James Toney is clear with who he believes is the current number one pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.
Toney knows exactly what it is like to be viewed as one of the best around, having been at his peak in the mid 1990s, going unbeaten in his first 46 bouts before a loss to Roy Jones Jr in November 1994.
‘Lights Out’ would last compete in 2017 after 92 professional contests, with his stellar career seeing him become a three-division world champion at middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight.
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While fighters such as Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk are often mentioned in pound-for-pound debates, it is another man who has reigned at both super middleweight and cruiserweight that Toney feels is the best around.
That is because the American Hall of Famer has told About Boxing that he believes David Benavidez is the current top dog in the sport.
Benavidez has an unbeaten record of 32-0, and having previously been a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, he stepped up to 175lbs in 2024 and became the WBC light heavyweight champion after wins over the likes of David Morrell and Anthony Yarde.
The Houston Astros have essentially owned the American League West for a decade now, winning seven division titles, four American League pennants and two World Series championships. However, the Astros’ divisional dominance could be up for grabs, as the organization must manage an aging roster and a likely need for new leadership in multiple positions.
On Tuesday, a new threat entered the proverbial AL West chat, with a resume that features a championship-winning pedigree across every major sport on two continents.
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Billionaire team owner Stan Kroenke and Kroenke Sports Entertainment (KSE) entered into a definitive agreement on Tuesday to purchase the Los Angeles Angels from the Arte Moreno family for a reported MLB-record $4 billion. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027.
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“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a statement released by both the Angels and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.”
Why should Astros worry about Stan Kroenke?
Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke stands next to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., holding the Super Bowl trophy in 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Kroenke, who owns four franchises across four leagues, will likely bring a fresh perspective to a franchise that’s been moribund and listless. The Angels are on track to miss the postseason for the 12th straight year and have essentially wasted the prime years of two of the best baseball talents of a generation in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
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Under Kroenke’s leadership, his teams have all won titles in the past five years, including:
NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, 2021
NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, 2022
NBA’s Denver Nuggets, 2023
English Premier League’s Arsenal, 2026
A championship standard is now attainable KSE’s as foundation for success, not just an aspirational one. Josh Kroenke, Arsenal’s co-chairman, demonstrated these aspirations when hiring Andrea Berta as the club’s new sporting director.
“I went to Andrea, and I laid out our championship rings,” Josh Kroenke said to James Benge of CBS in May. “I said: ‘This is what we’re here for. So as we start to shape our thinking, know this is what we’re going for.’ He was looking at them pretty close!”
Could Angels become MLB’s next premier destination?
Josh Kroenke, Co-Chair of Arsenal, and Stan Kroenke, Owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, pose for a photograph with the Premier League trophy as they are crowned the Champions of the Premier League for the 2025/26 season. (Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League)
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KSE isn’t simply purchasing a baseball team; they’re buying back into Southern California in an area that’s highly valuable yet wholly undeveloped in Orange County. Kroenke’s institutional knowledge means there is a real possibility of turning an aging ballpark and sports district into another year-round real estate and entertainment engine.
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“The addition of the Angels to the KSE portfolio creates the opportunity for a year-round Southern California calendar of events,” reads a statement from KSE on their future strategy.
The Angels sit on land-currently owned by the City of Anaheim-that could ultimately be more valuable than the team itself. Angel Stadium sits on approximately 150 acres, with surrounding areas potentially up for grabs. In fact, KSE recently developed SoFi Stadium as the anchor of a 300-acre Hollywood Park entertainment district focused on retail, offices, residences and hotels.
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The Angels’ reputation has suffered greatly under previous ownership, as the squandering of talents like Ohtani and Moreno has coincided with reports of downsizing in scouting, development and organizational resources. KSE’s ownership has continually focused on stadium upgrades, revamped clubhouses, sports science investment and family-friendly facilities for players.
That type of resource commitment is enough to attract marquee players to any organization, but offering a Southern California lifestyle that includes year-round good weather, access to beaches, major entertainment opportunities, and increased endorsement potential can be a big joker in negotiations.
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“Kroenke’s got a track record of success and winning championships with his teams,” Trout said to reporters on Tuesday. “I’m super excited about it and can’t wait to meet him.”
