Srixon's premium Z-Star and Z-Star XV have long been a serious player in the better ball market.
The latest incarnations for 2015 should be no different, but this fact and the continuation of the popular name apart, not a lot has stayed the same as Srixon has made changes to their headline golf ball, making it longer with even better performance around the greens and in the wind.
The key to the powerful trajectory that sits behind the distance of the Z-Star family of balls, and in particular their performance in the wind, is the combination of a high initial velocity, a high launch angle and low spin.
These conditions are created with the interaction of two new factors in the 2015 balls: the dimple pattern and the energetic gradient growth core.
The Z-Star and Z-Star XV share the same 324 dimple pattern that Srixon has created to give the balls a more uniform surface area to lower any aerodynamic resistance. Less resistance means more airflow around the ball in flight and this creates the penetrating trajectory that means better performance in windy conditions.
The cores of both the golf balls have been designed to promote high launch and low spin but they differ slightly to give the distinctive characteristics of each ball.
The core in the Z-Star is a super-soft large diameter core and has been developed from the previous generation to give a greater contrast between the hard outer region and soft inner. This leads to a higher launch angle and less spin from the tee for greater distance whilst maintaining the soft feel of the Z-Star.
The Z-Star XV features a similar energetic gradient growth core but the designers have added a high resistance ionomer ultra-thin mid layer which increases the hardness and improves the contrast between the outer and inner cores. This gives the ball a firmer feel than the Z-Star but the launch angle and low spin it creates means that it is even longer than the Z-Star.
Both balls also feature Srixon's latest urethane coating that delivers softer feel and a stable spin performance in the balls. The Z-Star cover is 3-piece whereas the Z-Star XV is a 4-piece ball but the "Spin Skin" is the same and is 21% softer than in the previous generation of the balls.
This skin combines with a 7% softer ultra-thin, neo-urethane cover that tests show have increased interaction with the clubface at impact by 25%, and which gives both balls a softer feel and more consistent spin performance.
The Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV balls both come in a choice of pure white or tour yellow and will retail at £45 per dozen.
