Mizuno ST-Max

[Red4282]

33 minutes ago, bdub_7 said:

Good thing for me. I was between the ST-G and the G430lst in my fitting. I was able to pick up a ST-G driver and a 3 and 5 wood for less than the cost of the g430lst driver alone...

Right, and its a good driver and value, but makes me think sales stunk, and something else may be coming.

[Pens #1 fan]

2 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Right, and it’s a good driver and value, but makes me think sales stunk, and something else may be coming.

Remember Mizuno is not a wood company, just like Titleist is not a club company. They dropped price for Father’s Day. 

[SwingBlues]

Been eyeing this driver for a while and at $499 down to $299, its a no brainer to pick one up from my favorite Mizuno seller, DD 😁

 

Based on what I was able to gather, I think this is the closest to the 10K MOI without the crazy draw of the TM Qi10 Max or the craaazy heaviness of the Ping heads

 

My only doubt about the purchase, if this is so good, how good is the ST-240 Max going to be????

 

 

[jsh1n]

Any thoughts on the head’s feel on impact? Have a ventus 6x with Mizuno adapter that enjoyed 2021 StZ head but didn’t love the 220 or 230. 

[Rbsiedsc]

Big question is go STZ or ST Max

[gator022]

I went Max. It’s hot. I was coming from the STZ 220 and I’d say I’m 5-10 yards longer on all drives even bad ones but then I catch some bombs that go 20-25 further.

[Grimbart]

On 5/2/2024 at 11:31 AM, Grimbart said:

Waiting for my ST-Max Driver and 7w. Can report with some oncourse experience when I've received them.

 

Received my ST-Max last week. Great driver, feels more forgiving than my 2021 ST-Z. Maybe spins a tiny bit more, but that is only beneficial for me, since I hit the driver with almost too little spin. As long as anything else I've tried, but slightly straighter 🙂

[Lftygolfnut]

How do these sit at address? Heard some reviews mention some offset. Does it sit square or closed? 
 

also is the sound and feel much different from the Z model?

[gentles]

On 7/17/2024 at 8:06 PM, Grimbart said:

Received my ST-Max last week. Great driver, feels more forgiving than my 2021 ST-Z. Maybe spins a tiny bit more, but that is only beneficial for me, since I hit the driver with almost too little spin. As long as anything else I've tried, but slightly straighter 🙂

Any chance of a follow up on this? I’m making the exact same switch so curious how it played out for you 

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

On 7/17/2024 at 10:06 AM, Grimbart said:

Received my ST-Max last week. Great driver, feels more forgiving than my 2021 ST-Z. Maybe spins a tiny bit more, but that is only beneficial for me, since I hit the driver with almost too little spin. As long as anything else I've tried, but slightly straighter 🙂

Hmmm…I have the OG ST-Z and it’s been so darn consistent for me, but obviously, there’s the temptation to check out the latest greatest. Now that you’re saying the Max 230 is essentially as long and just slightly straighter, I‘m relieved and disappointed at the same time. 
I‘ve never had a driver like the ST-Z, in that it always keeps the ball in play, unless I put a really bad swing on it. My playing buddies have noticed that, too. But I‘d like some more distance without losing the reliability. I guess I‘ll sit this one out. 
 

Btw, the ST-Max 230 3 wood has been amazing for me. I’m super confident to hit it, as opposed to the OG ST-Z, which was pretty finicky on slight mishits. This thing goes long and straight and rivals my driver in distance, at one click lower from 15°. 

I‘m generally not good with fairway woods off the deck, but have hit a couple nice ones with the 230 Max. I‘m pretty shallow so it‘s a hard shot for me. 
 

Lastly, I absolutely adore my OG ST-Z 5 wood. That thing is the one. Absolute confidence club. 

Edited September 19, 2024 by LukeDonaldsTiger

[third-times-a-charm]

Im on a 'test some alternatives' binge this year in my fairway/hybrids. First was PXG Black Ops, and now I grabbed two Mizuno ST Max fairways for $80 each from CPO.

 

Wow these are great heads. I really liked the line on paper when they first came out but never hit them. When they dropped to $179 I almost bit, but seeing them for $80 a club like new I couldnt say no.

