Review: Mizuno MP-T10 Wedge

I ordered a set (52,56,60) of MP-T10  wedges in the raw black finish with matching KBS shafts to my set of MP-68s.  The first thing that I (and my playing partners) noticed was how stealthy these wedges looked.  There is some stamping on the muscle, but instead of bright colored paint-fill, most of the stamping was filled with black paint.  It gave these wedges a very clean look, yet Mizuno was able to get all the information on the wedge heads as they wanted.  I think this was a great move by a company known for its classic looks.  The teardrop head shape made for a nice compact traditional looking wedge.

As just about every golfer knows, Mizuno is famous for its super soft forging process.  These wedges lived up to that standard.  They are super soft, but what came as a pleasant surprise was how durable these seemed to be, almost more durable than my Mp-68 irons.  The raw black finish held up very well for the multiple rounds I got to use these for at the end of the 2009 season.   I had about as great of variety of conditions as possible.  I started playing them in extremely dry conditions.  Almost everything was hardpan, but then we got some late fall rains, which turned everything to soft spongy mud.  The finish held its own considering the conditions.  While it is designed to wear, it didn’t wear off or down as fast as I expected or even as fast as I have seen from other companies.

The 52* wedge has a very nice moderate C-grind on it and mid-bounce at 7*.  This became one of my favorite wedges in my bag.  Often labeled a gap wedge at that loft, it fit the bill for me.  It was a perfect transition from my MP-68 PW to the MP-T10 wedges.  I found a much greater use for this wedge because of the sole grind.  Typically the lower lofted wedges don’t have a very aggressive grind, but all the MP-T10 wedges have a variation of the C-grind. Mizuno calls it a 360 grind since they also grind a little off the top-line making it look thinner at address.  I hit more touch shots than normal with this club.  Low runners with some hold and control became a popular shot this fall.  The KBS shaft also aided in transition from irons to wedges.  I have often had iron shafted in one brand and wedges shafted in another.  It never seemed like a big deal, but after playing a continuous set, I liked the confidence and consistency it offered.The 56* wedge was mainly used out of the sand, but also found a home in my bag making full shots too.  Again the versatile sole C-grind with a high-bounce at 13* allowed me to really experiment with this club.  Obviously the most important use was getting out of the sand.  I felt very confident in my sand game with this wedge in play.  The only fear was the hidden stone or pebble in the bunker that would take a chunk of club with it.  I was happy that I never found any, or the ones I did find, didn’t harm my sand wedge.

The 60* wedge did everything else.  It has an aggressive C-grind with mid-bounce again at 8*.  I was able to open the face and hit great flop shots, or square it up and hit high full shots or even at times get creative with punches and chips around the green.  Since this wedge too had the KBS shaft in it, there was a real comfort level on full shots from top to bottom of my set.  The real question is how do “Quad-Cut” grooves compare to the other super aggressive grooves on the market?  I found them to be an ideal middle.  I called these wedges my Stealth Bombers because of their looks, but also their precise amount of spin.  I didn’t find these wedges to spin off the charts and suck everything back, but I also didn’t find them to be weak in the spin department and have issues with roll-out.  It was that hit and stop kind of spin.  They just hit like bombs, and stayed right there.  My Mizuno wedge play was aim at a target and go for it.  The Quad-Cut grooves inspired confidence.  They also allow for my Mizuno golf ball to remain in play for more than a few holes.  I had minimal shredding with these wedges.    

Mizuno is well known for their soft forged irons, but I think their forged wedges often get overlooked.  While these stealthy wedges might hide in a bag because of their good looks, don’t pass up these bombers best used for attacking the pin with precision.

For more information: www.mizunousa.com/golf