Srixon ZX4 Vs Taylormade Stealth Irons Comparison Overview

Srixon ZX4 Vs Taylormade Stealth Irons

Srixon irons are known for incredible performance that can only be unlocked by exceptionally skilled players.

Meanwhile, Taylormade is a brand name that is almost synonymous with accessibility and game improvement.

Having tested both the Srixon ZX4 and the Taylormade Stealth irons, we can say with confidence that this perception is more or less accurate.

The Stealth irons are some of Taylormade’s latest and greatest irons while the Srixon ZX4’s represent Srixon’s foray into hollow body game improvement irons.

How do they compare to each other? Let’s find out.

Srixon ZX4 Irons Overview

“Right off the bat, you have a compact, blade-like iron with the Srixon ZX4’s.”

So when you first look at them, there’s not much that screams “game improvement.” However, when you look under the hood you can see why these irons are geared towards mid, low and even high handicap players.

The Srixon ZX4 irons feature a hollow-body design that allows for a ton of flex and almost instantly improved ball speeds.

The only problem is that the heads are compact so you still need some semblance of accuracy to get good distance from them.

As far as the short game goes, the Srixon ZX4’s deliver what you would expect them to: incredible spin control and accuracy.

The scoring irons in this set have sharp, narrow face grooves that bite the ball and allow for amazing spin dynamics.

The long and mid irons in the Srixon ZX4 set also feature tungsten bases, forged steel faces and steel bodies for dynamic, metal-wood like distance.

Taylormade Stealth Irons Overview

“The Taylormade Stealth irons look really sexy in the bag and have a larger profile than the Srixon ZX4 at point of address.”

So overall, they are more visually pleasing for mid to high handicappers than the Srixon ZX4.

The Stealth irons feature a unique shaved toe that places more mass to the center of the sole behind the sweet spot. This helps with distance on true strikes.

To help with distance on mis-hits, Taylormade implemented the inverted cone design which increases ball speed out near the toeside of the face.

The stainless steel face is nothing to write home about; but it does help a bit with stability.

“The hollow body design of the Srixon ZX4’s won’t do much if you’re not at least reasonably accurate whereas the entire design of the Taylormade Stealth irons was developed with mid to high handicappers in mind.”

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.

Taylormade Stealth First Impressions

The Taylormade Stealth irons have a striking design that we didn’t really know what to make of at first.

These are some of the most uniquely designed game improvement irons we ever tested. The cap back system that wraps around the rear toe area looks striking but it didn’t make sense to us at first.

Then we started playing with this set. One of the first things we noticed was that even with the 4 iron, it was very easy to find the sweet spot. The offset helps yes, but more than anything, that extra mass in the sole beneath the sweet spot helps to square up.

It’s like a giant target for your alignment. And since the face was designed to flex to a ridiculous degree, you don’t need a fast swing speed to get decent distance out of these irons.

With the 5 iron in the Taylormade Stealth set, our testers were able to establish an average distance of 161 yards. Of course, as game improvement irons, they suffer from the typical short-game pitfalls.

With the shorter irons, spin is very hard to control. Roll distance was a problem on short approaches and if you are playing a particularly fast green, you will need to rely on your wedges for longer shots.

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

Taylormade Stealth Selling Points

They have an innovative cap back design
They do work to soften harsh vibration to a moderate degree
Reduced toe mass
Increased sole mass under the center of the face
They feature Taylormade’s inverted Cone Technology (ICT)
450 stainless steel face

Who Are the Srixon ZX7 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.

Distance: 95/100

Accuracy: 92/100

Forgiveness: 95/100

Feel & Control: 87/100

Overall Score: 92.25/100

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Who are the Taylormade Stealth Irons for?

The Taylormade Stealth irons would primarily benefit high handicap players who are struggling chiefly with distance.

While they offer a moderate degree of forgiveness, it’s clear after testing these irons that most of the R&D went into improving ball speed and distance for players with slower swing speeds.

Most of the testers in our party with swing speeds under 90MPH were keeping up remarkably well with testers with faster swing speeds. Just don’t expect impeccable feel from these irons.

While Taylormade claims that the polymer cap back material gives these irons a “forged feel” we would classify this as a dubious claim at best. At the end of the day, there is simply no mistaking a forged iron and these are not forged irons.

The Taylormade Iron Family

While the Stealth irons are a stand-alone class, Taylormade makes a ton of iron sets. One of the most notable for beginners and high handicappers is the SIM2 Max irons that sport an oversized face profile so that it’s much easier to nail the sweet spot.

The SIM2 Max irons also feature the predecessor to the cap back system, the Speed Bridge. The Speed Bridge is a rear brace that connects the crown and sole, allowing the face to be disconnected from the body just like the Taylormade Stealth irons.

The result is the same: higher degree of flex and ball speed. However, the SIM2 Max irons will do more for you if you are struggling with iron accuracy. They offer comparable distance to the Taylormade Stealth irons; but with a higher emphasis on forgiveness.