Srixon Z Star Diamond

[anth]

[GJR10]

I started playing the diamond recently and I really like it. It wants to go straight and has a medium trajectory 

[B.Easy]

I have 3 rounds and 6 indoor rounds (+a lot of indoor range sessions) on a GC4 with the diamond.  Pretty sure this is my new ball. 

 

Play LD ProV1x all of last year and switched to ProV1 Left Dot at the end of the summer and loved it.  Bought 4 boxes and have 3 left, so I've been testing the left dot versus the diamond indoors.  They are so similar that they overlap in standard deviation in nearly every category. 

 

The diamond spins the mid irons maybe 200 revs more for me (indoors).  Compared to the Left Dot, I think the diamond actually spins a touch more around the green.  Don't know for sure yet.  Not enough time in good conditions. 

 

The driver numbers were identical.  My driver SS averages 118 and my AOA is only +2. I worry about driver spin, because I can get steep.

 

Indistinguishable off of the putter.  Literally couldn't tell off of my 12 year old Scotty Monterey.

 

It seems durable to me.  I usually switch balls at the turn when I play. I'm not worried about durability at all.  I'll get to play them in the wind at Bandon Dunes this weekend, so that'll be the final test. 

 

I'm actually pretty excited for this ball.  Played ProV's of some kind for a decade.

[doc52]

31 minutes ago, B.Easy said:

I have 3 rounds and 6 indoor rounds (+a lot of indoor range sessions) on a GC4 with the diamond.  Pretty sure this is my new ball. 

 

Play LD ProV1x all of last year and switched to ProV1 Left Dot at the end of the summer and loved it.  Bought 4 boxes and have 3 left, so I've been testing the left dot versus the diamond indoors.  They are so similar that they overlap in standard deviation in nearly every category. 

 

The diamond spins the mid irons maybe 200 revs more for me (indoors).  Compared to the Left Dot, I think the diamond actually spins a touch more around the green.  Don't know for sure yet.  Not enough time in good conditions. 

 

The driver numbers were identical.  My driver SS averages 118 and my AOA is only +2. I worry about driver spin, because I can get steep.

 

Indistinguishable off of the putter.  Literally couldn't tell off of my 12 year old Scotty Monterey.

 

It seems durable to me.  I usually switch balls at the turn when I play. I'm not worried about durability at all.  I'll get to play them in the wind at Bandon Dunes this weekend, so that'll be the final test. 

 

I'm actually pretty excited for this ball.  Played ProV's of some kind for a decade.

Look forward to your review after Bandon. I was gifted a couple sleeves of Z Stars and have been hesitant to put them in play. 
 

Good luck at Bandon, hope it isn’t too windy and cold (the high today in PDX was 32 degrees).

[belh22]

Will this come in yellow? 

[Sathion]

I've not used the Z-Star or XV ball for a few years now, I stopped when I fell in love with the Chrome Soft X range. However since the 2022 Chrome Soft range is going for nearly $80 a dozen I had to try something different, so I grabbed a box of these today, was a windy and slightly wet day but I had the course to myself. I hit three balls from tee to green over 9 holes.

 

One of the biggest things I hated about Z-star was how soft it felt and the flight, the XV was simply the ball flight wasn't what I was after. Chrome Soft X gave me the flight and firmness I wanted. Now, having tried the Z-Star Diamond balls, I got the best qualities of the Z and XV range and none of the bad traits I personally dislike.

 

Driver and 3 wood flight was exactly what I wanted and it always seemed to stay straighter and online even on mishits which was good.

 

Approach shots (long/mid/short iron) into the greens were fantastic, the ball grabbed and spun just as I like. 

 

Wedges is where I really noticed it, 1 hops and stops which is nice as I typically will flight a wedge in verse bump and runs (my course has very complex greens which if you run it even slightly past where you want it to stop you risk running off into water or just the green in general. 

 

Bunkers, fantastic, I did sit and hit multiple shots out of the bunkers and they performed amazing with great spin and control and the cover was perfectly fine after it not a single scuff. 

 

Overall a 7.8 / 10 score from me, will likely game this for quite sometime. 

Edit - my equipment is Z785 Driver, F85 3 wood, ZX Utility 3 iron, ZX5 4 and 5 iron and ZX 7 6-PW and a Cobra MIM 58 degree wedge. (p.s I know I need to fix the wedge gap was meant to do a Titleist fitting today for the new SM9 Vokey's but they canceled the event thinking it was going to continue raining.)