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Just ask the Los Angeles Dodgers about offering such a benefit to free agents.
Houston’s leadership questions arrive at dangerous time
Mike Trout and Jose Altuve smile at second base during a game at Daikin Park. Which star’s team is best poised for success going forward? (Houston Astros/Getty Images)
The Astros already booted their general manager in August, and Joe Espada’s tenure as manager is clearly in doubt. Moreover, Astros owner Jim Crane has already shown hesitancy to spend big, instead relying on a cautious, methodical approach.
That strategy served the Astros well during their title-winning run, as their roster was stacked with future Hall of Famers and a minor league system stocked with future All-Stars. The club also featured rising stars in various leadership positions that proved to be innovative (and at times, too clever) before moving on to other teams. Playing in a warm-weather city with lucrative tax benefits has always been a plus, but for some, playing in Southern California has an appeal all its own.
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The AL West includes teams that are either resource-rich but inconsistent, like the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, or struggling significantly, such as the Athletics and Angels. In this environment, being consistently competent has been key to success, as the Astros have demonstrated for over a decade. But 2026 has proven how low the bar is for competency.
“The reality is no AL West team really deserves to reach the postseason this year. All five teams deserve to go home at the end of September,” Yahoo MLB insider Russell Dorsey said in August. “But it doesn’t work that way in baseball. So we all have to resign ourselves to watching maybe the saddest division race MLB has ever seen.”
The Astros have a 138-89 record against the Angels since joining the AL West in 2013, but competency has now landed in Southern California. The Astros should prepare themselves accordingly.
The NBA has handed the LA Clippers one of the most severe punishments in league history after an investigation found the organization violated salary cap circumvention rules involving Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers must forfeit five first-round draft picks, one each in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts, and pay a $30 million fine.
The NBA’s independent investigation found that the Clippers helped create off-court income opportunities for Leonard through four companies doing business with the team: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance. The league said the organization facilitated endorsement agreements, offered business to the companies to induce those deals, and paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives.
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Leonard was also penalized and must pay the NBA $700,000. His former business manager, Dennis Robertson, has been banned from conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of players or other league personnel for five years.
The punishment also reaches the Clippers’ leadership. Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended from all league and team activities for one year, while President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker received a one-year suspension without pay. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.
The Clippers will also be placed under a league-supervised compliance and monitoring program for five years.
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said:
“I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”
The NBA and NBPA have agreed that the penalties are final and binding on all parties.
South African aviation authorities are reviewing a low-altitude flyover by two Airlink passenger planes at an international rugby match in Cape Town last weekend.
The regional airline, meanwhile, said it had canceled another flypast scheduled for Saturday’s rugby test between South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg this weekend, citing unfavorable weather.
In a statement, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it was carrying out a “compliance verification” of the August 29 flyover at Cape Town’s DHL stadium to ensure “all safety protocols were adhered to by the crew.”
Footage of the flyby, showing two planes in formation passing over the crowd, was widely shared on social media and prompted discussion about potential safety risks.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the lead aircraft passed less than 15 meters (50 feet) above the top of the packed stadium.
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What did SACAA and Airlink say?
The SACAA said it was analyzing flight data provided by Airlink and would go over additional information requested from the carrier before issuing a report.
The regulator said the airline had made applications for the flyovers, which were approved in line with the requirements for special air events.
Airlink, for its part, said the maneuver had been carefully planned and rehearsed, with safety being “the first consideration at every stage of the process.”
It said each aircraft had three senior captains on board with a combined 75,000 hours of flying experience.
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Nevertheless, it also recognized what it described as the “valid questions and concerns.”
Airlink Chief Executive de Villiers Engelbrecht said the decision had been made to withdraw plans for this weekend’s stadium flypast in Johannesburg because “the forecast weather points to unfavorable conditions for a safe formation flyby.”
A history of flybys in rugby
Stadium flybys have long been tradition at major rugby matches in South Africa, dating back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, when a Boeing 747 swept overhead before the Springboks faced the All Blacks.
The SACAA said in a statement that South Africa “is ranked seventh globally and first in Africa for our aviation safety standards by the International Civil Aviation Organization.”
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There have been no fatal accidents in its commercial airline operations space for over four decades, it added.
