Equipment

Brian Gay wins: Further evidence Srixon Z 745 irons remain a cult classic

Published

3 years ago

Nov 2, 2020

This past weekend, at the Bermuda Championship, 48-year-old Brian Gay won his fifth PGA Tour event and earned the third Masters invitation of his career for the 2021 tournament.

Gay is a notorious non-club switcher (Brian Gay Bermuda Championship winning WITB) and up until recently, was still using an Adams 20-degree 9031 Super hybrid, which was finally replaced with a Callaway Apex hybrid. If you trace the lineage of that Apex hybrid from Adams, you can see some similarities, most likely based on the fact that Chip Brewer went from Adams to the CEO and President of Callaway Golf and probably brought some of the former Adams engineers along with him—but that’s a whole other story.

This is about Brian’s irons, the famously popular Srixon Z 745’s. I took the time to cover their lasting popularity close to two years ago and with Brian’s win, I believe there is no better time than now to once again shine some light on this enduring design.

Be sure to also check out the most recent episode of the “On Spec” podcast where I breakdown what makes the Z 745 such a popular club, along with talking about some of the other most popular modern classic clubs.

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For professional and amateur golfers alike, we all share one common goal: to hit our approach shots as close as possible to our intended target. The clubs used most for these shots are irons, and since, for pros, these are the real “money makers,” when they find something they like, they tend to stick with it. (We can say the same thing about putters too)

With irons in mind, I present to you the Srixon Z 745. Released all the way back in 2013, and now officially three models old, these continue to be spotted on a weekly basis all over the PGA Tour and in many better players’ bags alike. At this point, as a club junkie, I’m ready to declare the Z 745 a “modern cult classic” (cue confetti cannons and air horns).

But why?

It’s a simple question with a less than simple answer, but I have a few theories, along with some tech talk that might shed some light on why the Z 745 already has a coveted spot on the cult classic irons list.

Let’s talk business first: Cleveland Srixon is a big golf company, and if you pay attention to many of its staff players’ bags, you will see that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of pressure to change into the newest gear if players are happy. A prime example of this is Rod Pampling, who still uses Cleveland 588MB-shaped (easy to spot this) Srixon “Z” irons (see below). If these aren’t rebranded Cleveland 588 MBs, I’ll eat a pair of socks…

So, let’s get back to the Z 745. This was a big step forward in design as Srixon was reestablishing its irons in North America. A lot of “new” (former Cleveland-focused) staff players quickly made the switch to these. What’s not to love? Shorter compact blade length, beautiful straight top line, not too thick or thin, no badges, forged, well-designed, loft gapping starting at a 46 degree PW, and last but in NO way least the aggressive V.T. Sole design with raised heel and toe. There’s just something about this iron that WORKS!

Speaking to Ian Fraser from Tour Experience Golf (TXG), when asked about the 745s, he had this to say

“The Z 745 were created in a perfect storm; you have a high-quality Endo forging, appealing aesthetics with sharp lines, v-sole and tungsten in the toe to relocate CG. It was one of the fastest players irons we tested at the time”

From personal experience and a retail perspective, I can tell you that at the brand-agnostic custom shop I worked at when these came out, we were selling these at a faster rate than any other single players CB. PERIOD. As a forged iron and used club fanboy, whenever someone asks me about looking for a nice set of used forged irons the 745s are high on my list. This isn’t to say that the following Z765 series wasn’t great, but from judging the adoption rate, there was clearly something about the “45s” that kept them in players’ bags. Even now we see these in a LOT of Srixon staffers and non-staffers bags alike

Keegan Bradley’s bag

Jerry Kelly’s Bag

Jon Curran’s 745s

Even non-staffer and ball striking machine Brian Gay is still rocking a combo set of both Z 545 and 745 irons, along with an Adams Super 9031 (but that’s another story) . On a side note, can we all just take a moment to again acknowledge that BG is a machine. He has one of the slowest swing speeds on tour at 105 mph but has four total wins, just under 22 million in career earnings, and is currently inside the top 100 on the money list. Basically, it proves that with enough practice, I still have a chance to one day play on tour!

I think if you pressed hard enough, you could even get the team at Srixon to admit that the 785s are more of a return to the 745 design features and shape than a progression from the 765s. With the more centered mass in the cavity (a looks thing) and a less rounded toe and topline profile from address, it’s easy to see the inspiration. Even in our own GolfWRX forums, players of all abilities seem to still love and hold onto their Srixon Z 745 irons.

It’s official: Srixon Z 745 irons are modern cult classics.

Do you have a set of Z 745 irons still? Why do you love them? Why have you stuck with them like so many tour players? Would love to hear your feedback in the comments section.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

12 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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