Real Golfers, Real Feedback
In February, we chose a group of readers to receive the new Srixon Z STAR and Z STAR XV golf balls. They pitted the Z STAR against their current ball of choice on the course and the launch monitor. Here are their reports:
Reader Review #1
Name: Chris Wiley
Location: Bentonville, Arkansas
Handicap: 4.3
Swing Speed: 117 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist ProV1
Long Game: I felt the Z Star was just as long as my Pro V and about the same spin rate. I was within 2 yards of my normal drives.
Short Game: I actually shockingly preferred the Z Star over my Pro V in the short game. The ball seemed to have a more fluid flight with my wedges. It seemed to come in on a higher flight, land softer and spin more. I was spinning the 60 yard shots back much further than my Pro Vs.
Feel: I definitely preferred the feel of the Z Star with the wedges and putter. On and around the green the Z Star had more of a responsive feel off the face.
Miscellaneous: For starters, I’m a diehard Titleist guy; I play their driver, hybrids, wedges and putter. That being said, I will be switching to the Z Star. I felt like it was neck and neck in the long game, but excelled in the short game over the Pro V. I also preferred that the cover of the Z Star stays brighter and looks newer longer.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I actually placed an order after I concluded the testing.
Reader Review #2
Name: Randall J. Wilson
Location: Duluth, GA
Handicap: 10.1
Swing Speed: 95 MPH
Current Ball: First choice is to play the Titleist Pro VX, second choice Titleist Pro V, Third choice is Callaway Hex Control.
Long Game: I found both the Z-STAR and Z-STAR XV to be comparable to the Titleist Pro V and Pro VX. I play most of my rounds on the same course and know where I end up on each hole when I hit a good shot. I found the Z-STAR/XV got me to the same positions as the Titleist I usually use.
Short Game: I liked the Z-STAR for the short game. I felt it had better control characteristics, e.g. spin and check. The Z STAR XV seemed to have less feel around the greens than either of the Titleist balls or the Z STAR ball.
Feel: I found the Z STAR to chip and putt similar to the Titleist balls I normally play. I chipped and putted well with it. The Z STAR XV had less feel and didn’t react to short shots as well as the Titleist balls or the Z STAR ball.
Miscellaneous: Both the Z STAR and Z STAR XV were very durable. I played two rounds with one Z STAR ball and it showed almost no wear. I played on round with the Z STAR XV and it showed no wear. I also landed a full wedge on some rocks with the Z STAR XV and I was amazed that there were no marks on the ball. You could not tell it had hit the rocks. Normally I would expect a pretty obvious mark on the ball on a shot like that.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I want to play a few more rounds with them before making a commitment. From what I have seen so far I would play with the Z STAR ball as long as it was cheaper than the Titleist balls.
Reader Review #3
Name: Chris Macios
Location: New York City
Handicap: 8
Swing Speed: 100 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Long Game: Love the feel of this ball off the driver. I played on a windy day and the Z Star held its line better and seemed to carry farther than the Pro V. Based on on-course testing I hit this 5+ yards more than the V1
Short Game: This ball was as good or better than the V1 around the greens. The ball was responsive and seemed to spin a bit more.
Feel: Love the feel of this golf ball. Feel and sound off the putter is very satisfying; pro V feels hard and bouncy by comparison. Similar with irons and driver
Miscellaneous: I loved the Z Star for several reasons, but most importantly it gave me confidence that I hadn’t experienced before. I felt like I knew what the ball would do on different swings and I just loved playing with it.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? Yes absolutely. These are going in the bag. And the relative value is icing on the cake!
Reader Review #4
Name: Paul Reyes
Location: Sacramento, CA
Handicap: 8
Swing Speed: 106 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist ProV1
Long Game: The Z Star was shorter in comparison to the Pro V. It also felt much harder than what I am used to which did not help when it came to the feel shots. Z Star XV was pretty much equal to the Pro V. Had much more feel to the ball which was quite impressive.
Short Game: As for the short game, the Z Star did not have very good feel around the greens on short pitches or short iron shots which was disappointing. For the Z Star XV, I liked the feel around the greens, again much like the Pro V. Was able to put some pretty good spin on the ball with the mid to short irons. I really like the ball as a whole.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I don’t know if I would jump out and say I will change however tournament time is coming up and I plan on using the Z Star XV to see how it will continue to perform. On a scale of 1 -10 the Z Star comes in at a 4. On a scale of 1-10 the Z Star XV is a solid 9.
Reader Review #5
Name: Glen Henderson
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Handicap: 8.5
Swing Speed: 96 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist ProV1
Long Game: Comparable to the Pro V. Better trajectory with Z Star.
Short Game: Z Star had good spin. Z Star XV too hard for my taste.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I will give the Z Star a try.
Reader Review #6
Name: Doug Penneman
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Handicap: 4.3
Swing Speed: 132 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist ProV1x
Both balls have a noticeably softer feel and sound than the V1x with a putter. The Z Star has an even softer feel than the XV. Both are really nice sounding and seem to spring off the putter face a touch more than the ProV1x. Chipping around the green has the exact same response.
I played a round yesterday, switching balls out every hole. While I can’t say the Z Stars are longer they are definitely as long as the Pro V1x. No loss there. In fact they feel a little more lively, but not really more distance. They just seem to fell jumpier, if that’s a good description.
The spin with full short iron shots was awesome for me. The ball stopped within a few inches of where it hit and these were not soft greens. We have Bermuda here in Texas and you don’t hardly have to fix ball marks. If you can get a ball to stop without a divot, that says something.
My go to 80 yard shot with a 54 degree to nine o’clock performed perfectly. One bounce and dead as a wet sponge. Love that shot.
The Z Stars I tested are as good as anything I’ve played. (Except for the Tour Editions back in 90s that spun off the charts. Sorry, they were just fun.
Reader Review #7
Name: Thomas Pierson
Location: Parkland, FL
Handicap: 9.2
Swing Speed: 102 MPH
Current Ball: TaylorMade Project a
Long Game: Significantly longer, 10-20 yards
Short Game: Better spin 150 yards and in
Feel: Feel was excellent
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I will definitely be using the Z Star in the future!
Reader Review #8
Name: Anthony Malky
Location: Oakmont, PA
Handicap: 10
Swing Speed: 105 MPH
Current Ball: TaylorMade Project a
Long Game: The Z Star performed a bit better in the long game as compared to the Z Star XV. I seemed to get a few more yards out of the Z Star, both with my driver and irons.
Short Game: I thought the Z Star XV felt a bit softer, which for me made it better for the short game. From within 100 yards, I got a bit more spin and hold from the Z Star XV. The Z Star had a nice soft feel but didn’t seem to check up quite as much.
Feel: The Z Star felt more powerful, the XV felt more controllable. I thought the XV was a bit softer off of the club face. However, I liked the sound of the Z Star coming off of the club.
Miscellaneous: I found the Z Star to be a really quality golf ball, I would compare it to a Pro V1, I definitely liked it more than my current ball.
Will you switch to the Z STAR? I would consider switching to the Srixon Z Star or XV in the future.
Reader Review #9
Name: Paul Montalto
Location: Fort Meyers, FL
Handicap: 4
Swing Speed: 91 MPH
Current Ball: Titleist ProV1 or ProV1x
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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