Mizuno ST-Max 230

Elite, and the headline trait - Mizuno's most stable driver ever, with barely any twisting of the face even when struck off the toe or the heel, and fairways hit jumping from 58% to 71% in testing. 54 grams of back weighting and an expanded CORTECH Chamber push MOI into the low 9,000s, among the most forgiving heads of its year.

Strong game-improvement distance - ball speed almost directly between the TaylorMade Qi10 Max and Ping G430 Max 10K, with the CORTECH Chamber adding 2-3 mph on toe strikes at spin rates of 2,400-2,600 rpm. Carry is consistent, with only ~10 yards between shortest and longest. Long and consistent, if not the longest.

Deliberately limited - a mild draw bias that corrects fades and promotes a slight draw, with consistency prized over shaping. The fixed 54g back weight builds in a straight-to-draw flight rather than shot-shaping freedom.

Refined for a forgiveness head - the impact seems to last a fraction of a second longer, a really nice sensation, with a dense feedback the engineers spent a year fine-tuning, and a slightly softer, lively feel off the face. More sophisticated than most game-improvement drivers.

Deliberately refined - the sound was tuned over a year to a more muted, powerful tone, loud enough to confirm a powerful strike but not so loud as to offend. One of the more premium-sounding game-improvement drivers.

Clean and confidence-inspiring - the face sits very square and the additional footprint really inspires confidence at address, looking bigger than its 460cc dimensions, with a larger, sleek profile suiting the target player. Reassuring, if larger and less compact than the tour ST-G.