Edited February 24, 2022 by Sathion

[ChrisLC40]

I've been using a Diamond for the past few weeks in indoor practice and really like what I've seen. Launch, spin, and carry all very consistent with good feels and I think it may edge out the ProV1 which is my go-to. Plus it's holding up really well from indoor use.

 

I'll be taking them to FL in a couple weeks for real world use, but anticipating I'll be buying more.

[belh22]

How does it fare with comparison with spin on driver and full wedges with the prov1? 

[ChrisLC40]

37 minutes ago, belh22 said:

How does it fare with comparison with spin on driver and full wedges with the prov1? 

 

For me the two are very very similar. The ProV1 is a slightly softer feel on irons. All of my comparison so far has been on a GC4. 

[belh22]

Awesome thanks. Not overly concerned about feel so much as the spin 

[AdExec]

Played my first couple rounds with this ball. I like it a lot. A little clicky/firm feel to it but the performance is there. Getting really solid spin on mid irons (pxg gen 4). Hit some 50-60 yard wedge shots that got some action also. Not ripping them back with full wedges either. Spin feels really controlled all around. Distance off the tee seems to be normal. Nothing crazy long or short. Will need some more testing, but impressed so far. 

[anth]

Played my 2nd full round with this today. Definitely my ball of choice. Happy to report that I used a single ball for the whole round and it held up well - no issues with the cover or seam. It could be I just got a bad batch last time (or hit one too many trees/cart paths)

 

😂

 

For me this ball is as long as anything off the tee, gives me that nice medium/high trajectory, but most of all the spin is ideal. It gives me one hop forward and then bites. The Callaway I was playing was biting straight up and sucking back off the green on some occasions. There’s only so many times you can put up with seeing that.

 

Added bonus: this ball feels nice off my putter. I was surprised. I’m happy to give up some feel if the benefits are there, but this actually feels nice off the face of my Tour Spider.

Edited February 27, 2022 by anth

[keith723]

On 2/27/2022 at 1:40 AM, anth said:

Played my 2nd full round with this today. Definitely my ball of choice. Happy to report that I used a single ball for the whole round and it held up well - no issues with the cover or seam. It could be I just got a bad batch last time (or hit one too many trees/cart paths)

 

😂

 

For me this ball is as long as anything off the tee, gives me that nice medium/high trajectory, but most of all the spin is ideal. It gives me one hop forward and then bites. The Callaway I was playing was biting straight up and sucking back off the green on some occasions. There’s only so many times you can put up with seeing that.

 

Added bonus: this ball feels nice off my putter. I was surprised. I’m happy to give up some feel if the benefits are there, but this actually feels nice off the face of my Tour Spider.

 

I loved the prior version Callaway Chrome Soft X but the 2022 version was doing that to me.  Unreal spin on full wedge shots - no joke the 2022 CSX is landing towards the middle of the green sometimes and spinning back anywhere from 15ft to 10+ yards....very odd.  Just picked up a 2 dozen of the prior version CSX and a dozen of the Srixon Z-Star Diamond.  Hoping the Diamond does the one hop and stop like the CSX I was playing before.  

[B.Easy]

I played every Bandon Dunes course over the past 5 days with both the Z-Diamond and Left Dot.  Probably played the L-Dot slightly more. 

 

It was very windy and rainy every day except Thursday.  I won't judge the extreme wind and rain, because I literally couldn't tell them apart.  However, I will say that I feel that into the extreme wind of 40+MPH sustained winds the Z-Diamond seemed to have an advantage.  Probably small, but noticeable to me.  Could have been strike.

 

On the sunny and windy(15-20mph)  day at Old Mac, the differences were only noticeable around the green.  On the harder and faster greens, the Diamond consistently spun more on partial shots inside 100yds.  I couldn't tell a difference on full shots.

 

Slight durability advantage to the Diamond in my experience this week.  I scratched the paint off a few L-Dots on full swings out of sandy waste areas.  I barely put a mark on the Z's.  Negligible really.

 

The difference in feel is definitely there between the balls, but confuses me.  Sometimes the Diamond feels softer than the L-Dot and vice versa. I wasn't paying close enough attention to determine exactly when that was, but I would contend that the vast majority would not really be able to tell the difference blind.  Especially if you had to rate feel with different clubs and types of swing speeds.  The only person I could see this ball offending are the folks that put a premium on super-softness.

 

This will be my ball. 

 

I really like that it's strong in the areas that are important to me.  Lower Spin/Launch w/Driver, higher spin w/short irons and wedges, nice overall feel, and durability.

