Srixon ZX Fairway Wood Review
Jeremy Ellwood tests out the latest in the Srixon ZX fairway wood family and assesses its looks and performance
An excellent all-rounder that looks good and delivers on its performance promises while coming in slightly under many of the mainstream brands in terms of price.
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Competitive distance
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Powerful feel
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Pleasing aesthetics, especially at address
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Some may prefer a slightly larger hitting area
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Fixed hosel limits versatility
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Srixon ZX Fairway Wood Review
For many golfers, the quest for the perfect 3-wood is one of the toughest as we seek to find something that we’re confident with at address off both fairway and tee. Usually when we find one we like, it stays in the bag for years. So being asked to test a new Srixon ZX fairway wood at Essendon Country Club when you’ve got something you’re quite happy with requires a bit of a leap of faith, especially when your first attempt with it is off a sloping lie and you haven’t got your ‘A’ game.
That said, the result of that shot was okay and we felt the club sat well for that lie because the sole and leading edge appear a little more curved than on some 3-woods. This is a tour-preferred head shape apparently, but we were very comfortable with its looks from the start and have since continued testing it with such success that it will be staying in the bag for a while.
It's definitely long too, really delivering on the promise of more distance thanks to its Rebound Frame Technology, which layers alternating zones of flexibility and stiffness into the head design which work in tandem to focus more energy into the ball at impact. Among the best fairway woods on the market, this is up there with the longest and also feels as good as the leading models.
The use of lightweight carbon and a stepped crown design help to lower the centre of gravity, and we certainly found this club easier to launch off the deck than some 15˚ 3-woods. The highlight so far has been a shot to 30ft from 260 yards (admittedly downhill, downwind and on a firm fairway!).
The key for us with a 3-wood is confidence – if you see a few good results, that frees you up from some of the uncertainty standing over the next one and hopefully confidence snowballs from there. The forgiveness on offer also makes it one of the best fairway woods for mid handicappers, while better players will enjoy the compact shape too. We're certainly progressing on that front with this club, although if we were being picky, we’d probably prefer a fractionally larger clubface for tee-shot duties.
It's also good to be able to turn your 3-wood over a little off the tee if your driver tends to go slightly the other way, and we were able to do that with this club. This gives you options on certain holes, and also lets you chase it down there a little further when you just don’t fancy hitting driver for whatever reason.
