The JPX Hot Metal franchise has proven a popular one in the retail market offering strong ball speeds and high levels of forgiveness all wrapped up in a Mizuno bow that evokes feelings of quality and craftsmanship. Mizuno is now releasing its latest iteration of the JPX line and I have been thoroughly testing the new Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal iron range, which also includes the Hot Metal Pro and Hot Metal High Launch. Looking to sit amongst the best golf irons in the game, here are my thoughts…
(Image credit: Future)
Firstly to understand the technology here, we must understand the Mizuno thought process. Essentially, Mizuno felt that it had already pushed distance output as far as possible by reaching the USGA limits for COR, so the goal for the new JPX925 family was to maximize forgiveness. This target was addressed by increasing the surface area on the face that provides the highest ball speed, sounds simple right? Well, a number of things have been implemented to achieve that.
Firstly, it has re-engineered a multi-thickness face that gets as thin as 12 sheets of paper in places, and it has also changed the shape of the face to cater to the most common mishits in golf. Basically, the heel section of the face has become shallower as heel strikes generally occur lower on the face, and the weight saving there has been used to make the toe deeper as, you guessed it, toe-struck shots are often high on the face.
The new head shaping is excellent
(Image credit: Future)
Along with a Seamless Cup face, multi-material construction including Nickel Tungsten in the longer irons, and variable sole thickness to help with face flexion, we have a couple of things to help with feel and sound. Firstly a ‘Balance Stability Frame’ has been introduced to improve control and forgiveness which Mizuno also says it gives a tour preferred vibration and sound. Alongside that, we also have some new ‘Acoustic Sound Ribs’ across the top edge and a sound bar to remove tinny/clicky frequencies.
I found the Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal irons a touch ‘fussy’ from this angle
(Image credit: Future)
In terms of the looks, I am a little ambivalent about the Hot Metal irons from a shelf appeal, or ‘in-the-bag’ point of view. While the shaping looks great, and the branding is relatively subtle, there is quite a lot going on visually. The sound bar in the cavity is quite obtrusive and the back just looks a touch fussy to my eye. I also don’t personally enjoy mixing up finishes on irons…
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