Miura Golf: A Himeji Family Forge
If Mizuno is the corporate benchmark of Japanese forging, Miura is its family counterpart: a small factory in Himeji whose founder spent his working life shaping steel by hand and whose name became shorthand, among golfers who care about feel, for the best a forged iron can be. Katsuhiro Miura died in May 2025. This chapter of The Atlas of Japanese Golf sets out what is known of the man, the method and the range, and what a collector should check.
The founder
Katsuhiro Miura was born in Himeji on 24 October 1942. Obituaries say he began his career as a golf club craftsman at the age of sixteen, while a 2017 profile dates his forging to 1957; the accounts differ by a year or two and agree on the shape of the story. He founded Miura Manufacturing Co, Ltd in February 1977, in his mid-thirties. His sons Shinei and Yoshitaka joined the business in 1994, and his grandson Kokuse has since joined too. The company announced his death on 15 May 2025, and trade press reported it the following day; he was eighty-two.
Hoyt McGarity, chief executive of Miura Golf, called him “an artist, a craftsman and a perfectionist.” The company says Miura clubs are still designed and forged in its factory in Himeji, and Golf Retailing’s obituary called his work the art of steel.
Ownership today
In 2017 the investor Howard Milstein partnered with Katsuhiro Miura in Miura Golf, with Hoyt McGarity, founder of the fitting company True Spec Golf, named president. Miura Golf is now part of the 8AM Golf family of companies. The factory, however, remains in Himeji, and family members continue to work in it.
How a Miura iron is made
The defining feature, as described in MyGolfSpy’s 2017 profile, is a two-piece construction: the hosel and the head are forged separately and spin-welded together. Miura says this gives it more precise control of head weight, loft and lie. Competing makers argue that the extra step can make the feel at impact less desirable, which is a fair summary of how divided opinion is on the question.
- Materials. Most irons were forged from soft carbon steel; the PP-WOI cavity-back was made from SUS 304 stainless steel.
- Finishing. Each head is inspected, and a master craftsman hand-finishes parts. In 2017 the factory was said not to be running at full capacity, and the company forged clubs for other manufacturers as well as for itself.
- Tolerances. Club builders interviewed for the profile praised the consistency of Miura’s specifications, and the reviewer described the feel as dense, firm and responsive.
The range
As of 2017 the company had released ten series of clubs. The irons that most golfers know are four:
- MB-001, a muscle-back blade.
- CB-57, a players’ cavity-back.
- PP-9003, a more forgiving two-piece forged iron.
- PP-9005 Genesis, a multi-material game-improvement iron. Its face was made in Taiwan, with final inspection in Himeji, which is a reminder that “Made in Japan” is a range rather than a promise.
Miura-Giken is a label for clubs sold only in the Japanese market, with small modifications for it. Miura heads were sold individually: in 2017 most started at roughly $235 to $300 depending on shaft, and the Genesis at $350. Those prices are dated and quoted only to show the order of magnitude.
What collectors look for
- A known build. Because heads are sold separately and finished with the buyer’s choice of shaft, the build sheet matters: shaft model, flex, length, lie and swing weight.
- Founder-era sets. Clubs forged during Katsuhiro Miura’s lifetime are now, by definition, a closed body of work.
- Japan-only issues. The Miura-Giken label identifies clubs made for the domestic market.
- Condition. Look at the faces for range wear, the grooves for sharpness, the hosel junction for any sign of stress, and the shaft band for bends. Our condition ranks are explained in full.
Read next: Epon and Endo: The Forging House Behind Other Names, the forge that makes heads for other names, and Honma Golf: Stars, Gold and the Sakata Workshop, the opposite pole of Japanese golf, where finish is the point.
In the archive
- Browse the Miura room and the shelf of Japanese Golf.
- For a very different idea of luxury, see the Honma Beres Forged K24 gold iron set.
Continue reading
- The Atlas of Japanese Golf: Makers, Methods and Why the World Collects Them
- Why Japan Became Golf's Great Workshop
- Mizuno and the Chuo Forge: Feel as Engineering
- Epon and Endo: The Forging House Behind Other Names
- Honma Golf: Stars, Gold and the Sakata Workshop
- XXIO, PRGR and Yonex: Clubs Built for Ease and Speed
- Bridgestone, Srixon and Cleveland: Japan on Tour
- Directory of Japanese Golf Brands
- Buying Golf Equipment from Japan
- All collector guides
After a particular Miura set or build? Our Hunting Salon™ searches across Japan's private collector circles on your behalf.
Index terms: miura golf history · katsuhiro miura · miura forged irons himeji · miura mb-001 · miura cb-57 · miura pp-9005 genesis · miura giken japan only · two piece forged hosel spin welded · miura golf 8am golf
References
Dates and figures in this chapter were checked against these pages. Where accounts differ, the text says so.