Has anyone tried the Srixon Z star Divide?

[Mackey]

I have tried the Qstar tour divide.  They are very soft feeling and fly very straight for the most part.  I think they need the spin skin finish because they just don't spin to a stop like I am used to.  

I have been trying to get our pro to get me a dozen to sample but no luck yet.

Has anyone really tested the Z star tour divide yet?

[Will_Mac]

I played them late summer. I actually just did it as a goof. Sometimes during a round, I'll change balls from one color to the next, blaming the last one. A regular partner always loudly echos my (lighthearted) thought by saying something like, "that's right Billy, that was absolutely the yellow ball's fault. Cowardly traitor, that one!"

So when I first used the Z-Star Divide, he was very amused when my change on the 1st tee was merely to flip it over.

So, all that silliness aside, I targeted the Z-Star Divide specifically because the Z-Star has long been a ball I've played (although admittedly, not exclusively). White or yellow, I've played them both and will continue to do so.

I don't take advantage of the Divide aspect as I'm not one to line up putts nor tee shots with a line. BUT... I did test this ball out with both of these aspects to see for myself the ease of use. And IMO, as one who doesn't use a line partly because getting it right annoys me, the Divide is much easier and quicker to align for someone as impatient and clumsy as I.

As for performance, it's absolutely a Z-Star as I couldn't discern any playability difference at all to the standard Z-Star ball that I've played so extensively. In short order, I learned to prefer the Divide to the standard balls because it was always easy to identify mine during play. Mine were/are yellow and white. The yellow side is similar to my eye as to the all yellow ball but the white side looks different as there are some "metal flakes" for lack of a better term. Some buddies have commented that the white side looks slightly gray to them.

While I always saw just a different tint of white, I have to admit that once the leaves started falling, the yellow side blended as yellow may with leaves and the white side didn't pop as much to my eye in order to allow for more easily finding them.

I always abandon yellow balls (my preferred, can track them better in the air) in the late fall/winter. They can be a pain to locate amongst leaves but once the fairways and rough goes dormant, I'll have issues locating them then anywhere. With the white/yellow Z-Star Divide, I found that relative to my own vision issues, I needed to make the switch to white sooner.

Great ball, 100% a bonafide Z-Star.

[DiscipleofPenick]

The Z-Star is my gamer, been playing it for the last 3 years. I play them in yellow, and while I've found and tried a few of the Divides, I can't look at that ball. I need solid colors.

[Mackey]

I stop keeping score from October to March and test different things like balls and wedges or hybrids vs driving irons.  I work on shaping balls and flighting shots high or low.  I may play the entire round hitting a draw or a fade.  I may go out after work and play by myself and play two different balls one aggressive and one conservative.  I also use those rounds to test balls against what I am playing.  I keep notes on every shot when I am doing this.

I work at a golf course so access is not an issue. 

I found a Q Star tour divide and dropped it in my bag.    I have played the Pro V1 since find it cut it began.  I did last years Titleist ball test and LOVED the Left Dot ball!  I'm in my sixties now and have lost swing speed to age.  I play the front mens tees now and have been lookinbg at the 75 compresssion range balls, q star tour divide and tour response.  

The next day I was warming up in the short game area and pulled out three random balls.  One was the Q Star tour divide.   What shocked me was how soft it felt off the wedges from 50 yards in.  It was noticeable for sure.  I took it to the course for that round and it played well.  Noticeable shorter off the tee but really straight.  Longer with irons by 5 to 7 yards, not sure if it just rolled out more but seemed to be flying longer too.  Wedges were rolling out a bit more but not to much and I only spun it back once.  I played that ball for 45 holes before the cover looked like Bob Marley and had to retire.  I got a dozen and played them.

I found that the distance info holds true for me.  They don't bit and stop like the Pro V1 they tend to release and roll out about 10 extra feet.  That makes front and back pins challenging.  I love putting them, I don't align the ball with a line so I just set it with one color up and the name in line with the putter face give or take.  I like to watch it tumble on the line and you can really see the break as the ball turns because the angle of the line tumbling turns.  I find I can see it in the air better than an other ball I have tried.  I think the lack of the spin skin is a big miss on Srixon's part.  

I bought a box of the Z Star divides on Amazon for a bit over $40 because my Head of golf ops said he would get me 6 dozen for a favor I did but they are slow in coming.  I am hoping that they Z Star divides will spin more like the Pro V1's because they are pricey and next year I am sure they will increase.  I can Buy Srixons at cost at work and only get 20% off on the Titleists.  The only way a Titleist ball stays in my bag next year is if they bring out the Left Dots!

