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Sri Sports has long rivaled Bridgestone and Mizuno for sports equipment supremacy in Japan. As 3 of the biggest brands, their battle for a share of the lucrative golf market here pushes each brand to continually raise the bar when it comes to technology, design and performance. It's no secret in the golfing world, that when Sri purchased Cleveland Golf over 2 years ago, they wanted Cleveland's line of top performing wedges. Sri Sports now has a trifecta of top golf brands within their stable with Srixon as the athlete brand, XXIO as the average golfer brand and Cleveland as an all around brand especially with a strength in wedges which neither Srixon or XXIO has ever had.

Cleveland with its wedge expertise has benefited as well from becoming part of Sri by being able to take advantage of Srixon's forging expertise, production and premium materials even if it is in many cases only for Japan market releases. Here in Japan we've seen many JDM only forged releases like the 588 Forged, CG-F1 Forged, CG15 Forged and now for 2011 the new CG16 Forged and CG-F2 Forged. Premium forged wedges along with Cleveland's zip grooves make for some pretty good feel and spin. Japan also gets a new gun metal Tour Action 588 C for conforming grooves this year to go along with the now conforming 588 Forged. Never Compromise also showed off their new NCX PLY series putters which get released next week here in Japan.

Srixon continues to evolve their Z-TX line with a new release of drivers, woods and utilities including a new Z-UTI forged utility iron which you see in the picture above.  They've also released an all new GiE line which is a more forgiving Srixon, though I always question why GiE existed when Sri already had XXIO. The Z-TX line continues to be a favorite of athlete golfers in Japan especially their soft forged small Z-TX cavity back.

XXIO has expanded their line up of premium clubs for the average golfer and senior player with a new XXIO Prime lineup as well as a new XXIO Forged lineup to compliment their best selling standard XXIO line. The XXIO line now goes something like this, XXIO Forged line for the better player, standard XXIO for the average golfer and XXIO Prime for the senior or slower swinger. As always the XXIO clubs screamed quality and good looks even if some of the iron heads are on the larger side. With XXIO you can expect nothing less than premium distance and ease of use as they have always provided.

Please click on the album below to see the rest of the Sri Sports pictures from the Japan Golf Fair!

Srixon XXIO Cleveland at the 2011 Japan Golf Fair

80 Photos

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Srixon Japan is announcing their new 2011 Z-TX series so were going over the new 2011 model Z-TX driver.  Srixon USA just announced Japan's 2010 version Z-TX as new while two new 2011 Z-TX drivers are coming to Japan.

The Japanese OEM's have been very conservative when it comes to club adjustability when compared to the many U.S companies that jumped in face first into the frenzy. Now it's Srixon's turn with their "Quick Tune System" which is just your basic wrench that allows you to swap out weights to adjust the clubs balance and bias.  The Z-TX 460 has two adjustable weights while Z-TX Tour has only one.

The  430cc Z-TX Tour and  460 cc standard version.  They both feature the same advancements except in a different shape, face profile, and specifications.  The Srixon Z-TX tour is designed for the fast and powerful swinger with it's deep face and pear head shape.  The 460 for those who are looking for more toe and heel forgiveness and have average to moderately fast swing speeds.

Both the 430 & 460 are made using a cast 8AL-2V Titanium in the body and Super TIX 41Af Forged Titanium in the face.  The club head and shaft are manufactured in Japan.  The face is brushed satin silver while the sole is mirror and bead blasted.  The driver comes shafted with a wrench and weight replacements of 3g and 11g.

Dunlop own's SRI sports and SRI ownes Srixon, XXIO, Cleveland, and Miyazaki shafts among a few other smaller brands.  It's only natural that they would attach and market their new clubs with the Miyazaki Kusala shaft and it's dual power charger technology.

You have your choice of the Kusala Blue 72 or Silver 61 in the 460 and the Kusala Black 72 in the Tour edition.  The tour is available in 8.5 and 9.5* while the standard spec is available in 8.5/9,5/10.5.  These will be listed in the TSG ProShop shortly for pre order .

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Srixon has just announced it's new 2011 Z-TX series golf clubs in Japan.  In the U.S last years Japan model Z-TX was just announced at the PGA show in Orlando.  In this blog post I will briefly highlight some important aspects of the new Z-TX irons and Z-UT driving Iron.  I must say I'm excited each and every time a new driving iron hits the market, In my opinion more brands should add them to their line up.

