Mizuno JPX900 woods unveiled

The Mizuno JPX900 woods promise more distance and a more finely-tuned ball flight thanks to a faster clubface and extra sole adjustability

Mizuno may be thought of predominantly as an iron company, but it hopes its new JPX900 wood line up will change your thinking.

They are said to deliver the fastest ever ball speeds from a Mizuno wood via a series of design features and comprehensive adjustability that optimises launch angle and spin, helping convert swing speed into added yards for every golfer.

Challenged by its tour staff to create a driver that performed like the JPX850 on centre strikes, without the drop off in ball speeds on miss-hits, Mizuno created the JPX900.

It boasts a newly configured, multi-thickness face, strengthened in key areas to significantly boost ball speeds. The adjustability has been taken up a notch courtesy of two 8g weights that can be placed in a choice of three Fast Tracks in the sole to alter launch and spin. The Quick Switch hosel changes the loft or shaft in an instant, while a face angle prop in the sole allows the clubface to independently sit open, closed or square depending on your preference.

Mizuno’s tour pros also asked for a driver that looked easier to hit, so the JPX900 has a longer, wider and shallower profile than its previous tour models, while internal tuning forks ensure the sound remains pure regardless of the weight positions, a common inconsistency in most weight-movable drivers.

“It’s a very different approach to a tour type driver,” R&D’s Chris Voshall. “So many of the changes were based on creating more even ball speeds across the face, that the JPX900 became a driver that will work for a really wide range of players. Add to that the levels of adjustability and you’ve a driver that can pinch out a few more yards for almost anyone.”

The JPX900 fairway wood promises “ball speed for everyone, spin if you need it”. The expanding Shockwave Sole on the new JPX900 fairway wood generates prodigious ball speeds that really close the gap on your driver, while the sliding weight system in the sole ensures maximum playability for a wide range of swing types.

Ball speed comes via the contraction and expansion of the Shockwave Sole, which creates exceptional levels of energy for a compact head; spin and launch can be tailored to individual needs via a movable 15g weight in the sole and the Quick Switch system that allows loft to be adjusted to a range of four degrees.

The JPX900 is Mizuno’s first adjustable hybrid and has been built like a wood to play like an iron, sharing much of the same technology as the fairway wood: the energy-creating Shockwave Sole that also places extra mass low in the club for added playability from the turf, and the Quick Switch system that allows loft adjustments to a range of 4 degrees.

Designed to play more like a long iron, the JPX900 hybrid’s face sits more like an iron than in Mizuno’s previous hybrids, while the club is set up a little shorter and flatter than previously to work especially well for players who normally hook their hybrids.

The JPX900 line of woods is available from February, 2017. The driver will have an RRP of £399 and will come in adjustable lofts 7.5-12.5° with a Fujikura Speeder Evolution II shaft. The fairway wood will have an RRP of £279 and will come in lofts 15°, 18° and 21° while the hybrid will have an RRP of £219 in lofts 16°, 19°, 22° and 25°.