Mizuno Drivers – Syndication Server

Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver

The Mizuno ST-Max 230 is a high-MOI, ultra-stable driver.

Gear: Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver
Price: $500 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX, Mitsubishi Lai’ Li Blue or UST Mamiya Helium NanoCore 4F1 shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip
Specs: 460-cc head with a forged titanium face and chassis, carbon fiber crown and sole panels, and adjustable hosel. 9.5, 10.5 and 12-degree head options.

Who It’s For: Golfers who prioritize forgiveness and who want to hit straighter drives.

The Skinny: The new ST-Max 230 takes the weight saved by using a large carbon fiber crown and sole panel and redistributes it to the back of the head to boost the forgiveness and make the club Mizuno’s most stable driver.

The Deep Dive: Just as you can tell a lot about a man by the quality of his shoes and belts, you can tell a lot about a driver by observing where designers and engineers position weight in the head. Mizuno’s ST-G driver has more weight concentrated in the front, which helps it reduce spin and put an emphasis on ball speed. The Japanese company’s newest driver, the ST-Max, utilizes an entirely different design, materials and weighting concept, and the result, according to Mizuno, is its most stable and forgiving driver.

Mizuno ST-Max 230 driver — In the address position, the ST-Max 230 looks large, but clean with a glossy black tone covering the carbon fiber. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

In the address position, the ST-Max looks bigger and wider than the other ST drivers, even though its 460-cc size gives it the same volume as the ST-Z and ST-X drivers. It has a lower profile but is larger from heel to toe and from front to back, and when it comes to stability, bigger is better.

The key to increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) and making a club less likely to twist on off-center hits is to position more weight in the back of the head. To do that in the 460-cc ST-Max, Mizuno designed the club with a massive carbon fiber crown and increased the size of the carbon fiber sole panel. Replacing titanium with carbon fiber reduces weight, and that saved weight was put back in the head by adding a 54-gram weight to the very back of the head. Having that much mass concentrated in the rear of the club keeps it moving forward and wobbling less on mis-hits, which should result in straighter drives.

To increase ball speed, Mizuno opted to use the same Beta Rich Ti LFS titanium in the face that debuted in the ST-G driver. It is lighter and has a higher tensile strength, so the multi-thickness face can flex more efficiently while maintaining durability.

Mizuno also increased the size of the CorTech Chamber, which is behind the leading edge in the sole. Mizuno has used this technology in recent drivers, and it involves creating a slot in the sole and then filling it with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to keep water and debris from getting inside the head. Inside the TPU, Mizuno adds a stainless steel bar, so while the soft TPU material allows the lower portion of the face to flex more efficiently on low-struck shots, the bar helps the head maintain momentum. The TPU material also soaks up excessive vibrations and enhances sound, so drives feel and sound better.

Below are several close-up photos of the Mizuno ST-Max driver.

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Best golf drivers in 2024: New drivers from Callaway, Cobra, Ping and more

Check out Golfweek’s list of the best drivers available to purchase in 2024.

Everyone wants to hit the ball farther, so distance is always going to be important when it comes to new drivers, but if there is a buzzword or concept that is going to dominate the scene in 2024, it’s moment of inertia or MOI.

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In golf equipment – and specifically, drivers – the higher a club’s MOI, the more it will resist twisting on off-center hits, so shots hit toward the toe or the heel will fly straighter and farther.

The USGA and R&A cap the heel-to-toe MOI in drivers at 5,900 g/cm², but several major golf equipment makers are offering their highest MOI drivers ever in 2024, including Ping and TaylorMade, which are both now featuring a driver than as a combined MOI (heel-to-toe plus sole-to-crown) over 10,000 g/cm², which should make the Ping G430 Max 10K and the TaylorMade Qi10 Max the most stable and forgiving drivers those brands have ever made.

These gains in driver stability are now possible because more companies are using weight-saving materials like carbon fiber in drivers, which allows engineers to redistribute mass into performance-enhancing locations. Several driver makers are also offering multiple models in 2024, with each driver being ideally suited to golfers who are looking for different specific traits. For instance, Callaway is offering four different Paradym Ai Smoke drivers including the high-MOI Max, the low-spin LS, the Max D for slicers and the Max Fast for slower-swinging players. Ping offers four G430 drivers and Titleist has TSR drivers available too, while Cobra, Mizuno, Srixon and TaylorMade each have three different options.

The key to finding the driver that best suits your game and your budget is to work with a custom fitter and hit several different clubs using a launch monitor so you can accurately compare things like ball speed, spin rate, launch angle and carry distance. Good fitters can help you find the ideal shaft, tweak the lie angle and the loft of your driver and explain why one model might be a better option for you than another.

Pro tip: During a driver fitting, be sure to wear your golf shoes and test clubs using the golf ball that you use when you play so you can get information that will translate more accurately to the course.

Below are many of the most popular drivers that you are likely to see in pro shops and golf specialty stores this season, along with a brief description of each club and a link to Golfweek’s fuller review. Use this as a jumping-off point to educate yourself about the new drives for 2024 before you go for a fitting.

See how Mizuno’s ST-G driver provides control and distance for better players

The Mizuno ST-G driver has what low-handicap golfers want off the tee.

