Mizuno JPX 923 Forged and hot metal

[Jeffinplano]

Regarding jpx 923forged--what is the difference from hot metal?  Softer feel, less distance????

[Cblount1121]

I have played the HMP and now the forged. The HMP goes a little farther and is a tad more forgiving. However, the feel of the forged made it with it worth it to me to play them (the HMP’s feel really good btw). I’m around a 10 handicap with irons being my weakest point. 
 

I don’t hear much about the 923 forged on the forums,but I think they are a great set for the mid-handicapper who wants a forged feel, with a naturally blended set, but still could use some distance and forgiveness. Only a few rounds under my belt but am very happy so far. 

[JA_357]

So I sat on this boundary when ordering mine, and having played a few rounds now with the forged I can share what I’ve learned. The hot metal pros are a lot more aggressive in distance support, and at least for me were yielding excessively high trajectories (I don’t tend to have trouble getting the ball up) - I wanted something not as aggressive at the short end of the bag as it was a painful gap to my wedges. The difference is about 2 degrees in loft throughout the bag. They are also more forgiving at the short end, whereas for the 7-PW in the forged they are going to play a lot more like a blade/shapeable etc. giving you alot more feel - if I want to draw the or modify the trajectory I feel comfortable to do so and have much more consistency in length - if toe strikes are a problem you are going to notice a pretty big drop in performance though. For the longer irons -4-6  you have more a game improvement iron, and they also have the spicier distance, but still are somewhat higher feel. I am really happy with the forged. 

[snuzzo29]

When I tested both I found the Hot Metals to be more forgiving on my mishits and offered more distance. My toe miss still went pretty long with the Hot Metals. The forged felt softer and really good when struck well, Hot Metals felt good too though.

[Cblount1121]

4 hours ago, JA_357 said:

So I sat on this boundary when ordering mine, and having played a few rounds now with the forged I can share what I’ve learned. The hot metal pros are a lot more aggressive in distance support, and at least for me were yielding excessively high trajectories (I don’t tend to have trouble getting the ball up) - I wanted something not as aggressive at the short end of the bag as it was a painful gap to my wedges. The difference is about 2 degrees in loft throughout the bag. They are also more forgiving at the short end, whereas for the 7-PW in the forged they are going to play a lot more like a blade/shapeable etc. giving you alot more feel - if I want to draw the or modify the trajectory I feel comfortable to do so and have much more consistency in length - if toe strikes are a problem you are going to notice a pretty big drop in performance though. For the longer irons -4-6  you have more a game improvement iron, and they also have the spicier distance, but still are somewhat higher feel. I am really happy with the forged. 

I echo this. I’ve played a mixed set of ZX7/ZX5’s that I really liked and would liken the forged to that. I really like the 923 forged. 

 

However, no matter what I try I tend to go back to my ol’ faithful  i210’s eventually. 🤦🏻‍♂️ They’re never the best feeling, most forgiving, or the longest but tend to shoot my best rounds with them. 

[forrester_fire]

The Forged line are one-piece forgings in a slightly smaller head, with slightly less jacked lofts, which a lot of folks might agree offer better distance control via more reliable spin numbers.  I've played the 850 and 921 Forged and I've never experienced those occasional jumpers, outside of the expected from a flyer lie or a ball hit a groove or two low, like you hear about with some of today's "hot" irons.

[MyShortGameSucks]

I just got 5-GW 923 HMP and i love them!

Was previously playing 223 Pro which are fabulous irons- great feel, look good at address and relatively forgiving and powerful in 5-7 irons.  Trouble was, under pressure in  tournaments, I'd occasionally hit them a bit heavy, lose a lot of distance and invariably end up in trouble.  Obviously that's a swing issue but I figured why not get a bit of extra help and forgiveness in my old age!
 

I looked at 923 Forged and they look great.  If i was coming from any other brand of clubs I probably would have picked these. I figured there likely was not a massive performance delta between them and the 223 I was trying to move on from so decided on the HMP
 

Played the HMPs today for the first time.  Ridiculously forgiving, still look OK at address due to them reduced offset and the sound/feel is more than decent enough.  After hitting the first few shots and working out the distance change from the 223 I was well and truly sold. Had 5 birdies today!  One of the big surprises for me was how good the common HM Gap Wedge is.  
 