2011 Srixon Z-TX Iron
Forged in Japan of S25C the new Z-TX iron is produced using computer controlled laser milling for maximum surface accuracy.  The long irons promote low spin while the short irons are designed with an emphasis on high spin control.  It's pretty much the same laser milling used on the latest cleveland wedges.

Each iron has what's called a "Tour Back Weight Flow" that varies the cavity height for optimum center of gravity location. Heel and toe tungsten weighting is used to increase forgiveness and stability by increasing MOI.

More meat behind the impact zone and a mild heat treatment creates a rewarding and soft feel at impact. Recently Pro Komei Oda & Hoshino Hidemasa have put these into play on the JPGA tour.

2011 Srixon Z-UT iron
It's got the "Laser Milled" face just like the irons which are supposed to provide improved accuracy over a flat face by equalizing the friction of the ball creating a more stable spin.  It's forged of S25C in Japan and features a shorter heel to toe length than other driving irons on the market to improve forgiveness and mass behind the impact zone.

The Srixon Z-UT's thick body and hollow structure was designed to put emphasis on a higher trajectory which is not commonly found in driving irons.  It's face is thin and sole wide to produce a low center of gravity.  It's head shape was designed with the feedback of top professional Japanese players who requested a natural transition from their long irons.  Like the cavity back a special mild heat treatment was used to produce the perfect feel.

Shafted with a special Miyazaki Kusala and labelled a "Tour Issue" shaft it's designed with what Srixon calls a dual charger section that provides accuracy in stiffness yet good feel and kick.  It's also available in NS950 steel.

Srixon does have more releases that we will be covering this week from their new version Z-TX driver & fairway wood to the new XXIO releases as well as a review live from the 2011 Tokyo Golf Fair.

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In 2 weeks TSG will be live at the 2011 Tokyo Golf Fair previewing some of the hottest new Japan Only releases. With speculation from GolfDigest Japan we can safely guestimate some of whats coming from the major OEM's. That said there are surprises in store that golf companies are just not willing to reveal yet.

As you can see on the chart below it highlights releases starting back in November with the TourStage 705 series, Srixon New Version Z-TX Driver, and new 2011 Yamaha Inpres X models followed by December Yamaha Inpres X utility woods, PRGR Egg driver and two new XXIO drivers.  This month (January)  the new Callaway Legacy APEX was released, XXIO VP Prime, and Srixon's updated GiE series.

The chart also shows some blacked out models coming in February,  To save time I'm skipping over new USDM releases because all that stuff is common knowledge and covered on most mainstream websites.  I'm pretty sure the woods from Nike are the U.S release VR Pro models yet there is usually something Japan only that we could see during the show.

Titleist will have a Japan Only TVD model wedge and Mizuno for the most part has kept hush on their new releases outside of the Japan only and Endo produced MP Craft 425 and JPX 800S Drivers.  The return of the T-Zoid has also been rumored since recently announcing their new T-Zoid utility club.

There will be a slew of Odyssey putters as well as a few designs produced exclusively for the Japanese Market along with  a couple of Japan only finishes. On the very right hand side of the Feb. line were assuming thats the Callaway Legacy APEX utility wood and  moving over to March there should be a new players model of the Tourstage 705 driver that could be named the 705R. Another unknown Callaway driver is also present on the list. The replacement to the Taylormade Burner along with the TourStage PHYZ series has already been announced yet is shaded in, could these be other new releases?  In regards to Taylormade we do know the Burner 2.0J (Japan Only) has already been announced.  More to come on that one this week.

We are aware of a handful of other  new releases that we were asked not to mention. So far that's all the news that the major OEM's are comfortable with officially releasing.

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Well I guess I was wrong. With XXIO's launch of a new forged lineup, I thought Srixon was not going to continue with it's GiE lineup which pretty much targets a similar midcapper and improving player audience. I guess though there may be room for more choice as the GiE is typically priced lower than their XXIO counterparts by up to 30%. The new XXIO Forged lineup can be considered more of a premium line while the GiE is more budget oriented performance.

