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With its 2026 release of the ZXi5+ irons, Srixon is entering the player’s distance category for irons. The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons are unique. They have the shape and size of a player’s iron and offer exceptional distance and forgiveness that many golfers are looking for.
Introduction
I have never hit an iron classified as “player’s distance” that I have liked. In my experience they look chunky behind the ball, and the blade length is too long. The 7 iron usually goes 20 yards longer than my gamer, and I can’t imagine how I would hold the green with the 5 iron. The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons feel like they were built with the intention of converting me, and any other player’s distance holdout, to give their clubs a shot.
The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons are Srixon’s only all new model released this year. The ZXi7 [review HERE] and ZXi5 [review HERE] irons are updates of previous models. Why offer three different models of iron? With the ZXi5+, Srixon found a way to provide great distance and forgiveness, while keeping a lot of the looks and feel players have come to love in Srixon’s other models.
Looks
At address, the 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons look like a forged cb player’s iron. They have a short blade length, classic shape, and moderate top line. They are nearly identical to the Srixon ZXi7s, which is a pure player’s iron. The ZXi5+ irons are in a different category of performance, and are marketed to completely different handicap levels than the ZXi7, so one would assume the looks would be substantially different, but they are not. The ZXi5+s have no business looking as good as they do.
Above is a picture of the 9 iron in each set. The one on the right is the ZXi5+, the one on the left is the ZXi7. Srixon says the ZXi5+ has a longer blade length, but they look the same length to me. You may also notice a slightly thicker top line in the ZXi5+. This could in part be due to the loft of the clubs. The ZXi7 9 iron has 41 degrees of loft, and the ZXi5+ has 38. As the loft lowers, more of the top line is exposed which makes it look bigger.
The face and body of all Srixon irons are forged at Endo, a forging house in Japan. The forging on the ZXi5+ is beautiful. It looks like a one piece forging with clean lines and minimal branding. It seems to me like Srixon are trying to make this look as much like a blade iron as possible. [See Price / Buy]
Sound & Feel
At impact the 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons have a quiet, low-pitched, thwack sound on center strikes. The feel is soft but solid enough where you can feel the ball launch off the face. These irons feel powerful.
On mishits the sound turns into more of a solid click that gets louder the further away contact gets from the center of the face. Heel strikes have a lower pitch click, and the toe strikes have a higher pitch click.
It feels like the sweet spot in the 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons is very large. In my launch monitor testing, I hit shots that felt like they were right in the middle, only to see they were mishits 10-15mm off the toe or the heel. While these are not significant mishits, it’s a distance I can always feel in my gamer irons. As strikes get way out to the toe or heel I could feel a difference in vibration in my hands.
The change in sound and feel as strikes deviated from center provided excellent feedback. This is a feature I am not used to experiencing in the player’s distance category, where most strikes tend to feel and sound the same. Srixon writes that these irons are designed to unite feel with forgiveness, and they have done a nice job finding the proper balance.
Performance
The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons are long and forgiving. They are designed with MainFrame iQ, which is “a variable thickness network of grooves, channels, and notches, precision milled into the back of each iron face.” This is designed to maximize energy transfer and ball speed. The ball speed is high, and stays high across the entire face of the club. I was able to carry the ZXi5+ 4 iron 15 yards farther than the ZXi7. The ZXi7s are only one degree weaker lofted, so most of this distance gain is due to the makeup of the club.
The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons fly very straight. In my testing, they performed like a “point and shoot” club, where the ball takes off on a straight line wherever the clubface happens to be pointing. The trade off here is that they are not very workable. It took a lot of effort to make the ball curve either direction.
The spin and trajectory on the 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons is low. For me, they spun around one club less than my gamer set. Meaning the ZXi5+ 7 iron spun at a similar rate to my gamer 6 iron. The average height was around 80 feet throughout the set. This would make the spin rate and height too low for me, but for someone actively looking to lower either of each, these irons will do the trick.
