Five different irons, three different metals, one common goal - the best iron experience in the game. Mizuno’s new JPX923 line-up offers two forged irons for better golfers, the JPX923 Forged and JPX923 Tour, and three multi-material JPX923 Hot Metal irons.
Mizuno’s Hot Metal game improvement irons have risen to become the Japanese manufacturer’s top seller, which is quite an accomplishment considering Mizuno long held a reputation for designing clubs exclusively for better players.
With that in mind, the upcoming refresh of the Hot Metal line-up has become a significant one as Mizuno continue to refine their offerings for average golfers.
Enter the new JPX 923 Hot Metal line-up, a trio of irons that deliver incredible performance across the handicap spectrum.
Crammed full of tech and made of some mightily strong and sturdy materials, Mizuno JPX 923 Hot Metal irons are hot stuffindeed.
MIZUNO JPX923 FORGED AND TOUR IRONS
A couple of new forged irons join their Hot Metal counterparts in the JPX923 line-up in 2023 - the Forged and the Tour.
The 4-7 irons in the JPX923 Forged iron set are hewn from a single billet of Mizuno’s new Nickel Chromoly, the same material employed in Hot Metal irons.
However, working with the stuff in a forged capacity tossed up some challenges.
Its additional strength and durability meant Mizuno had to add a third strike to their forging process to ensure the consistency of their grain flow forging technique.
The 8-PW in the forged set are crafted from 1025E carbon steel — the same material JPX923 Tour irons are made from.
Mizuno have also implemented the V-Chassis into the Forged and Tour irons, with the design allowing them to thin out the topline of both irons without sacrificing feel.
JPX923 TOUR IRONS
The JPX923 Tour is a classical, clean, ball-striking and shaping machine.
The most compact iron in the JPX923 range, the Tour is a genuine player’s cavity back.
It’s targeted at ball strikers who don’t miss the sweet spot too often, however, the shallow cavity back design provides a little bit of a backstop if they do.
Constructed from 1025E carbon steel, JPX923 Tour irons feature a copper underlay that contributes to the legendary soft Mizuno feel.
JPX923 Tour irons have undergone a couple of upgrades from their predecessor, the JPX921 Tour, with the topline thinner and the blade length shorter in the scoring irons (6-GW).
Both adjustments have made the JPX923 Tour more maneuverable, increasing an elite player’s capacity to flight and shape shots with precision and control.
JPX923 FORGED IRONS
The new Mizuno JPX923 Forged irons are somewhat of a rarity in the player’s-distance iron category.
Their entirely forged construction flies in the face of the multi-material, hollow-bodied player’s distance irons that, in numerical terms, tend to dominate the category.
But Mizuno have managed to squeeze significant distance out of them while maintaining the famous Japanese forged iron feel that makes them unrivalled in the category.
In fact, the JPX923 Forged’s thinner face produces the fastest ball speeds, across a greater proportion of the club face, than any Mizuno one-piece iron in history.
Mizuno also addressed a previous criticism of the previous JPX921 Forged irons, that they were too big to qualify as true player’s-distance irons.
The new JPX923 Forged irons are more compact than their predecessors and feature a thinner topline that will appeal to better players.
HOT METAL: NOW EVEN HOTTER
JPX 923 Hot Metal irons diverge from the previous three iterations by incorporating a new stronger, and significantly better, material.
Nickel Chromoly has replaced Chromoly 4140M as the main Hot Metal ingredient, with the Nickel component of the alloy beefing up its strength considerably.
The extra rigidity of the new metal blend enabled Mizuno’s club boffins to make the face of JPX 923 irons eight per cent thinner, with the extra flexibility producing faster launch speeds and greater distance.
Tying in with the thinner face is a variable thickness sole, which also promotes extra flex. And that means, you guessed it, extra speed and forgiveness.
As far as game improvement irons go, JPX 923 Hot Metal irons have topped the charts for both sound and feel – without using a filler or foam like most irons in the category.
Mizuno reason that adding a vibration-damping material simply deadens feel and sound, rather than actively improving it.
To enhance feel and sound, the V-Chassis design is the secret sauce of the new Hot Metal line-up.
The cast irons’ reinforced top line has been tuned to provide a purity of feel and sound that resembles Mizuno’s famous forged iron offerings.
THREE JPX 923 HOT METAL IRON MODELS
All three Hot Metal irons feature the same technology and design principles, but size and spin characteristics offer the personalization to appeal to a broad range of handicaps.
JPX923 HOT METAL HL IRONS
The HL stands for “High Launch” and they are the biggest of the three Hot Metal models, albeit by a just a whisker.
Designed for players with slow swing speeds, the HL employs weaker lofts (an average of 2.5˚ weaker than its Hot Metal siblings) and higher-spinning performance to help players launch shots high and get some green-stopping goodness on the flip side.
Hot Metal HL irons err towards the super game-improvement category in total performance and will suit players whose swing speeds dip below 73mph with a seven iron (the rough equivalent to an 87-90mph swing speed with a driver).
However, the only visible clue that Hot Metal HL’s are any different to the other models is a slightly thicker topline and a smidgeon more offset.
JPX923 HOT METAL IRONS
A slightly smaller package than the HL, the standard JPX 923 Hot Metal irons will launch lower and spin less than the HL.
With stronger lofts and a smaller sweet spot than the HL, the standard Hot Metal model is faster and more forgiving for higher swing speeds.
JPX923 HOT METAL PRO IRONS
The Hot Metal Pro is thinner and more compact than the standard JPX 923 Hot Metal iron.
It’s positioned to a similar size to the new JPX 923 Forged and Pro irons (which will be released early next year) but offers a heap more forgiveness thanks to its tech-laden attributes.
For golfers who prefer a smaller head size, yet want the benefits of forgiveness, the Hot Metal Pro provides a tantalizing option.
MIZUNO JPX923 IRON SPECS
- Hand: Right/Left
- Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal HL Lofts: 5 (25°), 6 (28°), 7 (31°), 8 (35°), 9 (40°), PW (45°), GW (50°), SW (55°)
- Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal Lofts: 4 (19°), 5 (22°), 6 (25°), 7 (28.5°), 8 (33°), 9 (37.5°), PW (42.5°), GW (48°), SW (54°), LW (60°)
- Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal Pro Lofts: 4 (19°), 5 (22°), 6 (25°), 7 (28.5°), 8 (33°), 9 (37.5°), PW (42.5°)
- Mizuno JPX923 Tour Lofts: 4 (24°), 5 (27°), 6 (30°), 7 (34°), 8 (38°), 9 (42°), PW (46°), GW (51°)
- Mizuno JPX923 Forged Lofts: 4 (21°), 5 (24°), 6 (27°), 7 (30°), 8 (34°), 9 (39°), PW (44°), GW (49°)
Shaft options:
- Hot Metal: Dynamic Gold DG95 (Regular), KBS Tour Lite (stiff) and Recoil ESX (graphite)
- Hot Metal HL: Dynamic Gold DG95 (Regular), KBS Tour Lite (stiff) and Recoil ESX (graphite)
- Hot Metal Pro: Dynamic Gold DG95 (regular and stiff)
- Forged: Dynamic Gold DG95 (regular and stiff)
- Tour: Dynamic Gold DG95 (regular and stiff)