Pulled the Trigger - Srizon ZX5 irons

[Pupini]

I've been in pursuit of a new set of irons for about a year. Since January I've been going to PGASS and hit almost everything they had. I didn't want to be brand biased so I hit just about everything geared towards the 10-12 handicap player. After two months of what I call feel testing, I narrowed it down to three models. Feel testing in my opinion is simply hitting 50 balls to see if I like the setup, feel off the face, sound, etc., very non metric driven. 

Anyway, today I had a proper fitting with the Srixon ZX5 irons, Callaway Apex 21s, Titleist T200s. The ZX5s started to emerge as my favorite pretty quickly. We started with the stock, KBS Tour Lite Stiff shaft. Then we moved to the Project X in stiff and the dispersion was still a little off, so we moved to the TT Dynamic Gold TourX and the fitter nailed it. The dispersion became a lot tighter and it felt like the shaft was really moving through the ball at impact. I've always liked ProjectX but it just wasn't working for me. 

I should get the set in about two weeks with my specs - 2* flat, 1/2' short. Can't wait for these to arrive.

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

[Josh Parker]

Great set of irons and you should really like them!  They have been great for me.  I have the 5's and 7's mixed.  

[StrokerAce]

12 hours ago, Pupini said:

I've been in pursuit of a new set of irons for about a year. Since January I've been going to PGASS and hit almost everything they had. I didn't want to be brand biased so I hit just about everything geared towards the 10-12 handicap player. After two months of what I call feel testing, I narrowed it down to three models. Feel testing in my opinion is simply hitting 50 balls to see if I like the setup, feel off the face, sound, etc., very non metric driven. 

Anyway, today I had a proper fitting with the Srixon ZX5 irons, Callaway Apex 21s, Titleist T200s. The ZX5s started to emerge as my favorite pretty quickly. We started with the stock, KBS Tour Lite Stiff shaft. Then we moved to the Project X in stiff and the dispersion was still a little off, so we moved to the TT Dynamic Gold TourX and the fitter nailed it. The dispersion became a lot tighter and it felt like the shaft was really moving through the ball at impact. I've always liked ProjectX but it just wasn't working for me. 

I should get the set in about two weeks with my specs - 2* flat, 1/2' short. Can't wait for these to arrive.

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

a MGS staff favorite! you will be very pleased.

[Golf2Much]

I've been thinking about a new set of irons.  Last month we had the Srixon rep here (most golf companies don't make it all the way down US1 to visit).  When I arrived at the course the rep looked lonely, so I went over to give the irons a try.  We started with the ZX5's but migrated to the ZX4's.  I was really impressed with the way they felt and how well I hit them (as much as I could tell hitting them into a net).  My course gave me a pretty good deal on the new set and now I'm just trying to scrape up the cash to get them into my bag.

Srixon were a surprise hit for me!

[Pupini]

3 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Great set of irons and you should really like them!  They have been great for me.  I have the 5's and 7's mixed.  

I thought about mixing the 5s and 7s but I felt a lost a little too much distance with the 7s and didn't want such a big gap.

[StrokerAce]

8 minutes ago, Pupini said:

I thought about mixing the 5s and 7s but I felt a lost a little too much distance with the 7s and didn't want such a big gap.

I've tried all 3 and if I was to buy them I'd go:

4-5 : ZX4
6-7 : ZX5
8-P : ZX7

all three versions were just a joy to hit.

[Kevin McManus]

Looks good line up with all 3 irons in one set! I liked it Mucho! Enjoy!

[GolfSpy_APH]

On 3/25/2024 at 2:02 AM, Pupini said:

I've been in pursuit of a new set of irons for about a year. Since January I've been going to PGASS and hit almost everything they had. I didn't want to be brand biased so I hit just about everything geared towards the 10-12 handicap player. After two months of what I call feel testing, I narrowed it down to three models. Feel testing in my opinion is simply hitting 50 balls to see if I like the setup, feel off the face, sound, etc., very non metric driven. 