A WWE star recently spoke about the pool of potential opponents for Dominik Mysterio, claiming that the latter had no threat due to his current alliance.
Dominik Mysterio became one of the most hated heels in the business after he parted ways with his father Rey Mysterio on screen. He has recently been active in AAA and is currently the Mega Champion. He has made allies in the promotion, working alongside Omos and El Hijo Del Vikingo in the stable called El Ojo.
Thanks for the submission!
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In a recent interview with Casino Guru, Omos was asked about Dominik Mysterio. The Nigerian Giant stated that Dominik had no real threats as long as he stood with Omos. He also mentioned how strong El Ojo was, claiming that it was a conglomerate.
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“There’s a ton of opponents, you know, but as long as we’re together, I don’t think he has any tough opponents. We’re together in El Ojo, we’re all one, we talk, we’re a bit of a conglomerate. So, I think as long as he has me, there’s no threat.” (H/T: Fightful)
Dominik Mysterio recently spoke about his WWE WrestleMania dream match
According to Dominik Mysterio, facing Seth Rollins in a special match at WrestleMania is something he would enjoy.
Speaking in an interview with Metro Ecuador, Dominik recalled how he had faced Seth Rollins in a street fight for his first match in WWE. He believes that facing Rollins again in a hair vs. hair match would bring things together well. He said he does not have anything to fear.
“As for WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, my dream would be a hair vs. hair match against Seth Rollins,” he said. “I began my career with him; it was my very first match, so getting to face him in the ring rather than just being his protégé would be a dream come true for me. What do I have to fear?” (translation by Google Translate)
As of now, it remains to be seen what Dominik Mysterio has planned for his future in WWE and the pro wrestling business.
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Former England captain Michael Vaughan says the rise in the cost of tickets to next year’s men’s Ashes are “pricing a lot of people out of the game”.
Having labelled a 43% price increase for the 2027 Test at Edgbaston as “really poor” on social media, he subsequently told BBC Radio 5 Live the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could be “in for a shock” from the impact of their ticket policy.
Members at Edgbaston can purchase tickets for £92, but the cheapest for adults across the first three days are £115, with every ticket carrying a £2.50 booking fee.
“I think the game’s got to be very careful. I think you’re going to be pricing a lot of people out of the biggest series of them all,” said Vaughan.
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“A family out of four with children over 16 it’s near on £1,000. And then you’ve got to price in a few drinks when you’re there, a bit of food, travel, maybe accommodation – this is the sport the ECB are wanting to be the most inclusive in the country.
“The fans first and foremost are the reason any sporting occasion is a good one, don’t price them out because they might get a shock.”
The Birmingham ground will host the third Test of the best-of-five series between England and Australia next summer, with ticket prices in the Hollies Stand – which holds almost 6,000 spectators – costing £165, up from £115 in 2023.
Vaughan added: “It’s a 43% uplift, that for me is far too much. I think fans know that ticket prices over time will go up, but next week you’ll be paying £82 and next year on the same seat it’ll be around £167.50.
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“The Hollies Stand is one of the most famous stands in cricket, in the UK. We love the atmosphere. But you’ll be sitting among the beer snakes, there’s going to be giraffe and elephant [costumes] walking by.
“A lot of these venues are having a huge amount of expenditure and it’s great. The Hundred sale money, I thought was going to be helping for that. A year or so after all that money coming in, it looks like it’s been put on the ticket prices as well.”
Following the 2023 series, which ended in a 2-2 draw after Australia won the first two Tests [at Edgbaston and Lord’s], the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said “every day sold out in advance, with total attendance topping 545,000”.
An Edgbaston Stadium spokesperson said: “Our prices for the 2027 Ashes Test are broadly in line with other host venues and major British sporting events such as Wimbledon and the Formula One at Silverstone.
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“Our entry level ticket prices roughly match inflation compared to the last time Australia visited Edgbaston in 2023 – but like the rest of the country, we’re battling increased costs and trying to manage these wherever we can.”
Despite Warwickshire’s Edgbaston stadium being at a reduced capacity because of the construction of an on-site hotel, tickets for next week’s third Test between England and Pakistan, which range between £57.50-£87.50 for adults, have not sold out.