The GiE line will include a new driver, fairway woods and irons. The new woods will feature new shafts made by Miyzaki for Srixon which look pretty good.  The GiE will also feature drivers, woods and irons for the lady golfer. Srixon aims to provide a balanced package of distance, ease of use and stability with the new GiE line. It's a while away until the launch which is scheduled for late January of next year. We should have the pre order up in the Tourspecgolf.com pro shop 2-3 weeks before launch.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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XXIO is year in and year out a market and sales leader for average golfer model golf clubs. A division of Sri Sports along with its big brother Srixon, XXIO has created performance golf clubs with ease of use and distance in mind.

Today XXIO announced an all new 2011 XXIO Forged iron. This announcement for me was completely expected. What I did not expect was for XXIO to also announce a new driver and fairway wood.  XXIO's main lineup of models typically come every 2 years with 2010 being the 6th generation XXIO line. Along with its all new Forged Iron, XXIO is also releasing a Forged Driver and Forged Fairway Wood. These are NOT to replace the standard XXIO line but rather the birth of a new all Forged Lineup (this is the 3rd gen of the Forged iron but it always stood alone).

The new forged models are made to appeal to the mid handicapper and better golfer who want a premium performance club with top notch feel and ease of use. The iron is a mid sized pocket cavity featuring a S25C forged body paired with a high strength ultra thin HT1770 face which provides a 15% larger sweetspot than the previous generation XXIO Forged.

The Forged Driver and Forged Fairway wood are more compact compared to the standard XXIO woods and feature deeper faces and heavier lower torque shafts. The Forged hybrid cup Super TIX face features a 9 part bulge and roll design. The Forged Fairway wood features a very much in demand forged hybrid cup SP700 Titanium face which is only 1.6mm thin. The body is made of soft maraging steel. Again, a deeper face and heavier, lower torque shafts than the standard XXIO Fairway woods.

This is an interesting strategy by XXIO as these models would technically overlap the Srixon GIE line and target the same audience. This leads to speculation that the GIE line will not be renewed but then again, one never knows these days.  These are clubs I'm definitely looking forward to trying especially because I love the feel of forged woods. It'll be a while before the come out though as they are slated for mid December.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Srixon has revamped the Z-TX driver to make it more oriented towards the better player. Under the Sri-Sports umbrella, Srixon has always been geared towards the athlete golfer while it's sibling XXIO focused on the average golfer. Last year's Z-TX driver was perhaps a touch too large and shallow for the pro player so they redesigned it as the new Z-TX Tour.

The Z-TX Tour will feature a more traditional head shape, 430cc, deeper face and interchangeable weights. The 6 part multi bulge and roll face and variable thickness create feel and high ball speeds for the faster and harder swinger. The driver's Quick Tune System will come with 3, 7 and 11g weights for a weight port towards the heel and toe altering the head bias and overall weight and swing weight of the head.

There will also be a 460cc Z-TX (non tour model) with weight ports at the back and heel for a more draw bias and forgiving club with a slightly larger head and shallower face. I guess more like last years model shape wise but with weights. Both heads feature a flatter 57.5* lie which better players seem to like.

The STOCK shaft will be the Miyazaki Kusala Black 72, Blue 72 and Silver 61. The Black will be available only on the Z-TX Tour while the Blue and Silver are for the standard Z-TX.

Also scheduled for a November launch will be the new Forged Z-TX irons which will feature laser milled face and grooves a la Cleveland technology. We'll post more once additional info becomes available.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Japan is known to get some of the best forged irons in the world, especially Japanese domestic models (JDM) that nobody else in the world gets. Being an online retailer, we rarely stock test or demo irons on hand but I still frequently get a lot of inquires about comparing a certain iron to another. Being able to test a lot of these irons one at a time as they are released, I can give advice and my opinion on certain models but I thought why not do a shoot out like the way the magazines do it and actually test a whole bunch of irons side by side? This seems like what everyone wants to see after all.

