HMB - 1 year later

[golfcart22]

Hey folks -  So it's been about a year since my switch to a full set ( 2-PW ) of the Mizuno HMBs and I just wanted to post and comment about how much I've enjoyed these irons.  Between making some minor swing changes and getting these clubs,  I've had an awesome year and am looking forward to many more.  Just thought I would share that and hope to hear other comments about folks who have used HMB this year.

 

 

[Hammer22]

Still love mine as well, although it's been slightly less than a year. Full set: 5-PW with no desire to blend them. With the correct shafts, they are just fantastic. Even tried the JPX921 Forged thinking I might like those better, but they didn't show any gains over the HMB's (mine are 1° strong, however). Probably will just keep pounding on these until I see what the MP22's look like!

[getitdaily]

I play hmb 4i and it's the best, easiest to hit 4i I've ever played. I have the 3i with a heavy graphite shaft as well. It swaps with my 3hybrid but is also a great club. 3h usually gets the nod. The hmb 3i is a relatively new club and I intend to play it on a windy day or if the course suits it better over the 3h.

[Pbo1980]

These clubs are nice , very long . Hitting hmb pitching wedge as far as my 8 iron from my last  set . Forgiving as well

[Carl Spackler3]

Play the 7-pw and hit each iron 1 club shorter for some reason but love them

[Schulzmc]

I absolutely love my HMB's. My only complaint was inside 100 yards, where I use my 9 and P a lot on knock downs, chips, etc. Ended up switching to the pure blades in those two clubs and am extremely pleased. These clubs are in the bag for a long time.

 

Plus they are just so freakin' beautiful

[toddmanley]

I decided to try the HMB's (4-P) but since moved on to a combo of the HMB 4 & 5 matched up with my old MP-18 blades (6-P).  Reason?  A few...

 

I grew up playing blades and feel really comfortable over the ball with a small headed iron.  Sure, I knew I was giving up some performance but I really valued the feedback of knowing when I hit it a line too low or high.  With the HMB scoring irons I felt I lost a bit of feedback even though they have that pure Mizuno feel.

 

Second, I had a round where I had too really bad flyer lie outcomes with my 8 iron.  Not crazy rough by any means, but I absolutely pured the shot and the ball flew 8-10 yards past my target.  I thought the first time it was a fluke, but when I did it again on the back nine it put some doubt in my head around these being the best fit for me.  It was after this round that I decided to delve back into my club building mode and make the combo set.

 

I really like how the combo set has worked out and I know that if I ever find myself needing more forgiveness lower in the bag I can always re-introduce the HBM 6 or 7 iron back into the set as I age.  

Edited September 28, 2020 by toddmanley

[gsrjc]

Love my 4-6 HMBs myself. 

[Minarets]

Any more on these? 

[Noodler]

I threw them back in the bag 2 weeks ago after my tournament season completed.  I added lead tape to all of the heads to get the MOI where I needed it.  They've been playing generally great for me and I really enjoy hitting them.  The only odd thing I'll note is that every now and then I'm getting a really "hot" hit that is flying much farther than normal.  The only thing I can come up with is that somehow my delivery varies in a way that results in a low spinner iron shot and then I end up with an unexpected extra 10-20 yards.  I've never experienced this with my other irons, so I'm still trying to figure out what's happening.  I would love to have the added distance as long as I can reproduce it consistently.

[Minarets]

Hmm weird. Obviously, we hear that a lot from P790 owners but I haven’t  seen that about HMB. 

[Minarets]

I know everyone seems to rave about the HMB long irons and the soft feel.  How about the 8-PW? Do they feel/perform just as well? Distance consistency? 

Edited October 11, 2020 by Minarets

[AllShowNoGo82]

On 9/28/2020 at 6:30 PM, toddmanley said:

I decided to try the HMB's (4-P) but since moved on to a combo of the HMB 4 & 5 matched up with my old MP-18 blades (6-P).  Reason?  A few...

