The MyGolfSpy Forum introduced a special opportunity in 2023 with the Forum member review of Mizuno long-game clubs. These clubs included the Mizuno ST 230 driver, fairway, hybrid and Fli-Hi long-iron replacement clubs.
Mizuno’s new technology was the CORTECH Chamber which, as Mizuno stated, was their missing piece. The short version is that the CORTECH Chamber encases a dense stainless steel weight in elastomeric TPU, which takes stress from the clubface and aids in creating more energy transfer. It also moved weight to more ideal locations to help with feel and improved spin rates.
Testers were fitted and provided with the best combination of three clubs, with every tester receiving a driver. The fitting determined what would be the best combination of fairway, hybrid or Fli-Hi for the remaining two clubs.
About The Testers
The testers ranged in ability with handicaps ranging from 4 to 13 and varying swing speeds. The testers have different backgrounds, experiences and tendencies on the golf course to give a wide range of results to showcase how these golf clubs really perform.
What The Testers Said: Initial Impressions
Testers were generally very pleased and impressed with the clubs when they arrived. The sticking points were delays in getting the clubs and that the order/processing time took longer than most had hoped. Not a knock on the clubs themselves but it was noted in the reviews.
Tester Swood1994: “I think Mizuno did a really good job with the styling of these clubs. All 3 clubs share the same styling cues with the main focus on the new Coretech Chamber.”
That sentiment was shared by the whole group of testers. All thought the look was clean and that Mizuno had done a great job with this new lineup. They also appreciated Mizuno including the torque wrenches for the adjustable clubs. However, the sleeve was not overly well received and did cause a little confusion for some.
"LOVE the profile and shaping to it. It has a much more rounded and compact front-to-back profile than my COBRA" -Vandyland
What Testers Said: Mizuno ST230 Driver
Tester Vandyland rated the driver’s looks an 8.5 out of 10: “LOVE the profile and shaping to it. It has a much more rounded and compact front-to-back profile than my COBRA (current gamer), and I am finding that it fits my eye better. The blue is sharp without being overpowering, though I won’t quite say the sole is “classic” looking. It will be interesting to see how the blue ages over time, but for now, it is brilliantly blue.”
He included several data sets showing that, compared to his COBRA and other drivers he used in testing, the Mizuno STZ 230 had comparable numbers.
He was able to keep spin lower than his gamer, which was something he had been looking for. Vandyland was easily the tester most impressed with the driver’s performance.
Swood1994: “The ST-X driver lacks the accuracy and forgiveness I look for in a driver, all while having a dull and/or muted sound and feel. Standard shaft length being almost an inch shorter from Mizuno was really surprising.”
Tester Russtopher disagreed: “The slightly shorter overall driver length I feel is a big part in helping with consistency as well as being able to find the center of the face more often. Am I giving up yards due to that? Not in comparison to my Mavrik Max which is a few years older. Could I be giving up yards in comparison to another OEM’s latest offering? It’s possible, but in reality, I’m happy knowing I have a driver that I have a TON of confidence in. That’s well worth it to me. My fairways hit percentage went from 57.1% to 73.3% with this driver in the bag.”
"I did see a little better dispersion/accuracy on the course with this club which is more important to me.” – Swood1994
What Testers Said: Mizuno ST 230 Fairways
While tester Beak Bryce really wanted to make these work, he ended up struggling and searching for various solutions. While his fitting went well, on the course, the driver and 3-wood ended up being shorter and less accurate than his current set of gamer clubs.
The other testers found more success.
Tester Swood1994 played with the settings a little and found that going +1 UP from standard gave him an added six yards. “On the course, the ST-Z 230 3 wood is very versatile. I’ve been using it off the tee and off the deck. Most of the off-the-deck shots were green hits and off the tee, I was either in the fairway or 1-2 ft at most into the rough. It is a very accurate 3 wood but lacks in the distance department for a standard lofted 3 wood. My thought is it is due to its shorter shaft length, but with that shorter length, I did see a little better dispersion/accuracy on the course with this club which is more important to me.”
