Mizuno has unveiled three new MP-20 Series irons featuring copper plating within the heads to add ‘layers of feel’ at impact.
The new range comprises MB, MMC and HMB models, each designed to either stand alone or blend into custom combination sets, and each featuring soft copper plating beneath a protective nickel chrome to deliver feedback and feel.
MP-20 MB
MP-20 MB is a pure muscleback that is grain flow forged from a single billet of 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel. Marketed as an ‘elite players’ cavity iron, and represents the second-generation of Mizuno’s multi-material concept. It is also forged from 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel, but with a thinner topline and refined scoring irons.
It shares the chassis, set flow and proportions of the MP-20 MB, but offers enhanced playability courtesy of a titanium muscle plate and tungsten sole weight. MP-20 HMB is then a new breed of hollow-headed ‘Hybrid Muscle Back’ in a tour-ready profile that features Mizuno’s forged Chromoly material in the face and neck. It is inspired by the proliferation of long iron replacements on tour but extends the concept right down to the wedges.
“Most modern musclebacks and limited ‘tour edition’ irons can be traced back to the great Mizuno blades,” says Mizuno’s Chris Voshall, “though what makes a Mizuno iron truly exceptional is everything you can’t see. If you could peel back the chrome plating, you would find a sandwich of nickel and soft copper before the grain flow forged HD chassis. Under a microscope, you can see a perfect flow of grain within the steel from the hosel to toe, compacted tighter in the hitting area. Designers can mimic our lines, but not what’s inside.”
Availability: RH #3-PW; LH #5-PW (as a split set with #3-4 HMB) RRP: £150 per iron
MP-20 HMB
The MP-20 HMB offers a full set of performance hybrid irons in a sharp ‘tour-ready’ profile, built on the ball speed of Mizuno’s Chromoly material in the face and neck, supported by a precision stainless steel body and tungsten weighting. It offers the proportions, topline and offset transition of a classic Mizuno players’ muscleback with a generous sole width that’s hidden at address, and is designed to help consistent players pursuing added ball speed without sacrificing their shot-making options.
The heads feature a brush satin durable plated finish and a complex, loft-specific construction. From 2-8 iron, Mizuno’s multi-thickness grain flow forged Chromoly face and neck is dialled in to be consistently hot across the clubface. From 2- to 7-iron, twin 12g tungsten weights deliver stability and an easy launch, while use of a softer 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel from 9-iron to PW makes the short irons soft and responsive. MP-20 HMB is designed to be played as a full set or mixed with any MP-20 set, with recommended break points between the 4- and 5-iron or 7- and 8-iron for blended sets.
“A few years back it was a surprise to see truly elite tour players with more than one long iron replacement,” says Mizuno’s Chris Voshall, “but now that we’ve found their acceptance point on offset, size and proportions, there’s a new set who are open-minded to the 5-iron and beyond. We’re excited to see what happens when they experiment with the HMB.”
Availability: RH #2-PW; LH #3 – #4 iron (as a split set with 5-PW MP-20MB) RRP: £180 per iron
MP-20 MMC
The second generation of Mizuno’s multi-material concept is engineered to be more playable than the MP-20 MB courtesy of its titanium muscle plate and tungsten sole weight. It promises stability in a tour-preferred profile, with a titanium muscle spreading weight for forgiveness on off-centre strikes while maintaining centre-portion thickness for the feel and feedback associated with a muscleback iron.
The multi-material construction comprises a grain flow forged 1025E mild carbon steel chassis and Ti muscle pad throughout the set, with a 12g tungsten toe weight from the 4- to 7-irons that adds ease of launch in a compact playing profile. A second Ti muscle pad improves set flow by allowing for a narrower sole from 8-iron to pitching wedge. The topline is dramatically thinner than on the MP-18 MMC (0.3mm thinner in the 4-iron and 0.4mm in the pitching wedge) while remaining only 1mm thicker at address than on the MP-20 MB. The chrome finishing is again a mix of satin and mirror.
“The new MMC is the smaller, sharper version of the original,” says Voshall. “For a player with a traditional eye looking for a little stability on off-centre strikes, but comfortable with their distances and ball speed, this is the iron.”
Availability: 4-PW RRP: £165 per iron
MP-20 SEL (Left Handed)
Based on the most popular right handed, blended set Mizuno has created the perfect mixed set for left-handers – the MP-20 SEL. MP-20 muscle back mid to short irons #5-PW, and MP-20 HMB long irons #3 and #4, with lofts adjusted for perfect distance gaps throughout.
Availability: LH #3 – #4 HMB; #5-PW MP-20 MB RRP: 3-PW £1,240 / €1,640
For further information, visit golf.mizunoeurope.com.