Srixon Q-Star Review (this ball is stupid straight)

[hubcville]

I enjoy readiing other reviews so I thought I'd post my thoughts on the Q-Star after a round yesterday. My normal ball is ProV1, but my game is in a slump mostly because of sidespin, so I decided to sacrifice spin for straight and try the Q-Star. The results for me were very good....

 

Pros:

- As I wrote in the subject line,straightest ball I've ever hit. I was splitting fairways like Fred Funk all day, and I'm usually in the first cut right or left. Distance for me was about equal with ProV1, but on 2 holes I moved it out there 240+ (with a 90 mph swing speed) which is a distance gain of about 10 yards. I wouldn't say distance is a decided advantage with this ball, but it definitely isn't a negative.

- Nice check and stop action on iron approaches. Only one par 3 did I pull it back 5 feet, but the Q-Star was sticking pretty solid with all the irons.

 

Cons:

- Here's what makes this ball a challenge for me. It releases on chips and pitches. Now obviously I'm used to the ProV, so I would have had a hard time adjusting to any run out, but this ball has significant run-out. I was chipping for eagle on a Par 5, and I hit a chip that would have been 3 feet for birdie with the ProV1, and it ran out to 12 feet. Those will give you a moment of pause.

 

The Verdict:

 

I'm going to swap my 58 degree lob wedge out and put the 60 degree in, so I can game the Q-Star the rest of the summer. Yesterday was my best fairways and greens round of the year, and I'm pretty sure the Q-Star had a lot to do with it. The game is a lot more fun from the center, and I'll just have to adjust for the release by putting some more air under by chips and pitches. I made 33 full swings during my round yesterday (chips/pitches/putts excluded) and none of them was more that 5 yards off-line. This is a ball I can score with.

[Eternal]

Glad you had a great ground with the Q-Star. This and the NXT Tour were the balls I've been gaming almost all season so far. I do love the overall feel of the ball, but like you stated, I hate how the ball runs so much. I play a 2009 Spin Milled Vokey 60* and it still won't stop when using that club. It may be the way i'm coming down on the ball but I haven't been able to stop one yet in the numerous rounds i've played. The NXT tour have i have been able to stop on a couple occasions but it's definitely not as easy or consistant as it is with the Pro V.

I hope you're new set up works for you though! I might need to work on my game still to try and get one to stop.

[maskedman]

I agree that the Q-Star is a great ball and, yes, a great scoring ball. I've been using the Q-Star recently and just had my best scoring round of the season with it. Here is what I've found:[list]
[*]Driver Distance: as good if not marginally longer than any other ball in my bag (Z-Star, B330s, ProV1) with an excellent soft feel.
[*]Side Spin: Straight, very straight off the driver and irons. Balls stay in play.
[*]Spin: on full approach shots, the Q-Star was checking up nicely, within 1 to 3 feet of its pitch mark. Surprisingly as good as most of the urethane-covered balls I use.
[*]Chips: a little bit of run out, but nothing unusual and with my short game this works to advantage.
[*]Durability: no problems, still looks very good after a round.
[*]Feel: feels good off all clubs.
[/list]
With these recent results, I'm having a hard time justifying the use of the spinnier, more expensive urethane-covered balls. It's also seems to be a very well constructed ball, with a nice sidestamp. Love the Pure White.

[goblue304]

thanks for this review. I'm going to give these a try.

[greasepin]

Played qstars last year after gaming zstars for 2 yrs. Straight/high flight off all clubs (99 mph ss). My problem was 3/4swings and pitches. The qstars jumped off the face carrying.to.far. then rolling out. Loved the soft feel, but the jumping i couldnt adjust for and never tried them again. Some like them, but not for me.

[SoCalTitleist]

Tried these for a few rounds, they are straight and fairly average on distance but just could not get them to stop on the greens, even short irons will roll out. NXT tour S is a much better ball for me in the same range. Straight with stopping power.

[glfpunk]

Out of all the balls I've tried this year(Qstar, e6, NXT Tour, Hex Chrome, Hex Black, and Velocity), the Qstar was probably the worst spinning ball off of irons out of all of them. Even compared with the Velocity which wasn't good either. I normally have no issues with spin but with the Qstar I was hitting 9iron and PW and having them hit and release to about 15-20 feet from where it would hit. Distance control is a big thing for me so the Qstars just didn't work out.

