MEMBER REVIEWS: Srixon ZXi Irons Testing | See What Members Are Saying

[GolfWRX_Official]

You might have seen the Srixon ZXi irons all across the GolfWRX Best Irons awards. Now, we've teamed up with Srixon to bring the award-winning performance from the Srixon's line of ZXi irons to our forum members. We have five (5) of our most-trusted GolfWRX members putting the ZXi irons to the ultimate test and ready to report back about everything they noticed while testing. Feel free to ask any questions that you might have, as the testers will be happy to answer them. 

 

The testers are:

 

•  @eddiebigeddie
• @lookylookitzadam
•  @Stephen1125
•  @MerryTex
•  @robbie91

 

About the Srixon ZXi Irons

 

Learn more about Srixon's line of ZXi irons here.

 

Special thank you goes out to Srixon Golf for putting on this member testing event for our forum members. 

[lookylookitzadam]

Eagerly awaiting the delivery! Saving this post for initial reviews and feedback. Thankful for the opportunity and very excited. 

 

25.06.23 Update - Background, Initial Unboxing and Impressions, Specs

 

First and Foremost, a special thank you to @GolfWRX_Official and @Srixon / Cleveland Golf for this opportunity. This is my second time playing Srixon Irons (previously gamed z785s for years) and I loved them. While I still have not had a chance to hit the new ZXi setup yet, I did get a chance to hit my buddy’s Zxi5/7s while on our golf trip at Pinehurst this past weekend and I forgot how much better they feel compared to some other OEM irons. Very excited to get these on the course!

 

About Me:

For the past few years I have bounced around scratch with my Achilles' heel being my long irons since my swing relies on timing. After having a baby about 2 years ago, my practice time has been much more limited and figured it was time to move into some more forgiving long irons which is why I chose the makeup I did: ZXi5 4-6 and ZXi7 for 7-PW. Additionally, you will notice that I got graphite shafts in this setup and that is because about 6 months ago I was at a point where my elbow tendinitis was so bad I couldn’t carry my daughter or play golf without extreme pain and I read that graphite helps with that…sure enough it was a game changer so I am sold on it because that pain is gone. My current iron setup is a combo set of Taylormade P7CB/P770 with graphite shafts as well. As part of this review I will be comparing the two setups to give some information on flight, feel, aesthetics, etc., but more on that later. 

 

Unboxing and Initial Impressions:

Shipping and Packaging: 8/10

The clubs shipped in a standard club box with minimal packing material inside. If you jostle the box, you can feel the clubs flop around which is standard practice for almost all OEMs except for a few that ship with foam inserts for their irons. All irons were individually wrapped with plastic sleeves which was a nice tough to keep things from marring. One of the best things was there were no extra stickers on the shafts or heads that needed to be removed!

 

 

Build Quality: 10/10

These irons were put together with care. The build quality is absolutely top notch. Ferrule fit and finish is superb and flush with the hosel. Not much more to say other than whomever built these is a true pro and the tolerance of the components is superb.

 

 

Spec Checks:

Build Sheet

Swingweights: 10/10

All clubs were measured using a Golfworks swingweight scale and came in consistently at D3 across the board. I will play around with weighting a bit to get the PW/9i a bit higher, but that is a personal preference and not something I requested in the build. They built it perfectly according to spec. Well done!!

 

Loft and Lies: 10/10

Well…this is a first…SPOT ON with Loft and Lie. When I say spot on, I mean within +/- 1° which is well within the tolerance of my gauges, OEM Builds, and way more precise than I need in my game. My issues with out-of-spec clubs are well documented on this site should anyone want to read into those, but need to do so with these irons. Honestly, really impressed, especially with lie angles which tend to be all over the place. 

 

Club Lengths: 10/10

Not surprisingly after seeing loft and lie spot on, the club lengths are as expected. 

 

Initial Impressions: 10/10

Overall, I am thoroughly impressed with the build quality and aesthetics of these clubs. Knowing that the team at @Srixon / Cleveland Golf took such care to assemble the clubs really speaks volumes. Additionally, it is nice to know that when clubs come up short or fly greens, it is on me…sadly I can’t blame it on bad lofts.  Can’t wait to get these out on the course or on the practice tee so I can gather some data and report back. 

