Is THIS The Srixon Golf Ball More Club Golfers Should be Playing?

Is THIS The Srixon Golf Ball More Club Golfers Should be Playing?

Golfers prioritise different things when it comes to their golf ball, don't they? For some, it’s all about price and they are simply on the look-out for the best cheap golf balls; for others, it’s more about length, with the best distance balls of greatest interest to them; others still, perhaps influenced by what they see tour pros playing, hanker after the best golf balls.

But, realistically, some of those in the last group won’t be blessed with the game – or more specifically swing speed – to reap the full all-round performance benefits of tour-calibre balls like the Titleist Pro V1 and Srixon Z Star, especially when it comes to the long game, where they won’t be able to compress them sufficiently to optimise distance and flight.

It was for golfers like these that Srixon first launched its Q-Star Tour model a few years ago, and the fourth-generation version, due to hit the retail shelves on February 25, 2022, looks set to further narrow the gap between the aspirations of club golfers with moderate swing speeds and the reality of the performance they are able to eke out of a golf ball.

“The new and improved Q Star Tour continues to deliver tour-calibre performance with a softer feel compared to our other tour-level offerings,” says Joe Miller, product expert at Srixon Sports Europe. “This ball provides the distance all golfers need with the greenside spin and control to attack the toughest of pins." It has been specifically calibrated to help those with moderate swing speeds (75+mph according to the spec sheet rather than 90+mph for the new Z Star Diamond) better optimise all-round performance than with the slightly firmer tour balls that require more speed and power to reap maximum long-game reward.

Although in Srixon’s case, the Q-Star Tour (£34.99) only retails at £5 a dozen less than its Z Star, Z Star XV and new Z Star Diamond models (Brooks Koepka’s ball of choice), in other brands’ ball ranges there is a bigger price gulf between their premium models and these new mid-price super-breed offerings which, in reality, have taken mid-price ball performance to another level in recent years.

Two ways in which the Srixon Q Star Tour and balls like the Titleist Tour Speed, TaylorMade Tour Response and new Wilson Triad have been able to achieve this are via their enhanced multi-layer construction (typically three-piece) that allows a mid-layer to interact with both core and cover to optimise all-round performance at sub tour-level swing speeds. Perhaps more specifically, the increased use of golf’s Holy Grail cover material – urethane – has helped to seriously up the game in a ball category that, historically, would have featured firmer-feeling cover materials.

So, moderate swing-speed golfers can now enjoy a near-premium ball that is more suited to their games off the tee and from longer range, while still providing the desired greenside spin and control that perhaps drew them towards those tour balls in the first place.

Yes, you could argue that in the case of the Srixon Q Star Tour it is only a £5 saving per dozen over the Z Star models. But – and it’s quite a big ‘but’ – if that gets you a ball that not only saves you a few quid but is also better suited to your swing speed, while giving nothing away in the feel department, isn’t that a double saving worth having?