Mizuno ST-MAX and ST-G drivers: Testing with PGA Tour star Keith Mitchell

Keith Mitchell was the #1 ranked ‘overall driver’ on the PGA Tour in 2023 – according to the tour’s own combined statistic for distance and accuracy. We asked Keith and fellow ‘Team Mizuno’ members Ben Griffin, Greyson Sigg and Bailey Tardy to give their feedback on the new ST-MAX and ST-G drivers for 2024.

Spe all right everyone I got the new drivers so always fun stuff to show off the new technology kind of pass them around tell you what we’re looking at here I know you’ve got a good mix of Z’s and X’s we got two new ones and Keith

I’m going to bring them over to you these are dialed in for you so we’re going to let you hit these in just a second these are Keith Mitchell’s models I want the max I want to hit the max the Max St Max this is basically like the

Most forgiving one on the market so it’s going to be it’s going to be super stable just if you don’t want to do anything just hit the ball straight St Max is going to be the one right there and then this is the STG it’s got a ton of

Adjustability so this is going to be a really you can get this super low spin and do some adjustment to this smaller head 440c obviously the smallest looking and the biggest looking of the bunch yeah bigger the better there you go yeah I think this might be my new

Baby right here so it’s funny some people are going to probably lean towards one or the other what are you thinking s you trying to hit draws with this keep out I’m just kidding looks like it’s going to go dead straight I like both of them yeah wish I might just play

Two drivers well this could be like a this could be like a two wood yeah exactly there you go yeah it looks good is this the same shape similar a little bit bigger footprint so a little bit more narrow too in the back like little little lower to the ground too going to

Be like it love the look so not crazy different looking but does look does look really square there’s no contrast in colors really everything flows it looks just like a solid H last thing I want to do is like put a driver down and see it

Closed right you know what I mean Y and I feel like some companies you as soon as you put it down it just looks left e you want to take a look all right all right so you’re an stz guy super stable first I’ll show you the max so I’m going

To start it with the weights back that’s going to be the most similar to what you’re playing now really all the way back all the way back cuz this one has the ability to to knock it even lower spin sounds good quiet sounds really

Good that has no SP say hit it right in the middle and it drew is that really low spin Chris what was that 1700 whoa whoa I mean that’s sounds so different sounds good contacts good super quiet B flight is not matched yet it doesn’t make you think of like a Nike

Sasquatch that I was kind of getting that Vibe 1600 no this thing’s nice it’s like a bullet train in Japan boom let’s see those was closer they got three t- marks right there and they’ve three different three different ball flights 2100 on that all right we’re make we’re gaining on it

Yes well I just like the sound first of all if I can get uh I think I think he’s going to want that sound in that oh what’s the ball speed numbers all right let’s let’s move this let’s move it forward because I know I’m going to take it’s going to take spin

Off but it’s going to make it it’s going to make it fall for the right which I need so it’s like you want me to set it up to cut a little bit more no cuz I want it neutral you want neutral cuz that’s why I I don’t want it

To I don’t want it favor cut I want it neutrals and then I cut it does that make sense it does I’m thinking we might have to add Loft to it though absolutely so we move the weight up I’m going to move the weight right towards the middle

Yeah and then add maybe you have to add some Loft to it sure I’ll I’ll add one click more Loft to it yeah which for you that’s going to open the face a little bit and do you like that look well I like it square but I

Feel like that one you need to open a little bit bit to make it look Square yep wowow oh that look like a little higher launch how’s that spin number Chris number 12 launch right at 2000 RP carry me there that try something yeah a little bit I’m going to go to eight

And a half to open it up yep I’m going keep the weight where it is and just try to hold it off and hit up on it it’s a it is a little bit more upright it’s a little bit just in hidden in the head shape because of that deep

Face it makes it look the toe a little bit taller the LI angle itself is the same but you’re right it looks more it looks more upright and it and you you commented it looks longer because the head is smaller so that all those things make it look a touch more upright

I love the sound yeah it sounds great how does it feel feels great everything’s great just need to make it fall right I mean I definitely like the way it sounds yeah oh like a lot a lot of that is because of the amount of composite used so not only do you have

The composite on the crown that you’ve seen a lot from us but also wraps around the toe here and the interesting thing for that is because the two weight tracks a weight track occupies a lot of mass so with that just because this is here that doesn’t mean that it’s going

To be a draw bias Club so it’s going to be pretty neutral but we can pull this weight towards here which will be more neutral for you like it’s not going to make it a fade bias Club it’s going to make it just kind of fall straight put

The Cent gravity closer to where yours is those don’t have any hot spots in them do they they don’t right now we’re we’re really consistent with our uh our ctech design not the hot spots the like the metal things what do you put the hot spots the the what the

Metal cable no like when they put the weight in it the glue yeah the glue glue oh yeah mine mine has got get the I didn’t know if that one had it or not yeah yeah it like theot it it does that’s what I the Hot Melt that’s what I was