So I sent out some emails about getting some of the newest forged Japanese models together for a photo shoot and test session.   None of the models I requested are small compact irons aimed at the athlete/pro golfer and most are probably mid sized or between mid and small size thus appealing to a large range of golfers. I did this intentionally as pro spec irons are only playable by a very small handful of golfers while mid level cavity backs can be played by single digit golfers wanting forgiveness all the way up to improving average golfers who want a challenge. Some of the irons began arriving at my house today including Ping's Anser Forged Iron, Sri Sports' XXIO Forged and Tourstage's X-Blade 703 Forged. Next week we should see Taylormade's R9 Forged as well as Burner Forged, Nike's Machspeed Forged, Yamaha's Inpres X V Forged and whoever else can send me a demo... (^_^) Here is a teaser pic of the first thee participants of TSG's first ever Forged iron shootout!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Recent reports show Japanese golf superstar Ryo Ishikawa using a new ball set to release from Srixon Golf in just several weeks The Z-STAR XV. Ryo is not sponsored by Srixon and was able to choose from virtually any ball in the world from U.S domestic balls like the Titleist Pro V1 to high end Japanese balls from brands like TourStage and XXIO.

Ryo Ishikawa was seen using 4 different types of balls including the prototype version of the Z-Star XV, The TourStage  B+ series, Titleist ProV1X and the Callaway Tour IX however the winning ball was the Z-Star XV.

The new XV features slightly larger dimples and a thin 0.3mm cover which is usually reserved for fast swingers with a quick tempo. In March the Z-Star will complete its retail R&A registration and become available shortly after.

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Z-TX Fairway more forgiving than expected...

The new Srixon Z-TX Fairway Wood showed up along with the driver and irons for me to test last week and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the Z-TX fairway as it provided more forgiveness than what I had expected from an athlete model.  Srixon has gone with a shallower head, 2.0mm shallower than the previous Z-Steel II and a shorter neck for more control and less twisting.

High Maraging Face!

What is very interesting is that while typically Stainless steel is the choice material for fairway woods aimed at better or athlete players thanks to its thicker more solid feel, the Z-TX fairway features thin and explosive high maraging steel (Custom 455). The Z-Steel featured a face with thickness ranging from 2.4mm to 2.7mm while the Z-TX maraging faced is a very thin 1.8mm. Maraging in fariway woods has similar characteristics to titanium, a crisper sound and more pop off the face like the very popular PRGR GN502.

Srixon acknowledges that design choices in the Z-TX were in fact to make it more explosive and forgiving at the same time. The lower CG matched with the shallower face really help launch the ball in the air and while I usually struggle with 3 woods 15* or less in loft (I do not play one in my bag as I play a 17* FW), I was able to hit the Z-TX 15* very well off the tee and fairway alike.

Traditional shape and small size.

While the face is shallower than the Z-Steel II it is still mid height compared to many shallow average golfer models on the market today. It has a very nice shape at address and as a mid sized wood it really borders on compact size with a small 156cc 3 wood and 136cc 5 wood.

As is with the driver, the Z-TX is available with two shaft choices. A T-55 (55g) and T-65 (65g) which are not bad a shaft for those not wanting to spend more on an upgrade. The SV3020J shafts feature a dual kick point, high and low which help produce a lot of feel as the shaft unloads.  Faster swingers who desire more weight should go for the T-65 while more average golfers would be better off with the T-55. If you are a low capper with a fast swing you can also opt for shafts like the Kai'li instead.

Thumbs up on a well rounded fairway wood.

I wish I had more time to spend with the club, but due to time limitations I only had one test session with it. To briefly sum it up, in my opinion:

1. More forgiving than expected - a mid capper should have no problems playing this despite it's smaller size
2. Great looking at address with a mid to compact pear shape
3. Very crisp pop off the face due to the thin high maraging material used
4. Easy to get in the air due to a mid toshallow face height and low center of gravity, both off the ground and tee.
5. Acceptable stock shaft for the average golfer

You can check out the Z-TX listing here in the pro shop!

Here are more pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Z-TX Clubs in the house

I received a box full of Srixon clubs for testing recently including the all new Z-TX Driver, Fairway Wood, Irons and new Srixon Hybrid. I'll start off today with the Z-TX driver which as you know Tourspecgolfer has already reviewed himself. Usually I would NOT be reviewing a driver or clubs from Srixon, especially anything from their "Z" lines as in the past they were aimed at the Athlete golfer (low handicapper) and pro player.  However, the Z-TX line peaked my interest as Srixon completely redesigned the driver from the ground up with input from Srixon Pros Jim Furyk and Tommy Nakajima on head shape, face design and feel and even the sound of the driver.  Also it seems the trend these days even for athlete model clubs is an emphasis on forgiveness. So how forgiving are the Z-TX?

