Mizuno JPX923 Forged Iron Review

By Simon Daddow, Today's Golfer Equipment Editor

Last Updated: 06 March 2023

Three Mizuno JPX923 iron heads

Graphics showing the new face design of the Mizuno JPX923 Forged iron

Spec sheet for the mizuno JPX923 iron family

At a glance
TG Rating Not yet rated
Owner Rating Not yet rated
Pros
- A beautifully made players' distance iron.
- There's an excellent selection of shaft options available with no upcharge.
Cons
- The model is not available until February 2023.
- Some purists won't love the slightly stronger lofts from 7-iron - GW.
RRP £185.00

What we say...

The Mizuno JPX923 Forged is a full-body forged Chromoly steel iron. Here we explore what type of golfer should have them in their bag.

The players’ distance iron market only really took off back in 2014. Back then it was Callaway who revealed the first strong lofted forged Apex iron that whets the appetite of reasonable golfers looking to combine speed/distance and a forged feel within a single iron model.

With sales soaring Callaway were quickly followed to market by the TaylorMade P790 and PXG’s hollow body offerings. But for a traditional forged iron company like Mizuno, where the landscape had changed so quickly, for a couple of years at least they struggled to keep up and compete.

It wasn’t until the back end of 2020 when Mizuno introduced the JPX921 Forged, the first iron to be forged from springy chromoly steel (with the intention of boosting ball speeds and distance within a one-piece forged iron), that the brand started pinging the radar of reasonable golfers wanting to chase distance within the compact chassis of a players’ iron.

The new JPX923 Forged is the brand’s 2^nd generation full-body chromoly steel iron, here’s what you need to know about them and why we rate them among the best golf irons.

Details: Mizuno JPX923 Forged iron

RRP: £185 per club

Availability: 4 – GW

7-iron loft: 30°

Category/Forgiveness rating: Players’ Distance Iron / 2.5

A mid-sized grain flow forged cavity back that delivers a brilliant blend of ball speed, stability and feel to a wide audience of players. The 4 – 7 iron are forged from a single billet of Mizuno’s 3^rd generation (the 2^nd generation appeared in the Mizuno Pro 223 and Pro 225 irons) springy 4120 Chromoly steel, and Mizuno reckon thanks to craftily thinning the face (from 2.6mm to 2.2mm) golfers can expect extreme ball speeds from its compact profile.

To maximise feel, consistency and precision in the scoring irons the 8 – GW are forged from 1025E mild carbon steel (just like the JPX923 Tour), each head’s also more compact with a shorter blade length than its predecessor.

Director of Product at Mizuno, Chris Voshall says “the JPX923 Forged pulls off two impressive achievements. First, it feels more solid even though it’s faster from the face. Second, it looks sleeker with a thinner topline and narrower sole even though it’s more forgiving.”

We rate the Mizuno JPX923 Forged among the best players’ distance irons.

WATCH: Best 2022 Players’ Distance Iron video

What you need to know about the Mizuno JPX923 Forged iron

Reinforced chassis

Mizuno say thanks to building extra reinforcement and rigidity into the irons cavity golfers can expect a more solid feel and feedback from this fast-face model.

Mizuno’s highest COR (coefficient of restitution) one-piece iron

Forged irons and thin, fast faces don’t typically go hand-in-hand. The stamping process of forging makes it difficult to control production tolerances in the way that the precision of CNC Milling can. Mizuno’s solution is to first forge the head, then they cleverly CNC Mill in through the sole to create the back of the face. And in this generation, there’s a 5mm wider pocket behind the face.

The idea increases the size of the rebound area, making a more efficient iron on off-centre hits. Mizuno say the new model is their fastest one-piece forging to date.

Thinner face

Thanks to being constructed from Chromoly 4120 steel the JPX923 Forged is Mizuno’s strongest one-piece iron ever. The makeup means the company’s engineers have thinned crucial areas of the face by up to 0.4mm, which does no harm at all when it comes to boosting ball speed.

You little tinker

Every new iron launch from Mizuno comes with a slightly refined head shape. Often club golfers will struggle to spot the tiny differences, but Mizuno say that compared to the previous JPX921 Forged this new model has a thinner topline throughout the set, and the 7-PW are slightly more compact in blade length.

Specs: Mizuno JPX923 Iron family

Product Information