Srixon Z-Star Diamond Golf Ball Review

Srixon Z-Star Diamond Golf Ball Review

Like certain other rivals in the best golf balls category, Srixon has announced a third version of its ever-popular Z-Star ball with the new Z-Star Diamond. The most prominent name to switch to this new ball is recent signing and four-time Major champion, Brooks Koepka.

In terms of technology, it’s a three-piece ball with a compression of 102 and a slightly thicker 0.6mm cover that is designed to offer a mid-high launch to golfers with a swing speed of 90+mph, so not everyone will be able to reap maximum benefits.

Its formulation features new and improved versions of popular Srixon technologies, principle among which is a new FastLayer Core, which is soft in the centre and firmer around its edges to give high-speed players a desirable combo of feel and plenty of ball speed. This combines with a new SpinSkin with SeRM coating on that thicker urethane cover to dig deeper into face grooves for more spin and stopping power, particularly on long- and mid-iron shots, plus an improved 338 Speed Dimple Pattern for more distance and stronger performance in the wind.

So, how did the new Srixon Z-Star Diamond ball perform when we put it to the test pre-launch? Well, this model effectively sits between the two existing models – the Z-Star and the Z-Star XV – with one of the key new elements being that slightly thicker cover, engineered for more spin and control on approach shots. While it would be fair to say that the greens we were hitting into on test were pretty soft, the ball certainly seemed to sit down a little quicker on longer-range approach shots even when we managed to find a slightly firmer patch of green.

From a feel perspective, the Diamond is amongst the best premium golf balls. The ball feels soft to the touch, too, and that will reassure many golfers who rely on their touch and feel on and around the greens to keep their score going, and who like their golf ball to feel and sound controllable as they home in on the hole. Again, with mostly fairly soft greens it was hard to fully evaluate spin and control, but we never felt as though the ball was getting away from us off the face in the scoring zone, with just the right sound and feel off the putter face, too.

Ball flight off the driver and longer clubs certainly sat in the promised mid-to-high range, which is where we like it to be and where we feel we can optimise our distance, but this will be something for individuals to monitor and assess based on factors such as swing speed and launch angle. There was a fair bit of wind on one of our test days at Hankley Common Golf Club in Surrey, and we felt the ball held its line well in crosswinds and got through the wind pretty well too when it was in our face.

Finally, the cover held up well and proved highly durable, something that hasn’t always been the case for us with Srixon’s ball range. Even after a few mishit wedges and a number of shots from quite grainy sand, there were no visible signs of scuffing or marking. As a parting shot – and it’s only a minor thing - there’s something about the gold numbering that somehow instantly gives this ball a classy look. A clever little design touch from Srixon.