Gear: Mizuno ST-G driver
Price: $599.95 with Project X RDX Smoke Green or Mitsubishi Kai’ Lu Blue shaft and Lamkin Crossline Genesis grip.
Specs: 440-cubic-centimeter titanium body with carbon fiber crown, two moveable 7-gram weights and adjustable hosel. 9.5 and 10.5-degree versions. (9.5 only in left-handed model.)
Available: October 5

Who It’s For: Accomplished golfers and fast-swinging players who want to shape shots off the tee with a low-spin, adjustable club with a classic look in the address position.

The Skinny: Combining plenty of carbon fiber with a smaller head and two moveable weight tracks, Mizuno’s newest driver for better players aims to decrease spin and produce a piercing, controlled flight.

The Deep Dive: At the start of this season, Mizuno continued its work to gain more traction in the driver market by releasing the 230 ST-Z and 230 ST-X, clubs designed to bring more ball speed and forgiveness to a wide variety of players. Those clubs will be back in 2024, but Mizuno is now releasing a driver for better players to join them, the ST-G.

The Mizuno Pro line of irons is the Japanese company’s highest expression of quality for high-level players, and some people within the brand think of the ST-G woods in the same way.

At 440 cubic centimeters in volume, the club is smaller than most clubs on the market, with a carbon fiber crown that extends over the edge on the toe side and wraps into the side and sole. That large carbon fiber crown weighs just 16 grams, but the glossy black finish helps it retain a classic look in the address position.

The Mizuno G230 driver has a compact, clean look in the address position. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Golfers may recall that the 2021 version of the ST-G driver had three moveable weight tracks, with two running from front to back, controlling the draw and fade bias, while a third track in the rear of the sole allowed players to control shot height. In the new model, there are two tracks, but they do the job of three. Golfers and fitters can slide the 7-gram weights forward to reduce spin and produce a lower ball flight or back to add spin, raise stability and encourage higher-flying drives. The weights can also be positioned on the same track to create strong draw or fade biases that boost MOI and stability.

The face of the ST-G driver is made from a unique titanium alloy that Mizuno calls Beta Rich Ti-LFS. The LFS stands for lighter, faster, stronger, and the material has been heat treated to make it stronger without making it thicker or heavier.

The ST-G has also been designed with a Cortech Chamber, a feature that debuted in last season’s 230 ST-Z and 230 ST-X drivers. It’s a slot in the sole, behind the leading edge, filled with a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to keep water and debris out of the head. Inside the TPU piece, Mizuno adds a stainless steel piece that runs from the heel to toe. The Cortech Chamber allows the face to flex more efficiently on low-struck shots.

Finally, the ST-G driver has an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft by up to 2 degrees.

Below are several close-up images of the new Mizuno ST-G.

Mizuno ST-Z 230, ST-X 230, ST-X PLTNM 230 drivers

Mizuno’s newest drivers benefit from carbon fiber crowns, thin titanium faces and a new sole technology that broadens the sweet spot.

Gear: Mizuno ST-Z 230, ST-X 230, ST-X PLTNM 230 drivers
Price: $499.99 for the ST-Z 230 and ST-X 230 with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green shaft, Mitsubishi Kai’Li Blue shaft or UST Mamiya LINQ Red shaft and Lamkin Hybrid ST grip. $549.95 for the ST-X PLTNM 230
Specs: Forged SAT 2041 Beta Ti face with titanium chassis, internal steel weight with TPU coating, carbon fiber crown and adjustable hosel. Lofts – 9.5, 10.5 degrees for the ST-Z 230; 9.5, 10.5, 12 degrees for the ST-X 230, 10.5, 12 degrees for the ST-X PLTNM 230
Available: February, but available for pre-order now

Who They’re For: Golfers who want a stable, low-spin, neutral-bias driver (ST-Z 230); players who want a draw-biased driver (ST-X 230); golfers who want a lightweight club to generate more swing speed (ST-X PLTNM 230)

The Skinny: The addition of an internal steel weight helps the ST-230 drivers generate more ball speed and lower spin rates, while the three club configurations give fitters a chance to help more golfers find a head that suits their needs best.

The Deep Dive: Four years ago the engineers and designers at Mizuno set out to do something hard. They were tasked with bringing the brand’s woods up to speed with Mizuno’s irons, which have been loved for years by discerning golfers for their distinctive looks and feel.

In each of the previous three seasons, Mizuno has released a new driver, starting with the ST-190, followed by the ST-200 and last season’s ST-220 drivers. (ST stands for speed technology.) Now the brand is releasing three ST-230 drivers, and Mizuno feels good enough about them to plan to move to two-year product cycles.

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Mizuno ST-G 220 driver

Mizuno’s newest driver has a carbon fiber crown, adjustable hosel and moveable weights.

Gear: Mizuno ST-G 220 driver
Price: $499 at (Carl’s Golf Land)
Specs: Titanium face and chassis with carbon fiber crown, adjustable hosel and three moveable weight areas.
Available: October

For several years, Mizuno has been known as a company that makes outstanding irons, especially for accomplished golfers, but in recent years the Japanese equipment maker has put a lot of resources into improving its drivers. The ST-Z and ST-X drivers that were released in early 2021 offered advanced features. They used several high-tech materials like special titanium alloys and carbon fiber to help golfers get more distance and enhance feel. Now the company is releasing its most adjustable driver ever, the ST-G 220, to help golfers and fitters fine-tune performance.

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Mizuno ST200 Drivers

Golfweek’s David Dusek talks to Mizuno’s Director of R&D, David Llewelyn, about the all new ST200 drivers.

Tag: Mizuno Drivers