on Strokes Gained) for the highest percentage of our testers. To simplify things a bit, we call the final order TRUERank; a metric that includes the order of finish (rank), along with the percentage of golfers for whom each club was shown to be in the top group.

For more information, view our How We Test page.

2018 Players Irons Rankings

2018 Most Wanted Players Iron Data

2018 PLAYERS IRON TEST

Club Name	Long Iron Rank	Mid Iron Rank	Short Iron Rank	TRUERank
New Level 902 Forged	15th	4th	16th	14th
Titleist 718 AP2	3rd	5th	5th	6th
Bridgeston Tour B X-CB	5th	11th	5th	8th
Edel Variable Length	5th	10th	14th	9th
Fourteen FH-900	10th	14th	2nd	9th
Cobra Forged ONE	13th	16th	8th	15th
Cobra Forged Tour	15th	15th	8th	16th
PING i200	10th	11th	8th	12th
Mizuno MP-18 MMC	2nd	5th	2nd	2nd
TaylorMade P770	3rd	7th	1st	3rd
Mizuno MP-18 SC	5th	1st	2nd	1st
Titleist 718 TMB	5th	11th	8th	9th
Wilson Staff Tour V6	5th	3rd	14th	7th
VEGA VDC-01	14th	7th	8th	12th
Callaway X Forged	1st	7th	5th	5th
Srixon Z765	10th	2nd	8th	3rd

Below you’ll find the data from our 2018 Most Wanted Players Test. Note that you can use the Iron Model filter to limit the display to specific models. Also note that, by default, we show the comparative metrics for long irons. To see middle and short irons, use the Iron Type drop down located on the top right of the charts.

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comments

Join The Discussion

Clay

5 years ago

I know this is an older article, but how can a club with the largest shot area be the 2nd most wanted?

Plumbob

Players Iron or Game improvement? How do you tell. I posed this question about the AP3 recently, and then I see that Golf Digest has published its annual club review and has the Sirxon Z585 as players irons (and only Silver at that) but MGS has them as the best of the game improvement lot. Who decides?

Michael Constantine

Keep going back to my amp cell pro irons. The new MP line is pretty good in the MB and SC but the others don’t do it for me. Callaway forgings feel like crap. 718 AP2 spins the ball a ton. Only iron that would make me consider is the new 919 tour. But I’ll probably buy 3 sets over again just to end up back with my amp cell pro set. Good stuff. Keep up the good work.

Jeff

6 years ago

Just a thought for us left handers, I went to a mizuno fitting day at my local club off of the back of this data, to be fit for the MMC as wanted to change out my hybrids at the top of the bag. How can a club be ranked near the the top of best irons if the DONT make them in left hand???

leftright

Same boat. The SC’s are in lefthanded though. I think the Ping i500’s are going to be the stuff though.

mackdaddy

Not surprised by the soft forgings of the top three. I think if Miura CB 501 or KZG ZO blades were in the test they would be up in the top area of the test as well.

Joro

I understand your testing but what I do not understand is the call being the most wanted Iron, by who and why. Wouldn’t the “Most wanted” be what people really want? The tests, distance, and height be the results of testing and not really what people want.

I see nothinig about reality here, just facts. How about what a player sees when he puts them behind the ball, size and shape are very important;, and how about feel, balance, what impact is like in feel and sound, and what about the lofts. I see nothing about what really makes a most wanted Iron.

Nocklaus

Me too. It’s boring to check out these tests. You open the page and you are simply told that Mizuno are the best. I miss the older kind of tests where you could read the testers reactions to feel and looks, which is important when the test results are so close anyway.No mystery to me though, that Mizuno wins …

Mike

Amen, brother! I was one of those testers who’s opinions you may have read about. I was one of the few fortunate ones to have been a regular participant in Golf Magazine’s annual “Club Test”. It’s a shame they changed formats and with the departure of Rob Sauerhaft, who was the managing editor and Club Test founder, it was doomed to die.

