Mizuno launch ST190 Drivers and Fairway Woods

Mizuno have revealed their ‘speed engineered’ ST190 drivers and fairway woods, said to feature their lowest spin rates on drivers to date

A couple of months after they were first spotted at the British Masters in October, Mizuno have officially launched the new ST190 Drivers and fairway woods, which will be available to the public in February. 

The new range consists of the ST190 and ST190G Drivers, and ST190 and ST190 Tour S Adjustable Fairway woods, which all feature a carbon composite crown and amplified Wave soleplate. 

Mizuno ST190 Drivers

Mizuno’s ST190 drivers offer their lowest spin rates to date and incorporate multiple technologies to enhance ball speed and driving distance including a lighter CORTECH structure in the forged SP700 Ti face. 

The aim of this improved technology is to deliver consistently higher ball speeds, with the addition of a large carbon composite crown plus the Amplified Wave soleplate, introduced in last year’s ST180 drivers to help to convert each additional mph into extra yards.

“The ST190 marks a total change in how Mizuno approaches wood design,” says lead designer Kei Tsjui.

“We now start the development process with our tour players. The tour-tested moulds then become our production moulds. 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.”

It’s no surprise that Mizuno have changed up their production methods. They have quietly been a pioneer of woods for a long time, introducing golf’s first mass-productioni titanium driver (the Ti100), the Masters winning T-ZOID, MP-001 with composite crown, and the MP-600 with sliding weights, and they hope their latest offering will propel Mizuno’s metalwood construction in to the spotlight. 

The first PGA Tour player to put the ST190 into play was Keith Mitchell, who said he was as surprised as anyone that he made the switch.

“Driving was my best category last year – I walked into testing to do ‘Cookie’ (Mizuno, PGA Tour Manager Jeff Cook) a favour, 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.  The ST190 was faster, straighter and more forgiving than what I was playing.  I’ve used it ever since and haven’t considered taking it out.”

ST190 and ST190G drivers: What you need to know

The Forged SP700 Ti face is over 10% stronger than 6-4 Titanium with a fine grain structure that allows a more complex geometry in the CORTECH face, where re-engineered ribs and a Quick Switch internal structure promise even higher performance.

The ultralight 12g carbon composite crown means 7g of weight can be optimally redistributed to further boost ball speeds and reduce spin rates. The Amplified Wave Sole features a heavily amplified first wave configuration which expands the ST190’s COR area for improved balls speeds across the clubface, with reduced off-centre performance drop-off.

Harmonic Impact Technology is the result of a careful study of vibration and soundwaves, which identified the need for internal ribs to create a more solid, powerful impact sound.

The whole package combines to squeeze as much ball speed as possible from the entire clubface in both the ST190 and ST190G drivers.

ST190 and ST190G drivers: The Key differences

Mizuno ST190 Driver: RRP £449

The Mizuno ST190 driver is designed for mid to low spin with maximum stability, and features a single, factory-fixed 6g backweight that adds 300gcm2 MOI for added stability on off-centre strikes.

The ST190 driver will be available in men’s 9.5˚ and 10.5˚ models, both adjustable by 2˚ either way, in left and right hand.

Mizuno ST190G Driver: RRP £399

The Mizuno ST190G driver is engineered for low spin and offers intuitive FAST TRACK adjustability thanks to twin 7g weights on external tracks that can reduce spin by an additional 200rpm, allowing players to achieve heavy fade or draw biases by placing the weights in one track

The ST190G driver will be available in men’s 9˚, adjustable by 2˚ either way, in right hand only.

• A range of shafts without upcharge will be available for each, with new options for 2019 including Atmos Blue 5S, Atmos Red 5R, Atmos Red 5R2, Atmos Red 6R and Atmos Black TS 6S.

Mizuno ST190 Fairway Woods

Mizuno’s new ST190 fairway woods are also speed-engineered and feature a carbon composite crown and amplified Wave soleplate, this time allied to a deeper, high-energy HT1770 Maraging steel face.

This deeper clubface flexes more like a driver, helping to maximise ball speed, while the ultra-lightweight carbon composite crown allows 4g of weight to be moved low within the clubhead, combining with the deeper clubface to deliver an efficient, low-spin ball flight.

The Amplified Wave Soleplate’s larger first wave creates a balance between stability and sweet spot height to provide effective off-centre forgiveness without excess backspin. Similar Harmonic Impact Technology to that found in the drivers generates a powerful, solid impact sound, fine-tuned through the study of vibration and soundwaves.

The Mizuno ST190 fairway woods will be available in fixed-hosel 3- and 5-woods along with an adjustable Tour S 3-wood model that offers a stronger ball flight and in which lofts can be adjusted from 13˚ to 17˚. Again, early tour testing with a PGA Tour player has highlighted an effective relationship between ball speed and spin rates, with gains in the former accompanying reductions in the latter.

“The ST190’s deeper face is not just useful from the tee – it also gives the clubface a larger frame that functions more like a driver for higher ball speed,” says Kei Tsjui.

“Normally that is compromised by a higher sweet spot and additional backspin, but by using our carbon composite crown and Wave Soleplate, we were able to combine high ball speeds with an efficient ball flight.”

• The ST190 fairway woods will be available in a men’s 15˚ 3-wood (right and left hand), a men’s 18˚ 5-wood (right hand only) and a men’s adjustable 3-wood TS (13˚ to 17˚, right hand only)
• A range of shafts without upcharge will be available, with new options for 2019 including Atmos Blue 6R, Atmos Red 6S, Atmos Red 6R and Atmos Black TS 7S.
• ST190 TS adjustable Fairway Wood: £315 
• ST190 Fairway Wood: £279