 

These are super forgiving and the ball flight is great. The sound and feel is definitely a nice sharp feeling but not sharp sounding thwak whereas the PXG BO fairways are more of a Ping-esque (but better than Ping) sounding hollow tinny sound.

 

I have more testing to do on course with my swing in various states of disrepair but so far these are huge sleepers.

[eddiebigeddie]

The entire ST line from Mizuno is severely UNDERRATED.  The Max line is so fun to hit. 

[third-times-a-charm]

So after a week of testing the 3 wood is staying but the 5 wood is out. The downside of these Mizuno heads is the lack of weighting adjustability. There is just one single weight in the back - and virtually no additional weights available. Since I play .5 to 1" short in woods, I am adding like 4-6g in heel weight and another 4-6g in lead tape and it just throws the feel and etc way off on the head.

[Booker_T]

On 9/18/2024 at 10:01 PM, Lftygolfnut said:

How do these sit at address? Heard some reviews mention some offset. Does it sit square or closed? 
 

also is the sound and feel much different from the Z model?

In case you were still wondering. These sit dead square at address.  It’s actually a huge feature for me. 

[tinman]

I just picked up this driver used at a great price.This is my first adjusts driver in years.I tried a few but went back to glued in heads.The head looks great & im sure it’ll sound great.Now I can’t wait for spring in central NY.Got mine off Global Golf for $170 with an ADDI6….seemed way too low to not try it out.

[Harmcyn]

What’s our feedback on the Max so far?

 

Have an AI Smoke core model I’ve never made friends with and with the price on these I’m very interested, I’m a big Mizuno iron fan but haven’t gamed the woods. 

[Rbsiedsc]

I saw at a pro shop near me they had one for $200 with a Tensei 1k black stiff. I was tempted to buy but worry that shaft isn’t stout enough for my growing speed. 

[bigmacpapi]

19 hours ago, tinman said:

I just picked up this driver used at a great price.This is my first adjusts driver in years.I tried a few but went back to glued in heads.The head looks great & im sure it’ll sound great.Now I can’t wait for spring in central NY.Got mine off Global Golf for $170 with an ADDI6….seemed way too low to not try it out.

What a great deal! 

[dmeeksDC]

Circling back on this thread to highlight the 230 MAX 7 wood. I finally got one and tested it and it’s so good. It caused me to sell my Ping g430 7 wood. The Mizuno is an outstanding head, Max in forgiveness but not max in size. Mizuno sold out of this 7 wood head for a while but they can be found again. Smashing this thing right in the middle of the face. It is remarkable on low strikes too. The tech really saves those shots. As good a 7 wood as you will find and it’s adjustable. Super impressed with how easy it is to repeat the same shot. 

[ChadL]

With the price reductions I went ahead and ordered a ST-X 230 driver.  I ordered it with an upgraded shaft (Ventus Blue) and it's still cheaper than current year stock drivers.  I also went ahead and ordered an ST-Max 7 wood. Like the driver I also ordered it with an upgraded shaft.  I've been contemplating a 7 wood for sometime now.  Looking forward to getting these two clubs.  I know wait times can be a bit hit or miss with Mizuno, but they should be here before the season gets going around here.

Edited February 4 by ChadL

[Fish-N-Chips]

On 2/1/2025 at 7:50 PM, dmeeksDC said:

Circling back on this thread to highlight the 230 MAX 7 wood. I finally got one and tested it and it’s so good. It caused me to sell my Ping g430 7 wood. The Mizuno is an outstanding head, Max in forgiveness but not max in size. Mizuno sold out of this 7 wood head for a while but they can be found again. Smashing this thing right in the middle of the face. It is remarkable on low strikes too. The tech really saves those shots. As good a 7 wood as you will find and it’s adjustable. Super impressed with how easy it is to repeat the same shot. 

The sound is my favorite part. I love how muted and solid it sounds on impact. 

[eddiebigeddie]

On 2/4/2025 at 8:46 AM, ChadL said:

With the price reductions I went ahead and ordered a ST-X 230 driver.  I ordered it with an upgraded shaft (Ventus Blue) and it's still cheaper than current year stock drivers.  I also went ahead and ordered an ST-Max 7 wood. Like the driver I also ordered it with an upgraded shaft.  I've been contemplating a 7 wood for sometime now.  Looking forward to getting these two clubs.  I know wait times can be a bit hit or miss with Mizuno, but they should be here before the season gets going around here.