 

More to come…

 

Edited June 24 by lookylookitzadam

[Rbsiedsc]

Congrats folks. Hit them well

[DTorres]

Looking forward to the feedback!

[MerryTex]

I finally got a chance to get out with the new irons this past week. Here are my thoughts condensed into a couple of sections after the two sessions I've put under my belt. 
 

From my first session

 

I started out with the 9 iron as I was working through odd irons today. The first ball I hit was struck well. The LZ shafts feel right at home on delivery. This shaft doesn’t seem to deflect as much in transition as the $Taper does for me. That would cause some shaft droop coming into impact. No toe strikes here…today at least! I immediately noticed how these flight in a higher window than the CB/MB set in coming off of but without excess spin that causes the ball to fall right out of the sky in South TX. The ball launched great and was going my normal distance into the wind. I like that the descent angle is more and will allow me to attack more pins. 
 

The 7 iron was just as good. An easy launch up into the air with the normal distance. I don’t want to sound too boring here, but it was very much point and shoot with this club. 
 

Moving onto the 5 iron had me interested because I figured this would fly higher, but it was nice to see that while it was up into the air easily, it wasn’t too high. It looked like it was flying just as high as my 7 iron, so I’ll take that. Honestly, it looked like all my irons were apexing similarly to one another, and that is something I’m not used to. I usually see how different irons in the bag apex differently, but that has also led to me adjusting my yardages to the clubs in the bag - not in a bad way, but still. It seems like these will all top out similarly, but hit the numbers they should go. Also, the feel of the ZXi5 didn’t disappoint. I was expecting this iron to feel much more springy or clicky. It was maybe a hair firmer, but that’s due to the tech in this head to achieve what it set out to do: more ball speed and better launch. It does exactly that. I like what I felt with the 5 iron today. I usually hate going into a split set or using something too hot or technology-packed because of the feel. This isn’t that!
 

The ZXi7 irons felt very nice, even with our rock-hard Strata range balls. I can’t wait to hit off grass with my preferred ball of choice - ProV1 or TP5. 
 

I’m liking what I'm seeing at this early stage. I’ll be sure to post more in this thread as things develop. I've now had a chance to hit all the irons in the bag. Long irons are super solid, and with the second session under my belt, I'm hitting all the shots I want to hit. I’m also going to get more images of these, hopefully early next week - we've had TONS of rain in my region of Texas (insanely needed), so it's slowing things down a bit. I'm also on summer break, so I'll have plenty of time to get practice in and rounds. I am planning on playing in Austin this weekend at ACC, and I couldn't be more excited to play there with the new set. 

 

Shoutout to @Srixon / Cleveland Golf @GolfWRX_Officialfor this. Also, my set was EXACTLY built to spec and everything is perfect. Srixon has a fan and a future customer here. And what about JJ Spaun?! What a win, son!

 

 

 

 

 

[Stephen1125]

I’m unbelievably excited for this one! Timing is perfect as I’ve been on the hunt for a new set of irons. 
I can’t wait to take delivery and start swinging. 

[golfinbrad]

Congrats!!!!!!  Great opportunity to test one of the hottest set of irons on the market.  

[eddiebigeddie]

Let me say when I got a notification from @GolfWRX_Official a few weeks ago I was Super Pumped.  I have LOVED Srixon irons since the 545's came out however many years ago that's been now and have had a few of the sets in the bag since, but always changed because they weren't corrrect shafts.  I truly believe that Srixon irons have been under the radar for a long time and thankfully they're getting recognition like they deserve. 

 

Even though I just got new irons earlier this year that I really like, I think this is going to be the perfect test for me & to report to all us Crazies here on Wrx.  I'll wait to post what I'm getting, unless you all just want to know.  But any questions anyone has please don't hesitate to ask.  SUPER EXCITED for this opportunity, THANK YOU @Srixon / Cleveland Golf & @GolfWRX_Official

[robbie91]

To start off, I want to give a huge thanks to GolfWRX and Srixon for this amazing opportunity. Never in my life would I have dreamed of having the chance to test one of the best irons sets on the market and write a review for my friends to read. This is a seriously cool experience and I’m beyond grateful. 

