Mizuno MP-4 Review

Just recently purchased a set of Mizuno MP-4's and have played them about a week. Figured I'll write up a review to help those who maybe are looking to purchase them once the price drops when the new MP-5s come out.

DO NOT LET THIS DEVOLVE INTO A BLADE VS. CAVITY ARGUMENT. THIS IS MEANT TO BE AN INFORMATIVE REVIEW

Some background:

3.9 HDCP

DIII college player

Have gamed Mizuno MP-52s with S300 shafts for 6 years (since my freshman year in high school)

Got my new set extended an inch and the lie angle +1 upright.

S300 shafts

I am not a big specs guy to be honest. I am a big feel player.

Now to the review:

At first I was hesitant to purchase more of a blade. Thoughts of, "Am I ready for them?" crossed my mind quite a bit. I searched forum after forum, talked to my coach, talked to other golfers, talked to teammates, etc... Finally pulled the trigger.

I am glad I did. I have swung them well since the switch and feel more confidence then I have ever felt before.

LOOKS

The aesthetics for me are just perfect. I wanted an iron that would look great in my bag for years to come. The MP-4's are probably the classiest and timeless looking irons I found on the market. I was cautious about the sleek and shiny chrome in bag, and maybe not living up to the hype of having such classy irons in my bag. Then I figured who cares? Its my golf game. Besides, that thin topline gives me a HUGE confidence boost. I feel like I have a deadly weapon in my hand

FEEL

Took me about a 2 hour range session to adjust to my shaft lengths. And then the next day I focused on performance off the clubface. Good shots are definitely rewarded with the classic Mizzy butter feel. Mishits are felt like a clang, much like hitting the golf ball with a pan from your kitchen. This is the description of blades though, a good swing is rewarded with and addicting feeling. Mishits rattle you. For me, that is something I want because, I want to know exactly where the ball is going before my swing is finished. I can immediately tell where the ball came off the face and if the ball is going left or right.

PERFORMANCE

When a shot is struck well, the ball flies true, even in the wind. I tend to hit a high ball and love hitting low punches. The weighting on the MP-4's allow me to change the trajectory very well. A big positive for me as I hit the ball high and tend to hit punches only in the wind. I have been able to hit low burners or high flying 5 irons to a variety of pins. The clubs tend to launch higher than my MP-52's. Even on lower shots, I had no problems holding greens at all.

Now... The age old question that always pops up.. the forgiveness of blades..

FORGIVENESS

This is the main reason for my hesitation to switch to this club. I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the 4's here. Personally, I felt they were more forgiving then the 52's I have previously played. Yes, my misses with the 4's definitely do not fly as far, but tend to be straighter. Typically, on the course I always take a little more club into greens unless being long is absolute jail. So this isn't a huge issue fore me. I think they are definitely forgiving enough for me. Besides my few rounds I have played, I have shot around my average this summer. I am not really losing any strokes on the course with my irons. My mishits with he 4's tend to be a thinned shot.

BOTTOM LINE

I love the MP-4's. They are everything I could have asked in a new iron set. I believe they are more forgiving then my previous clubs. I can work the ball left, right, up, and down. The look great. Feel great. My confidence has risen. I know many people have gone with a combo set, I went 3-PW with my set. Yes, those longer irons are more difficult to hit, but really rewarding when done so. But I had the same problem with my previous set. Bottom line is, if you are on the fence about blades or this set. Give it a try. Do not be thrown off with the look or the stigma of blades. You'll be surprised how many old guys who shoot in the 90's play old blade irons. When it comes down to it, go with what makes you confident. Golf is won on the course between your ears. I feel that I am a better player with these clubs.

The Mizuno MP-4's are a svelte club and will be a timeless piece that deserves a place in my bag for years to come.

I will try to upload pics if a chance pops up, my work schedule has been pretty busy lately.

Excellent write up. glad you enjoy the MP4's. These sticks are a blast !

Great review.

Awesome clubs for sure and great review, keep us posted with a long term review also

Nice review, the MP 4s are great irons.

Just a more long term follow up to the clubs.

They are still performing great. Have close to 50 rounds with them. I can definitely tell a distance loss on mishits, but that is not a huge deal for me. If I have a forced carry, I'll take on more club.

I am now comfortable with the clubs. Every so often the 3 iron gets a bit chunky, but all the clubs glide effortless through the turf, especially longer grass. My mishits are tending to be a pull.

Performance on a well struck shot is unmatched to my previous clubs (MP-52). I now also have an understanding on how the clubs perform in the workability department. I love stepping up to a shot and knowing I have options over the ball (high/low, draw/fade).

My confidence soars every time I look into my bag, they just look so dang pretty sitting in it.

Awesome.