[liamw]

Played my first round today with Z-Star Diamond, coming from ProV1X. Everything about the Z-Star Diamond was better for me; very similar flight with the driver, higher flight with long-mid irons and green side shots were more receptive. I felt the Z-Star Diamond to be softer feel and no issues with durability. Quiet a bit cheaper than ProV1X as well. It would seem this takes the best of both ProV1/ProV1X and made this.

[cw1209]

6 hours ago, liamw said:

Played my first round today with Z-Star Diamond, coming from ProV1X. Everything about the Z-Star Diamond was better for me; very similar flight with the driver, higher flight with long-mid irons and green side shots were more receptive. I felt the Z-Star Diamond to be softer feel and no issues with durability. Quiet a bit cheaper than ProV1X as well. It would seem this takes the best of both ProV1/ProV1X and made this.

Haven’t played the ball yet, but your take on the diamond is what I was hoping it would be. Something that lives between the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Really just a lower spinning V1x that doesn’t feel like a rock (left dash) or fly too low (V1) or both (CSX LS). The BX is 95% of what I am looking for. A little too much spin on a full wedge and the green side spin can be slightly unpredictable (which could me for sure). Looking forward to trying these out. 

[belh22]

hey man I fully agree with the tour bx being almost perfect minus the full wedge spin.  anxious to try out the diamond too

[FearTheDeer]

21 hours ago, cw1209 said:

Haven’t played the ball yet, but your take on the diamond is what I was hoping it would be. Something that lives between the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Really just a lower spinning V1x that doesn’t feel like a rock (left dash) or fly too low (V1) or both (CSX LS). The BX is 95% of what I am looking for. A little too much spin on a full wedge and the green side spin can be slightly unpredictable (which could me for sure). Looking forward to trying these out. 

I would also try out the 2021 TP5x if this is the type of ball that you are searching for. I know I have seen concerns about durability, but the specs fit what you're looking for at least.

[RightHandRough]

My experience with the diamond over the last month or so in sim testing reminds me a lot of the tour bx from last year, but I don't know that I agree with the less wedge spin. I've had to adjust a little bit due to inadvertently pulling the string on some pw and even 9i on occasion. We'll see in a month or so how it does on real grass 🤣

[Go_Blue!]

7 hours ago, FearTheDeer said:

I would also try out the 2021 TP5x if this is the type of ball that you are searching for. I know I have seen concerns about durability, but the specs fit what you're looking for at least.

 

From my testing so far, the TP5x is not as durable. I actually didnt find much wrong with it besides the durability. It's a really good ball.

[Mob]

On 3/4/2022 at 8:37 PM, B.Easy said:

I played every Bandon Dunes course over the past 5 days with both the Z-Diamond and Left Dot.  Probably played the L-Dot slightly more. 

 

It was very windy and rainy every day except Thursday.  I won't judge the extreme wind and rain, because I literally couldn't tell them apart.  However, I will say that I feel that into the extreme wind of 40+MPH sustained winds the Z-Diamond seemed to have an advantage.  Probably small, but noticeable to me.  Could have been strike.

 

On the sunny and windy(15-20mph)  day at Old Mac, the differences were only noticeable around the green.  On the harder and faster greens, the Diamond consistently spun more on partial shots inside 100yds.  I couldn't tell a difference on full shots.

 

Slight durability advantage to the Diamond in my experience this week.  I scratched the paint off a few L-Dots on full swings out of sandy waste areas.  I barely put a mark on the Z's.  Negligible really.

 

The difference in feel is definitely there between the balls, but confuses me.  Sometimes the Diamond feels softer than the L-Dot and vice versa. I wasn't paying close enough attention to determine exactly when that was, but I would contend that the vast majority would not really be able to tell the difference blind.  Especially if you had to rate feel with different clubs and types of swing speeds.  The only person I could see this ball offending are the folks that put a premium on super-softness.

 

This will be my ball. 

 

I really like that it's strong in the areas that are important to me.  Lower Spin/Launch w/Driver, higher spin w/short irons and wedges, nice overall feel, and durability.

Thanks for sharing this post.  I had 1 dozen Left Dot Pro V1's, and it was my favorite ball.  But since it isn't commercially available, I wanted to find something as close to it as possible.  I hope I find the Diamond to play the same way as you do.

[Hoyoymac]

Received a free sleeve of the Srixon Z Star Diamond ball last week and have played three rounds with them.  Lost one ball yesterday, but still have two left.

 

My gamer ball for the past few years has been the Bridgestone Tour BRX.  Have also been trying out the Maxfli Tour and Tour X balls in the last few months.

 

My experience so far with the Z Star Diamond ball is that it does exactly what it says on the packaging with one exception.

