Review: Mizuno ST180 Driver

Our Mizuno ST180 driver review took place at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.

Mizuno ST180 Driver Review – First impressions

We’ve got a very similar look here to the JPX900 driver when in the address position.

It’s a friendly looking size and has that very classy matte blue finish with minimal design and alignment.

I think the Mizuno ST180 driver will be appealing to a wide-range of handicaps.

It’s not intimidating for the higher handicapper and it’s ticking a lot of boxes for the better player (if they can handle the blue).

But there’s a huge difference from the JPX900 when it comes to the sole.

There are no interchangeable weights or pads to open or close the face.

The Mizuno ST180 driver has an adjustable loft sleeve but other than that it seems a fairly no-nonsense product.

Mizuno ST180 driver review – The technology

We’ve got what Mizuno call a wave sole which is something they debuted in their fairway woods.

They say this will help reduce spin and create a flatter ball flight.

But the Mizuno ST180 driver also has a discretionary weight which is pretty far back so it seems this driver may still offer a reasonable amount of forgiveness.

Mizuno ST180 driver review – The results

There’s a nice sound and feel off this driver. It’s similar to the JPX900 but if anything it sounds and feels a bit more solid.

I was really enjoying the ball flight on the Mizuno ST180 driver as it was quite flat and penetrating.

My struggles with the driver over the past couple of years have seen me hit high spinny shots that barely run out at all.

With the Mizuno ST180 driver it seemed like there was a much flatter low-spinning flight and before even looking at the Trackman numbers, I lived what I was seeing.

And I liked what I was seeing from the Trackman 4 numbers as well.

If anything the spin was a bit too low according to the numbers  but when I was hitting shots I was thinking ‘that will work on the golf course’.

And that’s all that matters. We shouldn’t get too bogged down in the data but if you offered me a 230 carry 260 total – I’ll take that all day long.

Mizuno ST180 driver review – NCG verdict

This driver caught me a little by surprise. I wasn’t really expecting it to perform like this.

Just from looking at the design, I wouldn’t have expected it to be super low spinning in the way it was.

Would a fitter be happy with those spin numbers? No I think he or she would like to get them up a bit.

So that makes me think with a full custom-fitting on this driver I could get some even better numbers.

But I was very happy with how it performed on the day, I love the looks, it sounds and feels great.

My favourite Mizuno driver to date? Possibly, I loved the JPX EZ and I know how forgiving that was out on the course.

I’d need to put the Mizuno ST180 in play for a couple of rounds to see if I could handle that low spin in real life.

Mizuno ST180 driver details

SRP: £399

Lofts: Adujustable 7.5˚-11.5˚

Stock shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 50/60/70

More information can be found on the Mizuno website.

Ping G400 Max driver review

Read full article - Ping G400 Max driver review