 

 

[Tiptx1122]

I was very surprised to see how forgiving the HMP's are as I'm very satisfied with my set, went thru 2 other separate set of irons before I found what has made golf more enjoyable. Mizuno came out with such a good line of clubs lately as the HMP's may not feel like forged but they are better feeling than many other forged clubs that I've played before. 

[Konklifer]

From address, the forged was love at first sight. The feel and consistency is outstanding. 

 

Definitely one of the lesser talked about irons on the forum, but I don't mind.

Edited June 20, 2023 by Konklifer

[Tiptx1122]

5 minutes ago, Konklifer said:

From address, the forged was love at first sight. The feel and consistency is outstanding. 

I just needed a bit more forgiveness plus I might have bought them if the came out the same time the HMP's did

[SollyinGA]

On 6/16/2023 at 11:26 PM, MyShortGameSucks said:

I just got 5-GW 923 HMP and i love them!

Was previously playing 223 Pro which are fabulous irons- great feel, look good at address and relatively forgiving and powerful in 5-7 irons.  Trouble was, under pressure in  tournaments, I'd occasionally hit them a bit heavy, lose a lot of distance and invariably end up in trouble.  Obviously that's a swing issue but I figured why not get a bit of extra help and forgiveness in my old age!
 

I looked at 923 Forged and they look great.  If i was coming from any other brand of clubs I probably would have picked these. I figured there likely was not a massive performance delta between them and the 223 I was trying to move on from so decided on the HMP
 

Played the HMPs today for the first time.  Ridiculously forgiving, still look OK at address due to them reduced offset and the sound/feel is more than decent enough.  After hitting the first few shots and working out the distance change from the 223 I was well and truly sold. Had 5 birdies today!  One of the big surprises for me was how good the common HM Gap Wedge is.  
 

 

 

Did you add an extra wedge to the bag to fill in distance gaps?

 

 

[MyShortGameSucks]

Just now, SollyinGA said:

Did you add an extra wedge to the bag to fill in distance gaps?

 

 

Nope.  I have the HM GW that goes 115+ or so and then go to the 54 deg and 60 deg S23 which is 100-105 tops but usually do not push it past 95-100.  I figure I can take some off the HM GW if need be.  

 

Truth be told I love that HM GW so much I am going to get the HM SW 54 as well and then stick with another traditional 58/60 deg wedge.  Not loving the S23 60 C grind out of bunkers or around the greens right now.  May go back to Vokey D or K.

[SollyinGA]

Good deal. I have a set that of HMPs as a spare. I play the 923 Tour as my main iron, but I would love to add some consistency to my game.

 

I have T22s but they are getting a little worn. I will look into the HMP wedges. Thanks for the tip!

[MyShortGameSucks]

2 hours ago, SollyinGA said:

Good deal. I have a set that of HMPs as a spare. I play the 923 Tour as my main iron, but I would love to add some consistency to my game.

 

I have T22s but they are getting a little worn. I will look into the HMP wedges. Thanks for the tip!

That's kind of funny as I just found a set of 921 Tours with same shaft and length/lie as my HMPs.  Going to use them as my spare/practice/range set and sell both of my 223 Pro sets!
 

 I will say if you use the 923 Tour as your main set them the HM wedges may not quite flow visually or feel wise  with them so best to eyeball them in person before you buy.

[Macroach]

On 6/20/2023 at 6:06 AM, MyShortGameSucks said:

Nope.  I have the HM GW that goes 115+ or so and then go to the 54 deg and 60 deg S23 which is 100-105 tops but usually do not push it past 95-100.  I figure I can take some off the HM GW if need be.  

 

Truth be told I love that HM GW so much I am going to get the HM SW 54 as well and then stick with another traditional 58/60 deg wedge.  Not loving the S23 60 C grind out of bunkers or around the greens right now.  May go back to Vokey D or K.

Resurrecting the thread to see if you still love the HMPs.  I have a similar setup except at the bottom I have a 53 and 59 S23.

 

Did you ever go to the HM SW?  Also, how did your gaps work out?

