Gear: Mizuno ST-X fairway woods
Price: $299.95 each with Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue and Project X HZRDUS Black Smoke shaft and Lamkin ST Hybrid grip
Specs: Titanium (3-wood) and stainless-steel heads with waved sole design. 3-wood (16 degrees), 5-wood (18.5 degrees), and 7-wood (21.5 degrees)
Available: February 3
When it comes to Mizuno’s fairway woods, the company’s ST-Z offerings, which were updated in 2021, were designed with better players in mind. They offer lower spin rates with a hint of a fade bias instead of a draw.
For mid- and higher-handicap golfers looking for more ball speed and more forgiveness off the tee and from the turf, Mizuno now has updated the ST-X family of fairway woods. The new offerings are unique because Mizuno used different materials to build different clubs.
In the address position, all of the ST-X fairway woods have a classic, clean matte-black finish with only a Mizuno chevron added to help golfers align the ideal hitting area directly behind the ball.
Each ST-X fairway wood was designed with a unique sole feature, WAVE Technology. It is a series of ridges and slots that looks like an accordion and allows the hitting area to flex more efficiently at impact, especially on shots struck low in the face.
The club golfers are most likely to use off the tee, the 3-wood, was constructed using titanium instead of stainless steel. Titanium is typically reserved for drivers because, while it delivers great performance and weighs less than stainless steel, it costs more than steel. In this case, Mizuno decided to use the same SAT2041 Beta titanium in the ST-X fairway woods that it uses in the ST-X and ST-Z drivers.
Using titanium, Mizuno was able to lower the center of gravity significantly in the 3-wood and pull it back, away from the hitting area. With only 15 degrees of loft, most 3-woods can be challenging for slower-swinging players to hit high. The standard ST-X 3-wood has 16 degrees of loft, but it also has a center of gravity that, Mizuno said, will encourage a higher ball flight, more spin, and more carry distance for slower and moderate clubhead speed players.
The 5-wood and 7-wood are stainless steel because the heads are smaller, and designers were able to shift the center of gravity with an internal weight pad into the ideal spot without using titanium.
None of the ST-X fairway woods have an adjustable hosel, because it would add approximately 8 to 10 grams more weight above the hitting area and pull the center of gravity upward.