The PGA Tour season-ending finale is the last place you'd expect to see players making significant changes to the clubs in their bag, but Hideki Matsuyama had other ideas. The Japanese star has had a terrific season thus far, picking up two huge wins at the Genesis Invitational and more recently the first FedEx Cup playoff event - The FedEx St Jude Classic. But in his quest to earn the top spot in the standings come Sunday night, he has decided a new driver could help him get over the line.
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The new Srixon driver hit the USGA conforming list on Monday and the Olympic bronze medalist wasted no time putting it in play. There are in fact four models of the new Srixon ZXi range on the list but Matsuyama was seen testing the Srixon ZXi LS driver, which likely represents the low-spin model in the line up.
What has remained constant within his testing protocol is the Graphite Design Tour AD-DI driver shaft that has been synonymous with the Japanese golfer's game for quite some time now. True gear nerds will also notice he has a strip of lead tape on the rear side out towards the toe of the club, likely to help the club release a little easier through impact and promote more right bias.
From a first glance it’s clear to see that the driver has two interchangeable weights to allow for custom CG placement and the ability to alter spin-rates. The driver looks really clean from a playing position and boasts a fairly symmetrical, triangular-styled head. The face certainly looks as though it has been refined and changed from the likes of the ZX5 MK II - Matsuyama's previous gamer - and the ZX7 MK II, with what looks almost as if there are grooves running horizontally across the width of the face.
This looks to be a big change from the standard Srixon titanium face we have seen in previous models but is not completely new to the golfing world as the likes of the Cobra F8+ had a CNC milled face with micro-grooves. You can see close up images of the new driver courtesy of GolfWRX below.
While Srixon often flies under the radar when it comes to some of the best drivers and fairway woods, Matsuyama and Shane Lowry are two of the brand's high profile ambassadors that have achieved much success with Srixon equipment at the top end of their bags.
Sitting 102nd on driving distance and 98th in driving accuracy this year on tour, you’d imagine Matsuyama was relishing the prospect of a driver that would improve his performance off the tee.
We await official details on the technology in the drivers and when they will be released, but there could well be lots to be excited about given how quickly Matsuyama added it to his bag for such a high-stakes tournament. He fired a one-under par 70 opening round yesterday as he tries to chase down Scottie Scheffler to claim the prestigious FedEx cup and the $25 million prize money.
