Srixon Conjures Up Some Black Magic

The gorgeous new Z355 driver has the looks and technology to boost your confidence on the tee.

Tony Dear

This is schoolboy stuff for club geeks and physicists but, for newer golfers and those without science qualifications, here’s a brief explanation of why your clubs feel the way they do, and what a club manufacturer can do to alter feel and, consequently, performance.

Swingweight is determined by the mass you feel at each end of a club. If the bendiest part of the shaft is near the clubhead, the head will feel heavy regardless of the actual weight of the club. This will likely add loft to the face at impact sending the ball off on a high trajectory. If, however, the balance point of the shaft is very high, beneath the grip in fact, then the head will feel much lighter and the club’s loft will decrease at impact. The ball will come off the face on a much lower trajectory.

So what if you combined a heavier head (211g) with an ultra-high shaft balance point?

Perhaps then you would get the benefits of a little extra mass (and therefore force) in the head, and a shaft that enabled you to control that extra weight. The two would effectively cancel each other out, and the net result would be manageable power. “Actually, it isn’t so much that they cancel each other out,” says Srixon Product Manager Eli Miller, “more that they enhance stability in the overall club profile.”

Chris Beck, Brand Manager for Srixon, adds “Our extensive swing-testing has revealed that the most effective club design for consistently making successful golf swings, is by strategically moving more weight into the club head and raising the balance point of the shaft.”

The brand played by Graeme McDowell, Hideki Matsuyama, and Keegan Bradley (though not this particular driver which is geared more towards mid to high handicappers—try the Z545 or Z745 for drivers aimed at better players), calls this design Action Mass, and will introduce it in the latest addition to its Z-Series of clubs with the Z355 driver, woods, and irons.

Srixon says the Miyazaki Jinsoku shaft will help golfers increase ball speed while promoting a “more consistent, stable swing for players seeking maximum distance and forgiveness.” The all-black head (with a little Srixon detailing), which might be the most attractive-looking driver head you’ve ever seen, features Srixon’s QTS Adjustability, giving you 12 unique settings for loft, lie and face angle, and is 450cc by volume.

“We have been able to achieve a head MOI target that matches or exceeds our distance retention on off-center hits with a 450cc head,” says Miller. “So it’s essentially just as, if not more, forgiving than a 460cc head.”

The Z355 driver will be available in 9.5°, 10.5° and 12.0° (10.5° and 12.0° available in both RH and LH options) and women’s lofts of 12.0° and HL (15.0°).
$349.99, srixon.com

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