I've ordered several things from Mizuno the last few weeks and so far everything has come in at 2 weeks or less.

[ChadL]

5 hours ago, eddiebigeddie said:

I've ordered several things from Mizuno the last few weeks and so far everything has come in at 2 weeks or less.

I will be very pleased if that’s the case with my order. Thanks for letting me know.

Edited February 6 by ChadL

[mitchdoc]

Well I seem to be a lead joiner to this party and unfortunately it's a party with not enough people at it.

A little bit about me I am 56 years old I play to an index between 4.4 and 7 over the course of the season.

My swing speed with the driver is usually between 100 and 106 miles per hour and I usually hit a relatively straight ball with a slight draw or fade depending on the day.

Driver for the last few years has been one of the best clubs in the bag for me which is shocking and is the result of some swing changes I made after having more than 12 years of driver yips.

Currently I average about 265 off the tee on my good strikes and longer depending on roll and I hit about 60% of my fairways.
My current driver(s)  is AI smoke max  and triple diamond max that I have been playing with agraphite design tour ADHD 5 stiff shaft at 10.5* lofted to 9.5 D setting

I really had no need for another driver other than partly curiosity, partly being a club ho and partly wanting to have a driverfor a 2nd bag.

2024 seemed to be the year of the beginning of the extremely forgiving driver with Ping coming out with its 10k model and then with TaylorMade following suit. And now here in early 2025 we have Cobra joining that bandwagon as well and I'm sure others will follow.

Knowing I was looking at a secondary driver I did not feel like paying the outrageous prices for those other new 10k drivers which here in Canada are between 7 and $900.

Our local golf town had a recent demo sale, so I decided  to demo some of their demo drivers which were already quite discounted and now discounted further to find that alternate driver for my bag.

To be honest I hit most of them actually quite well which included the Cobra LTDX, these Srixon Z5LS, the paradigm triple diamond, the stealth, some of these models were either too low spin or just did not seem forgiving enough when not hit centered even if being great out of the middle.

I decided to hit the Mizuno ST Max. They had only one in the demo section that had a stiff shaft and it was a 10.5° with Linq red 5F4 shaft. They were actually the first driver I tried out of all the ones I tested. I was quite amazed at its forgiveness I hit everything within 12 yards of the center line and almost nothing that went left of any significance which is important to me. But compared to the other drivers that I mentioned it just seemed to be launching a bit high and spinning a bit too much and I was ready to discount it.

I went back to hitting it after testing the Srixon, Taylormade, Cobra, and Callaway drivers and finally decided to have the person who was assisting me turned the law down to 9.5° and move the sleeve into the draw setting.

WOW!!!

The driver really came alive with that change in setting. First of all despite the face angle opening up, I was hitting it slightly straighter and if anything had a little bit more of a draw finishing overall closer to the center line. The launch came down from over 14 to about 12.5 and most importantly the spin rate it came down from between 27 and 2900 to between 22 and 2400 which I think is ideal. Ball speed consistently 152-154.

What impressed me the most was how forgiving the face was and I felt confident to just swing aggressively knowing that mishits wouldn't deviate much. I actually had tied my highest ball speed of the day using this driver.

That is what really shocked me because from my point of view I usually think of these high MOI drivers as being high launching and spinning which is the sacrifice to get forgiveness however I was putting up numbers that were equal to my gamer with more forgiveness.

I ended up buying the demo club for sale which ended up costing me about $240 US. Despite it being a demo the the club looked like it had never been hit.

I am quite shocked that this club did not get more buzz around it. I think companies just tend to stereotype and think of Mizuno as purely an iron company but from what I've looked online at YouTube videos this driver seemed to compare very favorably with the ping and all the other forgiving drivers that currently are selling for more than 50% higher retail price with no performance benefit.

 

I hope others try this very underrated club!

[dmeeksDC]

1 hour ago, mitchdoc said:

Well I seem to be a lead joiner to this party and unfortunately it's a party with not enough people at it.

A little bit about me I am 56 years old I play to an index between 4.4 and 7 over the course of the season.

My swing speed with the driver is usually between 100 and 106 miles per hour and I usually hit a relatively straight ball with a slight draw or fade depending on the day.

