FIRST LOOK: Mizuno focuses on the bullseye with ES21 wedge line

There are multiple routes to consistent wedge contact. Practice is a surefire way to improve your short game. But not everyone has the time to spend endless hours on the practice area.

Thankfully, equipment manufacturers have been doing their part to bring scoring clubs to market that offer an improved sweet spot to mitigate mishits and improve launch/spin conditions.

Mizuno’s multi-piece ES21 is designed around a Grain Flow Forged Boron infused carbon steel face and 431 stainless steel body that removes mass from the heel and repositions it toward the middle of the face. The genesis behind the design is to shore-up strike consistency and increase the chances of squaring up the face at impact through a higher toe design that offsets the hosel’s weight. Shifting the sweet spot slight back in the head helps ramp-up spin as well.

To conceal the extra mass found high in the head, Mizuno made the topline visually smaller through a combination of a curved back and black finish that makes the head look more compact in the address position.

The stable design is bolstered by Quadcut CNC-milled grooves featuring vertically etched HydroFlow microgrooves running up and down the face. The microgrooves help pull water away from the strike areas for better spin consistency, especially from the rough and wet conditions.

Mizuno’s ES21 wedge ($200; KBS Hi-Rev 110 Black Wedge shaft) will be available Sept. 17 in four lofts (54, 56, 58 and 60 degrees) with two sole configurations: standard and wide. The standard sole has a constant width with heel and toe relief to allow golfers to open the face for a variety of shots. The wide offers 20 percent more width, making it an ideal option from the sand or soft conditions.