Mizuno Pro 221 Vs Mizuno Pro 223 Irons – Review & Comparison
The Mizuno Pro range is the flagship model of the brand that has only been reserved for the Japanese markets up to know but we the brands recent success, they have been released in the western markets.
Both of these irons are Grain Flow forged in the company’s Hiroshima plant in Japan, where they have been perfecting the process since 1968.
Both of these irons are aimed at the better players:
The 221’s are forged muscle back irons that are reserved for the elite level players
The 223 are Forged Cavity backs which are again for the best players but slight more forgiving, long and with stronger lofts.
The Mizuno Pro 221 Irons
Irons reserved only for the games most elite players. They are muscle back blades forged to perfection by Mizuno.
What that means is that these are the most players friendly irons in the Pro family, with the smallest and most compact heads.
What they lack in blade size, distance and forgiveness is next level shot shaping, workability and green stopping power,
They share a lot of the same charcteristics as the 223’s but lack the Chromoly finish that adds speed and distance in the 223’s.
They a copper underlay which adds a tad of sound and feel and with players muscle back blades, the brand is not trying to re invent the wheel but make small incremental improvements.
The irons follow on from the MP-20 MB irons but are more compact, dramatically so in the scoring irons.
There is more mass around the sole area and the bevelled back edge and slightly tapered topline give the sleek profile and butter soft forged feel that elite strikers will love.
Mizuno Pro 223 Irons
The Mizuno 223’s are forged cavity backs, they are slender are compact irons again reserved for single digit handicappers and tour level players.
The gaol with the 223’s is to provide the players shaping, sound, feel and workability with the extra distance and forgivness that top players need on more demanding courses.
The heads are larger, longer and more forgiving than the 221’s and the long and short irons are configured differently.
The 4-7 irons have the 2.4mm ultra thin Chromoly face which adds a ton of distance while the scoring irons are a one piece construction focussed more intently on workability and stopping power around the greens.
Both irons have the copper underlay and the bevelled back edge but will suit better players looking for slightly different things.
Overall Summary
The 221’s are more compact, more players freindly, shorter and less forgiving than the 223’s. You can expect tour players to use the shorter irons and have something more fogiving in their longer clubs.
The 223’s are similar but offer more distance and forgiveness in their long irons for elite players looking for that combination from their clubs,
Both are workable, soft feeling and players oriented so expect to see them on the PGA tour this year.
Mizuno Pro 221 Irons – First Impressions
Category: Forged Muclebacks
Mizuno Pro 223 Irons
Category: Forged Players Cavity Irons
Mizuno Pro 221 Irons – First Impressions
Let’s talk a little bit about the technology first.
This is a single piece Grain Flow Forged, made from 1025E Pure Select mild carbon steel. This is top of the range stuff, it is made in Mizuno’s factory Hiroshima, Japan.
A new piece of technology from Mizuno is the microlayer of copper beneath Nickel Chrome. This will give the irons an incredibly soft feel of the face, enhancing the Mizuno’s reputation for great feeling irons even further.
A blade is going to be the least forgiving iron on the market, but Mizuno have relocated the weight away from the heel area, this makes the club more forgiving.
Mizuno have made the top line smaller and shortened the blade length, this makes the club more compact for improved control and workability.
As blades are specifically made for the better player, Mizuno have taken feedback from the worlds best and dramatically reduced the size of the 8-PW, they have also included a heavily taped upper blade to control trajectory.
After reading up about all this technology, you can be sure we were very excited to try this out. The Pro 221 definitely lives up to the Mizuno name, the small compact head looked mean behind the ball. The feel off the face was incredible, unbelievably soft.
Unfortunately we are not good enough golfers to play these irons, which made the longer irons very hard to hit, when struck well the ball flew great, but we were heavily punished on miss hits. Although not as bad as we thought we would be, you could see the small changes to technology has really helped here.
Like we mentioned before, for a low handicap, going with a combo set in these will be amazing. The longer irons become very intimidating with the small head size.
Overall we loved them and wished we were good enough to play them.
Mizuno Pro 223 Irons – First Impressions
A first introduction for the legendary Mizuno Pro series to the Western Markets. These are compact players cavity irons that have the profile that tour players demand coupled with the distance they didn’t know they needed.
While the pro series had been reserved for Japanese markets until now, the surging popularity that Mizuno have enjoyed in recent years has lead to their most prestigious family of irons making it to the west and they don’t disappoint.
Forged in Hiroshima, Japan, the 223’s are built with tour players in mind with their compact heads and despite the players profile, there is a ton of technology driving these irons to deliver distance, control, consistency and workability as well.
