Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Vs Srixon ZX4 Irons Comparison Overview

Irons can be the most difficult clubs to choose because they present the hardest challenge out on the course.

You want an iron that matches your swing tempo, speed and your needs at your current skill level.

Of course, the best way to get an iron set that suits you is to go in for a professional fitting. But if you are looking to do some preliminary research, we want to help. Our series of iron comparison overviews continues with a look at the Srixon ZX4 and Mizuno JPX921 hot metal irons.

Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal Irons Overview

“When compared to some of the other irons in the Mizuno catalog, we can surmise that the JPX921’s are some of their most accessible.”

Almost everything about the JPX921 irons was built for game improvement. Of course, we are not talking about the blade length which is pretty short nor are we referring to the topline which is pretty narrow.

However, the JPX921 Hot Metal irons feature moderately chunky soles that look inviting at address. These Hot Metal irons are built with chromoly which is a highly responsive and thin metal alloy. The chromoly construction helps to increase distance for almost any kind of player.

The JPX921’s also feature a seamless cup face that has been engineered to be exceptionally thin and to enhance forgiveness on the perimeters. Adding to perimeter forgiveness are weights placed in the frame of the irons with a bit more in the toe for a little bit of bias.

Srixon ZX4 Irons Overview

“The Srixon ZX4’s are hollow-body irons with tungsten in the soles of the long and mid irons.”

The hollow design increases flex across pretty much the entire face. Our testers found that the Srixon ZX4’s were more forgiving thanks to the hollow body design and the slightly longer blades.

The Srixon ZX4’s don’t perform as well as the JPX921’s do in the rough; but we recorded superior greenside spin rates with the ZX4’s. The Srixon ZX4’s seem to be tailor-made for mid handicappers while the JPX921’s may still be better suited to lower handicap players.”

“The shorter blades and slightly stronger lofts of the Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal irons proved to be a challenge to our mid handicap testers. Our low handicap testers loved the feel, launch and workability of them though. The Srixon ZX4’s felt more like game improvement irons.”

Mizuno JPX921 First Impressions

The JPX921 irons couple incredibly sleek looks at address and with an amazing forged feel.

The Mizuno JPX921 Forged irons have a beveled trailing edge on the sole which smooths out turf interaction.

This coupled with the obvious amazing feel from the grain flow forging process makes these irons so pleasing to swing.

The blades of these muscle back irons are pretty compact and there is a part of the back area that has been milled to increase stability and thin out the back wall a bit.

These irons also feature the notorious chromoly construction which contributes to the soft feel.

Srixon ZX4 Irons – First Impressions

With Srixon making these big changes to their iron line up, it makes sense that we talk about the technology before we dive into our first impressions on the ZX4 irons.

Srixon have stabilized the ZX4 irons by adding a milled pattern on the back of irons’ face, this technique maximizes COR, and gives you increased ball speed and more distance.

The ZX4’s has hollow body construction design, this gives you loads forgiveness, which allows you to strike the ball across the entire face, without losing ball speed. It also allows Srixon to make the iron look great, while in your bag and at address, while still giving you a lot of forgiveness and distance.

Srixon has placed tungsten in the sole of ZX4’s long and mid irons (4 iron to 7 iron), this lowers the center of gravity, and gives you a higher launch. The ZX4 irons have a forged HT1770 Steel face, the forged face increases speed and distance, it also has a 431 Steel body, which takes away vibrations for a softer feel off the face.

Srixon has incorporated a V-shaped sole, it helps the club slide smoothly through the turf, even when striking the ball badly. ZX4 irons also feature their sole notches.

Srixon have changed the grooves in the ZX range, the 8 iron to PW are sharper, narrower, and deeper, giving you more spin, allowing you to stop the ball on the greens easier than ever.

From the start we could see some incredible ball speed from the ZX4 irons. At address the topline is not as big compared to your average game improvement iron, which we loved.

You can however see the back of the club as the lofts get stronger. This may be off putting to some.

The V-shaped sole is great, the club slid through the turf with ease on every shot. The forged face is great, the sound and feel off the clubface is incredible for a game improvement iron.

With all this tech, you unfortunately lose some workability. It is easy to work the ball left to right, but to control the trajectory is not easy.

Our team mates with faster swing speeds found they hit a few ‘hot shots’ that carried well over the flag, this isn’t ideal, however as a high handicap player, you won’t be getting many of these.

Mizuno JPX921 Pros & Cons

Pros:

Good accuracy
Forgiving
Played longer
Great feedback
Toe bias
Milled back

Cons:

Pricey
Heavy
Fewer long iron options
Not for beginners

Srixon ZX4 Irons Selling Points

Multi forged construction, giving you more distance and forgiveness
V-Shaped helps with turf interaction
A lot more compact than your traditional game improvement iron
There are Sharper, narrower, and deeper grooves in the 8 iron to PW
Stabilized frame increase ball speed and distance

Who Are The JPX 921 Forged Irons For

For starters, these irons would work great for any player who wants to emphasize precise feedback and feel as a low handicapper and beyond.

We can’t emphasise enough that you’re not going to want to invest in these irons if you’re just starting out with golf. These are performance irons through and through for the better players.

While the JPX921 Forged irons do give impressive distance the compact heads and points of design emphasis will be lost on beginners who will struggle to find the sweet spot consistently, if they don’t find the higher price point off putting enough already.

The JPX921 irons did play more accurate around the pin and were more forgiving than many forged Irons with their toe bias weighting.

Perfect for single digit handicap pin hunters around the world.

The JPX921 Family

The JPX921 Forged irons are joined by the JPX921 Tour and JPX921 Hot Metal irons.

The JPX921 Tour irons produce surprisingly straight shots for tour-grade clubs. They have sleek, compact heads and feature the same grain flow forging construction.

The JPX921 Hot Metal irons are the most forgiving in the family with a Cup Face design that preserves ball speed around the perimeter.

Distance: 93/100

Accuracy: 95/100

Forgiveness: 89/100

Feel And Control: 96/100

Overall Score: 94/100

Check Out More Reviews Here:

Who Are the Srixon ZX4 Irons For?

The Srixon ZX4 irons are aimed at your mid to high handicap golfers. They are incredibly forgiving with loads of distance.

We could see a lot of people going into a combo set with the ZX range, for a mid handicap player to use the ZX4 irons in their longer irons can really help with the forgiveness, as your longer irons are definitely harder to hit.

Most game improvement irons look thick and chunky, but the ZX range is far from that.

The Srixon ZX Family of Irons

The Srixon ZX range has a few more models to their range, this really gives all levels of golfers the option to play the ZX range, and allows you to build combo sets. We were really impressed by this, because most golf club manufacturers don’t make such an extensive range that caters for all handicap levels.

ZX7 irons are your low handicap irons, they are tour cavity irons. Srixon have moved the weight to the perimeter, this helps with forgiveness. It has an incredibly soft feel and sound off the face. They are extremely easy to work, which allows you to control the ball with ease, the narrow sole, thin top line and minimal offset gives this iron a fantastic look at address.

The ZX5 irons have the same DNA as the ZX7 irons, but there are a few differences, these are mainly there to give you a bit more forgiveness and distance. The ZX5 irons feature a slightly longer blade, wider sole, and more offset, this appeals to the mid handicap golfer. We love the ZX7 and ZX5 irons as low handicap players could play the 6 to 4 iron in their longer irons, this will help with forgiveness.

ZX Utility isn’t a part of a full iron set, it is a driving iron. It has a thinner top line and smaller profile compared to the previous generations. It complements the ZX7 and ZX5 perfectly in the longer irons.