Got to A/B the MTB-X and Z Star Last Night

[BeerPerHole]

One of my favorite things about being in a private club - I get to jet out there after work (especially on "closed" Mondays) and wander onto the course and play holes however...out of order, play a few balls, practice some shots...often sharing the course on Mondays with just a couple other people. Anyway, I got out there after work yesterday with about an hour of daylight so I played #1 and #18 in a loop, twice. Both are par-5 so it requires more of the bag. I dropped a Z Star and my regular MTB-X and play them side-by-side. I have been hitting the driver consistently better lately and wanted to see how much of that is the X. Off the driver the Snell was noticeably higher and a couple paces longer. Off the irons almost no difference, but the Z Star felt softer. On approach shots almost no difference. The Z Star with the 8 iron on approach was a touch lower and a pace or two longer. Both are really great. I have a feeling I'd see no difference between the MTB black and Z Star.

I've been wanting to do this with the Get Sum vs. the X. Next time...

I did hit a drive last weekend that I think I could only pull off with the MTB-X. We have a par 4 dogleg left that goes down, then uphill. Tee is blind to the green and the crest of the hill in the dog leg bend is about 250 out. There is a massive, old eucalyptus about 170 out on the right. It hangs over the fairway a little and I've watched it snag so many drives over the many rounds out there. I hit a drive with my X really hard and high. I joked, "Screw it. I'll just go over it." And, the ball went over that tree with a high baby draw - dropping straight down on the crest of the hill, mid-fairway. The guys really loved that. And, I got to act like I do that every time... Thanks Dean.

[jjfcpa]

I've played Snell ever since they came on the scene. They are great golf balls. I had been playing the MTB X for a few months and just wanted something that felt a little softer without giving up any distance. Also wanted the same feel off the irons and especially on the greens. Tried a number of golf balls and just couldn't find the right match. Then I tried the Srixon Z Star and boom, that was it. Just the perfect feel off the driver that I was looking for without sacrificing a bunch of distance. At most a yard or two. And it felt perfect on the greens. Spin was also what I was looking for on approach shots.

As much as I like the Snell golf balls, especially the price, I'm sticking with the Z Star for now.

[Go_Blue!]

Agreed. The MTB-X is a great ball but just too firm off the tee and too many different feels depending on the shot. For me, the TP5 has the perfect performance and feel throughout the bag. Every round there a couple of shots with it that still just blow me away....crazy good ball.

[Stanks]

Cool thing that you found your ball hit you didn’t use deans method.

out of all the balls you noted, they’re all terrific. They all have their cult following. I’m certain that, if all branding and labels were removed and you did a blind test, you wouldn’t know the difference.

[cardigan]

Is this a comparison of the MTB-X with the Z-Star (lower compression) or the Z-Star XV (higher compression closer to the MTB-X)?

[BeerPerHole]

Z-Star. I have played the XV and it's very similar to the MTB-X. Just happened to have a Z-Star in my bag and an open course. The Z-Star is a great ball, for sure. I want to game the std MTB soon again.

[arbeck]

Blind, I'm not sure I could pick out the MTB Black vs the Z-Star. The Snell is possibly slightly firmer off the putter, but that could be in my head. These two balls are basically identical in performance for me.