Best Mizuno Irons 2023
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What are the best Mizuno irons for your golf game? This is your guide to each iron in Mizuno’s range, who they’re aimed at, and how they performed when tested by our pro.
JUMP TO: Best Mizuno Irons | The data | How we test | Buying advice
Mizuno have been making some of the best golf irons for decades, with many golfers believing the Japanese brand are simply unmatched in terms of looks, feel and quality.
Mizuno’s best blade golf clubs have long been the preferred choice of many elite players, but Mizuno cater for all types of golfers, with a range of irons for different ability levels and handicaps. Today, we’ve found Mizuno also make some of the best irons for mid-handicaps and even some of the most forgiving irons for high handicaps.
Whatever your handicap and preferences when it comes to irons, our comprehensive guide will help you pick the best Mizuno irons for your game.
Best Mizuno Irons
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
Mizuno say it’s a thin layer of copper coating underneath the chrome finish that gives it such a good feel upon impact, a production process from the 1980s that they have revisited in modern designs.
Somewhat surprisingly, our test showed the 221 as being a close match for the Mizuno Pro 223 when it came to ball speed and carry distance, despite having 2° weaker loft. The cavity-back 223 will offer a little more forgiveness on off-center hits, however. You can get a nice combo set, with the 221s in the shorter irons and then the 223 or even the 225 in the longer clubs.
Read our full Mizuno Pro 221 review.
Pros
- Just look at them
- Fantastic feel
- Timeless
- Decent distance for traditional lofts
Cons
- Little forgiveness
- Need good speed and strike to use them
| Category: | Muscleback Blade |
| Handicap range: | Four and below |
| Construction: | Forged from a single piece of 1025E HD Mild Carbon Steel |
| 7-Iron loft: | 34° |
www.tgw.com
Description
Mizuno say golfers who opt for the JPX923 Tour irons tend to prefer hitting straight shots rather than those who want to shape them.
Our test data has the JPX923 Tour and Pro 221 as very evenly matched, but the former may be a tiny bit more forgiving. They’re still only aimed at very good golfers (4 handicap and below), however.
Read our full Mizuno JPX923 Tour iron review.
Pros
- Great looks and feel
- Strong option for elite ball-strikers
- Shots stop quickly on the green
Cons
- Less forgiving than some cavity backs
| Category: | Player’s Iron |
| Handicap range: | Four and below |
| Construction: | Forged from a single piece of 1025E HD Mild Carbon Steel |
| 7-Iron loft: | 34° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
Our test pro loved the size, shape, feel and sound, and the slightly stronger lofts generate a little extra distance. In fact, in our test of the best players’ irons, the Mizuno Pro 223 was just 3 yards back from the longest iron in the category.
The Mizuno Pro 223 may appeal to a relatively small window of golfers. Those focusing on pure shelf appeal will likely prefer the 221, while those wanting forgiveness or distance will favor the 225. Even Mizuno themselves have the 223 model as best for 5-9 handicappers, which isn’t a huge spread.
Read our full Mizuno Pro 223 iron review.
Pros
- Excellent sound and feel
- Perfect for combo sets
Cons
- May suit a small group of golfers
| Category: | Players’ Iron |
| Handicap range: | Eight and below |
| Construction: | 4 – 7 iron forged from Chromoly Steel, 8 – PW forged from 1025E Mild Carbon Steel |
| 7-Iron loft: | 32° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
They still look like a players’ iron, the sound and feel are great, but the slightly stronger lofts saw them carry 12 yards further than the Mizuno Pro 223, with a similar descent angle. There’s a reasonable degree of forgiveness on off-center hits, too.
It may be difficult to choose between the JPX923 Forged and the Mizuno Pro 225, as the performance is similar. We’d recommend testing them side-by-side to see which you prefer, but also remember that the 225 is £15 per club more expensive and likely to be replaced by a newer model towards the end of 2023, whereas the JPX923 will stay current for longer.
Read our full Mizuno JPX923 Forged review.
Pros
- Good distances
- Cheaper than the similarly-performing MP 225
- Lovely feel
Cons
- Some will prefer the blade-like look of MP 225
| Category: | Players’ Distance Iron |
| Handicap range: | 12 and below |
| Construction: | Forged from a single piece of 4120 chromoly steel |
| 7-Iron loft: | 30° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
The Mizuno Pro 225 is probably the best-looking iron in the category and performs every bit as good as it looks.
If you’re considering the Mizuno Pro 225, it’s also worth looking at the JPX923 Forged and JPX923 Hot Metal Pro. The JPX923 Forged offers a forged feel, the 225 provides hollow body performance, while the JPX923 Hot Metal Pro will give the biggest distances of the three.
The Mizuno Pro 225 is the most expensive iron in Mizuno’s line-up and likely to be replaced by a newer model in late 2023, which is worth bearing in mind before you invest a serious amount of cash.
Read our full Mizuno Pro 225 iron review.
Pros
- Lots of tech for distance and forgiveness
- Players’ distance irons don’t come much better looking
- Great sound and feel
Cons
- One of the most expensive irons
- Likely to be replaced in 2023
| Category: | Hollow body Players’ Distance Iron |
| Handicap range: | 12 and below |
| Construction: | Hollow body with forged 4135 chromoly face and neck and cast 431 stainless steel back |
| 7-Iron loft: | 30° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
Our test saw the JPX923 Hot Metal Pro emerge as Mizuno’s longest iron of 2023, and also the longest Players’ Distance Iron across all manufacturers. Just make sure you have enough swing speed to launch these strong-lofted irons sufficiently.
