For a company that hadn’t had a PGA Tour win with a driver in well over a decade, 2019 was a big year for Mizuno drivers on the PGA Tour—and in the minds of consumers. The new ST200 drivers and fairway woods build on the success and technology breakthroughs of the ST190 series in 2020 by focusing a global team effort on a single goal: creating the best driver series on the market.

Mizuno’s tagline for the new ST200 drivers and fairway woods is “Tour Ready, World Ready” and the reasoning behind this structured line is two-part.

• “Tour Ready”: Unlike other OEMs, there are no “tour parts” when it comes to Mizuno metal woods. With a smaller staff, the sole focus of the design team was to create a line of woods that tackle the whole spectrum of the golf demographic bell curve, from high-speed high-spin players on tour, to moderate speed golfers needing some draw bias, you’ll find them all with the ST200s.
• “World Ready”: This speaks to a culmination of product planning and design that has been in the making for probably close to six years, if not longer. In the past, some markets, especially Japan, has had separate product lines (craft and MP) in the woods.

But there was one problem with that market and product segmentation: more designs meant engineers had to stretch their biggest resource, time, thinner. It’s not that previous releases weren’t already great, as testing proved, but it left engineers and designers asking the question “could we have done more?” From a marketing perspective, it also meant a win for a Japan-only driver, turning what could have been a global marketing win into more of a local advertisement—not an ideal scenario for a globally recognized brand like Mizuno.

Now, with the ST200s, for the first time in memory, North America, Europe, South Korea, and Japan all have one uniform line of products, designed as a single global family.

Three is the magic number: This is the last part to the ST200 story. As mentioned earlier, being able to add an additional driver model to the family allows designers to push further towards the edges of the golfer fitting bell curve and offer greater adjustability and tuning options. All while still making sure to create hugely forgiving clubs for all golfers.

Technology

So what actually makes the ST200 drivers as a whole better than the previous generation? Let’s break it all the way down to materials.

SAT2141 Beta Titanium Face: A quick Google search will show you that this material is not new to the aerospace world, but as far as golf clubs go it was mostly found in JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) drivers, especially ones meant to be Hi-COR/non-conforming, because of cost. As we all know, CT and ball speeds are limited by the rules of golf, but within those parameters, there is room for improvement around the face. SAT2041 has higher strength and rebound properties allowing Mizuno engineers to improve the multi-thickness areas behind the face for higher ball speed, and save mass to reposition around the head.

• More photos of/discussion about Mizuno ST200 drivers in the forums. 

More discretionary mass: In the golf world a few grams here or there can mean a lot, and for a driver, it’s even more critical. Mizuno shaved mass all over the head to boost MOI in all three models, starting with the crown. The carbon top was already light at 10.6 grams, but by adding structural ribs, they were able to save almost 19 percent and bring that down to 8.6g. (let this be an example that a percentage statistic can sound both impressive and also feel underwhelming) but it proves that they are taking every step possible.

Mass was also saved from the standing wave at the front of the head, as well as the face, thanks to the newer material use, and in the case of the ST200, was placed in a new 11.6g weight pad in the back of the head.

Face optimization: More time spent working on products equals further refinement, and for Mizuno, that means that each loft in each model head (four total) have an internal CorTECH face designed to maximize that loft, based on players fitting profiles.

Meet the Family

2020 Mizuno ST200

The ST200 is designed for a total balance of spin control and forgiveness. The starting goal for this driver was to create the highest MOI possible without sacrificing the ability to produce lower spin. Mass saved around the head allowed for the placement of a new weight pad towards the trailing edge away from the face, to boost total MOI by 13 percent, compared to the previous ST190. Any time a product in the golf world can get double-digit improvement numbers in a performance parameter, you know they are on to something.

This higher MOI doesn’t take away from the spin performance either since the ST200, is now lower spinning that the previous lower spin ST190G.

The head comes in two standard loft configurations 9 degrees and 10.5 degrees and with the Quick Switch loft adjustability two more degrees in either direction.

• More photos of/discussion about Mizuno ST200 drivers in the forums. 

2020 Mizuno ST200G

The ST200G driver is all about providing the most adjustability into a higher MOI head with very low spin properties.

