Srixon rethought its whole process for new ZXi RKT metalwoods

Srixon isn’t just announcing a new lineup of drivers; it’s a complete overhaul of how the company thinks about metalwoods.

The new ZXi RKT line of metalwoods is the product of a brand new development process for Dunlop Sports (the parent company of Cleveland, Srixon and XXIO), which is now focusing on the Srixon brand as their main platform for metalwoods and irons.

“It was overall just like rethinking how we design woods and getting it more geared towards this market and kind of the PGA players,” Patrick Ripp, Srixon’s Tour Engineering Manager, told GOLF. “From there, we developed a whole Tour prototyping team and a lot of the engineers that work on that, were working with the Tour and other products and had good relationships with the players and good relationships with the reps and really just started solving the problems that we had seen.”

The result is a lineup of drivers that has already recorded a major championship victory and a high-profile DP World Tour win before even being officially released. Both Ryan Fox and Shane Lowry picked up huge wins in the last two months gaming the ZXi RKT LS+ model.

Several Srixon staffers who were previously playing competitive products, like Lucas Glover and Sepp Straka, have also moved into the new ZXi RKT drivers.

It’s more evidence of the fact that this driver release is way different than any before for Srixon.

Keep reading below for more on the Srixon ZXi RKT woods, including my take on the release.

Take a cue from Tour

Srixon knew they had a great thing going with irons and golf balls both on the PGA Tour and at retail, but woods were not seeing the same success. In the past, Dunlop Sports had focused on the Cleveland brand for producing metalwoods, but as the brands evolved, Ripp said, Srixon began to take over, albeit with more conservative entries.

Now the company is focused entirely on producing metalwoods under the Srixon name, with Cleveland exiting the space earlier this year. The shift started with last year’s ZXi metalwoods, but Ripp acknowledged there was more work to be done.

“We had some good ball speed in that, but we knew we had some other issues with spin and, most particularly, the sound and the shapes were very similar,” he said. “So, it was a big push just from this market in our U.S. Tour to really step up the woods.

“We’ve had such good success with the irons, the wedges have always been really good. Our golf ball’s been really good and we just really need to level up on the woods and kind of reinvest our energy in making better Tour-quality woods and then hitting woods that meet this kind of U.S. market in a better performance category.”

With that, Srixon created a new Tour prototyping team specifically to empower its PGA Tour staff professionals to help shape what they wanted the next driver to look, feel and, perhaps most importantly, sound like.

The result was greater separation between the three models, like a deeper face and more compact pear shape on the LS model, and a redesigned laser face milling pattern on the face to improve alignment and spin retention in wet conditions.

Timing for the Tour launch, which took place at the Travelers Championship, the week after the U.S. Open, was also deliberate. Srixon wanted to get the drivers in players’ hands as soon as possible, but during a week when they weren’t prepping for a major.

That timing paid off and the whole process was validated when Fox hoisted the Claret Jug in July, using a ZXi RKT LS+ to split the 72nd fairway on his way to a closing birdie.

Putting the RKT in the face

The core innovation of the new line is, aptly, the new RKT face technology, which is actually a combo of a few different things.

Srixon is introducing a VR Titanium material in the new multi-thickness face with the goal of increasing ball speed on more parts of the face. This is also combined with an updated version of the i-Flex face introduced in the original ZXi generation.

There’s a similar goal behind the new variable roll profile of the face, specifically the roll of the high toe area, which is an attempt to steer those shots more on line.

“It’s really just more forgiveness and off-center impacts,” Ripp said. “And then the new face material as well has allowed us to kind of, again, push the ball speed a bit further than the previous generation.”

The final part of the system is the Rebound Frame, which now uses two flex zones to boost ball speed on off-center hits.

Making sound a priority

One element that was a huge priority for Srixon was improving the sound of its drivers.

“That’s going to be our biggest upgrade that we spent a lot of time on, just from the chassis, just the general shapes of the head into like the design applied to the chassis, then our sound-optimized rib system, and just how unique some of the ribbing is,” Ripp said. “That was a big overhaul, just how can we make these drivers sound the way we want them to, per model and per weight location.”

The ZXi RKT drivers introduce new Acousticore technology to tune the sound of each head to match what the target player might expect.