I first wanted to become a part of it because when a subscriber and reader, it was easy over the years to identify with regular guys who’s handicaps, body sizes, swings and tendencies were like mine. Hearing their unbiased opinions and what THEY had to say resonated with me far more than what manufacturers and others who had some vested interest in a particular manufacturer said. That’s what motivated me to apply. plus I’m an equipment junkie and I learned more during those years than I could have imagined. I was fortunate to have been invited and even though I couldn’t participate any longer with demands on my schedule, I miss that format tremendously.

Paul

I cannot believe that anyone would buy clubs for the way it looks. I have some Cryptocurrency I would like you to buy!!

So you have the most comprehensive testing anywhere in the industry and you are talking about things that cannot be measured.

Use this as a guide then go out and try them and see for yourself.

Also, if you feel strongly about what you are saying make a “big” donation and I am sure Tony will accomodate you.

Unreal!!

And no I don’t work for Tony!!

Michael

Love the analysis. It is hard for me to see how material the difference is between first and last. Is the first rated club going to save you 2 strokes over the last rated club? Or, is it going to save 0.2 strokes? If it is 0.2 strokes then I’m just going to get whatever looks best. If it is 2 strokes, that is a different story. Thanks.

Kevin

Can Toney comment on the lack of spin. 7 irons spinning at or below 5k?

Assuming testing came from hitting off mats? if so, why?

You start to see bigger differences when you look at “Distance to Hole”. This is the top column I look at because at the end of the day, that is what is most important to lower scores.

Tom

My apologies Kevin. The response, i.e., “What’s it to you” was directed to the “Advertising” person who berated Hogan for denoting why the new FT. Black didn’t make the deadline for evaluation and thought it was tacky for Hogan to detail FT Black specifications is a forum. Again, my apologies!!

JustWellsy

I still play Mizuno MP-64 and haven’t found a reason to switch yet. I don’t hit the MMC or SC much better so the switch would only be for looks (which is still important). Mizuno would sell more irons if people like me didn’t like the old ones so much, haha

Dave S

Now for the question I just have to ask every time there’s a new MW test…

Sounds like the TRUERank formula is now pretty much set after some tweaking over the past year an change. If that is the case (and tell me if it’s not), can we FINALLY expect to see this year’s winners (or top 3) matched up against next year’s crop of clubs?

Give the people what they want! ;)

Thanks for the insight mygolfspy, love your tests!
Looks like making a combo set of Mizuno irons would be the go

Harm

Same conclusion here…:-)

Brad

Some of the recent “Most Wanted” tests just have me baffled with the results. Firstly, how is it that the winner from last year (Wilson Staff Tour V6) has moved from 1st to 7th, being beaten by some irons that were ranked well behind it last year? Secondly, how is the Srixon Z765 sitting at 3rd place overall with rankings of 10th, 2nd, and 8th while the Callaway X-forged is in 5th place with rankings of 1st, 7th and 5th?

Finally, in analysing the data myself (as a former data analyst), I cannot find the rhyme or reason behind some of the rankings as even when looking at a combination of carry, spin, proximity to hole and dispersion – there seems to not be great consistency in what parameter(s) have been given preference for the rankings. There is a great deal of randomness in these tests, particularly when compared against previous years data.

The only thing I can take from this and most of the recent tests is to use it to determine clubs that perhaps perform very poorly (outliers) and exclude them from consideration. I would not suggest anyone go out and purchase a club just because it has made it into the top 3 rankings as they will likely be very disappointed in the results unless the club just happens to be a good fit for them. So, ignore the rankings and get a good custom fit after having a hit of everything that suits your eye.

Tony Covey

This is likely going to be a long reply, so let me start by saying that our methodologies and the way we crunch data are the best you’ll find on the media/youtube influencer side, but as I said in response to a similar question on twitter, they’re neither intuitive nor easily explained.

Rewinding a bit…in the early part of 2017, we set a goal to implement strokes gained methodology by the start of the 2018 testing season. It’s reasonably easy to do with drivers and fairway woods, but once you’re dealing with hybrids, irons, etc. – anything you might define as a scoring, or at least a target club, it’s a bit trickier to implement in a test environment where it’s reasonable to expect that one company’s 7-iron will be appreciably longer than another. That’s deep weeds stuff that I had to figure out.

