Jon’s New Mizuno MP 14 Irons

Not in a million years would I imagine myself to be like one of those American Pickers guys.  You know the ones – they travel around America trying to find antiques and doo-dads in old farmers’ barns.  Most times they find rusty junk.  Sometimes they find treasure.  Well… I went to the 2020 Chicago Golf Expo, and I want to talk to you about a treasure I found.  Some Mizuno MP 14 irons.

The Scene

I make it to the annual show every year.  Typically I’m not looking for anything in particular.  Maybe some cheap gloves or accessories, or possibly meet up with some old buddies.  Bill Bush – in all the years I’ve known the guy has never pretended he had the desire to go.  Incredibly, he loaded up with some Arby’s the night before, found his vigor, and sent the text that we’re going to meet up.  Hooray.

Much of the morning consisted of people watching (oh my gosh, Golf Guys!  Are we the worst, or what???), considering new golf pants, and checking out the buckets of cheap gear we don’t want.  Nothing really caught our eye until we got to one vendor’s stall that looked at best…dusty.  They had a bunch of staff bags from decades passed, dozens of well worn putters, and like, six The Hammers.  And then, someone seemed to have turned on the History Channel and we went to work.

Bottom Rack / Top Pocket Finds

In a sea of weathered and traded-in sets of irons, what may catch your eye?  A set of vintage Ben Hogan Apex irons usually does the trick.  My opportunistic golf life partner instantly picked up the set to inspect.  He starts his haggle with the vendor.  Nothing comes of it on this lap, though the seed is planted.  You can read his harrowing tale here.  At the same time, I happen to spot a grimy set of Mizuno blades…

Shoving aside a guy who looked like a Chicago Bears offensive lineman (as most winter-bound Chicagoans tend to do), I grabbed the heavy old, rubber banded set of MP14 irons.  Count em, nine all together – 2 iron through PW!  My mind begins to spin.  I’m not an everyday blade guy, though I’ve had probably ten sets of Mizunos over the years.  We’ll start with my holy grail, the MP 32s.  Several sets of them, in fact.  I’ve had MP 33s, MP 30s, and some of their MX and JPX series sets too.  I’d seen the MP 14 before, but I instantly knew I had to become that American Picker guy and negotiate this set into my life.

What Exactly Do I Have Here?

So if I’m going to snag a vintage set – the Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters set (mostly) to be exact – I need to really evaluate how to handle this.  Sure, there’s still a ton of MP 14s out there I could eventually buy super cheap.  But this was a WANT vs. NEED situation.  I didn’t need them, but really wanted them, and had to convince myself they’re worth the investment. 

They had a good bit of dirt on them and the grips looked like original Golf Pride Victory grips, but were super slick.  A couple ferrules were creeping, and there were some rust spots in the grooves and back of the heads.  Were they pitted with rust?  Not sure.  The shafts honestly felt kind of gross, and I couldn’t tell if they’d need to be replaced or not.  What I could tell is that they almost certainly had never hit a single golf ball.  My mind was racing, but we moved on.

Bill and I went around the show for a few more laps, met some friends, and decided to head back and make some last-ditch offers.  Never know unless you try, right?  The vendor guy was open to it, and he hit the goal number for Bill’s wallet to fly open and snag those gorgeous 1973 Hogan Apex irons.  Nice!  Unfortunately for me, this fella fought hard and didn’t meet me where I wanted, so internalizing my despair, I walked away feeling sad.

Am I Having a Dilemma?

I barely got back home before I was Googling Mizuno MP 14 irons.  What are they worth?  Is this a good deal?  Can I find them elsewhere?  The answer was clear – in this condition and this price, I needed to get my butt back and buy those Mizunos.  By 9:16pm, I’m texting ole Bill that I’m going back.  He knew that already and was just waiting for my inevitable text of confirmation.  I got there when the door opened and sprinted to the dusty vendor stall.  I grabbed the irons (I hid them well the previous day, but thank goodness no one else outsmarted me) and I threw my cash in the hand of the vendor guy.  “Remember me, bruh?” I said, as I ran off with my prize.

I made it home and immediately rushed them to surgery.  Err, my sink, with a plastic brush and some soap.  I now wish I remembered to snag some more grime pics.  The before and after comparison is remarkable.  Fortunately, basic soap and water did wonders to remove most of the rust on the heads.  This first attempt even completely cleaned off the gunk from the Dynamic Gold shafts.  While still a bit slick, I got the grips to a usable, grippable point.  I took it to the next level with some Barkeeper’s Friend cleaner and a sizable dose of elbow grease.  

Holy crap.  I’ve got a near flawless set of one of the finest Mizuno blades known to man.

Final Thoughts – Mizuno MP 14 Irons

With a little more TLC (gluing and shining the ferrules, restoring some paint fill, and fresh grips if I can find them), these blades will be perfect.  I’m not sure what really hit me about these.  Was it that I found an actual good deal at a golf show?  Where have these things been for 25+ years and why didn’t anyone use them?  Can I actually hit a 2 iron?  The Tiger/Masters aura?  Not really sure, but to me, these are some real Bobby Dazzlers.

And this whole silly story is why golf is so crazy and so fun.  I don’t recall being this enthused about another set of sticks in my fabled golf career.  I can’t put them down, stop waggling them, or thoroughly annoying (or entertaining, dunno!?) my wife with my excitement for these things.  Bill and I are now talking about becoming vintage club snobs.  Persimmons, I say!  Maybe?!

Actually, I’m still not sure if I’m going to even hit a ball with these.  It’s possible I make these my “museum piece” and maybe snag a beat up set off eBay for regular play.  (That’s precisely a scenario I ran by Bill and was promptly told I have a sickness.  He’s not wrong.)

In the end, I’m delighted to add yet another cool golf item and experience onto the pile.  So goes the life of a Driving Range Hero.  Gotta stay on brand, right?!

Also – I’ve since added the matching sand wedge (to be sent off for a re-chrome & restoration) and I bought some…neoprene iron covers.  Oof.  Yes, that is me making what I hope comes across as an ironic face.

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