Gear: Srixon ZXi7, Zxi5, ZXi4, ZXiU irons

Price: $1,299.99 (ZXi7, ZXi5) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grips. KBS Tour Lite shafts (ZXi4). $239.99 each (ZXiU)

Specs: Forged S15C stainless steel (ZXi7); forged S20C stainless steel (ZXi5); cast SUS17-47 stainless steel chassis with forged HT-1770 face (ZXi4); forged S20C stainless steel chassis with forged HT-1770 face (ZXiU) Available: Jan. 24

Who they're for: Golfers who want a soft-feel iron that emphasizes control and feel (ZXi7); players who want feel with enhanced distance (ZXi5); mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more feel with extra forgiveness (ZXi4); and players looking for a driving iron that delivers more distance and height (ZXiU).

What you need to know: Srixon developed a new forging process that allowed the brand to use softer materials in its irons for enhanced feel, then created different shapes that offer a variety of players different blends of control, feel and forgiveness.

The deep dive: Brooks Koepka demands a high level of feel and control in his irons, as do Shane Lowry and United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. You want more feel and control, too, but there’s a good chance you are also in need of more forgiveness than those major winners. Extra distance would be nice, too.

With the ZXi family of irons, Srixon has released a family of clubs that are forged for enhanced feel and also offer varying levels of forgiveness and power to accommodate the needs of a wide variety of players.

Srixon and its forging house in Japan worked to develop a way to enhance the feel and elongate the metal strands within the heads, as well as strengthen specific areas to improve performance, sound and the feel of impact. Srixon calls this process Condensed Forging, and it involves adding more steel before a secondary forging strike to specific areas of the head. This allows Srixon to use a softer material and still obtain the support and strength required. The process also involves subjecting it to a series of heat treatments.

To help all the ZXi irons work through the turf more efficiently, Srixon added the brand’s V.T. Sole. It pushes the bounce forward and creates a seam in the middle of the sole that helps each club avoid digging and maintain its speed throughout the hitting area.

Srixon ZXi7

The ZXi7 irons have the shortest blade length, thinnest topline and least offset of any ZXi iron, making them the choice for control-oriented accomplished players.

The Condensed Forging process allowed Srixon designers to use S15C stainless steel in the ZXi7, the softest material the brand has used in an iron. Previously, irons made with this material would bend after just a few rounds of golf, but extra material added at the hosel and behind the topline strengthens these heads without making them feel hard, so elite players can get the benefit of S15C without worrying that the lofts, lie angles or other aspects of the irons will be altered prematurely by use.

According to Srixon, the ZXi7, which is a single-piece forged iron, is 7 percent softer than the ZX7 MkII iron it replaces, while the faces of the ZXi5 and ZXiU are 14 percent softer.

Srixon added a small piece of tungsten to the toe of the ZXi7 to offset the weight of the hosel and pull the ideal hitting area into the middle of the face. The ZXi7 iron also has an updated version of Srixon’s PureFrame design. Behind the hitting area, Srixon enlarged the area of thick material, so the vibrations are decreased by more than 9 percent without adding a dampener, a badge or making the irons larger.

Srixon ZXi5

The ZXi5 irons, forged using S20C stainless steel, are a better-player’s distance iron that is slightly larger than the ZXi7, and it has a longer blade length and wider sole. The Condensed Forging process adds more material under the topline to stiffen that area without sacrificing feel.

The ZXi5 also has an updated version of Srixon’s MainFrame face. It has channels in the inner-face portions of the hitting area – below the topline, in the toe and above the leading edge – that allow the face to flex even more, especially on thin-struck shots.

Like the ZXi7, the ZXi5 has a small piece of tungsten in the toe.

Srixon ZXi4

The ZXi4 is a game-improvement iron that features a hollow-body design, which allows the face to flex more efficiently and generate more ball speed. The chassis is made from cast SUS17-47 stainless steel, and the forged face plate is from a harder HT-1170 stainless steel.

The ZXi4 has an updated MainFrame face that broadens the sweet spot, along with a larger blade length, thicker topline and wider sole than the ZXi5. Srixon added a high-density tungsten bag inside the head of the ZXi4 to lower the center of gravity and help golfers get shots up in the air more easily.

Srixon ZXiU

This utility iron is designed for players who want hybrid-like distance but prefer the look and flight of a long iron. As with the ZXi7 and ZXi5, it has a forged body and face to go along with its hollow-body construction.

The SUP10 stainless steel face plate has an updated, two-channel MainFrame face to broaden the sweet spot, along with a Condensed Forging area behind and below the topline to stiffen that area and enhance sound and feel. A high-density tungsten piece has been added low and in the back of the sole to lower the center of gravity and encourage a higher-flying shot.

From a shaping standpoint, the ZXiU looks like the popular U85 utility iron, with a slightly wider sole and more offset. The muscle in the back of the head is also less visible when a player looks down in the address position.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Srixon releases the ZXi7, Zxi5, ZXi4 and ZXiU irons