We don’t think the heavy stuff is gonna come down for quite a while…
The forecast is touch and go early at Augusta this week, with rain scheduled for Thursday morning and possibly beyond.
Some people shrink away from a little rain, but we don’t think the heavy stuff is gonna come down for quite a while. If you’re reading this, you’re not one to call off a tee time just because there’s a small chance of rain, tiny gusts of wind, or a litttle nip in the air.
Here at Golfweek, we’ll weather the weather whatever the weather, and keep you as dry as possible on the course. Check out our list of best rain apparel and check back later this week for our list of best rain accessories.
The Mizuno ST-Max hybrids are designed to be stable and forgiving.
Gear: Mizuno ST-Max 230 hybrids Price: $250 with Mitsubishi Lai’ Li Blue, UST-Mamiya LIN-Q Blue Hybrid or Helium NanoCore Hybrid shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip Specs: MAS1C maraging stainless steel with stainless steel chassis with an adjustable hosel. 19, 22, 25 and 28-degree head options.
Who It’s For: Golfers who want an easy-to-hit replacement for their long irons that produces a high launch angle and extra carry distance.
The Skinny: The new ST-Max 230 hybrids are like miniature fairway woods, with a larger size and high moment of inertia (MOI) to make them easy to hit off the tee and from the fairway for golfers who want more forgiveness and distance than traditional long irons.
The Deep Dive: The new Mizuno ST-Max hybrids are designed to appeal to the same golfers who will benefit from the ST-Max driver and fairway woods, meaning golfers who want to maximize stability and forgiveness.
While the driver and fairway woods utilize multi-material constructions, the hybrids are all stainless steel. Instead of adding a small carbon fiber crown, Mizuno made the top of the club thicker in some areas and thinner in others. The brand refers to it as a Waffle Crown, and while the glossy black top gives the ST-Max hybrids a classic look in the address position, it reduces weight on the top of the head.
The CorTech Chamber helps performance on low-struck shots. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To increase ball speed, a larger CorTech Chamber complements the MAS1C stainless steel face in the sole. It’s a slot designed behind the leading edge that is then filled with a blue thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), so grass and debris do not get inside the head. Inside the TPU, Mizuno designers have added a stainless steel bar that helps the head maintain forward momentum at the moment of impact. So, while the TPU reduces weight and soaks up excessive vibrations, the CorTech Chamber also helps golfers generate more ball speed.
The larger size, from heel to toe and from front to back, makes the ST-Max 230 hybrids more stable on off-center hits, but the addition of a weight in the back of the sole helps to drive up the MOI and further increase stability.
To help golfers and fitters fill distance gaps and provide clubs that go to precise distances, the ST-Max 230 hybrids are available in four loft options. However, each club’s adjustable hosel allows the stated loft to be increased or decreased by up to 2 degrees. The result is golfers can adjust the clubs to cover lofts from as little as 17 degrees to as much as 30 degrees.
Several close-up images of the ST-Max 230 hybrids are below.
The Mizuno ST-Max fairways are made to be stable and easy to hit.
Gear: Mizuno ST-Max 230 fairway woods Price: $300 with Aldila Ascent UL, Mitsubishi Lai’ Li Blue or UST Mamiya Helium NanoCore 4F1 shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip Specs: MAS1C maraging stainless steel with stainless steel chassis, carbon fiber crown and adjustable hosel. 15, 18 and 21-degree head options.
Who It’s For: Golfers who prioritize forgiveness and who want to hit straighter shots off the tee and from the fairway.
The Skinny: The new ST-Max 230 is designed to be the most forgiving, most stable and easiest fairway wood to hit in the Mizuno lineup.
The Deep Dive: Mizuno’s ST-G fairway wood is an attention-getter because with its titanium construction, massive stainless steel sole plate and weight-forward design, accomplished golfers can use it as an alternative to a driver for increased accuracy without losing much distance. It’s macho, but it’s not for everyone. The ST-Z, with its carbon fiber crown, is bigger and more forgiving, but now, with the release of the ST-Max, the Japanese brand is offering its most stable fairway wood yet for golfers who want a point-and-shoot club that is even easier to hit.
