Video summary
The video begins with the host reconsidering his stance on iron technology after testing a new set of Strickland ZXI irons, which challenge his previous preference for traditional solid-body clubs. He emphasizes that while hitting a crisp, forged iron from the center remains the ultimate golfing sensation, these new hollow-bodied irons finally bridge the gap between modern engineering and authentic feel. The host explains that for years, hollow-body irons were often criticized for having a "clicky" sound and lackluster touch compared to pure forged models, but this specific release changes that narrative entirely by combining a modern profile with a soft, responsive face that mimics the quality of traditional player's clubs.
A significant portion of the review focuses on the unique construction of these irons, particularly their V-Soul cavity designed to optimize ball and turf interaction. The host is impressed by how the ball cuts through the turf and rolls out consistently, even when struck poorly off the bottom grooves or heel/toe areas. Unlike many game-improvement irons that simply increase loft for distance without regard for feel, these ZXI models maintain a standard 31-degree loft for a seven iron while offering substantial forgiveness. This allows players to hit high, stopping shots even on mishits, effectively narrowing the performance gap between player's and game-improvement categories without sacrificing the desirable feedback felt in the hands.
The host also highlights the aesthetic and visual appeal of the irons, noting their sleek modern design that avoids excessive loft jacking or chunky profiles often seen in distance-focused clubs. During a round at Portal Signature Golf, he demonstrates the club's ability to shape shots and stop the ball on greens, ultimately declaring them the best hollow-bodied forged irons he has ever tested. He concludes that Strickland has successfully created a versatile lineup that caters to a wide audience, allowing golfers to integrate hybrids for long shots while retaining high-quality forged feel in their mid-to-short irons, effectively cornering the market for a complete set that suits various skill levels and preferences.
Read the full video transcript
You know, today might just be the day
that you see a YouTuber
change his mind. It's not going to be
for the first time you've seen it, is
it?
But is today the day? And are these the
irons that going to make me change my
tune and consider
going backwards and putting more irons
in the back? Well, that remains to be
seen, but what I do know is this week
has seen the launch of a new set of
irons that have certainly made me
question a few things about what I've
said in recent months. And you see, one
of the things that will never change is
hitting a crisp iron out of the middle
with a forged face. Is there a better
feeling in golf? I'm not sure there is.
Sit down ball.
The first thing irons have got to do to
feel fantastic is be forged. And these
irons are forged very much in a modern
way, in a modern profile and in a genre
of irons that to me are the only type of
irons that have moved significantly
forward in the past 5 years or so. And
these could be the best so far. So, if
you're a traditionalist, you love irons,
you love forged irons, and you love the
sound of a well struck iron, then stick
around because these could well be for
you. But for us to truly appreciate what
they sound like, I'm going to take my
microphone off, stick it by the ball,
and let's see what a good iron sounds
like off a forge face.
I hope we did pick that audio up because
to be honest with you, that was pure. It
felt incredible. It was a five iron. I
normally tell everybody to stay well
clear of these things. These, however,
I'm not quite so sure. So, in recent
years, the only major advancements we've
seen in terms of iron technology has
been in the hollow body category. And
this week, Stricken released a new
lineup of irons known as ZXI. Now, we're
going to pay attention to the five and a
five plus. In essence, if you talk about
Shrixen, aside from the golf ball, you
will say that irons are pretty darn
good. That's no different with these.
However, they've built in some
attributes that make them, I suppose,
almost a game improvement iron, and
that's the kind of help and assistance
you're going to get out of these things.
but coupled up with super forgiveness
and feel and they also look pretty
decent as well. One thing that's been
prevalent in stricks and irons for quite
some time is their V soul and uh it's to
aid with ball and turf interaction and
I'm certainly
impressed with it from out of the roof
which it seems to cut through
and roll out and roll out a bit more.
That's come up a tad shortand. But what
I do want to talk about is that soft
feel that is coming out of these irons
that is quite quite surprising because
the idea of a forged body and face in a
hollowbodied iron, well that's not a
first, but there's always been an issue
for me in that they don't feel like a
truly forged iron until now. The biggest
compliment I can give is that if you
hadn't have told me or if Strickland had
told me that these were hollowbodied,
I'd have never have guessed it. I'd have
put them down as a pure forged iron. And
for me, that's the biggest compliment I
can give. Because if you go back through
the history of my reviews of
hollowbodied irons, they pretty much all
say the same thing in that I find them
nice but still a little bit clicky off
the club face and by no means a truly
forged iron. However, this is very, very
different indeed. And the biggest
compliment, like I said, I can pay to
strien. What I also like about both
models is that I'm not looking down on a
huge chunk of game improvement iron.