 

My goal for this post is to provide first impressions, but I also want to give some background on myself and the set that I chose. I’ll be checking this thread daily and will be happy to respond to questions about anything I missed. 

 

About Me:  

 

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and play a variety of public tracks in the area. In total, I get out about 30 times a year, with the bulk of rounds coming in June and July when work responsibilities slow down. I played some decent junior golf and continued teeing it up competitively into my mid-twenties. Now in my mid-thirties, I play strictly “fun golf” consisting of rounds with friends, music in the background, and the promise of a juicy steak at the close of the round. 

 

My index is currently a 2.9 and usually hovers in the 2-4 range. A particularly good day is around par, a bad day is somewhere in the low 80s. Most rounds are mid-high 70s. My iron game isn’t necessarily a strength or a sore point. Stats suggest that I average about 10 GIR per round and I’m generally pretty confident over an iron. Where I do struggle is proximity to the hole, especially with scoring clubs. Fingers crossed the new sticks help! 

 

Set Makeup: 

 

I am currently playing a set of Ping Blueprint S irons shafted with Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue. I had this set professionally fitted and built a year ago and have been very happy with the clubs. In fact, I’ve been so pleased that I don’t have any definitive gripes other than what was obvious when I chose them -- the Blueprint S are not particularly long, and they aren’t super forgiving. 

 

When I learned about the opportunity to test the ZXi line, I was quick to hit the fitting cart. I worked at a big box store as a fitter through college and was lucky enough to grab some time in the trackman with the full suite of Srixon components. DG worked well in the ZXi lineup but was beat out by Modus 120X, which offered better spin numbers and ball speed retention on mishits. As a tweener swing speed wise (92 mph 7 iron) but with a quick tempo and a left miss, Modus provided a similar middle ground to the S400 in keeping the ball flight neutral and the launch controlled without feeling like rebar. 

 

What really surprised me about these clubs was just how forgiving the heads were in the fitting. I had fully expected to order ZXi5 in the long irons but found the ZXi7 to have excellent forgiveness. Final verdict was ZXi7 in 4-PW. 

 

 

 

 

First Impressions: 

 

I ordered a driving iron from Srixon earlier this year and can attest to excellent build quality and fast response time. No different here. The clubs came sturdily packed and finished to my exact specs. I told myself I’d keep the heads in plastic until I got them to the range but quickly reneged when I saw the shimmering chrome. I’ve seen the ZXi’s in stores and always thought they were beautiful irons, but these look even better in the bag. The blend of chrome and brushed satin has a classy look and the careful beveling and finishing on the V.T. soles make for a crisp and refined package. The Pureframe cavity also lends a nice aesthetic that offers flow and curvature to the cavity. Testers were generously offered an opportunity to customize the paint fill on these irons, but I think Srixon hit it out of the park with the stock paint job. Black on chrome has always been a winner in my book. 

 

When addressing these irons in the playing position, the word that comes to mind for me is “balance”. Compared to the Blueprint S, I observe a slightly longer blade length, a touch more offset, and a wider topline. Impressively, all of these characteristics remain integrated with the overall club design resulting in a package that is unapologetically a players CB without blurring any boundaries. Compared to previous iterations of the ZX series, I think Srixon hit the nail on the head here. If you asked me to quantify the design, I’d say short-medium blade length, low offset, and medium-thin top line. Without outdoor range time, I can’t speak on the VT sole, but I can say that I love idea on paper. I’ll report back.

 

For those interested, I’ve included a picture of the Blueprint S (left) and the ZXi7 (right). It’s quite clear they share similar DNA in terms of design, but both offer some unique aesthetics!

 

 

 

 

Next Steps: 

 

I already took these for a few swings on trackman. The data was impressive, but I don’t want to get too carried away until the irons get some time on turf. I’ll be hitting the range today or tomorrow and playing two rounds later in the week. I’ll post updates along the way. 

 

If anyone has questions or if I can share any additional photos or images, please quote me or send a PM – always happy to engage! 

 

 

Best, 

 

Rob 

 

Edited June 16 by robbie91
Reformatted Photos

[Double Mocha Man]

Just a heads up, for what it is worth, our brand new US Open champion, Mr Spaun, plays Srixon ZXi irons.