 

It is not as spinny as the regular Z Star and does not feel quite as firm as the  Z Star XV.  But, it does not feel soft as advertised on the package. It doesn’t feel firm either.  More of a medium feel and sound off the putter.

 

The Spin Skin with SERM does seem to work.  The balls how ever develop a slightly grayish hue in play and need to be wiped off more than the other balls I play.  The cover is durable and did not show much wear even after contacting trees or cart paths with a couple of errant shots.

 

Compared to the Bridgestone Tour BRX it feels firmer and spins slightly more around the greens.  I have had to carry the ball closer to the pin on chip shots because it checks up quicker.

 

To me the ball that it most closely feels and performs like is the Maxfli Tour.

 

[MMB1500]

Another short review here. 

[NZ315]

6 hours ago, Hoyoymac said:

Received a free sleeve of the Srixon Z Star Diamond ball last week and have played three rounds with them.  Lost one ball yesterday, but still have two left.

 

My gamer ball for the past few years has been the Bridgestone Tour BRX.  Have also been trying out the Maxfli Tour and Tour X balls in the last few months.

 

My experience so far with the Z Star Diamond ball is that it does exactly what it says on the packaging with one exception.

 

It is not as spinny as the regular Z Star and does not feel quite as firm as the  Z Star XV.  But, it does not feel soft as advertised on the package. It doesn’t feel firm either.  More of a medium feel and sound off the putter.

 

The Spin Skin with SERM does seem to work.  The balls how ever develop a slightly grayish hue in play and need to be wiped off more than the other balls I play.  The cover is durable and did not show much wear even after contacting trees or cart paths with a couple of errant shots.

 

Compared to the Bridgestone Tour BRX it feels firmer and spins slightly more around the greens.  I have had to carry the ball closer to the pin on chip shots because it checks up quicker.

 

To me the ball that it most closely feels and performs like is the Maxfli Tour.

 

Thanks for giving it the tree and cart path test lol. 😂
long time XV player here gonna give the a go when the weather lets me

[Stanks]

Here is the magical question and I've already received a partial answer: Does / Will this rendition of Z-Star still show a crack at the seam? I've seen one picture that points to the affirmative. This is not a make or break for this ball but, if it happens early in a round, not good.

I've played them all over the past 5 - 6 years. Almost every urethane covered ball model out there. Srixon is the only one that CONSISTENTLY cracks at the seam. It does not seem to impact performance but, for the guys that won't play a ball with a bad scuff or has durability issues, it's a problem. 

[Billdozer324]

Curious on thoughts of spin and flight comparison to prov1x or tour bxs. I loved the older tour bxs from 2019, had a great feel, especially with the putter. Would love to see the feel of that ball in a higher trajectory ball.

[Douglsss]

What others have said here about the ball echo what I've seen. Sits right between a prov1 and prov1x which is exactly the ball I want. Unfortunately, the cover durability is an issue. The ball in the pics is after 2 rounds. If Srixon can get that QC better on these balls, they have a real contender but I'm somewhat bummed about the idea of paying $45 for balls that have a big tendency to crack at the seams. 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by Douglsss

[QuigleyDU]

The diamond does everything well. It maybe spins a smidge too Much but is manageable and can be adjusted for. The launch and flight are great. Ball speed are very good as well. 

[B.Easy]

1 hour ago, Stanks said:

Here is the magical question and I've already received a partial answer: Does / Will this rendition of Z-Star still show a crack at the seam? I've seen one picture that points to the affirmative. This is not a make or break for this ball but, if it happens early in a round, not good.

I've played them all over the past 5 - 6 years. Almost every urethane covered ball model out there. Srixon is the only one that CONSISTENTLY cracks at the seam. It does not seem to impact performance but, for the guys that won't play a ball with a bad scuff or has durability issues, it's a problem. 

 

I played the same ball for nearly 2 rounds and I saw no crack.  I'm not easy on balls either. 115-120 driver SS and steep with my wedges on harsh and sandy courses..  The ball is as durable as any I've used and on par with the ProV from what I've experienced.

[Go_Blue!]

20 hours ago, Douglsss said:

What others have said here about the ball echo what I've seen. Sits right between a prov1 and prov1x which is exactly the ball I want. Unfortunately, the cover durability is an issue. The ball in the pics is after 2 rounds. If Srixon can get that QC better on these balls, they have a real contender but I'm somewhat bummed about the idea of paying $45 for balls that have a big tendency to crack at the seams. 

 

 

Dude you got 2 rounds out of it...how many did you want? My opinion, going 1 round without needing to change a ball is a win.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Go_Blue!