So when the 2017 player’s test rolled around, we weren’t ready for strokes gained with irons, so we used a ranking system that attempted to aggregate different metrics (distance, accuracy, forgiveness) in a way that was logical. It wasn’t strokes gained, but it was an improvement over the past. Side Note – every year we’re always looking at ways to improve the quality of our tests – sometimes it’s a big leap (strokes gained), and sometimes it’s a small tweak to a formula, or how we handle outliers, that makes things just a tiny bit better. So to answer one part of your question – apart from having some different testers, we also changed the methodology significantly. Yes, the V6 fell in the rankings, but I have to be ok with that because results are now based off a single metric that paints a more complete picture of performance.

As for why 10, 2, and 8 finishes ahead of 1, 7, 5. The first point is that we’re not simply taking an average of the ranks. That’s meaningless. The devil is in the details behind the difference between, for example, 1st and 10th. Hopefully, you read our how we test page before weighing in on the methodologies as this bit is discussed. As it explains we’re looking for statistically significant or reliable differences between clubs on a per golfer basis. So, with short irons for example (I’m just throwing out some numbers to make the point), the #1 ranked club could be in the top group for as high as 60% of our testers. We may even have multiple clubs tied 1, and by the time we get to 4,5,6…we’re dealing with plenty of ties, and so the difference between #1 and #10 might be as little as 15 percentage points. In the long irons, the difference between 1 and 10 could be 30 or more percentage points. So functionally, you have situations where the actual gap between 1 and 10 for one club length is less than the gap between 1 and 5 in another. Our rankings are based on the top group percentages not the rank number. The results may appear random when looking at aggregated launch monitor data, but the results are anything but.

Integrating statistical significance and reliability into the methodology was something we had planned for next year, but we got a little help on that and fortunately, I was able to get it up and rolling for all of this year’s tests.

As far as the group averages not making a ton of sense…they’ll give you some general answers, like longest, or highest launching, but take an aggregation of multiple launch parameters and treat it as if it was a single shot – only to be upset when the numbers don’t add up, frankly, doesn’t make much sense. It’s preceisely why we don’t use raw averages to determine our rankings.

Ultimately, it sounds like you made a ton of assumptions without digging deep into how we test. The reality is that we’ve vetted our methodologies and this new approach with multiple OEMs and without exception, they agree it’s a better way to do things…even if it’s neither intuitive nor easily explained.

Brad enters guns-a-blazin’… Brad exits in a BODY BAG.

Well done, Tony.

@Dave S – A truly immature reply worth no more than this single sentence response.

@Tony Covey – Thank you for taking the effort with your detailed reply. Yes, I did make a few assumptions as the specific algorithm used to calculate TRUERank is not available to your readers. Your response does clarify some aspects of the methodology used to determine the rankings though. I still believe that the small sample size used in this test (20) as compared to the number of golfers that would be the target demographic for these irons means the level of confidence in the results would not be as high as it could be with a somewhat larger sample size. The exclusion of all outliers in the data set could also have an impact on the results depending on what was considered an outlier and how much the exclusion of these shots had on the final results (or, it might not depending on the decision on what and was not an outlier).

My main point; however, was that the test results from last year and this year and the changes in methodology appears to somewhat invalidate the test results from last year (as #1 became #7 several spots below clubs it beat last year). So, either the algorithm used the calculate the data changed enough to cause that (your responses indicates it has) or the sample size of golfers used is in fact too small to provide confidence in the results. If you continue to use the same methodology and algorithm to calculate the rankings going forward, then we should begin to see more consistent outcomes in the results of future testing. That would confirm it was the change in methodology rather than a problem with sample size or some flaw in the methodology at play. In any case, thanks for doing what you do. Your testing is far, far superior to that of the majority of the online and print golf rags that mostly rank gear based on how much the manufacturer pays them for advertising…

Can you comment on the lack of spin. 7 irons spinning at or below 5k?