[QuigleyDU]

2 hours ago, MerryTex said:

I finally got a chance to get out with the new irons this past week. Here are my thoughts condensed into a couple of sections after the two sessions I've put under my belt. 
 

From my first session

 

I started out with the 9 iron as I was working through odd irons today. The first ball I hit was struck well. The LZ shafts feel right at home on delivery. This shaft doesn’t seem to deflect as much in transition as the $Taper does for me. That would cause some shaft droop coming into impact. No toe strikes here…today at least! I immediately noticed how these flight in a higher window than the CB/MB set in coming off of but without excess spin that causes the ball to fall right out of the sky in South TX. The ball launched great and was going my normal distance into the wind. I like that the descent angle is more and will allow me to attack more pins. 
 

The 7 iron was just as good. An easy launch up into the air with the normal distance. I don’t want to sound too boring here, but it was very much point and shoot with this club. 
 

Moving onto the 5 iron had me interested because I figured this would fly higher, but it was nice to see that while it was up into the air easily, it wasn’t too high. It looked like it was flying just as high as my 7 iron, so I’ll take that. Honestly, it looked like all my irons were apexing similarly to one another, and that is something I’m not used to. I usually see how different irons in the bag apex differently, but that has also led to me adjusting my yardages to the clubs in the bag - not in a bad way, but still. It seems like these will all top out similarly, but hit the numbers they should go. Also, the feel of the ZXi5 didn’t disappoint. I was expecting this iron to feel much more springy or clicky. It was maybe a hair firmer, but that’s due to the tech in this head to achieve what it set out to do: more ball speed and better launch. It does exactly that. I like what I felt with the 5 iron today. I usually hate going into a split set or using something too hot or technology-packed because of the feel. This isn’t that!
 

The ZXi7 irons felt very nice, even with our rock-hard Strata range balls. I can’t wait to hit off grass with my preferred ball of choice - ProV1 or TP5. 
 

I’m liking what I'm seeing at this early stage. I’ll be sure to post more in this thread as things develop. I've now had a chance to hit all the irons in the bag. Long irons are super solid, and with the second session under my belt, I'm hitting all the shots I want to hit. I’m also going to get more images of these, hopefully early next week - we've had TONS of rain in my region of Texas (insanely needed), so it's slowing things down a bit. I'm also on summer break, so I'll have plenty of time to get practice in and rounds. I am planning on playing in Austin this weekend at ACC, and I couldn't be more excited to play there with the new set. 

 

Shoutout to @Srixon / Cleveland Golf @GolfWRX_Officialfor this. Also, my set was EXACTLY built to spec and everything is perfect. Srixon has a fan and a future customer here. And what about JJ Spaun?! What a win, son!

 

 

 

 

 

great pictures. well done. 

[eric61]

Congratulations to the testers! This should be a really good one. Looking forward to following along.

[CanFred]

Congrats Testers - looking forward to following this one!

[Red4282]

These things just keep winning tournaments! Congrats to testers.. will be following along.

[adamwon84]

Defr looking forward to reading the reviews on these, I hear nothing but good things about all of their irons! Congrats on all who were selected! 

[J-Walker]

Congrats on all who were selected! Really excited to hear all about this lineup  

[mikes919]

Great group of testers! @MerryTex I went though and read your entire WITB history, I’m not sure there is a more qualified person here to review another set of irons 😆

[MerryTex]

2 hours ago, mikes919 said:

Great group of testers! @MerryTex I went though and read your entire WITB history, I’m not sure there is a more qualified person here to review another set of irons 😆

Yes, I basically spend money on gear because I LOVE to try stuff out to see how it stacks up against other clubs I’ve used and if it’s good enough to sneak into my bag. If I could stop my day job in education, I would go back to the golf industry in a heart beat.
 

While I test and try stuff, only the stuff that works will make it in. These irons are firmly in. Out of the sets I’ve used this year (Cobra and Miura), these are that good. 