The 4 – 7 irons are built is a different way as the importance of COR diminishes and the importance of loft increases in the scoring irons.
The 4 – 7 irons have a Forged Chromoly face that is only 2.4mm (The JPX921 Forged is 2.6mm) thick and works with the Microslot inside the bevelled back edge to offer fast ball speeds, flex and a better rebound.
The 8 – GW have a 1 piece, 1025 mild carbon steel, grain flow forged construction and sport wider soles and longer blade as loft becomes more of a determining factor and these precise irons offer high launch, distance a steep descent angle for stopping power on the greens.
There is a microlayer of copper underneath the Nickel Chrome coating which lends to tour level feel and the irons have been accoustically primed to sound perfect on impact.
These irons are reserved for the better players only and with the compact shape it is very unlikely that mid handicappers will feel comfortable with these irons.
Mizuno Pro 221 Irons Selling Points
- Single piece forged for ultimate performance and feel
- Microlayer of copper enhances feel
- Thinner top line and blade length, makes it even more compact
- 8-PW are more compact giving you more workability
- Lives up to the Mizuno name
Mizuno Pro 223 Irons Selling Points
- Players Cavity Back Irons Aimed At Tour Players
- Enhanced Ball Speeds For Extended And Longer Courses
- Fast Chromoly Face
- Microlsot Tungsten Weighting For Launch And Distance
- More Workability In The Scoring Irons
- Long And High Launching With Excellent Stopping Power
- Forged In Hiroshima & Crafted For The Best Players
Who Are the Mizuno 221 Irons For?
Only the best players should consider these irons, at the end of the day they are still complete blades.
Mizuno have made these slightly more forgiving than your traditional blade, but don’t be fooled, if you compare them to mid handicap irons, you will lose distance and forgiveness will be dramatically worse.
Even Though the best players in the world won’t play a full set of blades these days. We highly recommended going for a combo set.
The Mizuno Pro Family of Irons
Mizuno has two other models in the Pro range, the 223 and 225. Both are more forgiving than the Pro 221, but have the same concept in mind.
The Mizuno Pro 223 has ball speed-enhancing technology built inside the construction of the head of a compact player’s cavity. They have included a brand new technology concept from 4-7 iron, it combines Mizuno’s tested Chromoly Forging and Flow Micro-Slot Grain Flow Forged with a soft copper underlay, this cavity back iron has a great feel and sound, plus it is surprisingly forgiving.
The Mizuno Pro 225 is modeled off the famous Hot Metal Blade. It is the easiest to hit and most forgiving iron in the Mizuno Pro series. It is more compact than the original and has a new CORTECH multi-thickness face for faster ball speeds. It has the Grain Flow Forged and soft copper underlay like the other two models in the series. This gives the iron an incredible feel off the face.
Distance: 90/100
Accuracy: 98/100
Forgiveness: 85/100
Feel & Control: 99/100
Overall Score: 93/100
Check Out More Reviews Here:
Who are the Mizuno 223 Irons for?
The Pro 223’s are for the best players on tour and low single digit handicappers. Dont be fooled by the cavity back design, these irons offer the workabilty, control and consistency that will suit only the best golfers around.
This is the first time that Mizuno have released their pro series in the US and UK markets and are reserved for those who like the best craftsmanship and the buttersoft feeling of the grain flow forging process from Hiroshima, Japan
The Mizuno Pro Family of Irons
The 223’s are the upgrade to the MP-20 MMC irons but they are smaller and more compact with a faster face thanks to the Chromoly face and microslot.
The Irons can be considered a smaller version of the very popular JPX921 Forged irons which have thicker faces and are more forgiving.
The Mizuno Pro 225 is a hollow body players iron that is going to be longer and more forgiving than the 223’s but more workable than the bigger JPX921 Forged. The 225 are premium irons that have nailed the shape with distance brief of the players distance iron market.
The Mizuno Pro 221 are forged blades that don’t back any extreme bells or whistles but offer those better players all the forged feel and workability from the legendary Japanese forging process. Partly due to the lofts, they will be shorter and more owrkable than the 223’s
The Miuno pro set is aimed at the better players, offering the upmost quality. The 225’s will offer the best performance for most golfers and the a combination of more forgiving long irons with the Pro series short irons will suit many elite level players.
Distance: 93/100
Accuracy: 95/100
Forgiveness: 92/100
Feel & Control: 97/100
Overall Score: 95/100
Check Out More Reviews Here:
Aidan Lehane here, I’m a Mid-low handicap golfer who has made tremendous progress in breaking 90 in just over 1 year of playing golf seriously.
I get out to the course or range as often as possible and review all the equipment I’ve come across on this blog.
