Miura irons: Do they match the hype?

Miura irons have long been regarded as the holy grail of Japanese forging in golf. But, are they as good as people say they are? 

Miura Golf began its journey in 1957 in Himeji, Japan where the founder, Katsuhiro Miura, set out to make something elegant and refined, which wasn’t the norm in the golf industry at the time.

Miura’s techniques were derived through the art and discipline of samurai, employing discipline into the club making process. And it had some impressive results.

The Miura story is special, and there’s no doubt that they work they do with forging is impressive. But, with brands like Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping, Titleist and Mizuno creating forgings which look incredible, feel great and perform very well, it’s easy to forget about Miura. This isn’t to say Miura are bad, it’s just that with so much competition around, it can be hard to stand out. So, how do the irons stack up?

What a lot of brands pride themselves on when it comes to forged irons is feel. But, the way Miura handles this process is unique and an art form.

Miura’s forging process is unlike any other, and it’s all to give the feel that you would expect from such a finely crafted product. This is what is known as the Miura feel. Every club is hand-crafted, one-by-one, and touched by Miura-San or one of his two sons, Shinei and Yoshitaka. 

• A longer shaft in your driver? It’s working for Justin Thomas

• Has Bryson DeChambeau signed with a British apparel brand?

Even to this day Miura-san continues to work in the factory with his sons, Shinei and Yoshitaka.

There have many pros who have used Miura irons. Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose and of course Adam Scott have all put them in the bag. Scott even has his own custom set, the AS-1 irons.

With muscle back blades, tour cavity and cavity back designs, these irons are beautiful. But, it’s not just beauty, as the thought, time and care that goes into each one is impressive and makes for high performing clubs.

Unfortunately Miura do get forgotten about. Yes, the clubs are incredible to look at but they do cater more to the better player and they come in at hefty price tag. For example, the Miura 101 MB irons will set you back £2,200 a set or the KM-700 for £2,430 a set. You are paying for beautiful clubs, of course. 

As you can see, these are going to be pretty unforgiving and plenty of mere mortal golfers will struggle to get these off the ground. Other brands will offer more forgiveness and, while these might not be as good looking as the Miura irons, they will almost certainly give you improved performance on the course. That’s also not to mention the price, with the other more mainstream brands coming in at a more reasonable price point. 

However, Miura are still, in my opinion, the greatest iron forgers. If you do have the budget and the ball striking ability these will be the best feeling iron you can find. 

Do you want all the latest news on the equipment coming in 2025? You should subscribe to our YouTube channel, here!

James Tait is bunkered’s Gear Editor. Want to know how the latest Callaway driver, Vokey wedge or Scotty Cameron putter performs? He’s the guy to ask. Better yet, just watch his videos on the bunkered YouTube channel. One of the biggest hitters in the UK, James also competes on the World Long Drive circuit and is a descendent of former Amateur champion Freddie Tait.

Gear Editor