2021 Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV
Over the years, Srixon has made high quality, high performance balls at excellent price points. The new 2021 Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV are the premium Tour balls of this year’s Srixon lineup and are designed to be “soft, fast, responsive, stop-on-a-dime” balls that can fit anyone’s game. The Z Star is a three-piece, mid-launch, greenside ball with more spin. The Z Star XV is the four-piece, higher-launching, distance ball.
How Does it Feel?
While the performance of previous Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV golf balls have been consistently solid, I never quite got a handle on their feel, which lead me to use other balls. This 2021 Z Star line is totally different. The standard Z Star has a feel that’s hard to explain. The ball has a “medium-solid” feel to it off of the face. You know you made contact, but it’s barely noticeable in the best way possible. It’s not too soft or mushy by any means, but definitely isn’t firm or click-y. The Z Star XV gives you a little bit more of that solid feel, but is still far from what I’d consider firm. A good way to put it is that the Z Star XV is just a little more prevalent off of the face.
Around the greens and off of the flat stick, the Z Star is super soft and gives you just the slightest bit of feedback, which is what I prefer. The Z Star XV will give you a little more click in the feel feel. It’s by no means like a rock, but rather just giving you a little more feedback off of the face. Noticeable, but not drastic.
Off the Tee
Off the tee is probably where the 2021 Srixon Z Star shined brightest for me. During a full practice round with this ball, I only missed one fairway with my driver (not a big deal). While I was definitely swinging the driver well, I do think the Z Star had something to do with that. Why? It gave me perfect launch and controlled my spin. I’d categorize the Z Star as a medium, penetrating ball flight (which I love), and modest spin. My misses were much more under control, and I didn’t find myself wandering far from my target line at all. It just seemed to want to be a “point and shoot” type ball. Backspin and side spin were controlled very well for strong accuracy.
The 2021 Srixon Z Star XV will give you similar performance, with a few different characteristics. As someone who hits a high ball, the penetrating flight of the regular Z Star was more of my speed. However, if you need help elevating the ball, or are looking to pick up more carry yards, the Z Star XV might be a better fit. It’s Srixon’s distance ball in this line so it keeps the spin low and delivers a higher launch. For me, the higher launch was too high and cost me yardage with windy conditions, but if you launch the ball low naturally, the Z Star XV will help you pick up some carry without giving crazy backspin numbers.
On the Approach
Off of irons is where I found the 2021 Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV to be most similar. While the driver had a very penetrating ball flight with the Z Star, the irons varied (naturally) by iron selection. A five iron had that nice, lower penetrating flight, while anything seven iron and higher I could throw way up into the air without issue. The Z Star XV had a touch higher flight with the irons, but again, nothing crazy. Both had great spin with irons, and mixed with the higher flight, had great stopping power, even on firm, Arizona greens. And like the driver, the ball just wants to go straight.
Around the Green
Around the greens is where people start getting really particular about the golf ball (myself included). If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times on here: predictability is most important to me in a short game club (or any club/piece of equipment really). I want to know exactly what my ball is going to do, and the 2021 Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV do exactly that. Need help generating spin, or are a higher-spin short game player who wants that hit and sit, hop and stop type of wedge game? The Z Star is it. I had no problem flighting the ball how I needed, and every short/mid range shot performed exactly how I expected it to.
The Z Star XV is similar, but it’s going to generate a touch less spin for you. You don’t have issues spinning the ball around the greens? Go for the extra distance with the XV and you’ll still have all of the short game control you need. Soft feel, predictable performance. The perfect recipe for a short game ball.
Final Thoughts – 2021 Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV
If you’ve been paying any attention to the stuff I’ve reviewed (which you probably haven’t, that’s fair), I have been loving what Srixon has been doing this year. The Srixon Z Star and Z Star XV are no exception. I’ve played the same golf ball for the last seven or eight years. After one round this year (where I shot my second lowest score ever, and lowest in three years, humble brag), the 2021 Srixon Z Star is now my new gamer. Perfect feel, great control, perfect flight, and extremely predictable around the greens. I can’t ask for anything more. No matter what you’re looking for in a ball, the 2021 Srixon Z Star or Z Star XV can fit the bill, you just need to venture out and give it a shot.
Hello Tommy,
These two balls are attractive..Hopefully, it gets a market response.
I have started the 22 season with the Z-Star and love it.I tried the XV but prefer the Z-Star. I also have couple of boxes of Pro V1s. I prefer the Z-Star especially since it is 5 bucks less and also comes in the Divide version. I agree on the putter feel Tommy, its really not clicky and feels soft but I’m ok with it. I do like the long irons roll out and it checks nicely with the wedge greenside. I did see some roll out with the 7 and 9 iron where I like to see more back spin. Still PV1 is a great ball and I trust the consistency related to manufacturing. I’m going to play the Z-Star for the season and will pull out the PV1 from time to time.
William –
Glad you enjoy them. They’re a great ball. Thanks for stopping in!
Tommy
Thanks for your reviews. I was hitting chip and run shots with 10 Z Star’s and 10 proV1s and noticed a marked differnece in spin rate coming off the P wedge. The Srixons ran out about 6′ more on a 20 yd shot.
Greg – I’d recommend hitting full wedge and pitch shots with each to get a better idea on spin. Lot of different variables and not a lot of spin generated on a 20 yd shot with a pitching wedge.