These are sleek modern irons that to be
honest with you, whether it's the five,
the ZXA5 or that 5 plus, they uh they
look superb over the ball.
Oh dear. And that's a five iron crisp as
you like. Back in the bag. Oh my god.
Surely not. The other thing I really
like about this lineup is they've not
just jacked lofts and uh claimed huge
distance gains. I think we're all past
that. These are pretty much they're not
traditional, but in the sense of
the modern iron, they're very much in
and around that 31°,
which is uh pretty standard right now
for a seven iron. and certainly fairly
weak, I suppose, in the game improvement
category.
That's an interesting one.
That's that one that
bottom groovy.
It's still going. That's why I'm still
looking that way. I do a lot of these
tests the same things where it's great
when you're hitting the ball well and
the T-shot was really well struck. Ball
fight fantastic. that wasn't that was
very much off the bottom grooves and a
bit healy at the same time. But what
you'll notice is the ball still traveled
and got down there. And I think for me
that's been my criticism of irons versus
alternatives being hybrids or fairway
woods is that little bit more
forgiveness that you see from those
latter two. However, it was really good
to see there poor strike ball flight.
still got up there plenty high enough,
but still got to the fringe of the green
as well in what was a pretty dire swing
and strike. So, that's very much a
thumbs up for me. I'm going to put some
numbers on screen for you now to show
the differences in loft between the five
or the i5 and the i5 plus. And if I'm
honest with you, I've got both sets of
irons in the bag and I'm just grabbing
for uh the number whether it be a 97 or
a five. There are my samples in both.
I'm not really paying much attention to
which is which. And quite a valid point
is that when you stood over the ball, I
can't really recognize the difference
between the two. Case in point, I have
no idea what that one is. That's the
five, the i5. Little bit of a little bit
of a nudge with a nine iron.
Should get somewhere close. Swing ball.
Yeah, it's nice. And again, that's that
feel element that you can get down that
shorter end of the bag. You're getting
plenty of feedback back into their
hands. And a real playable set of irons
these are. But I just love the idea that
they're aimed at a really wide audience
that can handle these things, but get
all the kind of nicities out of a shiny
set of clubs and that great feel that
you get out of normally a sort of
players club in that forge category.
Right, let's finish things off. We've
got 142 to a pin on the 14th at Portal
signature golf hole. It's it's a
beautiful stunning hole. We've got a
camera on the green there just to see if
we can get something close. And to get
it close, we're going to have to come in
from the right hand side.
That overdone it. Come on ball wind.
Just hold it and that could be good.
Oh, it's long.
Maybe just come back off that back bank.
But a real nice strike to finish. And
the idea of being able to shape a ball
with these irons is well, we got that
one drawing. Maybe even a little bit too
much there at the end. Look, these irons
are uh would I say the best hollow
bodied forged irons I've tested? I think
I'm going have to say absolutely
because I can't fault them in any way.
Um,
they perform really good, but there's
lots of irons that perform really good,
but then they do it in a compact design.
They do it without jack loft, so we're
not getting distances. We've hit a
whatever probably in the end there a 150
plus 7 iron with a nice easy swing with
great ball flight, stopping power, all
the rest of it. So, they've done
everything. And then like I said,
they've managed to get a feel into a
hollow bodies hollow hollowbodied iron
that I've not quite felt before because
it hasn't got that clicky sound. It
feels super soft and just all round.
They tick every box. Would I swap
that low end, that five and four iron
into uh the potential of
hybrids or alternatives? I'm not quite
sure. But what I also like about
Strickson is they've brought out a wide
range now that can very much be
integrated so that you can look at
putting hybrids into the bag. You can
look about putting their other lineup of
irons into that long end of the bag
again, which is just a bigger sort of
chunkier profile again. So they've
really tried to corner this market of
building the perfect set of irons that
suits your game from the short end right
the way to the long end of the bag. Well
done, Shrixen. Good oldfashioned review.
I've done one of these for quite a
while. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks
for watching. I'll see you soon. I
better go and see if I can make that
birdie, eh?