 

I just received my HMPs and I love the feel and the forgiveness.  The distance is great ... maybe a little too great.  I do not have issues with fliers - my front to back dispersion is fine.  But I do have 15 yard gaps between the clubs.  I prefer to have 10-12.  And between the 53 and the gap wedge I have a 20 yard gap.

 

Just curious how your experience turned out.   

[MyShortGameSucks]

 

20 hours ago, Macroach said:

Resurrecting the thread to see if you still love the HMPs.  I have a similar setup except at the bottom I have a 53 and 59 S23.

 

Did you ever go to the HM SW?  Also, how did your gaps work out?

 

I just received my HMPs and I love the feel and the forgiveness.  The distance is great ... maybe a little too great.  I do not have issues with fliers - my front to back dispersion is fine.  But I do have 15 yard gaps between the clubs.  I prefer to have 10-12.  And between the 53 and the gap wedge I have a 20 yard gap.

 

Just curious how your experience turned out.   

Still loving the HMPs.  Cannot remember if I ever posted this but I had the lofts weakened 1 to 2 degs to match the 923 Forged specs.  I was getting crazy distances before that and this has tamed that a bit and they are still really long - plus they look better with the reduced offset.
 

I finally got the HM SW and did not like it at all.  Not sure why. Experimented with CBX2 54 deg which was good but a bit 1 dimensional and have actually just gone back to the S23 wedges in 54 and 60 and enjoying those right now.
 

I also got some 923 Forged to experiment with (same shafts/specs) as HMP and they are growing on me.  The 8-PW feel a lot better than their HMP equivalent the 7-5 no great delta in feel but not as forgiving as HMP.

[Macroach]

Great info, thanks. I was also going back and forth mentally between forged and HMP. I do like the forgiveness on the HMPs and have considered going to forged for better gaps. But … I really like the feel of the longer irons in the HMP.  
 

Thanks for the reply!  I have some decisions to make 😂

[Lobber]

Turning 67 on Thanksgiving and losing distance and all the other great stuff that comes with being a senior golfer with a 9 HCP.  Bought myself an early BD present - HM Pro. 4-GW built to my specs +1/2 with DG 105 Stiff.  Very pleased thus far with all aspects including distance, accuracy, looks, forgiveness and some workability.  Feel is subjective and not bad but certainly not forged.  Checking my ego at the door and playing a “Game Improvement” iron is not as hard as I thought it might be!

 

[Beardedbatman83]

On 10/4/2023 at 1:16 PM, MyShortGameSucks said:

 

Still loving the HMPs.  Cannot remember if I ever posted this but I had the lofts weakened 1 to 2 degs to match the 923 Forged specs.  I was getting crazy distances before that and this has tamed that a bit and they are still really long - plus they look better with the reduced offset.
 

I finally got the HM SW and did not like it at all.  Not sure why. Experimented with CBX2 54 deg which was good but a bit 1 dimensional and have actually just gone back to the S23 wedges in 54 and 60 and enjoying those right now.
 

I also got some 923 Forged to experiment with (same shafts/specs) as HMP and they are growing on me.  The 8-PW feel a lot better than their HMP equivalent the 7-5 no great delta in feel but not as forgiving as HMP.

I pretty much have the same set up. 923HMP bent to forged specs with s23 50, 54, and 58. (Dropped the Gap, didn't like it at all). 
 

I hit them well, many times too well. I get frequent flyers (20+yds!) out of the bottom of my bag. Thinking about swapping my 8-P&50 with 923 forged 8-G.  How are the forged working out for you?

[MyShortGameSucks]

On 12/3/2023 at 5:56 PM, Beardedbatman83 said:

I hit them well, many times too well. I get frequent flyers (20+yds!) out of the bottom of my bag. Thinking about swapping my 8-P&50 with 923 forged 8-G.  How are the forged working out for you?

I actually swapped to exclusively using the Forged.  Took a bit of time to get used to the 5 and 6 iron vs the equivalent HMP but all good now. Overall the move has been a success and 8-GW in Forged is way better feeling and more controllable than the HMP.  Cannot say I have had any unexpected flyers with the Forged except obvious fluffy rough lies. Forged are not as forgiving or as long but for 8- GW it's a non issue.

