Golfstead is reader-supported. When you buy through links on the site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Our affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates.
Today I’ll be doing a full review of the Mizuno JPX919 Hot Metal irons.
Labelled “packed with your potential” and featuring a Chromoly 4140M construction, the JPX919 Hot Metal irons are designed to provide an optimal balance of high ball speed and soft landings into greens.
It’s also apparently more affordable than many other iron offerings out there that are priced well into the 4 figures.
How does the JPX919 Hot Metal iron perform at the end of the day? What kind of golfer is it best suited for? Is it worth putting these in your bag?
Here’s what I’m going to be covering in this review:
- Ratings
- Features & Technologies
- Performance
- Look, Sound & Feel
- Where To Buy These Irons Online
- Conclusion
Read on to find out what you need to know to make an informed decision.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
What are the reviews like?
The JPX919 Hot Metal irons have had a terrific reception from both consumers and critics.
They have average customer ratings of 5/5 on Global Golf, 5/5 (100% recommended, wow!) on the Mizuno website, and 5/5 ratings from most critics.
What People Like
- many have realized great distance gains of 10-15 yards or more, without sacrificing height and soft landings into the greens
- a very clean, professional look
- excellent turf interaction
- balanced, quality feel that promotes fast clubhead speed
What People Don’t Like
- some consider the badge design to be bland
What are the features?
High-strength Chromoly 4140M material and seamless cup face construction combine to produce the highest ball speeds of any Mizuno iron up until this point.
Each iron in the set produces the optimum flight apex for maximum control into the greens — arguably the most important goal of an iron.
Chromoly 4140M
This is a very resilient material that a high malleability and strength-to-weight ratio.
It enables a multi-thickness face that is designed to produce super high ball speeds and distance. The hosel can be bent to this face for a custom fit.
Beveled Trailing Edge
The trailing edge has a high-relief design for reduced turf drag.
Stability Frame
Stability and launch are enhanced with an open heel portion, which also produces a tour-caliber vibration and sound.
Wedge Milled Grooves
The sand, lob and gap wedges have tour-precision milled grooves and use a softer material to promote improved control and spin around the greens.
The JPX919 Hot Metal irons have many other features, some of which have been improved upon with each previous version. These include:
- a seamless construction (for more distinct feedback)
- re-engineered sound ribs for enhanced feel through impact
- progressive scoring irons
- harmonic head geometry that enhances feel and feedback
A full description of the features and technologies of the JPX919 Hot Metal irons can be found on this page.
Stock Info
There are many set configurations to choose from: full, split or short. The 4-iron through the lob wedge are all available. A common choice is the 5-SW set.
The stock shaft options are the Nippon Modus 105 (R/S) in steel and the Project X LZ in graphite.
If you’re interested, full information on shafts, grips, their specs, and the Mizuno Custom Program can be found on the Mizuno website.
Below are the specs of the JPX919 Hot Metal irons (click to enlarge). Notice that the lofts are on the stronger side.
How do these irons perform?
Distance
The JPX919 Hot Metal is a distance iron, full stop.
Combined with the fairly strong lofts and face technologies that are designed for high ball speeds, you’re going to get a lot of yards out of these irons.
Many people who have played the JPX919 Hot Metal irons report distance gains of 10-15 yards or more over their previous gamers. For me, these are some of the longest irons I’ve ever tested.
Of course, good irons shouldn’t be all about distance. Mizuno has put a lot of effort into getting the launch angles up so you can have controllability into greens, and I’d say they have done a great job in this respect.
Forgiveness
Mizuno doesn’t stress forgiveness in the marketing of the JPX919 Hot Metal irons. But it turns out that it’s very good.
There are a number of factors contributing to this. For example, despite the thinner sole, the heel area of the cavity is now more open, allowing weight to be redistributed to increase MOI.
In the end, ball speeds are preserved very nicely across the face. If you play smart, mis-hits should still have a great chance of hitting the green.
Trajectory/Playability
Despite the fairly strong lofts, the JPX919 Hot Metal irons tend to produce a mid-high ball flight that doesn’t come hot into the greens (the bane of an iron player’s existence).
During my testing, I found it easy enough to get the long irons up in the air, and the short irons were very controllable and produced good spin.
In spite of the amazing distance and good forgiveness, you can still work the ball with the JPX919 Hot Metal irons. Put a good strike on it, and the ball will do what you want it to do.
What about look, sound & feel?
The Look
These irons look terrific. Let’s start with the look at address.
The top line has a reasonable thickness for a game-improvement iron (a touch thicker than the JPX919 Forged), the offset is about average, and the sole is a little thinner than you might expect. There is plenty of face behind the ball too.
Many have described the look of the JPX919 Hot Metal irons as timeless and classic, and I definitely share that view.
The head is all silver with a quality chrome finish. The badge doesn’t feature any coloured accents, which is unusual for an iron but speaks to a traditionalist look that many will love.
The Sound & Feel
Feel can only be so good in a cavity-back iron. All things considered, the JPX919 Hot Metal irons have a decent feel at impact that I would rate as “average”.
Sweet spot strikes do have a clicky sound and feel at impact, reminiscent of many TaylorMade iron models I’ve hit in the past. I’ve never been a fan of this, but there are elements of crispness and explosiveness there as well.
As a GI iron, what’s somewhat unusual about the JPX919 Hot Metal is that the mis-hits sound louder and feel distinctly worse than center strikes.
The downside of this is that your mis-hits won’t be so pleasant. The upside is that you’ll have good feedback as to where you made contact with the face.
Where should you buy these irons online?
At the time of writing, you can grab a set of JPX919 Hot Metal irons on the official Mizuno website here.
You can choose your hand, shaft, and set makeup; I suggest contacting Mizuno to see if there’s anything else you can customize.
Aside from that, two of the best places to get the irons at low prices are Global Golf (check the coupon codes and other promotions) and eBay.
eBay is a fantastic source for new and used sets, and you’re pretty much always going to find listings there.
Conclusion
The Mizuno JPX919 Hot Metal irons are primarily distance irons, with a nice side of forgiveness and a traditional look.
They deliver some of the best distance on the market, but at the same time, the shots come into the greens with a good amount of control.
They are game-improvement irons, and as such, they’re ideal for mid to high handicappers. They’re also more affordable than many comparable iron offerings in 2019. Definitely give them a try.
Have you tried the JPX919 Hot Metal irons? What do you think about them? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