Ripp points out that sound is often one of the first things that players notice when trying a driver for the first time. There were also specific sound targets for each head.

“We kind of stumbled upon this as we were doing some of the research and the testing with the better players,” Ripp said. “They have an idea of what a driver should sound like based on the look. And we were trying to dial in what a really good Max head sounds like.

“Like the most muted is going to be our LS, pretty neutral one that sounds really crisp and clean is that standard and the Max still sounds really good.”

The ZXi RKT lineup

The new ZXi RKT woods line includes three driver heads (Standard, LS, and Max), plus one fairway wood and one hybrid.

ZXi RKT

What is it: The standard ZXi RKT model has Srixon’s traditional shape based on the ZX5 drivers and has heel-to-toe adjustable weighting via two sole weights. The stock heavy weight is in the heel position.

Available lofts: 9.0˚, 10.5˚

Who it’s for: The widest range of players who like Srixon’s shape and want an improved sound and feel.

ZXi RKT LS

What is it: A compact, pear-shaped 460 cc driver with fore-and-aft CG adjustability via two sole weights. Compared to the last generation, the face was made taller based on Tour feedback, making the head more compact and more appealing to faster players.

Available lofts: 8.0˚, 9.0˚, 10.5˚

Who it’s for: Faster players who need to kill spin and want a more muted sound.

ZXi RKT MAX

What is it: The largest profile of the ZXi RKT family, which creates Srixon’s highest MOI driver to date. The Max has a single adjustable weight in the rear to alter the swingweight.

Available lofts: 9.0˚, 10.5˚, 12.0˚

Who it’s for: Players seeking maxium forgiveness on off-center strikes and stability.

ZXi RKT Fairway

What is it: A single fairway wood model offers a cleaner, redesigned crown from the previous generation, eliminating the step crown. The RKT fairway wood has one centrally placed sole weight to help control swing weight, especially for different length builds. The fairway wood has the same RKT face technology as the rest of the line.

Available lofts: 3+ (13.5˚), 3 (15˚), 5 (18˚), 7 (21˚)

Who it’s for: Golfers who like a traditional and compact-shaped fairway wood.

ZXi RKT Hybrid

What is it: Like the fairway wood, the ZXi hybrid features a new adjustable sole weight and RKT face technology. The RKT hybrid features a slightly higher CG to help players produce a more penetrating ball flight with more spin.

Available lofts: 2 (17˚), 3 (19˚), 4 (22˚), 5 (25˚), 6 (28˚)

Who it’s for: Players who want a lower-flying long iron replacement than a high-lofted fairway wood.

My take: Srixon is a serious player in the driver market now

If Srixon’s ZXi woods were a small step in the right direction, then the RKT woods are a giant leap.

With each model, Srixon has taken a dramatic step forward in ball speed, forgiveness, look, sound and feel. The sound is so dramatically different on the ZXi LS that I had to double-check the sole to make sure I was actually hitting the right driver.

The last generation of Srixon drivers kept up with many of their competitors in the speed department, but the sound was a non-starter for too many players. Give credit where credit is due, Srixon acknowledged this and has fixed it with the new lineup.

The new ZXi fairway woods (which have a major title too in Ryan Fox’s bag) will also be a major contender in the fitting bay thanks to the new cleaner look and easy-to-launch profile. I found the 3-wood super easy to pick off the turf without taking any divot.

Finally, Srixon has arrived as a serious player in the metalwoods market and if you don’t believe that, just look at the number of Srixon players who have quickly moved into the new models, even those who weren’t playing a Srixon driver before.

Price, Specs and Availability

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Srixon’s new ZXi RKT Metalwoods are available for pre-order starting Sept. 22 and will arrive at retail locations on Oct. 16, the same date as the second generation ZXi irons.

All three of the ZXi RKT drivers will retail for $649.99, while the fairway wood is priced at $379.99 and the hybrid is $329.99.

The stock shaft options are from the Mitsubishi Kai’li Dark Waves family (60 White, 60 Blue or 50 Red CB) for the drivers and fairway woods and the Mitsubishi MMT HY for the hybrid. More options are available through customization.

Want to find the best driver for your game in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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