John

4 years ago

@ Dave S.
What an infantile immature, wannabee response

Bladestriker

spin seems low for 7 irons, if these were GI irons you normally hear how unplayable they are with that little spin

To me every time I see these tests it just reinforces the importance of a custom fit. The MP18 SC is a beautiful club but at address the short irons looked too closed to me making it hard to get comfortable over the ball for someone who already hits a draw.

The Titleist 718 CB (Not tested) and Ping i200 looked the best to me standing over them and in turn provided the best results. I Have played the FG Tour V6 for the last 18 months and nothing has beaten them but they are worn out from a combo of a sandy range and rock hard range balls, hence the testing of new irons.

The fitter had my lie angle adjusted 1° flat to accommodate for this.

Mizunos standard lie angle may be stronger than others to help avoid more severe slices? But anyways, yes that’s why fitting is so helpful as it dialed it my dispersion window to lessen my draw and help me shape fades more easily.

It’s always amazing to me how important fitting is. I hit the ball like a dream with a standard lie angle. Bend that to just 2 deg upright and I’m completely lost. Go 2 degrees flat and I lose my mind.

Now if I could just find a way to experiment with grinding soles to find my perfect angle of attack for turf interaction…

Johnny Penso

Okay, this looks like trolling but it’s a serious question. It’s a constant in the amateur golf world that these types of clubs are for the “better player” and GI are better for even mid-handicappers. Not a consensus but that’s the general sentiment I see. If that’s the case, why are the dispersion numbers so tight on these players clubs and so consistent, especially compared to the GI and SGI results from 2017?

Steve

Part of the reason has to be the fact that they are also the “shortest hitting” sticks in the bunch? It is relatively well-known that more distance means more variability…

That would be something to look at…so I did. And the carry distances from the GI and SGI category “mid iron” from last year were actually shorter than these clubs.

Rene

The best answer just might be that better/lowering handicap players are testing the players category. It just goes to show you that consistent ball striking is more important then how much help any given club will potentially provide for you.

This is the obvious answer.

Whoa. The MP18-SC dispersion figures for the 7 iron stick out like a sore thumb but in a good way. They might be on to something there. Worth taking a look.

sam

So who came in Forth?? True ranking.

MP 18 SC, is that mid size or just an optical illusion?

Clayobx

I have to agree with absence of Missy JPX forged sets? Surely a two time major winner playing JPX 900’s justifies evaluation??

Sam Robinson

Ironically Mizuno did not send the JPX 900 Tour for submission into our Players Iron Testing this year – I believe they wanted to focus on the new MP-18 line that came out.

or wait for the JPX919s. It is hard to get the 900s over here now.

Andrew Han

Hi,

I read up on your true rank system, and your explanation of it in the past with the other most wanted test. Srixon Z765 just looks out of place or shouldn’t rank above AP2 or Callaway X.

For instance, Srixon placed 47% of the time among the tester, but looking at the rankings, it doesn’t add up. It placed 10, 2, 8, adding up to 20. AP2 and Callaway added up to 13 in the same fashion.

Using the same math, the rankings makes sense for other manufacturers. Mizuno is adds up less than the other clubs, ranking them higher. It works with last place as well. Without having tableau to extract the data set into excel, can you explain this abnormality?

Thanks,

Andrew

The overall TRUERank is not an aggregate of the individual club ranks, rather an average of the statistical significance value returned for each of the individual clubs. For instance, the winning Mizuno MP-18 SC individual StatSig Values are as follows:

Long Iron: 50% (10 testers)
Mid Iron: 75% (15 testers)
Short Iron: 40% (8 testers)

(50+75+40)/3 = 55%

The percentages are a reflection of the percentage of testers where a certain club finished in the statistically significant top group. So in simple terms – the Mizuno MP-18 SC short iron appeared in 40% of the tester group’s top performing groups.

Cool, thanks Sam.

You think you can layer in that column for future iron test, and the overall ranking in your dashboard? For instance, aside from the short, mid, long iron filters, add the aggregate results and final ranking. Mizuno SC would show 33 testers were statistically the top performers, which gives us the 55% (same results).

