About this Review: This review is my own honest opinion of the golf clubs, which I bought with my own money in January 2022.

My take

I am getting a bit older. I was hitting the Srixon Z 785 and Z-Forged irons for the past couple years and loved them, but I was needing a bit more explosive distance and forgiveness. While I did love these past sets of golf clubs, I knew neither would be my ultimate set, and I set out on a search to find a new set in the Srixon ZX family. After reading many reviews of players’ distance irons, I settled on the Srixon ZX5 Irons about six months ago and absolutely love them.

These irons are a premium option and even without getting custom clubs, I've enjoyed golf more than ever. My setup with these golf irons even has stock grips! I've noticed with longer irons on trickier shots, they have increased my ball speed more than ever and with the 8-iron and down, my approach shots grouping has been smaller.

Note: While I believe that the Srixon ZX5 irons may be designed for a mid-handicapper or even high-handicappers that need a higher launch, they were perfect for me. I'm a low-handicap player and these new ZX irons are some of the best irons I've ever played! Since I was looking for that extra little bit of forgiveness, they've given me exactly what I needed.

About the clubs

• Model: Srixon ZX5 iron set (2021)
• Loft setting: I had them custom-made to 1 degree strong for a little extra distance
• Shaft type: Nippon NS Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 (stock shaft)
• Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
• Shaft flex: Stiff

About me

• Average score: 74
• Handicap: 1.9
• Experience: 35 years of golf
• Right/Left-Handed: Right
• Typical ball flight: High draw
• Golf ball used: Titleist Pro V1x
• Club swing speed: 104

Test conditions

• When I bought these clubs: January 2022
• Days tested: 14
• Where I’ve used them: Course and range
• Weather and wind conditions: Wind, great conditions, rain/wet

How they perform

What I was looking for

I was looking for a classic set of irons that would combine a thin topline but still have a confidence-inspiring iron face. The Srixon ZX5 irons did so by using their variable thickness and also their longer blade length. These helped—along with their wider grooves—to increase MOI while still giving me workability. This, in turn with the ball speed technology from Srixon, helped me gain more distance (I basically wanted to be able to pick up 5-7yd per iron) and forgiveness. I had the Srixon Z 785 and Z-Forged irons and loved them, but just needed a bit more distance and forgiveness as my swing speed has slowed a bit. The Srixon ZX5 did exactly that!

Why I chose these clubs

After much research—reading a lot of reviews and watching a lot of YouTube videos—I narrowed it down to a couple of options. These were as follows: the Srixon ZX5, TaylorMade P790, P770, and the Mizuno JPX921 Forged. However, I tested them all out, and the look, feel, and performance of the Srixon ZX5 were at the top of the list in distance, forgiveness, looks, turf interaction, sole width, an extremely soft feel, and stability throughout the entire swing.

What I love about them

• Distance: I definitely picked up 5-7 yards on my irons with the Srixon ZX5s over the Z 785’s I had. The tungsten in the toe of the long irons also helped my distance and control tremendously on longer shots. Another thing that Srixon capitalizes on is the hollow body construction which involves grams of tungsten on the longer irons to increase distance.
• Forgiveness: I feel like my higher irons are much more forgiving and give me more trust in hitting the ZX5’s. For me, the mix of playability and forgiveness is perfect in these irons.
• Feel: One thing I've always loved about the Srixon ZX series is their softer feel. Even in a game-improvement iron the Srixon ZX5 irons had incredible sole interaction and vibrations were highly minimal in the hands, even on mishits. They felt great overall.
• Shaft Feel: I love their Nippon Modus 3 NS Pro 120 shaft. It feels longer than my Dynamic Gold S400 shafts but has a very soft feeling. I hit my irons high, so I was worried the NS Pro 120s might launch too high for me, but they launch very similarly to the Dynamic Gold S400s and feel so much better. True Temper Dynamic Gold is the benchmark for iron shafts so I was amazed that the Nippons felt better for me.
• Shaft Performance: The shaft is absolutely the best of both worlds for me. It feels great on impact, isn’t too heavy, and seemed to give me extra distance with the NS Pro shaft in conjunction with the Srixon ZX5 heads. (Note: The Nippon shafts, which I loved, are stock in steel while the UST Recoil shafts are your stock graphite option.)
• Aesthetic Appeal: I love the look of these Srixon ZX5 irons. Srixon has been the manufacturer of many irons but these look so much cleaner than past models. They have a beautiful v-shaped sole paired with their thinner topline. The multi-piece construction that Srixon uses also keeps the club fairly forgiving while still looking like a low handicapper's iron dream.
• Launch Angle: I was worried these might launch too high for me, but was pleasantly surprised that they seem to have an optimal launch angle.
• Spin: I get plenty of spin with these irons.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Offset: The only knock I have is that the Srixon ZX5 irons have just a tiny bit more offset than I would like. Most players would probably love this, but I hit a high draw, so occasionally I think I am going to overdraw the ball. I hit them great, but just the bit of offset at address gives me a bit of worry that I might overdraw them. If this is an issue for you, the Srixon ZX7 might be a great choice as they have less offset than the Srixon ZX5 irons.

Best shot with these clubs

While playing my third round with these irons, I had 233 yards into a par 5. The longest I could hit my prior four-iron was 220. I decided to see if I really could get some extra distance and tried the Srixon ZX5 4 iron from 233. I hit a perfectly tight draw to 20 feet. I loved the feel and look of the shot so much I don’t even remember if I made the eagle putt ;).

Value for the money vs. other options

As I said earlier, the other irons I was looking at were the TaylorMade P790, P770, and Mizuno 921 Forged. Other options could be the Rogue ST Max OS irons, or even the Mizuno Pro irons if you were looking to get slightly more into the player category. The price for the Srixon ZX5 irons was about $200 less. They have always been a bit cheaper than most brands, which is why I decided to try the Srixon Z 785 and Z-FORGED irons four years ago. For me, they are a great budget option while still being extremely high quality.

Final verdict

I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase of the Srixon ZX5 Irons. I believed these would be the best option from the entire ZX iron line and I was right. I have picked up consistency with short irons and long irons, as well as 5-7 yards. I feel much more confident with my mishits and I have also successfully talked two of my friends into switching to the Srixon ZX5 irons. Whether you're a gearhead looking for a new set to test or just an amateur golfer, these irons have the compact cavity you could be looking for to increase your golf game. I hope you enjoyed this full review of the Srixon ZX5 irons.

Note: This review was completed with steel shaft irons. These irons can also be purchased with graphite shafts.

This club is featured in the Best Srixon Irons. Check it out for more recommendations and reviews.