[eddiebigeddie]

Ok so a little about me.  Former college baseball player, weight lifter (still to this day) and all around athlete…but Father time catching up with me as I just turned 47 this year.  4 years ago I made the switch to graphite due to knee & elbow issues so just trying to save my body the best I can. I’ve played a bunch of different irons since getting in to the game back in 2012. I am currently a 8-10 handicap (Grint) and most of that comes from getting in trouble off the tee (new driver this year is working on lowering that so far) and having to take a few extra shots here and there. My iron game is strong when I’m not in trouble. I’ve played everything from Srixon 545, 745, 565, ZX5 briefly, Cobra Fly Z Forged, og Forged Tec, og Black Forged Tec, PXG 0211 xcor2, P’s, Mizuno HM, HMP, Forged, 245 and current set are the Mizuno 925 Forged Black (5-Gw) with MMT 105 stiff hard stepped 1x.
 

For this set I opted to go ZXi4 in the 5 iron and the ZXi5 in 6-Aw with KBS TGI 100 X-stiff soft stepped 1x. A HUGE THANK YOU to @Srixon / Cleveland Golf for the customization offered to us. I took advantage of the paint/ferrules offered. 
 

To my surprise when I got home from work was a small triangular box on the porch which meant something showed up but not everything. The 5 iron showed up today and here’s some pics below. I did a little hour+ range time in my back yard today and have some first impressions of the 5 iron. Srixon did a great job with the build (paint/ferrules, grips etc).  The ZXi4 iron is definitely slimmed down from the last model and is a good looking club. The topline is a little large compared to my mizuno’s but nothing to crazy. My only complaint visually is the Red shaft label that KBS went with, would have preferred if it was only on one side of the shaft and not all the way around.  
 

I got warmed up and went through my bag working up to the 5 iron, first swing is pictured as well. I compared this to my 925F 5 iron and they are both excellent but different. The Zxi4 model feels excellent when centered, I would call it soft but explosive where the 925 is soft/buttery/quieter. The Srixon when not hit center reminds me a lot like the HMP I played last year feels really good but still has a little harder feel/sound. Nothing bad just noticeable to me. If the 10-12 or so shots I took with 5 iron are any indication of how the 5’s will be my Mizuno’s may be in trouble. I was nervous of the drop to the 100g shafts but they were very stable and felt really really well. I barely missed any shots during those swings and it just gives me a lot of excitement for what may come. I hope the rest of the set comes in tomorrow as I have 2 days of golf this week which would be great to get them out on. 
 

comparison pic is of the 2 clubs described above. Also my hitting area in my backyard. 

[GameChange24]

Looking forward to following along here. 

[mkidding]

Congrats on the testers!

 

Looks like we Srixon is looking for single HCP player who are playing what they consider as competitive line-ups from the neighborhood, namely TM P770 and combos, 925 Forged, and a couple others

All selected players are super active members and can't wait to see them share more!

 

[Stephen1125]

Thank you to @Srixon / Cleveland Golf and @GolfWRX_Officialfor this opportunity. 

 

About me,

I’m 38 years old, live in North Alabama and can play golf year round for the most part. I got my handicap down to a 3.1 last year but I'm up to a 5.1 now. My game is trending well and I’m hoping these new irons make a difference. I have been playing Taylormade P770s since they were introduced in 2020. I play Steelfiber FC90CW shafts that are hard stepped twice. That’s what my fitter recommended and they have been phenomenal for me. Last year I made some swing changes and now feel like maybe the shafts are a bit “loose” at times. I also noticed I was catching some flyers when the ball was perched up or when I played courses with zoysia fairways. I’ve learned that is pretty common for the OG 770s and most other hollow core irons. 

When I got selected for this test I ran to my local golf shop and hit all the demo shafts with the ZXi7 head. The Modus 120x and C-Taper Lite 115 shafts gave me the best results. I settled on the C-Taper lites as they had a slightly higher ball flight and felt more stable. I also hit the ZXi5 demo head. At address the ZXi5 and ZXi7 look almost identical. The ZXi5 had a noticeable higher launch and flight while still feeling excellent. For my setup I chose ZXi5 4 & 5 iron and ZXi7 6-PW. C-Taper Lite 115x shafts at +1” length and +2 up lie angle. Golf Pride Tour Velvet Jumbo grips. The ability to customize the ferrules and paint fill was really cool. I went with Black/Gold ferrules and a mix of black/gold/white paint fill. 

