Equipment Review:
Srixon Z-RW Driver
Srixon Z-URS Golf Ball
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

Srixon is without a doubt one of the most respected names in golf. In fact, the name is synonymous with consistency. What do you expect with PGA Tour star Jim Furyk – Mr. Consistency – as one of your staff advisory members?

I’ve always applauded the Srixon golf balls – and we test the new Z-URS this month. But there’s a new star amongst the Srixon offerings, in the form of the Z-RW driver.

Srixon Z-RW Driver 

Srixon’s research and development team deserves a big pat on the back for packing so much high-tech design into the Z-RW driver. The first thing that grabs your attention with this 460cc driver is the aerodynamic sole. An optimal flow weight design, with distinctive red bar, moves progressively towards the heel in the higher lofts. This helps square the clubface at impact. It’s a two-tier sole, with aerodynamic cavity at the rear of the sole, optimized by weight placement. It looks funky, but it works great. This is one long driver, with a distinctive authoritative contact zone on the face – no tinny-sounding drives here.

About the face: it’s a 4-Zone Starburst Power Face for more uniform deformation at impact. This increases the sweet spot for more forgiveness and distance on off-centre hits. The four zones see the bulge and roll of the face in four different zones, thus controlling sidespin by optimizing the gear effects struck in the four specific zones. Think of it as a face with four individual-acting zones all combining to bring you a giant sweet spot. I told you these Srixon guys know their golf club science.

The Z-RW driver features a multimaterial combination of 6-4 forged Titanium body with a Forged SP700HM face, allowing for a thinner and lighter clubface. Weight savings are repositioned to lower the CG.

I put the Z-RW to the test at my favourite practice facility and found it to be one of the most solid-sounding drivers I’ve ever hit. If pressed, I would tend to state that this driver is for better players, but its technology would certainly not be wasted in the hands of a mid-handicapper. I tested the 9.5° model with stiff Fujikura SV-3014 shaft. The high kick point of this shaft combined with the design of the aerodynamic clubhead promoted a low- to mid-trajectory – perfect for low handicappers.

The Z-RW is also available in 8.5°, 10.5° and 11.5° models. Typical price for this driver is at the $300 range – and well worth it. This is a driver of the highest quality, and it produces time and time again. It draws, it fades, it knocks down pins – and its aesthetics are outstanding.

Srixon Z-URS Golf Ball

Of any golf ball I have ever hit, the Srixon Z-UR family of golf balls leave the clubface with the most explosive energy. The Z-URS also offers a myriad of performance qualities which help it stand up to any Tour ball on the market.

A higher-trajectory 330-dimple design, high driver spin, high 9-iron spin and ultra soft feel make the Z-URS a great performer from tee to green. Superb soft feel on all shots, outstanding approach iron and greenside control, and higher initial velocity for greater carry and distance combine to create one of the best balls on the market today. 

The cover of the three-piece Z-URS is 0.020 inches – an ultra-thin, ultra-soft urethane cover. The core of this pill is a highly resilient ultra-large diameter Energetic Gradient Growth core – no ordinary core. The boundary layer is a highly-resilient, think ionemer.

I’m always left speechless when I drive the Srixon golf balls, and hitting the Z-URS found me amazed once again. This ball explodes off the clubface like no other ball. I played the Z-URS on a windy day at a links-style course and was able to control the ball flight quite well. What I really like about this ball is its spin off a wedge: outstanding.

The Z-URS ball typically retails in the $40 range – a real deal since it is in the class of higher-priced three- and four-piece Tour balls. I highly recommend this ball for anyone’s game.

For more information on all of Srixon’s offerings, visit www.srixon.com.