I don’t do this often, but I have to give the folks at Srixon another chance. After my last review where I could not recommend the ball because I found that the SpinSkin™ was actually creating too much side and back spin with my driver. Well, that is all true, the Srixon ball does indeed seem to generate more spin with all my clubs, however, that may be what you want.
As Jeremy from Modesto, CA., pointed out, it was probably not the ball, maybe it is the player. And he was right, it turns out that I had developed a really bad habit of hitting down on my driver without noticing. The Srixon balls alerted me to it, and with a quick session at the range to fix the issue, I was off to the course to give the Z-Stars another chance, and I am glad I did.
First, this is not a ball for someone who does slice of hook the ball, because it will not fix those for you. But if you are someone who is a better player, and have good control of your ball flight, you might be pleasantly surprised by the increased spin and ability to shape your shot more. Last Sunday, I had my “A” game so I pulled out the Z-Star and played 18 with it exclusively. I really enjoyed the day, had a few birdies, and kept it in the fairway all day. Driving distance, was still not quite what I get with the Callaway Chrome Soft, but it was not appreciably shorter with the driver, and I hit a couple of really nice 4 irons into the wind, that held well and did not balloon.
As their name implies, spin is the name of the game on these balls and they do spin a bunch on the short game. The course I played has a good number of holes with a “backstop”, or slopped greens back to front. Well, I had to be very careful with my club selection, because more than once I spun the ball off the front of the green. A couple of times I even pulled a PW instead of a sand wedge, just to flight the ball down, and control the spin better. I found that to be both challenging and fun. It was a windy day so I had to think like that to control the ball, and I really enjoyed it. Another big deal for me, this ball holds up great, no scuffing or shearing, and the cover looked as good after 18 as it did when I started.
Final verdict, I will probably not play this ball everyday but when I have a need for spin, or on courses with flat fast greens, in other words, courses with out “backstops”, because these balls will bite and hold a green that is for sure.