Best Srixon & Cleveland Irons 2024: tested with data
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Which model is the best Srixon or Cleveland golf iron for your game? Here’s your complete guide to each iron in Srixon and Cleveland’s 2024 line-up, who they are aimed at, and how they performed when tested by our pro.
JUMP TO: Best Srixon & Cleveland Irons | The Data | How We Test | Buying Advice & FAQs
Srixon don’t spend as much on marketing or have as large a market share as some of the bigger brands, but they have been making some of the best golf irons available for quite some time.
Better players in particular tend to love the design, craftmanship and feel delivered by Srixon irons.
Tour pros including Shane Lowry, Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama use Srixon irons, but Srixon (alongside partner brand Cleveland, especially) also cater to higher handicappers and even beginner golfers.
The Srixon & Cleveland iron range includes everything from slimline musclebacks aimed at very good golfers all the way to hollow-headed hybrid irons aimed at those who struggle to hit any kind of traditional iron. But which Srixon & Cleveland iron is best for your game? Let’s take a look…
Best Srixon & Cleveland Irons at a glance:
Best Srixon & Cleveland Irons
Best Srixon & Cleveland iron for those who insist on using a blade golf iron
Given it has the weakest loft of any Srixon & Cleveland iron, it should be no surprise that it generated the shortest carry distances.
But it also produced the largest shot area in our test, which isn’t what you’d expect from an iron designed for precision. The results could be a little different on another day, but if our test pro struggled for consistency with the Srixon Z-Forged II, you need to be a very accomplished ball striker to think you will do better.
If you rate looks and feel above all else, the Z-Forged II may be the best Srixon iron for you, but anyone wanting more help with performance may be better served by another model.
The fact Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry choose the slightly more forgiving Srixon ZX7 over the Z-Forged II is further reason to proceed with caution.
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Pros
- Looks fantastic
- Lovely feel
- High spin
Cons
- Unforgiving
- Only for very good golfers
| Category | Muscleback blade |
| Forgiveness rating | 1/5 |
| Handicap range | Four and below |
| Construction | Forged from a single piece of 1020 carbon steel |
| 7-iron loft | 33° |
Best Srixon & Cleveland iron for elite players and excellent ball-strikers
With a 7-iron loft of 32° and no distance-boosting tech packed in, the Srixon ZX7 MKII is one of the best players’ irons out there. The one-piece forged head feels fantastic on pure strikes and gives plenty of feedback on mis-hits.
The ZX7 produced the steepest landing angle of any Srixon iron, meaning shots will stop quickly on the green.
Unless you’re very strong with your irons, it’s worth considering a combo set with the slightly more forgiving Srixon ZX5 MKII. That would give you the feel and control of the ZX7 in the shorter irons, with a tiny bit more help in the longer irons of the ZX5.
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Pros
- Lovely feel
- Looks the business
- High level of spin for stopping power on the green
Cons
- Minimal forgiveness
| Category | Players’ Iron |
| Forgiveness rating | 2/5 |
| Handicap range | 6 and below |
| Construction | Forged from a single piece of 1020 carbon steel |
| 7-iron loft | 32° |
Best Srixon & Cleveland iron for good players who want some extra distance
The ZX5 MKII are one of the best players’ distance irons and will cater to a wide range of golfers, from single-figure handicappers all the way up to fairly high handicaps.
Particularly impressive is how the ZX5 MKII competes with the likes of the TaylorMade P790, Mizuno JPX923 Forged, and Callaway Paradym despite having a fairly weak loft for the category.
A carry distance of 180 yards is six yards longer than the ZX7, yet the descent angle is virtually the same, so shots will stop just as quickly.
If distance is a main focus for you, though, the stronger-lofted Srixon ZX4 (below) will be worth looking at, as they generate a lot more ball speed and yardage. Again, you can get a combo set to mix and match across the models.
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Pros
- Strong distance
- Excellent stopping power
Cons
- Not for those wanting maximum distance
| Category | Players’ Distance Iron |
| Forgiveness rating | 2.5/5 |
| Handicap range | 6 and above |
| Construction | Forged 1020 carbon steel body with forged SUP10 face |
| 7-iron loft | 31° |
Best Srixon & Cleveland irons for mid-handicappers
Given the stronger lofts, it’s no surprise that the ZX4 are the longest Srixon iron in terms of distance. The peak height and descent angle were very similar to the ZX7 and ZX5, though, which means you’ll still be able to stop shots quickly on the green.
Perhaps most impressive of all was the ZX4 generating the tightest shot area of any Srixon iron, a level of consistency you might not expect from a powerful head generating 197 yards of carry.
The Srixon ZX4 MKII are a great option for mid-handicap golfers with a reasonable swing speed and a very solid alternative to the likes of the Ping G430, TaylorMade Stealth or Callaway Rogue ST Max as one of the best mid-handicap irons.