 

I grew up playing blades and feel really comfortable over the ball with a small headed iron.  Sure, I knew I was giving up some performance but I really valued the feedback of knowing when I hit it a line too low or high.  With the HMB scoring irons I felt I lost a bit of feedback even though they have that pure Mizuno feel.

 

Second, I had a round where I had too really bad flyer lie outcomes with my 8 iron.  Not crazy rough by any means, but I absolutely pured the shot and the ball flew 8-10 yards past my target.  I thought the first time it was a fluke, but when I did it again on the back nine it put some doubt in my head around these being the best fit for me.  It was after this round that I decided to delve back into my club building mode and make the combo set.

 

I really like how the combo set has worked out and I know that if I ever find myself needing more forgiveness lower in the bag I can always re-introduce the HBM 6 or 7 iron back into the set as I age.  

Do you find a larger gap between your 5i hmb and 6i mp18 vs the rest of your blades? I ask because I'm considering a similar swap in the top end with my mp18's, maybe mp18mmc.

[Noodler]

10 hours ago, Minarets said:

I know everyone seems to rave about the HMB long irons and the soft feel.  How about the 8-PW? Do they feel/perform just as well? Distance consistency? 

 

I've previously posted my dislike for how Mizuno modifies the design and construction across the set.  I wish they would just be consistent.  I know what they were trying to do, but in practice I don't think it plays out in the real world.  Specifically to your question about the 8-PW, you're dealing with different materials and design.  The 8 is forged Chromoly using hollow COR construction, whereas the 9-PW are 1025E partial hollow designs.  For me I see a larger jump in ball speed going from the 9 to the 8 than would normally be explained by just the change in loft and length.  There is also a bit of difference in feel, but nothing that I really notice while playing them; only when I'm hitting them over and over in practice.

[toddmanley]

10 hours ago, AllShowNoGo82 said:

Do you find a larger gap between your 5i hmb and 6i mp18 vs the rest of your blades? I ask because I'm considering a similar swap in the top end with my mp18's, maybe mp18mmc.

No gapping issues. I verified this soon after pulling together the combo bag when I had a chance to get on a launch monitor. 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

My brother has them... hes pretty happy and playing well with the... i have mmc20... pretty damn happy.

[GBBM]

I thought they were everything I’d ever want in an iron. Tried them with three different shafts in multiple blended configurations as well as a complete set. Just never could get on with them or fall in love with them the way I hoped to.
 

Have hit about all the modern hollow bodied irons (except the PXG) and just don’t see any real performance benefit versus a well constructed traditional forged CB and they just can’t compare feel wise IMO. But if a guy wants a club that looks like a muscleback blade in the bag but has some forgiveness that’s the trade off I guess. 
 

My miss is usually about a half a ball toe side and a hair low and for whatever reason any iron with a welded on face always feels absolutely horrific with that miss, going back to the original Callaway Apex from 2013. The rare exceptions I can think of are the Srixon 5 series and UTs. Maybe the Epon 705 and 502. 
 

There’s obviously an inherent issue with the welding and thin face in terms of vibration which is why most of these things have injected goo or TPU badges to mitigate it. The Mizunos don’t have that. 
 

My 8 year old or whatever design (but brand new heads in Aug from Chip Usher) not only forgive that miss, they don’t feel like I hit a brick when I do it. 
 

I know the obvious solution is to hit center every time but I’m a once a week golfer with 3 kids 6 and under so 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edited October 13, 2020 by GBBM

[gsrjc]

On 10/11/2020 at 12:13 AM, AllShowNoGo82 said:

Do you find a larger gap between your 5i hmb and 6i mp18 vs the rest of your blades? I ask because I'm considering a similar swap in the top end with my mp18's, maybe mp18mmc.

I play 4-6 hmb and 7-pw mp18 mmc and I don’t have any gapping issues. I did adjust my pw to 45 degrees and then I have a 49, 54, and 59 degree wedge. 

[BigBlue7]

My HMB 4 iron is one of my favorite clubs in my bag 

[Minarets]

Going to hit HMB on Thursday.  The MMC scare me forgiveness wise.  I’m a 5.4 but irons are my weakness.  

