Mizuno MP52's

I currently play with Nike Pro Combo's with S300 shafts & over the last 12 months my ball striking has improved although I lost a bit of distance due to switching from R300 shafts to the S300's.

My playing partner recently purchased some Mizuno MP25's & I liked the look of them, & it took me back to my early golf days when I started playing with Mizzy Comp CT's.

I found an ex-demo MP52 6 iron with the R300 shaft on E-bay for £10 & it arrived today. I went out on my local course & the 1st hit I fell in love with them. Everything came out of the middle & the feel was great, I was also getting about an extra 20yards compared to my current 6 iron.

I'm now in a dilema whether to switch to these clubs

Anybody else use these or had similar experiences?

John.

You have just realised that you are one of the many new breed of player who thinks they need stiff shafts.

You have an excellent tempo swing, John, so why make it difficult for yourself.

We have a young pro at Sherfield who really is long, and I mean exceptionally long and I was speaking to him the other day and he told me he uses light regular shafts.

Ist on the Waterloo 495 yards, 2 iron 2 iron on the green. 7th Wellington driver, lob wedge 495 yards again.

Stiff shafts are the easy get out for those who cannot hit the ball straight.

John F,

I tried the the Mizzy MP52, MP58 and MP62's.  I personally loved the MP62's.  Such a sweet feeling and just felt right

John P,

As you know, I have a very fast natural tempo.  I have been properly fitted and I definitely need a stiff shaft, although my clubhead speed suggests I would get away with a regular shaft.  A regular shaft often results in hooked shots for me.  I do agree though that a stiff shaft will generally give a straighter shot, but most higher handicappers (whether they need a stiff shaft or not) would probably gladly trade a bit of distance for greater accuracy

That is where they make their first mistake, Chris. To get the benefit from any shaft, it first has to be loaded and the majority of players I see using these shafts , just simply fail to do so, because their action is not good enough.

I must admit I do have sexual feelings towards the MP58's. I don't think i will get a set as i'm not to sure they preform any better than my taylor mades but they do look nce.

On the stiff shaft thing I switched from a set of callaway x20's with uniflex shafts (whatever that means) to a set of taylormade tour preferred with S300 shafts. The lofts on the callaway were 2 degrees stronger but I still get the same distance out of my 7 with taylormades but with a much better ball flight. This is obviously partly down to the head design but I think the switch in shafts have benefited me and definitely not hindered.

Stiff or regular, if you are going to hook it thats poor technique, simple as that. I started hooking the ball a couple of months ago and time on the practice ground working on my alignment soon sorted that out.

I have S300 shafts in my Mizuno MX25's, Ive had them a month and they are the best things I have ever bought. I have worked on my alignment and swing alot in the last month and Im now through the pain barrier hitting some nice shots with a controlled draw.  Believe me there was a lot of pain in between and to my long suffering playing partner I apologise!!

I'm not going to rant on about my swing needing stiff or regular shafts, I have no where near the experience of Mr Pettitt and therefore can't make a meaningful comment.

You are a very strong man, David, so I have no doubt that you do have the strength to load a stiff shaft. Having said that, you would hit it further with a regular shaft and would also develop a feel for the swing that would be of more benefit when attempting to take something off the shot.

Only had the pleasure of playing with you once, Lewis, but in that round I saw the potential that you have been blessed with. Hope you find a coach that has your interest at heart as you are certainly single figure handicap material.

No matter what the stiffness of any shaft they each have their own optimum swing speed for the best result possible. This means that a person with a 120mph swing speed will need a different shaft to one whose swing speed is 115mph, yet they will both be given a stock standard S300 and then convince themselves that they have been correctly fitted.

This applies all the way down to the shafts fitted in ladies clubs and yes, even kiddies clubs. I took my next door neighbours young daughter to the range and borrowed a junior club, it was a nine iron with a very flexible graphite shaft. Amazingly enough I crouched down and hit a couple of balls with it and was very surprised to find that, not only did I hit it perfectly straight, but that in actual fact I hit it further than my own nine iron. This is because it was very easy to load the shaft and feel exactly where the clubhead was throughout the swing, aiding the release at precisely the correct moment.

Main thing for me now is that I have a set of irons that feel prefectly balanced and my confidence is high. Hoping to drop the hcp this year for sure.

Well I bit the bullett & ordered myself a brand new set of MP52's today, got a cracking deal, almost £150 cheaper than anywhere else. I went for the R300 shafts.

They should be here by Wednesday so I'll have them for the weekend. Now I need to decide if I want to sell my Nike Pro Combo's??

Jonny P, John F has  reverted back to regular shafts from stiff ones in his Nike pro combo's, I would imagine to get the yardage back that he lost.

Jonny, JP is correct I have reverted back to the regular shafts. My dispersion did improve with the stiff shafts but my swing has improved a lot since then so hopefully I won't see much difference but I will be glad to see some distance gain & perhaps some workability

Just shows how they think these days, Lewis, Everyone had to play with clubs harder to hit than what is available today yet everyone managed to get to 24 and below handicap.

Lewis,

MP62's are gorgeous club and VERY high on my wish list (hope the wife isn't looking!).  £440 is a very good price for them too.  Where did you go? 

I want to get them With the Project X 5.5 rifle shafts.  Man those feel soooooo good

Chris,

I considered the MP62's as they were similar to my Pro Combo's but everywhere I read reviews etc (even Mizuno) said they were aimed a single figure players.

Wayne,

Yes that is what I want aspire to but I think I will achieve it quicker using a set of clubs that will help me get from my current hcap of 14 to somewhere around the 9-10 mark & then when I'm at that level I think I will be able to use something like the MP62's with more effectiveness.

No point trying to run when you can't walk.

I agree Jonny,

I feel much more comfortable with my swing now so hopefully the dispersion won't be an issue.

when I changed to Stiff shafts in my irons I was losing loads of distance, I went from hitting a PW 110yrd to about 90yrds, likewise where I was hitting a 7 I was having to hit a 5 iron. As you know the longer the iron the harder the shot.