I need medical attention I'm a iron junkie a mizuno fanatic they could make a Popsicle and I would probably try it . After watching Charles Howell III say " playing these irons the mp4's will make you a better player " I was finished I'm selling my jpx850's and getting a set of mp4's tonight . It's peak season in PDX I have no business making a club change but these clubs have chosen me .

I need medical attention I'm a iron junkie a mizuno fanatic they could make a Popsicle and I would probably try it . After watching Charles Howell III say " playing these irons the mp4's will make you a better player " I was finished I'm selling my jpx850's and getting a set of mp4's tonight . It's peak season in PDX I have no business making a club change but these clubs have chosen me .

hey man, i also am an iron junkie and thus far Mizuno's have been my drug of choice. In the last few years, I went from MP64's with S300's, then to an MP69/64 combo set with C-tapers, and finally the MP4's. Alas, I am currently going full hog and building TWO sets of Miura's (one set of Baby Blades for amusement and a sort of training aid, and a set of CB57's that will be my daily gamers).

Anyway, I'm not sure of your preferred specs but if you check out eBay (I happened to notice :taunt: ) there's a pretty sweet set of MP4's 4-PW, along with a matching MP54 3-iron and H4 2-iron, and matching wedges. I'm guessing they'd be more than happy to sell through WRX, and would be willing to sell the entire set or just the MP4's.

Check out eBay for detailed pics, etc. The eBay description was...

"This is a truly phenomenal set of clubs that I will miss dearly. Unfortunately, recent spinal surgery means I won't be playing golf for a while and when I'm back in action, I won't have a swing worthy of these blades.

These clubs were fitted and custom built by Club Champion. The 2-iron through gap wedge (52*) have Project X Pxi (6.0) shafts that were PURE'd. The 56* and 60* wedges have KBS Hi Rev wedge shafts. All irons are +0.25" and 1* flat. Wedges are +0.5" and 2* flat. All clubs have midsize Golf Pride Multi-compound grips.

Note that the lob wedge was a custom build. The build team at Club Champion started with a "58/10" (as indicated on the sole), bent it to 60/12, and then performed a custom grind on the heel and toe of the club (see close up pics). Essentially, this allowed the lob wedge to fit in with the rest of the set in terms of grain flow forged feel while creating a bounce angle and sole grind that was not available from Mizuno.

As the detailed pics make clear, these clubs are in EXCELLENT condition. They've only been used for one season and, minor bag chatter aside, the only faces that show any meaningful wear are the 56* and 60* wedges.

With the Pxi shaft upgrade ($45 per club) and the PURE'ing, and with the custom wedge grinding, these cost me about $190/club...so about $2,250! My loss is definitely your gain here!!

I need medical attention I'm a iron junkie a mizuno fanatic they could make a Popsicle and I would probably try it . After watching Charles Howell III say " playing these irons the mp4's will make you a better player " I was finished I'm selling my jpx850's and getting a set of mp4's tonight . It's peak season in PDX I have no business making a club change but these clubs have chosen me .

 

hey man, i also am an iron junkie and thus far Mizuno's have been my drug of choice. In the last few years, I went from MP64's with S300's, then to an MP69/64 combo set with C-tapers, and finally the MP4's. Alas, I am currently going full hog and building TWO sets of Miura's (one set of Baby Blades for amusement and a sort of training aid, and a set of CB57's that will be my daily gamers).

 

Anyway, I'm not sure of your preferred specs but if you check out eBay (I happened to notice :taunt: ) there's a pretty sweet set of MP4's 4-PW, along with a matching MP54 3-iron and H4 2-iron, and matching wedges. I'm guessing they'd be more than happy to sell through WRX, and would be willing to sell the entire set or just the MP4's.

 

Check out eBay for detailed pics, etc. The eBay description was...

 

"This is a truly phenomenal set of clubs that I will miss dearly. Unfortunately, recent spinal surgery means I won't be playing golf for a while and when I'm back in action, I won't have a swing worthy of these blades.

 

These clubs were fitted and custom built by Club Champion. The 2-iron through gap wedge (52*) have Project X Pxi (6.0) shafts that were PURE'd. The 56* and 60* wedges have KBS Hi Rev wedge shafts. All irons are +0.25" and 1* flat. Wedges are +0.5" and 2* flat. All clubs have midsize Golf Pride Multi-compound grips.

 

Note that the lob wedge was a custom build. The build team at Club Champion started with a "58/10" (as indicated on the sole), bent it to 60/12, and then performed a custom grind on the heel and toe of the club (see close up pics). Essentially, this allowed the lob wedge to fit in with the rest of the set in terms of grain flow forged feel while creating a bounce angle and sole grind that was not available from Mizuno.

 

As the detailed pics make clear, these clubs are in EXCELLENT condition. They've only been used for one season and, minor bag chatter aside, the only faces that show any meaningful wear are the 56* and 60* wedges.

