Srixon Z 545 & Z 745 Driver Preview

[CAA_Beat]

Nate, I've witnessed the awesome that is Optiforce in your hands....how's the comparison of the two?

I'm not sure I want to hear the answer to this.

 

[Nate]

Let's bring on the Srixon 745 driver talk!! Ok, first off all my work with the driver thus far has been Morgan Cup weekend only with one slight twist which I'll save for later. And the time that I spent with the driver and 3W was mostly limited to on course play only. Let me explain:

As Morgan has stated in other threads, us getting these drivers almost didn't happen. In talking to Keith, the very cool and very hip Cleveland/Srixon guru on Friday, he said that his people came to him 3 weeks before the #THPMC and said it wasn't going to happen. My new hero Keith then replied, "Not acceptable, make it happen by the event." These bad boys came in around noon Friday of Staff Sponsor Day. The 9 hole afternoon round with the clubs was rained out so that basically left testing this big dog out in my MC matches Saturday and Sunday.

Let me go back to what I call Ordering Week. Once we saw the option of the 545 and 745 drivers my thoughts raced to the 745 430cc driver head. I've been using the Optiforce 440cc driver and thought that might be a good choice for me. However, I kept hearing from others that this was going to be a lower spinning head than the 545. It is well documented my losing battle I had with the Cobra Bio Cell + driver. I could not get that driver airborne even with a Prolaunch shaft put in it. So needless to say, when I heard "lower spinning" some flags went up in my head. I pondered for a few days and finally someone replied to me with one of my questions, "Get the driver you want. You are a good enough player to game both of them." It was like Superman getting all his powers back after they were taken away. Exactly what I needed to hear at the time. 745 it would be.

I did manage to get a few range swings in on Saturday morning before the matches and immediately one doubt was erased. I had ordered the 10.5 however Morgan had informed us that we all would be receiving the 9.5 instead. Well, that's wasn't going to help with the low spin/getting the ball airborne now! I did manage to crank the loft up to what I thought was around a 10, except I had it in the upright position which I found out after I got home. No biggie. But the first ball I hit that Saturday morning was a mid launching bullet that had plenty of height for me and my concerns. Hit a few more with the same results and shut it down. The height and spin with the 745 was about what I was seeing with my Optiforce. Very good news all around.

The head shape was very pleasing and comparable to the Optiforce which I enjoyed. The 745 face was a little higher but I couldn't tell unless I was looking at pictures of them side by side. I felt the weight in the 745 and like with the irons could really feel the club head on the backswing. I normally like to play a little cutter with my driver. I hit 4 drives in the AM match and 1 drive in the PM match. Each hit the fairway and would say 3 of the 5 were ideal drives for me. Ironically enough the 3 were the last 3 I had hit.

Sunday I again hit maybe 3-4 drives on the range and saved most of it for the course. My miss on Saturday was a little more right than I liked. I hit driver 5 times on Sunday and hit probably 2 of the 5 ideal. I should probably take out the 1st tee bunker I hit and chalk it up to nerves on high alert response. But all and all I felt really good with the driver in hand and just was left wanting a bunch more range time with it to get it grooved.

Well, when we left from the weekend coers PM'd Alex from Cleveland/Srixon to see if there was a better description for the face angle changes we could make by moving the shaft around. Alex did send him a great summary with pictures that helped a lot. I had lofted up in the 10ish range but was in the upright position. I really have no idea what that means or if it was causing my balls to leak a bit more right on my misses but I changed it at home and went directly outside to my backyard and dropped 3 balls. Hit them all perfect, with the correct height and ball flight I wanted.

So needless to say, I am very excited about getting back out to the course this weekend. The Kuro Kage stock shaft held up great and it didn't feel too loose at the bottom of the swing. I think this is going as far as the Optiforce with a shorter shaft in the 745. That is pretty exciting.

 

[Drumdog]

Great looking sticks. I would love to get my hands on them for some time.

 

[GolferGal]

Remember everyone, if you have any questions about these drivers that cannot be answered by a Morgan Cup guy, please send me a PM and I will get your questions to JB and Mike Dean to have answered when they visit Cleveland/Srixon HQ later this week.

