Srixon ZX5 Vs Mizuno Pro 245 Irons

In this comparison, we pit two forged iron sets against each other.

Srixon ZX5 Irons Overview

“The ZX5s feature progressive groove shaping, V-shaped soles and are forged from 1020 carbon steel.”

They have a cavity back design and medium sole widths.

They look sharp but are overall bigger than the Mizuno Pro 245’s – even the blade length is longer.

There is also significantly more offset. But all that means that the ZX5s are more forgiving.

They feel very smooth, launch high and provide excellent distance. They retail for $900.

Mizuno Pro 245 Irons Overview

Mizuno Pro 245 Irons

“The Mizuno Pro 245s have tungsten weighting, are hollow body and are grain flow forged.”

They are considerably more compact than the ZX5s and have more rounded contours.

And despite the strong lofts, the Mizuno Pro 245s offer mid/high launch. The spin rates are higher than your typical player’s irons as well.

The short irons are remarkably workable and offer excellent feedback. The Mizuno Pro 245’s cost $1400.

“The Mizuno Pro 245s feel better while providing similar distance to the Srixon ZX5 irons.

The Pro 245’s are better for low handicappers while the ZX5s would be good for mid handicappers.”

Srixon ZX5 Irons – First Impressions

The Srixon ZX5 irons are a major improvement over the Srixon Z585 irons which had a cheaper, more game improvement look about them.

The first thing we noticed about these irons is how nice they look. Srixon got rid of the back insert which made the previous Srixon irons look a bit cheap. The Srixon ZX5’s on the other hand have the look of a premium set of forged irons.

They have a sharp, sleek look even as the cavity back pokes out a little more noticeably in the long irons.

Another reason we think the Srixon ZX5 irons would be good for mid handicappers is the amount of offset you see at point of address. The Srixon ZX5’s have a moderate amount of offset that is enough to inspire confidence but not enough to make these look like a pure set of game improvement irons.

Srixon did a good job of making the Srixon ZX5’s occupy the middle ground between player’s performance and game improvement irons. When compared to the ZX7’s you will notice that the top line is a bit thicker.

The Srixon ZX5’s also have longer blades than the ZX7’s. However, this is to be expected. The ZX7’s are definitely more of a pure set of player’s performance irons and emphasize workability over forgiveness. Still, the Srixon ZX5’s aren’t much bigger than the ZX7’s.

Mizuno Pro 245 Irons – First Impressions

“My first impression of the Mizuno Pro 245 irons was that they looked shockingly similar to the Mizuno Pro 225’s.”

In fact, I set both of them down beside each other and could barely tell the difference.

The scoring lines and hitting in the Mizuno Pro 245 irons are a little lighter in color than the 225’s; but other than that, the 245’s are as compact as the 225’s.

The good news about all that is that the Mizuno Pro 245 irons truly do look like blades even though they technically aren’t blades.

So you get that clean, blade-like look at address with the bonus of a true distance boost.

Irons 2-7 in this set have a suspended tungsten weight which allows for a lower CG without inhibiting face flex.

As a result I was getting great ball speed – 117.4 MPH with the 7-iron on average.

But in the scoring irons, you have a 1025E semi-hollow body with a 17-4 stainless steel back piece to help control the flight a bit more and get the CG a bit higher.

This provides a more solid feel, better feedback and better overall control over spin and launch.

The Mizuno Pro 245 irons also produced near-immediate distance for me. Within the first three swings I was averaging a carry distance of 170.5 yards with the 7-iron.

But what surprised me even more than the distance were the spin rates.

As a player’s distance iron, I was expecting some low spin numbers. But my average spin rate with the Mizuno Pro 245 7-iron was 5200 RPMs.

And keep in mind that these are relatively strong-lofted irons – the 7-iron checks in at 30°.

Srixon ZX5 Irons Selling Points

Multi-material construction
Tungsten toe weights in the long irons
“V” shaped sole
Narrower, deeper face grooves in the scoring irons
Milled back side

Mizuno Pro 245 Irons Selling Points

Long irons are forged from chromoly
Scoring irons are forged from 1025E carbon steel
Hollow body design
Suspended tungsten weighting in the long irons
Increased bounce angle for better turf interaction
17-4 stainless steel back piece in the scoring irons
431 stainless steel back piece in the long irons
Blade-like appearance

Who Are the Srixon ZX5 Irons for?

Srixon isn’t wrong when they say that the Srixon ZX5’s will have something to offer players of all skill levels. But after testing these irons, it’s clear that the players that stand to gain the most from these irons are mid handicappers.

They offer a moderate degree of workability which will suit the needs of players who are just starting to learn how to work the ball to their advantage on the fairway. Both the long and short irons have enough stopping power for the mid handicapper as well.

While the longer irons sacrifice a bit of spin control in favor of forgiveness and distance, we think most mid handicappers will be able to overlook this minor flaw. And since most mid handicappers will still want a moderate degree of forgiveness, the longer blades and thicker soles of the Srixon ZX5’s will suit them better than the ZX7 irons.

The Srixon ZX Family of Irons

The Srixon like of ZX irons also includes the popular Srixon ZX7 irons. The ZX7 irons have less offset, thinner top lines and thinner soles across the board so at point of address, they may scare some mid and high handicappers away.

However, you do get acute spin control from the scoring irons and excellent workability. Like the Srixon ZX5 irons, the ZX7’s are also fully forged. They also feature tungsten weights in the toes of the longer irons to help keep the blade from turning over.

As you might expect from a set of player’s performance irons, the ZX7’s also have stronger loft characteristics than the ZX5’s. Everything is the same up until the five iron: the Srixon ZX5 5-iron is 24 degrees while the 5-iron of the ZX7 set is 25 degrees.

So you do get slightly higher launch and sharper descent angles from the Srixon ZX7 irons starting with the 5-iron. Again though, this is pretty much to be expected from a set that is geared towards lower handicap players.

Distance: 94/100

Accuracy: 93/100

Forgiveness: 93/100

Feel & Control: 95/100

Overall Score: 93/100

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Who Are the Mizuno Pro 245 Irons for?

“The Mizuno Pro 245 irons are for the player that really wants the look of blades with the performance of distance irons.”

I can imagine that 13-about 22 handicappers will really like these irons. Of course, as Mizuno irons, the short irons are very workable.

You can feel every nuance of your contact and get a keen sense of overall control.

But it’s the mid and long irons that really impressed me. They will be great for mid and high-ish handicappers who need help staying on the green.

They also don’t look like your typical player’s distance irons.

They aren’t as compact as blades; but everything else is blade-like. The top line is thin, the soles are compact and the offset is nearly non-existent.

The Mizuno Pro 245’s would be great for the player who isn’t quite ready to graduate to blades; but still wants blade-like feel, looks and performance.

The Mizuno Pro Family of Irons

The Mizuno Pro 225 irons have a nearly identical profile to the Mizuno Pro 245’s.

They also share the same grain-flow forging and hollow body design. But the Pro 225’s spin a bit lower than the Mizuno Pro 245’s and have a more penetrating flight.