Cleveland Golf ZipCoreXL Irons: Make Forgiveness Sexy Again

Over 3.5 years ago, I reviewed my first set of “players distance” irons. I admitted in that review that I had reached a certain age when I needed a little assistance from club-making engineers to maintain distance and accuracy, even on mis-hits, while preserving some semblance of shot-making control.

I have been playing with those irons ever since, and have done some of my best ball-striking ever with them. To be honest, I suspected that I might never change my irons again.

Then I opened a shipment of the 2024 Cleveland Golf ZipCoreXL Irons ($900, PW-4i steel; $100 graphite). My heart fluttered a little. My wife, who was standing next to me at the time, said, “Oh, calm down.” I think she was jealous.

Why did I get so worked up? Well, because Cleveland’s new version of “players distance” irons are sexier than most in the category, not just in profile, but also in their technology. The ZipCoreXLs are the first irons to incorporate the groove system found in Cleveland’s award-winning wedges. The 4i-7i feature a rougher HydraZip blast with wider, flatter grooves to protect against excessive spin. The 8i-PW have deeper, narrower grooves to provide extra spin. The MainFrame technology provides the face flex and weighting scheme that combine to give these “players distance” irons maximum pop. And finally, the V-sole design promotes a cleaner strike and more workability.

Playing the Cleveland ZipCoreXL Irons

How does all this technological wizardry manifest on the course, you ask? Well, it’s February in Illinois, so I thought my testing would be limited to the indoor simulator at my local course. On Simulator League night, I swapped out my usual 5, 7, and 9-irons for the newer, sexier ZipCoreXLs. That night, we were playing 18 holes, and all the par 3s were around either 150 or 170 yards, within a few yards either way. My 9-iron is my go-to 150 club, and my 7 is my go-to 170 club. Perfect.

After the fourth par 3, my playing partner (who currently carries a +8 handicap in the league) exclaimed, “I have never seen anyone hit their irons – much less brand-new irons they’ve never swung before – to exactly the yardage on every hole!” And sure enough, if the hole was 173, I hit the 7i 173. If it was 148, I hit the 9i 148. Unfortunately, I was closing the face that night a touch early, so I missed all the greens slightly to the left. But the yardages were impeccable.

Then winter unexpectedly buggered off, and on a sunny 47-degree day, I found an open course nearby and decided to test the irons out under real (and really soggy) conditions. In the chilly wind, my distance control was not at the level of the indoor simulator, but every shot I hit with the three ZipCoreXLs I was sent for testing were like lasers at the pin. Best of all, the V-soles never dug into the saturated, rich black soil underlying courses here in Central Illinois, unlike the sharper leading edges of my usual irons.

The verdict on the Cleveland ZipCoreXL Irons

Ever since I shoved my ego aside a few years ago and started playing “players distance” irons, I have resigned myself to the fact that even though my shots can be, at times, admirable, my clubs were destined to be somewhat less than flashy. Rather, they’ve been workmanlike. The golf club equivalent of the dad-bod. Then the ZipCoreXLs walked into my life (well, were carried into it by a UPS driver, but whatever), and suddenly forgiveness and distance-enhancement doesn’t seem so dowdy.

These sticks are sexy, darn it. And I can’t wait for golf season to start in earnest, because can’t wait to show off my new trophy-clubs. I just have to fill the gaps…