Hideki Matsuyama doesn’t swap drivers every season chasing marginal gains. Instead, his bag tends to evolve slowly.
From late 2022 through most of 2025, Matsuyama stayed remarkably consistent with his driver setup. He played the Srixon ZX5 before moving into the ZX5 LS but the underlying profile stayed the same.
In late 2025, he made a change.
The driver change
At the Hero World Challenge in December, Matsuyama had the Srixon ZXi LS in the bag. He won with it.
His driver setup:
- Head: Srixon ZXi LS (9°)
- Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX
What MyGolfSpy high swing speed driver testing shows
In MyGolfSpy’s 2025 driver test for high swing speed players, the ZXi LS finished firmly in the top tier of the field.
- Overall Score: 9.24
- Distance Score: 9.49
- Accuracy Score: 8.16
- Forgiveness Score: 8.46
The ZXi LS was not the most forgiving driver in the test and it didn’t lead the field in accuracy. What it did extremely well was produce speed and distance efficiency while maintaining a playable level of control.
How that fits Matsuyama’s game
Matsuyama’s PGA Tour driving numbers help explain why the ZXi LS made sense.
He ranked 10th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, despite sitting 107th in average driving distance at 304.0 yards and 102nd in fairways hit at 60.71 percent. Matsuyama’s skill off the tee comes from how he efficiently converts his drives into scoring opportunities.
The takeaway
It will be interesting to see how Matsuyama’s driving numbers trend with a newer driver in play, particularly one that’s been on the market for only about a year. If you’ve been playing the same driver for a while and are considering a change, his results may be worth watching.
The post It’s Been Nearly 4 Years Since Hideki Matsuyama Changed Drivers. Here’s What He Chose appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
