Updated August 2, 2024. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.
Mizuno S23 Wedge release date: February 23, 2023
Built like a tank but smooth enough to generate a ton of spin, the Mizuno S23 wedges offer a centralized sweet spot with precise grooves to boost your short game.
This design helps many pros achieve better spin control by offering a more consistent and repetitive action, especially for those who may not have the consistency of strike to achieve the same level of spin as world-class short game players.
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.
Mizuno S23 Wedge
Exceptional High Spin Wedge for Mid Handicappers
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Specifications
- Loft: 44°-58°
- Lie Angle: 63°
- Shaft Length: 35.25”-35.5”
- Bounce: 6°-14°
Pros
- Exceptional spin control with a balanced sweet spot
- All-weather grooves keep the face dry in wet conditions
- Precisely milled grooves maintain sharpness over time
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a classic forged design like Vokeys
Mizuno S23 Wedge Features
The Mizuno S23 wedge is designed to enhance your performance on different types of shots, including full shots, by providing superior control and optimal performance around the green.
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 and toe relief, 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 for Better Spin Control
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, we 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.
The C-Grind, with its heavy heel and toe relief, enhances this versatility, making it ideal for firmer conditions and for better players who want to open the face and control the ball around the green.
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.
The D-Grind, with moderate heel and toe relief, allows gentle manipulation of the clubface, providing versatility around the green with the bounce effect, making it a valuable short game tool.
We 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 on Full and Partial Shots
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 an S-Grind with minimal sole grind for fuller shots and lower lofts, a grind with moderate toe and heel relief to manipulate the clubface, an X-Grind with extreme relief from the heel, toe, and trailing edge for aggressive swings, 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
Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedge
Best High Spin Wedge for Low Handicappers
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Specifications
- Loft: 46°-62°
- Lie Angle: 64°
- Shaft Length: 35”
- Bounce: 8°-14°
Pros
- Classic forged style offers a traditional appearance
- High spin with sophisticated shot shaping from the fairway
- Top-tier spin milled grooves provide total control
Cons
- Expensive wedge for most amateurs
Titleist’s SM9 Vokey wedges offer several tour-proven grinds that offer premium turf interaction with crisp contact and high spin.
It provides a progressive CG throughout the lofts, so if you play with several Vokey wedges, each shot’s height and spin are customized for maximum performance.
The Vokey’s Spin Milled grooves offer outstanding durability and remain sharp for a very long time.
When we compared the Vokey to the S23 wedges, the Titleist delivers more sophistication from any situation on the course, whether from the sand, rough, or fairway.
The Vokey’s exceptional grooves offer total control with maximum spin, another benefit that eclipses the S23 wedge.
Great for low handicappers, the Vokey SM9 wedges produce outstanding control that holds onto the green with precision.
Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge
Best High Spin Wedge for Mid Handicappers
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Specifications
- Loft: 46°-62°
- Lie Angle: 64°
- Shaft Length: 34 7/8”-35 5/8”
- Bounce: 6°-12°
Pros
- Sharp, deep grooves grab the outer layer for high-friction spin
- Multiple grinds offer sophisticated shotmaking from any situation
- High MOI keeps the face square through the impact zone
Cons
- Doesn’t provide the shotmaking capabilities of the Vokeys
Cleveland’s RTX Zipcore wedges provide high MOI, boosted spin rates, and consistent performance.
The RTX Zipcore features several sole grinds to help amateurs attack any trouble on the golf course. From sand to deep rough, the low, mid, and full sole options offer precise shotmaking to help you save par.
When we got the Zipcore wedges on the Trackman and compared them to the S23 wedges, the Cleveland clubs offered more variation of shot height with additional spin.
The Zipcore wedges actually compared similarly to the Vokey’s when it came to control.
If you are looking for wedges that will stay sharp and last for many years, the Cleveland RTX Zipcore series delivers outstanding results.
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 Mizuno S23 wedge features a tear drop straight edge in the stronger lofted wedges, which then flows into a more rounded shape as the loft increases, providing insight into the design and versatility of the wedges.
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, we 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.
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