The ticket ballot for the 2027 Ashes opened on Wednesday, with prices more expensive at Lord’s and the Oval in London, with the best tickets at £190 and £185.
England, who lost 4-1 in Australia last winter, begin their quest to regain the Ashes at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on 18 June.
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The second Ashes Test at Lord’s begins on 30 June and the third at Edgbaston on 8 July.
The Utilita Bowl in Southampton will become the 10th UK ground to host a men’s Ashes Test when the fourth Test gets under way on 21 July, with the series concluding at the Kia Oval from 29 July.
BBC Sport has contacted the ECB and all the Test venues for comment.
If you’re keen to play some of the world’s best courses, it helps to qualify for the Walker Cup. With Seminole and Sunningdale and the Old Course at St. Andrews and Cypress Point, host venues for the century-plus-old event read like a Top 100 ranking.
This year is no exception. The 2026 Walker Cup is headed to Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, where 10-player teams representing the United States and Great Britain and Ireland will square off Saturday and Sunday on the club’s storied Old Course. (This year marks a rare back-to-back edition of the Walker Cup; from here on out, the event will return to its traditional biennial cadence.) In advance of the matches, here are eight things to know about Lahinch.
It has old ties to Old Tom
Lahinch is known as the “St. Andrews of Ireland,” owing to its close connection to the town of the same name and for its link to Old Tom Morris, who, in 1894, was brought in to reshape the club’s original rudimentary layout, which itself first welcomed play in 1892. Old Tom described Lahinch as “the finest natural course he had ever seen.”
It’s the home of (amateur) golf in Ireland
The club is no stranger to high-level amateur events. Since 1897, it has staged the annual South of Ireland Amateur Open, the country’s oldest provincial championship, whose winner receives the oldest physical trophy in Irish amateur golf.
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It’s been a collective effort
They say success has many fathers. Lahinch had several, too. Founding member Alexander Shaw and his cohort staked out the original routing in 1892. Two years later, Old Tom Morris carried out extensive improvements, stitching the routing into wilder dunes and laying the foundation for a design that today ranks 34th on GOLF’s list of Top 100 Courses in the World. Credit also goes to Alister MacKenzie. In 1927, the British architect added an array of strategic enhancements, including brawny, ragged bunkers and multi-tiered greens. At the turn of the 21st century, Martin Hawtree took a turn of his own. Enlisted to steel the course against the modern game while preserving its MacKenzie/Morris character, Hawtree rebuilt greens and tees, re-routed four holes closer to the coast and created a pair of new par-3s, pushed deep into the dunes, among other changes. Like MacKenzie before him, he left Lahinch’s two most famous holes (see below), the Dell and Klondyke, untouched.
It’s part links, part theater
Lahinch pairs raw, oceanside terrain with some genuinely eccentric golf. Blind shots and crisscrossing holes add to the intrigue of a twisting routing made all the more varied in its challenge by shifting winds. The setting isn’t shabby either, with Liscannor Bay curling beside the course and the town of Lahinch poking into storybook view.
Two of its holes are famously blind
The par-3 Dell and the par-5 Klondyke both date to Old Tom’s original design, and both ask players to fire at a green shrouded by a dune. The Klondyke’s name is a nod to 1890s gold fever — Irish prospectors flocked to Canada’s Yukon around the same time the hole was built, and the hump of sand blocking the green was steep and massive enough to earn the comparison. The Dell takes its name more simply, from the natural hollow the green sits in. At 154 yards, it’s the shortest hole on the course, and sometimes it gives you a peek at the flagstick from the tee (but only when the cup is cut on the far right). Otherwise, your line is a white stone placed atop the dune.
The blind par-3 saw many dubious aces
For years, Lahinch caddies were known to lend a little extra help to approach shots on the Dell, where a discreet foot wedge was enough to turn a good shot into a “hole-in-one.” Great shot by the player! Good tip for the looper! Everyone was happy. Sort of. As the aces piled up in preposterous numbers, the caddies’ hijinks became a kind of inside Irish golf joke. When the club approached the caddie master, asking him to get his crew to cut it out, the caddie master agreed, on one condition. A raise was negotiated, the shenanigans ceased, and holes-in-one at the Dell returned to being as rare as they’re supposed to be.
