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Today, I’ll be reviewing the Srixon ZX4 irons.
With the widest sole, most offset, and thickest profile in Srixon’s ZX line, the ZX4 is unapologetically a game improvement iron with a heavy focus on forgiveness.
The ZX4 features tungsten, a hollow design, and various other performance-maximizing technologies. But how does it hold up compared to similar irons from the top brands? What kind of golfer is it best suited for? Is it worth putting in the bag?
Read on to find out what you need to know to make an informed purchase.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
What are the reviews like?
The ZX4 irons won a gold medal on the 2022 Golf Digest Hot List. Critic reviews have been very positive.
The irons have average customer ratings of 5/5 on Global Golf, 4.9/5 (100% recommended) on PGA TOUR Superstore, 5/5 on Rock Bottom Golf, and 4.9/5 on the Srixon store.
What People Like
- high launch with soft landings
- impressive workability
- plenty of distance
- feel is explosive yet soft
- true game-improvement forgiveness
What People Don’t Like
- limited LH availability
- thick profile is too much for some people
The Features
The ZX4 iron has many features in common with the other irons in the ZX family, including a multi-piece construction and Tour V.T. Sole.
Hollow Design
The ZX4 irons have a hollow design that significantly increases moment of inertia (MOI).
The result is greater resistance to twisting at impact and hence greater forgiveness (ball speed and dispersions) across the face.
Multi-Piece Construction
The ZX4’s multi-piece construction consists of:
- a forged HT1770 steel face that enhances speed and distance
- a 431 steel body that produces a soft feel by absorbing vibrations
- tungsten in the base of the 4-7 irons which lowers the CG for a higher launch
Mainframe
This is a milled pattern on the back of the iron, developed with machine learning, that maximizes COR for more ball speed and distance.
Tour V.T. Sole With Sole Notches
The Tour V.T. Sole is a V-shaped sole that is designed to glide through the turf so that hitting behind the ball will be much less penalizing.
The sole also features Srixon’s popular sole notches which improve workability without sacrificing forgiveness.
Progressive Grooves
The grooves of the 8-PW are sharper, narrower and deeper in order to generate maximum spin and stopping power into greens.
Stock Info
4-PW and 5-PW stock sets are available for the ZX4, as are individual irons from 4-AW.
The stock shafts offered with the ZX4 are the Nippon N.S. PRO 950GH Neo (steel) and UST Mamiya Recoil 760/780 ES SmacWrap (graphite). The stock grip is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360. Custom options are available.
Below are the specs of the Srixon ZX4 irons. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
In short, the ZX4 irons are very long — they probably squeeze out 5-8 more yards on average than the ZX5, which themselves are quite long.
Many people who have played the ZX4 irons laud them for their high launch. The problem is that while the launch angle is nearly the same as the ZX5, spin is significantly lower, and this tends to result in shallower descent angles, more runout, and less stopping power into greens.
I have played irons that are longer and don’t run out as much, so in that respect, the ZX4 irons come up a little short.
Forgiveness
The forgiveness of the ZX4 irons is terrific, but only marginally better than the ZX5. I found that performance was very similar in the toe region and slightly better low on the face, but overall dispersions are very similar.
The performance across the face is consistent with the low and mid irons having tungsten concentrated low and the hollow construction enhancing overall mis-hit forgiveness. Mis-hits only tend to lose a couple yards of distance.
I was expecting the ZX4 to have a clear advantage in forgiveness over the ZX5 considering the thicker profile and the way the iron is marketed, but I just never got that sense during my testing.
Playability/Trajectory
The launch, trajectory and apex height produced by the ZX4 iron are high and very similar to the ZX5.
The main difference lies in the spin rate which can be around 800-1000 RPM less — this is rather low and can cause some controllability problems coming into greens.
The turf interaction of these irons is one of its greatest strengths. It’s phenomenal. They glide through the turf very well, even if you hit behind the ball — this should be really helpful to high handicappers and even beginners.
Workability is better than I expected, but as a max GI iron, it can take some effort to flight the ball the way you want to. Still, given how thick and chunky the iron is, it’s certainly one of the most workable irons I’ve tested.
The Look
The top line of the ZX4 is quite thick, it has an oversized design, the blade length is substantial, and the offset is greater than the ZX5. The sole width is also the widest in the ZX line.
In addition, even with the shorter irons (7-8), you can see the back of the club sticking out when set up behind the ball, so the ZX4 makes no illusions about the fact that it’s a max GI iron.
This iron has some real heft to it. The chunky appearance should really help inspire confidence in higher handicappers, and at the same time, the simple, minimalist design on the back adds a flare of sophistication and professionalism.
The Sound & Feel
Overall, the feel and sound of the ZX4 iron is very similar to the ZX5 with an extra amount of stability.
The iron delivers a very crisp, higher-pitched sound at impact, and feel is excellent: very explosive and muted with a nice side of softness.
If anything, there is a bit of clickiness at impact. This is not surprising considering the hollow cavity-back design, but some golfers will find it unappealing.
Feel on mis-hits is very consistent, and you mostly feel like you’re getting the same distance and performance as if you make center contact. Feedback is poor; it’s difficult to discern where contact is made on the face.
The ZX4 iron provides a great deal of help through the turf thanks to the wide sole and large amount of bounce. This will be especially beneficial to golfers who tend to hit the ball heavy or who tend to play in wetter, softer conditions.
Where To Buy These Irons Online
Aside from the Srixon store, if you want a brand new set of ZX4 irons with custom shafts, grips, lengths, lofts, etc., definitely head over to Rock Bottom Golf.
At the time of writing, RBG can accommodate custom requests and offers a performance guarantee, rewards points program, and a club trade-in program to help you minimize the financial hit.
Another excellent destination for both new and used ZX4 irons is eBay. You can usually get irons there for prices that can’t be beat anywhere else.
You can also look at what’s available at Global Golf and PGA TOUR Superstore.
Conclusion
The Srixon ZX4 iron is long, forgiving, and high-launching.
But while the performance is great when you consider it in a vacuum, I don’t find there to be enough improvement in distance and forgiveness over the ZX5 to justify the thicker profile and reduced feedback.
Moreover, the ZX4 spins less than the ZX5 which means less control and stopping power into greens.
Because of this, unless you prefer the chunky look of the ZX4 and find that it inspires more confidence, in most cases I recommend playing the ZX5 if you seek great forgiveness.
Are you interested in the ZX4 irons? Have you played them? What’s your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
