TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Driver vs Mizuno ST-G Driver: Read Our Head-To-Head Verdict

TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Driver vs Mizuno ST-G Driver: Read Our Head-To-Head Verdict

TaylorMade has long been synonymous with producing some of the most popular and innovative driver technology in the game. Mizuno however, has traditionally been more recognised for consistently producing some of the best irons on the market. With the launch of the ST-G, Mizuno have produced a driver that sits in the same low spinning, better player category as the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus. 

These two could certainly lay claim to being amongst the best drivers on the market, but how do they compare? That’s what I wanted to find out, taking an in-depth look at both. Here’s what I found.

Looks

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and these two drivers may divide opinion in terms of their appearance. The TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus has a somewhat brash feel to its appearance. With its bold, red carbon face and multi material crown, it screams look at me! The technology is very deliberately highlighted and will appeal to those players that enjoy the visual stimulation of a futuristic looking clubhead.

The Mizuno ST-G on the other hand, is much more subtle in its aesthetic. The paint work on the crown is a triumph, blending from a solid black gloss into a sleek carbon effect towards the rear of the head.

In terms of shaping, the Stealth 2 Plus is notably longer from heel to toe. This coupled with the ST-G seeming a little deeper from front to back gives them a noticeably different look. The TaylorMade driver is slightly more pear shaped, whereas the Mizuno is much more rounded. The ST-G driver has a slightly deeper face than the Stealth 2 Plus which is something I enjoy, and coupled with the more rounded appearance, gives a powerful aesthetic.

As always, this area will be subjective, but the subtler overall appearance and rounder shaping of the ST-G provides a really classy look and this, to my eye at least, gives it the slight edge visually.

Technology

The big tech story with the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus is the carbon face. Continuing on from its predecessor the Stealth Plus, TaylorMade has lightened the 60 layer Carbon Twist face by grams which expanded the COR, essentially creating a larger sweetspot. The Stealth 2 Plus also incorporates what TaylorMade refers to as “Inverted Cone Technology” which again is designed to produce more forgiveness on off center strikes.

The ST-G features the same Cortech chamber as the other two drivers in the range, the ST-X 230 and the ST-Z 230, which encases a stainless-steel weight with elastomeric TPU. This Cortech chamber was designed to take stress from the clubface and create an additional source of energy. In addition to this, Mizuno engineers say this pushes weight closer to the face to reduce spin, while also contributing to a more solid, powerful sensation at impact.

Both drivers feature adjustable weights on the sole and adjustable loft sleeves to help you or your fitter dial in launch characteristics more precisely. 

Sound/Feel

During testing, this is the category in which I felt both drivers excelled the most. Acoustics and feel play a big role in my enjoyment of drivers in particular, and the work done by both Mizuno and TaylorMade here has really hit the mark. Whilst subtly different, both the Stealth 2 Plus and ST-G have a noticeably more muted sound than many of the other best drivers for distance. 

Drivers such as the Ping G430 LST and the Srixon ZX7 Mk II produce a slightly harsher sound and feel for example. With sound so closely linked to feel, this contributed to a very deep and almost soft feel from both the Stealth 2 Plus and the ST-G. If I was pushed, I would say that the TaylorMade driver did provide a marginally hotter sensation off the face than the ST-G but I genuinely loved the feel from both. 

Performance

These two drivers both performed very strongly during testing and the Mizuno ST-G really held its own against a giant of the driver market in the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus. There were some differences to be aware of however. For me, personally there was a perceptible difference in ball flight, with the Stealth 2 Plus launching lower and spinning less than the ST-G when set on the same loft. In terms of data, this was around a degree difference in launch and approximately 250 rpm of spin. 

Likely due to this, the Taylormade driver did produce slightly more total distance than the Mizuno ST-G, however the ball speed and carry numbers were very much comparable. It should be noted that these numbers were produced with the ST-G set in what I would regard as its mid spin weight settings on the sole. I did also gather further data with the weights of the ST-G placed forward in more of a low spin set-up, and whilst the launch stayed pretty much the same, spin dropped to basically identical numbers as the Stealth 2 Plus.

I see this versatility as a real tick in the box of the Mizuno product. From my testing, I found I could alter spin as much as 4-500 rpm using the sliding weights on the sole, which could prove very beneficial in certain situations.

With regards to the forgiveness of these two models, once again they performed well but differently. I found that mishits with the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus were a little more prone to more exaggerated misses left and right but barely dropped any ball speed. Conversely, I found my misses with the Mizuno ST-G to be extremely tight in dispersion width wise but did notice more of a drop off in ball speed than with the Stealth 2 Plus.  

Which club should you choose?

Choose the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus if…
- You enjoy bold, contemporary looks
- You’re looking for a hot, penetrating ball flight
- You want to maintain distance on off center strikes

Choose the Mizuno ST-G if…
- You enjoy a subtle, classy aesthetic
- You are looking for maximum adjustability in your driver
- Left to right dispersion is more of a priority than distance on your mishits