 

Initial impressions;

The box was waiting for me on my door step and looked slightly beat up but not bad. When I opened the box the clubs were inside, wrapped in plastic and brown paper. I have to say the presentation and packing was disappointing. While the clubs arrived in pristine condition, the packing looked like an after thought. For comparison, when I bought my P770s they came in a black box with taylormade and P770 logos on the outside. Inside the box, each iron was set in foam and separated from one another. The packaging was beautiful. The Srixon packing looked like my kids did it. 

Unwrapping the irons revealed their beauty. I mean seriously, these irons are gorgeous. The mix of gloss and brushed finishes really pops, especially when the light hits them. The ferrules look great and the paint fill was perfect. 

I don’t have a way to check the lie angle but they look correct. The lengths were all perfect. They all swing weight very close to D5. I play my irons at D4. I did not specify a swing weight in the build sheet but saw that Srixon advertises them as D4. 

 

Range Time

To be fair my swing was not with me yesterday and I didn’t hit the Srixons or my 770s very well. I had several good shots that felt excellent though. The flight was very similar to my 770s and possibly a touch higher. Comparing the two side by side showed that they felt pretty similar. I was getting similar numbers with the Srixons and 770s. I’ve attached several pictures of various irons. 

I have really high hopes for the ZXi5 4 and 5 irons. I’m really looking for better landing angles into longer holes. The ZXi5 5 iron I hit pretty well and it launched higher than my 770. I couldn’t strike the ZXi5 4 iron very well which is the same problem I have with the 770 4 iron. Currently I have taken my 4 iron out of the bag and replaced it with a 9 wood. I’ll have to do more testing and get the ZXi5 4 iron on the course to see how it performs. My 9 wood is excellent when it’s not windy. On windy days though, it goes too high and just gets knocked down. I’m hoping I can strike the ZXi5 4 iron well enough and with enough height to get it in the bag. 

 

I’m very sensitive to swing weight and could definitely tell that the Srixons were heavier than my current 770s. Hopefully I can adjust to the D5 weighting. If not, I'll have to find a way to get them down to D4. I did a lot of testing with swing weight a few years ago and D4 is definitely the sweet spot for me and my irons. If y’all have not experimented with swing weight to figure out what works best for you then I would highly recommend you do. The results were very noticeable in groupings on the face. 

 

I’ll get another range session or two in this week and get them on the course this weekend. I can’t wait to get them on the course and see how they perform. More to come!

Edited June 18 by Stephen1125
Grammar

[eddiebigeddie]

@Stephen1125 what I’m seeing from your numbers are you hit the ball a LONG way 😬

[Stephen1125]

1 hour ago, eddiebigeddie said:

@Stephen1125 what I’m seeing from your numbers are you hit the ball a LONG way 😬

Haha. I’m 6’7” and play +1” length. I do hit the ball a long way but physics is giving the assist! 

[Stephen1125]

[MerryTex]

Well, one round in and my 7 iron got ruined by a rock I had no idea was embedded in the soil. Nicked the toe of the club, opened the blade up, and I missed my layup zone by about 20 yards right. Lovely. 
 

I’ll do a write up on the performance of the irons once I have some time. Drove 2.5 hours to play and 3 with traffic back home to break these in. 
 

[MerryTex]

Yesterday I drove up to a course I used to play frequently when I was in college. This was my first round with the new set of clubs, and I was excited to see how they would perform, as I had only had a couple of range sessions with them. I will say that these irons feel fantastic. One thing I like about the ZXi5 irons in the 4 and 5 is that they get up quick and pierce through the wind quite well. I hit the 4 iron into a hole that was playing 215 into the wind, and I was hole high but just off to the right. I didn't adjust for the wind that was coming into and off the left. While it led to a sloppy bogey, the iron was perfect. It did what I hoped it would - easy to hit, flighted nicely, and it's forgiving.

 

I gave the ZXi 4 and 5 irons a proper test with shaping the ball and hitting it high and low. I was able to hit the 4 irons 4 times - three times off the tee with two stock shots and the other a stinger. The last shot I hit with the 4 irons was 225 out to the pin, and I had trees to get up and over just before the apex of the flight; it did not disappoint. It got up quick, rode the wind as much as it could, but I could tell the wind knocked some of the spin off, so it didn't get on the green but about 3 feet short. I took that as a win. I wouldn't have done that with my Cobra King CB. These irons want to go straight on stock shots for me, but I found that I could shape them left to right if I needed to. The 5 iron I hit off the tee on 15 was really good. I had 208 into and off the left and was pin high. These irons rock. 