Russtopher found his sweet spot with the fairway wood off the tee. It had a slightly lower launch, even when lofted up to 17 degrees, but its consistency provided confidence off the tee. He did not use the fairway off the deck as it was not a shot he plays often.
"Well struck shots just take off and are absolute ropes" – Russtopher
What Testers Said: Mizuno ST 230 Hybrid
Going back to Russtopher as someone who didn’t enjoy using hybrids, the Mizuno ST-Z 230 was the sleeper club for him. “Well struck shots just take off and are absolute ropes. I’m averaging 196 with the hybrid off the deck and this slot has become an absolute strength for me.“
For BeakBryce, this is where his experience turned around. “Maybe because this is closer to iron technology, this club is an absolute money club. I was not looking for all-out distance, but rather a club that fits my yardage gap between my heaven wood and my 6 hybrid. It did that with a higher ball flight and a softer landing. This club is a pure joy to hit. It looks, visually, half the size of my BB19 although it isn’t. It forces a good swing. If a good swing is not made, there is a ton of feedback.”
Vandyland had a great time with the Mizuno hybrid: “The hybrid feels “hot” which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you are trying to accomplish. A flushed shot feels very fast and hot coming off the face. “ The adjustability was the other key feature for him.
Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi
Vandyland was the lone tester to be fitted into this club.
The first thing he noted was how good the club looked with its black finish. “Utilities can be a tricky beast to tame. The Pro Fli-Hi has been interesting to me. First off, it provides a TON of feedback. You know…immediately….if you hit the ball in the center or not. I have been missing this club out on the toe a bit and, to its credit, the ball still gets out there a good ways. Ball flight is higher than I expected and you can work the ball IF you hit it out of the center. Anything off the toe or heel generally just comes out straight and slightly dead. I love the look of it and the feel out of the center is good, but I just haven’t gotten along as well with it. This is the only club where I think my gamer is comparable and, in some ways, more enjoyable to hit. I am sticking with the Fli Hi for now because, on paper, it is doing the job. I wonder if the lighter shaft has been throwing me off but I really just need to make better contact with this club. “
Final Thoughts and Results
This was a tricky and long test for this group of Forum members. The wait period to get the clubs dampened some of their enthusiasm to start but when testing got started the excitement grew once again. Having three clubs to review and each doing something a little different, made it a challenging test overall.
We asked the testers to grade their experience out of 100.
When the results included a low score of 76 and high score of 91. Some points were deducted due to the delay in receiving the product and the cog/wrench system.
While not a deal-breaker for all, the shorter standard length shaft in the driver and fairway wood were noted throughout the reviews. Bottom line: The testers felt there was good progress with the new Mizuno ST 230 lines. The technology that was introduced worked and most will be continuing to use at least one of the golf clubs.
Tester BeakBryce decided the Mizuno clubs were not for him and passed them along to another tester. Not all golf clubs are going to work for all golfers.
There are many highlights throughout this member review showing key areas in which Mizuno made significant strides. Their hybrid performed exceptionally well and the fairway woods, while not the longest, still provided great accuracy. The driver was the most hit or miss but, with a proper fitting, there are very good results possible. Finally, the Pro Fli-Hi is an underrated club for those looking for a long-iron replacement or who struggle with hybrids.
To read their full reviews go here!
HikingMike
1 month ago
Interesting notes about the shorter shaft length than other drivers. It should increase accuracy of strike on the face… and sometimes that can actually result in more distance. It makes for a tradeoff that has intrigued me lately once I discovered that tour pros generally play slightly shorter length drivers than the standard retail clubs, and because my driver inconsistency is my #1 thing to work on :) The Coretech Chamber is also interesting. It’s a dense piece of stainless steel suspended in TPU polyurethane. I wonder how soft/hard that TPU is. I’m sure they factored this in, but the hardness of it has to somewhat match up with the time the ball spends pressed to the face of the club so that the momentum transfer happens as fully as possible. Say that surrounding material is too soft. Then it’s possible the energy transfer doesn’t fully occur and some of the momentum is lost to the stainless steel weight moving within the chamber. It’s surely nothing so extreme, but fun to think about.