Srixon Z585 & Z785 Irons

Srixon Z585 & Z785 Irons Review - Technical Editor Joel Tadman tests the two new better-player irons from Srixon at West Hill Golf Club

Srixon Z585 & Z785 Irons Review

These irons are aimed at mid-to-low handicappers seeking distance, a soft feel and a relatively compact and traditional address profile.

Key technology On the Z585 irons, a new Speed Groove, essentially an internal channel on the SUP10 face insert, allows for more face flexing, enhancing ball speed and distance. A wider Tour V.T. Sole with more trailing edge bounce provides smoother turf interaction and more consistent ball striking. The Z785 irons feature a tour cavity, providing additional mass behind the impact location for increased shot-shaping ability and versatility.

How we tested We gathered GCQuad data in stock stiff Nippon NS Pro Modus Tour 120 shafts before hitting them outdoors on the range to assess ball flight.

GM Review

Looks These irons are very pleasing on the eye, especially down at address. On the Z585 there’s a nice balance of some meat behind the ball but in a very refined, classy profile that thankfully doesn’t look much different to the previous generation. The Z785 (below right) is slightly smaller, with less offset and a thinner topline.

Feel/Sound There’s a solid, explosive thud at impact from the Z585 that, given it’s a forged head, feels closer to a better player iron than it does a distance iron. The Z785 feels and sounds softer, closer to a muscleback.

Performance These irons were a pleasure to hit and genuinely appeal to a wide spectrum of player types. This is because they’re surprisingly user-friendly for their modest size, but feel soft enough and provide consistent distances without going too far. The 7-iron loft on the Z585 is 31°, so fairly strong for what many would pigeon hole as a better player iron, and as a result these irons will carry further than many other irons of a similar size.

The design changes in the head suggest you might get a little more distance and we experienced a ball speed and distance increase over the previous Z 565 iron of two mph in ball speed in the 7-iron, which led to a three-yard increase in carry. The ball flight was slightly lower too, as was the spin by 200rpm, so the descent angle was a touch shallower. But generally speaking, the overall flight was where we’d want it to be, not climbing too much into the wind or coming in too low that it won’t stop on the greens.

You'll notice we hit the old and new 7-series models the same distance, although they were much more consistent despite not quite peppering the sweetspot every time.

The Tour V.T. sole is excellent at making the irons glide through the turf. It was difficult to tell the impact of the extra trailing edge bounce, but generally this should make the irons more forgiving on slightly heavy contacts. You can still compress shots and take big divots if that is how you like to feel the club moving through the turf.

We also noticed the grooves are spaced closer together than on the previous models, which has created room for an extra groove on the face. This should help performance from the rough and in wet conditions as well as reducing the chance of a flyer, although this isn’t something we have tested yet.

Given the lofts of the Z 785 are only one degree weaker, there’s definitely scope to blend a set with the two models, perhaps switching to the 7-series from the 6- or 7-iron, but most golfers will enjoy what the Z 585 has to offer through the bag.