Mizuno T24 Wedges - Review

Beginning a conversation with “what do you think about Mizuno wedges?” is one of the most effective methods there is to identify a true golf nerd.

If there’s even the slightest hesitation in responding it’s a safe bet to assume that person is not on the golf nerd spectrum, after which you can safely redirect the conversation back to firmer ground with a casual “how ‘bout that Paradym?”

And if there’s a pause after that second query, you’re either talking to a member of the Hickory Golfers Society (the Plus Fours should give it away) or you’ll need to call an ambulance because said person is possibly having a stroke.

However, if they go weak-kneed at the very mention of Mizuno and gush about the merits of Boron-infused steel and grain flow forging, then expect the golfing geek-o-meter to red-line.

Despite Mizuno’s best efforts to join the mainstream big five, playing a tour-grade Mizuno wedge is still a subtle IYKYK (if you know, you know) mostly aimed in the direction of fellow Mizuno devotees.

There’s always been a core group of Mizuno insiders but will the new Mizuno TR4 wedge crack a wider audience?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Mizuno has a reputation for making overly excitable golf nerds swoon on looks alone, particularly their irons made for better players.

Happily, it seems Mizuno have decided stick with what they do best because the T24 wedge looks like it’s been lifted from one of Mizuno’s masterfully designed MB blades.

You can’t fault the rationale either, because the T24 looks cleaner and more compact than the T22 model it’s replacing.

As expected from a tour-calibre wedge, there’s a classic tear drop shape and short blade length (slightly shorter than the T22).

And there’s an impressive sleight-of-hand trick occurring at the top of the T24: Mizuno have shifted mass to the top of the blade to improve control and trajectory, but the top line still appears thin thanks to a cleverly bevelled edge that hides the extra beef from the eye.

The T24 looks quite petite, particularly where the hosel flows into the club head, and a minimalist finish only intensifies the look: the loft and grind badges that were stuck on the rear of the head in bygone Mizuno wedges are replaced by a simple stamping infill near the T24’s toe.

THE T24 GROOVE AND GRIND STORY

Every time a new wedge is released, there’s a flurry of hype about how sharp the grooves are and how great the spin is.

Mizuno’s groove story for the T24 seemed similarly hyped but there was slightly more substance to it than I was expecting.

QuadCut grooves, the ones that have been installed on Mizuno wedges for a few generations now, are nothing new but on the T24 they feature a reworked tapered edge radius.

While it’s impossible to see with the naked eye, Mizuno reckon the new edge is sharper. But the T24’s loft-specific groove design is where things really get interesting.

You see, the lower lofted wedges are tuned for full swing performance: 17 grooves are squished together on the face, and the grooves are also deeper.

Meanwhile, the higher lofted wedges are optimised for limited swings, with shallower grooves spaced more roomily over the face (there are only 15 in total).

Maybe I’ve been indoctrinated by all the hype, but it does seem to go against the grain that a wedge with fewer — and shallower — grooves could be a good thing.

But Mizuno reckon it’s the perfect recipe for a higher lofted wedge to create stopping power on partial shots around the green.

With moisture being the natural enemy of spin, Mizuno have added their HydroFlow micro grooves to the T24’s face.

Mizuno have been at it since 2019 with their water-shedding laser-etched micro grooves but have managed to make it loft specific in the T24.

The milling pattern is vertical on the lower lofts while it’s skewed at an angle in the higher lofts to better suit open-faced shots.

For the T24, Mizuno have added another grind to the range, with a new V grind joining the other four varieties (S, D, C and X).

And as the name would suggest, the V grind looks like a V on the sole and it's rather aggressive.

HOW’D THEY PERFORM?

Unless you’ve already seen Mizuno’s previous T22 wedge, Denim Copper probably won’t mean much to you.

It’s the most eye-catching of the three finishes the T24 comes in (there’s also the requisite Raw finish and the vanilla Soft White Satin) and it managed to impress the hell out of many people, including a couple of Mizuno true believers who nearly had to fan their faces.

Denim Copper offers a distressed appearance, but it did seem to scratch up and wear very quickly while I was testing a 58° V grind T24 wedge — leaving me to wonder whether including Denim in the name was some sort of waiver about it looking road-worn after just a few hits.

Given Mizuno’s raw option is designed to wear faster than paper mache brake pads, I think most golfers who opt for the Denim Copper finish would prefer, and no doubt expect, it to remain reasonably pristine.

Appearances aside, the T24 wedge overdelivered where it counts: spin and feel.

Around the greens, there was a taut response off the face that made it feel like you could really nip it off the grooves and watch the ball hop-and-stop like a cat that just stepped in a puddle.

And slicing it out of the rough with an open the face was just as impressive — those squirrelly moments you sometimes get playing out of thick grass weren't evident.

The V grind sole seemed particularly well suited around the green, with aggressive relief taken out of the rear of the sole and around the heel helping to open the face (although it was probably too aggressive for my liking when attempting to play a light splash out of bunkers).

The 54° D Grind T24 wedge, finished in Soft White Satin, was more suited to playing full shots from the fairway.

As a tour wedge that looks like an MB blade it’s not nearly as forgiving as Mizuno’s S-series wedge. And I'm sure that'll become more of an issue when hitting full shots rather than finessing the ball around the greens.

But from a clean lie on the fairway, the mid-bounce D grind felt like it was in its element and displayed impressive stopping power on the greens.

The flight was lower than I expected but I didn’t mind it, and out of the rough there seemed to be plenty of control, too.

FINAL WORD

Would I be happy to have the T24 wedge in my bag? Yes, although it probably wouldn’t be finished in Denim Copper.

The T24 will no doubt hook many rusted-on Mizuno fans with its luscious, blade-like appearance.

Will it sway any outsiders to take a risk and give it a go?

It think so because the T24 wedge is a very solid, and stunning, performer.

However, in my experience it seems golfers might be keener on considering Mizuno if it wasn’t quite so expensive.

The question really is can you afford not to at least try the T24?

THE VERDICT

Written by Jamie Martin Jamie Martin is currently locked in a battle to keep his handicap hovering around the mid-single digits. Despite his obvious short-game shortcomings, Jamie enjoys playing and writing about every aspect of golf and is often seen making practice swings in a mirror.