Equipment

Here’s why the MP-20 iron is “classic Mizuno”

Published

5 years ago

Apr 10, 2021

When it comes to Mizuno irons, we have spent a lot of time covering the classics (The Greatest Mizuno blades of all time), but it’s not often that we take a larger scale look at modern equipment beyond its initial launch.

With that in mind, inspired by Masters first-round leader Justin Rose gaming a set, it feels like a great time to break down why the MP-20 blade is another classic Mizuno iron.

The timeline

Before the MP-20 iron series came to be, there was a successful run by the previous MP-18’s.

Although they never truly went away, the MP-18’s represented a “relaunch” of the Mizuno MP blade iron and a change of philosophy by going back to a traditional flat muscle design, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the 2004 MP-37. Before that, the last true blade iron was the MP-4, which was launched in 2014 and then was complemented with the larger blade-style MP-5 in 2016.

Beyond the aesthetics of the muscle, a key feature of the MP-18 blade was a progressively shorter blade length into the higher-lofted irons to help frame the ball and offer maximum workability along with improved turf interaction. All of these characteristics and more carried through to the next evolution with the MP-20’s.

MP20 – Going back to the roots

Much like how the MP-18 gave new life to Mizuno’s blade line of irons, the MP-20’s moved forward by first taking another step back in time by reintroducing a copper underlay beneath the final chrome layer. The copper plating is a more cost and time-intensive process but one that Mizuno felt was time to re-introduce.

The last time Mizuno offered irons with a copper underlay that were available in a worldwide launch was in 1988 with the TN-87s, and it brought another layer of feel thanks to the softer metal helping further reduce unwanted and unpleasant harmonics at impact. *Note: There were some models that were released in Japan at a higher price point compared to their North American counterparts that had a copper underlay*

This brings us full circle to the MP-20, which is a combination of the new shaping principles of the MP-18 and merging them with the traditional design cues of the more rounded and organic looking models of the past, including the MP-33 and the aforementioned TN87s and their cutout toe muscle.

“With a blade, the key feature is really the lack of features, and how clean and simple the design is”
– Chris Voshall

Bringing it all together

Now that we have covered looks and manufacturing, it’s time to talk about the most important part of any iron, and that is performance and how sits behind the ball.

2019-mizuno-mp-20-7-iron-address

Like many blade irons, the MP20 has a thin topline, but what many people don’t realize is that thin piece contains a lot of what makes these irons great when it comes to their performance and feel. By cleverly hiding the mass and thickness hidden towards the top of the iron engineers can offer precise center of gravity positioning and an extremely pleasing impact.

Let me break it down like this: The thicker the area, the more solid the feel. When you hit a thick piece of metal on something, it doesn’t reverberate much, and when it does, it’s at a frequency that makes it sound heavy and “thuddy,” AKA, solid.

Now if that same piece of metal was stretched out like a gong for example, the reverberation from an impact would result in a wobbly, loud, and generally unpleasant acoustic. When an unsupported part of a club gets too thin, it acts as an amplifier of bad sound, creating a terrible feel—this is not the case with the MP-20’s

So, by blending the classic looks of yesteryear with proven manufacturing techniques, the MP-20 can rightly take its place alongside other classic Mizuno blade irons.

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

10 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.

Joel Thelen

Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.

First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.

Mitchell Meissner

Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

11 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.

Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX

7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX

Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

11 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.

@Lamosteve began:

Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine

Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6

Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”