It would also give a quick disparity among the manufacturers.

Lou

Shocked. I’ve hit the mizuno, the srixon, taylormade and cobras in this test. The Cobra forged tours felt the best and were the ones I got the best numbers with. I’ve never hit a 4 or 5 iron as high and as accurate as I do the Cobras. The Srixon was neck and neck to the Cobras and feel decided the purchase. The Taylormade irons were horrible. But, hey, the numbers don’t lie. I’m glad with my purchase regardless

DaveyD

Starting hitting the MP 18 SC this year. Best clubs I’ve ever owned – distance, accuracy, workability – you name it.

Spitfisher

Nothing for nothing those TM 770 are pretty sweet feeling too.

Like buttah!

Doug

Yea- no surprise
Been a missy guy for 30 years
Went with ap2’s And happy to see they were no lower that 5th in any category
But with all clubs, you still gotta hit the sweet spot for optimal results!
Fore!

Larry

So happy to see Mizuno occupy the top two spots. And third place going to another company which prioritizes R&D over Marketing. Thanks for a great review, MGS.

BTW, looks like the sorting on your TRUERANK column sorts alphabetically by the position instead of numerically by the percentile.

MyGolfSpy

Try now ;)

Jerry

Interesting that the JPX wasn’t tested as it was used by the US Open winner two years running. I’ve been torn between the JPX and the MP’s. Either way Mizuno seems to produce great clubs and has for decades.

Greg

I just purchased new irons and was down to the jpx 900 tour or the mp18 sc. I ended up going with the jpx. I felt like they had just a little bit more forgiveness and I actually really like the sort of matte finish over the shiny chrome. Also, with irons, I think one of the most important aspects is feel and to me, the jpx actually had a slightly crisper feel to them. Obviously you can’t go wrong with either Mizuno, but I figured I would offer my two cents.
My brother in law was also shopping new irons and made the same decision as me so I guess that is four cents.
Good luck, and don’t underestimate the importance of getting the correct shaft for your game. Either head will be awesome, but make sure you get fitted for the correct shaft.

Kenny

The JPX 900 Tour ranked 3rd last year, just behind the Taylormade P770, so I think it’s safe to assume they’d slot right in at 4-5ish. Interesting they re-tested the P770 but not the JPX 900 Tour. Most likely because the MP18’s are the Players Iron, and the JPXs will be transferred to Game Improvement (Forged), SGI (Hot Metal), and Blade (Tour) but that’s just my guess.

Mizuno decided to forego sending JPX 900 Tour this year as I believe they were intending to focus on the new MP-18 line, which seems to have paid off in this test.

We tested P770 again as no new “players” irons from TaylorMade were released in 2018, whereas the MP-18 line is new to this year. TaylorMade declines to participate in our testing which leaves it up to us to decide which clubs to test. The P770s are a great iron and we wanted to again see how it would stack up against this year’s new gear.

Hayden

It is sad TM declines to participate in your testing. Out of curiosity, who else declines to participate?

Personally, I think it’s says a lot when a company doesn’t want an independent reviewer testing their clubs.

Actually, it isn’t the first time Taylor Made has declined to provide clubs for testing.

One negative remark and they will not give you anything for testing. very sad!!

Brad Smith

So for the 16 different clubs you tested, my take-away based on overall distance and proximity to the hole is…..choose the one that LOOKS or FEELS BEST to YOU. Your strike is far, far more determinative of results than the tiny performance differences between brand/model within this class of clubs. On the course, you couldn’t tell their performance apart.

Howard Roark

Mizuno. Doing what they do. Quality in every iron and data to back up the sweetness of the feedback. Pure joy to hit a Mizuno.

Ben Hogan Golf

Unfortunately, our new Ft. Worth BLACK irons were not submitted to MyGolfSpy.com for inclusion in the ‘Most Wanted Player’s Irons’ test due to production timing. We will never introduce a product unless we feel it is worthy of Mr. Hogan’s signature. We know the Ft. Worth BLACK irons would have performed extremely well in this test, and we look forward to participating in upcoming ‘Most Wanted’ equipment tests to be conducted by MyGolfSpy.com.

