Low-spinning, fully adjustable, small-headed drivers have always had an enthusiastically captive audience.
They are a lifeline for golfers with oversized swing speeds, players for whom a regular driver performs more like a long-handled short iron due to a severely ballooning ball flight.
The latest entrant in the niche category is Mizuno’s ST-G driver.
It’s low-spinning and compact (440cc). But it also has a few other nifty tricks up its sleeve.
WEIGHT, WHAT?
Taking over from Mizuno’s previous ST-G 220 driver, the new ST-G driver complements the ST-Z 230 and ST-X 230 drivers that were released at the beginning of 2023.
While the ST-Z 230 driver is highly forgiving and the ST-X 230 is draw biased — characteristics achieved through the strategic placement of internal mass — the new ST-G driver struts to its own beat with the addition of an adjustable weight track on the sole.
Mizuno have simplified the adjustable weighting on the ST-G driver, with a dual track replacing the triple track system on its predecessor, but it still means you get to decide exactly how the driver performs.
The ST-G’s twin tracks run from the front to the back of the sole and now almost meet at the rear of the club head.
With the weights pushed all the way towards the face, you’ll get a low-launching, low-spinning ball flight perfectly suited to bombers who are chasing ball speed and distance off the tee.
Push them all the way back and it’ll result in a higher launching ball flight and a more stable and forgiving driver.
And if you offset the weights, it’ll create either a fade or draw biased driver.
CORTECH CHAMBER
The new ST-G driver features the same CORTECH Chamber as its Mizuno driver contemporaries.
Dubbed as “the missing piece” by Mizuno, the CORTECH Chamber — a 3g stainless steel weight wrapped in a flexible plastic cover — offers multiple benefits.
Positioned just behind the leading edge, it shifts stress away from the driver face to create more consistent ball speeds across the entire span of the face, while also reducing spin.
And, in tandem with the ST-G’s internal tuning ribs, the CORTECH Chamber contributes to a superior feel at impact.
A TOUGH NEW FACE
A new lighter and faster face material called Beta Rich Ti LFS is a speed-inducing inclusion on the new Mizuno ST-G driver.
It’s a bit of a mouthful but the new titanium blend is nine per cent stronger than the SAT2041 titanium face used on the ST-X 230 and ST-Z 230 drivers.
The more resilient material gave Mizuno designers the elbow room to create a complex thin-and-thick face architecture that has created a 1.5mph boost in ball speed compared to the previous titanium.
NEW CARBON TOE WRAP
The expansion of the lightweight carbon fibre crown has made the ST-G driver more playable than ever.
The carbon has taken over some real estate on the toe of the driver, leading to an agile responsiveness when tweaking ball flights via the adjustable weighting.
In conjunction with the ST-G driver’s hosel, which offers a 4° range of modification, players can now finetune their ball flights with even greater precision.
MIZUNO ST-G DRIVER SPECS
- Australian Launch Date: October 6, 2023
- Hand: RH/LH (9.5° only)
- Lofts: 9.5°, 10.5°
- Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Kai’li Blue 60; Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Green 60
- Hosel: 4° adjustable
BUY 2023 ST-G TITANIUM FAIRWAY
MIZUNO ST-G TITANIUM FAIRWAY WOOD
Mizuno have also created a new ST-G Titanium fairway wood that is built for players with high swing speeds.
It’s designed to eat up yardage with a low-spinning, penetrating ball flight and is Mizuno’s first titanium ST-G fairway wood.
It shares many of the same attributes as the ST-G driver, such as the CORTECH Chamber — the very component that opened the door to such low-spinning performance in a fairway wood.
The ST-G’s compact titanium (Ti-811) body is paired with an 80g stainless steel sole plate and an 8g weight screw (located just after the leading edge on the sole), shifting the centre of gravity well forward to cut spin.
Available in a three (15°) or five wood (18°), Mizuno ST-G Titanium fairway woods also feature a hosel with a 4° range of adjustability.
MIZUNO ST-G FAIRWAY WOOD SPECS
- Hand: RH/LH (3W only)
- Lofts: 3W: 15°, 5W: 18°
- Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Kai’li Blue 70; Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Green 70
- Hosel: 4° adjustable