The Ball That Shane Lowry Says Makes Him A Great Wind Player

On the second round of a blustery day at Augusta National Shane Lowry once again proved just how good he is when playing in the wind, shooting 68 and leaping up the leaderboard. Of course he has played links golf and in windy conditions all his life so his proficiency at flighting the ball and controlling spin is clear, but one other aspect that he says helps him is his golf ball. Speaking to the BBC he acknowledged how good the golf ball is in the wind and the specific model in question is the Srixon Z-Star XV. 

• Read our full Srixon Z-Star XV ball review

A golf ball that Hideki Matsuyama also uses, when we tested the ball it was noticeable how it penetrated the wind. It felt compact and powerful at impact, and in terms of ball flight it didn’t balloon into the air as a result of too much spin. This is perhaps down to the FastLayer inner core, and the 338 Speed Dimple Pattern which improves aerodynamics and flight performance.

Srixon implemented new dimples on the ball which were a touch deeper compared to previous generations of the Z-Star XV. Why? Well this is to create a slightly lower ball flight which in turn helps players in the wind. Indeed our testing seems to agree with this. 

Lowry is of course a Srixon staff player and pretty much plays a full bag of equipment from the brand, as well as uses a Tour staff bag. For a closer look at the specifics, check out our Shane Lowry what's in the bag post.