The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company is committed to producing the best-performing and best-feeling forged irons and wedges in the world. We are also completely supportive of MyGolfSpy.com’s independent and unbiased head-to-head player testing protocols.

Stop advertising

You did not submit your irons for testing- so don’t try and advertise through the comments section on the article – thats weak!

Max Johnson

Agree 100%. Tacky

Not hardly. MyGolfSpy can verify this, we could not have the production of the Ft. Worth BLACK ready by their testing date deadline.

My Ben Hogan Ft. Worth forged blades carry very much like your results in your table. PW 48 degrees, 7 iron 36 degrees, 5 iron 28 degrees. I do not understand your total distance data, however. I see from the video your humans were tested hitting into a screen, using a launch monitor, I presume. None of my clubs come even close to rolling out another 10 yards, as your total distance column indicates. On what natural surface on this planet does a 7 iron roll out 10 yards? Certainly not a green with real grass. Please explain.

So what’s it to you…

Thomas

Sorry Ben Hogan Golf, but I don’t think that further engagement in this conversation is going to win you any points with consumers. The Ft Worth may well be a very good iron, but coming out with a black version 3+ years after the Ft Worth’s original release doesn’t show any innovation or creativity. Titleist didn’t send in the 716 AP2 and Srixon didn’t provide the Z745.

Emery

I switched to Fort Worth 15’s this spring and can say they should be categorized as game improvement blades as my golf has improved tremendously. Not the Blacks but the beautiful silver blades.

The greens at my club are hard and fast, as well as the fairways, so my 7i can roll out 10 yards. However, at the public course near my house, the ball rolls back most of the time because the greens are so soft and I’ve planted the ball in the fairway there on occasion because drainage is no as good so it can get pretty damp sometimes.

In reply to Tom: What’s it to me? I am simply questioning the data. It does not seem realistic to me (who golfs in America on public courses) that a 7 iron would roll out 10 more yards. I think it’s a fair question. By the way, I also own a set of Hogan Apex irons from the 1980’s that perform just as well as the clubs listed here. It’s not the club that matters, it’s the person swinging the club that matters.

Kent

Completely unbiased and uninfluenced. I will always take your word over the “other guys” because I know that you’re actually looking for the best. I JUST picked up the MP-18 Split Cavity irons last week so i’m extra happy to see the results. One suggestion would I have would be that the MP-18 SC is perfect for blending your set with more bladey and forgiving lines of Mizuno. Thanks again golfspy!

Joel Woodruff

Pleased to see this!! I couldnt wait for the results to come out so I went and got fit and ended up with the mp-18mmc and could not be more impressed. These results just reaffirm my purchase decision. Interesting that the mid iron fell off for some reason. The MMC Felt better suited for my game than sc as a 10hdcp. Great work Mygolfspy! Keep it up!

A friend of mine got a set of the MMC’s for Christmas last year. He absolutely LOVES them. Last time we went out for a loop I took a couple swings and thought they were nice.

I like how they put polished chrome on the bottom of the blade so that it gives the illusion of being thinner from a topline view. They are chunkier than baldes but the design tricks your mind into not thinking they’re that much bigger. It’s that kind of attention to detail that makes Mizuno one of the best manufacturers, imo

Kevin Unterreiner

Switched to Srixon 765s this year and have shot my 3 best rounds of life. Great combination of look/feel/performance and forgiveness. Don’t buy a new set without trying the Srixons

I went with Mizuno MP-18 blade/SC combo set. It was between that and the Srixon combo set. Both great irons. The Mizuno’s had a slightly better feel and a better look for me.

Mike, I think you did it exactly right. Choose the iron in this class that FEELS and LOOKS best to you. From the data, the real world performance is essentially the same, club to club.

LeftyBradd

In the age of “Jacked” lofts, it would be interesting to know if the individual irons were compared based on the lofts or just number on the iron. Was the 6 iron from Wilson at 34 degrees going up against the 6 iron from cobra which was 30 degrees? I don’t know if those are the actual lofts so it is just an example. Also, were the lofts checked to see if they actually were what they are supposed to be? Have found this is often not accurate. Were they bent to proper lofts?

