Srixon ZXi RKT Fairway Woods Compared

The range

Srixon’s ZXi RKT fairway woods cover the 3, 5 and 7 slots. The range is deliberately simple — one family, three lofts, rather than multiple head shapes at each loft.

That simplicity suits most golfers. The choice becomes which lofts you need rather than which of four heads at 15° is right for you.

The 3-wood problem

A 3-wood from the fairway is one of the hardest shots in golf. Low loft, long shaft, and a face that punishes anything less than clean contact.

Count how many times last season you hit a 3-wood off the deck and were genuinely pleased. For most golfers the honest answer is a handful, which makes it an expensive slot.

The 5-wood and 7-wood case

A 5-wood launches more easily, holds greens better and functions from lies where a 3-wood cannot. A 7-wood does all of that more so.

Tour players have been adding high-lofted woods for years. Club golfers benefit even more, because the gap between a good strike and a bad one is wider for us.

If your 3-wood only leaves the bag on a tee, ask whether a 5-wood plus your driver covers the same ground with fewer disasters.

Where the 7-wood really earns its place

Two situations.

Long par threes. A 7-wood holds a green from 190 yards where a 3-iron or a low-launching hybrid will not.

Soft courses. When the ball plugs rather than runs, height is worth more than roll, and a 7-wood delivers height a 3-wood cannot.

Gapping the top of the bag

This is where bags go wrong, because golfers buy by name rather than by carry distance.

1. Establish your driver’s carry.
2. Establish the carry of your longest reliable iron.
3. Fill the space so no gap exceeds roughly 15 yards.
4. If two clubs carry within 8 yards of each other, one of them is redundant.

Names do not matter. A 7-wood and a 3-hybrid may carry identically, in which case you need one, not both.

A setup that works for most golfers

Driver, 5-wood, one hybrid, then irons from 5 or 6 down. Three clubs covering the long game rather than four, freeing a slot for a wedge you will actually use.

Testing them properly

Off grass, never a mat. A mat forgives the fat strike that a fairway wood punishes hardest, so mat testing flatters every fairway wood equally and tells you nothing useful.

If your only option is a mat, at least compare the clubs against each other rather than judging any of them in absolute terms.

Buying tip: If you are buying one fairway wood, make it a 5-wood rather than a 3-wood. It will get used more, from more places, with better results.

Model names current as of September 2026.