 

[JRod]

I need one of these. Like.

Now.

 

[Nate]

I need one of these. Like.

Now.

I think you would quite like this. I keep joking about it but I gave Jeff Spicoli the keys to the 745 on Sunday evening on the 17th tee box after the MC and he went out barefooted and killed 2 balls down the fairway. When Jeff/John gets quiet after a shot usually means he's happy.

 

[golfdawg]

very good looking, interesting to see the groves all the way across, much like the Epon drivers i use to lust after.

 

[JRod]

I think you would quite like this. I keep joking about it but I gave Jeff Spicoli the keys to the 745 on Sunday evening on the 17th tee box after the MC and he went out barefooted and killed 2 balls down the fairway. When Jeff/John gets quiet after a shot usually means he's happy.

I love the 545. I think i would like the 745 Even more

 

[coers]

I love the 545. I think i would like the 745 Even more

Common back down here and you can hit her again

 

[JRod]

Common back down here and you can hit her again

Probably just mug you and take it.

Hawks is closer anyways.

 

[coers]

Probably just mug you and take it.

Hawks is closer anyways.

Haha I could see you doing that lol. And yea his is just over the river.

 

[Nate]

Nate, I've witnessed the awesome that is Optiforce in your hands....how's the comparison of the two?

Pretty close I think! The one example I can use and that sticks out in my head as a good comparison was the 15th hole at Caledonia. In my practice round on Thursday morning I used the Optiforce and hit it about as good as I could. So in our PM match Saturday I used the 745 off the same tees and put it just about the same spot as my drive on Thursday, maybe even a bit further. Here's the kicker:

The 745 shaft is 1 inch less than the Optiforce (45 inches compared to the 46 inches). So if I can get the same length but maybe gain a bit more control with the shorter shaft, I might have a pretty cool outcome.

Dean (ddec) was on the box with us that Saturday and could validate the beat the ball took.

 

[T2GRN18]

Pretty close I think! The one example I can use and that sticks out in my head as a good comparison was the 15th hole at Caledonia. In my practice round on Thursday morning I used the Optiforce and hit it about as good as I could. So in our PM match Saturday I used the 745 off the same tees and put it just about the same spot as my drive on Thursday, maybe even a bit further. Here's the kicker:

The 745 shaft is 1 inch less than the Optiforce (45 inches compared to the 46 inches). So if I can get the same length but maybe gain a bit more control with the shorter shaft, I might have a pretty cool outcome.

Pretty awesome! I don't feel so bad for being a short knocker now....seeing your Optiforce is "long" lol. It will be interesting to see if the added shaft length in the 745 bring you out to Jeff John long

 

[Nate]

Pretty awesome! I don't feel so bad for being a short knocker now....seeing your Optiforce is "long" lol. It will be interesting to see if the added shaft length in the 745 bring you out to Jeff John long

Opposite, the shaft in the 745 is 45 inches. The shaft in the Optiforce is 46 inches!

And let's not kid ourselves....none of us will ever be Jeff/John long. Our backs wouldn't allow it!

 

[WardF]

On my Z545 driver I went with the Stock for our order offering Kuro Kage Black HPB 60x. Curious as to what the other guys went with.

As for the 545 to 745 comparison other than different cc 460 vs 430, you can see that the only Weight port in the middle of the 745. The 545 has one there and in the back--the filler in the front port-- ours is a blank or filler type and it looks like it is there for the tour types to move weight around for different flight options--really curious to see if the weight kits when released will allow some manipulation of weight positioning (beyond just SW adjustments). Generally speaking the further forward the COG the more the workability would increase (guessing based on other golf driver marketing). Although with other driver models from 2014 the 430 to 460 comparison in similar weighting gave me the potential for a more drastic miss even though the middle face contact of both models was awesome--so I stuck with 545. I would love to hear how the tour guys are adjusting weighting to change this feature on the 545. Several 545s are still in play--but that is all internet based info and not Srixon certified data.

 

[mpeterson]

On my Z545 driver I went with the Stock for our order offering Kuro Kage 60x. Curious as to what the other guys went with.

I went for the KK Black too. It's a shaft I've gotten along with every time I've tried it in a club.

