Srixon Z-Forged MKII Blades

The product cycles are always a bit longer with Srixon Blade irons than with the rest of the series. But this year it is finally so far again and the Z-Forged is relaunched with the Z-Forged MKII. Here has definitely changed a lot and purely visually the differences are already clearly recognizable.

The new Z-Forged MKII has certain similarities to the Miura MC-502 and certainly belongs to the larger blade heads. This is again very important, because after all, you want a certain degree of forgiveness even in a blade and that's exactly what the Z-Forged MKII delivers just like its predecessor.

With the Z-Forged MKII, Srixon also uses the V-sole, as it does with all other ZX irons. This has the advantage that a relatively steep Angle of Attack can be compensated much better. This sole was developed and optimized primarily in coordination with Tour Pros. It corresponds exactly to what a Hideki Matsuyama or Shane Lawry expect from an iron.

The Srixon Z-Forged MKII is traditionally forged from only one piece of soft steel. This is not only noticeable in the feel, but also on the bending machine. This is because we can easily adjust loft and lie as often as we like on the Z-Forged. This is especially important if you want to optimize your gaps between the clubs, for example the gaps to the woods or wedges. But also when something has changed in your swing.

The standard set for the Z-Forged is 4-PW, but you can also extend it to 3-PW. The Z-Forged MKII does not have an AW like the ZX7. This is not really necessary because of the traditional lofts. The Srixon Z-Forged MKII is unfortunately not available for left-handers.

We build all Srixon irons ourselves by hand exactly to specifications. In doing so, we adjust the head weight exactly as needed.

Our Srixon Z-Forged Review

At ExactGolf we believe in traditional clubs like forged blades and cavity back irons. If you have the playing skills to game a blade, we believe that you should not be afraid of it. Especially not if the blade actually leaves some room for errors. And this is exactly what the Z-Forged does. From a purely playing point of view, you can hardly call it a blade: The clubface is relatively large, especially long, which makes it easier to handle hits with horizontal deviation. The topline is relatively thick and gives a lot of self-confidence. The Z-Forged has a relatively large offset for a blade, which means that it is even more supportive. These are three important points that make the Z-Forged far more harmless than comparable blades on the market. And if you compare it directly e.g. with the Miura MB-101 the difference becomes obvious. In short, the Z-Forged blade looks and feels like a blade, but it plays friendlier than classic blades and provides more confidence.

Now you can argue about whether this is good or bad. For some it is an advantage, for others it is not. We would say that players who are torn between a blade and a cavity back iron have certainly found the Z-Forged a good alternative. And there are many of these players. Only very few of them still dare to play a classic blade. Let's take a look at the performance of the Srixon Z-Forged:

Constant ball speeds

The slightly longer clubface benefits the Z-Forged here and we notice that ball speeds fluctuate less with suboptimal hits. Especially balls that are hit slightly at the toe still feel good and hardly lose any ball speed. Whoever produces his misses mainly at this point will find a suitable companion in the Z-Forged.

The advantages of the V-Sole

The V-sole is definitely a peculiarity of Srixon and enables one thing above all: a relatively narrow sole that is quite forgiving of mistakes. On the one hand, the more forgiving ZX5 and ZX7 irons get by with a narrower sole, and on the other hand, it means more room for manoeuvre even with the narrow Z-Forged sole. For example, the Miura MB-101 sole is very similar, so if you need a little more forgiveness in the vertical direction and don't dip into the ground consistently, you should benefit from the V-sole.

Feeling at Impact

The Z-Forged is forged from soft steel and basically feels very soft. The "problem", however, is that the clubface is relatively large and the mass is distributed over a larger area. This also affects the feeling at impact. Especially absolute sweetspot hits feel less buttery than e.g. the Mizuno MP-20 and especially the Miura MB-101. This is no criticism of the Srixon Blade but simply due to its construction and a comparison with the absolute gold standard in this respect, the Miura Blade.

Our conclusion

The Srixon Z-Forged is a very friendly blade that gives you more confidence, but also forgives a little more mistakes due to the larger clubface and the V-sole. It is ideal for players who want a little more forgiveness but still prefer the feel and look of a blade. 

Srixon Z-Forged Lofts and Specs