ASK QUESTIONS: Live Q&A with Srixon Golf Balls!

[Medic]

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.

 

First of all, I love my driver. It has quite literally been a game changer for me.

 

I am certain you have done side-by-side comparisons with other popular brands. What would you say are the greatest strengths of the Z-Star when compared to the other popular brands? In other words, what benefits might I attain if I switch over to the Z?

 

Thanks again and in advance!

[tbirds16]

How can mid-handicapper benefit ones game from the Z-Star? Thanks.

[stevegp]

Srixon and GolfWRX, thank you for providing this opportunity to ask questions about the new Z Stars.

 

I play Srixon balls and I recently picked up four of your new Z Star performance packs. I can't wait until the weather breaks so I can try them.

 

Would you please explain Srixon's compression ratings and recommended swing speeds for your two new Z Stars and what method you recommend choosing a ball? Should it be evaluated from the green and its short game performance back to the tee box... or from the tee box to the hole?

 

Once again, thank you.

 

Steve

[tgaagolfer]

I am in the process of determining which ball I will play this year. The current suspects are Snell MTB, Taylormad Project (a), 2017 Taylormade TP5, TP5X, 2017 Titleist PV1, PV1x (all which are CAST urethane), or Srixon Z star (thermoplastic urethane). I have read in several places that the CAST cover is a better spinning and more durable v the thermoplastic? The question is how does the Srixon Z star stack up against the CAST urethane balls?

 

 

[sigephon]

With the huge demand Costco had with their Kirkland signature golf ball, do you expect there to be more "budget" golf balls coming to the market promoting premium ball performance? And if so, what are your thoughts on the future of the golf ball?

[Sidro17]

Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to do this. I actually recently tweeted about how I made the switch to the Z Star XV (https://twitter.com/danielpristo17/status/829847678989303808). After hours of testing all the premium balls on the market, the Z Star XV was the best for my game. I'm a big hitter (and I got the most distance with the XV), which leaves me playing a lot of short game, and the XV just has incredible flexibility/control around the green while providing a great feel on every shot. Thank you for creating such a great ball.

 

My question is how does the awesome Spin Skin create so much spin on irons and wedges, but is able to resist spinning off the driver? For example, The XV takes off about a yard of my fade with a driver, but creates a couple hundred more RPM backspin on irons and wedges.

[cdewispelare]

For somebody caught struggling to pick between ball OEMs, what are the 1 or 2 things that set Srixon apart at both the tour level as well as the amateur weekend warrior level?

[branson87]

Regarding the Z-Star XV, I noticed that the 2016 version had the smallest core of any brand's premium ball. Is this because of the material? Is the 2017 core larger? What advantages through your R&D have you found with the smaller core? Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[5'6_longballer]

I am a low spin, high launch player with ball speed avg of 155. Used prov1xs for a while now but would like something a tad bit softer with the same distance and skin around the greens. What would be the best ball for me to play with Zstar or the XV? Thank you.

[Mitchell]

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions.

 

Besides the overall performance features of current models, have there been changes to influence the auditory feedback at lower speed impacts such as off putter and around the green of the current XV compared to previous versions?

[J13]

Do you plan on introducing more colors then just yellow for the XV balls?

[goph3r]

My question is in regards to the new Zstar's and the New Qstar.

 

With the recent addition of adding a urethane cover to the Qstar, how much of a difference can we come to expect in spin rate comparisons between the Q and the Z?

 

Urethane alone typically adds a lot of extra bite translating into spin, so how much of a role does the extra Zstar layers play in the balls spin rates?

 

 

Thank you Srixon for creating a unique opportunity for customers to interact with a manufacturer. Experiences like this really help to personalize my relationship with companies.

[bigeasy]

Thanks for answering our questions, i have noticed the last several balls you have fluctuated on the amount of dimples you have on the golf ball. Please explain why you have increased the latest offerings and why both balls have the same amount of dimples? thanks

[stevegp]

How can I listen to this live interview?

[Stonebridge]

Is layer composition, number of layers or cover technology the greatest factor in ball innovation for the future? The 2017 XV is a fantastic product!

