Mizuno launch GT180 woods

Mizuno has unveiled its GT180, designed to partner the low spinning ST180 woods.

The GT180 is a “more sophisticated” version of the ST180, boasting weight adjustments.

The line has a Forged SP700 Ti face and improved shaft offerings – including the Mitsubishi Tensei CK, KURO KAGE Silver Dual-Core TiNi and BASSARA E-SERIES 42.

The Japanese company also looked at bulge and roll for the range.

R&D Director David Llewellyn said: “We’ve been compensating for golfers’ regular mishit patterns for years by giving the toe and heel sides of the face a bit more bulge than the centre of the face. 

“This counteracts the greater amount of gear effect that occurs further from the face’s centre, thus giving the ball the appropriate amount of side spin to curve back to the centre. It’s a big topic of conversation now – but not something we’ve advertised. Just one of those design increments that happens over time.”

Mizuno’s new GT180 is a fine tunable driver with the dual ability to help golfers find extra distance.

The GT180’s high-speed performance platform is built around a Forged SP700 Ti Face, a precise multi-thickness face that promotes accelerated ball speeds. Speed and adjustability allows every golfer to get the very most out of his or her game.

The GT180’s allows for an expanded range of draw, neutral and fade settings in low, mid and high spin flights. The twin movable 7g weights have a wider span of locations for greater impact on spin rates and fade / draw bias, while the Quick Switch Adjustable Hosel allows 4˚ of loft adjustment and 3˚ of lie adjustment to match every golfer’s unique launch conditions and visualpreferences.

A Quick Switch adapter offers eight different locations, while an expanded line of high-end shafts that can be fitted at no extra cost.

“With its wider range of settings, the GT180 can hold the key to squeeze out those last few seemingly unobtainable yards,” says Bill Price, Custom Fitting Manager at Mizuno. “Being able to fine tune your launch angle and spin rate is the final element in the equation to find your most efficient flight.”

Just as with the driver, the GT180 fairway woods promise a new law of gravity on account of customisation they offer.

Evolution of both the Mizuno Wave sole and sliding weight technologies reduces the lower end of spin rates for a more efficient trajectory at higher ball speeds.

The amplified first wave in the sole and Internal Waffle Crown combine to push weight low and forwards for a flatter trajectory, while also generating low spin and increased ball speeds.

The thinner, more responsive 1770 Maraging Steel Face then boosts ball speeds yet further.

Adjustability comes via 17 grams of sliding weight that create a wider potential span of spin rates to fine tune ball flight, with the Quick Switch Adjustable Hosel allowing 4˚ of loft adjustment and 3˚ of lie adjustment.

An expanded line of high-end shafts can again be fitted at no extra cost, and the GT180 fairway wood is also available in a TS (tour style) model with a more compact, lower-lofted head.

“We’ve managed to significantly reduce the lower end range of spin rates but keep the overall range of adjustability,” says Price. “Players at the faster end of swing speeds are going to see a much flatter trajectory – but have the possibility of increasing their spin should the conditions dictate.”

The ST180 is the first Mizuno driver to feature Wave sole technology, with the ST180’s Wave sole committing every available gram of weight low and towards the face for low spin.

The Amplified Wave sole, originally engineered in Mizuno’s fairway woods, contracts and expands to increase the energy imparted to the ball for elevated ball speeds, while also pushing weight forward to reduced spin rates.

A new Forged SP700 Ti multi-thickness face promotes accelerated ball speeds that take the ST180’s performance past its predecessors, while the striking blue head’s Internal Waffle Crown is a weight-saving design that allows more grams to be relocated low and forward to promote efficient low-spin performance.

“This was the biggest shock we’ve had in testing,” says Jeff Cook, PGA Tour Manager. “The spin rate and ball speed of this driver caught everybody out. The ST180 comes off so fast, with so little spin – it’s going to make a lot of good players question what they really need in a driver.”

The new ST180 fairway woods share much of the driver’s technology including the amplified Wave sole technology.

The Internal Waffle Crown’s weight-saving design again allows more grams to be relocated low and forward for efficient low-spin performance.

The Amplified Wave Soleplate features a first wave that contracts and expands on impact for increased energy transfer and elevated ball speed, while also pushing weight forward to vastly reduce spin rates.

ST180 fairway woods feature a thinner, more responsive, high-energy 1770 Maraging Steel Face to further increase ball speeds and deliver a flatter, more efficient, controlled ball flight. The head’s larger footprint generates a bigger-than- average profile that both looks, and is, highly forgiving.

“If you like a wider, larger-looking profile, but don’t necessarily want a high-spinning flight, the ST180 is a really interesting option,” says Jeff Cook / PGA Tour Manager. “Over the years a lot of our tour players have bucked the trend for smaller fairway woods and this plays nicely into their hands.”

All ST180 metal woods feature a Quick Switch Adjustable Hosel that allows 4 degrees of loft adjustment and 3 degrees of lie adjustment so the clubs can be fine-tuned to the unique launch conditions and visual preferences of all golfers.