2023 Srixon Z-Star Golf Ball Comparison
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 When it comes to picking the right Strixon Z-Star
00:05 golf ball to go for, can be a bit of a juggling act.
00:08 I'm gonna go through each model here
00:10 and tell you what the differences are,
00:12 maybe help you choose which one
00:13 might be right for your game.
00:14 First off, let's start with the ball itself.
00:16 They've all got 338 dimples
00:18 and they've all got the Strixon spin skin on,
00:20 which is this coating on it,
00:21 which helps the ball spin a little bit.
00:22 First off though, we have the Strixon Z-Star.
00:24 Now this is the softest ball.
00:26 It's got a 92 compression.
00:27 And this is really for people
00:29 who like a little bit more feel to their game.
00:31 It's got a slightly higher spin rate
00:33 and Strixon say it's suitable for people
00:34 who are swing speed over 90 miles an hour
00:36 with a driver and up from there.
00:38 Next, at the other end of the scale,
00:39 we have the Strixon Z-Star XV.
00:41 Now this is the firmest golf ball.
00:43 The compression is 102, so that's 10 points higher.
00:46 This ball will actually spin a little bit less
00:49 than the Strixon Z-Star.
00:51 So this is gonna probably be for higher swing speed players,
00:53 people who swing speed over 100 miles an hour,
00:55 that's probably the one that might be for you.
00:57 Now usually in most ball ranges,
00:58 that's pretty much what you'll get.
01:00 You get a hard ball and a slightly softer ball
01:02 and the spin will vary between the two.
01:03 What Strixon also have is a Z-Star Diamond.
01:06 Now this sits in the middle of the two balls.
01:08 The compression is the same as the XV,
01:11 but it has a slightly softer feel to it,
01:13 which is more in tune with the standard Z-Star.
01:16 So this is really for people who are in between it.
01:18 Again, it's for probably,
01:20 says it's for over 100 miles an hour swing speed,
01:22 but I think it's a little bit softer than that.
01:23 And that's what kind of the numbers were showing out to me
01:25 because I took them all on TrackMan
01:27 and we're hitting them with a 7-iron
01:29 and we're hitting them with a driver.
01:30 I was finding that the Z-Star with a 7-iron
01:33 was the longest, one and a half yards longer than the XV
01:36 and probably about three yards longer than the Diamond.
01:38 Now I think that was possibly because
01:40 with the slightly softer coverage,
01:41 I'm getting a little bit more compression on the ball.
01:44 Therefore, it's got a little bit more energy in it
01:45 at my swing speed.
01:46 Moving on to the driver and actually the firmer XV,
01:49 I actually wasn't hitting quite as far.
01:51 And the Z-Star again,
01:53 I think because it was a little bit softer,
01:54 it was not giving me the ball speed that I need.
01:57 And that's quite common really.
01:58 As balls get softer, the higher your swing speed,
02:01 the less energy you get of it.
02:02 The winner in that respect was the Z-Star Diamond
02:05 where I gained a couple of yards on the other two.
02:07 So you can see how the performance of the ball
02:10 and the ball speed varies according to either your swing
02:12 speed or the swing speed of the club that is attacking it.
02:14 'Cause obviously with a 7-iron,
02:15 I'm swinging about 80 miles an hour.
02:17 So as you can see, the differences between each of these
02:18 balls are quite subtle.
02:19 And that's quite common with these types of golf balls.
02:21 Which one would I go for?
02:22 I would probably take the Z-Star Diamond.
02:24 And that's not only because it's the longest golf ball
02:27 off the tee, which is definitely helpful,
02:29 but when you're fitting golf balls,
02:30 you should really fit them to your irons
02:31 and the feel around the green.
02:32 And for me, I preferred the feel of the Z-Star Diamond.
02:35 I think that combination of having that firmer cover,
02:38 but yet with a little bit more feel than the XV,
02:41 gave it a little bit more control around the green.
02:42 I really liked the sound of putting with it
02:44 and chipping with it.
02:45 So for me, that'd be the Z-Star Diamond.
02:47 And really this is how you've got to go
02:49 when you're testing golf balls,
02:50 is to look at the numbers,
02:51 but then really it's how you feel about the golf ball.
02:54 Now you might also have feelings
02:55 about the color of the golf ball,
02:56 because obviously you can get all three golf balls in white.
03:00 You can actually get the Z-Star and the Z-Star XV in yellow.
03:04 Unfortunately, you can't get the Diamond in yellow.
03:07 You just have to go in white.
03:09 But what Strixen have also got with the Z-Star version,
03:12 is what they're calling the Strixen Z-Star Divide.
03:15 As you can see here,
03:16 this is a ball that is half yellow and half white.
03:19 It's actually two halves
03:20 with the color impregnated joined together.
03:22 Obviously you can play with this ball.
03:24 It's very easy to use on the course.
03:26 If you like lining up tee shots,
03:27 I've actually been using it
03:28 to help me hit an in-to-out path.
03:30 But obviously a lot of you will use it on putting.
03:32 You can use it with the line going with the target.
03:34 You can use it perpendicular,
03:35 so it's lined up with the face.
03:37 And when it's rolling,
03:38 you can actually then see how the ball is rolling,
03:40 whether it's with putting or with chipping.
03:42 And that gives you good feedback
03:43 on how you're striking the ball.
03:45 So these balls are good on the golf course.
03:47 They're actually quite easy to see as well,
03:49 'cause you've got the contrast colors.
03:50 They're equally as good as a training aid
03:52 to help you practice
03:53 and get your chipping and your putting stroke
03:55 heading in the right direction.
03:56 So I hope that's given you a good feel
03:57 for the Strixen Z-Star range.
03:59 Really just in summary,
04:00 I think if you're a mid to slow swing speed player
04:02 and you like a bit of feel and a bit more spin,
04:03 then probably the Strixen Z-Star is for you.
04:05 I think if you're a higher swing speed player
04:07 and you've got enough club head speed
04:09 to generate a lot of spin,
04:10 then you're gonna enjoy the XV
04:11 because you'll probably get a bit of distance out of that.
04:14 And I think if you're a single finger player
04:15 in that zone between sort of 95 to 105 miles an hour
04:18 with your driver swing speed,
04:20 then check out the Z-Star Diamond.
04:21 I think it's got the best of both worlds
04:23 and could appeal to a large number of golfers.
04:25 Thanks very much for watching.
04:26 Hope you enjoyed this video.
04:27 We've got more reviews on these
04:28 and every other golf ball on the Golf Monthly website.
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