[jeff657756]

11 hours ago, jlukes said:

My HMB 4 iron is one of my favorite clubs in my bag 

Mine as well. Not sure if i would be willing to switch out my 919F for rest of the HMB set, but the 4 HMB consistently gets me out of trouble.

[North Texas]

On 10/10/2020 at 11:05 PM, Minarets said:

I know everyone seems to rave about the HMB long irons and the soft feel.  How about the 8-PW? Do they feel/perform just as well? Distance consistency? 

 

I've had my set of HMB's, 4-PW, about a year now. They are the 5th set of MIzuno's I've had and are my favorite. No noticeable distance inconsistencies and nothing different about the 8-PW that I have noticed. Another thing is that, although I hit my irons high, I have no problem flighting the ball down with my HMB's. Even my short irons. Thought I would mention that because I've read numerous posts from people concerned about how high the ball goes with the HMB's. 

[evoviiiyou]

You really cannot go wrong with the HMB's...I had a 2iron with a Modus 130S built that I love for lower flight tee balls here in AZ.  Works beautifully.  If I didn't just get my 921F set, these were the ones.  I may still get a set for the back up bag.

[Minarets]

2 hours ago, North Texas said:

 

I've had my set of HMB's, 4-PW, about a year now. They are the 5th set of MIzuno's I've had and are my favorite. No noticeable distance inconsistencies and nothing different about the 8-PW that I have noticed. Another thing is that, although I hit my irons high, I have no problem flighting the ball down with my HMB's. Even my short irons. Thought I would mention that because I've read numerous posts from people concerned about how high the ball goes with the HMB's. 

Glad you said that. I am already a high ball hitter and fear all the “they go high” reviews I’ve read.  Guess I’ll find out soon enough in the fitting.   

[North Texas]

6 hours ago, Minarets said:

Glad you said that. I am already a high ball hitter and fear all the “they go high” reviews I’ve read.  Guess I’ll find out soon enough in the fitting.   

 

Just to add to that. My previous irons were MP-15's with the 70 gram Orochi shafts and I put Recoil 95's in my HMB's. Not only can I flight the ball down, but my dispersion is also noticeably better. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by North Texas

[Minarets]

59 minutes ago, North Texas said:

 

Just to add to that. My previous irons were MP-15's with the 70 gram Orochi shafts and I put Recoil 95's in my HMB's. Not only can I flight the ball down, but my dispersion is also noticeably better. 

I would likely have recoil 95 or steelfiber 95s in the HMBs as well.  

[gsrjc]

1 hour ago, Minarets said:

I would likely have recoil 95 or steelfiber 95s in the HMBs as well.  

I have my HMBs with the steelfiber 95s. I hit a high ball and haven’t had any issues with my 4-6. I will say that the ball is a good height and lands fine for me with my 5 and 6. I play a prov1x. 

[Minarets]

18 minutes ago, gsrjc said:

I have my HMBs with the steelfiber 95s. I hit a high ball and haven’t had any issues with my 4-6. I will say that the ball is a good height and lands fine for me with my 5 and 6. I play a prov1x. 

I play Pro V1.  And currently 0311 Gen 1 with Steelfibers. 

[gsrjc]

2 minutes ago, Minarets said:

I play Pro V1.  And currently 0311 Gen 1 with Steelfibers. 

You should be fine. 

[ASak10]

I've been playing my HMB set since mid-June and I absolutely love them.    I have 4i-PW.  I had a bit of an adjustment period as I was fit into much lighter shafts than what I had in my prior irons (Apex CF16).  I tend to hit the ball a little higher anyway, but I haven't noticed any higher ball flight than with my Apex irons (and I'd venture to say it's probably lower with the HMB irons).  I also haven't really noticed any problems with a ball flying off the face and going further than expected.  I really have nothing bad to say about these and am very happy with the decision to go with the HMB set.  I find them responsive and I get all the feedback I need from mishits.