Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 Irons

The new Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 irons are a “revolutionary leap in golf club design.”

At least that’s what Mizuno says. Usually when an OEM says something like that, our BS deflector shields get turned to “MAX” and villagers break out the torches and pitchforks.

And, yet, it continues.

The new Mizuno Pro irons are a “testament to Mizuno’s commitment to precision, craftsmanship and forging excellence.”  They’re the result of a “longstanding connection between Mizuno’s club engineers and the legendary Grain Flow Forging plant in Hiroshima, Japan.”

That relationship, says Mizuno, “enables the creation of increasingly intricate designs flawlessly incorporated into the finished equipment.

“Every fraction of a millimeter and subtle curve has been meticulously considered, shaping the future of golf club technology.”

I can’t think of any other OEM that could serve up a word salad like that and be taken seriously. But, somehow, Mizuno pulls it off.

That, dear reader, is the power of branding.

We don’t yet know if the performance of the Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 irons is enough to back up those fancy words. But if past performance is any indication, I wouldn’t bet against them.

Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 Irons: Not Old-Fashioned

Since the line’s debut in 2022, Mizuno has chosen its Mizuno Pro phraseology very carefully. Words such as “classic,” “old-fashioned,” and “artistry” are used sparingly, if at all. Instead, you’ll hear words like “precision,” “complex designs” and “distance technology.”

Yes, we said “distance technology.”

“Everything about the new Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245 irons is pushed to the extreme, from technology to more streamlined playing profiles,” says Mizuno Product Director Chris Voshall. “Each model has become better at its specific job.”

The obvious question just lying there: Just how technologically extreme can a series of forged irons really be?

Very … according to Mizuno.

“We’ve broken a lot of the boundaries that held back the ball speed of a forging,” Voshall tells MyGolfSpy. “We’ve worked through it with materials and with processes to overcome a lot of the forging limitations.”

While what qualifies as “forged” is getting fuzzy, a fully forged iron tends to be on the slow side in terms of ball speed. It’s why OEMs forge bodies and use a faster material for the face. COR (Coefficient of Restitution – basically the “springiness” of the face) and ball speed go up compared to a single or multi-piece fully forged iron. Mizuno, however, thinks it has cracked that code.

“Every one of these irons is Grain Flow Forged, at least in the face and neck, if not more than that,” says Voshall. “We’re forging COR into the golf club as opposed to forging a part of a high-COR golf club.”

So while nothing feels like a Mizuno (says Mizuno), you’ll also be hearing Mizuno talk more about COR, distance and forging technology going forward.

Mizuno Pro 241: Let’s Get Small

“This is the smallest blade we’ve ever done,” says Voshall of the Mizuno Pro 241 muscle-back. “We always want to get smaller and more compact. That’s when Mizuno is firing on all cylinders.”

The last several MP and Mizuno Pro launches have been smaller and more compact than the one before it and each came with a thinner topline. With the 241, Mizuno keeps whittling away.

With blades, there’s only so much mass to deal with. When you shrink the clubhead, even just a little, you get more mass to play with. With the Mizuno Pro 241, there’s noticeably more mass right behind the hitting area. It actually pulls off a neat trick: in reality, that extra mass makes the iron a smidge thicker but the new, thinner topline makes it look thinner at address.

While the entire Mizuno Pro line can stand alone, Mizuno is making adjustments to accommodate combo sets. Specifically, the entire line, including the blades, is getting more sole bounce. This makes it easier to bend lofts for smoother transitions.

“When you combo the 241 irons with the 243 and 245 irons, you tend to bend the scoring irons stronger,” says Voshall. “And when you bend stronger, you lose bounce. So you have to start out with a little more bounce to begin with.”

Lofts are what we’d today call traditional-kinda, with the 7-iron clocking in at 34 degrees.

The Sound and The Fury

As we know, sound and feel have a co-dependent relationship. What you feel when you hit a club is directly linked to what you hear.

The Mizuno Pro 241 blade, as well as the 243 and 245, features what Mizuno calls Harmonic Impact Technology. Mizuno figured out that sound pressures at around 8,000 Hz determine whether a club sounds soft or hot. If you have a high peak at 8,000, a club will sound clicky and harsh.

By softening those peaks at around 8,000 Hz, Mizuno says it’s muted the sound of the entire line, making them softer and more muted than the previous models.  

Mizuno Pro 243: Significant Shrinkage

Of all three Mizuno Pro irons sets, the 243 has changed the most from the previous iteration. It’s fair to call it an aggressive overhaul.

“These are significantly smaller across the board,” says Voshall. “Very much smaller in head length, very much shorter from heel to toe. Significantly smaller and significantly thinner while at the same time improving ball speed.

“We got smaller and hotter.”

Like the 223 before it, the Mizuno 243 aims for ball-speed technology in the long and mid irons and more precision in the scoring clubs. The 4- through 7-irons are made from Mizuno’s Grain Flow Forged Chromoly material and feature a micro-slot in the cavity.

