Srixon Z 785 Driver

The Srixon Z 785 driver is the lower launching, lower spinning of the two latest drivers from the Srixon Z series lineup.  Geared toward better players, the Z 785 driver can provide you with stellar performance if you have the ball striking to handle it.  Srixon saw their greatest success ever with the Z series drivers last season, and will look to build on that with this year’s Z 785.

The Looks

Srixon was able to give better players a 460cc head in the Z 785, while still maintaining a more compact, Tour-proven shape.  The back of the club is very rounded, and the face is pretty deep as well.  This promotes that more penetrating traj (yeah we use cool slang here), and lower spin.  The head itself is a nice, glossy black color with a carbon fiber crown and bright red and chrome accents.  The Z 785 also features an interchangeable weight in the rear of the sole if you want to adjust  your ball flight or swing weight.  In my opinion, the Z 785 has enough “pop” in the design without being over the top with their color schemes and fancy “tech” that can make a club look busy.  It fits right in the sweet spot for me as far as looks are concerned.

How Does it Feel?

There are a few components to discuss when talking about the feel of the Srixon Z 785 driver.  In terms of the feel during the swing, the Srixon Z 785 felt light, but balanced.  That didn’t, however, mean that it felt “whippy” by any means.  Why?  Well, the Z 785 comes stock with a Project X Hand Crafted HZRDUS Black Shaft.  Nope, not a watered down, “made for” shaft.  A real deal, Hand Crafted HZRDUS shaft.  Per my review of that shaft, that means right off of the bat, you’re going to have a stout feeling club in your hands.  Light, but stout.

The Z 785 provides solid feedback across the face.  Well struck shots feel great, but you’re going to feel those dreaded misses.  I noticed that my hands got a much more noticeable feedback off of the toe and heel.  With shots higher and lower on the face, however, the feedback wasn’t as severe.  Overall, the driver feels solid, but it does not hold any punches on poor shots.

How Does it Sound?

As with most drivers in the “better player” category, the Srixon Z 785 driver’s sound isn’t going to turn a ton of heads at the driving range – and that’s great.  What I mean is it doesn’t have that high-pitched, aluminum can sound at impact that some other drivers on the market have.  No no, the Srixon Z 785 is geared towards better players, so it has to sound like a better player’s driver.  It has a much more deep, solid “thwack” on the ball, while still giving off a sound of power put behind it.

On-Course Performance

The Srixon Z 785 does have some new technology upgrades from last year’s model that, in my opinion, help make this year’s driver better than the last.  For one, the face is “stronger, lighter, and faster.”  What does that mean exactly?  Srixon was able to make the Z 785 face thinner, which equates to faster ball speeds.  Why do we want faster ball speeds?  ‘Cause it means you can hit bombs.  I definitely picked up a few yards compared to last year’s model.

As far as the lower launch and lower trajectory that Srixon touts with the Z 785 driver, I’d say it delivers in those categories for the most part as well.  While typically a high ball hitter, I found that the Z 785 paired with the low launching HZRDUS Black, gave me more of mid-launch, but kept my spin numbers relatively down.  That’s a big plus for me. The Z 785 also offers great adjustability via the Quick Tune system.  This allows you to adjust loft up or down 2 degrees, which is a considerable adjustment range.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of forgiveness in the Z 785.  None of my misses lost a ton of distance like you’d typically expect from a player’s driver.  Where I suffered, however, was on directional misses.  Better players will easily be able to control and work the ball with the Srixon Z 785.  For us “not-as-good” ball strikers, however, misses left and right can be punishing.  That said, the Z 785 is geared towards better players.  So if you’re good off the tee, have no fear, the Srixon driver you’ve been waiting for is here.

Final Thoughts

Srixon has greatly improved in the woods department over the last  few years.  The Srixon Z 785 driver is their latest and best step forward yet.  While last year’s model saw retail success, Srixon has gained the driver slots in the bags of Tour pros as well with this year’s Z 785.  The Z 785 is a fairly traditional looking driver with good feel and solid performance if you have the game for it.  So if you’re a better driver of the ball than most, give the Z 785 a whirl.

Stock Srixon Z 785 Specs

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