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Pros
- Strong distances
- Great stopping power
- Plenty of forgiveness
- Nice feel
Cons
- Slow swingers may struggle to launch them given the low lofts
| Category | Mid-Handicap Iron |
| Forgiveness rating | 3.5/5 |
| Handicap range | 12 and above |
| Construction | Cast 431 body with forged HT1770 maraging steel face |
| 7-iron loft | 28.5° |
Best Srixon & Cleveland irons for maximum distance
We love how the set flows from forgiving, hollow-body long irons for maximum carry distance, into more controllable cavity-back short irons focused on accuracy.
The price point represents fantastic value for what is one of the best irons for high-handicaps as well as mid-handicappers who value forgiveness over looks.
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Pros
- Lots of help in the long irons
- More accuracy and control in the short irons
- Fantastic value
Cons
- Not the best-looking irons
| Category | Mid-Handicap Iron |
| Forgiveness rating | 3.5/5 |
| Handicap range | 14 and above |
| Construction | Cast hollow-body long irons with cavity back short irons |
| 7-iron loft | 29° |
Best Srixon & Cleveland iron for high handicappers and beginners
Every time our test pro hits hybrid irons he finishes the session with a smile on his face, and we question why so many of us insist on making the game harder than it needs to be by playing irons above our ability.
The Cleveland XL Halo launches shots nice and high with a decent spin rate, generating a steep descent angle which means shots will stop nicely when they hit the green.
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Pros
- Extremely easy to hit
- Great distances
- Good height and spin to stop shots on the green
Cons
- Not as much distance as the standard Launcher XL irons
| Category | High-Handicap Iron |
| Forgiveness rating | 5/5 |
| Handicap range | 28 and below |
| Construction | Cast hollow body |
| 7-iron loft | 30° |
Launch monitor data: How the best Srixon & Cleveland irons compared
How we tested the best Srixon & Cleveland irons
To test golf equipment, we create a controlled indoor environment at Keele Golf Centre and use a premium tour-level golf ball (the Srixon Z-Star). We collect all the data from every shot hit, using a Foresight GC Quad launch monitor.
Why do we use a Srixon Z-Star golf ball?
It would be easy to use just one test golf ball brand every year, but that inevitably leads to criticism for being too closely aligned to one manufacturer, especially if that brand’s equipment performs particularly well. To ensure fairness we like to switch manufacturers for the Top Gear test ball each year. For 2023 we’ve used the Srizon Z-Star.
The brand have just revealed their eighth-generation model, and Srixon General Manager Brian Schielke says “finding the right ball for your game is just as important as finding the right irons or driver, it’s the one piece of equipment you use on every single shot”.
Thanks to the previous Z-Star mopping up 31 wins across all tour global tours last year (that’s 15.5% of the wins available) we know the model is trusted by the world’s very best.
Why do we use a pro tester?
Speak to any golf club engineer about product testing and they all talk about needing a repeatable, reliable strike to offer any sort of valuable comparison. So, whilst we accept not all of the equipment included within our tests was designed for our test pro, what our data shows is a great comparison of how clubs in each particular category differ, which is hugely valuable in helping you narrow your choice as a consumer.
We tested 83 different 7-irons, during which our test pro missed a target green at 170 to 200 yards no more than a dozen times. He got a hole-in-one, lipped out, and hit the flag several times, he also loves hitting golf balls all day long. In short, Neil Wain is the perfect club tester due to his consistency in delivering accurate and reliable comparative data.
We would of course always recommend attending a proper fitting session, to ensure any purchase is tailored to your game.
See more about how Today’s Golfer tests equipment.
Buying advice & FAQs
Which Srixon irons are most forgiving?
The Srixon ZX4 are the most forgiving Srixon irons available. Srixon’s partner brand, Cleveland, make irons that are even more forgiving; namely the Cleveland Launcher XL and Launcher XL Halo.
Are Srixon irons good for high-handicappers?
The Srixon ZX4 irons are good for high-handicappers, particularly those hoping to improve, as they will still serve you well into a mid-handicap and below.
What handicap is ZX7 for?
Whilst specifying handicap ranges for irons is always tricky (you could be an excellent ball-striker but have a high handicap due to other areas of the game, for instance) the Srixon ZX7 will typically suit golfers with handicaps of six and below.
What is the difference between Srixon ZX5 and ZX7?
The Srixon ZX7 are a little less forgiving than the ZX5 and have marginally weaker lofts. They are purposely designed to look similar at address, making them a great option for a combo set of the two.
Do any pros use Srixon ZX5?
Tour pros using the Srixon ZX5 include Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry.
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The best Srixon and Cleveland golf irons.
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How the best Srixon & Cleveland irons performed in our test
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The Cleveland Launcher XL is one of the best Cleveland irons
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The Z-Forged II is one of the best Srixon irons
