Gear: Srixon ZXi RKT, ZXi RKT LS and ZXi RKT Max drivers
Price: $649.99 with Mitsubishi Kai’Li shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip.
Specs: Titanium face with carbon-fiber crown, adjustable hosel sleeve and interchangeable sole weights.
Available: Oct. 16
Who it’s for: Golfers who want to choose between a low-spin driver for faster swings, a versatile model offering shot-shape control and a high-MOI design that emphasizes launch and forgiveness.
What you should know: The three ZXi RTK drivers feature a new face designed that was created to produce faster ball speeds across a larger area, along with better sound.
The Deep Dive: Designing a driver that can deliver more ball speed is one thing, but making a driver that can deliver more ball speed when
a player misses the sweet spot is another.
That, however, was the challenge that Srixon’s designers took on when they started working on the three new ZXi RKT drivers, and when you look at them, the key technology those designers and engineers are relying on is staring you in the face.
The RKT Face is designed to behave like a single piece of metal, but Srixon combined several materials and structures in creating it to work like a coordinated system that manages how energy travels through hitting area and chassis at impact.
The hitting area itself is made from VR-Titanium, a proprietary titanium alloy that is enhanced with silicon. Srixon claims this blend of materials let designers control flex throughout the face and adjoining portions of the body more effectively.
On the inner-facing side of the hitting area is an enhanced variable-thickness pattern that Srixon calls i-FLEX. By strengthening selected areas, Srixon could make other areas thinner, which results in a more efficient energy transfer and more ball-speed retention when contact is made toward the heel or toe.
While typical drivers rely primarily on the face to flex, Srixon has been using another technology, Rebound Frame, for years to create a second flexing zone. It adds a rigid area behind the face, then flexible region in the chassis, followed by a final rigid area. This lets the face bends at impact, as well as a portion of the body, amplifying the transfer of energy into the ball.
Finally, Srixon has given the three new ZXi RKT drivers Variable Roll Design, which adjusts the face’s curvature to influence the direction and performance of mishits.
According to Srixon, the laser-milled pattern on the face provides more consistent spin when moisture gets between the ball and hitting surface.
The result of all that technology is more ball speed and distance, when you make a solid strike and when you mis-hit a drive, but no one wants to use a club that sounds like a cast iron skillet dropping on a kitchen floor. To improve sound, Srixon added AI-optimized ribs under the carbon fiber crown to produce AcoustiCore. The result, according to the company, is a crisper and more controlled sound.
Each of the three ZXi RKT drivers has all of those features, but the standard, LS and Max models are designed for players with different priorities.
The standard ZXi RKT blends speed with greater forgiveness and workability. Heel and toe weights (10 and 4 grams) allow golfers and fitters to give the club either a draw or a fade bias, making it the most versatile of the three models.
The ZXi RKT LS is the lowest-spinning model. It has a shorter front-to-back profile, deeper face and a pear-shaped appearance with adjustable front and rear weights (10 and 4 grams) that allow golfers to tune the spin rate and launch angle. It is designed primarily for aggressive, faster-swinging players seeking a penetrating flight.
The ZXi RKT Max is Srixon’s highest-MOI driver to date. Its longer front-to-back shape, has a lower center of gravity and a 14-gram back weight to help it produce a higher launch and maximum stability. It should be the best fit for golfers who place forgiveness and confidence ahead of shot-shaping versatility.
David Dusek is a senior Golfweek writer covering golf equipment.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Srixon ZXi RKT drivers feature a new face designed for speed
