Equipment

Mizuno ST190, ST190G Drivers put woods front and center for “iron” company

Published

5 years ago

Jan 7, 2019

Mizuno Golf is about more than just irons; that’s the message the company is keen to drive home with its launch of the Mizuno ST190 driver and the Mizuno ST 190G driver.

In announcing its lowest spinning, most technology-packed driver in company history, with the 2019 Mizuno driver, the company seeks to position itself as one that has quietly innovated in the driver space for years, highlighting milestone technologies in the Ti100, T-Zoid, MP-001, and MP-600 in discussions around the launch of its latest drivers.

With respect to the specifics of the Japanese company’s most recent weaponry, the ST190 and 190G feature a forged Sp700Ti face (10 percent stronger than 6-4 titanium) with the company’s ultra-light Cortech structure, as well as a carbon composite crown. As with the ST180 series, Mizuno applies its Amplified Wave soleplate, which deforms on impact for better energy transfer between club and ball.

Mizuno-ST190-Driver-Mizuno-ST190G-Driver-2

The weight of the carbon composite crown, 12 grams, allowed engineers to redistribute some seven grams of weight throughout the body of the club.

The Amplified Wave Sole effectively expands the ST190’s COR area for improved balls speeds across the clubface, according to the company, and better ball speed on off-center strikes in particular.

Mizuno fine-tuned the driver’s sound via Harmonic Impact Technology, adding internal rids for a more solid sound at impact.

Getting into the differences between the two models.

2019-Mizuno-driver

Mizuno ST190

designed for mid to low spin with maximum stability
features a single, factory-fixed 6g backweight that adds 300gcm2 MOI

Mizuno ST190G

Designed for low spin
Features Fast Track adjustability: twin seven gram weights on external tracks
Weights can reduce spin by an additional 200rpm and allow for draw/fade biases

“The ST190 marks a total change in how Mizuno approaches wood design,” says lead Mizuno golf designer Kei Tsjui. “We now start the development process with our tour players. The tour-tested molds then become our production molds. In the case of the ST190, this produced a high-speed driver with extreme low spin for the tour, but with the capability of increasing spin for lower swing speed players.”

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Chris Kirk’s new Mizuno ST-190G driver (swipe for more photos) #crown #new #driver #golf #spotted

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The first PGA Tour player to game the ST190 was big hitter Keith Mitchell.

Says Mitchell: “Driving was my best category last year – I walked into testing to do ‘Cookie’ (Mizuno, PGA Tour Manager Jeff Cook) a favor, give him some numbers and leave. It turned out to be the easiest change I’ve ever made – on the one club I never thought I would switch.”

Specs and availability

The Mizuno ST190: driver will be available in 9.5 and 10.5 degree models, both adjustable by two degrees either way. 9.5 degree option only for left-handers.

The Mizuno ST190G: driver will be available in a 9-degree model only, adjustable by two degrees either way. Right hand only.

Shafts: Mizuno offers 26 shafts without upcharge. New options for 2019 include Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S, Atmos Red 5R, Atmos Red 5R2, Atmos Red 6R and Atmos Black TS 6S.

MSRP: ST190: $400. ST190G: $500

ST190 drivers will be available nationwide and in Canada in February.

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19 Comments

howie

Jan 8, 2019 at 5:53 pm

If you play these black mizunos you won’t go back… and your golfing buddies won’t turn their backs to you.

Reply Report comment
simms

Jan 7, 2019 at 7:07 pm

Another driver for future EBAY sellers….unless your a single digit or better 3 or 4 yards for $500 is a big step…almost any driver from the last 6 years or so is going to work for you.

Reply Report comment
- gunmetal
  
  Jan 8, 2019 at 12:13 am
  
  Yup.
  
  Looks nice, though.
  
  Reply Report comment
joe

Jan 7, 2019 at 4:49 pm

More RH only from Mizuno. Darn righties….

