Tag: Best game-improvement irons for 2023

Srixon ZX4 MK II vs. ZX5 MK II irons: Which is right for you?

They look similar but the ZX4 MK II and ZX5 MK II irons are made for very different players.

If you walked into a pro shop and saw both the Srixon ZX4 Mk II and the Srixon ZX5 Mk II irons on the wall, you might have a hard time telling the difference between the two clubs. Cosmetically, they look very similar, but Srixon designed these clubs for very different types of players. 

Both clubs share some technologies, and with the help of custom fitters, many golfers blend the two clubs to create a combo set. However, their differences can significantly impact your game, so here’s a detailed comparison to help you decide whether the Srixon ZX4 Mk II or the ZX5 Mk II might be the best fit for you. 

Srixon ZX4 Mk II irons
Srixon ZX4 Mk II irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Construction and Technology

The ZX4 Mk II has a forged 1770M stainless steel face attached to a 431 stainless steel body, along with a hollow chamber in the center of the head. This allows the face to flex more efficiently at impact to create more ball speed. The ZX5 Mk II has a forged SUP10 stainless steel face attached to a forged 1020 carbon steel chassis for a softer feel at impact, but it is solid instead of hollow. The ZX5 Mk II has also been designed with tungsten in the sole of the long and mid-irons to lower the center of gravity (CG) location and encourage shots with those clubs to fly higher.

Srixon ZX-5 Mk II irons
The Srixon ZX-5 Mk II irons and ZX-4 Mk II have ridges and cutout areas called MainFrame in their faces. (Srixon)

Both irons have a cavity-back design and a ball-speed enhancing technology Srixon calls MainFrame. Adapted from Srixon’s wood line, MainFrame adds a series of valleys or channels on the inner-facing side of the face to allow more of the hitting area to flex efficiently at impact. It also reduces weight in the face.

Both the ZX4 Mk II and the ZX5 Mk II irons have been designed with Srixon’s Tour VT Sole. This gives the bottom of each club extra forward bounce, so they will work through the turf more easily and maintain speed through the hitting zone.

Both clubs also feature a progressive groove design. The 4-iron through 7-iron in the ZX4 MK II and the 3-iron through 7-iron in the ZX5 Mk II have wider grooves that are spaced farther apart to enhance spin and stopping power, while the grooves in the 8-iron through attack wedge are deeper and packed more tightly together.

From a size perspective, the ZX4 Mk II has a longer blade length, slightly thicker topline and slightly more offset, while the ZX5 Mk II has a more-compact shape. 

Srixon ZX5 Mk II irons
Srixon ZX5 Mk II irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Who are the ZX4 MKII and ZX5 Mk II irons for?

The best way to find your ideal irons is to work with a good custom fitter, hit shots using a launch monitor, and then compare the data. 

With that said, the ZX4 Mk II’s larger size and hollow-body design push it squarely into the game-improvement iron category. It creates more speed and will be more forgiving than the ZX5 Mk II.

The ZX5 Mk II will produce more spin than the ZX4 Mk II, which can allow players to work the ball more easily and hit draws or fades more effectively. With that added spin, the ZX5 Mk II should create a higher launch angle. 

The Takeaway

If you are a player who prioritizes distance and forgiveness, the ZX4 Mk II might be a good option, while golfers who want more feel and control along with added forgiveness might be better served by the ZX5 Mk II. 

Discover the new Titleist T350 irons

The Titleist 350 irons are designed to provide distance and forgiveness.

Gear: Titleist T350 irons
Price: $200 each with True Temper AMT Black steel shafts and Titleist Universal 360 grips; $216 each with Mitsubishi Tensei Blue AM2 graphite shafts.
Specs: Forged SUP-10 stainless steel face with 17-4 stainless steel body and internal tungsten weights.
Available: August 28

Who They’re For: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want to maximize distance and forgiveness.

The Skinny: This game-improvement club utilizes a hollow-body construction and multimaterial design to provide distance and stability, while updates to the internal design have made it sound and feel better at impact.

The Deep Dive: While the previous versions of the T300 had been a one-piece, cast construction with a massive under-cut cavity, the 2023 T350, which replaces the T300, is a forged, hollow-bodied multimaterial design. It is built like the T200 but bigger, and that magnifies many of its playing qualities.

The T350 has a forged, SUP-10 stainless steel face that is L-shaped and wraps under the leading edge. This allows the lower portion of the hitting area to flex more easily, especially on thin shots. Titleist also designed the entire hitting area to gradually become thinner toward the perimeter to broaden the sweet spot and protect ball speed more effectively on mis-hits.

The body and chassis of the T350 are forged from 17-4 stainless steel, a material that is strong but lighter than the SUP-10 steel used in the hitting area.

While the previous T300 irons had a Max Impact system in the back, Titleist has made it an internal element in the T350. Designers added a polymer piece and affixed it to a metal bar that connects the topline and sole. When a ball is hit, the face flexes and presses into the polymer, which acts like a spring and snaps the hitting area back into shape faster than it would alone. This should help golfers attain higher ball speeds and gain distance. In the new T350 the system has been updated by positioning it more in the center of the face, and designers made the polymer piece thinner.

The bar in the Max Impact system serves a dual purpose. It holds the polymer and also stiffens the head at impact. In the T350 irons, Titleist added more mass in the low tow area and redesigned the polymer plate that covers the back of the club and encases the hollow chamber. Instead of being flat, it now has a waffle pattern on the inner-facing side. These elements stiffen the T200 even more at impact and allowed engineers to adjust the club’s harmonics to sound better without a loss of speed or distance.

Titleist added tungsten to the heel and toe areas to increase the moment of inertia and help the T350 resist twisting on off-center hits. The exact amount of tungsten varies by club but averages about 80 grams per head.

The T350 has the widest sole and the thickest topline in the updated T Series iron family. While elite golfers want a thin topline, golfers who routinely shoot in the high 80s, 90s and over 100 often find thicker toplines reassuring. The trailing edge has also been made with a sharper upward curvature, which should help the club work through the turf more effectively, especially for players who have a steep angle of attack.

Shifting the Max Impact system inside the head helps the T350 irons blend better with the rest of the new T Series irons, aesthetically. Golfers working with a good custom fitter should be able to easily create combo or blended sets with T200 irons easily.

Below are several close-up images of the 2023 Titleist T350 irons.