Going for not the hot spot s on% it sounds like there’s a ton in there already yes uhoh I think you found it yeah I mean it’s better let’s see M Jesus see then it disappears what do you think about the smaller head Keith I mean I like the smaller head I

Like I like the smaller head I like the sound I like the fact that it has so little spin that you can play with it cuz before I was always trying to figure out a way to knock spin off now I can I feel like I can actually add some yep

Whether that’s through a golf ball through you know Loft whatever that was 2000 25 oh oh yeah y didn’t see it land it’s crazy the difference of like the feel when you move the weight over there yeah you can feel the head dynamically AB well more at impact yeah

Yeah like I bet those ball speeds are down aren’t they that one was the last three I bet they were down they were like 181 181 and they were 183 before with the weight centered correct so the weight so I can feel it impact when it’s

All not the swe spot when yeah The Sweet Spot changed yep so the trick for you would be actually that’s a five head the trip for you were you start with the 10 five head go from there because then you could keep that neutral sweet spot and

Then get that added little looft that you were looking for and even if you wanted to open it up you could starting with the 10 so like it did exactly what we wanted it to do but since we changed the Moi a little bit by moving it all

The way all those weights there the ball speed’s dropped because The Sweet Spot CH you’re off The Sweet Spot a little bit now yeah yeah absolutely let’s try this so this is the max this is going to be like your driver steroids in terms of forgiveness okay so excited to see legal

Steroids initial thoughts Kei let’s hear them I can definitely feel feel that stability whether it’s through the back weight or through the size of the head it feels back here more yeah right yeah the difference in these two yes said there’s no way you can feel that no

Way he just felt 2 mes hour Less on his on tour oh maximum height that is back weight right there isn’t it that’s what happens I kind of like that you would like it I’d make a lot more buggies still 181 ball speed that went that was 181 and that

Ey what is this 19° launch it jeez let’s go ahead and knock this thing down zero What’s the launch angle launch angle 129 2500 rpm that’s all and that’s all just in the engineering of the head carry 310 that one was very nice and the cameras do know that we’re

At we are at sea level right maybe 10 ft right so it’s 3 we’re not testing like yeah yeah we’re not testing like other equipment manufacturers in you know Scottdale and Vegas where it goes farx the max who else wants Max transport that in Max 312

Carry the No I mean Grayson you kidding me you H put that put that g driver do some baselines with yours and then do the G or go straight to the G straight to the G All the Way Forward eight and a half then he’s going to like the other

One so much better it’s down on the lower a half on it getting no no not in the one it almost did yeah you need to aim left cut a little I’m going to call you want to start hitting a couple of yours or just go

Straight at it no I would just go straight at it I only got a couple in the tanks I can’t waste any I don’t like it singer that’s thought that’s a wind shot though once hour it feels heavy that’s for the British Open yeah it feels

Heavier that head got to be so much heavier than her normal one that’s her that’s her oh that’s yours yeah and it’s still heavy Kyle it like it really feels more stiff yeah um it’s got 100 maybe I need to te it up higher there we go that up higher right that looks

Better I feel like I have to swing harder at it let’s add some Lo to it let’s mess around with it perfect I’m going to add a couple degrees I’m actually going to add a little bit of spin to it as well perfect oh yeah oh yeah so

High but yeah that was a lot better dead straight draw I don’t know I think I like my driver yours is pretty good this head is set up for Kei so this head has a lot of weight forward as well so that might be why I mean those look

Good I hate that I hate it for me I hate it for you I really do I know I mean the I definitely like the smaller one I think maybe because that has front weight in it um try gamer for no hit it no I don’t want to put my mojo on that

Oh nice okay I’m done so I want to I put it in the setting where my grip would be straight but upside down yeah I put it on so I ticked it one lower just cuz I thought it looked better at a dress that way okay and my grip was on

Straight it’s pretty good I like it yeah yeah it makes the um The Sweet Spot look bigger so at a dress I’m seeing more face Y in comparison to the size of the head y I think think it looks really clean and you know it’s obviously a smaller profile head a

Little smaller but um looks sleek there we go that’s the one that’s the one should we try the max yeah exactly 2000 RPM on that one so this will probably look huge down at a after looking down at this yeah just one click that’s all I need holy smokes wow this looks so

Big it’s definitely more narrow like my head feels like the the height of the head is a little bit little it’s more up here taller yeah taller this one’s more stretched out the STX that you play is a deeper design closer in head to the G

Than it is to that one a little bit more zish yeah I agree he get he gets hot like that see yeah a little more spin a little more height overall so which do you prefer out of the two this one the max yeah just the

Feel the way I I think it’s just the 460 head yeah I I think I just I’m used to that so I feel like it’d be a little adjustment to go to that but could be good for some guys we’ll see I’ll do more testing and figure it out but this

One has it’s just more similar to what I currently use just has a little bit more technology in it so should fly should have a little less draw than my current driver correct which we’re kind of seeing that it’s a little straighter there this