From an adjustability perspective, Mizuno research found that most golfers either placed the sliding weights all the way forward or all the way back in the tracks of the ST190g. So to increase adjustability they put the weight entry point in the middle of the tracks to provide more front-back movement. The resulting design change gives the ST200G a higher MOI with the weights all the way back than last year’s ST190.

The bigger tracks, along with larger dual eight-gram weights—compared to the ST190G’s seven grams—create greater spin separation between the front and back positions—upwards of 500 RPM vs. the previous model’s 300 RPM. Lower spin, higher MOI, and faster ball speeds are everything you would want from a tour-level driver.

The ST200G only comes in a 9-degree head, but with the Quick Switch loft adjustability two more degrees.

2020 Mizuno ST200x

The ST200x is a serious contender for any golfer looking to add distance and speed back into their game. Built from head to grip to compete in the ultra-premium lightweight category, the design focus was more on a total club package than head performance alone.

The stock length is .75″ longer than the other two models at 45.75″, and with the emphasis on making each component of the club as light as possible, the total weight comes in as 272g. To give that number a comparable, the XXiO Prime is 250g (but $850), and the Titleist TS1 is 275g. This light total weight, as well as a repositioned internal and external mass, makes the ST200X draw bias to once again focus help on those looking to add some distance.

The ST200X comes in a 10.5-degree head, and with the Quick Switch loft adjustability, two more degrees in either direction you can take it from 8.5 to 12.5 degrees.

• More photos of/discussion about Mizuno ST200 drivers in the forums. 

2020 Mizuno ST200 series: Shafts, prices, availability

The ST200 and 200G stock options are driven directly from the tour and feature a familiar story of high, mid, and low launch with the Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana D+Plus Series

High: Diamana D+PLUS Red 50 & 60 grams
Mid: Diamana D+PLUS Blue 60 & 70 grams
Low: Diamana D+PLUS White 60 & 70 grams

Driven by fitting, Mizuno has also added more upcharge shafts options for the first time including

• Tensei CK Pro Orange and White 60 and 70g
• Fujikura Ventus Blue and Black 60 and 70g
• Graphite Design Tour AD Di6 & 7 along with XC6 & 7
• Project X HZRDUS Smoke Yellow and Green 60 and 70 g

Price: 

• ST200 – $399.99
• ST200G – $499.99
• ST200X – $399.99

The Mizuno ST200 driver’s pre-sale and fitting tools will be available starting January 21 with product on retail shelves on February 14.

Mizuno ST200 fairway woods

The story of the Mizuno ST200 fairway woods, falls in line with the drivers: by globally aligning the R&D teams, along with putting a deeper focus on total performance, we get two new woods to fit more players.

Technology

All-new MAS1C high strength steel faces: The old adage of “the shaft is the engine of the club” couldn’t be further from the truth. The face is where performance comes from in any clubhead, and Mizuno wanted to take a big step with the ST200 by completely overhauling the internal structure. By using the new face material, they were able improve on the CORTECH multi-thickness pads behind the hitting zone, which greater improved total face COR and rebound ability, especially on lower face strikes.

It’s not that previous fairway woods weren’t taken right to the limit. But outside of the center of the face, performance depreciated faster than Mizuno engineers wanted to see. You have to remember, we’re not talking about 20 yards and 5-6 MPH of ball speed here, we’re talking 2-3 total MPH that when out on the course could mean the difference between a shot that carries a bunker and ends up on the green or has you grabbing a wedge for your next shot.

Thinner, lighter, stronger carbon crown: When it works, it works. Just like with the driver, engineers managed to make the carbon crown lighter by adding structural ribs to increase rigidity. This combined with the stronger face material freed up more mass to be placed around the heads to boost MOI and center of gravity optimization.

Specs, prices, and availability

The ST200 is technically one model but the TS (Tour Spoon) 15-degree version comes with the same Quick Switch adjustability as the drivers to offer the option to change loft up or down.

The non-adjustable 3- and 5-woods come in at 15 and 18 degrees and are offered stock with two different shafts models.

Pricing is $299.99 for the adjustable TS, and $249.99 for the non-adjustable models. The ST200 fairways pre-sale and fitting tools will be available starting January 21 with product on retail shelves on February 14.

• More photos of/discussion about Mizuno ST200 drivers in the forums.