I’ve never invested in an after market shaft but this will be the year. This or the new Cobra
Mizuno ST-X and ST-Z Driver Review
Bombs away
- Staff
- #778
nice pickup indeed!
Best sounding driver I've ever heard.
That's a steal!
Shout out to @That post for helping me find the right thread.
Played 36 sim holes today and boy was I an adventure (as usual). Had some swing ideas that I was excited to try and (shockingly) they didn't work how I thought they would. This combination remains fantastic when I do my part. Took me about 27 holes to figure it out, but chilling my tempo out and choking down a bit turn this combo into a fairway finder.
The thing that continued to stand out was that I still don't see wild fades/hooks. Don't get me wrong I was all over the map today, but i wasn't seeing something start down the middle of the fairway and hook or slice 50 yards. A 50 yard miss was the result of starting line of the shot (pull draw/push fade). Given how off I was all day that made me happy. My final swing of the day was the choked down, smooth tempo swing that produced a beautiful high baby fade that was my longest of the day at 305. If I can ever figure my swing out the ST-Z / Smoke Blue combo could be a legitimate weapon this year
Played 36 sim holes today and boy was I an adventure (as usual). Had some swing ideas that I was excited to try and (shockingly) they didn't work how I thought they would. This combination remains fantastic when I do my part. Took me about 27 holes to figure it out, but chilling my tempo out and choking down a bit turn this combo into a fairway finder.
The thing that continued to stand out was that I still don't see wild fades/hooks. Don't get me wrong I was all over the map today, but i wasn't seeing something start down the middle of the fairway and hook or slice 50 yards. A 50 yard miss was the result of starting line of the shot (pull draw/push fade). Given how off I was all day that made me happy. My final swing of the day was the choked down, smooth tempo swing that produced a beautiful high baby fade that was my longest of the day at 305. If I can ever figure my swing out the ST-Z / Smoke Blue combo could be a legitimate weapon this year
Just wrapped up first range session of the year, and as one might expect spent a fair amount of time with the ST-Z. Have managed to sneak over to the LGS a few times recently and get some swings in on their Sim and had really noticed I was struggling to square the face. I suspect some of that was having driver set to lower and upright (8.375 loft, 2.5 open). That made sense at the end of the season last year when I was in peak golf shape, but coming out of winter I just don't have the speed to fully activate the TX shaft. To alleviate this I decide to crank this puppy all the way to Higher setting (11.75 loft, 2 closed) and boy did that do the trick. I was extremely pleased to see a mostly straight to slight fade ball flight pretty consistently. Could still lose one right but left was not an issue. Flight was mid to mid-high but nothing remotely concerning. Can't say anything for distance since its an open range, no shot tracer or anything, but it looked perfectly acceptable to what I usually see. I'm pumped to get this out on the course and see if it translates (far from my first good range session lol). I also am pleased that right out of the gate I feel confident I have a driver setting that will work, and as the swing speed picks up over the course of the summer (hopefully) I can make small adjustments back down. The range of adjustability with the ST-Z looks like it may be an early season life saver 
Got the ST-Z out on the course for the first time and I am supremely optimistic about this coming season. I fought it pretty hard out of the gate, but once I settled in it was really really good. Had some really good drives, with well struck drives living in the 255-270 range. Not the longest but it's still early and I think (hope) I've got some more in the tank as weather warms and body comes back around. I played my 18 (twilight rate so play until you can't see) and continued on and got another 8 holes in. Played driver on 6 of those holes and 5 of them were freaking stellar. Of course I wasn't tracking with ShotScope for those holes so no data 
. However, if those final holes (when the fatigue of walking/running 26 holes is really setting in) are any indication of where things are headed then whhhoooo boy 
.
I'm going to throw one screen shot in because this one really stood out to me. Slight DL left, so setup to hit a draw that was way out off the toe. Didn't overspin, and still got me 245 yards, which I didn't expect at all given how poor it felt off the face. I'm sure the newer generation is even better, but if you're on a budget this one is a great bang for your buck option.
. However, if those final holes (when the fatigue of walking/running 26 holes is really setting in) are any indication of where things are headed then whhhoooo boy .I'm going to throw one screen shot in because this one really stood out to me. Slight DL left, so setup to hit a draw that was way out off the toe. Didn't overspin, and still got me 245 yards, which I didn't expect at all given how poor it felt off the face. I'm sure the newer generation is even better, but if you're on a budget this one is a great bang for your buck option.
Driver swing is starting to come around, and the ST-Z is responding to my improvement well. Granted it was hot last night, but drive of the night was the beauty on 16. Slight dogleg left, and I absolutely pounded a draw around the bend, settling just in the fairway. Easily the longest drive I've ever hit on this hole in the 15 years I've been playing this course. We won't talk about screwing up the pitch and making bogey
STZ came in today. I think I like it.
Even those couple heel and high strikes felt good and went midway up the hill at the range (230y) with crappy range balls.