As I mentioned before, I have never had a great experience hitting game improvement or player’s distance irons due to the long blade lengths and chunky soles. The compact head of the 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons helped me to feel a greater sense of control and precision. The Tour V.T. Sole really shines through in the ZXi5+s. It’s a wide sole, but the shape makes it play more narrow. I never felt the club bouncing or feeling heavy through the turf. [See Price / Buy]
Conclusion
The 2026 Srixon ZXi5+ irons are a powerful iron in a compact shape. They are the perfect option for someone looking for extra distance or forgiveness, as well as anyone looking to lower launch or spin. There are plenty of irons out there offering these features, but I have yet to see any that do it in such a small head shape. The head shape inspires confidence, and the sound and feel of the irons are an added bonus. [See Price / Buy]
Introducing ZXi5+ players distance Irons, an all-new model uniting feel with a forgiving, compact shape. ZXi5+ features a confident player’s topline with longer blade lengths, wider soles, and stronger lofts than ZXi5 for more distance and forgiveness in a players chassis.
2026 Srixon ZXi5+ Irons Price & Specs Guide
Head | Loft | Lie | Offset | Length |
3 | 19° | 60° | 4.2mm | 39.25" |
4 | 21° | 60.5° | 4.0mm | 38.75" |
5 | 23° | 61° | 3.8mm | 38.25" |
6 | 26° | 61.5° | 3.6mm | 37.75" |
7 | 29.5° | 62° | 3.2mm | 37.25" |
8 | 33.5° | 62.5° | 3.0mm | 36.75" |
9 | 38° | 63° | 2.7mm | 36.25" |
PW | 43° | 63.5 | 2.2mm | 36.00" |
AW | 49° | 63.5° | 1.9mm | 35.75" |
SW | 56° | 63.5° | 1.5mm | 35.50" |
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Join the Conversation | 7 Comments
One of the things I’ve worried about in these type of irons is the distance gap between like a seven and eight iron.
Did you notice any gapping issues?
I’m currently playing the ZX5 from 2021, and I’m trying to decide if these or the ZXI5 would be worth the
Hi Bert – I really think it just depends on how far you hit the ball. If you’re someone looking for some extra distance with irons, the gapping may increase. But for someone looking for extra distance, the gapping in their irons is probably too small where this increase could help. If you are thinking of the ZXi5 I wouldn’t worry about any gapping issues. If you are looking at the ZXi5+, I think gapping issues would only come for people who have a really high club head speed.
Hi Andy – thank you for the reply. I hit a 7 iron about 170 right now, so I’m not interested in gaining any distance. What I’m actually after is just a little bit more forgiveness across the face. What I was concerned about is making the gap bigger than it needs to be if I went to the + model. My ZX 5s are trusty, but if I could get a little extra ball speed across the face with the ZXi5, that might be worth an upgrade to me so a mistrucked ball doesn’t end up in the water all the time. 🙂
Andy. Nice review. Long time PIG fan. In relation to distance, spin and height, could you give an example please. Perhaps using your gamer 6 v the Srixon 7. Or any other worthwhile comparison.
Reason being that I don’t mind the idea of player distance… provided there is still some decent spin.
Thanks
Hi Jason – My gamers are blades. These had less approximately 1,000 rpm less spin, 10 yds lower height, and 10 yards further carry distance. If you are wanting to make sure the spin is high enough, the ZXi5s could be the best bet out of this year’s lineup. They almost flew as far as the ZXi5+ and with more spin for me.
Thank you for your reviews of the Srixon line. I’m about to hit all three iron sets and driver next week. I’ve been a Srixon player in the past as far back as the 701 Tour version. It looks like it’s time to go back, these all look great. Thanks again.
I picked up a set of ZX5MK irons with UST Mamiya Recoil shafts as a “travel” set at 2ndSwing so my gamer Mizzy M-15’s wouldn’t be subject to airline loss or damage. And…I have fallen in love with them–softer feel with nearly identical shaft, better (IMHO) looks and better turf interaction with the proprietary Srixon V sole.
So…the big question–do I dump the M-15’s for a set of the new improved ZXi or ZXi+ series, or stick with the ZX5 MKII’s ??? Has there really been any incremental palpable difference or improvement in the Srixon irons since the ZX5MK II’s?? Would love some feedback and advice