Pro Tip: Check Out Mizuno's New ST Line

Long known for its beautifully crafted irons, Mizuno has made a loud announcement to the golf world in recent years – its drivers aren’t just a compliment to its fabulous selection of irons, they’re a major part of its line.

For 2022, Mizuno drivers are focused on forgiveness. The two new drivers from Mizuno for 2022 are the ST-Z and ST-X 220. They share composite crowns and sole plates (which help to save weight), and each clubhead is more stable than any past Mizuno drivers. Mizuno used player feedback to help tighten the screws, so to speak, on the next generation of drivers to help with the forgiveness.

“By early 2021, with the vast majority of tour players we tested, the ST Series drivers were able to improve on their current driver for ball speed, looks and feel. The occasional barrier to getting a driver in play was the distance drop off from off-centre strikes,” said Crhis Voshall, the Director of Product at Mizuno. “Our engineers isolated and tackled that last dimension with the new ST-Z and ST-X. We’re now seeing the results – ball speed drop-offs are negligible, and we’ve massively tightened the overall ranges of launch and spin.”

There are plenty of preowned Mizuno golf clubs available at GlobalGolf.ca, but here’s a breakdown of what the new Mizuno gear looks like.

DRIVERS

For the new Mizuno drivers in 2022, the company expanded the carbon composite space in the sole by 40 percent. With a lighter crown the back sole weight weighs 20 grams – double the weight of a previous model.

The new Mizuno drivers are built on comparable platforms but are designed to help different kinds of golfers hit their tee balls longer and straighter.

The ST-Z 220 is the most played of the Mizuno drivers. It’s designed for a low spinning and straight ball-flight pattern with a head that sits closer to the ground promoting higher launch. The new face – a forged SAT2041 Beta Ti face – is built to elevate ball speeds thanks to multi-thickness CORTECH technology. The ST-Z 220 has a modern players’ profile and boasts four degrees of loft adjustability.

“It’s a modern driver for players who have grown up hitting long straight bombs rather than shaping the ball,” said Voshall of the ST-Z 220. “The addition of a 20g back weight also makes it an exceptionally stable.”

The ST-X 220, meanwhile, has a slight draw bias and helps promote extra distance via high flight capabilities. This new Mizuno driver as an X-Axis design to help push weight deep into the heel, has a slightly rounded profile (which helps with higher launch), and a 20-gram weight in the heel to create a deeper centre of gravity.

“For a lot of golfers, the modern low spinning driver design preferred by tour players is a serious distance killer. The ST-X’s extra spin, slight draw bias and higher flight will add driving distance for a surprising number of players,” said Voshall.

FAIRWAY WOODS

The ST-X 220 Mizuno fairway wood has a high, draw bias built for moderate swing speeds. Like the driver, the X-Axis design has serious internal weighting to help with the draw bias, while the 3-wood boasts driver-like speeds, according to Mizuno.

Also like the driver, the ST-X 220 fairway wood has the same multi-thickness CORTECH face to help give it the most stable and highest ball speeds ever in a Mizuno fairway wood.

The 3-wood has a full titanium build while the 5 and 7-wood have a maraging steel face. The new Mizuno fairway woods also boast an optimized wave sole to help produce big-time ball speeds – particularly low on the face.

HYBRID

It’s an all-new hybrid from Mizuno for 2022.

The ST-X 220 hybrid has the same X-Axis design as the driver and fairway wood, which helps to promote a high, draw-biased flight. It also has what designers are calling a “waffle crown” with back weighting. Mizuno engineers say the MAS1C face is the thinnest in company history. Like the fairway wood, the optimized Wave Sole is set to help create higher ball speed on strikes that are low on the face.