Gear: Srixon Z-Star, Z-Star XV golf balls
Price: $42.99 per dozen
Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball (Z-Star); Four-piece, urethane-covered ball (Z-Star XV). Available in white and yellow.
Available: Feb. 26
For elite golfers, sacrifice when it comes to selecting a golf ball is not an option. They want distance off the tee, demand feel on approach shots and won’t compromise spin around the greens. For 2021, with the release of the seventh generation of the Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV, the Japanese company believes it has a pair of options that can give accomplished golfers precisely what they want.
The three-piece Z-Star features a large core that is very soft in the center and gradually gets firmer near its edges. Srixon refers to it as a FastLayer core, and it is designed to provide more ball speed off the tee with a softer feel.
The core is encased in a mid-layer, which has been made firmer, then covered by an updated urethane cover. Srixon gave the ball a new 338-dimple pattern that the company said will make it more aerodynamic and better able to bore through the wind. The cover itself also is slightly thicker, so the grooves in short irons and wedges should be able to grab it more effectively to generate spin on approach shots, chips and pitch shots.
To further enhance spin, Srixon added a coating to the ball called Spin Skin. Srixon has used Spin Skin coatings in the past to improve performance on short-game shots. This version has an additive the company calls Slide-Ring Material (SeRM), which is designed to distribute the force of wedge shots more evenly to increase durability.
With the four-piece Z-Star XV, Srixon put a greater emphasis on increasing distance. The ball has a soft, fast inner core that was updated for 2021 to be “more springy” for enhanced ball speed. By encasing it in a firmer core, then a mid-layer that is firmer still, Srixon can reduce spin off the tee and with longer clubs while still maintaining speed.
The Z-Star XV has the same 338-dimple pattern now found on the Z-Star.
Srixon said both balls will fly slightly lower than the previous generation, but the Z-Star XV will still fly higher than the Z-Star.
