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This is a review of the Srixon ZX7 driver.
The ZX7 is engineered for serious players to be able to dial in their perfect ball flight with flexible adjustability features. It’s less forgiving and lower-spinning than its sister driver, the ZX5, but it’s capable of delivering a penetrating flight with explosive distance.
Many people are familiar with Srixon as one of the top manufacturers of golf balls. But does their ZX7 driver pass muster? 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 ZX7 driver won a gold medal on the 2022 Golf Digest Hot List and earned a spot on the MyGolfSpy 2022 Most Wanted List. Critic reviews have generally been positive.
The driver has an average customer rating of 5/5 (100% recommended) on PGA TOUR Superstore and 4.6/5 on the official Srixon store.
What People Like
- forgiveness is surprisingly good
- looks great at address
- feels solid at impact
- strong, penetrating ball flight
- consistent results
- draw/fade sole adjustability
- new lower price
What People Don’t Like
- loud sound is unappealing to some
The Features
Rebound Frame
This consists of alternating “flex zones” and “rigid zones”. It adds a second layer of flexibility (in addition to the face) for even more recoil at impact.
The “spring within a spring” design delivers unprecedented ball speeds, particularly in the middle of the face.
Adjustability
Two ports on the sole of the driver, one on the heel side and one on the toe side, house 4g and 8g removeable weights. The stock configuration is 8g in the toe and 4g in the heel, resulting in a neutral or slight fade bias which better players often seek.
The weights can be swapped to introduce a draw bias, or you can experiment with other weights sold separately.
In addition, an adjustable hosel offers 12 combinations of loft, lie and face angle.
Carbon Crown
Coming in at 15% larger than previous models, this new crown shifts the CG low for increased MOI and forgiveness.
Stock Info
The ZX7 driver is available in 9.5° and 10.5° standard lofts at 460CC.
The stock graphite shaft offered is the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black (60). The stock grip is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360. Custom options are available.
Below are the specs of the Srixon ZX7 driver. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
Just taking the ZX7 driver out to the range and hitting some shots right away without adjusting the weights or the hosel, I was getting excellent ball speed with a very shallow descent angle and plenty of rollout.
When you combine this with substantially lower spin relative to the ZX5 (by 300+ RPMs), you get tremendous distance that can certainly compete with the best bombers on the market from more well-known brands.
Distance control is also very good. With consistent enough ball contact, you’re going to get tight dispersions, such that you can rely on the driver in the most demanding high-pressure situations.
Forgiveness
There’s no question that the ZX7 is not as forgiving as the ZX5. But because of the technologies that go into the driver, namely the Rebound Frame and carbon crown that shifts the CG low and bumps up the MOI, there’s still enough forgiveness there to satisfy even mid handicappers.
Most users of the ZX7 are impressed at the amount of forgiveness offered, and I can add my name to that chorus. Ball speed and direction both hold up well in mis-hit regions.
During my test, many of my moderately poor shots managed to stay in the fairway; the one main exception to this is when my swing was accentuating the bias established in the configuration.
Playability/Trajectory
The ZX7 tends to deliver a lower, more penetrating trajectory than the ZX5 with no bias either way.
Of course, this ball flight is designed to be tweaked to suit your swing through the removeable sole weights. As examples, removing just the 4g weight from the heel should result in a fade bias, while swapping the weights so that the 8g weight is in the heel will introduce a draw bias.
You can also replace the stock weights with other ZX weights (4g, 6g, 8g, 10g, 12g) sold separately; this allows you to get even more granular with your flight tuning.
Highly capable of putting significant curve on tee shots, the ZX7 is definitely the more workable option in the ZX driver family.
The Look
Compared to the ZX5, the shape of the ZX7’s rear is more rounded and pear-shaped. The traditional and symmetrical design is designed to suit the eye of better players.
The skirt is also taller, and the crown is slightly flatter. The driver sets up very square at address, and the face pattern makes for easy alignment.
The branding and design of Srixon’s ZX series isn’t my absolute favourite, although I find the red/silver/black colour dynamic quite nice. The glossy black crown is very clean and non-distracting, and the ZX7 logowork on the sole is front and center.
The Sound & Feel
The ZX7 driver sounds rather loud and “tinny” at impact. The feel is very similar to the ZX5 — explosive and somewhat soft.
To me, the driver just sounds a bit cheap and doesn’t give off the “premium” vibe that most better players would expect from a players driver.
I was more willing to look past this with the ZX5 because of its higher forgiveness profile and target market, but in the context of the ZX7, it’s a distinct negative for me.
Mis-hit feedback is good but not exceptional. It’s easier to discern the general area of the strike (towards the heel or toe) than the ZX5, but it can still sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the precise location. Overall, the feedback should be sufficient for the vast majority of players.
Where To Buy This Driver Online
For new and used ZX7 drivers, you should check out Global Golf, PGA TOUR Superstore, Rock Bottom Golf, or eBay. You can also order a new ZX7 driver from the official Srixon store.
In addition to being able to input custom specs, Global Golf offers financing, a performance guarantee, and a club trade-in program to help you minimize the financial hit. eBay is a fantastic source for golf equipment, both new and used.
The ZX7 model is getting a little aged, but availability is still very good.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a lower-spin, adjustable driver that is reasonably priced, you can’t do much better than the Srixon ZX7.
With plenty of distance, forgiveness and workability, it’s worthy of being in the same conversation as comparable models from the top brands. The ZX7 should be especially attractive to players with faster swing speeds who want to be able to tweak their ball flight on-the-fly.
The only negative to speak of is the loud sound, which doesn’t show proper respect to the performance of the driver. In any event, you won’t regret giving the ZX7 a try — it might just become your new gamer.
Are you interested in the ZX7 driver? Have you played it? What’s your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
