Written By: Tony Covey
It’s been 2 years since the release of Mizuno’s MP-4 blade, so in the spirit of traditional, and I suppose, evolution, it’s time to officially unveil the Mizuno MP-5.
Like the MP-4, and the MP-69 before that, the MP-5 is a true player’s blade, and so because of its very nature, we shouldn’t expect a robust technology story. With the MP-5 you’re not getting face slots or thermoplastic elastomer filling. Don’t expect 13 more yards either.
What you are getting is 1025E mild carbon steel, Mizuno’s Grain Flow Forging process, Harmonic Impact Technology (H.I.T.) for outstanding feel, and one hell of a pretty iron…albeit one that most of us don’t have enough game to justify.
While my personal philosophy is that we should all play the most forgiving irons we can stand to look at, the MP-5 offers the kind of beautiful design that makes me reconsider everything.
Not Just Another Muscleback
For the MP-5 Mizuno wanted to do something different. For starters, the company isn’t calling the MP-5 a mucleback. It’s a channelback, and I’ll just go ahead and assume you can figure out where that comes from. From a design standpoint, the goal was to create what Mizuno calls “the ultimate geometric blend of a traditional, pure muscleback and player’s cavity design”.
We’ll get to what that means from a performance standpoint in just a bit, but let’s get real for just a moment and talk about limitations. There’s not a whole lot companies can do from a technology standpoint and still maintain what I suppose we can call the essence of blade. Given those limitations, it’s not surprising that Mizuno first describes the MP-5 in aesthetic terms. It speaks of strong flow, clean lines, and the contrast between light and dark.
It is, by most any measure, a beautiful golf club, and while Mizuno hasn’t produced an ugly blade at any time in my recent memory, the MP-5 is an aesthetic step forward that is accurately described as a futuristic classic design.
The Performance Story
If you allowed me to suspend the laws of physics for long enough to describe the ultimate golf club, I’d tell you I want something that likes like an MP-5 and offers the forgiveness of TaylorMade’s RSi1. With the toolset designers are working with today, that’s not possible, but that doesn’t mean that a blade has to be totally unforgiving.
This is where that bit about ultimate geometry and player’s cavitybacks begins to enter the discussion.
In designing the MP-5, Mizuno engineers retained the size and shape of the MP-64. They moved a bit of extra mass behind the impact area, and thickened the face, particularly in the toe area, to provide better feel on mishits. The sweet spot, or as Mizuno calls it, the sweet area of the two irons is virtually identical, and so with the MP-5 channelback what you end up with is a iron that looks like a blade, but offers the improved consistency of a player’s cavityback.
By no measure is the MP-5 a distance iron, and it certainly doesn’t compete with game-improvement irons where MOI is concerned, but Mizuno tells us that the MP-5 is more forgiving that you might expect it to be.
Specifications
As you can see by the chart below, Mizuno hasn’t tinkered with the specs in the time since the MP-4 was released. I’m sure many of you long for the days of the 47°, 48°, or even 49° pitching wedge, but those days are over. 46° is the new normal, even in irons designed for better players.
Of particular note, while the stock shaft is Dynamic Gold’s S300, Mizuno has reaffirmed its commitment to proper fitting by offering every shaft in its iron catalog as a zero cost alternative. The thinking is that the consumer shouldn’t have to pay more to get what fits best.
The stock grip is a Blue/Black Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound. Mizuno wants to own the color blue, and the blue grip is part of that.
Sorry Lefties
Unfortunately, the MP-5 will not be available to left handers. The backward-handed expressing disappointment can hopefully find some measure of solace in knowing that the MP-5 will be the only right-hand exclusive in the Mizuno lineup this season. With sales of Mizuno blades accounting for approximately 8% of the company’s iron sales, we could be reaching a point where even the most player-centric designs will be available to everyone.
Maybe next time.
For the right-handed majority looking at the MP-5, and likely drooling all over your keyboard, I should probably add that the MP-5 can be considered a modern re-imagination of my favorite Mizuno blade of all-time; the MP-32. That alone is reason-enough for Mizuno fans to take an uncomfortably long look at Mizuno’s latest blade.
Pricing and Availability
Retail price for a set of 8 MP-5 irons is $999 steel and $1099 graphite. There is no additional charge for any shaft in the Mizuno lineup. Retail availability begins September 8, 2015.
Chris Parke
6 years ago
Don’t believe the negative, “for single digit players only”, hype. These are ultimate game improvement clubs because they provide instant feedback on miss hits, with forgiveness. Just replaced my beloved TM RAC MB’s with the 5’s and pleasantly surprised that I get the feedback on miss hits but with less shock than the RAC’s. And, less height w more spin on mid to high loft irons, better distance consistency, while achieving that same pure, buttery feel on solid strikes.
Now a 15.5 bogey golfer and expect to lower index to single digit over next few months. You can’t improve if your present, “game improvement” irons mask your miss hits.
Jeremy Huse
4 years ago
Hi, I’m about. 12-15 handicap using regular graphite’s right now. Do you think this would be a good used iron to pick up for a reasonable price to change to?
Chris Parke
4 years ago
Jeremy. See if you can find a used 7 iron and play it for a month. These have helped my game because of factors stated in my first missive. Handicap now down to 13.5 and dropping. Game has become more consistent and swing is real! I’m now playing my 3 iron instead of a hybrid because it’s so reliable in shot dispersion and distance. Good luck!