From front to back and from heel to toe, the ST-Max is the biggest fairway wood in the Mizuno stable, and when it comes to helping a club resist twisting on off-center hits, bigger is better. But what really makes a club more stable on shots hit outside of the sweet spot is a high moment of inertia (MOI), and to get that, Mizuno designers needed to reposition more weight to the back of the head.
So, instead of using stainless steel on the crown, the ST-Max 230 has a carbon fiber crown. That not only creates discretionary weight but also removes weight from the top of the club and lowers the center of gravity (CG) location, which encourages a higher launch angle.
The CorTech Chamber allows the lower portion of the face to flex more efficiently. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Mizuno also gave the ST-Max 230 a larger CorTech Chamber behind the leading edge. The CorTech chamber is a slot that allows the lower portion of the hitting area to flex more efficiently and pull the sweet spot down. The slot is covered by a blue thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to keep water and debris out of the head, but a small stainless-steel bar has been added instead of the TPU. At impact, the TPU soaks up some of the vibrations that are created to make shots feel better, but the bar’s momentum keeps it moving forward, so the club transfers more energy into the shot.
The TPU used in the CorTech Chamber weighs less than the steel that would be there, and along with the weight saved by using a carbon fiber crown, it allowed Mizuno to add a weight in the back of the sole that pulls the center of gravity back and elevates the MOI.
Compared to the ST-G and the ST-Z, the new ST-Max produces a higher ball flight and more spin, which for many golfers should translate into more carry distance and a steep angle of descent, so shots stop faster for more control and consistency.
Below are several looks at the Mizuno ST-Max 230 fairway woods.
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.
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.
The ST-Max 230 has a forged face made from Beta Rich Ti LFS titanium. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
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.
Check out some of the newly released golf bags in 2024.
Winter is dragging on, but soon warm temperatures will return and it’ll be time to hit the range again and get the game tuned up for the 2024 golf season.
We want to make sure you have everything you need to play your best, so we’ve decided to put together a list of some of the best recently released golf bags out there. In this list, you’ll find brands like Nike, Titleist, Ping, G/FORE, Stitch Golf and more.
With all the new clubs being released, there are some GREAT deals on recent models of irons including Callaway, Ping, Cobra, Srixon and more.
At the start of every year, major equipment companies release their new gear. Last week, we published a list of some of the best older-generation drivers to take advantage of great sales from sites like World Wide Golf Shops and PGA TOUR Superstore.
This time around, we’ve scoured the internet for the best deals on older-generation iron sets from brands like TaylorMade, Callaway, Cobra, Srixon, Mizuno and more.
Even though technology in golf equipment gets better every year, if the piece of gear is a year or two old, it still makes a great option for amateur golfers.
Check out our list of best golf bags for less than $300 and save some $$$ while playing all season long.
A nice golf bag can go overlooked by amateur golfers, but making sure you own a quality home for your golf clubs is important. You don’t want your golf balls falling out because of holes in your bag’s pockets, or your bag falling over due to overused or broken leg stands.
To make sure you have a nice golf bag for the rest of the 2023 season and beyond, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best golf bags we could find from brands like Titleist, Callaway, Ping and more.
And since no one wants to spend an arm and a leg for a nice bag, we’ve set the limit of this list to $300.
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.
The importance of nice wedges in amateur golf flies under the radar a bit. Many weekend warriors complain about not getting enough spin around the greens, hopelessly watching their chip shots run 10, 20, or 30 feet beyond the hole.
To be honest, the bad result may not be your fault.
If your wedges are starting to get wear marks, or if they’re approaching 5, 6, or 7 years old, it’s time to get some new wedges in your bag.
And because they can be expensive — new releases can get close to $200 per club — we’ve searched the internet for the best deals you can find on wedges from brands like Cleveland, Callaway, TaylorMade and more.
If you’re interested in saving more money throughout your bag, check out our recently released affordable drivers list.