[sleuth]

Not sure how you had your ball check. I'm a high spin player and all my attack iron shots rolled out a good 15+ ft from the mark. Can't really go pin hunting like that.

Furthermore, like someone else mentioned there was a high percentage of wedge flyers. I hit my 52* sand wedge over a 105yd Par 3 on the fly. I had a good 20 yds to go back...

My synopsis: horrible spin, and inconsistent performance.

I'm glad you liked them though. I wonder if it's better tailored to a certain type of swing.

[PhillyMac]

I just played my first 9 holes with the Q-Star. Srixon has a winner with this ball! It is definately staying in the bag. Long off the tee, straight and does have alot of spin. If any of you have thought about trying them, do yourself a favor and go for it. You will not be disappointed!
I normally played the ProV1's but were too expensive, then tried the Rocketballz which wasn't a bad ball. Then I went with the NXT Tour S, it was long but I couldn't spin it like I wanted.

[Luke's]

Thanks for your review. I'm going to give these a try. I need less spin off my driver and while the ball may spin less around the green, I don't think that should make too much of a difference for my game.

[maskedman]

I agree that the Q-Star may fit some swings and conditions better than others. That's pretty much the case for most balls. For the life of me, I can't hit a ProV1 straight (at least not when I want to), but give me a Srixon *-Star and it just works. With the Q-Star, I get really good spin on full shots into the green, whether they are from the short grass or picked out of a 100y bunker. It is not unusual for the ball to come to rest 12-18 inches from its pitch mark. It provides everything I need in terms of spin on full shots. On partial shots, some finesse is required but nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose if I played courses where I was always having to lob over water and sand, and stop it short, I might be tempted to choose a higher spinning urethane-covered ball, but I think I could get the Q-Star working under those conditions, too. I don't play the Q-Star to the exclusion of other balls - I very much like the Z-Star and Z-StarSL - but for the money, durability, and overall performance, the Q-Star is worth a look.

[Monday]

Nice review. Going to buy some of these for my dad for father's day.

[tx-ping]

I played these over the weekend, the yellow version. Played my best round to date..91. This ball is straight, and longer than the e6 and the GamerV2, at least with my game. Spin was good, and it was soft, but not too soft to where I couldn't feel it coming off the face of the clubs. I am going to stick with these for a while, looking for a little more spin, but not at the expense of keeping it in the fairway. If you are on the fence about trying these, get a sleeve and try them out, I am glad I did.

[freddyottawa]

Has anyone played this ball alongside the AD333? From looking at the specs, these balls are almost identical, so I was curious if anyone saw the same thing when playing the balls together.

[raspablo]

[quote name='maskedman' timestamp='1339601608' post='5084476']
I agree that the Q-Star may fit some swings and conditions better than others. That's pretty much the case for most balls. For the life of me, I can't hit a ProV1 straight (at least not when I want to), but give me a Srixon *-Star and it just works. With the Q-Star, I get really good spin on full shots into the green, whether they are from the short grass or picked out of a 100y bunker. It is not unusual for the ball to come to rest 6 to 12 inches from its pitch mark. It provides everything I need in terms of spin on full shots. On partial shots, some finesse is required but nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose if I played courses where I was always having to lob over water and sand, and stop it short, I might be tempted to choose a higher spinning urethane-covered ball, but I think I could get the Q-Star working under those conditions, too. I don't play the Q-Star to the exclusion of other balls - I very much like the Z-Star and Z-StarSL - but for the money, durability, and overall performance, the Q-Star is worth a look.
[/quote]

The one difference for me with "Tour" balls vs "Premium distance" balls is that I chip with a more open club face around the greens with the premium distance balls. PD balls still run more than urethane covered Tour balls, but that approach is more predictable than trying to "putt/chip" with the surlyn (unless you are right next to the green in in nice first cut!)

[hoganhawk]

Great review! I am a huge fan of the Q-stars for where I am with my game. I gave a tendency to get too much side spin on my drives and need a ball like Q-star. I am sure there will be a point (or at least I hope there is) where the priority will be on short game run. I can control that for now.

