2nd Swing's top five Mizuno blade irons

By 2nd Swing Staff

It’s not a secret that Mizuno builds some of the best players irons in golf, if not the best. They introduced golf sales divisions in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1980s and instantly became a hit. That reputation has been maintained ever since through the company’s unique and highly effective forging process.

Over the years, Mizuno has released several muscle-back blade iron models that have fit the needs of elite ball-strikers. The most recent of these models is the MP-20, made available to the public in September 2020.

While so much of the golf industry is searching for new technology to implement into equipment, Mizuno actually recycled an old construction tactic when building the MP-20s. In many of the early Mizuno blade iron models, a plated copper layer was placed beneath the top chrome layer to soften the feel.

After drifting away from that tactic for some time, Mizuno has once again implemented a layer of copper plating into the MP-20 irons to provide the trademark feel that the most iconic Mizuno models have delivered.

That got us thinking -- what are the top five Mizuno blade models of all-time? After some discussion, here’s our list:

No. 5: MP-9

Mizuno’s success and popularity had been well-documented when the MP-9 irons were released, so it’s not a surprise that the MP-9s are widely regarded as one of the better iron models Mizuno has ever produced. The most noteworthy attribute about the MP-9s is that, while they still featured the typical thin topline and narrow sole of traditional blades, they also included more offset than other blade models of their era in the 1990s, which allowed for more playability. Sir Nick Faldo used a set of MP-9 irons to win The Masters in 1996, and a plethora of other pros used MP-9s for several years into the 2000s.

No. 4: MP-33

When MP-33s hit the market in the early 2000s, not even Mizuno expected them to be as relevant for as long as they were. But the MP-33 irons struck a chord with golfers, both amateurs and professionals, that still sounds today. What golfers especially liked about the MP-33s was their forgiveness, which exceeded other blade models at the time of their release. They featured a classic, sleek design and a progressive construction that expanded the sweet spot in the longer irons.

No. 3: TN-87

Mizuno has always delivered in the feel department, and many will say that began with the TN-87s. This was where the construction tactic of the copper plating layer underneath the chrome finish became popular. Reviews for the TN-87 irons were overwhelmingly positive and much of it had to do with the incredibly soft feel from the center of the face. Faldo and Seve Ballesteros both won multiple major championships with TN-87s. They were perhaps the most popular iron model in professional golf in the 1980s and early 1990s.

No. 2: MP-29

The MP-29s didn’t include as thick of a copper underlay as the TN-87s, but the world-class feel and appearance was still there. Unique to the MP-29s, however, was a reverse progressive offset construction method, which contrasts nearly every other iron set ever made. This means that the longer irons had less offset than the shorter irons. In terms of shaping, the MP-29s also featured sharp leading edges similar to the Hogan Precision irons that Ben Hogan used to win three majors in 1953. Additionally, Tiger Woods won his first major title at the 1997 Masters with a split set of Mizuno irons that included MP-29 models in the 2-iron through 4-iron.

No. 1: MP-14

The other model that made up Woods’ irons in the 1997 Masters was the MP-14s. He played MP-14s in the 5-iron through pitching wedge and was one of very few golfers using a combo set at the time. In addition to the copper underlay similar to the MP-29s and TN-87s for supremely soft feel, the MP-14s also included a more compact shape and a lower center of gravity. Meanwhile, the MP-14 irons also had a static offset from the 2-iron through 6-iron and then another static offset from the 7-iron on down. The MP-14 irons delivered all the attributes of a players iron, and the shape is still used to influence Mizuno blade models today.