Mizuno is releasing a new family of irons for 2024, the Pro series. This family features, the bladed Pro 241, the hollow-bodied Pro 245 and the subject of this review - the forged cavity backed Pro 243. Given Mizuno’s history and heritage in iron forging, I fully expect the Pro 243 model to sit alongside the best golf irons of 2024.
In terms of the technology, the Mizuno Pro 243 is what the Japanese brand is calling its ‘Tour Speed’ model and it will be directly replacing the Mizuno Pro 223. Mizuno says that the 243 is the most progressed iron from its predecessor out of the three new models, due to clever design work of the Mizuno R&D team.
“This is the model that’s advanced the most, mainly due to evolution on the manufacturing side,” says David Llewellyn, Director of Mizuno R&D. “It’s one thing for the R&D team to design a thinner face iron with stronger materials in the CAD world – but something else to have it Grain Flow Forged to those specifications and strength requirements.”
Mizuno has introduced a ‘Microslot’ on the longer irons, down to the 7 iron, in order to create a higher energy face designed to summon more launch and faster ball speeds. Mizuno has also added a wrap around sole design to improve the turf interaction throughout the set. An increased level of bounce has been introduced to once again help the club through the turf, and this is tapered throughout the set from one degree extra in the longer irons to a full two degrees more bounce in the short irons.
Visually, these irons look fantastic in the bag. The hand finished forgings just ooze craftsmanship and the minimal use of color just adds to the appeal. There are nods to the tech with the little bar in the cavity, but aside from that, they are as clean as it gets.
I tested the Mizuno Pro 243 irons at Saunton Golf Club and collated data with a Trackman 4 launch monitor and TaylorMade TP5 x golf balls.
From a raw data point of view, the thinner face did produce a small bump in ball speed compared to the blade of the range, the Pro 241, which you would expect given the 7-iron loft comes in two degrees stronger at 32°, but it wasn't dramatic, which certainly opens the door for combo set opportunities. Furthermore, my spin dropped a little with the 243 iron which was noticeable in the flight being a touch more penetrating than the 241.
The rest of the data was very much where I would expect and hope it to be and the Pro 243 produced these results very consistently. I would add that I noticed a touch more forgiveness to the 243 over the 241 in terms of off-center strikes. Whilst the 241 surprised me in that regard too, the 243 just retained a slightly better feel and ball speed, particularly on toe strikes.
The data is only a small part of the story here, the main event is undoubtedly the feel and sound. Due to the V shaped back, sound frequency levels can be really fine tuned, and with sound so closely linked to feel, this fine tuning really enhances both. Whatever frequency Mizuno has found here, they need to keep it! The audio is perfect, and the feel is a fabulous combination of soft and smooth, yet somehow also lively all at once.
Mizuno has subtly added some useful technology to a very classic looking head and the results are excellent. The looks of the Pro 243 are outstanding, only surpassed by the feel. I really enjoyed my sessions with these irons and can see them being a real success story in 2024.
