It’s official: Srixon is a serious player in the driver market. With each new model, Srixon has taken a dramatic step forward in ball speed, forgiveness, spin, looks, feel and most noticeably, sound.
The new Srixon ZXi RKT line of metalwoods marks the start of a new development process for Srixon and a complete overhaul of how the company thinks about metalwoods.
Srixon knew it had a great thing going with irons and golf balls on Tour and at retail, but woods weren’t seeing the same success. In the past, Dunlop Sports had focused on the Cleveland brand for producing metalwoods, but as the brands evolved, Srixon began to take over.
Now the company is focused entirely on producing metalwoods under the Srixon name, with Cleveland exiting the space earlier this year. The shift began with last year’s ZXi metalwoods, but Srixon knew there was more work to do.
The result is a lineup of drivers and metalwoods that have already recorded a major championship victory with Ryan Fox and, closer to home, Shane Lowry romping to victory in Doonbeg. Both Fox and Shane Lowry were gaming the new ZXi RKT LS+ driver.
Several other Srixon staffers, like JJ Spaun and Sepp Straka, have also moved to the new ZXi RKT drivers, with Spaun claiming the BMW PGA in Wentworth.
It’s more evidence that this driver release is very different from anything Srixon has released before.
“We had some good ball speed in past models, but we knew we had some issues with spin and, most particularly, the sound and the shapes were very similar,” said Patrick Ripp, Srixon’s Tour Engineering Manager “So, it was a big push in our Tour department and R&D to really step up the woods for 2027”
With that, Srixon created a new Tour prototyping team specifically to empower its Tour staff professionals to help shape what they wanted the next driver to look, feel and, perhaps most importantly, sound like.
The result was greater separation between the three models, with a deeper face and a more compact pear shape on the LS model, plus a redesigned laser face milling pattern to improve alignment and spin retention in wet conditions.
Timing for the Tour launch, which took place at the Travelers Championship, the week after the U.S. Open, was also deliberate. Srixon wanted to get the drivers in players’ hands as soon as possible, but during a week when they weren’t prepping for a major.
That timing paid off and the whole process was validated when Fox hoisted the Claret Jug in July, using a ZXi RKT LS+ to split the 72nd fairway on his way to a closing birdie.
The core innovation of the new line is, aptly, the new RKT face technology, which is actually a combo of a few different things.
Srixon is introducing a VR Titanium material in the new multi-thickness face to increase ball speed across more of the face. This is also combined with an updated version of the i-Flex face introduced in the original ZXi generation.
There’s a similar goal behind the new variable roll profile of the face, specifically the roll of the high toe area, which is an attempt to steer those shots more on line.
“It’s really just more forgiveness and off-centre impacts,” Ripp said. “And then the new face material as well has allowed us to kind of, again, push the ball speed a bit further than the previous generation.”
The final part of the system is the Rebound Frame, which now uses two flex zones to boost ball speed on off-centre hits.
One major priority for Srixon was improving the sound of its drivers. The ZXi RKT drivers introduce new Acousticore technology to tune the sound of each head to match what the target player might expect. The new chassis utilises AI-optimised internal rib structures and lightweight carbon fibre crown construction to precisely tune the acoustic character of each model. Through advanced simulations and extensive testing, engineers refined every frequency until they achieved a crisp, controlled impact sound worthy of the performance behind it.
The new ZXi RKT woods line includes three driver heads (Standard, LS, and Max), plus one fairway wood and one hybrid.
ZXi RKT
The standard ZXi RKT model has Srixon’s traditional shape based on the ZX5 drivers and has heel-to-toe adjustable weighting via two sole weights. The stock heavy weight is in the heel position. This will suit the widest range of players who like Srixon’s shape and want an improved sound and feel.
Available lofts: 9.0˚, 10.5˚
ZXi RKT LS
A compact, pear-shaped 460 cc driver with fore-and-aft CG adjustability via two sole weights. Compared to the last generation, the face was made taller based on Tour feedback, making the head more compact and more appealing to faster players. The LS head will suit faster players who need to kill spin and want a more muted sound.
Available lofts: 8.0˚, 9.0˚, 10.5˚
ZXi RKT MAX
The largest profile of the ZXi RKT family, which creates Srixon’s highest MOI driver to date. The Max has a single adjustable weight in the rear to alter the swing weight. It will suit players seeking maximum forgiveness on off-centre strikes and stability.
Available lofts: 9.0˚, 10.5˚, 12.0˚
ZXi RKT Fairway
A single fairway wood model offers a cleaner, redesigned crown from the previous generation, eliminating the step crown. The RKT fairway wood has one centrally placed sole weight to help control swing weight, especially for different length builds. The fairway wood has the same RKT face technology as the rest of the line. If you like a traditional and compact-shaped fairway wood, this ticks all the boxes.
Available lofts: 3+ (13.5˚), 3 (15˚), 5 (18˚), 7 (21˚)
ZXi RKT Hybrid
Like the fairway wood, the ZXi hybrid features a new adjustable sole weight and RKT face technology. The RKT hybrid features a slightly higher CG to help players produce a more penetrating ball flight with more spin. The Hybrid is perfect for players who want a lower-flying long iron replacement than a high-lofted fairway wood.
Available lofts: 2 (17˚), 3 (19˚), 4 (22˚), 5 (25˚), 6 (28˚)
As I started this piece, Srixon has most definitely arrived as a serious player in the metal woods market, and if you don’t believe that, just look at the number of Srixon players who have quickly moved into the new models, even those who weren’t playing a Srixon driver before. The three driver heads outlined can be configured to suit any player of all abilities from Tour staffers to weekend warriors.
Srixon’s new ZXi RKT Metal woods are available for pre-order now and will arrive at retail locations on October 2nd.
All three of the ZXi RKT drivers will retail for €679, while the fairway wood is priced at €399 and the hybrid is €329
Stock shaft options include the Mitsubishi Kai’li Dark Waves family (60 White, 60 Blue, or 50 Red CB) for the drivers and fairway woods, and the Mitsubishi MMT HY for the hybrid. More options are available through customisation.
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