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It has its own traffic cop
Most clubs rely on marshals or rangers to keep play moving. Lahinch has the Hillman. Because the Klondyke 4th hole and the closing 18th cross paths through the same swath of dunes, a staff member stands sentinel on a high point, using a colored-flag system to indicate when it’s safe to hit.
It’s already hosted big-time golf
Lahinch got a modern-day tune-up ahead of the 2019 Irish Open, which Jon Rahm won there. The club added a short-game practice area in 2018 and built the Academy, a high-ceilinged indoor training facility next to Lahinch’s other layout, the Castle Course (which dates to 1963), to bring its practice options in line with tour-level expectations. For tournament week, organizers also rigged up a screen behind the Dell so players and spectators could actually see where approach shots had landed. No fictitious holes-in-one were made.
Madison Keys saved five match points and needed a deciding set tie-break to win a thrilling second-round match at the US Open and avoid a major upset.
The 22nd seed won 5-7 6-4 7-6(10-5) against Hungary’s world No 75 Anna Bondar, winning four games in a row and saving match points in the deciding set, before coming from 5-3 down in a dramatic tiebreak to book her place in the third round.
She will face either Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng or Yulia Putintseva.
The three-time major winner rattled through the opening set and looked to be cruising in the second before she faltered on serve and appeared to lose confidence in her game, with doubles specialist Siniakova reeling off four straight games to force a decider.
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But Osaka fought back in the third to win 6-2 5-7 6-1, booking a third-round clash with Belgium’s Elise Mertens after the 23rd seed beat Maria Timofeeva in straight sets.
Osaka said: “This match was definitely really tough, I had to fight. I had a couple opportunities in the second set and I think I was a little bit too hard on myself. I took a bathroom break, regrouped. I told myself that it’s an honour to play on this court, and I just want to keep playing in front of you guys, so just try to fight as best I can.
Osaka took to the court in a dramatic silver ensemble (Getty)
Osaka took to the Arthur Ashe court in another eye-catching outfit, a silver jacket embroidered with tennis racquets with a trailing tiered high-low skirt, before revealing an all-silver ensemble for the match itself.
She appeared entirely in control until a wobble in the second set. At 4-2 down Siniakova broke her back, but having struggled with unforced errors throughout the match – particularly on her notoriously weak serve – she was immediately broken back to 15, leaving Osaka to serve for a place in the third round.
But a brilliant winner by the Czech coupled by some tame errors by Osaka handed over a third consecutive break, before Siniakova levelled proceedings at 5-5 with a fine backhand winner down the line as she served to stay in the match.
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Keys was pushed all the way by Bondar (AP)
The 13th seed looked nervy on serve and that lack of confidence began to hamper the rest of her game. Osaka saved two break points, the second with an ace, in her next service game, but hit the ground with her racquet in frustration after netting and was broken to trail 6-5.
Siniakova lashed a cross-court forehand right on the baseline as she recovered from her own troubles on serve to seal the set 7-5.
But Osaka regrouped quickly, breaking Siniakova on her way to establishing a 3-0 lead in the decider, and this time held her nerve, with Siniakova firing long to concede the match.
Elsewhere in New York 2022 champion Iga Swiatek swept aside Nadia Podoroska 6-3 6-2, with the Pole to face 25th seed Marie Bouzkova after the Czech dispatched Britain’s Harriet Dart with ease, 6-2 6-2.
Dart’s defeat means Fran Jones is the only Briton left in either the men’s or women’s singles draw.
Linda Noskova’s life changed earlier this summer in ways she could not possibly imagine.
The 21-year-old from the Czech Republic won Wimbledon, the youngest champion there in a decade and a half, for her first Grand Slam title. She met Czech president Petr Pavel and was celebrated by thousands in her hometown of Vsetin.
“A lot of congratulations from people that weren’t really expected,” she said.
Back at a major for the first time at the U.S. Open, Noskova understands the gravity of what she has accomplished but insists it has not changed how she approaches tennis, with her eyes on more prizes ahead.
