Srixon Z Star Diamond QC issue

[imsurokim]

Just got my Z star diamond and Z star XV I ordered during buy 2 get 1 free. Seems like diamond ball has quality control issue. They have defects on cover and also rough finish on the surface that almost feels/looks like finger print of someone left on cover shown in picture. 10-11 out of 12 balls are like that on both of my dozens. XV that I received is perfect without any of those in any balls. If it is one or two balls out of dozen I would understand but 10 out of 12 on both dozen?🤷

Is this normal and has anyone noticed same? Thanks in advance

Edited December 7, 2023 by imsurokim

[phizzy30]

Wait until the seams start to crack after a round or so.  No complaints whatsoever when it comes to performance though.  

Edited December 7, 2023 by phizzy30

[imsurokim]

23 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

Wait until the seams start to crack after a round or so.  No complaints whatsoever when it comes to performance though.  

With closer inspection, rough surface is around the seam. It circles around the ball not just one spot. I’m playing tomorrow and if any cracks, I will contact srixon. 

[Ar-Teest]

I bought some XV's when Dick's had the sale a few months back and half the balls in each dozen were like that...I returned them nonetheless, surprise diamonds are now like that, I thought they were the balls only produced in Japan and had a better QC, things may have changed

[imsurokim]

I thought made in Japan should be better. This is what it looks like after 13 hole. It started to crack near the seam  

[elwhippy]

Srixon Z-star models just dropped to £30 in UK. £18 less than V1s. No way can they match Titleist quality at much lower prices. 

[buckI]

Tried the Z Star a couple years ago as a tester for Golf WRX and the ball performed well but the wear on the seam in particular was awful.    

[ode]

Interesting they haven't tackled the seem wear issue yet.  Seems like it's been going on for a few gens now🤔

[anth]

How do you know these are made in Japan?

[elwhippy]

Boxes show country of manufacture. Most UK Srixon ammo is made in Indonesia. Other markets made in Japan. 

[phizzy30]

17 hours ago, imsurokim said:

I thought made in Japan should be better. This is what it looks like after 13 hole. It started to crack near the seam  

Yep.  Every XV/diamond I've had has always cracked at the seam unless I lost it OB.  Srixon says it doesn't affect performance but I'm not so sure.  Maybe an engineer can chime in. 

[imsurokim]

39 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

Yep.  Every XV/diamond I've had has always cracked at the seam unless I lost it OB.  Srixon says it doesn't affect performance but I'm not so sure.  Maybe an engineer can chime in. 

I wanted to play full 18 and see what ball looks like but lost it OB very next hole after I posted this😂. XV looked little better after using it for 4 holes, but I might have to play next Monday and see. 

[hammergolf]

Technically it’s not cracked, it’s a wear issue when the ball is struck on the seam. It’s true it wouldn’t affect performance, but who wants to pay a premium price for that to happen. What amazes me is that this has been an issue for Srixon for almost a decade and they either don’t know how, or refuse to fix this issue. 

[phizzy30]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

Technically it’s not cracked, it’s a wear issue when the ball is struck on the seam. It’s true it wouldn’t affect performance, but who wants to pay a premium price for that to happen. What amazes me is that this has been an issue for Srixon for almost a decade and they either don’t know how, or refuse to fix this issue. 

I sent @Srixon / Cleveland Golfa PM asking about the seam issue and he never replied.  Another member here contacted Srixon directly and they told him that the seam cracking doesn't affect performance whatsoever.  I'm skeptical though as a cracked seam would affect the aerodynamics of the ball while in flight.  Srixon clearly knows about the issue. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by phizzy30

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I sent @Srixon / Cleveland Golfa PM asking about the seam issue and he never replied.  Another member here contacted Srixon directly and they told him that the seam cracking doesn't affect performance whatsoever.  I'm skeptical though as a cracked seam would affect the aerodynamics of the ball while in flight.  Srixon clearly knows about the issue. 

It’s not a crack. It’s a tear in the cover and spin coating. Similar to how the covers on other balls tear or scuff. For some reason, it only happens on the seam of their balls.  

[Ar-Teest]

3 hours ago, hammergolf said:

It’s not a crack. It’s a tear in the cover and spin coating. Similar to how the covers on other balls tear or scuff. For some reason, it only happens on the seam of their balls.  

 

it's definitely a coating issue...some balls are well coated and some seem very "thinly" coated.....the ones that are thin always show this tear in the seams from use even after just a couple of holes played, and I've had z-stars that were well coated never really show any wear at all unless played with for 36+ holes. 

[ECgolf]

On 12/8/2023 at 12:06 PM, hammergolf said:

It’s not a crack. It’s a tear in the cover and spin coating. Similar to how the covers on other balls tear or scuff. For some reason, it only happens on the seam of their balls.  

Your description fits my experience over the past few years far better than the repeated description of the balls “cracking” that I’ve seen on here. I’ve played the balls in casual rounds well after seeing the wear on a seam and never had a ball develop anything that looked or functioned like a crack even after extended use after one of these showed up. I do not know if it impacts performance, not in a way that is obvious to me anyway. That said, if I’m playing a serious round and this wear shows up I do swap the ball out just in case. Even with this issue, the z-star diamond seem a better value to me than other premium balls since I only buy them when they have their buy two get one sales every June and December. I don’t see the issue on most of the diamonds I play. I think I still make out ahead price wise when take the occasional one out of rotation early. Performance otherwise has been ideal for me. 

[Stanks]

No way. Another Z Star line quality issue. 

[ChaosTheory]

I have been locating the seam before putting the ball into play.  There is only one line that connects all the way around the equator.  That's the seam line. Takes a while, better done at home.  Then I mark it with a line.  When I have ball in hand, I can be sure not to be hitting the seam.  That makes it last a lot longer before the seam shows up.

[woods991]

FYI titleist has ,any of the same issues including the prov1’s.  There are several topics on this .