Mizuno JPX ONE Driver Review: A small step towards something special

While the brand's new M-13 irons confirmed to us that, even in 2026, nothing feels like a Mizuno, there's no doubt that the Japanese brand has a conundrum it still needs to solve.

The problem is fairly simple. People love their irons, and a set of forged Mizunos remains one of the most desirable assets in all of golf. Their other clubs, however? Not so much.

This isn't to say Mizuno don't make good clubs throughout the bag. Their former ST-series drivers were solid performers and genuine tour-winning models, presenting an excellent value proposition due to their tendency to go on sale at quite a heavy discount. Their wedges and putters, meanwhile, are equally solid performers.

But a tiny handful of the brand's staff players actually using the brand's full suite of clubs on tour, Mizuno's ability to make noise in areas outside of the iron market have long been pretty limited. To put it into context, according to PGA Club Tracker just two Mizuno drivers saw action last year on the PGA Tour, and. That naturally doesn't equate to a lot of airtime, or a lot of sales.

So what's the remedy? Mizuno will be hoping they've found something approaching an answer with the launch of the JPX ONE: a brand new suite of metalwoods for the 2026 season that the brand claims will truly bring the fight to the biggest sellers in terms of distance and forgiveness. 

Thankfully, as part of our 2026 driver test were able to test Mizuno's claims out for ourselves and see if the JPX ONE is truly the needle mover the brand is promising. The results we got were surprising, and not necessarily in a good way.

Check out our full 2026 best drivers test below and scroll on to read our detailed thoughts. Let us know what you think of the new Mizuno JPX ONE Driver in the comments below.

Looks and features

Dressed in a dark hue of Mizuno's signature blue, the JPX ONE range is instantly recognisable for its distinct blue face and navy carbon finish, providing a refreshing counterpoint to the swathe of predominantly black drivers that have hit the market in 2026. It looks utterly gorgeous, however the glossy blue crown does become more vivid under direct light might be off putting to some at address.

Mizuno claim they've made big strides in creating a pair of driver models that deliver properly elite results for tour players while also presenting a more compelling option for everyday players. The biggest innovation is the introduction of Mizuno's proprietary NANOALLOY face material, which uses microscopic polymer dispersion to produce a face that dynamically alters its elasticity under impact.

As such, Mizuno claim that the JPX ONE is now among the longest and fastest drivers on the market, if not the outright winner – particularly on off-centre strikes. However it's noteworthy that Mizuno haven't made any trendy claims about MOI with these two models, and whether or not the JPX ONE has cracked the much-vaunted 10K figure hasn't been confirmed.

This is combined with a revised CORTECH chamber that Mizuno says helps the face produce more flex and speed towards the toe and heel without compromising performance in the middle of the face. The result, Mizuno claims, is more speed and more forgiveness.

Performance

Let's start with the good – beyond the great looks. The JPX One was one of the most forgiving drivers in our testing for 2026, and also one of the best feeling. It's a driver that inspires confidence at address due to its large, high MOI profile, and delivers a lovely straight ball flight. Indeed, the Mizuno produced some of the best dispersion and sidespin numbers in our testing.

Unfortunately this is largely where the positives of the new Mizuno end. The JPX One has earned itself a reputation an unwanted reputation among testers as being the spinniest new driver on the market this year, and that panned out in our testing as well. We struggled to keep backspin below 3000rpm on most of our shots, and while the driver is capable of putting up good numbers when struck particularly well, we saw too many shots ballooning high off the face. 

This, compared with the fact that the new Nanoalloy face simply isn't that fast, really hampered the JPX One when it came to creating distance, and it unfortunately came last by some way in our testing when fitted with an equivalent shaft to the other drivers we tested. 

It's possible, of course, that further tweaking with a fitter might unlock some of the latent distance left in this driver, but for now the numbers don't make for kind reading.

The JPX's average carry suffered by anywhere between 10-15 yards compared to the other big players, and while the JPX produced okay rollout, the ball flight was simply too high and spinny to produce boundary-pushing distance at our swing speeds.

Mizuno claim that the unique face material stores and releases more energy the faster you swing it, which means faster swing speed players might be able to unlock more natural distance from the JPX ONE. Is that really what you want from a forgiveness oriented driver, however? We're not so sure.

Should you buy the Mizuno JPX ONE Driver?

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Mizuno JPX ONE Golf Driverfrom £529.00 at Click Golf

There are probably a lot of of golfers out there who will get on well with the JPX ONE. It's remarkably consistent and forgiving, producing exceptional dispersion numbers. If you want a reliable fairway finder and aren't too concerned with hitting out and out bombs, this could be right up your alley.

For those chasing distance, however, our initial testing suggests that the Mizuno is a club to avoid for now. When tested against its rivals with comparable shafts and swing speeds, the JPX simply produced too much spin and not enough ball speed from its face to challenge any of its competitors, which is concerning. 

At £529, it's priced right in the middle of the market, coming in at £20 less than an equivalent TaylorMade but still significantly more expensive than the better-performing Cobra OPTM X.

There's no doubt that Mizuno has might be on to something special with its new NANOALLOY face, which feels great at impact and contributes to an absolutely gorgeous looking package that we'd love to get in the bag. It's possible as well that faster swingers might find something special with this new driver, if Mizuno's claims that it unlocks more ball speed the faster you swing it are true. 

For us, however, Mizuno will only be able to upset the apple cart if they unlock more distance and more consistent spin in future generations for average players. Like everyone else we've talked to, we sincerely hope they do, but for most players, we simply feel there are better drivers to be had out there for 2026.