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Hi Everyone!

 

Thanks so much for taking time to write your questions. We are going to get to as many of the questions as we can, appreciate all of your support!

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Are there any plans for a low-compression/soft ball with a urethane cover?

 

Yes! Our new Q-STAR TOUR golf ball is going to launch April 14, 2017. 3-piece, 75 compression, urethane cover. $29.99 per dozen. Thanks for your support!

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Is "spin skin" the name of your cover or is it a coating applied to the cover?

 

From Jeff Brunski:

 

Great question. Spin Skin is the name of the coating, not the cover. To generate spin, Srixon engineers design the urethane cover of the Z-STAR line to be extremely soft. But on top of that cover, to enhance the spin performance even more, there is a very thin urethane coating applied on top of the cover. That coating is what Spin Skin refers to.

[J13]

Why is the XV so good in the wind?

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Howdy, I can't wait to try the new ball. I was curious since I just read a great article about JB Holmes where a guy like him comes along in the development phase? I realize you may only be able to give limited answer...however are the balls tested first in Japan market/pros and then maybe following year on our tour/market? My reason for asking is distance will always come up...and JB hits it a tad further than your average player. Thanks and hope to try the new balls soon.

 

From Jeff Brunski:

 

To answer your question, the Tour feedback from all over the world is compiled together as a first step in developing the next-generation balls. We then usually begin testing prototypes on Tours wherever possible, which is to say there is not a priority to begin in one region and then move into another. Ideally we start with the highest profile Tours, but that’s not always possible depending on what time of year it is and whether players are available to test. It’s actually most useful to test far and wide across many Tours in order to get feedback from a variety of different players - not just someone unique like JB...one of the longest guys on Tour!

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

First off I want to say thank you for making the new Z-Star line at $40 a dozen.

 

Was this a move to get Srixon golf balls into more peoples hands? Seems like a lot of premium golf balls having been getting more expensive. How did you find ways to improve from last year models to this?

 

Thanks for taking the time and looking forward to the new line.

 

 

From Michael Ross:

 

We wanted to create better overall alignment with our pricing from our Soft category offering up through our Tour golf balls. Our new pricing for the Z-STAR Series enables us to offer extremely high performance golf balls at a very compelling price point. This should enable more golfers to try our tour-proven golf balls and compare their performance to our competitors and better understand the performance and value of our offerings.

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Hello, Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. My question, what difference do you see in performance between Z-Star X and XV for a tour pro vs. an amateur? Any specific metrics you gather on distance, spin, carry/roll, etc to quantify that response?

 

From Jeff Brunski:

 

We get this question a lot. The performance of the Star versus the XV - relative to one another - doesn’t really change from Tour pro to amateur. The Z-STAR spins more around the greens than the XV, and we see that with testing of players of all abilities (as well as robot testing). The XV has more ball speed and tends to win in distance for most players, again...for Tour pros and amateurs alike. The actual launch conditions are obviously not the same for a Tour player compared to an amateur (to state the obvious), but the RELATIVE performance of the golf balls holds generally consistent across player types.

 

When fitting a tour pro such as Hideki, do they start with putter feel and then work from there? Or are things such as driver spin which are much more important to them? Thanks.

 

From Michael Ross:

 

That’s player dependent. Some tour pros want to start with putter feel and work back from there, whereas others might want to start with ball speed or driver spin or greenside and approach spin control. There is no fixed sequence for our Tour Pros; it’s really contingent on what they would like to work and improve on as different ball characteristics have different levels of importance for each one of them.

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I've always wondered, how is it possible to "reduce spin with long clubs, and increase spin on short clubs". Isn't spin, spin? How does the ball know what club is hitting it? Is this merely a more pronounced effect of the friction between the cover and club face on glancing blows vs more direct blows?

 

As well, do you think there will ever be a "self-healing" cover material?

 

From Dustin Brekke:

 

That is certainly always one of the challenges. It basically comes down to how hard the ball is being hit and thus compressed as well as the loft its being hit with. The compression of the golf ball has a large impact on driver spin. When a ball is compressed significantly it reduces the rotational moment arm, thus torque, thus spin on the ball. Under a glancing blow however for greenside and short shots the midlayer and cover start to play a lot larger part of the spin performance. This is where greenside spin is capable of being achieved on all of our golf balls.

