If I were to ask you to name the most predictably reliable OEM in golf (Non-Titleist Division), how many of you would say Srixon?
Other OEMs toss words like “revolutionary” or “game-changing” around like beach balls in July. Srixon tosses those words around like manhole covers in January (although we will test that conclusion next Monday). Nowhere is Srixon more predictably reliable than with its Z-STAR golf ball lineup.
Srixon is announcing its ninth-generation Z-STAR line today, perfect timing following Hideki’s win at the Sentry yesterday, and the company is sticking to the script. The improvements are incremental. There are no wholesale formula changes, no radically different cover technologies or dimple patterns and no sexy customization options. It’s simply, in Srixon’s words, a better Z-STAR.
Srixon’s Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement rewards consistent, reliable incremental upgrades. That’s not to say there isn’t new stuff to talk about with the 2025 Srixon Z-STAR lineup.
There is.
Those upgrades aren’t life-altering but if you liked the last generation of Srixon Z-STAR golf balls, you’ll probably like these new ones a little better.
Here are five things you need to know about the 2025 Srixon Z-STAR golf ball lineup.
#1: Biomass is a thing
“Tour-level” golf ball spin is a very simple recipe: a soft, thin urethane cover backed up by a firm mantle, struck aggressively. Srixon, for its part, makes some of the softest and thinnest covers in golf. For 2025, Srixon is introducing a new cover formulation that won’t be any softer or any more durable than the previous version nor will it spin more.
So why is it significant?
Biomass.
Golf ball manufacturers use a lot of petrochemicals. Srixon, as part of its company-wide sustainability efforts, is adding biomass to its urethane cover formula. Biomass is a plant-derived material made from corn instead of petroleum. It’s a relatively small percentage of the urethane formula, but Srixon says biomass will reduce carbon dioxide emissions during manufacturing without impacting the ball’s performance.
Srixon says the new Z-STAR lineup will have the same look, feel and durability as previous generations.
#2: More separation between the three Z-STARS
2025 is the year of performance separation for the Z-STAR line. Srixon felt it needed the three Z-STARs to be a little more different so it’s making changes to each ball’s FastLayer DG Core which gives us FastLayer DG Core 2.0.
Golf ball cores are typically soft in the middle and get progressively firmer towards the surface. It’s how OEMs balance relatively low driver spin with ball speed. OEMs can adjust the soft-to-firm gradient by curing cores at different temperatures and for varying durations.
The standard Z-STAR has always been the softest of the family which logically makes it the lowest-spinning off the driver. Not so logically, it also has the highest greenside spin. For 2025, Srixon is making the core a little bit softer at the center which should make it spin even less off the driver. The net result is a lower compression, which Srixon measures at 88. That’s four points softer than the 2023 Z-STAR.
The Z-STAR XV has always been Srixon’s firmest ball and the 2025 model stays at a 102 compression. The XV’s new core is still soft in the center but it’s getting firmer toward the outer portion. Srixon says that will result in more ball speed off the driver and better iron spin.
The Z-STAR Diamond is the emerging star of the Z-STAR family. It was Srixon’s best and most consistent performer in MyGolfSpy’s 2023 Ball Test but Srixon felt there wasn’t enough performance separation between the Diamond and the XV. Srixon is softening up the Diamond ever so slightly, dropping compression a couple of points to 100. That will give it a slightly softer feel than the XV and also reduce driver spin a tad.
#3: Lots of stuff is staying the same
A small amount of corn-fed urethane in the cover and new soft-to-firmness gradients in the cores may be the very definition of Kaizen. Not sexy or revolutionary but steady, predictable reliability.
Srixon is still using its proprietary Spin Skin+ coating. Spin Skin dates back to 2015. It’s a special urethane coating on the ball to increase friction. Srixon says the result is more approach-shot and greenside spin.
Srixon also says the new Z-STARS are getting a stronger and more durable paint job that should be more dirt- and grime-resistant.
Additionally, Srixon has always been proud of how the Z-STAR performs in the wind. Then, again, we’ve never heard an OEM tell us their ball really struggles in the wind, either. Anecdotally, Srixon has told us its Tour pros do seem to perform well relative to the field in windy conditions.