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“It has always been very important to focus on each match like nothing ever happened before: no success or no failure,” Noskova said. “Whatever happened happened, and this is a brand-new tournament. I just have to start all over.” It’s not totally starting over. She will always have that Wimbledon run on her resume, and she has improved from 12th to a career-best sixth in the WTA world rankings.
Still, Noskova called not getting ahead of herself the most important thing, which she believes is easy. After falling behind 5-2 in the first set of her opening match Monday against 78th-ranked American opponent Katie Volynets, Noskova rallied to win it 7-5, 6-1.
“I really want to stay the same – not really change many things around me,” Noskova said. “Whenever there is something new or something I’m not used to, I just kind of always want to stick with the things that I know how to do, and whatever is new, I just kind of get used to it.” Knowing it’s about “What have you done for me lately?” Noskova acknowledges the media attention will not last forever. Going all the way at the All-England Club did give her confidence that she can hang with the best women’s players on the planet, which helps at a U.S. Open that looks wide open.
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“I have learned mainly the fact that it’s possible for me to do it: for me to make it till the very end and just lift (a) Grand Slam trophy,” Noskova said. “I feel like all of us, all players, just dream about that moment and when it actually comes, it’s very hard to realize and to realize all the things that went into it.” Noskova beat countrywoman Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon final. She’s the youngest to win that tournament since another Czech player, Petra Kvitova in 2011.
But the celebrations of that achievement are over. For the first several minutes of her question-and-answer session upon arriving in New York last week, Noskova did not utter the “W” word.
She smiled and called it unintentional. Attempting to shift her mindset and moving past Wimbledon is very intentional.
“I feel like I have had enough of it, in a good way,” Noskova said. “I mean, it’s something that it’s so big and huge that it’s very tough to actually swallow. But at the same time, we have a new Grand Slam here. I cannot be stuck in my head space at Wimbledon. … I will just try to redo what I did.
Iga Swiatek, of Poland, serves the ball to Nadia Podoroska, of Argentina, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
NEW YORK–Former champion Iga Swiatek marched into the third round of the US Open on Thursday.
Swiatek, whose six Grand Slam titles include the 2022 US Open, defeated Nadia Podoroska 6-3, 6-2 in the first meeting between the two since Swiatek beat the Argentine on the way to her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2020.
Apart from a brief scare at 5-3 in the first set, when Swiatek saved four break points, the Polish star was largely untroubled by the former top-40 player now sunk to 449th in the world.
Swiatek broke twice on the way to a 5-1 lead in the second set and closed it out on her own serve, giving herself a match point with a forehand winner and polishing it off after an hour and 11 minutes with a stinging backhand.
It was another encouraging performance for the former world number one, who hadn’t reached a final in 2026 until her run to the title at Toronto in August.
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She then came up short in her title defense at Cincinnati, but said her game is trending in the right direction.
“I’m here with better feeling than any other Grand Slam this year,” Swiatek said. “Just trying to enjoy every day and improve the game every day.”
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For the first time in more than half a decade, Mizuno has a true better-player cavity-back iron.
The Japanese sports giant, which has always been known for producing soft-feeling forged irons, has recently shed the idea that their irons are only for better players and become one of the market leaders in players distance and game improvement irons. In their current lineup, Mizuno has at least four different irons that could be categorized as players distance.
Meanwhile, the first two offerings in the new Mizuno Pro Signature Series, the S-1 and S-3, were a compact blade and a compact shallow cavity. Irons designed for elite ball strikers, but not as much for a player who wanted just a touch of forgiveness.
But now the company is adding to the Signature Series with the new Pro S-4, the largest and most forgiving cavity-back option in the lineup made up of all single-piece Grain Flow forged irons.
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“The S-4 is a more forgiving, slightly larger, slightly more offset version of Mizuno Pro,” Mizuno Director of Golf Chris Voshall told GOLF. “Which all sound like things that are not Mizuno Pro. But it’s just very slight tweaks in all of those things.”
What’s actually new with Mizuno Pro S-4 irons — and why you should care
Filling the cavity-back-sized hole
Mizuno branched off its Mizuno Pro line into the Signature Series — single-piece forgings for players who demand feel above all — and the Modern Series — for players who want Mizuno Pro feel, but want the speed boost from modern tech too.
