Review from the magazine

TG rating

This is a cross between a ‘rescue’ club and a ‘normal’ 5-wood (if anything is ever normal in golf). But the shallow face and high launch angle positions it more in the court of ‘rescue’ than a club you’d pull out for tee shots or 210-yard punts up the fairway.

The shallow face slides under a ball like knife through butter and shoots it high into the air. But the ball doesn’t seem to spin too much. There is a hanging ball flight and it will pierce through a cross-wind with ease.

This is a class act: the Zinedine Zidane of golf clubs. It creates opportunities for you and slides a ball through the middle of the park with alarming regularity. The XXIO is what I would call the ‘banker’ club. You know it’s going to work for you. Its performance will never be in question. Srixon have designed the XXIO meticulously – but I would have expected them to if they were going to be able to justify the £200 price tag.

Verdict: “Srixon’s men in Japan keep producing golf clubs that ooze class. Expensive, but the finish is first class. This baby sings off a lush fairway lie. Better players will have bundles of fun with the XXIO.”