When Adam Scott debuted a set of Miura prototype irons last season at the Memorial, the general consensus among gearheads was the blades would never make it to retail. Outside of Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade P7TW irons, custom, player-designed irons tend to remain Tour-only products for a few reasons. They’re expensive to mass produce and are sometimes made from materials that aren’t easy to source. Or at least that’s been the case for most manufacturers.
In recent years, Miura has found a rabid fanbase for custom, limited offerings. Four years ago, a four-piece set of Miura + Linksoul Color Theory irons sold out in record time. Two years later, Miura collaborated with 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus on irons bearing his design fingerprints — and watched them fly off the shelves for $2,750 per set.
With demand at an all-time high, Miura is partnering with Scott on a set of AS-1 signature irons that are a carbon copy of the blades he’s now wielding. But what makes these irons special are the lengths Scott went to to bring the clubs to life.
Miura AS-1 irons
Instead of simply speaking to someone at Miura over the phone and offering up a list of wants for his signature iron, Scott traveled to Miura’s factory in Himeji, Japan, to meet founder Katsuhiro Miura and get a closer look at how his irons are constructed. He even took a spin on the grinding wheel during the visit.
“Going in [the Miura factory], there is a huge appreciation for what he does and all the irons he’s created, even some not branded Miura over the years that great players have won huge championships using,” Scott said. “So to be working with someone so knowledgeable and understanding and also willing to take the feedback and produce an iron that he approves of but also has all the features that I am looking for.”
The 2013 Masters champion could be categorized as a gearhead. He appreciates classic designs and can reel off names of old blades without skipping a beat. It was actually a throwback trait of the Nicklaus x Miura blades (more offset) that led Scott to contact the iron manufacturer to discuss the possibility of working together.
“A big thing for me and what I like looking down is offset,” Scott said. “I had grown up playing offset and that’s really been taken out so really sending inspiration of pictures or anything that had a lot of offset because I feel like people are afraid to put it in because it’s not so prominent within the game. I can look at a lot of offset. So, I feel like I was pushing the team to go more and we can always come back. The offset came out really nicely on the first set of irons.”
While there’s noticeably more offset on Scott’s AS-1 than many modern blades, the overall offset and face progression suits his eye throughout the set, giving them a look that closely resembles the irons he grew up playing in Australia.
The other trait Scott wanted to incorporate was a unique sole design to handle the different turfs he deals with over the course of a Tour season.
“Ultimately, I think the biggest difference in the irons from where I had been, I was looking for a different sole design,” Scott said. “Something to perform a little better in all kinds of turf because week-to-week we play different kinds of turf, and I was looking for something that could perform with every different kind of turf and we certainly achieved that.
“… I just felt like in the last 10 years, even in the irons, where there is less to move around like weight and things like that, that just moved in aesthetic looks and some of the performance things that suit my swing had moved away. So I was looking to find someone to work with that could understand what I am looking for and one of the longest-tenured iron makers and one of the best in Miura was a great place to look.”
After thoroughly vetting the initial set in competition, Scott and Miura agreed to release a limited-edition version in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of the Aussie’s Masters victory. The iron set (3-PW) retails for $3,750 and will be available for pre-order, starting today, with a $500 deposit. (Sets are estimated to begin shipping — including with custom specs if purchasers prefer — in October.)
Each set will feature Miura-San’s red hanko stamp, a traditional Japanese seal of approval, and a certificate of authenticity. The clubs will come in a custom commemorative box design that’s inspired by the distinctive deep blue aprons that the Miura craftsman wear at the factory.
“Having Miura-San’s stamp of approval was really important to me because I wanted it to be something that not only, I’m proud of, but something he is proud of doing as well and I think having the hanko stamp next to my name on the iron is a really cool piece of golf history for me and I am glad we can share it with everyone,” said Scott.
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