Mizuno JPX 900 Driver Review

Mizuno JPX 900 Driver Review

Mizuno JPX 900 Driver
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Lots of pop, seemingly infinitely adjustable

With the new JPX 900 Driver, Mizuno has created perhaps the most adjustable driver yet on the market. Sliding weights, a “Visual Face Angle Adjustor” and an adjustable hosel offer enough options to satisfy even the most ardent tinkerer.

The Mizuno JPX 900 also has lots of pop. I had a bad experience with a Mizuno driver a few years back that was so “dead” I did not bother to review it. The new Mizuno JPX 900 Driver is very different. I hit some of the most satisfying drives of the season with this driver once I had it adjusted. The JPX 900 is long and powerful feeling.

Once it is properly adjusted.

Adjustment. That’s the key with the JPX 900 Driver.

The heart of the Mizuno JPX 900 adjustment system lies with a pair of eight-gram weights (in blue in the photo above) that can be distributed among three different “tracks” on the driver’s sole. Placing one (or both!) of the weights in the center track lets players precisely adjust spin and vertical launch settings. While many drivers have adjustable spin and launch tracks, what distinguishes the Mizuno JPX 900 is that there are no stops on the track. A weight can be moved a millimeter, the entire length of the track or removed entirely. (There are, however, suggested setting points).

Two other tracks on the sole are located on the heel and toe. These, however, have just one setting.

In addition, there is a weight plate on a sliding track that serves as a “Visual Face Angle Adjustor.” This lets a player tune the face angle orientation.

Finally, the driver has a hosel adjustment that changes from +/- 2 degrees of loft. The same sleeve also allows the lie angle to be adjusted by 1.5 degrees.

Once dialed in for my swing, the Mizuno JPX 900 produced powerful (for me) drives, with an excellent shot shape. On the narrow, tree-lined fairways of my home course, I managed to play a round without missing a single fairway with the JPX 900. Even better: I was hitting short and mid irons into every par four.

That was an excellent day.

I get a lot more roll in the Mizuno than on the Cobra Fly Z which has served me so ably these past two seasons. That tells me that the Mizuno JPX 950 is reducing the backspin that usually makes my balls fly very high and then stop short on the fairway. A more low and forward center of gravity, however, may make it more difficult for some to get the ball airborne. In that case, the solution is to move the center weight incrementally back until the desirable results are forthcoming.

Mizuno apparently has recognized the shortcomings of some of its previous drivers, and redesigned the face of the JPX 900 Driver for 2016. The new “CORTECH” face is five grams lighter than the previous model and designed to offer more forgiveness and speed on off-center hits. I liked the results and feel quite a bit.

Sound apparently also was an issue with previous Mizuno Driver models. Being deaf, I wouldn’t know about that. But company literature suggests that Mizuno has worked to create better sound and feel on the JPX 900.

From address, the JPX 900 is very appealing. With the Visual Face Angle Adjustor, a player can tune the look to make it more visually appealing. Adjustment of the lie angle with the hosel sleeve also helps. The shape is pleasing and quite traditional, which I like. The blue is a great color.

One issue I had is that the tops of my tees sometimes get stuck in the center track on the sole. The good news is that means I am hitting the ball in the center of the JPX 900 driver face. The bad news is that I sometimes have to loosen the weight to pull it out. I don’t play competitive golf, but if I did, I wonder if sliding the weight around to remove the tee would violate the rule against adjusting the club in the middle of a round.

Overall, the Mizuno JPX 900 is a terrific driver. It stays in my bag because I am getting better ball flight and more roll — and thus more distance — than my other current choices.