The post FIRST LOOK: In-hand photos of unreleased Mizuno Pro 221, 223 and 225 irons appeared first on Golf.

The post FIRST LOOK: In-hand photos of unreleased Mizuno Pro 221, 223 and 225 irons appeared first on Golf.

Usually when irons appear on the USGA Conforming List, that means a retail release is on the horizon. And, as confirmed in a recent video on Mizuno’s official YouTube channel, Mizuno is set for a February 2022 launch of the Mizuno Pro 221, 223 and 225 irons (plus a stand-alone Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi driving iron option).

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While we’ve seen the black-and-white photos of the Mizuno Pro irons on the USGA website, and caught a glimpse of the 221 irons when Rose used them in competition, GOLF.com finally got its first look at the irons in person this week.

At the 2021 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, both Keith Mitchell and Rory Sabbatini had Mizuno Pro irons in their bag. Mitchell was spotted with a set of Mizuno Pro 221 irons, plus a 225 2-iron, while Sabbatini had a full set of Mizuno Pro 223 irons.

Mitchell told GOLF.com on Tuesday that he switched into the new Mizuno Pro 221 irons because, “They launch a bit lower, I like the new shapes, and they’re soft … like scary soft.”

Sabbatini, on the new 223 irons, said, “If I can hit these, anybody can hit these.” That was Sabbatini’s way of saying that they’re quite forgiving on off-center hits.

The new “Mizuno Pro” nomenclature and script logo may be unfamiliar to some, but as Mizuno’s head of product Chris Voshall explains in the YouTube video embedded below, it’s actually a nod to the company’s history. The Mizuno Pro name was used on popular iron releases back in the 80s, such as the Mizuno Pro TN-87, and has been commonly used on Japan releases for years.

While traditionalists may be excited that Mizuno is returning to a historical name and logo, Voshall assures there’s modern technology under the hood.

“They might be a little disappointed if they’re going, ‘Oh, traditional logo, that means everything is going back to how it used to be,'” Voshall says. “That’s not at all what it is. When we use that Mizuno Pro logo, or even the MP logo, our goal is not to make the most traditional, boring club that could have been made 20 years ago, but it’s super clean looking. There’s a lot of technology that we pack into it.”

Rather than making traditional-looking-and-performing irons, Voshall says the goal was instead to “put out what the better player needs. And often times, it’s things that the better player is afraid to ask for.”

Voshall went onto explain why the company is launching the Mizuno Pro irons in February 2022, rather than in September or October of 2021 as originally planned.

“The honest answer is because it was the right thing to do,” he said. “We had planned to launch these in the Fall. That was the plan all along … with all the things going on on the supply chain side, getting product, just delivery times from the entire golf industry, it’d be a shame to order your brand new set of Mizuno Pro irons and all the sudden you order and you have to wait 6-12 weeks to get them. So we wanted to right some things internally to make sure that when we execute on a proper launch, that’s what we do. So we’ve pushed to a February launch so when it’s time to delivery them to you, we’re going to deliver them to you pretty quickly.”

In the video, Voshall also broke down the differences between the 221, 223 and 225 irons. Below, we feature our in-hand photos of the new Mizuno Pro irons as spotted in the bags of Mitchell and Sabbatini at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, with commentary from Voshall on what each iron is designed to do.

Mizuno Pro 221 irons

4-iron

Voshall says: “The 221 is the muscle-back. It is what you expect from a Mizuno muscle-back. It’s small, it’s sleek, it feels amazing. Copper underlay, a slight tapered blade with an ever-so-slightly adjusted center of gravity throughout the set. But it’s not designed really to flight the ball as much as it’s designed to be the most consistent set from pitching wedge all the way to 3-iron. So the 221 set is the most traditional blade going, and one of the things we emphasize is making those scoring irons even smaller, even more compact, really all the things a better player’s looking for.”

7-iron

8-iron

Pitching Wedge

Mizuno Pro 223 irons

Voshall says: “The 223 is a really interesting one in between [a 221 and a 225], because that’s the one that’s taking a big jump. The 223, you look at where that iron lived in the past couple generations, it was a shallow cavity, and then it was an MMC, and now it actually features a Chromoly forging with a microslot. But, it’s in a very compact head. It’s smaller than the MMC was beforehand. It’s almost like the performance of the JPX 921 Forged, really dialed down into the head size that even a better player has no idea how much pop they’re going to get out of it.”

Mizuno Pro 225 irons

Voshall says: “The 225 is the larger of the heads. It’s our hollow construction. It’s the next iteration of the HMB. It’s a Grainflow Forged Chromoly face and head with a welded back piece, with Tungsten that lives very deep in the head. But, unlike the HMB beforehand, [the design] started as a set of irons as opposed to starting with a Fli-Hi. So it became even more iron shaped, smaller scoring irons, more iron-like appearance from top to bottom. It’s a fantastic set of irons that’s going to deliver a lot of performance and a lot of ball speed.”

Want to overhaul your bag for 2021? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below!

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The post 2 things this PGA Tour player says he would tell his younger self appeared first on Golf.

The post 2 things this PGA Tour player says he would tell his younger self appeared first on Golf.

Keith Mitchell remembers those days well. It started on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, where he spent his first year after he turned professional. It wasn’t easy, but it made him grateful for everything he has now.

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“Sometimes it’s hard to imagine the steps I’ve taken and the road I’ve traveled, but I always remind myself of those days,” he said. “It makes me even more grateful for those times because 17 weeks in I think 14 countries, making the cut and not even being able to afford to pay for the whole week itself.”