 

i did want to say that the 923 HMP are fantastic irons and I am 100% sure if I had not experimented with the Forged I'd still be playing them, scoring well and enjoying  them!

Edited December 5, 2023 by MyShortGameSucks

[e-man]

Can those who have hit both the HMP and the Forged comment on the difference in forgiveness?  I am trying to decide between the 923 Forged and the PXG 0311P, and my hesitation with the Forged is that they might not be forgiving enough for me (5.9 index, but irons are my weakness).  I like the HMP, but the spin was very low for me and the fitter's concern was that I would not be able to hold greens.  Thanks.

 

e

[renobleiii]

I went with the forged over HMP based on spin rates. HMP were hot. Hard for me to say definitively on forgiveness between the two, but it certainly wasn’t enough difference to justify picking HMP over forged, based on how I hit the ball. 

[PJE]

I think of the Forged as a conventional iron and the HMP as a game improvement iron in terms of forgiveness.  

I chose the HMPs over the Forged because the HMPs still looked nice but were pretty much point and shoot as far as ease of use.  My opinion is based upon the criteria of selecting the most forgiving iron that you can tolerate looking at address. 

Edited January 9 by PJE

[ssf301]

Forged are 2 degrees weaker than the HMP's and should spin a bit more.  Both are pretty forgiving.

[BladesOShanter]

On 11/19/2023 at 5:40 PM, Lobber said:

Turning 67 on Thanksgiving and losing distance and all the other great stuff that comes with being a senior golfer with a 9 HCP.  Bought myself an early BD present - HM Pro. 4-GW built to my specs +1/2 with DG 105 Stiff.  Very pleased thus far with all aspects including distance, accuracy, looks, forgiveness and some workability.  Feel is subjective and not bad but certainly not forged.  Checking my ego at the door and playing a “Game Improvement” iron is not as hard as I thought it might be!

 

Do you still feel the same way after playing with them for a while? I go back and forth between MBs and a set of P770s and was looking at the 923s bc of your exact sentiments. 

[Urb]

Pros are firmly a players distance iron ala Paradym, 790.  They're hot.

 

Forged are a combo set; actual forged clubs 8-PW, not quite forged 7-up.

 

7i was the correct iron to do the blend, but if you go into a fitting and only hit 7i of both, the only difference is loft.  

 

Mizuno has an iron for everyone, which is great but there's a ton of overlap, which is kind of confusing.  

[GrandStranded]

I love that the standard JPX Hot Metals are Mizuno’s best selling iron, yet after reading about 50 pages of threads discussing the JPX 923 irons, I believe only myself and one other poster admit to having bought them.

 

Edited April 24 by GrandStranded

[alexc93]

I had both 923HMP and 923F last year and loved both, but loved the softness of the forged more. Just moved into a MP245, and now listing my 923F in BST but excited to see the next JPX line up in 2025!

[jeffrey r]

14 hours ago, GrandStranded said:

I love that the standard JPX Hot Metals are Mizuno’s best selling iron, yet after reading about 50 pages of threads discussing the JPX 923 irons, I believe only myself and one other poster admit to having bought them.

 

 

Hey, I resemble that remark! Seriously though, the Hot Metals have always been a fantastic balance between looks, feel and most importantly forgiveness. I have had them in and out of the bag for years in the different iterations, and always enjoy coming back to them.

[North Butte]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:06 AM, MyShortGameSucks said:

Nope.  I have the HM GW that goes 115+ or so and then go to the 54 deg and 60 deg S23 which is 100-105 tops but usually do not push it past 95-100.  I figure I can take some off the HM GW if need be.  

 

Truth be told I love that HM GW so much I am going to get the HM SW 54 as well and then stick with another traditional 58/60 deg wedge.  Not loving the S23 60 C grind out of bunkers or around the greens right now.  May go back to Vokey D or K.

I hit a few shots with a JPX 923 Hot Metal gap wedge (the 48 degree club) at a demo day and it was really something. Unusual for a "set wedge" to feel and act so much like a normal blade-style wedge.  I told the guy running the demo that it was really fun to hit and he said something like, "Yeah, a lot of people love that club". They also had some T24 or S23 or whatever real wedges and they were nice, too. But the GW in that Hot Metal set is a cool little in-betweener.