Mizuno JPX919 Forged Iron Review

Mizuno’s latest JPX919 Forged Irons are the company’s most versatile and fastest forged iron yet

The big golf brands reckon ultimate endorsement comes from tour players using their products without being paid. Especially if they’re a big name who’s winning big events.

Related: Mizuno JPX921 irons revealed

When Brooks Koepka won the 2017 US Open with a set of Mizuno JPX900 Tour irons – and no contract – the Japanese company was obviously delighted. When he defended his title this year and captured the US PGA Championship, with the same irons, it was the icing on the cake.

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The JPX range has been a huge success on tour and in pro shops, but it’s two years old now – so they’re being replaced by, in our view, some of the best-looking irons Mizuno has evermade. They’re called JPX919, and this is what you need to know about them…

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The 919 Forged has a tough act to follow – Mizuno say its predecessor (the JPX900 Forged, used by Nick Faldo) was their biggest-selling forged iron… ever. Like the Tour it has HD forging, which improves feel for shots hit low in the blade, which wasn’t in the original.

TESTED: Blade vs Cavity Back irons with Nick Faldo

Mizuno’s engineers have developed a clever reverse-milling technique (going through the sole) which allows them to thin down the face to maximise ball speeds from a larger area. Like the Tour there’s an “open heel” which Mizuno say lets vibration waves out, to further improve feel and feedback. There’s also an extra degree of loft on each of the 4, 5 and 6 irons as players believed the original 900’s landing angles were quite shallow.

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Mizuno JPX 919 Forged Review: First hit

We’ve seen some Mizuno irons in our time, but putting all three new JPX919 models together with the current MP18s (three irons) has to be the best iron line-up Mizuno have ever produced. The 919 Forged is gorgeous. It has a slightly larger head and decent sized cavity which inspires confidence, while a small amount of offset keeps a clean, inviting look at address. The data (below) stacks up behind everything Mizuno says, too.  

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Key numbers: How do they compare to JPX919 Tour and Hot Metal?

What Mizuno say:

A new reverse-milled clubface, CNC-milled from the sole up creates a larger area of minimum face thickness, making the streamlined JPX919 Forged Mizuno’s fastest ever forged iron. The weight removed from the face allows a lower, deeper centre of gravity making it easier to flight long and mid-irons. Mizuno’s trademark workability and elevated Grain Flow Forged HD feedback ensure the JPX919 Forged is also Mizuno’s most versatile iron.

Like the JPX919 Tour and JPX919 Hot Metal the JPX919 Forged features a durable Pearl Brush finish and stability frame, open at the heel to enhance stability, launch and loft-appropriate flight apex for soft-landing approaches. The Forged model is Grain Flow Forged HD (High Density) from a single billet of 1025B mild carbon steel in Hiroshima Japan for unmistakable Mizuno feel, with a trace of Boron infused into the billet to make it 30% stronger and allow greater design possibilities in a forged head. The overall package is one of “balanced performance” with the JPX919 Forged offering the ultimate blend of ball speed, stability and feedback within a more refined playing profile.

“A deeper, wider milling across the back of the face allows the JPX919 Forged to transfer more energy to the ball than any previous Grain Flow Forged iron,” says David Llewellyn, Director of Golf R&D at Mizuno. “None of that would have been possible without that small addition of Boron into our steel billets, which gives that additional strength needed to reinforce the face.” 

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RRP: £135 per club

Availability: 4 - GW

7-iron loft: 32°

Shaft options: 

KBS C-Taper & C-Taper Lite

True Temper XP115, 105, 95

True Temper Dynamic Gold

Nippon NS Pro Modus Tour 120, 105

True Temper AMT Tour White

Project X LZ (steel and graphite)

Project X LZ Tour (graphite)

UST Recoil 95 (graphite)