 

With the Pxi shaft upgrade ($45 per club) and the PURE'ing, and with the custom wedge grinding, these cost me about $190/club...so about $2,250! My loss is definitely your gain here!!

Well, congrats on picking up some sweet sticks. If I were you, I'd sell the JPX, pull and sell the existing shafts from your MP4's, and use the proceeds to get the MP4's professionally fitted (at a real fitter like Hot Stix or Club Champion) and built with the optimum shaft and specs for you. At the end of the day, the MP4 head itself, like all blades, is just a high quality hunk of steel attached to the end of your shafts. Accordingly, the performance and feel characteristics will be largely dictated by the shaft, and how well that shaft works with your swing. You may also find, for example, that your launch angle, and spin rate are noticeably lower with the MP4, but this can be offset with a higher launching shaft. If you get your launch characteristics, feel, swingweight etc dialed in, I promise you the MP4's will do their job and make you very happy for a long time!

If my wife would allow me to keep 3 sets of irons around, I probably would not sell mine because I do love them. Like I said, I recently picked up a set of Miura Baby Blades and they are really fun to hit, but I do not expect to game these daily. My daily gamers will be the Miura CB57's. That said, if you're gonna play blades on a daily basis, I think the MP4's are probably the best there is. I personally found them relatively easy to hit, and while mishits are clearly communicated, the feedback was not painful. You just immediately know whether or not you flushed it.

I had the MP69 blades before and the MP4 was a major improvement in terms of looks, and I believe feel and turf interaction. A great change they made with the MP4 was to make the short irons more compact. I haven't hit the MP5, but I personally think Mizuno should have stuck with the MP4 and retained the MP64 as their "slightly forgiving" option. The MP64 was, in my opinion, one of the best "players cavity" irons ever made and a gorgeous club as well. I hope my CB57's can live up to them! With the MP5, they seem to be trying to combine these two irons into one model, and I'm not sure why they went that route. To me, Mizuno should have a "true blade" at the top of their lineup and the MP4 had nailed it. The MP5 seems to water it down.

This is what a players iron should be. ZERO compromises in design to "help" with performance. It's all about looks and feel. The performance is up to you. That is why i didn't like the mp5. It's a compromised design.

Just recently purchased a set of Mizuno MP-4's and have played them about a week. Figured I'll write up a review to help those who maybe are looking to purchase them once the price drops when the new MP-5s come out.

 

DO NOT LET THIS DEVOLVE INTO A BLADE VS. CAVITY ARGUMENT. THIS IS MEANT TO BE AN INFORMATIVE REVIEW

 

Some background:

 

3.9 HDCP

DIII college player

Have gamed Mizuno MP-52s with S300 shafts for 6 years (since my freshman year in high school)

Got my new set extended an inch and the lie angle +1 upright.

S300 shafts

I am not a big specs guy to be honest. I am a big feel player.

 

Now to the review:

 

At first I was hesitant to purchase more of a blade. Thoughts of, "Am I ready for them?" crossed my mind quite a bit. I searched forum after forum, talked to my coach, talked to other golfers, talked to teammates, etc... Finally pulled the trigger.

 

I am glad I did. I have swung them well since the switch and feel more confidence then I have ever felt before.

 

LOOKS

The aesthetics for me are just perfect. I wanted an iron that would look great in my bag for years to come. The MP-4's are probably the classiest and timeless looking irons I found on the market. I was cautious about the sleek and shiny chrome in bag, and maybe not living up to the hype of having such classy irons in my bag. Then I figured who cares? Its my golf game. Besides, that thin topline gives me a HUGE confidence boost. I feel like I have a deadly weapon in my hand

 

FEEL

Took me about a 2 hour range session to adjust to my shaft lengths. And then the next day I focused on performance off the clubface. Good shots are definitely rewarded with the classic Mizzy butter feel. Mishits are felt like a clang, much like hitting the golf ball with a pan from your kitchen. This is the description of blades though, a good swing is rewarded with and addicting feeling. Mishits rattle you. For me, that is something I want because, I want to know exactly where the ball is going before my swing is finished. I can immediately tell where the ball came off the face and if the ball is going left or right.

 

PERFORMANCE

When a shot is struck well, the ball flies true, even in the wind. I tend to hit a high ball and love hitting low punches. The weighting on the MP-4's allow me to change the trajectory very well. A big positive for me as I hit the ball high and tend to hit punches only in the wind. I have been able to hit low burners or high flying 5 irons to a variety of pins. The clubs tend to launch higher than my MP-52's. Even on lower shots, I had no problems holding greens at all.

 

Now... The age old question that always pops up.. the forgiveness of blades..