Hoping I get to take it to the course tomorrow if there is a morning window in the rain we’re getting.
Even those couple heel and high strikes felt good and went midway up the hill at the range (230y) with crappy range balls.
Hoping I get to take it to the course tomorrow if there is a morning window in the rain we’re getting.
Seeing improvements in distance consistently? Any accuracy improvements?Driver swing is starting to come around, and the ST-Z is responding to my improvement well. Granted it was hot last night, but drive of the night was the beauty on 16. Slight dogleg left, and I absolutely pounded a draw around the bend, settling just in the fairway. Easily the longest drive I've ever hit on this hole in the 15 years I've been playing this course. We won't talk about screwing up the pitch and making bogey
View attachment 9101340
Both. For one, and admittedly we're talking sample size of one, my average drive last time out was 280. Comparatively my average over the last 5 (which would be this year exclusively), was 252 according to ShotScope.
The dispersion also tightened up. Most of my misses were directional, being primarily pulls while expecting a fade, but what was not there was the huge hook or fade (depending on the day
)Again, this is purely based on one round, but it sure was a good one.
One round but that's a heck of a distance gainBoth. For one, and admittedly we're talking sample size of one, my average drive last time out was 280. Comparatively my average over the last 5 (which would be this year exclusively), was 252 according to ShotScope.
The dispersion also tightened up. Most of my misses were directional, being primarily pulls while expecting a fade, but what was not there was the huge hook or fade (depending on the day
Again, this is purely based on one round, but it sure was a good one.
It was. I mentioned it in another thread but a big change I made was getting much more aggressive in my backswing with the driver. The result, I think, was activating the shaft, leading to more swing speed and better quality of strike. Makes quite a difference when you're using the center of the club face
Eyeroll me if you must, but I haven't been in here in a while and there was some activity that made me think I should 
I've been a complete mixed bag with the ST-Z this year, but of course 99.999% of that is me. As you can see below I'm your classic two way miss guy but get away with it from an SG perspective (compared to others in my HCP range) thanks to length off the tee.
Obviously there's room for improvement, and as such I did make a shaft change this week in hopes of unlocking some better accuracy. I had been playing an RDX Smoke Blue in TX that I was fit into last year at the PX with Mizuno event, but old age is catching up with me and I just don't think I have what it takes to make that work any more
That being said I've plugged in a Lin-Q Gunmetal 6F5 and have a tournament on Friday on a course that really demands accuracy off the tee so that will be a great test.
I'm not exactly an expert at this, but there are two things that stand out to me with this driver. The first, a positive, is it seems to hold up very well to the high toe strike. There have been multiple times I've hit this shot and been very surprised by the distance I retained. The second, less positive, is the sound. To my ear it's a little higher pitched than I would like. Not quite Epic Max LS high (and certainly not any kind of Ping sound) but not the most pleasant to my ear. With this about to be two generations old, if you're a budget conscious golfer like myself I would suspect you could pick one of these up an extremely reasonable price. The performance at the cost would be well worth checking out.
I've been a complete mixed bag with the ST-Z this year, but of course 99.999% of that is me. As you can see below I'm your classic two way miss guy but get away with it from an SG perspective (compared to others in my HCP range) thanks to length off the tee.
Obviously there's room for improvement, and as such I did make a shaft change this week in hopes of unlocking some better accuracy. I had been playing an RDX Smoke Blue in TX that I was fit into last year at the PX with Mizuno event, but old age is catching up with me and I just don't think I have what it takes to make that work any more
That being said I've plugged in a Lin-Q Gunmetal 6F5 and have a tournament on Friday on a course that really demands accuracy off the tee so that will be a great test.
I'm not exactly an expert at this, but there are two things that stand out to me with this driver. The first, a positive, is it seems to hold up very well to the high toe strike. There have been multiple times I've hit this shot and been very surprised by the distance I retained. The second, less positive, is the sound. To my ear it's a little higher pitched than I would like. Not quite Epic Max LS high (and certainly not any kind of Ping sound) but not the most pleasant to my ear. With this about to be two generations old, if you're a budget conscious golfer like myself I would suspect you could pick one of these up an extremely reasonable price. The performance at the cost would be well worth checking out.
Well nothing much to add here unfortunately. My entire game was an unmitigated disaster on Friday and there wasn't a driver on earth that could help me.
M
Mark Frost
Guest
The following is a comment directed at all reviewers, not just your site. Having golfers with 100+ mph golf swings review clubs designed for high handicappers is like having Arnold Schwarzenegger tell you how it feels being a women... it has nothing to do with reality!
How about making those reviews actually relevent by having a less skilled golfer do the test?
How about making those reviews actually relevent by having a less skilled golfer do the test?
- Admin
- #793
Definitely spend some time on the THP Forum.
Golfers of all swing speeds review equipment and will continue to through both forum testing and THP Experiences.
That's the joy of this forum, you'll see folks from + handicaps to the 20's and beyond reviewing equipment and giving their opinion.