Driver for the last few years has been one of the best clubs in the bag for me which is shocking and is the result of some swing changes I made after having more than 12 years of driver yips.

Currently I average about 265 off the tee on my good strikes and longer depending on roll and I hit about 60% of my fairways.
My current driver(s)  is AI smoke max  and triple diamond max that I have been playing with agraphite design tour ADHD 5 stiff shaft at 10.5* lofted to 9.5 D setting

I really had no need for another driver other than partly curiosity, partly being a club ho and partly wanting to have a driverfor a 2nd bag.

2024 seemed to be the year of the beginning of the extremely forgiving driver with Ping coming out with its 10k model and then with TaylorMade following suit. And now here in early 2025 we have Cobra joining that bandwagon as well and I'm sure others will follow.

Knowing I was looking at a secondary driver I did not feel like paying the outrageous prices for those other new 10k drivers which here in Canada are between 7 and $900.

Our local golf town had a recent demo sale, so I decided  to demo some of their demo drivers which were already quite discounted and now discounted further to find that alternate driver for my bag.

To be honest I hit most of them actually quite well which included the Cobra LTDX, these Srixon Z5LS, the paradigm triple diamond, the stealth, some of these models were either too low spin or just did not seem forgiving enough when not hit centered even if being great out of the middle.

I decided to hit the Mizuno ST Max. They had only one in the demo section that had a stiff shaft and it was a 10.5° with Linq red 5F4 shaft. They were actually the first driver I tried out of all the ones I tested. I was quite amazed at its forgiveness I hit everything within 12 yards of the center line and almost nothing that went left of any significance which is important to me. But compared to the other drivers that I mentioned it just seemed to be launching a bit high and spinning a bit too much and I was ready to discount it.

I went back to hitting it after testing the Srixon, Taylormade, Cobra, and Callaway drivers and finally decided to have the person who was assisting me turned the law down to 9.5° and move the sleeve into the draw setting.

WOW!!!

The driver really came alive with that change in setting. First of all despite the face angle opening up, I was hitting it slightly straighter and if anything had a little bit more of a draw finishing overall closer to the center line. The launch came down from over 14 to about 12.5 and most importantly the spin rate it came down from between 27 and 2900 to between 22 and 2400 which I think is ideal. Ball speed consistently 152-154.

What impressed me the most was how forgiving the face was and I felt confident to just swing aggressively knowing that mishits wouldn't deviate much. I actually had tied my highest ball speed of the day using this driver.

That is what really shocked me because from my point of view I usually think of these high MOI drivers as being high launching and spinning which is the sacrifice to get forgiveness however I was putting up numbers that were equal to my gamer with more forgiveness.

I ended up buying the demo club for sale which ended up costing me about $240 US. Despite it being a demo the the club looked like it had never been hit.

I am quite shocked that this club did not get more buzz around it. I think companies just tend to stereotype and think of Mizuno as purely an iron company but from what I've looked online at YouTube videos this driver seemed to compare very favorably with the ping and all the other forgiving drivers that currently are selling for more than 50% higher retail price with no performance benefit.

 

I hope others try this very underrated club!

Excellent review. How would you say it compares overall to your Smoke Triple Diamond Max?

[mustang]

On 2/7/2025 at 3:26 PM, mitchdoc said:

Well I seem to be a lead joiner to this party and unfortunately it's a party with not enough people at it.

A little bit about me I am 56 years old I play to an index between 4.4 and 7 over the course of the season.

My swing speed with the driver is usually between 100 and 106 miles per hour and I usually hit a relatively straight ball with a slight draw or fade depending on the day.

Driver for the last few years has been one of the best clubs in the bag for me which is shocking and is the result of some swing changes I made after having more than 12 years of driver yips.

Currently I average about 265 off the tee on my good strikes and longer depending on roll and I hit about 60% of my fairways.
My current driver(s)  is AI smoke max  and triple diamond max that I have been playing with agraphite design tour ADHD 5 stiff shaft at 10.5* lofted to 9.5 D setting

I really had no need for another driver other than partly curiosity, partly being a club ho and partly wanting to have a driverfor a 2nd bag.

