MP-20 MB/MMC Combo Question

AZgolfer8 · January 8, 2021

I plan to get 4-7 on the MMC but I've been toying with combo-ing with 8-PW in the MB. I'd most likely get the MB's to match the 8-PW lofts on the MMC to make sure gapping is similar.
I'm looking into splitting at 7/8 because the tungsten and titanium elements in the MMC reduces a bit, presumably to give players more workability. I figure at that point at may be close enough to the MB to just do a combo and get to experience the pure blade feel/workability on the short end.

My question to people who have had experience with the MB and MMC short irons - do you feel like that performance and "forgiveness" level in 8-PW is similar? Any disadvantages in combo-ing the MB in, particularly since I'd go 2 degrees strong in the 8i and 1 degree strong in the 9i if I go MB?

Tree Levino · January 8, 2021

I don't think there is any difference in forgiveness in 8-PW at all. What HC are you? I'd do a gapping session, don't just automatically bend strong. The 8i might dig a bit if you bend it two strong. You lose two degrees of bounce. The 8i only has 4 degrees of bounce to start so you'd be at two. Unless you're a mega picker and have very good control over low point that might be a struggle. All mizunos are fairly low bounce - I'd be more inclined to weaken all of the MMC a degree.

cflo2382 · January 8, 2021

I game the MMC/MB combo and went 2* weaker on the MMC lofts to blend in with the MB stock lofts. Nice thing about this is that it removes a tad of offset on the MMCs, too. Also, (for me) the MMC produce some good ball speeds so I wouldn't worry about losing a ton of distance going this route. As for the forgiveness of the MB short irons - They're a blade. Theres not a ton of help in this particular model so you still need to be a decent ball striker. Even the pitching wedge is quite small, IMO.. To echo what @TigerInTheWoods said, you will lose a bit of bounce by going stronger lofts. These are already pretty low bounce so if you are steep, be careful. Not trying to discourage you but just want you to be aware.

Side note - I really like the MMCs. I like playing blades but I keep considering just going into a full MMC set.

Edited January 8, 2021 by cflo2382

AZgolfer8 · January 8, 2021

@TigerInTheWoods I don't have an index but it would probably be around a 10. BUT, ball striking with my irons is my greatest strength by a significant margin. Short game and occasional disastrous drive have prevented my scores from staying in the 70's consistently.

I tend to be more of a digger so the decreased bounce does worry me. I hesitate to bend the MMC side because there's more of those clubs in the bag and I don't want to lose distance. Although it may not really be a big deal on the distance since I'm gaming 20 year old Ping i3 "blades" that are 0.5 degrees weaker than the MB. This is my first time buying irons in 20 years so with all of this research I'm discovering a lot of this added distance seems to be coming from the strong lofts and a little from the hotter faces.

I know the 8-P is slightly smaller as @cflo2382 said but that doesn't bother me - I actually prefer compact heads after learning how to play on hand-me-down blades. I'd say if he forgiveness between 8-PW on both models isn't that big, I'd like to start playing around with short iron blades to work on shot shaping more - something I haven't tried to develop really. Also from my time learning with blades I feel like hitting with them can help you learn how to ball strike better. I've toyed with having 8-PW in both sets so I can practice with the blades or throw them in the bag when I feel like my ball striking is good and shaping trajectory is more advantageous that day.

cflo2382 · January 8, 2021

@AZgolfer8 If your ball striking is on point then I wouldn't hesitate to go with the MB for the short irons. You can always mess around with the lofts throughout the set to get them to blend for whatever works best for you.

Edited January 8, 2021 by cflo2382

AZgolfer8 · January 8, 2021

@cflo2382 @TigerInTheWoods Just out of curiosity, do you think there's enough of a difference on the short iron MB's and MMC's to justify owning both? The other reason why I thought about having 8-P in both sets is to swap out depending on how well I'm striking. I was thinking if I have a gap in playing time I might crutch with the MMC if it made a noticeable difference in forgiveness.

Edited January 8, 2021 by AZgolfer8

cflo2382 · January 8, 2021

1 minute ago, AZgolfer8 said:

@cflo2382 @TigerInTheWoods Just out of curiosity, do you think there's enough of a difference on the short iron MB's and MMC's to justify owning both? The other reason why I thought about having 8-P in both sets is to swap out depending on how well I'm striking. I was thinking if I have a gap in playing time I might crutch with the MMC if it made a noticeable difference in forgiveness.

I've only hit the 4-7 irons of the MMC so I can't compare the 8-PW to the MB. However, as a comparison, I did hit both 7 irons basically side by side at my fitting 2-3 months ago. I'd for sure give a slight edge in forgiveness to the MMC 7 iron but it's likely nothing major between the two when you get to those shorter irons. That being said, I'm not sure that I would suggest having both options, but that's on you. You may find yourself going back and forth and that could hurt your consistency. It sounds like you're leaning more on the MB so I'd say just go that route first. If that fails, you can always try the MMC short irons. For me, I do just fine with the MBs in my split. The MMC just kind of have a unique feel to them that I sometimes like a little better than the MB. Not sure how to explain it.

AZgolfer8 · January 8, 2021

@cflo2382 Thanks for the feedback. I hit both 7 irons extensively and you seem to be confirming my suspicions. I agree on the feel...in some cases I might say the MMC felt better, which I'm sure is not popular opinion. I saw Peter Finch's Mizuno fitting on YouTube and he just stopped short of flat out saying he thought the MMC felt better. I've seen a few other sources that said the feeling was very close or not hugely discernible. Of course many swear by the tad more positive feel on the blade. Anyway, feel is very subjective so who knows. I'm still intrigued. During demos a fitter had me try the Wilson Staff blades and that feel was glorious so I've been sucked into chasing blades for feel. Mizuno did a really good job with the MMC's in that department - they seem to be very underrated and I don't see a ton of discussion about them.

cflo2382 · January 8, 2021

15 minutes ago, AZgolfer8 said:

@cflo2382 Thanks for the feedback. I hit both 7 irons extensively and you seem to be confirming my suspicions. I agree on the feel...in some cases I might say the MMC felt better, which I'm sure is not popular opinion. I saw Peter Finch's Mizuno fitting on YouTube and he just stopped short of flat out saying he thought the MMC felt better. I've seen a few other sources that said the feeling was very close or not hugely discernible. Of course many swear by the tad more positive feel on the blade. Anyway, feel is very subjective so who knows. I'm still intrigued. During demos a fitter had me try the Wilson Staff blades and that feel was glorious so I've been sucked into chasing blades for feel. Mizuno did a really good job with the MMC's in that department - they seem to be very underrated and I don't see a ton of discussion about them.

@AZgolfer8 No problem, I'm happy to provide some insight and personal experience on the setup. I agree that the MMC is underrated and I think sometimes overlooked. It's likely because they have one piece forged CB in the JPX Tour model, too.