[GolfGrouch]

Can a higher handicap player really tell the difference between these models?

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Thanks for doing this guys!

 

My question: what are your thoughts on the compression of golf balls and swing speeds? Is it more in line with what Bridgestone says or Titleist used to (maybe they still do?) say. A little addition as well, any thought of making a tour level (urethane 3 or 4 layer) "softer ball" or lower compression ball?

 

used to play srixon balls, but have really enjoyed the newest line of B300RX and Chrome soft from callaway! looking forward to trying out your new line this year. especially with that price point

 

 

From Jeff Brunski:

 

We get this question all the time. You should play a golf ball that performs best for you. Performance comes down to achieving the proper launch conditions as well as having good feel. The compression of a golf ball will affect both launch conditions and feel. What we believe at Srixon is that a golf ball can be too low compression or too high compression for a given player. If a ball is too low compression for your swing speed, the launch conditions might not be ideal for maximizing distance and control, and the same can be said for a ball that is too high compression. The critical thing is to get fit or to get out and test different balls. Srixon is launching a lower-compression Tour 3-piece golf ball in April (it’s called the Q-STAR Tour), so if you have average or below-average swing speed, that ball might be perfect for you (and it beats competitor offerings on price AND performance!).

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

Thanks Srixon and Golfwrx for taking the time!

 

Do you think golf balls on average are getting softer, or is there at least a trend currently in that direction? Also, what sort of improvements in technology, tooling, materials, etc. might make that possible?

 

From Dustin Brekke:

 

There are a couple things going on. Golf balls are trending a little softer, like the new Z-STAR has reduced slightly in compression. And we’re seeing that across the industry. What’s also happening however is technologies are improving. Core design is improving through technologies like EGG and covers are improving through tech like Spin Skin. As tech improves there are more avenues of golf balls that can be created. Thus a lot of the new phase of softer golf balls are attacking new placements within the market.

[ChillyDipper]

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I've always wondered, how is it possible to "reduce spin with long clubs, and increase spin on short clubs". Isn't spin, spin? How does the ball know what club is hitting it? Is this merely a more pronounced effect of the friction between the cover and club face on glancing blows vs more direct blows?

 

As well, do you think there will ever be a "self-healing" cover material?

 

From Dustin Brekke:

 

That is certainly always one of the challenges. It basically comes down to how hard the ball is being hit and thus compressed as well as the loft its being hit with. The compression of the golf ball has a large impact on driver spin. When a ball is compressed significantly it reduces the rotational moment arm, thus torque, thus spin on the ball. Under a glancing blow however for greenside and short shots the midlayer and cover start to play a lot larger part of the spin performance. This is where greenside spin is capable of being achieved on all of our golf balls.

 

Thank you - I forgot about the decreased moment arm, that makes sense. Did you have a thought on the self-healing skin as well, or is that something proprietary that you'd rather not share ;)

[Boricua Golf]

I am giving the XV a try, I currently play the B330S and V1X, my SS is around the 109 I can assume the VX should agree with me in terms of compression and spin?

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

One of the great things about a Srixon golf ball is the durability. I just played the new 2017 ZStar for 2+ rounds and it continues to look very playable (see below).

 

Is there any durability difference between the yellow and white covers? Any other differences between the two besides color?

 

I previously played the 2014 Optic yellow ZStar and prior gen XVs and those things were damn near indestructible.

 

2017 ZStar after 42 consecutive holes:

 

 

There is no difference in durability between our white and yellow golf balls!

[Srixon / Cleveland Golf]

This question is for the product manager how much of a threat was/ is the k sig?

 

Srixon is a global brand that manufactures high-performance golf ball models for every type of golfer. We acknowledge new entrants and always strive for ways to best position ourselves in markets around the world. We have seen great success in North America in the second half of 2016 and continue to see growth in early 2017, which figures to continue as we officially launch the Z-STAR golf balls today!