Mizuno ST180 driver review

For decades, Mizuno has been acclaimed for its fantastic forged irons, with the result that its metalwoods have often been overlooked. With the release of the ST180, though, this looks set to change.

I have been a big fan of Mizuno’s metalwoods over the last few years. In fact, for the last two-plus years, I have had the JPX 850 in my bag and I’ve loved every minute of playing with it.

The compact head shape, solid feel, low spin characteristics and incredible distance it gives me makes it one of my all-time favourite clubs. So, you can only imagine how excited I was to see how the new, low spinning, high launching ST180 would compare to my old blue bomber.

Before we get into all that, let’s take a look at the major tech talking points.

This is the first Mizuno driver to feature Wave sole technology, something we first saw in the brand’s JPX 850 fairway woods.

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The ST180’s Wave sole commits every available gram of weight low and towards the face, dropping spin rates for even the fastest, downward ball-strikers (I’m one of them).

The Amplified Wave sole contracts and expands to increase the energy imparted to the ball for elevated ball speeds, while also pushing weight forward to vastly reduce spin rates.