50 Words or Less
The Mizuno Pro S-1 irons look great and perform just as you would expect a traditional forged blade to perform. Feel is mediocre, especially from a company with Mizuno’s reputation.
Introduction
As they move toward a new naming convention in their Pro series, Mizuno has also added a level of unpredictability to their release schedule. Rather than giving golfers a full line of new Pro irons, they’ve been released sporadically. This fall, we got the Mizuno Pro S-1 irons, a replacement for the Pro 241 irons [review HERE]. The most traditional iron in their line up, I tested a set to find out if the Pro S-1 brings anything new to this time-tested style.
Looks
The Mizuno Pro S-1 irons are inarguably one of the cleanest looking blades on the market. At address, the top line is razor thin, and the blade is very compact from heel to toe. There’s also virtually no offset – less than 0.1 in the 4I. The Pro S-1 is also proportionally much smaller than the closest Mizuno iron, the Pro S-3 [review HERE]: the blade length is roughly 2mm shorter, the sole is over 1mm narrower, and there’s over 20% less offset.
In the bag, the “nickel chrome soft white satin finish” looks great and also reduces glare. The Channel Back Design divides the club in half with a small “Mizuno Pro” at the top and the running bird logo on the low toe. This is a club that looks like it would be at home in any era.
Performance
Yes, the sections are out of order, but there’s a reason for it. Stick with me.
The Mizuno Pro S-1 irons is a classic blade iron. Period, full stop, end of. Mizuno touts the “Channel Back Design” as allowing for a more consistent CG location, but we’ve seen this idea before. The channel is much smaller, but the first iron I thought of when I saw the Pro S-1 was Tiger’s TaylorMade P7TW [review HERE].
Ultimately, what the Mizuno Pro S-1 irons are offering you is control. You will have full responsibility for your shots. This means that mishits are penalized harshly, but it also means you get full credit for the best shots. You will never get a result that you didn’t earn or plan for.
These irons have some of the most traditional – read: weakest – lofts that you’ll find. Despite that, the ball speed on center is excellent. It does drop off steeply when you miss the sweet spot, but you’ll get ample distance on pure strikes. The traditional lofts also produce higher spin and launch, though this is balanced by the higher CG compared to larger irons.
For me, the compact dimensions of this club make it ideal for crafting all types of shots. When a club feels bulky, I don’t want to try to hit an artful low cut. However, the Pro S-1 feels agile in the swing, like a freshly sharpened pencil ready to make the precise marks I want. The trade off is that I also need to be precise, because my best laid plans can be turned into a heap of embarrassment if I make a B- swing.
Sound & Feel
On the performance front, the Mizuno Pro S-1 irons offer nothing new (in fairness, few blades do). This makes Sound & Feel the defining category, hence the unusual ordering.
Reading through Mizuno’s talking points on these irons is like walking through a swamp of often contradictory buzzwords. Here’s a sample: “firmer, tour-preferred sensation,” “unmistakably soft and responsive feel,” “subtly refining vibration patterns,” and “purity of feel.” The first two are what really left me scratching my head: should I be expecting buttery softness or a firm hand?
In my opinion, the answer is neither. I think the feel of the Mizuno Pro S-1 irons is mid. It’s certainly not bad, but there’s nothing here that makes me want to play them or recommend them to you. I’m sure this will trigger all the Mizuno fanboys, but it’s the truth. These irons feel medium soft and are just a bit quieter than average. The sound is nondescript, neither “thud” nor “click”. There is excellent feedback, but the reward for that elusive perfect strike is minimal.
Conclusion
The Mizuno Pro S-1 irons are beautiful clubs. They perform like you would expect a compact blade to perform. However, the feel is a giant miss for me, which eliminates much of the joy of playing blades.
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He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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12 Comments
Any suggestions for great feeling blades, maybe your top 3 to test?
Anthony,
Off the top of my head:
Miura KM-700: https://pluggedingolf.com/miura-km-700-irons-review/
Wilson Staff Model: https://pluggedingolf.com/2024-wilson-staff-model-blades-irons-review/
PING Blueprint T: https://pluggedingolf.com/ping-blueprint-t-irons-review/
I’d add that you don’t need to go to a blade to get great feel, there are loads of great-feeling cavity backs.
-Matt
Accurate review here and again thank you for your work. I too recently tested these, had the exact same takeaway. They are beautiful blades. Small, precise tools if you’re one to play them. On pure strikes felt nice but honestly I felt the S3’s to feel better. Thats another story in itself. I dont want to get too much into the weeds here, you pretty much touched on it. Couple of things however, I do wish that Mizuno launched they’re entire re launch of these irons together. I guess “the rest” of them will launch in January. I could not imagine purchasing any right now until all are on the table for me personally. Finally, it seems like Mizuno is almost over engineering everything they are doing. They have a lot of irons on market right now my head hurts. I am looking forward to just laying everything out once all their new lineups are available to test in January.
I appreciate the honesty. Surprised Mizuno released these with less than stellar feel because that magical feel is the upside for accepting the huge downside in forgiveness with this type of iron. If it doesn’t feel better than the 243 or S-3 it probably doesn’t need to exist.
Hi Matt good feeling cavity back irons ? Link to your top 5 please . Right now I play C510 Pursuit looking upgrade over the winter.
Carrera,
Not a comprehensive list, but off the top of my head:
Titleist T100 (or T150): https://pluggedingolf.com/2025-titleist-t100-irons-review/
Srixon 7 (I prefer the original ZX7, but all are good): https://pluggedingolf.com/srixon-zxi7-irons-review/
PXG 0317 T (not a cavity back, but they feel great and perform): https://pluggedingolf.com/pxg-0317-t-irons-review/
-Matt
Hi Matt I am 61 yrs of age and start playing golf for the last 3+ years. And my current hcp is 6. I want to switch my irons to semi blade if not blade. I live in India. Any good brands if you can suggest please.
Kailash,
Every major OEM makes quality products, it’s just a matter of being fit into something that works for your swing and appeals to you. For players irons, I think PING and PXG do a great job. If you want something more traditional, there’s the Callaway X Forged or the TaylorMade P770. Tons of great options.
Best,
Matt
I played the Wilson Goose Necks for a short time in the 90’s. They also were a channel back design and they never felt really good to me. Perhaps the channel is the culprit.
Matt, where would you rate the 2021 Apex MB on this scale you are using?
Fred,
What scale are you referring to?
Best,
Matt
Terrific review as usual, Matt.
I’ve played 221s in 5-pw for almost 3 years and just tried out the S1 and S3.
Now granted i was hitting balls that looked like they came from a $5 range bucket, i was genuinely unimpressed by the S1’s sound and feel.
The S3 felt much more similar to my 221s.
Such an extremely interesting discovery.
I’ve always loved how the 221s still maintain that soft feel regardless of what ball i play (Zstar Diamond, ProV1x and Chrome Tour X) but i simply don’t think the S1s will give that feedback.
I suppose my reply is more of a “I 2nd That” and i have to agree with you.
Keep up the good work!”