Golf News – October 28, 2013

Himeji, Japan – Miura Golf, the Japanese maker of the world’s finest forged golf clubs, has introduced its first new blade iron in six years. The MB001 muscleback will join the Tournament Blade and the Series 1957 Small Blade in the Miura catalog of top-quality forged blade irons.

The MB001 features sole refinements that help it travel effortlessly through turf. A cleanlyshaped top line helps form the look better players prefer, as do both a graceful flow through the transition area from hosel to clubface and an overall compactness. The irons’ more upright appearance at address helps players feel secure standing over the ball, allowing them to swing away with confidence. And clear, striking graphics provide the elite finish that golfers have come to expect from Miura.

“We don’t automatically bring out a new blade every year, so this is a big event,” says Adam Barr, president of Miura . “The only calendar we operate on is the one in the minds of the Miuras. When they say a club is ready, we go. The MB001 contains the benefits of all the lessons we have learned in watching irons perform, since the Tournament Blade came out in 2007 and the Small Blade arrived in 2006. Players will notice the quality right away.”

The MB001 design is the result of years of study and careful consideration of iron performance by the Miura family. The project was led by Yoshitaka Miura, eldest son of founder Katsuhiro Miura and a club-grinding expert who learned under his father. He heeded the advice of his brother Shinei, who supervises forging operations at the company’s factory in Himeji, Japan, as well as his father.

The iron is crafted with intelligent shaping. The sole’s shape and size — subtly adjusted from successful designs of earlier models — gets through the turf more efficiently and gives the player a better chance of keeping the clubface square at impact. In a properly fitted MB001, the sole delivers a consistently sized, crisp divot that is evidence of a solid, efficient strike.

Its top line is narrow, and visually reveals the strength and substance of the clubface at address. It presents a simple, clean look that reduces distraction and promotes confidence.

The flow of steel from the hosel to the low-offset clubhead is smooth, elegant and non-reflective. Yoshitaka-san took a lot of time to get this right, and also focused carefully on the relationship of the toe and heel so that they look harmonious as a whole. The MB001 clubhead is nearly the same length heel-to-toe as the Tournament Blade, and like that club, offers plenty of “face space” without looking overly long.

At address, the MB001 gives a more upright aspect to the golfer. Without feeling cramped, the player feels closer to the ball, able to see all of it without needing to adjust away from a comfortable head position. This better view of the ball lends pre-stroke confidence.

And in the classic Miura way, the back of the clubhead is uncrowded, simple and designed for striking beauty. Less means a great deal more.