How a Mizuno SWING DNA session helped Eddie Pepperell

Since signing for Team Mizuno, 27-year-old Eddie Pepperell’s career has gone from strength to strength, with February’s maiden European Tour win in Qatar followed by a wire-to-wire to victory in October at Walton Heath in the Sky Sports British Masters.

However, when a tour player is on a good run of form – it can take a strange twist of events to encourage any equipment changes.  So, with Eddie Pepperell having the season of his career (his first with Team Mizuno), and recently switched to a new set of JPX919 Tour irons, Mizuno’s Tour Technician, Matt McIsaac, knew it wasn’t the right time to talk shafts.

“Eddie is very much a feel player – so if he likes what he’s playing and in good form, it’s poor timing to discuss a change of shaft.  Any small change can take getting used to – even if the trackman says it’s an improvement.  Eddie put the 919 Tour heads straight into play because he preferred the thinner topline – we decided that should be the last change until the off season.”

“But Eddie needed a 6-iron shaft in Scotland after the Mizuno workshop had left – and had to raid a local shop ‘Auchterlonies’ for an emergency replacement.  All that was available at short notice was the KBS C Taper which he used in his 6-iron – and hit all his best shots with.”

On the Monday of the British Masters, Mizuno had a filming session booked with Pepperell to demonstrate its Shaft Optimizer – a fitting tool used through its retail fitting network.  With no script to follow, McIsaac took Pepperell through Mizuno’s three swing diagnostic process and by some coincidence – it recommended the KBS C Taper.  The same shaft Pepperell had picked up at Auchterlonies in St Andrews.  One new set of JPX919 Tour irons, with KBS C Taper shafts later and Pepperell was a wire-to-wire winner of the British Masters.

Pepperell recorded four eagles during the week, including an extraordinary hole in one on the 9^th on Thursday. He also made a crucial eagle two on the 10^th hole in the final round when he holed out with his Mizuno JPX919 Tour 9-iron to extend his lead heading into the back nine.

His second European Tour Victory of the year saw Pepperell climb to 7^th on the Race to Dubai and a career high 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings. It also made it two victorious weeks in a row for the JPX919 family, with the winner of the Safeway Open playing a mix of JPX919 Forged and Tour irons en route to his maiden PGA Tour win the week before.

Morale of the story according to Mizuno’s McIsaac is not the KBS C Taper itself (Pepperell had previously been using the KBS S Taper).  “There’s a ‘best fit’ shaft for everyone – for Eddie it was the KBS C Taper – for someone else it will be the S Taper.  Wait for the moment when you’re open to improvement, throw away your preconceptions and try the Optimizer.  It doesn’t know if you’re male, female a tour winner or a 24 hcp – just measures your move and finds the best shaft for it.”

Eddie Pepperell plays:

JPX919 Tour #3-#9 with KBS C-Taper 130 X shafts and Golf Pride MMC Align grips

T7 wedges: 46°, 50°, 56° and 60°

MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi #2

For further information on the JPX919 and MP-18 families plus Mizuno’s Swing DNA and Shaft Optimizer to find the best matched iron shaft for your game, visit: golf.mizunoeurope.com.  

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