 

Onto the ZXi7 irons. One thing I'll say is that they feel softer than the ZX MKII irons I had in play last year. I'm not at all saying that those were firm by any stretch of the imagination, but these are softer. One shot that sticks out was the 7 iron I hit into the same wind (off the left and into) while a 5-some waved me through on number 2. I had all eyes on me hitting my third full swing of the day after a 2 and a half hour drive straight out of my car and onto the course. The best thing that could happen did - I stuck it to 8 feet, and the ball flew right at the pin. The putt just broke at the end with the pace I gave it and was left with a par. I walked off the green and gave them a friendly wave, thanking them for allowing me through. Each shot that I faced, the irons performed. There was never an instance where the ball spun too much or too little for me. I was testing out the Srixon Z Star Diamond, which was too low spin for me off the tee. It performed well in the wind with every shot I hit with the irons and wedges. 

 

I can't wait to get out and play again. I might be able to later this afternoon/early evening. I've also got a nice round set up in Austin with a good friend of mine from my Golfsmith HQ days. We would sneak out to the putting green to take a break about twice a day. Good ol' days for sure. 

 

Here are a couple of images of the course I was at and the 7 iron that I was so lucky with until it got beat up by that stupid rock. I shot a gross 77 that felt every bit of it and more. I was lucky I saved a few holes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robbie91]

Hi Everyone, 

 

The onslaught of rain in the northeast has not tempered my excitement to begin testing these irons and I’m pleased to check in with an update following an outdoor range session and some time on the launch monitor. 

 

My hope for the performance review is to offer it in three parts. Today, I’ll share some initial impressions. Then, after at least 5 rounds, I’ll follow up with more concrete and in-depth thoughts. Finally, near the middle of July, I’ll close out with some final ramblings and sum up a good month’s worth of play with the set. 

 

For this post, I thought I’d review initial standouts before getting into the nitty gritty next week. In my journey through numerous sets of clubs over the years, I’ve always found that initial impressions offer some of the most critical data in assessing how well a club suits my game. Spoiler alert: the ZXi7 passed the test! 

 

 

Range Sessions: 

 

After receiving the clubs, I was giddy to get to the golf course. Sadly, I woke up to an unrelenting rain resulting in a course closure and spent the morning gazing listlessly at my unused clubs. Thanks to a short window of respite from the conditions in the afternoon, I bustled over to a local muni that has a grass range, did battle with the clubhouse ATM to get “exact cash” to assuage the range ball machine, and got to hitting. To say range conditions were poor would be an understatement. The turf was saturated with rain, standing water sloshed beneath my shoes, and the rumbling of thunder somewhere in the distance was ominous. 

 

I mention the conditions because the soggy ground led to the first standout with the ZXi7s – the sole grinds. As I progressed through the set, I found wonderful consistency in turf interaction marked by precise, clean divots without the slightest hint of digging. While I’m a bit more of a picker to begin with, I gained quite a bit of confidence steepening my attack angle as needed without concern for laying sod. I think this will come in clutch on the golf course, especially out of juicy lies in the rough. 

 

My second major takeaway was the shaping in the address position. Simply put, these irons look pleasing to hit. As mentioned in my first post, these sit smack in the middle of players CB shaping. For my eye, Srixon has found a near perfect balance of blade length, topline, and offset to present an iron that appears precise and powerful all in the same breath. In reading other reviews of the ZXi7s, I’ve seen a lot made of the topline. While it is beefier than my Blueprint S irons, I’d still place it in the medium-thin category. Frankly, the topline never crossed my mind in the range session, the club suits my eye well. 

 

However, being around these forums since 2007 (I’m an old man here), I can understand an equipment purist that would prefer a bit more “blade like” appearance on the topline. While I do believe that Srixon could easily bevel the topline like we’ve seen from so many other brands, after some time with the clubs, I firmly take the position that we think twice about what we ask for. For me, the topline is proportionate to the design and provides an extra boost of confidence at address. With a recent US Open victory under its belt, multiple Golf Digest Hotlist gold medals, and the nod of approval from tour pros around the world, I think it’d be a shame to refine the design too far. Just my two cents. I’ve included some photos of the 4 iron, 7 iron, and PW in address position below to highlight the beautiful flow and framing offered as the set transitions. 