[Syks7]

I was playing the Z-Star XV's before the XV Divides came out.  I made the switch on a whim and performance wise I haven't noticed a single difference between the regular XV & the XV Divide.   They spin, stop, and check for me on well struck approach shots -- something that holds true on the occasional solid & accurate 4 iron swing this 11 is capable of.

That said, the real reason I continue to play them is that on the VERY heavily tracked muni's I play no one has picked up or tried to pick up my ball since I started playing them.   Something that was not true for any other ball I've ever played (particularly ProVs).  I also like that they turn into great practice balls for the shag tube after they've had their time on course and they're weirdly easy to find.  Something about the iridescent contrast finish.

 

 

[GregGarner]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:33 AM, Mackey said:

Noticeable shorter off the tee but really straight.  Longer with irons by 5 to 7 yards, not sure if it just rolled out more but seemed to be flying longer too.  Wedges were rolling out a bit more but not to much and I only spun it back once.  

I found that the distance info holds true for me.  They don't bit and stop like the Pro V1 they tend to release and roll out about 10 extra feet.  That makes front and back pins challenging.  I think the lack of the spin skin is a big miss on Srixon's part.  

I am hoping that they Z Star divides will spin more like the Pro V1's because they are pricey and next year I am sure they will increase.  

Pretty safe bet all of this is related to spin. Of note, the QST does have the SpinSkin, but that's more about a durability coating they use and just outright marketing. The Divide doesn't it have it listed in the marketing, but I would be shocked if there was significant performance difference between QST and QST-D. Both versions of the QST are going to be among the lowest-spinning urethane balls on the market, comparable to the Tour Response and Callaway Chromesoft (Tony refers to these kinds of balls as "non-Tour urethane.") 

Less total spin will generally mean a little less distance on driver unless you have the clubhead speed/ball speed to compensate, straighter flight on all clubs, and more distance (both carry and total) for irons and wedges. Z-Star and Z-Star Divide will spin more than QST but a little less than ProV1 on full shots. Z-Star Diamond (not available in Divide yet) is your best bet in the Srixon lineup if you're trying to maximize spin/control, but note that you'll give up a little distance on irons, gain a little off the tee, and will have more L/R curvature on all shots.

[GilB]

I have a sleeve of these I use for practice putting. After proper alignment I'll stroke the putt and watch how the ball rolls for instant feedback on whether it was a pure stroke or a swipe. It works for me.

[tdc1]

I have used the Q-Star Tour Divide a fair amount.  Experimented late in the season with those, Maxfli Tour and TM Tour Response (the stripe version).  All performed well for me — no clear winner.

As others have mentioned, the QST Divide is not as long off the tee with driver as, say, a Pro V but have a bit more pop off the irons for me.  Accuracy is slightly higher as well.  While I do no have high spin on short shots around the green, I have not found the QST prone to more roll out than other balls in its class.

The two-colors give great visual feedback on putting.  I also use the divide on the tee if I want a reminder to try to move the ball flight left or right. (My personal data shows that teeing with the yellow side toward me promotes a draw while the orange or blue side toward me promotes a fade. )  

Like other matte finish balls, however, the QST Divide can be difficult to keep clean.  Durability is not an issue.

[Everardo]

On 11/10/2022 at 7:30 PM, Mackey said:

I have tried the Qstar tour divide.  They are very soft feeling and fly very straight for the most part.  I think they need the spin skin finish because they just don't spin to a stop like I am used to.  

I have been trying to get our pro to get me a dozen to sample but no luck yet.

Has anyone really tested the Z star tour divide yet?

Yes and love them  Just curious why they should give you a free dozen  Some shops may sell sleeves, at least in my area they do. 

[Mackey]

I work at the club and he said he could get them from the rep because we sell so many.

[Mackey]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:18 AM, GilB said:

I have a sleeve of these I use for practice putting. After proper alignment I'll stroke the putt and watch how the ball rolls for instant feedback on whether it was a pure stroke or a swipe. It works for me.

I find that putting with the line perpendicular real makes the break standout because the ball turns down the line and follows with the slope.

[Everardo]

On 11/18/2022 at 4:19 PM, Mackey said:

I work at the club and he said he could get them from the rep because we sell so many.

Ah that makes sense then

[Mackey]

Today we got temps up in the sixties and I got to really get a response from the ball.   We were the first group out after a frost warning and by the back nine we were three holes ahead of the group behind us.  I started to hit two shots on everything from 100 yards and in one with my Z Star Divide and the other with the Pro V1 I have played for he the last few years.  I alternated the order and the results were very nearly the same.  Neither ball stood out as better on any shot where I hit both.  The money will be the decider if the results stay the same the next chance I get to play both against one an other.