Equipment
Brian Gay wins: Further evidence Srixon Z 745 irons remain a cult classic
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.
____________________________________________________________
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
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.
- LIKE143
- LEGIT16
- WOW6
- LOL6
- IDHT1
- FLOP2
- OB1
- SHANK2
Whats in the Bag
Dustin Johnson WITB 2024 (May)
- Dustin Johnson what’s in the bag accurate as of PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (10.5 degrees @12.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution 2.0 Tour Spec X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 HL (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: LA Golf Prototype
Check out more in-hand photos of Dustin Johnson’s clubs here.
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (21 degrees)
Shaft: LA Golf Prototype
9-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (24 degrees)
Shaft: LA Golf Prototype
Check out more in-hand photos of Dustin Johnson’s clubs here.
Irons: TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: TaylorMade MG (52 @54, 60)
Shafts: KBS Tour Custom Black 120 S
Check out more in-hand photos of Dustin Johnson’s clubs here.
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour T3.0
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Check out more in-hand photos of Dustin Johnson’s clubs here.
- LIKE3
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Whats in the Bag
Phil Mickelson WITB 2024 (May)
- Phil Mickelson what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai-Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (9 degrees @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
3-wood: Ping G430 Max (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X
4-wood: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: KBS TD 80 Category 5
Hybrid: Ping Anser (17 degrees)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Prototype 90 X
Irons: Callaway Rogue ST Pro (5), Callaway X Forged 2013 (6-9)
Shafts: KBS Tour-V 125 (5), Mitsubishi MMT 115 TX (6-9)
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10J) Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind 19 (60, 64)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 115 TX
Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Phil Mickelson’s clubs here.
- LIKE3
- LEGIT0
- WOW1
- LOL1
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/20/24): Callaway Triple Diamond Ai smoke 7-wood
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Callaway Triple Diamond Ai smoke 7-wood.
From the seller: (@bogeywoods03): “Triple Diamond ai smoke 7 wood 20 degree with Denali 6.0 70 shaft , hits nukes and comes with og headcover $225 shipped obo.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Callaway Triple Diamond Ai smoke 7-wood
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
- LIKE6
- LEGIT1
- WOW2
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP2
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole5 days ago
Brandel Chamblee says this is the primary reason why Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in 10 years
-
Whats in the Bag6 days ago
Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (May)
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Equipment2 weeks ago
Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
News4 days ago
Scottie Scheffler arrested, charged, and released after traffic incident at Valhalla
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
-
Equipment3 weeks ago
Golf fans left surprised by LIV’s choice of course for its 2024 individual championship event
Brett
Nov 3, 2020 at 8:41 am
I joined the club when the 745s came out from Cobra Forged CBs which I considered some of the best at the time. Since then, I’ve tried the 765s and two sets of 785s. I continue to go back to the 745s because they are (IMO) the most consistent distance, predictable, and most importantly have the best turf interaction. The latter is the most important aspect for consistent ball striking. I belief the raised heel and toe along with the VT sole are what help keep the face square and prevent digging. I even picked up a back up set and set up to the exact specs for when I finally decide these have had enough. I’m sure I’ll try the new ZX7s, but likely will stick with what I know works great.
John T
Nov 3, 2020 at 7:23 am
I’ve the same combo set (4-6 in 545,7-pw in 745) as Brian Gay, picked them up last year for €375 with modus 120 stiff shafts. The best bargain I’ll ever find
Bob Pegram
Nov 3, 2020 at 7:19 am
I looked up the Z745s and Z765s on http://ralphmaltby.com/mpf/srixon/page/2/. The Z745 is rated 417 and the Z765 is rated 473. The Z785 is rated 402. I higher number is supposed to be easier to hit. These are close enough that the Z765 is only marginally easier to hit. All 3 are rated higher than most blades.
Papi
Nov 3, 2020 at 12:39 am
Gaming some z745s now, real nice.
Jeff
Nov 2, 2020 at 10:47 pm
Sweet looking irons, no doubt.