While Mizuno’s forged offerings are well established among better players, the brilliant new JPX925 Hot Metal line-up looks set to charm the ever-expanding game improvement iron audience.
Mizuno’s JPX franchise has grown steadily to become one of the Japanese manufacturer’s most popular lines, the appeal extending across an extremely broad range of handicaps.
Building on the success of previous JPX generations, three new distance-focused Hot Metal designs — JPX925 Hot Metal, JPX925 Hot Metal Pro and JPX925 Hot Metal HL — are packed with technology that is indicative of Mizuno’s boundary-pushing innovation. And the Mizuno DNA runs strong throughout the new JPX925 Hot Metal line-up because the look and feel is unmistakably Mizuno.
Could your game benefit from a little Hot Metal injection this year?
JPX925 HOT METAL TECHNOLOGY
Nickel Chromoly has been the JPX franchise’s material of choice since its inception. In the JPX925 Hot Metal line-up, Mizuno see no reason to change.
Nickel Chromoly, specifically its 4140M form, is an extremely strong material that doesn’t break easily. And it doesn’t require much structural support either, saving precious weight to be redirected to more beneficial areas within the head.
But perhaps Nickel Chromoly’s greatest quality is its capacity to seamlessly absorb a couple of major new tech inclusions into the Hot Metal line-up: CORTECH and multi-material construction.
CORTECH DESIGN
CORTECH relates to the Coefficient Of Restitution of a club face, or its spring-like effect. If CORTECH already sounds vaguely familiar you’ve probably closely inspected Mizuno’s driver and fairway woods, which have CORTECH CHAMBER imprinted on their soles.
The CORTECH CHAMBER is the signature technology of the range. It’s essentially comprised of a tiny steel rod suspended in a slab of springy urethane. At impact, the CORTECH CHAMBER rebounds much faster than the face does, imparting an acceleration effect on the ball.
The same concept is at play in the new JPX925 Hot Metal irons, but the net ball speed gain is achieved through what Mizuno call a CORTECH Contour Ellipse Face.
It’s your boilerplate multi-thickness game improvement iron face but Mizuno have made it 30 per cent thinner in the centre compared to the previous JPX923 iron. The result? There’s more pop out of the centre and a less-pronounced drop-off in speed for off-centre strikes.
MULTI-MATERIAL CONSTRUCTION
In a first for the family, JPX925 Hot Metal irons are now powered by multi-material construction.
High-density tungsten features in the 4-7 irons in every Hot Metal model, slotted strategically low in the head to create a higher launch and steeper descent angle.
Other manufacturers have been doping their long irons with tungsten for several generations now. But the fact Mizuno are so late to the party suggests their game improvement designs are among the most efficient in the game, with the addition of tungsten teasing out even greater performance.
VARIABLE THICKNESS SOLE
The variable thickness sole that features on the Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal line-up has been made thinner, in the right spots.
It unleashes additional flex in the iron head, which boosts ball speeds for extra distance and offers more forgiveness and greater consistency — foundational performance attributes that a game improvement iron is built on.
AND… BETTER SOUND AND FEEL
It wouldn’t be a Mizuno iron without exceptional feel and sound, which is why JPX925 irons include a Balanced Stability Frame, Harmonic Impact Technology and Acoustic Sound Ribs.
Mizuno’s Stability Frame elevates forgiveness via a balanced weighting design, which complements the finely tuned head geometry of the JPX925 Hot Metal range to also improve feel and enhance feedback.
Meanwhile, the Hot Metal’s impact sound is improved by the acoustic sound ribs dotted around the head, meaning the new irons sound and feel almost like a tour iron.
THE JPX925 HOT METAL LINE-UP
Technology, materials and construction are standard across the JPX925 Hot Metal line-up, but the options are divided along three distinct game improvement performance profiles. However, all three Hot Metal models can be merged seamlessly into a combo set that maximises performance.
MIZUNO JPX925 HOT METAL IRON
The standard Hot Metal iron is your classic game improvement iron. Featuring a slightly smaller chassis compared to the Hot Metal HL iron, it also has a slightly smaller sweet spot and, predictably, launches lower too.
MIZUNO JPX925 HOT METAL PRO IRON
Slimmer and smaller than the standard Hot Metal iron, the Pro model is one of the most compact game improvement irons in the game. It’s slightly less forgiving but players who love a compact head and thinner topline will be smitten with its design and performance profile. It will also harmonise with the Mizuno Forged iron range.
MIZUNO JPX925 HOT METAL HL IRON
The HL stands for high launch so it comes as no great surprise that the HL is the highest launching Hot Metal model. Featuring the lowest and deepest centre of gravity and the largest head and longest blade length of the Hot Metal range, the HL sits on the threshold of super game improvement iron performance but somehow doesn’t really look like it. Lofts are three degrees weaker than the other Hot Metal irons, which conceivably makes HL irons shorter. However, gains in spin and launch more than make up for it, particularly for players who fit the JPX925 Hot Metal HL demographic.
MIZUNO JPX925 FLI-HI HYBRID
When the Hot Metal HL just doesn’t cut it, Mizuno have the JPX925 Fli-Hi range ready to be subbed into your game. The wide-bodied hybrids are fitted with an internal rear weight that creates a high-launching, draw-biased trajectory, while Mizuno’s trademark Wave Sole boosts ball speed at impact. And for efficient turf interaction, Mizuno’s Speed Bevel leading edge allows the club to glide through the turf.
MIZUNO JPX925 SPECIFICATIONS
Australian Release Date: September 20, 2024
Hand: RH/LH
Shaft: Hot Metal: NS Pro 950. Hot Metal Pro: Dynamic Gold 105. Hot Metal HL: Dynamic Gold 95. Fli-Hi: Recoil Dart ESX 60 F2-A.
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal Lofts: 4: 19°, 5: 22°, 6: 25°, 7: 28°, 8: 32.5°, 9: 37°, PW: 42°, GW: 48°, SW: 54°
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal Pro Lofts: 4: 19°, 5: 22°, 6: 25°, 7: 28°, 8: 32.5°, 9: 37°, PW: 42°, GW: 48°
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal HL Lofts: 4: 22°, 5: 25°, 6: 28°, 7: 31°, 8: 35°, 9: 40°, PW: 45°, GW: 50°, SW: 55°
Mizuno JPX925 Fli-Hi Lofts: 19°, 22°, 25°, 28°