Anyway, today I had a proper fitting with the Srixon ZX5 irons, Callaway Apex 21s, Titleist T200s. The ZX5s started to emerge as my favorite pretty quickly. We started with the stock, KBS Tour Lite Stiff shaft. Then we moved to the Project X in stiff and the dispersion was still a little off, so we moved to the TT Dynamic Gold TourX and the fitter nailed it. The dispersion became a lot tighter and it felt like the shaft was really moving through the ball at impact. I've always liked ProjectX but it just wasn't working for me. 

I should get the set in about two weeks with my specs - 2* flat, 1/2' short. Can't wait for these to arrive.

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

Congrats on the new sticks! 

Looking forward to hearing what you think of them and seeing how they perform!

[Bad Golfer]

Congratulations on the new irons! I bought a set of 785's used when I first started playing 2 years ago. It was definitely a mistake as I should have went with the 585's but really didn't know any better at the time. I do know for sure when you hit one pure they are like butter. 

[revkev]

I bought a set of the 5’s in July and am currently gaming them. They look and feel great and I’m hitting lots of good shots with them. My one complaint is the gap between the pitching wedge and gap wedge. It’s 6 degrees - I’ve tried several remedies with very mixed results. I need to just go get the thing bent stronger. Honestly I’ve been so bad with wedge lately I’ve been reluctant to do anything until straightening that out though.

 

On an interesting note a several of Srixon players play blended sets that include a ZX 5 4 iron. Also Paul Malanati made a similar move with a different brand of irons in his set at 5 and 4 iron - he credited that move because it allowed him to hit the iron on 17 that won. 
 

Enjoy the irons, looking forward to your review. Great way to find your new gamers. A plus on the discipline of taking so long to find them. 

[William0946]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:02 PM, Pupini said:

I've been in pursuit of a new set of irons for about a year. Since January I've been going to PGASS and hit almost everything they had. I didn't want to be brand biased so I hit just about everything geared towards the 10-12 handicap player. After two months of what I call feel testing, I narrowed it down to three models. Feel testing in my opinion is simply hitting 50 balls to see if I like the setup, feel off the face, sound, etc., very non metric driven. 

Anyway, today I had a proper fitting with the Srixon ZX5 irons, Callaway Apex 21s, Titleist T200s. The ZX5s started to emerge as my favorite pretty quickly. We started with the stock, KBS Tour Lite Stiff shaft. Then we moved to the Project X in stiff and the dispersion was still a little off, so we moved to the TT Dynamic Gold TourX and the fitter nailed it. The dispersion became a lot tighter and it felt like the shaft was really moving through the ball at impact. I've always liked ProjectX but it just wasn't working for me. 

I should get the set in about two weeks with my specs - 2* flat, 1/2' short. Can't wait for these to arrive.

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

Good choice with the Srixon's.  I've been gaming the previous version ZX5's for 2 years now and really like the feel and performance.  Let us know what you think of the new MKII version once you've played a few rounds.  Enjoy!!

[Jim Shaw]

On 3/24/2024 at 6:02 PM, Pupini said:

I've been in pursuit of a new set of irons for about a year. Since January I've been going to PGASS and hit almost everything they had. I didn't want to be brand biased so I hit just about everything geared towards the 10-12 handicap player. After two months of what I call feel testing, I narrowed it down to three models. Feel testing in my opinion is simply hitting 50 balls to see if I like the setup, feel off the face, sound, etc., very non metric driven. 

Anyway, today I had a proper fitting with the Srixon ZX5 irons, Callaway Apex 21s, Titleist T200s. The ZX5s started to emerge as my favorite pretty quickly. We started with the stock, KBS Tour Lite Stiff shaft. Then we moved to the Project X in stiff and the dispersion was still a little off, so we moved to the TT Dynamic Gold TourX and the fitter nailed it. The dispersion became a lot tighter and it felt like the shaft was really moving through the ball at impact. I've always liked ProjectX but it just wasn't working for me. 

I should get the set in about two weeks with my specs - 2* flat, 1/2' short. Can't wait for these to arrive.

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

what a great post, I feel like this model should be followed for all golfers to decide on a big purchase like a new set of irons. My takeaway is, take your time, "do the feel test" which you described very nicely, narrow it down and then purchase. 