 

FORGIVENESS

This is the main reason for my hesitation to switch to this club. I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the 4's here. Personally, I felt they were more forgiving then the 52's I have previously played. Yes, my misses with the 4's definitely do not fly as far, but tend to be straighter. Typically, on the course I always take a little more club into greens unless being long is absolute jail. So this isn't a huge issue fore me. I think they are definitely forgiving enough for me. Besides my few rounds I have played, I have shot around my average this summer. I am not really losing any strokes on the course with my irons. My mishits with he 4's tend to be a thinned shot.

 

BOTTOM LINE

I love the MP-4's. They are everything I could have asked in a new iron set. I believe they are more forgiving then my previous clubs. I can work the ball left, right, up, and down. The look great. Feel great. My confidence has risen. I know many people have gone with a combo set, I went 3-PW with my set. Yes, those longer irons are more difficult to hit, but really rewarding when done so. But I had the same problem with my previous set. Bottom line is, if you are on the fence about blades or this set. Give it a try. Do not be thrown off with the look or the stigma of blades. You'll be surprised how many old guys who shoot in the 90's play old blade irons. When it comes down to it, go with what makes you confident. Golf is won on the course between your ears. I feel that I am a better player with these clubs.

 

The Mizuno MP-4's are a svelte club and will be a timeless piece that deserves a place in my bag for years to come.

 

I will try to upload pics if a chance pops up, my work schedule has been pretty busy lately.

Great Review man thanks for that. Is there a reason you went with the MP4 over the MP5? Im curious about both these irons and wondered about your experience

I also play MP-4s, coming from MP-53s. I have ordered them the day they were released, and have never looked back. My feeling is that I did not gice up a lot of forgiveness compared to the MP-53, but the feeling these irons provide is just amazing. For me they made me a better ball striker, as you can feel where on the face you hit the ball, miss-hits (especially during the winter) can be quite painful, but this is what you expect from a blade.

I tested the MP-5 yesterday, and liked them a lot, but still prefer my current irons. Hopefully Mizuno will bring out new "real" blades, in this case I will check them out, if not I may just change the shafts of my current set, as I would like to try some high end graphite shafts (Recoil Prototypes or the new OT Prototypes).

The only place you will hear hatin on a set of MP5's, a thread about the 4's...LMAO.

Good stuff, can always count on the purists.

No hating, the MP-5s are great irons, but just like the 4s a bit better. I have to admit that I tried them with PX 6.0 shafts, and I never really liked these shafts, they feel a bit harsh compared to my C-Tapers.

My son uses MP4s with PX 6.0s in tournament play. He's has used over 15 different sets of blades and says these feel the best. We're now looking to PX 6.5s with the MP4s as they are now only special order. Don't want to miss out on another set if they decide to retire the design. We also have the MP5s but he likes the MP4s better. Says they feel more solid when hitting the ball.

Gents – just got my set of MP-4’s from Ebay for $280, 4-PW, C-Taper 130X. HOLY SMOKES!!!!! The “hang in the bag” effect of these irons is amazing – look like the Ferrari of iron sets. Truly beautiful yet aggressive looking irons.

Here is my current game: Good ball striker often, struggle with about 8 penalty shots per round due to T-shots (FL water, or OB). Score from tips in the 85-93 scoring range. 20 years ago, I gamed MP-14’s and “scored” the best consistent golf of my history, often in the 75-80 range. Since then, I took many years off, then began and off/on playing. But always maintained a fairly strong ball striking potential.

With this, I have tried to go to the “players Game Improvement iron”, such as the 2017 Taylormade M1 iron set. I did not improve, and my scores didn’t really improve. When ever I try to set like this, here is what happens: I get a better “bad” shot, IE, a 5-iron hit on the toe that instead of dying short and left, goes on a long sailing hook. So I realized that these type of irons don’t help me groove a swing, and don’t help my score card. That is why I decided to back to Mizuno and a blade style club.

Here is what I felt immediately: PW – 7 iron were ready to game in just a couple swings. Was able to “middle” these clubs and some strong distance and amazing mid-boring trajectory. The feel is amazing: like an elastic sledge-hammer where you can feel the shaft “kick-in” on impact. VERY NICE and TOTALLY different than anything I’ve hit in a long while. Distance good – DIRECTION – GOOD! Yes – direction good too. The 6 took an extra swing to middle – very good results.

The 5 & 4 iron took a few extra swings to middle as I was tending to toe these. I lost distance and direction, but not creating catastrophic shots (unless they were intending to carry a hazard).

So here is my epiphany and truth for me – this type of club instantly triggers a desire to groove and swing well because you actually need to groove and swing well to get the result. As soon as I toe the long irons – brain starts it analysis to say: OK – leaned forward, came off balance, cast / flipped, didn’t maintain spine angle, etc. This is critical to becoming a better golfer (for me).

The “players GI clubs” don’t trigger the same feedback assessment/analysis/improve loop as the blade does. Very pleased to have a set like this again!! Jim

i got the combo set with the MP4's really solid set of clubs