In our forums, WRXer ‘SeaIsland’ has shared his thoughts on Srixon’s ZX5 and ZX7 irons, with a fascinating write up in our forums. ‘SeaIsland’ plays off a 6 handicap, and this is what he learned from testing both irons recently:

Srixon ZX5 vs ZX7 irons

I was ready to place my order for the ZX5’s… replacing the 4 iron with the 4/Utility, and go with the TM Sim2 3 and 5 woods because the top set gaps for me were perfect. I am a club junkie, so I replace my bag every two years. I currently game the Ping i500s 4-PW (Modus 120s stiff) and like the setup, but I can’t help but believe at my age (63… 6 HC), a graphite drop to 105 or 95 (shaft weight) wouldn’t be a good move for me. Surprisingly, my miss with the 120’s (really 114g) is a balloon. While I know the i500s are not known for feel, I have to say that any centered strike with any club feels good to me. I like the fact that the Pings have little offset (I’m 2 degrees up already), and I’ve considered replacing the Modus shafts with lighter graphite (MMT 95s or 105s) and re-shafting the Pings/saving a few bucks.

Anyway, I tried out the ZX5’s for the tenth time and finally got an opportunity to hit the ZX7’s with a 95gram graphite shaft (recoils). I’ve never been a fan of the recoils, but I wanted to feel the weight and convince myself that I could drop to 95 vs 105 (btw, the recoils were F3). 

Srixon ZX7 irons

Bottom line: I had concerns about the spin with the ZX5s. I’m here to tell you that I hit both the ZX5 and ZX7 well during my test, and the ZX5s carried about 5 yards longer. I also had an occasional flier (not extreme, about 5-9 yards longer). My dispersion on the ZX7s was better, and the spin was 500-800 RPMs more (5000 vs 5800). Peak height was almost the same (29-30). I liked everything about the ZX7s better. Look, feel, etc. Despite the differences being very small, they were not too small for me –the longer I stood over the ball, the ZX7’s kept looking better to my eye. The forgiveness was identical in my experience, and based on the numbers that matter (if you’re willing to give up 5-9 yards in carry), the ZX7’s were superior. 

I’ve changed my thinking. 1) I preferred the ZX7s. 2) Although I was ready to get the MMT 105s, I’m going to go with the 95s and pay a slight premium (special order shipping costs only) 3). I’m still going to replace the 4 iron with the utility 4 iron and be done with it. There’s still a chance I may sweat the decision and throw in a ZX5 5 iron, but I don’t think I’m going to do it. The 7’s are remarkably forgiving. If you don’t take anything else away from this post, just know that if you’re even a reasonable ball striker, the forgiveness between these two irons is negligible. 

Srixon ZX5 irons

Anyway, I hope this helps some of you who are older, don’t have professional swing speeds, but generally hit the clubface. As stated, I think my epiphany was: 1) No difference in forgiveness. 2) better control and stopping spin with the 7’s and 3) the 7’s are better looking… they may look the same on the rack, but hit a few dozen balls, and they start to look very different, especially if offset matters to you.  

Share your thoughts and questions for ‘SeaIsland’ in our forum here.