In this video, Joel Tadman tests the three new Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal irons on the launch monitor and the course at Longcliffe Golf Club to see how they perform. Interestingly, Mizuno has added a new High Launch model this time around and so Joel does a little experiment to see if golfers with slower swing speeds will actually get more distance from an iron with weaker lofts. Watch to the end to find out if this is the case.
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00:00Now, it's always an exciting time when Mizuno launches new irons, especially within that JPX
00:05franchise where they have models to suit every type of player. But for 2023, there's a brand
00:10new model that Mizuno say will help golfers with slower swing speeds hit it further. It sounds
00:16counterintuitive, but it's really addressing the need for game-improved irons to provide a more
00:22playable and optimum ball fight. The trend I've seen with lofts getting stronger, even at my swing
00:28speed, I struggle to really flight the ball in these game-improvement clubs. Mizuno say they've
00:33combated that with the launch of this new JPX range, specifically the JPX 923 Hot Metal
00:40High Launch. As you can see, I've got three hot metal irons here in front of me. It's a split
00:44launch this time, so you're going to have to wait until February next year for the Tour and
00:48the Forge, which are the two models that admittedly would probably be more suited to my swing speed
00:52and my handicap. But I want to put these irons through their paces. The Hot Metal, the Hot
00:57Metal Pro and the Hot Metal High Launch in this JPX 923 range to see exactly what they're
01:02all about. But even more specifically, if I swing them slower, can I get even more distance
01:07out of that Hot Metal High Launch than I can the other two models? That's what we're here
01:12at Longcliffe Golf Club to find out. Now, if you want to find out about the technology
01:16in each of these specific heads, go to the Golf Monthly website. There's a story there.
01:19You can read all about that. We're not going to cover that in this video, but what we are
01:23going to talk about is the concept behind the changes that Mizuno have made with these
01:27irons versus the previous 921 range in that JPX franchise. So, Mizuno, as we know, they
01:32have that shaft optimiser technology where, in three swings, they can identify what shaft
01:38a golfer needs for their irons. And from all those different swings, they've captured over
01:42350,000 swings. There were a couple of trends that really stood out, and that has really helped
01:47shape and influence the design of these new irons. The first is the fact that actually the golfers'
01:52swing speeds are quite slow. Average was about 82 miles an hour of the 7-iron, and that has
01:56led to the introduction of this high-launch model, which we've covered already. But the
02:00second trend was that golfers tended to present quite a lot of shaft lean at impact, and that's
02:05resulted in a change in the bounce and the camber to these clubs. So, you'll notice there's
02:09a lot more bounce and camber to these clubs to give you a little bit more forgiveness through
02:12the turf if you do tend to deloft the club into impact and get that leading edge quite sharp into
02:18the ball. So, it gives you a little bit more margin for error and Mizuno, say, on your
02:22strike. So, those are the two key trends that Mizuno have incorporated into this range.
02:26I'm going to hit some shots here into this beautiful par four down here, the 10th hole
02:30at Longcliffe's Golf Club. We've got the launch monitor, the full swing kit launch monitor. We're
02:33going to capture some data. We're going to assess the ball flight, assess the feel, the sound,
02:37everything about these clubs, and then we'll feed back afterwards. So, without further ado,
02:41let's hit some shots, see what they're all about. Oh, it's much higher.
02:55So, I've really enjoyed my testing session on the full swing kit launch monitor with
03:11the three new JPX923 hot metal irons. And I've also thrown in the JPX921 hot metal iron as a comparison,
03:19which we're going to touch on now. So, I'll flash up the data on the screen. You can click pause and
03:23peruse it at your leisure. But there were some trends that I noticed during the testing from
03:28the data that we got. The first being that I love how the spin is pretty high for what is a game
03:33improvement iron range, where we see lofts been stronger, spin coming down. The fact that these
03:38clubs are spinning close to 6,000 RPM, we've sorted with the prior generation and that's been continuing
03:43to this one. So, that's going to help players keep the ball in the air for longer and get more
03:47stopping power into greens. So, that's the first thing that I really observed across all three of
03:51the new irons. So, coming on to numbers, worth pointing out that the hot metal and the hot metal
03:55pro in this 923 range is half a degree stronger than where we were in the 921. But looking at the
04:01numbers, actually, it wasn't necessarily getting anything more out of this new version. Both were
04:06carrying similar in the hot metal, starting with the hot metal iron, both were carrying around about
04:10that 170 range. But what I did notice was the ball flight was a little bit higher. So, even though
04:14it's stronger in lofts, actually, the ball was launching a little bit higher and it was flying
04:18a little bit higher too. Notice that testing here on this hole at Longcliffe Golf Club. It was like
