For 2022 Mizuno have created the ST-Z 220 and ST-X 220 drivers to offer better performance consistently with exceptional stability even on off centre strikes.
Both the ST-X and ST-Z 220 drivers use a full 460cc volume head that has been pushed down to create a ground-hugging profile that provides a higher launch while also encouraging lower spin and straighter ball flight.
This performance has been made possible due to the clubs being designed with a large carbon crown, while also having carbon fibre placed in the heel and toe areas of the sole. This has allowed for a huge amount of weight to be saved, with around 40% more carbon fibre being used in this design compared to the ST-Z Driver.
Because of the amount of weight that has been saved when designing the drivers, the engineers at Mizuno have been able to focus on improving performance in other areas by using additional weighting.
One way they have done this is by increasing the size of the tail weights that are used in the driver head from 11 grams to 20 grams. This weight has been precisely positioned below the sole surface and in the extreme rear center of the head to provide a huge increase in forgiveness.
The additional weight has also meant that the stability from both top to bottom of the face, as well as from heel to toe, has been improved meaning that golfers should see more consistent shots regardless of where they connect with the ball on the face.
Being able to generate these consistently reliable shots is down to the sweet spot on these drivers that creates high MOI. compared to the previous driver models from Mizuno, the ST-Z is 20 percent larger, while the ST-Z 220’s sweet spot is 30 percent larger.
Mizuno have opted to use the high-strength Super Alloy Titanium (SAT) 2041 beta titanium when creating the CORETECH faces used on these drivers. This material has been performance tested against the material used when designing the ST180 and ST190 drivers, and found that the SAT 2041 beta titanium compound is 17% stronger.
Using this alloy means that the face of the driver is much more flexible, so when the face springs back after connecting with the golf ball it will be able to revert back to its original position faster, while also adding an extra burst of energy to carry your drives even further.
This burst of energy from the face of the club isn’t the only thing powering players drives forwards. In the sole of the driver Mizuno has included their Wave Technology for additional ball speed.
This added ball speed is made possible thanks to the series of ridges that are used in the button of the head to allow for the lower section of the face to flex more on shots that strike lower of the face, meaning that high speeds can still be generated.
While the drivers look and feel like they can generate incredible drives off the tee, they also sound like they do too.
Mizuno has used what they call “Harmonic Impact Research” to match the sound of the club with its performance. This system has been used before on several previous designs to identify and isolate the different vibration patterns that are created by each golf club when striking a ball. These vibration patterns are used to create the sort of sound that many elite players would associate with what is considered the preferred “solid” shot.
With the hybrid on the other hand, Mizuno went with a maraging steel face, MAS1C, but designed it to be a staggeringly thin 1.8mm - Mizuno’s thinnest hybrid face ever. This thin face boosts golfers strokes with added distance as it provides incredible ball speeds. Infact Mizuno have announced that the ST-220 Hybrid creates the highest recorded ball speeds from centre strikes that they have ever recorded from a hybrid.
Mizuno have also created new ST-220 Hybrid and Fairway Woods to pair with these drivers.
