Mizuno S23 Wedge Review (Our Honest Feedback)

Mizuno S23 Wedge release date: February 23, 2023

Built like a tank but smooth enough to generate a ton of spin, the new Mizuno S23 wedges offer a centralized sweet spot with precise grooves to boost your short game.

With the shape of a player’s bladed wedge but equipped with the forgiveness of a toe-weighted design, these Mizuno wedges offer a more consistent strike on full and partial shots.

For a fair-weather golfer, the S23 offers reliability with extreme backspin from the fairway. A wide sole helps the club head move smoothly in the rough to produce clean contact.

In this Mizuno S23 wedge review, we’ll take a deep dive into what makes this golf club so effective around the green.

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Mizuno S23 Wedge Features

Loft-Specific Profile

Each S23 wedge comes with its own profile. Offering a player’s style design at address, the S23 wedge provides versatility with stronger lofts featuring a teardrop straight edge that improves the appearance and increases feel and responsiveness.

For example, the Mizuno created a more rounded lob wedge to help boost turf interaction while improving overall feel at impact.

Heel-Orientated Cavity

Unlike conventional wedges, the heel-positioned cavity moves more mass toward the toe to boost forgiveness. Along with the centered sweet spot, the cavity helps redirect off-center strikes, like with the first-rate Mizuno irons.

Delivering a repetitive action due primarily to the heel-oriented cavity also produces a longer contact time with the golf ball and less head deflection.

Hydroflow Micro Grooves

The grooves are laser-etched to release moisture and reduce spin drop-off in the rain and wet conditions around the course. Even when wet, the micro grooves work hard to maintain grip on the ball’s outer layer to generate spin.

With the central sweet spot, the laser-etched grooves help utilize the entire face to produce a more consistent strike with comparable spin.

Our In-Depth Mizuno S23 Wedge Review

Looks

What you won’t find with the Mizuno S23 wedge is a design you’d typically find with conventional wedges.

Available in two different finishes, including an exceptional copper cobalt finish, the S23 wedges offer a uniquely first-rate appearance in the golf bag.

With the forged design, the Mizuno S23 wedge stands out as a golf club you’d expect to find in the bag of a PGA Tour golfer.

The white satin brush chrome finish certainly conforms to what most golfers feel their wedges should look like, but the copper cobalt model does offer a more head-turning option.

Regardless of your choice, Mizuno has established itself as a manufacturer of some of the best looking wedges and irons on the market.

Sound

During our testing, the Mizuno wedge offered a pleasing sound on full and partial shots. When taking a full divot, the wider sole produces a clean, crisp sound.

While some advanced wedges make a clicking sound at impact, we were pleased with how the S23 collection provided a more pure reflection.

With the centered sweet spot, our testers found the S23 wedge produced a solid, deep sound. Even when the impact point leaked toward the toe, the sound still provided a pleasing overall sensation for the ears.

Feel

On short-range shots, including pitch and lob shots, the S23 wedge offered a light feel at impact. The ball doesn’t feel heavy or stuck with these wedges, helping golfers apply touch and finesse at their discretion.

From the fairway, on shots over 80 yards, the wedges offered immediate feedback with a hearty complement of responsiveness to let you know if you’ve found the sweet spot.

Our testers also noted how outstanding the wedges responded from the rough and sand. Rather than feeling sluggish during the backswing, the balance provided by the Mizuno wedges keeps the head moving smoothly through the ball to boost feel.

Performance

Mizuno has long cemented itself as one of the top wedge makers, and the S23 wedge will only solidify its reputation. Wonderfully designed, the S23 wedges are built for experienced players looking to add versatility to their short game.

When testing the wedges from trouble areas around the green, such as rough and sand, the wedges performed beautifully. Even laid open to hit a lob shot, the S23 wedge slid through trouble to get the face on the golf ball.

Similar in design to the Nike Engage wedges, the S23 wedges utilize the spacious centralized sweet spot to generate spin in any situation. Like the Engage wedges, these Mizuno wedges offer a deep, low CG to boost ball flight with high spin.

The wedges also come in four different wedge grinds, including a minimal sole grind for shots from the fairway, a grind with moderate toe and heel relief to manipulate the clubface, other grind options for firm fairways, and a grind with a rounded toe that provides total short game control.

Overall, the Mizuno S23 wedge provides an impressive all-around performance to help intermediate golfers shave the extra strokes in their short game, allowing them to reach the next handicap level.

Alternatives to the Mizuno S23 Wedge

Our Verdict: Mizuno S23 Wedge Review

Available in white satin brush chrome and copper cobalt finishes, the S23 wedges built in Hiroshima, Japan come from one-piece Grain Flow Forged HD steel. The heel-orientated cavity produces higher spin rates without a loss of distance.

From the fairway, the Mizuno S23 wedges produce consistent performance with a steep landing angle that helps hold shots on the putting surface. For most amateurs, the central sweet spot provides a solid base for developing a repetitive action into the golf ball.

Overall, our testers were enamored with the S23 wedges. Producing the spin and consistent strike results most golfers want for their game, these wedges can absolutely upgrade their short game.