Read our full Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal Pro review.
Pros
- Huge distance
- Nice feel for a cast head
- Good price point
Cons
- Strong lofts may be hard to launch for slower swings
- Not forged
| Category: | Players’ Distance Iron |
| Handicap range: | 16 and below |
| Construction: | Cast 4335 Nickel Chromoly |
| 7-Iron loft: | 28.5° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
The launch, peak height, spin rate and descent angle mean shots will stop on the green quickly.
If there is such a thing as a beautiful mid-handicap cavity back iron, the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal is it.
Read our full Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal review.
Pros
- Plenty of distance
- Perhaps the best-looking iron of its type
- Nice feel
Cons
- More forgiving irons are available in the category
| Category: | Mid/High Handicap Iron |
| Handicap range: | 24 and below |
| Construction: | Cast 4335 Nickel Chromoly |
| 7-Iron loft: | 28.5° |
www.golfgalaxy.com
Description
If your 7-iron swing speed is below 75mph and you want irons that look great but still offer plenty of help, the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL irons could be just what you’re looking for.
Read our full Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL review.
Pros
- Easy to launch at slower speeds
- Look better than the competition in this category
Cons
- Not as distance-boosting as some high-handicap irons
| Category: | Moderate Speed/High-Handicap Iron |
| Handicap range: | 28 and below |
| Construction: | Cast 4335 Nickel Chromoly |
| 7-Iron loft: | 31° |
Launch monitor data: How the best Mizuno irons compared
How we tested the best Mizuno irons
To test golf equipment, we create a controlled indoor environment at Keele Golf Centre and use a premium tour-level golf ball (the Srixon Z-Star). We collect all the data from every shot hit, using a Foresight GC Quad launch monitor.
Why do we use a Srixon Z-Star golf ball?
It would be easy to use just one test golf ball brand every year, but that inevitably leads to criticism for being too closely aligned to one manufacturer, especially if that brand’s equipment performs particularly well. To ensure fairness we like to switch manufacturers for the Top Gear test ball each year. For 2023 we’ve used the Srizon Z-Star.
The brand have just revealed their eighth-generation model, and Srixon General Manager Brian Schielke says “finding the right ball for your game is just as important as finding the right irons or driver, it’s the one piece of equipment you use on every single shot”.
Thanks to the previous Z-Star mopping up 31 wins across all tour global tours last year (that’s 15.5% of the wins available) we know the model is trusted by the world’s very best.
Why do we use a pro tester?
Speak to any golf club engineer about product testing and they all talk about needing a repeatable, reliable strike to offer any sort of valuable comparison. So, whilst we accept not all of the equipment included within our tests was designed for our test pro, what our data shows is a great comparison of how clubs in each particular category differ, which is hugely valuable in helping you narrow your choice as a consumer.
We tested 83 different 7-irons, during which our test pro missed a target green at 170 to 200 yards no more than a dozen times. He got a hole-in-one, lipped out, and hit the flag several times, he also loves hitting golf balls all day long. In short, Neil Wain is the perfect club tester due to his consistency in delivering accurate and reliable comparative data.
We would of course always recommend attending a proper fitting session, to ensure any purchase is tailored to your game.
Buying advice & FAQs
What are the most forgiving Mizuno irons?
If you want maximum forgiveness from a Mizuno iron, we’d recommend you test the Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal and the JPX923 Hot Metal HL. They both offer plenty of forgiveness but the HL offers higher launch which will help at slower swing speeds.
What are the best Mizuno JPX irons?
The best Mizuno JPX irons will depend on the golfer. The JPX923 Tour is the preferred choice of really good golfers and can be found in the bag of some tour pros; the JPX923 Hot Metal range (including Hot Metal Pro and Hot Metal HL) offer more forgiveness, while the JPX923 Forged will be a great option for decent golfers wanting the best combination of distance and control.
Do any pros use Mizuno irons?
One of the biggest credits for Mizuno has always been the number of non-contract pros who choose to use Mizuno irons out of everything available. Paul Casey and former world number one Luke Donald are long-term Mizuno devotees, while Brooks Koepka won all four of his Majors using Mizuno irons before signing a deal with Srixon.
Which Mizuno irons are easiest to hit?
The Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL will be the easiest Mizuno iron to hit, particularly for golfers who lack speed and/or struggle to get their iron shots launching high enough.
What does JPX stand for in Mizuno?
The JPX in Mizuno stands for “Japan Performance Extreme”.
It was a name developed for the Japanese market as a way to introduce more aggressive, distance-driven, often cast irons to a different segment of the market than their MP (Mizuno Pro) line.
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Mizuno MP-20 MB irons.
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The launch monitor data from our 2021 Mizuno irons test.
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Today's Golfer pro Neil Wain tested the Mizuno irons.
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Mizuno Pro 221 irons.
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Mizuno JPX921 Tour irons.
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Mizuno Pro 223 irons.
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Mizuno Pro 225 irons.
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Mizuno JPX921 Forged irons.
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Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Pro irons.
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Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal irons.
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The launch monitor data from our 2022 Mizuno irons test.
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How the best Mizuno irons compare on a launch monitor
