About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the golf club, which I purchased with my own money in March of 2020.

My take

I’ve been looking for a driving iron for years that I feel comfortable with, and I finally found it with the Mizuno Fli-Hi Hybrid. It’s forgiving but workable, has a face like a rocket, gives me that fairway finder tee shot that I’ve been looking for, and so much more.

About the club

• Model: 2022 Mizuno Fli-Hi
• Loft setting: 19 degrees
• Shaft type: Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 100
• Shaft flex: Stiff

About me

• Average score: 78–82
• Handicap: 5
• Experience: 6
• Right/Left-Handed: Right-handed
• Typical ball flight: Low draw
• Golf ball used: Pro V1x
• Club swing speed: 110 mph

Test conditions

• When I bought the club: March 2020
• Days tested: 50+ days
• Where I’ve used it: Several courses - but most frequently at Hyannisport Club, Cape Cod, Massachusetts - simulators and a range (with mats).
• Weather and wind conditions: The weather was humid and sunny, with a 15 mph consistent wind gust off the Atlantic Ocean.

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was looking for a club that filled a gap in yardage between my 4-iron and my 5-wood, and something that could be reliable off the tee, with a mid to low ball, straight ball flight to be able to control through any wind.

Why I chose this club

This club checked every box of what I was looking for, and on top of that had an incredible feel off the face. The face is large and looks nice from the topline, but has a ton of feedback from off-center strikes. The sound and feel are unlike any driving iron I’ve ever hit, mostly because of the face construction. It’s not a generic forged or cast iron; it uses materials found in woods and hybrids (hence it being considered a hybrid) for the face, which gives it extra ball speed and a unique, satisfying sound.

I’ve tried a handful of other driving irons: the Titleist U505, the P790, and the Srixon ZX. None of them really jumped off the page for me, and a lot of them were a little harder for me to hit, and took a slower more controlled swing to hit well. I feel like I can full swing at the Fli-Hi and either get huge distance or not get too punished by an off-center strike.

What I love about it

• Distance: Distance is one of the biggest positives for this club. The face, constructed out of MAS1C, is an ultra-high strength steel (same as what is used in the Mizuno fairway woods) that feels like a rocket off the face. A center strike gives that same sound that a wood would give, and when hit well, with a full swing, I can get it almost as far as my 5-wood.
• Forgiveness: The club is also extremely forgiving for a driving iron. The extremely low and back tungsten weights improve the stability of the club, helping the face stay stable at impact, and the design of the leading edge helps cut through tough lines, unlike other utility irons.
• Feel: The feel is extremely unique, but I find it very satisfying. When I hit this club in the center of the face, it feels like a hot knife cutting through butter.
• Sound: The sound is also unique, and some people may not love it, but it has a sound somewhere between a wood and an iron. I love it because, again, it is unlike anything I’ve hit before. It has a muted sort of metal wood noise that resonates.
• Aesthetic Appeal: It has 10/10 aesthetics, the black on black is sleek in the bag, and so far (50+ rounds), the black color has not worn off from strikes on the face or the sole.
• Grip Feel: I love the golf pride grips, and I feel a ton of control and never feel as though I’ll lose the club or the face angle.
• Launch Angle: I personally love the ball flight. This is one area I do feel like I have a lot of control with. Depending on where I put it in my stance and how I strike it, I can get a low wind-cheating runner or a mid-flight that can land softer.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Workability: Although I do feel like I have some control with this club’s height and launch, the left and right are hard to manufacture. I’m putting this in the issues category because it isn’t necessarily “workable”, but the ball flight is generally straight and low-spinning.
• Adjustability: There is no adjustability on the head after ordering.
• Shaft Feel: Although I chose and love the HZRDUS RDX Black, it is a particularly low flying shaft, and it is harder to get the high, towering ball flight advertised in the club-head’s description. If I want that higher ball flight, then I would consider a different shaft option.
• Shaft Performance: I also have had some reservations about choosing the graphite shaft for this club. Although I love the look and feel of the shaft and club combo, sometimes I wonder if I would have a better range of options with a steel option.
• Spin: The one thing is with the combo of the shaft I chose and my generally lower ball flight, is I don’t get a ton of green holding spin with this club. I prefer to use this club with a low ball flight and run out on fairways or run up onto an unprotected green, but don’t often hit that high, green-holding shot because I don’t produce enough spin with it.

Best shot with this club

I often play at a club that is known for its consistent wind. The club is off the water and has a particular par three that the wind is always straight into the face. This particular day the wind was howling, probably close to 20 mph. The hole is 190 yards out with bunkers guarding the left and right and the fescue long. This day the hole was probably playing closer to 220, and I’d be happy to get anything short of the green and to have an option to get up and down. I hit a sawed off, low-wind cheating 3-iron that rolled up perfectly onto the center of the green. Although I obviously missed the birdie putt, the shot was definitely one to remember.

Value for the money vs. other options

The iron is pretty fairly priced, currently sitting around $225 on Curated. Compared to some other brands, like the Titleist U510, Taylormade UDI, and Wilson Staff, it is actually at a bit of a discount that might push someone towards the Mizuno if they’re comparing the two. One can’t pass up on the Mizuno driving iron on a price-to-performance scale.

Final verdict

For me, the Mizuno Fli-Hi Hybrid is the club I pull when the driver isn’t working, when the fairway looks tighter than a hotel hallway, or when I just want to watch the most beautiful controlled straight ball flight. I can hit it in a ton of different situations on course, and it hits a number in my bag that was a problem number before.