I think we all would agree, that has an impact on launch, decent angle, spin, distance (pretty much everything).

If you have tested irons in this category, you know, they all feel great and perform great, you almost can’t go wrong as long as you are custom fit properly.

LeftyBradd,
You’re spot on! A few months ago, MyGolfSpy touted a partnership with Golf Mechanix for much of its shop equipment. MGS has done SpecTest reviews before using Golf Mechanix’s sophisticated instruments. Why aren’t the specs for all tested clubs provided??? Common MGS…..you’re DATACENTRIC!!!!!!

While we will be producing spec measurement articles for every test we do later this year, our iron test groups were decided through measurement of each 7 iron and 5 iron. This year we’re testing four different categories: Players, Players Distance, Game Improvement, and Super Game Improvement.

That being said, the variability between lofts of the measured clubs for any given category does not exceed 3 degrees, in fact, the Player’s category has the largest gaps. Players Distance does not exceed one degree of variability.

The 7 iron for the Wilson V6 measured to 35 degrees, which was the highest lofted 7 iron measured for our Players Irons test group. The strongest two 7 irons measured were the Bridgestone Tour B X-CB and the Mizuno MP-18 MMC at 32 degrees.

I hope this clears up any confusion. We always recommend getting custom fit to clubs for YOUR swing, but this test and publication is designed to give the consumer a better idea of what he/she could look for to perform well across an array of swing speeds and characteristics.

Max

Fourteen FH 900 are awesome clubs. Glad to see them in the mix.

Mick Lees

No great shock. I currently play MP58’s and the best and nicest clubs I’ve ever used were MP33 blades……you just can’t beat Mizuno for irons.

Which specific irons were used? PW, 6, 4?

Nick

PW, 7, 5

What specific short iron, mid iron, and long iron were used?

Ryan

This is awesome to see. I have been looking at various clubs including the mp-18s… I may just end up with a new set of mizunos in a week or two!

poprocksncoke

No surprises here!!!

JimmyTim

Glad to see the Srixons in the mix. I switched from Mizzies to the 565’s this season and have not regretted it. Seeing more and more pros switching to Srixon as well . . . mighty fine irons!

Peter Jackson

I couldn’t agree more JT. I’ve played with all iron brands including Mizuno’s forged, MP H5’s and the Z565’s are for me the best of the lot. Beautiful looks, quality at least as good as Mizuno and so lovely to hit and most important very consistent and forgiving

Scott

Accurate and well deserved. I play both mizunos and have been loving them.

Springbok

No sure how you can have a player iron test without true blades. No Callaway MB or Titleist MB?

This test is designed to be a NON-blade players irons test. The percentage of the golfing public that is at a skill level to warrant playing MB irons is so small that it would be reaching an extremely niche market of our readers.

In my honest opinion, amateur golfers shouldn’t be even considering muscle back options.

chrisk

where does the ping iblade fit on this test? Not on it because it came out too long ago? just curious

DG123

Is there any chance MGS could do some club testing on an actual golf course ?
It seems to me that the indoor club testing done is not especially relevant to the variety of lies and conditions found when playing an actual golf course.

Brett Weir

The top 2 irons are slight variations of the same model…impressive.

Robin

Good luck with sales

Bill

Great work! Once again Mizuno shines. Blade test would be interesting to see, as the MP-18 is supposed to be quite “forgiving”.

I’m still gaming MP-59s, but think I will be getting fit for a combo set with the MP-18 before the end of the life cycle. Once again, well done! Definitely a surprise to see TaylorMade near the top.

jlukes

I’d like to say I am surprised by the results, but I am not.

I have hit all of the new releases this year and the two that jumped out at me were the Mizuno MP18SC and Srixon 765.

Nice to see the data prove it out.

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Driver Ping G30	Hybrids PXG 0317
3/4 IRON PXG 0311XF	5-GW Srixon Z 565
SW PXG 0317	LW PXG 0311
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