My Golf Spy Ball Lab Report-Srixon Z-Star

[Golfspy_CG2 31,659]

Here's the results on Srixon's flagship ball.  Share your thoughts below.

 

[MGoBlue100 2,605]

Always been a fan of Srixon balls. Read the review, and ordered the 3dz for price of 2dz deal!


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[TR1PTIK 3,492]

I think this is the result everyone expected to see from Srixon. The value proposition of these with Srixon's frequent promotional offers is quite good as well - better than what the report suggests (same could be said for DTC brands that offer multi-dozen discounts of course).

One thing of particular note though... DANG THOSE COVERS ARE THIN!!! 

[Berg Ryman 5,409]

Srixon players breathe a sigh of relief. Appears there may be an issue with the different manufacturing plants between the two balls with that Indonesia plant being a bit more "hands off" for Srixon rather than the production plant in Japan. The only think that irks me, and this is more as an XV player, the layer issues that show up here make me question how they might show up in a 4 piece. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

[DiscipleofPenick 3,788]

I already made the switch to this ball this year. Good to know the numbers match what I see in performance on the course. When they run the BOGOs this ball can't be beat.

Take Dead Aim

[greggarner 1,250]

I'm really encouraged by this. I have been so pleased with the XV, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's at least as good of a report. Everyone else may have different experience, of course, but the difference in playability of the regular Z-Star compared to the XV is night and day. On a blind test you couldn't have convinced me that they were from the same company.

Prior to the Q-Star report, I had toyed with the idea of putting it into play since, in theory at least, it should be lower spin than the Z-Star (which is way too much spin for me), but with only a slight price increase between the Q-Star and the XV and the quality issues with the former? I'll stick with the XV.

[2puttbogey 426]

Great to see Srixon premium balls are on the same levy of quality as the others. Now I’m interested to see if the non tour balls from the other OEMs have some of the issues that the q-star tour had.


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[tommc23 12,795]

I keep trying other balls this year but I always go back and for between Prov1x and Z star XV. The XV being my preferred but not all my local courses have them and i only buy a sleeve a round because i haven't been losing balls which is why my scores have been dropping.

[GolfSpy_THV 1,330]

Glad to hear the news about the z-star and that I don't have to chuck out the 3 dozen I have in the closet, haha! Also, everybody who is taking advantage of the Buy 2, Get 1 Free might also be interested in this deal: https://www.golfdiscount.com/srixon-z-star-6-performance-pack-golf-balls-6-balls 

 

edit: had the wrong link to the prior gen before

Edited November 13, 2020 by Tarheelvolvo

[Golfspy_CG2 31,659]

6 hours ago, greggarner said:

I'm really encouraged by this. I have been so pleased with the XV, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's at least as good of a report. Everyone else may have different experience, of course, but the difference in playability of the regular Z-Star compared to the XV is night and day. On a blind test you couldn't have convinced me that they were from the same company.

Prior to the Q-Star report, I had toyed with the idea of putting it into play since, in theory at least, it should be lower spin than the Z-Star (which is way too much spin for me), but with only a slight price increase between the Q-Star and the XV and the quality issues with the former? I'll stick with the XV.

I agree 100%.  I have had nothing but great results every time I’ve played Z-Star.  The XV on the other hand feels like i hit a bowling ball—to me.   Really a stark difference. 

[Miboy62 1,895]

Dang it, I can’t find the link to the lab report.

[storm319 194]

21 hours ago, Berg Ryman said:

Srixon players breathe a sigh of relief. Appears there may be an issue with the different manufacturing plants between the two balls with that Indonesia plant being a bit more "hands off" for Srixon rather than the production plant in Japan. The only think that irks me, and this is more as an XV player, the layer issues that show up here make me question how they might show up in a 4 piece. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

Srixon has produced the Z Star models in both so I don’t think manufacturing location has any impact. The reduced QC of the Q Star Tour is more than likely due to the lower target price point. Tony did mention in an episode of NPG that he noticed a correlation between price point and consistency across most of the OEMs while going through this effort.

[fixyurdivot 16,526]

I've never purchased these, only having played those I've found.  They have performed well but that isn't saying much coming from a not very ball finicky player. I wonder if, at the end of the testing, we will see any correlation to quality and manufacturing facilities - particularly those that produce multiple ball mfg./models.

[LeftyMatt89 846]

My preferred ball is the prov1x but couldn’t pass up Srixon XV fathers day deal was 2 dozen for 40. They perform as good as the Prov1x just not as durable to me. Overall I will stick with it because I prefer to play a new ball instead of a used balls (AAAA). 

[Yepitsme 3]

Love these pills but the spin way too much off the driver. I love the short game control and trajectory off my irons though. Going to stick with the Bridgestone Tour BX’s. 

[scooterhd2 706]

Looking forward to the XV test and I just keep going back to it. 

[log22 0]

For the final verdict, we need to see the Z-Star made in Indonesia tested, I hope Tony will take this on in the near future.

[storm319 194]

1 hour ago, log22 said:

For the final verdict, we need to see the Z-Star made in Indonesia tested, I hope Tony will take this on in the near future.

I really don’t understand why there is so much interest in Srixon’s manufacturing locations with little to no mention of Titleist (ProV1 produced in US and Thailand) or TaylorMade (TP5 core assemblies produced in South Korea and Taiwan).

The ball manufacturing process is highly automated with little human intervention when it comes to any production steps that directly impact the final product. The process is far more important than the location in this instance.

[mooremikea 462]

If it was not for the Q-Star Tour's quality not being that great produced in the Indonesia plant I don't think it would be a big deal.  The batch of Z-Stars that I purchased last summer was from the Indonesia plant and I wonder if there are QC issues with them.  It would be interesting to know if there there is different equipment for each type of ball.  If they are using the same equipment then the Q-Star quality should be the same as the Z-Star quality.  

[storm319 194]

15 hours ago, mooremikea said:

If it was not for the Q-Star Tour's quality not being that great produced in the Indonesia plant I don't think it would be a big deal.  The batch of Z-Stars that I purchased last summer was from the Indonesia plant and I wonder if there are QC issues with them.  It would be interesting to know if there there is different equipment for each type of ball.  If they are using the same equipment then the Q-Star quality should be the same as the Z-Star quality.  

It’s more likely due to the lower target price point vs the manufacturing location. Tony mentioned in a podcast that he noticed a correlation between price point and consistency during this ball lab effort.