MIZUNO MX 200 Iron Set 4-PW, GW with Steel Shafts

While the idea of a forged, game improvement iron seemingly is contradictory, Mizuno takes a shot at it. The MX-200 offers Mizuno legendary grain-flow forging, with a clubhead design for higher handicappers.

The Y-shaped bar across the back of the club is supposed to expand the face’s sweet spot outward toward the toe, for increased forgiveness on mishits. Higher handicappers also will appreciate the larger clubhead, and a milled pocket that creates a lower, deeper, center of gravity. The triple-cut sole design is supposed to create more consistency across a variety of lies.

I’ve really enjoyed playing with my Mizuno 560 driver—it’s replaced a TaylorMade in my bag—and am now giving the new Mizuno irons a closer look. If I can get game improvement performance with the feel of a forging, I’m all for it.

Acer XK Pro Irons

The Acer XK Pro has been designed to look more like a player’s iron while still retaining game improvement functions. It’s got an undercut cavity, heel-toe weighting and a beveled sole. But it also has reduced offset, a compact blade length, and a thinner topline. To help golfers “work” the club, it has an elongated hosel length. It’s cast from 431 stainless steel.

CLEVELAND HiBore XLi Iron Set 3-PW with Steel Shafts

One thing I’m glad to see is that manufacturers such as Mizuno (with their MX-950), Adams (Idea clubs) and now Cleveland are radically rethinking the way they design clubs for higher handicappers. And if high handicappers had any sense, they would be listening.

I’ve tried several of these hybrid sets, and the bottom line is that they really work to solve some of the higher handicapper’s issues: namely, getting the ball consistently into the air, and producing consistent distance.

The Cleveland XLIs offer a hollow body construction, with allows the center of gravity to be pushed downward, making it easier to get the ball in the air. It also will create a larger “sweet spot”, like on a wood or driver. The thin cup face should generate higher ball speed for slower swingers. The progressive sole width and offset will help to keep the ball straight.

It looks like a good mix of technologies. Now if people can just get over the fact that it doesn’t look liek a traditional golf set.

MIZUNO Mizuno MX 100 Iron Set 4H, 5H 6-GW with Steel Shafts

Mizuno’s MX-100 hybrid-iron set is aimed squarely at higher handicappers, and Mizuno claims that this is their easiest to hit set ever. But what caught my eye is that the design of the set allows the hybrids to be adjusted for loft and lie—something that no one else offers for consumers (I’ve seen them adjust metal woods in the TaylorMade Tour van at the Buick Open, but you and I can’t go to a local clubfitter and get that done).

Here’s what Mizuno has to say about the MX-100s:

The new MX-100 irons with Y-Tune Technology are the most forgiving irons MIZUNO has ever made. Furthermore, with a cutting edge Hybrid Designed set make-up, the MX-100 irons can be custom fit to your individual specifications, something that only Mizuno offers. The Y-Tune Technology successfully expands and extends the sweet area of the clubface out towards the toe to deliver amazing forgiveness on miss-hits. This Y-Tune Technology receives the XL designation because the “oversized” sweet area is carried throughout the set from the easy to launch, maximum distance #4 and #5 hybrids down to the set matching SW. The hybrids are built with the patented “Drop Down Crown”, which enables them to be bent to your custom fit specifications. The MX-100 irons are unmatched for forgiveness and ease of play, making them the perfect weapons for the mid to high handicap player.

These look very interesting, but I still lust over the MX-950s.

TAYLORMADE Burner Plus Combo Set 3H, 4H, 5-PW with Steel Shafts

TayorMade has released a whole slew of new clubs for this fall, including these Burner Plus Irons. A variant of the original released earlier this year, the Burner Plus feature one of the company’s highest Moments of Inertia.

“Our new Burner Plus irons possess one of the highest MOI measurements of any TaylorMade iron, making them super-forgiving and easy to hit,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade manager of iron creation. “These are so easy to launch that it’s a blast to make a big swing and let them fly. We had a lot of fun designing them and are looking forward to the reception they receive among golfers who like to go long.”

The clubheads are designed to be big, with significant perimeter weighting, and a low, deep center of gravity. They of course feature TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Technology, which I think works well in offering more distance on off-center hits.

Part of the redesign includes a wide beveled sole to prevent digging; the club head’s weight and bulk work at the same time to help get thin shots off the ground. An increased degree of offset has been introduced to encourage a draw.

A note about offset: That means that the clubface is set behind the line of the shaft. That’s done to give players a fraction of a second more to square up the face, helping to fix the tendency of most to slice.

The “combo set” substitutes a Burner 3 and 4 hybrid for the same irons; always a good idea for higher handicappers. It would be even better if a 5 also was included.