2024 seemed to be the year of the beginning of the extremely forgiving driver with Ping coming out with its 10k model and then with TaylorMade following suit. And now here in early 2025 we have Cobra joining that bandwagon as well and I'm sure others will follow.

Knowing I was looking at a secondary driver I did not feel like paying the outrageous prices for those other new 10k drivers which here in Canada are between 7 and $900.

Our local golf town had a recent demo sale, so I decided  to demo some of their demo drivers which were already quite discounted and now discounted further to find that alternate driver for my bag.

To be honest I hit most of them actually quite well which included the Cobra LTDX, these Srixon Z5LS, the paradigm triple diamond, the stealth, some of these models were either too low spin or just did not seem forgiving enough when not hit centered even if being great out of the middle.

I decided to hit the Mizuno ST Max. They had only one in the demo section that had a stiff shaft and it was a 10.5° with Linq red 5F4 shaft. They were actually the first driver I tried out of all the ones I tested. I was quite amazed at its forgiveness I hit everything within 12 yards of the center line and almost nothing that went left of any significance which is important to me. But compared to the other drivers that I mentioned it just seemed to be launching a bit high and spinning a bit too much and I was ready to discount it.

I went back to hitting it after testing the Srixon, Taylormade, Cobra, and Callaway drivers and finally decided to have the person who was assisting me turned the law down to 9.5° and move the sleeve into the draw setting.

WOW!!!

The driver really came alive with that change in setting. First of all despite the face angle opening up, I was hitting it slightly straighter and if anything had a little bit more of a draw finishing overall closer to the center line. The launch came down from over 14 to about 12.5 and most importantly the spin rate it came down from between 27 and 2900 to between 22 and 2400 which I think is ideal. Ball speed consistently 152-154.

What impressed me the most was how forgiving the face was and I felt confident to just swing aggressively knowing that mishits wouldn't deviate much. I actually had tied my highest ball speed of the day using this driver.

That is what really shocked me because from my point of view I usually think of these high MOI drivers as being high launching and spinning which is the sacrifice to get forgiveness however I was putting up numbers that were equal to my gamer with more forgiveness.

I ended up buying the demo club for sale which ended up costing me about $240 US. Despite it being a demo the the club looked like it had never been hit.

I am quite shocked that this club did not get more buzz around it. I think companies just tend to stereotype and think of Mizuno as purely an iron company but from what I've looked online at YouTube videos this driver seemed to compare very favorably with the ping and all the other forgiving drivers that currently are selling for more than 50% higher retail price with no performance benefit.

 

I hope others try this very underrated club!

Very much my experience.   Just a great driver for an amazing price.   I am so looking forward to this season with mine.

[dmeeksDC]

Saw a few of these 230 MAX drivers sell on the auction site for less than $200, new and still in the wrapper. I am thinking about grabbing one. The fact that one can be had for less than 1/3 the cost of the new releases is attractive considering the performance is so good. Not giving up a thing. The price on new release drivers has gotten so high, why not just go with one of last year’s models? I have a Smoke TD Max so as a second driver I only would be looking for something very forgiving. Every review ranks this Mizuno very high in forgiveness — and ball speed. If the Mizuno MAX driver is as good as the 7 wood I have, hard to beat it. 
 

 

[Harmcyn]

Purchased one of these on a whim. Thing just eats. Has stock Hzdrdus smoke green Rdx 6.5 and has firmly kicked my AI Smoke Max with Ventus TR Blue 6x out of the bag for the time being

 

Now I demo’d the StMax 3w and 7w vs my ai smoke max 3w and 7w and for some reason the Smokes still far and away better, at least off the sim mats

Edited February 9 by Harmcyn

[bryanwmilburn]

6 hours ago, Harmcyn said:

Purchased one of these on a whim. Thing just eats. Has stock Hzdrdus smoke green Rdx 6.5 and has firmly kicked my AI Smoke Max with Ventus TR Blue 6x out of the bag for the time being

 

Now I demo’d the StMax 3w and 7w vs my ai smoke max 3w and 7w and for some reason the Smokes still far and away better, at least off the sim mats

I just picked this exact combo up myself. Haven’t hit it yet but this makes me excited!

[hammergolf]

If properly fit the ball speed difference in center hits on all manufacturers is very minimal. Nobody is making bad or slow drivers.