 

[coers]

I went with the Fubuki Tour 53 shaft. Defiantly has given me that optimal flight I've been looking for.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

I went with the black tie shaft in mine. Currently dealing with a teething baby, so many more thoughts coming. First initial impression- I love the simple black design on the head. It's pretty bada$$ to me. The feel is similar to the Cleveland drivers of the past- as in very lively. Read explosive. When struck well, this driver is 10 yards longer than my prior gamer. The sound is pleasing, and much improved from the past Cleveland models I have gamed. I am currently still messing around with my settings which has caused some contact issues so I'll hold off on commenting on the forgiveness aspect, I am impressed but as with Nate, I need to put some work in as I still have yet to take this club to the range. It has been put into play 6 times including the MC with mixed (but long!) results

 

[emart2173]

I went with the black tie shaft in mine. Currently dealing with a teething baby, so many more thoughts coming. First initial impression- I love the simple black design on the head. It's pretty bada$$ to me. The feel is similar to the Cleveland drivers of the past- as in very lively. Read explosive. When struck well, this driver is 10 yards longer than my prior gamer. The sound is pleasing, and much improved from the past Cleveland models I have gamed. I am currently still messing around with my settings which has caused some contact issues so I'll hold off on commenting on the forgiveness aspect, I am impressed but as with Nate, I need to put some work in as I still have yet to take this club to the range. It has been put into play 6 times including the MC with mixed (but long!) results

The black tie in Cleveland heads is a good combination. This was the best shaft/head combo for me when i was contemplating purchasing the Classic or 588 Custom but since I was going through some swing changes at the time I didn't want to throw something else into the mix. Did you go with Reg or Stiff?

 

[mpeterson]

I went with the black tie shaft in mine. Currently dealing with a teething baby, so many more thoughts coming. First initial impression- I love the simple black design on the head. It's pretty bada$$ to me. The feel is similar to the Cleveland drivers of the past- as in very lively. Read explosive. When struck well, this driver is 10 yards longer than my prior gamer. The sound is pleasing, and much improved from the past Cleveland models I have gamed. I am currently still messing around with my settings which has caused some contact issues so I'll hold off on commenting on the forgiveness aspect, I am impressed but as with Nate, I need to put some work in as I still have yet to take this club to the range. It has been put into play 6 times including the MC with mixed (but long!) results

I think this summarizes my feelings on the driver right now as well - I've had some misses into the next fairway (had a serious case of the blocks that had nothing to do with the club) that were 20 yards ahead of where I was looking based on when I've hit balls over there before. It's definitely longer than my previous driver, which was longer than any driver I'd played before that. I'd attribute the difference in distance to getting closer to optimal spin in this case. It was also long for me at the MC, though I'm attributing at least some of that to adrenaline.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

The black tie in Cleveland heads is a good combination. This was the best shaft/head combo for me when i was contemplating purchasing the Classic or 588 Custom but since I was going through some swing changes at the time I didn't want to throw something else into the mix. Did you go with Reg or Stiff?

Xstiff broski. I'm violent haha

 

[emart2173]

Sweet. pedal to the medal, gotta love it. I have the White board 72 in my g25, which is the only driver i actually like the Diamana in, will definitely being messing with different shafts when i finally get to hit these. I like KK shafts as well, have the stock stiff in the Nike Covert 1.0 which my brother is currently gaming.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

Sweet. pedal to the medal, gotta love it. I have the White board 72 in my g25, which is the only driver i actually like the Diamana in, will definitely being messing with different shafts when i finally get to hit these. I like KK shafts as well, have the stock stiff in the Nike Covert 1.0 which my brother is currently gaming.

It's a solid set up. I need to tinker with the settings but I really like what I am seeing right now distance wise.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

I think you would quite like this. I keep joking about it but I gave Jeff Spicoli the keys to the 745 on Sunday evening on the 17th tee box after the MC and he went out barefooted and killed 2 balls down the fairway. When Jeff/John gets quiet after a shot usually means he's happy.

Well it was easy to ht the 745 well. It's a lot more forgiving than I thought it would be.

 

[Nate]

Well it was easy to ht the 745 well. It's a lot more forgiving than I thought it would be.

I think your on to something.