Reply Report comment
One Day At A Time

Jan 7, 2019 at 4:26 pm

Trying like Hell to be honest and transparent in 2019… so take this fwiw…

I handle a lot of donated clubs. Always trying to get clubs to kids, and often get 10 Adult clubs for every USKG/TourEdge/XYZ junior club. In 2016, one of the younger outside staff guys swung my 905r w/o asking and w/o knowing you don’t do that, it hit the pavement, so now I’m needing a new stick and a week later a Callaway fti 6 w/ a real fuji speeder walked in. Yeah, square headed, TINGY, and if my ST180 launched at 11 spun at 24, the cally launched at 14 spun at 31. But, in early 2017 I needed to knock out my pat, and from January 1 to April 4 I hit 90% (+/-2%) of my fwys over a 120 shot sample size. On April 4 2017 I’m plotting along and the wind kicks up to 20, gusts 27. On side by side holes I hit it 205 v 330. I was educated enough to be dangerous regarding spin OTT and about a month after the only time guys say “Now you never have to play golf again!” , the ST180 was showing up ahead of time for reasons unknown. I volunteer to be the guinea pig for a driver fitting in our Teach The Teacher program and in short time the youngest assistant pro I’ve worked with had made the most INCREDIBLE W.O.O.D. adjustment to my lead hand @ address and I see 160 ball 11.5 launch and 2224 spin. Deuces to the launch monitor , I want to watch it fly outside. It’s 253 to the net, and generally speaking your apex has to be high and if you carry the net you carry it 280. I’m swinging it at 107, so I don’t need to tell you how unlikely I was to do that, and how immediately I scribbled ST-180 tensei blue gp tv full cord on the DOG’s Christmas list. And in the entire year of 2018, I struggled off the tee so much that I would give it away to the first person that wanted it. I’m absolutely the guilty party, the Mizuno ST-180 is and was a truly best kept secret for for guys that can’t hit it left to save their lives, and admittedly I did hit the best drive of my post-arthrodesis life to date with it on the nastiest par 5 I know of in DFW, but I will NEVER ever EVER ditch a fairway finding four cylinder for a driving range heat seeking missile ever again.

Until someone asks me to hit the stick that Ping is dropping in March.

And unless the Titleist TS starts curving off the face of the Earth, I am looking forward to seeing it in my bag in 2028, just like the 905r was a welcome sight for an entire decade of golf.

Reply Report comment
- Mower
  
  Jan 7, 2019 at 8:38 pm
  
  Can’t believe he didn’t even do the courtesy of a TLDR summation!? No internet etiquette.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - BAR
    
    Jan 7, 2019 at 9:41 pm
    
    Honestly. I had to skip read and have no idea what he’s on about.
    
    Reply Report comment
- HeyJude
  
  Jan 8, 2019 at 12:36 am
  
  Didn’t know hieroglyphics was a thing again.
  
  Reply Report comment
joro

Jan 7, 2019 at 3:03 pm

Looks a lot like the 180 kept it is Black. Love the 180, and even like the Blue.

Reply Report comment
jonas

Jan 7, 2019 at 2:25 pm

I hear they are working on an even better driver called the S&X69oo prototype model… it’s a beast !!!

Reply Report comment
smz

Jan 7, 2019 at 2:22 pm

I’m still shopping for 2018 drives at vastly reduced prices. If I can’t make last years models give me fantastic performance, then there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. 2017 models are okay too.

Reply Report comment
dat

Jan 7, 2019 at 12:10 pm

Look really good, finally ditched the blue! Excellent array of shaft options and adjustments for a reasonable price! Unheard of so far this year!

Reply Report comment
JP

Jan 7, 2019 at 11:37 am

Mizuno going with a cortech face is too similar to Wilson’s new Cortex driver.

Reply Report comment
- Forged MB
  
  Jan 7, 2019 at 12:08 pm
  
  Except for the fact that Mizuno had the Cortech face well before the Wilson Cortex was even a thought and the Mizuno is actually getting your play. Don’t see any CORrelation at all.
  
  See what I did there? 😉
  
  Reply Report comment
  - JP
    
    Jan 7, 2019 at 1:30 pm
    
    Wilson the guilty party then. Copy that.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Scheiss
      
      Jan 7, 2019 at 8:26 pm
      
      It is a stupid name for a driver. Wilson really didn’t think it thru (see what I did there, about Cortex?)
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortex
      
      Reply Report comment
Benjamin Kaiser

Jan 7, 2019 at 11:22 am

They look really nice!

Reply Report comment
Max

Jan 7, 2019 at 11:20 am

So, at first I thought Mizuno waiting to release this driver at the same time as Taylormade, Callaway and PING was a mistake and that it would be overshadowed by the big boy offerings. But, after seeing the lackluster new releases from Taylormade and Callawy, I think it might work out for Mizuno. These drivers look soooo good and the stock shaft offerings are far far superior to the other’s.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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