It sounds like PGASS was a great place to go and patient that it took "longer" than a normal "grab and buy". 

Thanks for sharing this. And yes, keep us updated on how it goes once you get them in play, just as a point, it took me about 6 weeks to really get the "feel" of the KBS stiff light shafts I put in my Takomo's but I am really happy now that I stuck with them. 

[revkev]

While you are waiting for yours I had my on the range today. I was thinking of this thread. What I especially noticed today was the turf interaction, how I get nice shallow divots through the bag with these irons. 

[Josh Parker]

8 hours ago, revkev said:

While you are waiting for yours I had my on the range today. I was thinking of this thread. What I especially noticed today was the turf interaction, how I get nice shallow divots through the bag with these irons. 

The v sole on them is amazing. They have quickly become one of my favorite sets I have owned. 

[revkev]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

The v sole on them is amazing. They have quickly become one of my favorite sets I have owned. 

It is interesting because I game SCOR wedges - I love that v-sole - the Srixons remind me of those wedges. 

[Rob Person]

Congrats!  New clubs are always exciting!   

[Bad Golfer]

All this talk and the Vsole with the turf interaction I'm going to have to throw the 785's in the bag for a round. I know my ball striking is much better than it was before getting a more forgiving set of irons. I might be surprised. 

[RoyN]

Great choice. I put them in the bag last spring and they did not disappoint. 

I have had 2 coworkers, including a self described Mizuno snob, recently switch over to the Srixon Zx5 MkII. They are stupid good. As many have said, a MGS favorite. Enjoy!

[Golf2Much]

@Pupini, I hope your new irons will be delivered soon.  There's always a lot of anticipation when you get a new clubs and you can't wait to hit them for the first time.

As mentioned above, I'm considering the ZX 4 MKII's after a Srixon rep was at our course.  I only tried one senior graphite shaft, the Helium F2.  I know they also have the UST Recoil and KBS Max 55 gram senior shafts.  I'm heading up to South Florida for some FSGA course rating remedial training and volunteer appreciation celebration, so I'm planning to hit Golf Galaxy for a fitting to find which of the three will work the best for me.  

If all goes right, I should be placing an order on my set when I get back.

[Bad Golfer]

Well guys, all this talk and I just ended up scoring a set of Zx5's myself. They are the original version bit I'm extremely excited to try these out for myself. I kinda wish I would have went strait after the Srixon's last year instead of getting the Mizuno's but maybe the Mizuno's will be better? I will post back after getting a few rounds in and let you all know.

[Pupini]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:02 PM, Pupini said:

A more in-depth review will come, once I can start hitting on grass. I tend to take a pretty big divot and I've heard that these clubs are good for diggers like me. 

Ok. So I've played 3 rounds with the new irons and had 2 or 3 sessions at the range. Here is my assessment.

WOW. I haven't hit irons this well since my set of Titleist 990 irons a long time ago. 

What I will say is this, it is crucial to find the proper shaft / iron head combo. I finally feel like the entire club is working in unison. My distances are about the same with my previous irons (Sub70), but the control is much better, and I attribute a lot of that to the shaft. The ball flight is penetrating and predictable. On Sat I played some pretty hard greens and I was able to stop the ball easily, while my playing partners were taking a big hop way past the flag. 

The feel of the clubs are excellent. One thing I noticed right away was the distance predictability on off-center hits. A few times, I've hit towards the toe and the loss of distance was minimal. Dead center hits feel pure, as they should, but the overall consistency is great. I have as much confidence with my 5 iron as I do with the 8 knowing that even something off center will get it to the green. I kinda wish I bought the 4 iron.

The biggest surprise is the Tour V.T. Sole. As I stated in my original post, I am a greenskeeper's worst nightmare taking massive divots. The VT sole really helps move the head through the ball and not into the dirt. Granted the fairways have been a little firm so perhaps the ground is pushing the club through, but so far, I'v noticed a change.

Overall, I would rate these irons a 90 out 100. I will revisit this rating in August once I've had a full season with them and the "new club" grave period is over.

