Mizuno has long been known as one of the better iron manufacturers in the world. They are also innovators in the industry they have been a major part of.

There are a few little known facts about the manufacturer that include being the first company to offer a mobile workshop for the PGA Tour in 1984, and they were also the first company in the world to launch a titanium driver, the Mizuno Pro Ti-110/120.  Although Mizuno offers many selections in the game improvement arena, they are known for their equipment in the low handicap area of the market.  Their forged irons have been played on all of the tours and have won many majors and even more golf championships.

Their latest offering in the driver market is the MP-600 driver with Fast Track technology.  Is this just another driver geared toward the better player or is it a driver that can benefit both the better player and the high handicapper?  How does it compare with the other offerings that are currently out in the market right now?

Technology

The MP-600 with Fast Track technology is teeming with up to date modern advances.  The CNC milled, plasma welded CORTECH™ face insert will deliver the maximum USGA allowable ball speed across the entire area of the face for explosive distance, according to Mizuno. The size of the club head is 460cc, the largest allowable volume by the USGA.  This driver also possesses the classic, traditional head shape which is rare in comparison to some of the other high tech drivers that are out in the market today.

The Fast Track technology has to be the coolest feature of this driver. This 460cc Titanium driver will allow players to quickly tweak their ball flight through the use of the revolutionary Fast Track. It has two adjustable eight gram weights that the player can easily move into 15 ball flight settings to fine tune the center of gravity and achieve their ideal ball flight and shape, for maximum control.  This is a twist to the moveable weight technology that is offered by other manufacturers and allows for easier and faster movement of the weight around the perimeter of the golf club.

The stock shaft that is offered with the driver is the Exsar DS3 Driver shaft.  It is only offered in stiff, regular, lite, and ladies.  There are custom shaft options available and they include Fujikura Fit on 360, Aldila NV and NVS, Graffalloy Pro Launch Blue and Red, UST Proforce V2, Harrison Mugen, and the Tava for the ladies.  Despite not being the largest selection offered by a manufacturer today, it covers most of the neccesary bases. 

The driver is offered in three lofts, 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5.  It is not offered in a left handed version. 

Aesthetics

Mizuno has had a history of making aesthetically pleasing golf clubs, and this one is certainly no different.  The classic shape of this driver is visually appealing to the discerning golfer.  If you appreciate the look of a traditional driver this will be one driver that you should try.  At address it sets very square and tall.  The face is normal height but appears to be deeper than it actually is.  This is a classic, traditional, good looking golf club at address, something that you would come to expect from a company like Mizuno. 

The deep black paint on the driver goes perfectly with the traditional shape of the head.  The omission of an alignment aide was a plus for me.  Just a clean, classic looking head, that sits perfectly behind the golf ball. 

Performance

The driver that I received to test was the 9.5 version with the stock Exsar DS3, stiff flex shaft.  The shaft weighed in at 59 grams, and had a torque rating of 3.7.  This is a mid flight shaft.  I was actually quite surprised by this shaft, as it performed better than expected.  I am leery about some of the stock shaft offerings from manufacturers, as sometimes they are not exactly what they advertise to be.  But this one felt right on.  Was not overly stiff, yet not to whippy either.  Just a nice comfortable flex, that if need be I could go after on and not feel like the shaft would over-flex and I was going to snipe hook it.

The sound of the driver was great.  Unlike many of the offerings today, this driver does not sound like an aluminum baseball bat; it has a more muted sound to it.  It took me a few balls to get used to it, as my current driver is quite loud, and ear piercing at times.

Distance from this driver was impressive.  The ball flight with this set up was mid to high with fairly low spin.  So I was getting a great launch angle, with a good spin rate, and apparently (according to most fitters) this is an ideal combination for maximum distance.  Even on the miss hits I had, the results were very good and fairly good distance wise.  I would say that it is on par with most of the better drivers on the market today with regard to the potential distance of the driver.

After changing the weights on the fast track to get my desired set up and preferred ball shape, I then started to mess around with the settings to see if I could create some different ball flights and such.  This was actually the fun part of the review as I got to mess around a little bit and try and hit some different shots.  This did manipulate the spin of the ball a little bit and if you are looking for a driver that will allow you to fine tune your spin rate or desired shot shape, this could be one to check out.

Conclusion

Should you buy this driver or not?  That is not really for me to tell you, all I can do is give you my opinion on the driver and hope that helps or answers some of the questions you might have had about it.

If was going to purchase a new driver, this driver would be on, or right near the top of my list.  It accomplishes everything that I look for in a driver.  It has the adjustability aspect, great distance, appearance, and quality, that as a former professional, I expect from my current golf clubs.  This is a forgiving driver, but definitely is a better player’s driver, in my opinion.  I am not sure that a higher handicap player would reap the benefits of a driver like this.  But if you are a mid to low handicap golfer looking for a quality driver at a reasonable price, this might be the ticket.