 

The next takeaway from the range session was feel. Again, Srixon does a masterful job of finding the middle ground with an iron that is neither too soft/mushy or too firm/clicky. I’d describe the feel as a hair firmer than Mizuno forgings and softer than Titleist forgings. Acoustics were a touch louder than my blueprints with a pleasing audible forged “thwack”. It’s hard to beat what’s offered here from a feel standpoint. Having played a couple sets of Miura 501 CBs over the better part of a decade, there are certainly similarities in the feel department, though the ZXis offer a slightly more powerful feel off the face.  

 

The final takeaway was forgiveness. As I mentioned, it was an ugly day outside, I spent the morning forlorn following the course closure – oh, and I’ve been fighting my swing a bit lately! I think forgiveness is where I saw the biggest gap in performance from my current set. While I find the Blueprint S impressively forgiving for what they are, I’ve come to expect some decent distance drop off on mishits. During the range sessions, there were quite a few shots that I simply gave up on, only to squint in amazement when the golf ball ended up a mere 3-5 yards short of target. In sum, these are seriously forgiving for a players CB – quite easily rivaling Ping I210 and old school 710 AP2s (two of my favorites in this category), while managing an aesthetic, feel, and turf interaction that is a cut above. 

 

Aside from my takeaways, a trip to the launch monitor also netted some empirical data. Compared to my previous set up, the ZXi7s are about a half club longer. Launch and spin characteristics are very similar to the Blueprint S, with the Srixons offering marginally less spin (-50-100 rpm) and touch lower launch (~-0.5*) on average. It was good to see these numbers. The ZXi7 certainly feels faster than the Blueprint but is nowhere close to a power bat. Dispersion wise, ZXi7 wins in front/back dispersion. Side to side dispersion is essentially the same, with the ZXis tending to fall a bit to the left and the Blueprint S irons favoring a slight droop to the right. 

 

 

Conclusion & Next Steps:

 

I’m usually adept at presenting both the positive and negative features of a golf club, but I’m struggling to find anything to nitpick with the ZXi7s set at this juncture. The aesthetic at address inspires confidence, the feel is excellent, the forgiveness for a player’s iron is remarkable, the turf interaction is solid, and the clubs look fantastic in the bag. That said, we are squarely in the honeymoon phase with very limited course time. 

 

I will note that I have played one round with these irons, and while results were overwhelmingly positive, I decided to leave my on-course thoughts for the next iteration. The round that I played took place in the pouring rain and on a short golf course where I flipped wedges into most greens – just not a big enough sample size. The few irons I did hit flat out performed and the theme of forgiveness was evident on two particularly ugly shots that still ended up greenside. I’ll be playing some nicer tracks this weekend, a charity scramble on Monday, and a course that requires laser point precision with irons next Wednesday. I’ll check back in then! 

 

For those that made it this far, thanks for reading. Feel free to tag me in the comments or send a PM if you have questions. I’m also happy to take specific photos or videos for anyone looking for more perspective on these beauties. Please accept my apologies for the poor photo quality thus far, between the rain and gloom it’s been tough to snap glamor shots. I hope to get some better images up soon. 

 

Until Next Time, 

 

Rob 

[eddiebigeddie]

Get reviews so far guys. Still waiting on the rest of my set to get here. Wish they would have showed up yesterday because I played a scramble today at a course I know like the palm of my hand. I did hit my 5 iron 2x and it performed exactly like I hoped. We managed to shoot a -17 and won the scramble by 2 shots which was nice.
 

Can’t wait for the rest to get here and get them on the course asap. I have another round at a nice course tomorrow and then 3 rds next week, 2 of them being an Am Tourney I play every year. Would like to get a few rounds in before then to see if they make the tourney bag or if they have to wait until after.  

[CanFred]

Loved reading the reviews so far guys - great stuff. &nbsp
 

Seems like @Srixon / Cleveland Golf killed this iteration of the ZX line. Can’t wait to follow along!