Gear: Srixon ZX5 Mk II, ZX5 LS Mk II, ZX7 Mk II drivers
Price: $499.99 with Project X HZRDUS Black GEN4 shaft or HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip.
Specs: 460-cubic-centimeter head, carbon fiber crown, titanium chassis and face, moveable weights and adjustable hosel.
Available: Jan. 20
Who They’re For: Golfers looking for more ball speed and a more forgiving hitting area.
The Skinny: Srixon ZX5 Mk II, ZX5 LS Mk II and ZX7 Mk II drivers each have a uniquely designed chassis that allows a more significant portion of the hitting area to flex at impact for increased ball speed and distance. The ZX5 Mk II has extra stability, the ZX5 LS Mk II is a low-spin option and the ZX7 Mk II has greater shot-shaping potential.
The Deep Dive: When you hit a drive, the club’s face flexes before snapping back into place. The greater this trampoline-like effect, the more ball speed is generated and the farther your shot should fly. However, the effect diminishes when you hit the ball outside the center, so your mis-hits won’t go as far as well-struck shots and tend to curve farther offline.
For several years, Srixon has delivered the maximum trampoline-like effect allowable by USGA and R&A rules. And thanks to uniquely designed clubheads, the new ZX5 Mk II, ZX5 LS Mk II and ZX7 Mk II drivers can now do a better job of providing ball speed on off-center hits, too.
The key is a design feature called Rebound Frame. Like other drivers, the seam and area surrounding the face is rigid, but behind that is a ring of more-flexible titanium. Srixon said when a shot is hit, the face flexes as it would for other drivers, plus the Rebound Frame chassis creates a second flexible zone that allows the whole hitting area to shift back and snap forward. The result is increased ball speed over a more significant portion of the face. Golfers not only achieve solid results on center-struck shots, their mis-hit shots will not lose as much ball speed.
The ZX5 Mk II, ZX5 LS Mk II and ZX7 Mk II drivers were designed with Rebound Frame and an adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the club’s loft by 1 degree and open or close the face angle by as many as 2 degrees. They also have a series of beams under the carbon fiber crown that crisscross, forming a star shape that stiffens the body of the club.
While the ZX5 Mk II, ZX5 LS Mk II and ZX7 Mk II drivers are all 460 cubic centimeters in volume and share those already-mentioned technologies, they were designed for very different players with adjustable sole weights located in various areas on the bottom of the club to produce different ball flights.
The ZX5 Mk II was designed to be the most forgiving and may appeal to the largest number of players. It has a triangular 8-gram weight in the back of the head that pulls the center of gravity down and back, which boosts stability and encourages a higher-flying shot.
The ZX7 Mk II comes standard with 4-gram and 8-gram weights that go into ports in the toe and heel. When the 8-gram weight is in the heel port, the club has a draw bias, while putting it in the toe port encourages a fade. Srixon said the left and right adjustability is as much as 20 yards.
Finally, for golfers who tend to create excessive spin, Srixon offers the ZX5 LS Mk II. It has the same general shape as the ZX5 Mk II, but instead of having a weight in the back, it is positioned in front behind the leading edge. This pushes the center of gravity down and forward to reduce spin. It produces shots that fly lower than the ZX5 Mk II but slightly higher than the ZX7 Mk II, but with less spin.
