Mizuno’s MP line is for the “better player” and the JPX EZ line is for the high-handicapper, but what about the 7-25 handicap that represents the majority of global golfers? The JPX-850 Forged and JPX-850 irons cater to the average golfer.

While the MP irons are made for the purist searching for the flowing forged look and feel of a players’ iron, the JPX line is made for speed, futurity and something unexpected, according to Chuck Couch, Vice President of Product Management at Mizuno.

Mizuno seems to have accomplished its goal with the two new lines of JPX irons.

The JPX 850 Forged irons moved away from the 1025E forging that has become the calling card of Mizuno irons. Instead, they were forged from 1025 Boron, which is a stronger material allowing the iron faces to be forged thinner for more distance and forgiveness. Also, both of the JPX 850 irons utilize “Power Frame Technology,” creating a larger sweet spot without making the club heads any bigger than their predecessors.

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JPX-850 Forged

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The JPX 850 Forged irons are set to replace the JPX-825 Pro irons that were forged from 1025E. Although the JPX 850 Forged irons are still made using the Grain Flow forging process that enhances look and feel, they are forged from 1025 Boron. Mizuno is the only company to use that element in its forging process.

“Boron is 30 percent stronger, so we were able to forge the face much thinner, which raised the COR to .800,” said Couch. “That’s a higher COR than any of our competitors.”

COR, which stands for Coefficient of Restitution, is a measure of energy transfer between the club head and the golf ball at impact. A higher COR means more energy is transferred, which produces greater distance and consistency. This was accomplished by maximizing the use of discretionary weight from the milling process.

Since the faces were able to be forged thinner, Mizuno was able to take out 5 grams from the face, and an additional 21 grams from the pocket cavity during the milling process. This allowed for 26 grams to be placed into the perimeter of the iron away from the center of the face, creating “Power Frame Technology,” which increases distance and forgiveness.

The strategically placed discretionary weight allowed Mizuno to match the exact size of the 825-Pro, with a 6 iron that measures 79 millimeters in size, and replicate the same feel and sound, which was confirmed since the company uses Modal Analysis to measure frequency, pitch and decibels.

JPX-850 Forged irons have a Triple-Cut Sole, which adds versatility and maneuverability, and the heads are nickel-chrome plated. (click to enlarge photo)

The JPX-850 Forged irons will be available for retail purchase on Sept. 19, 2014 for $999 with a steel shaft, and $1099 for graphite, for both right and left-handed players. The irons come in a stock set of 4-GW with a True Temper XP 115 shaft, but the customer can switch out any shaft for no up-charge. That means the JPX-850 Forged irons are $999 in steel, no matter what steel shaft you choose, and $1099 for graphite, no matter what graphite shaft you choose.

Click here to see more photos and read the discussion in the forums

JPX-850 irons

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The JPX-850 irons are cast, so they do have a higher COR than the JPX-850 Forged irons, which means more energy transfer and more distance. They also have thinner and hotter faces than the JPX-825’s they replace.

“We pushed up against the legal limit with the JPX-850 irons, which have a .830 COR,” Couch said. “This produces a very hot ball speed off the face.”

For the 850’s, Mizuno placed discretionary weight from the milled cavity away from the center of the face to develop the “Power Frame Technology,” much like they did in the 850 Forged design. The JPX-850 forged 6 iron measures 79 millimeters in size, however, while the JPX-850 6 iron measures a larger 86 millimeters in size, which allows for a bigger sweet area on the face, producing the higher COR.

Therefore, while the JPX-850 Forged irons blend distance and forgiveness with the Grain Flow forged feel, the JPX 850 irons maximize distance and forgiveness for the player looking for added consistency.



The JPX-850 irons are cast using 17-4 Stainless Steel.

The irons have the familiar blue badging that matches the JPX-850 wood line, but it’s not just for show. The blue badge in the iron’s cavity is made from TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and aluminum, which helps achieve the proper sound and feel Mizuno strives for.

[quote_box_center]”It is a great transparent and cool-looking badge, but serves the purpose of being acoustically tuned so that we achieve the sound/feel that we are desiring,” Couch said. “This science is called Modal Analysis. We not only pioneered it, but now we can tweak it so that the sound/feel are very pleasing for the player.”[/quote_box_center]

Click here to see more photos and read the discussion in the forums

The JPX-850 irons have “an aggressive Dual Relief Sole,” according to Couch.

Also available for retail on Sept. 19, 2014, the JPX-850 irons (4-GW) will sell for $799 with the steel shaft of your choice, and $899 for the graphite shaft of your choice, for both left and right-handed players. The stock shaft is a True Temper XP 105.

Click here to see more photos and read the discussion in the forums

Click here to see more photos and read the discussion in the forums

Click here to see what GolfWRX members are saying about the new line of JPX-850 irons.