The Ball That Shane Lowry Says Makes Him A Great Wind Player
Along with great skill, Lowry's equipment helps him play well in the wind...


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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 (opens in new tab).
- Read our full Srixon Z-Star XV ball review (opens in new tab)
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 (opens in new tab) post.
A golfer for most of his life, Sam started playing the game to prove he was the best player out of his father and two brothers.
He quickly became a golf equipment expert and has always been the one family and friends come to for buying advice, and spends a lot of his time putting golf gear, apparel and shoes to the test.
He is a graduate of Swansea University where he studied History and American Studies, and he has been a part of the Golf Monthly team since February 2018. He also previously worked for World Soccer and Rugby World magazines.
A jack of all trades across print and digital formats, Sam now spends most of his time testing and looking after golf gear content for the website. He also oversees all Tour player content as well.
Unfortunately, Sam is not a member of any club at the moment but regularly gets out on the golf course to keep up the facade of having a handicap of five.
Sam is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TS3
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M5 (15 degrees), Nike Covert Tour 2.0 (19 degrees)
Irons (4-PW): Titleist AP2
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 54˚, 58˚
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #6
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