Srixon Z-TX Driver Mini Review

Z-TX Clubs in the house

I received a box full of Srixon clubs for testing recently including the all new Z-TX Driver, Fairway Wood, Irons and new Srixon Hybrid. I’ll start off today with the Z-TX driver which as you know Tourspecgolfer has already reviewed himself. Usually I would NOT be reviewing a driver or clubs from Srixon, especially anything from their “Z” lines as in the past they were aimed at the Athlete golfer (low handicapper) and pro player.  However, the Z-TX line peaked my interest as Srixon completely redesigned the driver from the ground up with input from Srixon Pros Jim Furyk and Tommy Nakajima on head shape, face design and feel and even the sound of the driver.  Also it seems the trend these days even for athlete model clubs is an emphasis on forgiveness. So how forgiving are the Z-TX?

Super-TIX 51AF comes calling

Another feature of the new Z-TX driver that caught my attention is their decision to move away from the cold rolled Ti-9 face to the very hot and softer feeling Super-TIX^®51AF found only in XXIO drivers. This is a special mix Titanium that was developed by Srixon for XXIO and used in the best selling XXIO drivers in the last few generations. The Super-TIX^®51AF produces amazing feel and spring like action unlike previous Srixon faces which were more solid and had a firmer feel geared towards harder swinging professionals. So how does the Z-TX feel and can a slower swinger like myself benefit from a Srixon driver now that it uses Super-TIX^®51AF?

Good looking head

It was a beautiful day for taking pictures and I must say the driver is a looker. It may not appeal to those who prefer a clean looking basic sole but those who like high tech strong looking clubs, the Z-TX looks like it is ready to transform and challenge Optimus Prime. It’s indented twin cam sole features a weighting system to increase MOI and help bring CG further back in the head for a low spin and piercing trajectory.

The head features 11g of weight placed at the toe and heel to achieve an optimal launch. At address the head is slightly larger than the ZR-800 and ZR-30 but still retains a pear like shape. Jim Furyk actually took part in the head design and this is a size and shape he felt comfortable with. It gives confidence at address but is not overly large like an MOI driver (which this is not)

The Z-TX features a square face angle and neutral balance for a workable ball. Forgiveness comes from the new Super-TIX^®51AF face with 6% larger sweet spot than the ZR-800 and an overall shallower face. Srixon still chose to use the 6 split bulge and roll design but with the new face material was able to make the areas surrounding the sweet spot thinner while the larger center area retained a 3.4mm thickness for feel. I guess you could say it kind of resembles the old starburst design we saw on the last generation of ZR drivers.

Low Torque stock shaft

The Z-TX is available with two stock shafts, the SV-3020J in T-55 (55g) and T-65 (65g). I received a T-55 in regular flex.  The stock shafts are lower torque that what you would usually find in a JDM driver with OEM shaft. This T-55 has 3.8* of torque which is low for regular flex in Japan. I am used to playing higher torque shafts which result in more feel but I was glad to see that at 3.8* the shaft does not feel boardy and still has good feel to it. The 10.5* I had with mid kick T-55 shaft gave a mid to high trajectory with roll out.

So to answer my questions above, can a slower swinger and mid capper hit the Z-TX and how does it perform and feel? Firstly it feels very good. Sometimes athlete spec drivers can feel harsh for the slower swinger/average golfer because manufacturers design the sweet area to be thicker to handle the faster and more aggressive swings of better players. The Z-TX felt very good to me and having come from hitting Srixon and XXIO drivers before, I would say the feel is close to the latter albeit with the thicker sweet spot muting the feel and sound a touch over the XXIO.

Yes its forgiving

Forgiveness wise this is where the Z-TX surprised. The shallower face allowed me to catch the sweet spot more consistently and I did not lose much distance on of center hits. The thinner outer walls of the driver face do seem to contribute to an equal slingshot effect around quite a large area of the center of the face.  I dare to say this has forgiveness on a similar level as my 2007 TaylorMade Burner driver which I still keep around (I have to say that is one USDM driver I can’t miss with). Distance wise I was right around where I usually am with the longest drivers I have hit including the Kamui and Epon EMB.

There are still aspects of this driver aimed at the better player such as the lie of the Z-TX which is a flatter 57.5* where as many average golfer models are now 60* or more to compensate for the natural flattening out of the shaft on the down swing.  I will not brag that I can hit draws and fades at will, its more like I hit them accidentily so I cannot give my honest feedback on control but with the neutral face and bias this driver should be workable especially shafted with a good control shaft like the Motore F1 or Kai’li.

Thumbs up

Overall the Z-TX is very good looking, feels pretty good and is rather forgiving. It’s a fun club to hit and that’s what we all look for afterall, something fun that stays in the fairway (albeit with a slight fade for me).

Thumbs up for the Z-TX driver quality wise and performance wise for the mid capper or better. I’ll post a Mini review on the fairway wood tomorrow.

In the meantime check out some of the pics I took:

[nggallery id=17]