Super-TIX 51AF comes calling

Another feature of the new Z-TX driver that caught my attention is their decision to move away from the cold rolled Ti-9 face to the very hot and softer feeling Super-TIX^®51AF found only in XXIO drivers. This is a special mix Titanium that was developed by Srixon for XXIO and used in the best selling XXIO drivers in the last few generations. The Super-TIX^®51AF produces amazing feel and spring like action unlike previous Srixon faces which were more solid and had a firmer feel geared towards harder swinging professionals. So how does the Z-TX feel and can a slower swinger like myself benefit from a Srixon driver now that it uses Super-TIX^®51AF?

Good looking head

It was a beautiful day for taking pictures and I must say the driver is a looker. It may not appeal to those who prefer a clean looking basic sole but those who like high tech strong looking clubs, the Z-TX looks like it is ready to transform and challenge Optimus Prime. It's indented twin cam sole features a weighting system to increase MOI and help bring CG further back in the head for a low spin and piercing trajectory.

The head features 11g of weight placed at the toe and heel to achieve an optimal launch. At address the head is slightly larger than the ZR-800 and ZR-30 but still retains a pear like shape. Jim Furyk actually took part in the head design and this is a size and shape he felt comfortable with. It gives confidence at address but is not overly large like an MOI driver (which this is not)

The Z-TX features a square face angle and neutral balance for a workable ball. Forgiveness comes from the new Super-TIX^®51AF face with 6% larger sweet spot than the ZR-800 and an overall shallower face. Srixon still chose to use the 6 split bulge and roll design but with the new face material was able to make the areas surrounding the sweet spot thinner while the larger center area retained a 3.4mm thickness for feel. I guess you could say it kind of resembles the old starburst design we saw on the last generation of ZR drivers.

Low Torque stock shaft

The Z-TX is available with two stock shafts, the SV-3020J in T-55 (55g) and T-65 (65g). I received a T-55 in regular flex.  The stock shafts are lower torque that what you would usually find in a JDM driver with OEM shaft. This T-55 has 3.8* of torque which is low for regular flex in Japan. I am used to playing higher torque shafts which result in more feel but I was glad to see that at 3.8* the shaft does not feel boardy and still has good feel to it. The 10.5* I had with mid kick T-55 shaft gave a mid to high trajectory with roll out.

So to answer my questions above, can a slower swinger and mid capper hit the Z-TX and how does it perform and feel? Firstly it feels very good. Sometimes athlete spec drivers can feel harsh for the slower swinger/average golfer because manufacturers design the sweet area to be thicker to handle the faster and more aggressive swings of better players. The Z-TX felt very good to me and having come from hitting Srixon and XXIO drivers before, I would say the feel is close to the latter albeit with the thicker sweet spot muting the feel and sound a touch over the XXIO.

Yes its forgiving

Forgiveness wise this is where the Z-TX surprised. The shallower face allowed me to catch the sweet spot more consistently and I did not lose much distance on of center hits. The thinner outer walls of the driver face do seem to contribute to an equal slingshot effect around quite a large area of the center of the face.  I dare to say this has forgiveness on a similar level as my 2007 TaylorMade Burner driver which I still keep around (I have to say that is one USDM driver I can't miss with). Distance wise I was right around where I usually am with the longest drivers I have hit including the Kamui and Epon EMB.

There are still aspects of this driver aimed at the better player such as the lie of the Z-TX which is a flatter 57.5* where as many average golfer models are now 60* or more to compensate for the natural flattening out of the shaft on the down swing.  I will not brag that I can hit draws and fades at will, its more like I hit them accidentily so I cannot give my honest feedback on control but with the neutral face and bias this driver should be workable especially shafted with a good control shaft like the Motore F1 or Kai'li.

Thumbs up

Overall the Z-TX is very good looking, feels pretty good and is rather forgiving. It's a fun club to hit and that's what we all look for afterall, something fun that stays in the fairway (albeit with a slight fade for me).

Thumbs up for the Z-TX driver quality wise and performance wise for the mid capper or better. I'll post a Mini review on the fairway wood tomorrow.

In the meantime check out some of the pics I took:

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.