For that reason, Srixon is leaving the Z-STAR’s dimple patterns alone for another generation. Each ball has a 338-dimple arrangement with deep dimples for more lift, low drag and a penetrating launch.
#4: The Z-STAR DIVIDE rides again
You may or may not care but I’ve decided to get over my own damn self and fully embrace this whole DIVIDE thing. I can’t fight it anymore – just give me a ball that’s half yellow and half white and let me put on a stripe show for you the next time we play.
Srixon introduced the ultra-colorful Q-STAR DIVIDE in 2021 and added the more limited yellow-white Z-STAR DIVIDE a year later. You may love ‘em, hate ‘em or be completely indifferent to ‘em but, what the hell, what PING started in the ‘80s is back and isn’t going anywhere.
Once again, Srixon is offering the Z-STAR and the Z-STAR XV in the DIVIDE sub-family. The balls are exactly the same as the undivided models; they just look a little like fishing bobbers.
It’s important to note that the coloring isn’t just a painted-on coating. The actual urethane cover is dyed all the way through so you can’t scuff the yellow side and turn it white.
What’s the benefit of DIVIDE, other than fun? Well, when you’re 64 and didn’t listen to your mother as a kid, you just don’t see as well as you used to. The strobe effect when the DIVIDE is in flight makes it easier to track and you also get a good look at greenside spin. Lining up a putt is a breeze, too – way easier than drawing a big old line on the ball.
(Sitting too close to the TV. That’s what I was talking about.)
#5 Srixon’s been making golf balls for how long?
Did you know Srixon’s golf ball roots go back nearly 100 years? I didn’t know that, either.
In 1909, Srixon’s parent company, Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries (the SRI in Srixon), partnered with Britain’s Dunlop Rubber Company. By the early 1920s, Dunlop released the original Maxfli golf ball which Sumitomo would eventually manufacture in Japan.
In 1985, Sumitomo acquired Dunlop’s tire business everywhere but the U.S. and Australia. Eventually, Sumitomo acquired most of the Dunlop sports brands worldwide. Its golf and tennis operation in the U.S. is operated under the name Dunlop Sports, Americas.
I’m not sure but that might just make Srixon the longest-ongoing manufacturer of golf balls in history.
2025 Srixon Z-STAR golf balls: Final thoughts, pricing, availability
As we said at the top, Srixon is the most predictably reliable OEM in golf (Non-Titleist Division, of course). While you will see some fireworks from Srixon next week (and Cleveland later this week), the company is as invested in the Z-STAR line as Titleist is in the Pro V1 line.
How that commitment translates to the market, however, is an open question. The Z-STARS, particularly the Diamond, are fine golf balls and a compelling case can be made that they’re on par with, or maybe even a skosh better than, the TP5 and Chrome Tour.
The problem is that “fine” and “predictably consistent” don’t take bites out of TaylorMade’s or Callaway’s market share, let alone Titleist’s. Srixon continues to battle Bridgestone for fourth place in a five-horse race for retail sales. A race, by the way, that’s about to get another contestant as Vice is making a concerted effort to join the retail ranks.
It’s going to be interesting to watch.
The 2025 Srixon Z-STAR, Z-STAR XV and Z-STAR Diamond will be available in both Pure White and Tour Yellow. This will be the first time the Z-STAR Diamond gets the yellow treatment.
All five members of the Srixon Z-STAR family will retail at $49.99 per dozen. They hit the stores and online on Jan. 24.
For more information, visit the Srixon website.
Dr Tee
1 year ago
I’ve been playing the Z-Star XV yellow and white Divide for a couple of years–definitely as long as any other ball I’ve ever played, tons of green side spin and a durable cover and “paint job” which as you’ve aptly pointed out, is impregnably dyed into the urethane. Two other big advantages–1) built in putting alignment–no need to start messing with Sharpies, 2) built in ball identification–hardly any one at my club (LaPaloma, Tucson) or anywhere else I’ve tee’d it up plays this ball so I can always quickly tell which ball is mine on the fairway or green–so, I’d like to keep it this way, please don’t encourage any more players to use this ball (LOL).
I’ve heard a rumor through a Srixon rep that the Q-Star may be offered in a yellow and white Divide colors in coming years in addition to the current neon orange, yellow and blue. The Q-Star Tour is a terrific ball too that I use in cold weather.