Mizuno MP A302

Brand: Mizuno
Putter: MP A302
Design: Blade
RRP: £169 Best price: £139
Loft: 3.5-degree Lie: 71-degree Head Weight: 340g

Summary: The MP A-Series putters combine a lush black IP finish, with bevelled white top edge to make their classic shapes easier to align. The top edge marking, parallel to the face, creates a stronger alignment aid on compact head shapes, than can be achieved with a traditional ‘ball to target' marking.

Appearance: A classic blade with an appealing black finish in contrast to the white alignment aid, the MP A302 is a good-looking putter of similar size to the Nike Method Core. The black IP finish helped reduce glare in the beaming sun and this also contributed to a fantastic contrast between putter face, ball and green. The body looked a little too wide for us, however, and we thought it sat a little too open at address. We felt as though we had to move our hands to straighten up the blade. 8

Feel: Being head heavy, we didn’t get a huge response from the putter and found ourselves storming the hole with a few, finishing past the hole numerous times. We felt the face was a little dead and didn’t provide near enough feedback to judge distance. 6.5

Performance: The alignment aid worked well by employing two lines, one down the face and one perpendicular to this, which ensured we had good alignment. This blade has a nice evenly distributed weight but we really struggled distance-wise. With pace paramount in holing putts it meant we struggled to frighten the hole on many of the 10 and 20-footers. 7.5

Verdict: An attractive putter that is let down by the feel which was too harsh for our liking. While it may be easy to align, this becomes irrelevant when there is a breaking putt when pace is all-important. Price may also put people off. 22

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