Mizuno is touting breakthroughs in its forging capabilities and one place it’s evident is in the 243’s face thickness. Mizuno has been able to thin the faces even more which, when combined with micro-slots, equals more face flex and more ball speed. The resulting increase in COR across a larger portion of the face should, in theory, make the 243 a skosh more forgiving, as well.

The 8-iron through gap wedge are 1025E Grain Flow Forged. Mizuno admits the transition from 7- to 8-iron in the 223 line was a bit hinky, primarily due to a sole-width jump.

“We addressed that and made a much more consistent sole width,” says Voshall. “And we put a grind across the sole as well, which helps with consistency.”

Overall specs flirt with the edges of the player’s distance category. The 7-iron is 34 degrees which would be considered weak for a player’s distance club.

Mizuno Pro 245: Little Deuce Coupe

Sensing a theme here? Compared to the previous model, the new Mizuno Pro 245 is – deep breath – smaller heel-to-toe with a more compact look and a thinner top line.  Seriously, if the top lines get any thinner, you’ll be able to shave with them.

Despite getting smaller, the 245 has some seriously big shoes to fill.

“The 225 crushed it for us,” says Voshall. “The 22 series has a four- to five-percent market share and the 225 is the one that continues to out-sell everything.”

How good was the Mizuno Pro 225? When it copped MyGolfSpy’s Best Players’ Distance Iron in 2022, it scored 97.53 out of 100. So Mizuno’s marching orders for the 245 are simple: Don’t f**k it up.

The basic construction hasn’t changed much. The hollow-bodied 2- through 8-irons feature a Grain Flow Forged Chromoly face and neck with a 431 stainless steel back piece. The 9-iron through gap wedge are what you’d call semi-hollow. The face and body are 1025E Grain Flow Forged with a 17-4 stainless steel back piece.

“We’re forged where you want the forging,” says Voshall. “A lot of forgings out there don’t put the forging in the area where you actually hit the ball.”

Mizuno has been able to make the 245’s multi-thickness face thinner in key areas, particularly low on the face. That, combined with 47 grams worth of tungsten sandwiched in the 2- through 8-irons, should equal ball-speed increases.

Mizuno FLI-HI

“This is a club that’s been really good for us,” says Voshall of the Mizuno FLI-HI utility irons. “We’ve sold way more than we ever anticipated.”

At the risk is sounding redundant, Mizuno’s updated FLI-HI irons feature – together now – a more compact head shape, a thinner topline and a thinner overall look.

The new FLI-HI utilities are actually getting a full-scale materials overhaul. The previous iteration featured a stainless-steel body and a single-thickness maraging steel face. The new model is using two versions of Mizuno’s unique Nickel Chromoly material, the same material used in its Hot Metal clubs.

“The body is not heat-treated but the face is,” says Voshall. “The heat treatment allows for a little more strength. Not heat-treating the body allows for a little more malleability.”

The new multi-thickness face is not only thinner but it’s also L-shaped. The face cups over the leading edge and is welded on the sole. That allows for more face flexibility, particularly on low-face impact.

You’ll also notice the FLI-HI will sound and feel a little firmer than the Mizuno Pro line. That’s intentional.

“This is a true driving iron so we went for higher sound pressure at 8,000 Hz,” says Voshall. “It wasn’t designed for that crazy, muted feel the Mizuno Pros have. It sounds hotter but by no means does it sound clacky.”

The new FLI-Hi utilities will still have Mizuno’s Black Ion finish.

Mizuno Pro 241, 243 and 245: Price and Availability

Mizuno may be announcing the new Mizuno Pro lineup today but you won’t be able to buy them until January. Why? This is ZOZO Championship week in Japan and Mizuno has decided to launch the new lineup in Asia now but hold back North America until January. That’s the way the Grain Flow Forged cookie crumbles, I guess.

The Mizuno Pro 241 will be available in 3-iron through pitching wedge in right-handed and – southpaws rejoice – 4-PW for lefties. “We haven’t had a left-handed blade in a very long time,” says Voshall. The KBS Tour in stiff is the stock shaft and the Golf Pride MCC in black and gray is the stock grip.

The Mizuno Pro 243 will be available in right-handed only. Stock shafts are the Nippon Modus 120 in stiff and the Modus 105 in regular. The MCC is the stock grip.

For the Mizuno Pro 245, the Dynamic Gold Mid 115 and 105 are the stock stiff and regular shafts. Again, the MCC will be the stock grip. The 2- and 3-irons will be available in RH models only. The rest of the set will be available for both sides of the plate.

The Mizuno Pro line will retail for $200 per club. As always, Mizuno offers a wide array of no-upcharge shafts and grips.

The new Mizuno FLI-HI utility irons will be available in 16.5-, 19- and 21.5-degree models. The SteelFiber HLS 880 F4 and F5 are the stock shafts, The MCC is the stock grip. All three will be available for lefties and righties at $250 per club.

In North America, presale will start Jan. 8 and the lineup will hit retail Jan. 25.

For more information, visit the Mizuno website.  

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