While the S-1 and S-3 catered to the elite ball strikers, and M-13 and M-15 were for players seeking more distance, the S-4 is for the player in the middle: Players who want feel and forgiveness but don’t need extra speed. It’s a player that Voshall thinks has been overlooked in the industry, with all the range going toward players distance or players performance irons.
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“It’s one that I think a lot of players who are the low single-digit handicaps are gonna really like,” he said. “The feel is there; the performance— it’s like sneakily forgiving.”
This was always going to be the idea with the Signature Series. Give good ball strikers several options that preserve feel, while allowing them to pick and choose certain features they like, like sole shape, workability and more.
Voshall admitted that this isn’t going to be an iron that flies off the shelf, but it’s also an iron that fits right into the existing Mizuno Pro lineup seamlessly as a combo set. He suggested an S-3 player moving to S-4 in the long irons, or an S-4 player moving to one of the M-Series irons in the long and mid-irons.
New shape, same tech
While the S-4 is a more forgiving Mizuno Pro Signature Series iron, it’s hardly just a larger version of the S-3.
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The deeper and curved cavity of the Pro S-4.
Jack Hirsh/GOLF
Instead, the S-4 is a new shape that features a progressive offset flow and topline throughout the set. This helps the long irons inspire more confidence and keeps the short irons in a more compact profile for precise scoring.
While the S-3 has a straight muscle line along the back of the iron, the S-4 has a new curved muscle that strategically moves mass to the toe and heel, increasing stability and lowering the CG in addition to a wider sole. It also gives the iron a neutral bias.
“There’s no toe-heel bias to anything; the weighting of that cavity actually has the mass extending up in the toe and the heel,” Voshall said. “So it’s bringing the CG lower, it’s making the MOI a little bit larger, but all in a small kind of player’s package.”
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But, just like the rest of the Mizuno Pro line, the S-4 features the same construction that fans of the brand have come to know and love. The iron is constructed from a single piece of 1025E Pure Select Mild Carbon Steel using Mizuno’s proprietary Grain Flow Forged HD process. The feel is further enhanced by a soft copper underlay and Harmonic Impact Technology.
What is it: While the S-4 is the largest iron in the Mizuno Pro Signature family, it’s still a compact players iron designed for elite ball strikers.
Who it’s for: Players who want a single-piece forged feel, but more forgiveness without the additional speed of a larger iron.
My take: This is the Mizuno iron I’ve been waiting for
For a few years there, Mizuno offered its 223 and 243 cavity-back irons for better players who didn’t want to play blades. But those irons were a bit too jumpy for golfers (like me) who just wanted a little more forgiveness. Mizuno solved this by reprioritizing the new M-13 as a “speed cavity” and more in the players distance space.
When the S-3 came out, I thought this might have been the option I was looking for, but after playing them for a few months, I realized that the S-3 just didn’t offer the stability I needed. No knock on either of those irons, but they just weren’t for me.
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With the Pro S-4, Mizuno finally offers the single-piece forged cavity-back that is easy for me to launch and gives me stability for the occasional mishit.
The Pro S-4 is the first iron that truly allows me to experience the Triple Cut sole properly. While the S-4’s sole is wider than the MP-18 MMCs I played a few years ago, it doesn’t play as wide because of the bevels.
At impact, the sole cuts through the turf quickly and makes me feel like I’m picking off a piece of turf the size of a slice of butter.
In the short testing I’ve done, I’ve found it very easy to work the ball up, down, draw, fade, or whatever I want, and as someone who grew up playing Mizuno irons, the look and feel check all the boxes.
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For the first time since I’ve been doing this job, it seems like Mizuno finally has the iron that fits my game.
The Mizuno Pro S-4 has been engineered for accomplished golfers seeking the unmistakable feel of a forged iron with greater forgiveness and confidence throughout the set. A redesigned curved muscle concentrates mass lower in the head, while progressive offset, a wider sole and deeper center of gravity promote higher launch, increased stability and improved forgiveness without compromising the precision expected from Mizuno Pro. Forged from a single billet of 1025E Mild Carbon Steel using Mizuno’s patented Grain Flow Forged HD process, the S-4 delivers the exceptional feel, feedback and workability synonymous with Mizuno’s forged heritage
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