04:23one or two yards higher through the air, which is a change that I like to see given those stronger
04:28lofts. And then we move on to the hot metal pro. Actually, this is the club I got the most out of,
04:32despite it being a slimmed down version of the hot metal. I actually hit a little bit further than the
04:37hot metal. I definitely prefer the look of it. It's got a more compact look down at address, whereas the hot
04:41metal iron in the 91 and 93, very similar, really comforting sparring, a little bit of offset there,
04:48thicker top line. Hot metal pro, a little bit more slimmed down. So, it definitely suits my eye as a
04:53lower handicap a little bit more. And then we move on to the hot metal high launch. Now, you might think,
04:57well, this club is weaker in loft. It's two degree, two to three degrees weaker through the set than the
05:03hot metal. In the seven iron, it's 31 degrees. So, it's significantly weaker. And as a result,
05:08the testing I did on the launch monitor, and my speed would suggest that it's not going to give
05:13me the distance compared to the other two models. So, it's around about seven or eight yards shorter
05:17on average than the hot metal and the hot metal pro. But we know this club is not designed for a
05:23golfer like me. It's designed for slower swing speeds. And so, now we're going to do a little
05:28experiment where I'm going to test this hot metal high launch up against the hot metal,
05:33slow my swing speed down to 75 miles an hour and see, actually, by doing that and switching into
05:39this new iron, do you get more distance? Because I think if you do, that's going to suit an awful lot
05:45of players looking for a club like this. Okay. So, I'm going to start with the JPX 923 hot metal,
05:50going to hit three shots with each of that slower swing speed and see which one gives us the most distance.
06:02Okay, it's a good hit. Swing speed 79. They only carried 115 yards.
06:15Oh, slightly slower that one. 66.
06:34That's a good shot. 70.5.
06:39One, two, one. Okay, let's move on to the hot metal. So, we're looking like we're averaging
06:43around about 120 yards with the hot metal. Now, we're going to try the high launch.
06:54Oh, it might have been a little heavy.
06:58Swing speed's bang on. 75, 112 carry. I think I hit that a little bit chunky.
07:04That's a much cleaner strike. Higher flight. Much noticeably higher flight on that one.
07:14So, that's really interesting. Swing speed of 71 or 70.6 carry of 125. So, that's the longest shot I've
07:21hit in this experiment so far and not the fastest swing speed by any means.
07:26Again, noticeably higher flight. A good four or five yards higher. 71 swing speed carry of 129 yards.
07:39So, this experiment, this little experiment has proved to me definitely that I think slower swing
07:45speed golfers, mid-high handicap golfers who struggle to get the ball in the air are really going to enjoy
07:50what this hot metal high launch has to offer. And they're actually going to get a bit more distance
07:55out of this because your ball flight is optimized for your swing speed. So, while these three JPX 923
08:02hot metal irons are probably not aimed at me, I've really enjoyed my time testing these. And there's
08:08three really key takeaways that I would offer to you in terms of how these irons perform and the user
08:14experience that you will expect. The first being these irons look absolutely fantastic. I don't think
08:19they move it on a great deal in terms of looks or performance versus where we were with the JPX 921.
08:26In fact, I think like for like models, you're not going to see huge gains. You might see a little bit
08:31more distance from that stronger loft and a slightly maybe higher ball flight as well from the technology
08:35they've packed into this club. But you're not going to see huge gains, I don't think, versus generation
08:39to generation. But the other thing that really stood out for me was the turf interaction. So, it's hard to
08:44pinpoint exactly how it felt differently, but it definitely felt different. I think a little bit
08:50more give through the turf. So, maybe you're not getting, I felt like my divots were a little bit
08:55shallower, a little bit smaller. And I think your margin for error is a little bit greater if you just
09:01catch the ground slightly heavy. So, that's the other thing I would kind of observe from generation
09:06to generation. I think the feel is absolutely fantastic. These clubs feel hot, but they don't feel
09:12harsh or clicky. They actually feel relatively soft, but explosive at the same time. It's an
09:16interesting combination, but through the set, it's a very pleasing feel. And I think across all three
09:21of these hot metal clubs, if you're a mid to high handicapper, there's definitely going to be
09:24something for you. Even if you're maybe a single figure, high single figure golfer, I think you'll
09:29really enjoy what this hot metal pro has to offer in terms of that visual package, nice and compact
09:34down behind the ball, but gives really good speed, good launch and good distance as well. So,
09:38lots to like about this new JPX 923 range. Hopefully you've enjoyed this video. If you do,
09:43click the like button down below and do comment on this video. We'd love to hear from you,
09:47which iron are you most excited to try within this new hot metal franchise. If you're after
09:52those better player irons, you've got to wait till February. But I think this hot metal irons,
09:56from what we've seen so far, there's a lot to be excited about with this new JPX 923 range.
10:00But that's all for me from Longcliffe Golf Club. I'll see you next time.
10:08so