Mizuno's driver offerings have, over the last few years, taken up a position as 'best of the rest' along with Cobra and the likes of Wilson and Srixon. By that I mean they perform pretty much just as well as the major manufacturers, but with a lower pricepoint and crucially, less marketing fanfare around this launch. When was the last time you saw an advert for a new Mizuno driver when watching the PGA Tour on TV?
The brand are coming off the back of one of their most successful driver ranges ever, the ST190 and ST200, which became the first drivers to be played by their global tour staff.
For 2021 they are looking to build upon this success with the next generation ST Series of woods.
The new ST-X and ST-Z Drivers again use Mizuno's SAT2041 Beta Ti face, and carbon construction, to deliver impressive ball speeds and an improved sound and feel at impact.
Most of our ST200 tour feedback was on the sensory side, a desire for a sound our players generally described as solid or dense. We spent the next year working on improving feedback, hand in hand with releasing the additional ball speed we knew was left in our SAT2041 Beta Ti face.
Chris Voshall, Mizuno Head of Product
Mizuno say that SAT2041 stands for Super / Alloy / Titanium / 20% Vanadium / 4% Aluminium / 1% Tin and it offers 17% more strength and 8% more flexibility than the 6-4Ti face that was traditionally used.
The Nippon steel product has been developed over five years and is designed to be resistant to fatigue, maintaining it's characteristics for much longer than traditional face compositions for more consistent results year on year.
Mizuno ST-Z Driver
The ST-Z driver is designed for excellent stability and low-spin efficiency. It has a balanced construction from toe to heel with a deep central back weight, promoting a spin-efficient and straight ball flight.
It features the aforementioned SAT2041 Beta Ti face to maximise ball speeds and provide consistent performance over time.
The ST-Z has a wide, low footprint and a neutral lie angle at address, along with the option for 4 degrees of adjustability to fine-tune ball flight and trajectory.
Mizuno ST-X Driver
The ST-X driver features a draw-biased setup thanks to a sole weight in the heel, along with the same SAT2041 face to keep up ball speeds.
"In testing, a lot of our tour players preferred the ST-X over the ST-Z for its deeper shape and slightly smaller profile," said Voshall, "I'd recommend starting with an open mind and dropping the ST-X alongside the ST-Z in the address position. For a draw biased driver, it's not going to be what most players expect."
Mizuno has made a larger carbon composite window in the toe, along with a heel sole weight, for the reliable draw bias. The ST-X comes with a more compact profile, a deeper back portion of the head and a more upright look at address, along with the same adjustability option as the ST-Z.
The ST-X produces a denser feel at impact with a more muted sound.
For those golfers with slower swing speeds, the J-Spec model uses an ultra lightweight 39g MFUSION shaft which helps to generate a little more clubhead speed along with easier launch.
Mizuno ST-Z Fairway Woods
The ST-Z fairway woods offer a throwback profile which offers high levels of stability and low spin efficiency, with 'curves for the purist and performance for the pragmatist'.
The fairways feature a third generation MAS1C face which the brand say is their most powerful to date. Both the 3 and 5 woods have an adjustable hosel allowing the user to vary the loft and face angle by up to 4 degrees.
The ultra lightweight carbon crown lowers the centre of gravity, for better spin rates and a more forgiving performance. The Wave technology has been re-engineered to lower the mass and improve launch.
The new Mizuno ST Series will be available from February 2021. The drivers are priced at £399 whilst the fairways are £279.
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