50 Words or Less
The Mizuno ST180 driver is solid. Really good forgiveness in terms of ball speed. Not as low spin as it claims to be.
Introduction
It’s hard to generate a lot of excitement around a driver these days. With every club toeing the USGA limit for COR and adjustability having been done to death, what’s the next big selling point? Mizuno’s ST180 driver, unlike the company’s irons, lacks hype, but is it a sneaky good performer? We tested it to find out.
Looks
Like the ST180 fairway wood, the ST180 driver sports a standout blue crown. As with any colored crown, it’s going to be divisive with some players liking the flash and others wanting something more traditional.
At address, the ST180 driver has a tall face and sits a little closed in the Neutral/9.5 degrees setting. To my eye, the alignment aid appears to be shifted slightly toward the heel, but it’s very marginal.
Sound & Feel
I was surprised by the sharp sound that is produced at impact with the ST180. It’s not very loud, even indoors. It’s not that high pitched, but the tone has a shrill edge to it.
Feedback on mishits is limited. There’s a minimal change in sound when you leave the center of the face and only slightly more feedback through your hands.
Performance
It’s winter in Chicago, which means the swing can get rusty in a hurry. That’s especially true for the driver swing. When I took the ST180 to the launch monitor, I expected to need a long session to get some respectable results. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw ball speeds consistently over 150 MPH, even when I was putting the ball on the outer edges of the club face.
That forgiveness and stability led to respectable accuracy, too. I found the ST180 to be slightly draw biased, so my best swings weren’t as straight as they are with other drivers. However, my misses all stayed within a reasonable range. I felt like if I took this driver to the course, I could aim down the middle/right of every fairway and never lose a ball.
The one thing that I found in my testing that contradicts Mizuno’s marketing is that this driver is not that low spin. As I mentioned in my review of the ST180 fairway wood, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Low spin is sexy, but it’s not always the way to get optimal distance. I found this driver to be in the mid range of current drivers in terms of spin, which could make it an excellent choice for any golfer who doesn’t have a massively negative angle of attack.
Conclusion
While there may not be anything about the ST180 that’s going to create a ton of buzz, that doesn’t stop it from being an all around solid driver. For the “regular” golfer who needs forgiveness, a little help with a slice, and mid-low spin, Mizuno has built a winner. If you can get past the blue crown, give this a try.
Buy a Mizuno ST180 Driver HERE
Mizuno ST180 Driver Price & Specs
[carousel]
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
- Project X Red Iron Shaft Review - November 21, 2025
- Sun Mountain Eclipse E-1.5 Golf Bag Review - November 20, 2025
- Golf-Grip Training Aid Review - November 19, 2025
7 Comments
A couple of years ago Stacey Lewis, who has a contract with Mizuno, began the year with a Mizuno driver. She was hitting it so short that after a couple of weeks, she put a Taylor made in her bag. Don’t trust their drivers and don’t like the blue. But they have great irons.
Hi Jerry,
I possess the Mizuno JPX-900 and also TM M1, TM2, TM AB, TM R1, Titleist D2, D3, PING G LS etc. The MIZUNO is by far the best feeling club during impact from all of them and in combination with my TP6HD XX shaft extremely long and most importantly fun to hit like Mizunos MP-64. All drivers are core .830. Each golfers success in these days therefore depends on the right ball, driver and shaft combination. I can strongly recommend to try this club first and then taking care for the colour.
For all aggressive high spin players like me I can also strongly recommend the MIZUNO JPX 900 hybrids in combination with Fujikura Rombax 8D07X or VC 8.8/9.8 speeder shafts.
Thanks to Matt for his great support to the golf club lovers community.
Greetings from Matthias
I’ve played 20 rounds with this driver + 70 gram white bassara shaft. 10.5 is the sweet spot for me. Most accurate driver I’ve ever played with, besting the Ping G and Taylor Made M3. It was more accurate than the TM twist face M3 on the launch monitor. No sacrifice on distance but not longer than any of the above. I really like the deep contrast of the blue crown and smoked out near black face.
Hi Matt, excellent review. Your review of the Mizuno ST 180 driver is spot on. I decided on the HL (12.5 degree) version of the Mizuno ST180 with the Tensei blue shaft (A flex) due to my slower swing speed. In terms of distance and forgiveness it is comparable to my Ping G 30 SF Tec. Was wondering why in your opinion the Mizuno drivers are not seen/ used on the professional Tour or by recreational players very much? I think the driver is a solid performer.
Kevin,
Good question. Tour play comes down to money (paying players to play certain gear) and the effort that an OEM puts into getting Tour play (another expenditure of resources) and players being comfortable with certain brands. TaylorMade has been the king of Tour play for ages, and it’s self-perpetuating to a degree, because the players coming up want to play what their idols play.
Best,
Matt
Hi iv got this driver in 9.5 but hit it low due to my slow swing speed, iam looking for the 12.5 driver , where do you find one of these as most of them are all 9.5 heads ? Thanks
Michael,
As this is an older model, I expect it would be difficult to find a 12.5* head. Your best bet might be ebay.
-Matt