Updated Srixon Irons to be Unveiled at 3M Open

In an eventful week for the Japanese brand, its new ZXi irons will be on show in Minnesota

By: Tony Dear

A Tour sighting or appearance on the USGA’s conforming equipment lists is always something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the promise of new, updated, hi-tech gear is always exciting; on the other, they are really just teasers and come without much/any accompanying information, detail or, indeed, guarantees. Though we can be 99% sure they foretell coming launches, we really only have history and past experiences to inform us. And though there may be one or two visual cues as to what features this new equipment may offer, we can only speculate – it’s educated speculation, to be fair, but speculation nonetheless.

All that to say updates to Srixon’s ZXi7, ZXi5, and ZXiU are virtually assured for 2027, as they will be in use at this week’s 3M Championship on the PGA Tour (and it’s not unreasonable to suggest a new ZXi4 will also be part of the new-year release, but no one on the PGA Tour plays that particular iron as it is built for game-improvers). Of course, the timing of the club’s unveiling couldn’t be much better as it comes just a few days after Srixon staffer Ryan Fox won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with a bag full of Srixon and stablemate Cleveland equipment, which included the new ZXi5 3-iron.

Though no press releases have been sent to newswires or publications, news of the clubs’ 3M debut did ‘somehow’ filter down, along with professionally-taken photographs which, of course, indicate the filtering-down was entirely intentional.

So, what do these images tell us? The first thing you notice, besides the familiar shape of the irons and their finish, is the word ‘i-forged’ stamped on the hosel of each club. Srixon introduced i-forged (the ‘i’ in ZXi) in 2025, calling it “the greatest innovation in iron metallurgy ever,” which, for a company not known for a tendency to slide into hyperbole, was quite the statement.

The technology itself was called “Condensed Forging”. To cut a long story short, condensed forging made certain parts of the clubhead stronger by rearranging the metal’s grain structure, allowing Srixon to use softer materials – S15C Steel for the ZXi7 and S20C for the ZXi5 and ZXiU. That made the clubs both strong and soft, which sounds a bit oxymoronic, but if you’ve hit ZXi irons you’ll probably know what we’re talking about. (The body of the multi-material ZXi4, meanwhile, was cast from SUS 17-47 Steel, and the face made from HT 1770 maraging steel).

The images also tell us the ZXi5 and ZXiU will again feature MainFrame, a network of milled channels on the inside of the face that create greater ball speed and forgiveness, and that the ZXi7 will benefit from PureFrame, the forged ridge behind the sweet spot that enhances feel and control. Here though, we see that both ‘MainFrame’ and ‘PureFrame’ are followed by the letters ‘IQ’. We don’t know what that means yet, but the fact they are there at all suggests both MainFrame and PureFrame have been updated and will somehow improve on the original version.

This news and these pictures will likely fill Srixon loyalists with great anticipation. They already know how good the company’s irons are, so new and improved models can only be a good thing.