[Russ757]

[quote name='freddyottawa' timestamp='1340031717' post='5120772']
Has anyone played this ball alongside the AD333? From looking at the specs, these balls are almost identical, so I was curious if anyone saw the same thing when playing the balls together.
[/quote]

AD333 is one the more underrated balls. Tried both and HATED HATED the Q

As Sleuth said

Furthermore, like someone else mentioned there was a high percentage of wedge flyers. I hit my 52* sand wedge over a 105yd Par 3 on the fly. I had a good 20 yds to go back...

My synopsis: horrible spin, and [b]inconsistent [/b]performance.

Cant tell you how many times I thought I hit a good wedge only to find it rolled off the back or just flew it over.

To me, the AD333 is a much better ball and can found in bulk for cheap from any of the used golf ball dealers

[jdepyper]

Honestly I bought a sleeve today of these balls and they spun a ton off my wedges. Stopped on a dime.

[jcannan14]

I shot my lowest round (39 on 9 holes) with a Q Star Yellow ball. It made me rethink using my Taylormade TP Black balls that I generally use. Im really thinking about switching after I use up all my ball inventory.

[fochs13]

[quote name='Russ757' timestamp='1340455790' post='5153800']
[quote name='freddyottawa' timestamp='1340031717' post='5120772']
Has anyone played this ball alongside the AD333? From looking at the specs, these balls are almost identical, so I was curious if anyone saw the same thing when playing the balls together.
[/quote]

AD333 is one the more underrated balls. Tried both and HATED HATED the Q

As Sleuth said

Furthermore, like someone else mentioned there was a high percentage of wedge flyers. I hit my 52* sand wedge over a 105yd Par 3 on the fly. I had a good 20 yds to go back...

My synopsis: horrible spin, and [b]inconsistent [/b]performance.

Cant tell you how many times I thought I hit a good wedge only to find it rolled off the back or just flew it over.

To me, the AD333 is a much better ball and can found in bulk for cheap from any of the used golf ball dealers
[/quote]

The ad333 and qstar are basically the same ball. If you take a look at the wording on the packaging, it is identical.

[barkydog1]

I liked this ball a lot, and being a HUGE Q Star fan, it didn't surprise me. I liken this ball to the Nike PD Soft, almost identical feel. The only difference is the run-out that everyone mentions, but you just have to take that into consideration when hitting your shot. The only time it's a problem is on a tight hole location where you HAVE to hit the ball high and stop it. Sometimes, if I find myself coming up short with my wedges with my premium balls (Q Star, Tour iS, iZ, Hex Black, etc.), I'll actually switch out balls to one of these for a few holes or for a round just to change things up.

[savarini]

I crack up reading some of these comments for 20.00 Q star is a awesome ball great value end of story

[Titleistman89]

I found the exact opposite of most reviews, I have a steep angle of attack and I get about the same spin with these balls as i do the titleist pro v or nxt s. my only problem is the ball tends to get cut/scuffed a bit easier because of my attack angle. But like the previous post said for 20$ you can't complain

[Titleistman89]

I found the exact opposite of most reviews, I have a steep angle of attack and I get about the same spin with these balls as i do the titleist pro v or nxt s. my only problem is the ball tends to get cut/scuffed a bit easier because of my attack angle. But like the previous post said for 20$ you can't complain

[erock9174]

Are you guys playing the 2011/12 version or the 2013 with "spin skin"?

[itchyfinger]

You get a lot of ball with the Q-star no doubt but I find the Z line more durable. The Q's get eaten alive by my short irons and wedge. Any shot out of a bunker and the sand scuffs them. I'm not getting that with the Z-star and Z-star XV. I think the extra 10 bucks a dozen worth it for the Z's. Academy has the 2013's for 29.99. That's almost like stealing.

[Geaux Gators]

the 2013 Qstar is the same price as the exhisting Zstar? Dick's in Monroe has the Z for 29.99..

[erock9174]

[quote name='Ping Gator' timestamp='1371398751' post='7254724']
the 2013 Qstar is the same price as the exhisting Zstar? Dick's in Monroe has the Z for 29.99..
[/quote]

$19.99 old version
$24.99 2013.
About a month ago Dicks had the new version mis-marked at $19.99 for a while. Or at least my local store did. Now they are up to $24.99

[Shouldbgolfing]

I usually play the TM (a) ball. That is a good ball for me but I wanted to try something different. I have never used srixon before, I can't afford the z stars so I am going to try the Q stars. It looks like they have a mostly positive review so I hope they work for me especially being five dollars cheaper than the (a)'s.