Miura MC-501 User Review

(above Miura MC-501 #7 iron top line)

This is a user review from a scratch player who has played many of the best U.S and JDM muscle backs going back for over a decade.  In case you missed the in-depth introduction of mine on the Miura MC-501 blade you can also read that by clicking here.  Enjoy our user review after the jump…

Taking a good first look at the new Miura MC-501, I notice the velvety satin finish that is just gorgeous!  Rotating the head to view the other features on this head,   the back design looks high tech like nothing I have seen before.   Almost like a powerful weapon from Krypton!!  When you inspect the back cavity design,   you can see that they left quite a bit of thickness behind the hitting area which should help create that muscle back like dense feel at impact.

(Above Miura MC-501 #7 iron face view)

Miura has creatively removed some weight from the back to move additional weight towards the lower section of the blade for added forgiveness.   The overall shape of the Miura MC-501 is a bit different than what I am used to with other muscle backs or players cavity backs.    The total toe section is not as rounded which creates a squared look.   Personally, I like a rounded toe section, but that is personal preference.   And on the heel side, the corner of the heel as seen from the face is a bit more pronounced than what I would prefer, and some may think it would get in the way when the sole comes thru the ground at impact which I was proven wrong later in my test.  Nevertheless, I would prefer the corners of the heel rounded off a bit.   The sole grind has a generous and straight leading edge relief which should help smooth out the turf interaction.

(Above Miura MC-501 PW back face)

At address,  “THIN TOP LINE”   wow! Razor thin this thing!  The standard offset is not large by any means but for those of you who just will not allow for noticeable offsets.

Hitting a few balls I got to feel the off-center hits.  Excellent feedback and yes it lost distance…   but when I started adjusting and hitting the middle of the face.  Mmmmm so good!  Gotta love Japanese S25C steel!!   As soft and dense feeling as any top tier forged muscle back!  Compared to a Bridgestone S20C players cavity back like the Tour B X-CB,  it’s not as soft; but on the other hand,  they do feel softer than a Mizuno MP66 in S25SC.    If it’s this good with range rocks,  I bet it feels even softer with premium tour balls!

(Above Miura MC-501 PW top line)

The Modus 120 shaft in this iron produced a higher trajectory than I anticipated.  This is likely due to the additional weight they moved to the lower half of the blade helping give additional launch.  After about 15 hits,  I started to get the hang of it and began to swing with a bit more rhythm and the consistent ball flight, and repeatable shots started to get my attention.   These irons are very very forgiving!   From the looks of it,  I initially thought it would behave more like a muscle back…  but in fact, its behavior is like a forgiving cavity back.   Mishits toe to heel was quite forgiving if you hit it lower on the face.   Vertical mishits to a higher spot on the face produced loss of distance and harsh feel.     Overall forgiveness is comparable to the likes of Tour B X-CB or MP66 in my opinion.  I guess they named it an “MC” ( Muscle Cavity)  for a reason.   So this is quite a creation.   With their previous MB5005, they tried to create a neo-muscle back that was more forgiving….   With this new Miura MC-501, they took that idea further and successfully combined muscle back look and feel with a player’s cavity forgiveness. – user review end

(Miura MC-501 PW face view)

If you have any interest in the Miura MC-501 please use this article and our previous one as a reference.  We purposely show you both a mid-iron and the PW from multiple angles so that you can see if it fits your visual preference.  With players irons and especially blades shape is important and we want you to be able to help you make a sound decision.  Thanks for reading!