And now he’s in the second stage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, after closing with three-straight birdies Sunday at the Northern Trust to finish T8 and qualify for the BMW Championship. On Tuesday, Mitchell reflected back on his earlier days. Here’s the advice he’d give the less-experienced non-Tour player version of himself…

1. Stay Patient

It’s interesting that he doesn’t say anything technical in response to this question. He doesn’t talk about his swing, he talks about two mental qualities. The first and most important of all: Patience. Understanding, Mitchell says, that holding your own with the world’s best takes time. You can’t force things — your job is to keep improving as you go — and that extends to your approach on the course, too.

“It’s a step-by-step process to get on the PGA Tour. It’s almost impossible for someone to come right out of college and make their way straight to the PGA Tour, so you kind of have to learn the ropes and go through some of the lower tours, and the only way to do that is to really keep your mind focused on doing the best you can in that specific moment,” he says. “The better you do in those moments, the easier the next becomes because they only get bigger and bigger.”

2. Stay Positive

But patience doesn’t come easy, either on the course and off it. The PGA Tour is filled with serial winners, and learning to go toe-to-toe with players just like you is a process, as Mitchell says. But that’s the thing about processes: They take time. There are highs and lows. And it’s during those low times when you need to work hard to stay positive, Mitchell says — something he didn’t do in his early years.

“I kind of look back and question myself how I actually did it,” he says. “Now I try to channel some of those inner motivational factors to keep me going out here, to stay positive and focus on the things I can control, especially when you get off to a bad start or a really long stretch.”

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The post Why this Tour pro would shorten the PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

The post Why this Tour pro would shorten the PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

In 2021, the PGA Tour is embarking upon its self-proclaimed “super season,” a 12-month marathon packed with the most events of any season ever. Of course, some of that is owed to the Covid-shortened 2020 season and the bevy of significant events (including a pair of majors) that were postponed to after the Tour Championship. But some of it is owed to the Tour, which has managed to create more alternate-field events and spread its growth further throughout the golf world with the help of its relentless schedule.

Sure, the season length is promising for competitive balance and for the financial health of the Tour, but what about for the players?

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Keith Mitchell explained to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz why if he could make one change to the PGA Tour, it’d be to shorten the season.

“I would just say to make the fall series shorter,” he said. “This year I had, what, four weeks off? You look at every other major sport, they have time off.”

Mitchell says he understands the financial ramifications make such a decision unlikely, but he wonders if, in the Tour’s case, less is more.

“We could lose sponsors, we could lose market share, but it’s a lot of golf,” Mitchell said. “It never ends. I think that’s why you see so many young guys coming up and their stamina’s better.”

But there’s a flip side to Mitchell’s argument, too — older players are routinely competitive at major PGA Tour events. If the season is too long, how are those 40-somethings able to survive? Mitchell argues that only underscores his point.

“The fact that you see guys like Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk and Brian Gay competing at 40-something years old against us and traveling that much and playing that much,” he said. “It’s insane. It’s amazing.”

To hear the rest of Mitchell’s Subpar interview, including his prank war with Phil Mickelson, check out the video below.

The post Why this Tour pro would shorten the PGA Tour season appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Keith Mitchell on why the fall series should be cut down appeared first on Golf.

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The post ‘He is losing his mind’: One pro explains how he won a prank war against Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘He is losing his mind’: One pro explains how he won a prank war against Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

But even with all this access, there are still stories of his legend that have yet to reach the public. This week on GOLF’s Subpar, PGA Tour golfer Keith Mitchell shared one of those tales with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

Mitchell got to know Mickelson playing in a practice round for the Masters during his first year on Tour. After this outing, Mitchell explained he felt comfortable enough to have a little fun at Mickelson’s expense.

Mitchell is known as a prankster on Tour, and when he found Mickelson asleep in front of his locker at the Wells Fargo Championship, he decided to have a little fun with him. So, he snapped a picture of the scene and posted it to Instagram.

“He’d just gotten social media — he felt like the king of social media,” Mitchell said. “I was like, ‘This is gold.'”

Mickelson was not happy with the prank.

“I promise you, he was so pissed,” Mitchell said.

Once Mickelson cooled down and laughed it off, Mitchell knew payback was coming. Few players on Tour can out-prank Mickelson. About a month later, Mitchell was walking into the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship when he was stopped by a police officer. The officer served him a paternity lawsuit.

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At first Mitchell was nervous. But once he understood this was Mickelson’s way of pranking him back, he started to have a little fun with the cop.

“I just signed in big letters, ‘Phil Mickelson,” Mitchell said.

When Mitchell walked into the locker room, Mickelson couldn’t believe his prank didn’t work, even suggesting that he’d been tipped off beforehand.

“He is losing his mind,” Mitchell said. “He tried to get me back, but he couldn’t get me.”

Check out the entire episode of Subpar below as Mitchell discusses his time on the Latin American Tour, his idea for shortening the PGA Tour fall series and more.

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The post GOLF’s Subpar: Keith Mitchell explains his ongoing prank war with Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

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The post Keith Mitchell Interview: Taking down Brooks and Rickie at The Honda Classic, prank wars with Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

The post Keith Mitchell Interview: Taking down Brooks and Rickie at The Honda Classic, prank wars with Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

The post Keith Mitchell Interview: Taking down Brooks and Rickie at The Honda Classic, prank wars with Phil Mickelson appeared first on Golf.

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The post Tour Stop: Rapid fire questions with Keith Mitchell appeared first on Golf.

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The post Tour Stop: Keith Mitchell on playing without fans appeared first on Golf.

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