Need To Know
Mizuno has released the JPX 923 Hot Metal, Hot Metal Pro and Hot Metal High Launch irons with big shoes to fill after the introduction of the JPX 921 irons in 2020.
These three irons are part of a new five-piece release which will be complete in February. The JPX 923 Forged and Tour irons will come later as they are aimed at players towards the top end of the game.
The three irons that we look at here are largely based on game improvement. The Hot Metal, Hot Metal Pro and Hot Metal High Launch irons suit different golfers, but there is a common goal of delivering distance, ball speeds and high launch.
GolfMagic Equipment Editor Alex Lodge reviewed each iron set to discover which one is best suited to a certain type of golfer, based on the forgiveness and performance qualities.
Watch our Mizuno JPX 923 Iron Review below
What are the Mizuno JPX 923 irons all about?
In each of these three iron sets, the new V-Chassis is meant to deliver a satisfying vibration pattern across the club face, despite the club face being 8% thinner.
The new 4335 Nickel Chromoly is reported to be 35% stronger than the original Chromoly. With five new models coming our way, Mizuno has aimed to deliver a club for everyone.
Within Mizuno's custom fitting programme, it offers 50 shafts to further increase the personal element of these irons, making it a certainty to create a set of irons suited to your golf swing.
Which golfer do the Mizuno JPX 923 irons suit?
The shape of the Hot Metal club head certainly suits mid to high-handicapped players. If you want to improve your ball-striking and turf interaction, we would recommend the Hot Metal iteration in this latest release by Mizuno.
The Hot Metal Pro irons are shaped in a way to suit the mid-handicap range. With a slightly more compact club head, the Hot Metal Pro certainly serves players coming down from high handicaps.
The Hot Metal High Launch irons are for golfers with slower swing speeds. These irons help golfers who need a higher launch angle to improve their game so their golf balls can spend a bit more time in the air.
Looks and feel
The design of the new Mizuno JPX 923 irons is very similar and almost identical to the JPX 921 irons of 2020. If you already own the JPX 921 irons, we'd suggest you don't upgrade if you're basing your decision on looks.
At address, the Hot Metal model is visibly suited to mid to high-handicapped players. The club head is rather thick which can instil confidence in your swing and ball-striking.
The look of this game improvement iron is impressive and it is another feature that looks similar to the design of 2020.
With the Hot Metal Pro model, you can tell that the blade length is slightly shorter at address. The club head is slightly more compact with a smaller sweet spot, so this iron rewards good ball-striking.
The Hot Metal High Launch look is very similar to the other two irons we have mentioned. In terms of forgiveness, it is more similar to the Hot Metal iron and not as compact as the Hot Metal Pro.
Performance and forgiveness
In terms of the Hot Metal irons, the JPX 923 face is slightly thinner than the previous 921 faces. This is meant to deliver faster ball speeds which reached 130 to 135 mph in our testing with a 7-iron.
We were pleased with the spin rate and the launch angle of the Hot Metal model too. For a game improvement iron, we thought this iron delivered in distance and dispersion too, so we were satisfied all-round.
The Hot Metal Pro model can compete with any other players' distance iron on the market. The club was lower spinning than the Mizuno Pro 225 irons and the ball comes hot off the club face.
Despite hitting some shots outside of the middle of the club face, we enjoyed the forgiveness and the dispersion of these Hot Metal Pro irons. They perform as well as the TaylorMade P790s which are regarded as one of the best irons in the business.
The Hot Metal High Launch irons have weaker lofts than the other two models by about 2.5 degrees. The 7-iron is 31 degrees and this helps golfers who need more airtime with their iron shots.
We were pleased with the ball speeds of this third and final iron. As we expected, we achieved higher spin and higher launch which shows that they are effective and accomplish what they are designed to do.
These statistics also suggest that forgiveness is good. The Hot Metal High Launch irons may not have suited Alex in this sense, but the forgiveness will certainly benefit many other golfers.
Verdict
If we go through all the irons that we have tested, the Hot Metal and the Hot Metal Pro irons aren't largely different. The average ball speeds (133.2 mph & 134.8 mph) aren't miles apart and the distances were only separated by a few yards.
Some golfers in this day and age prefer irons with smaller and compact heads which would match the design of the Hot Metal Pros. The aesthetics of these two iron sets are arguably the only distinguishable factors between them.
Although we judged the Hot Metal irons to suit mid to high handicappers, they can be used by most golfers because of their consistent performance and forgiveness.
This is a huge positive with the new release of all three iron sets as a whole. Mizuno has produced an iron for everyone whether you want forgiveness, distance or a higher ball flight.
Of each model, we think the Hot Metal Pro is the most impressive of the bunch. It delivers superb distance and it has a pleasing look at address.