For anyone looking for new irons, I would say don't rush it and don't have brand bias. Hit as many different brands and models as you can, and choose the one that is right for you. To be honest Srixon were not at the top of the list prior to this process. My playing partner on Sat just bought a new set of Pings, and is a little upset his local club don't carry Srixon after taking a few swings with mine. 

Until a brand pays me play their clubs, I will keep an open mind towards everything as long as it works.

 

[fixyurdivot]

8 hours ago, Pupini said:

Ok. So I've played 3 rounds with the new irons and had 2 or 3 sessions at the range. Here is my assessment.

WOW. I haven't hit irons this well since my set of Titleist 990 irons a long time ago. 

What I will say is this, it is crucial to find the proper shaft / iron head combo. I finally feel like the entire club is working in unison. My distances are about the same with my previous irons (Sub70), but the control is much better, and I attribute a lot of that to the shaft. The ball flight is penetrating and predictable. On Sat I played some pretty hard greens and I was able to stop the ball easily, while my playing partners were taking a big hop way past the flag. 

The feel of the clubs are excellent. One thing I noticed right away was the distance predictability on off-center hits. A few times, I've hit towards the toe and the loss of distance was minimal. Dead center hits feel pure, as they should, but the overall consistency is great. I have as much confidence with my 5 iron as I do with the 8 knowing that even something off center will get it to the green. I kinda wish I bought the 4 iron.

The biggest surprise is the Tour V.T. Sole. As I stated in my original post, I am a greenskeeper's worst nightmare taking massive divots. The VT sole really helps move the head through the ball and not into the dirt. Granted the fairways have been a little firm so perhaps the ground is pushing the club through, but so far, I'v noticed a change.

Overall, I would rate these irons a 90 out 100. I will revisit this rating in August once I've had a full season with them and the "new club" grave period is over.

For anyone looking for new irons, I would say don't rush it and don't have brand bias. Hit as many different brands and models as you can, and choose the one that is right for you. To be honest Srixon were not at the top of the list prior to this process. My playing partner on Sat just bought a new set of Pings, and is a little upset his local club don't carry Srixon after taking a few swings with mine. 

Until a brand pays me play their clubs, I will keep an open mind towards everything as long as it works.

 

Glad to hear you are liking the Srixon's.  They have been getting lots of accolades as far back as the Z series.  I knew little about them when I had my last iron fitting in 2019 (primarily to move to composite shafts).  When I hit them, they jumped to the top spot and no other could get past.

While I keep going to our demo days and hitting contenders (pretty much everything this past spring), none have moved me to switch the line-up... not even the MKII's.  When I tested those, I hit the ZX5 and ZX7 and really saw no difference.  The fitter was straight up honest and said "much as I'd love to sell you a set of MKII's, I would not change a thing".  

I just set my new all time low index and won our men's league championship a few weeks ago... dancing with who brung me .

[Owengeorge13]

Srixon gives my golf spy zero love?

[CdnLefty]

Mine arrive tomorrow. It would seem that I'm not the only one who was impressed by the fitting sessions. Can't wait to take them into the great outdoors. 

Would it be stupid to put them into play for club championship this weekend? Yes. Yes, it would.

Still ...

Stop it.

[Jim Shaw]

7 hours ago, CdnLefty said:

Mine arrive tomorrow. It would seem that I'm not the only one who was impressed by the fitting sessions. Can't wait to take them into the great outdoors. 

Would it be stupid to put them into play for club championship this weekend? Yes. Yes, it would.

Still ...

Stop it.

lol, yes stupid... but fun to think about it...

[slash25rc]

I am in need of some new irons-- I am between the ZX 5's or the Mizzy Pro 245s... Gotta gather up some cash and get fitted for both and see. 

[CdnLefty]

On 8/22/2024 at 7:03 AM, Jim Shaw said:

lol, yes stupid... but fun to think about it...

Was it stuipid? Maybe ... but I won my flight, both low gross and net.

[Jim Shaw]

1 minute ago, CdnLefty said:

Was it stuipid? Maybe ... but I won my flight, both low gross and net.

congratulations, obviously not... way to go...