Key Takeaways:
- The new Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE is a two-toned ball, a la the PING Eye 2.
- The urethane-cover matte finish is a yellow/red combo for easy putting alignment, better visuals.
- $32.99 a dozen. Available April 15.
Don’t know about you but the new Srixon Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE golf ball sure brings me back to the summer of 1983.
That year, your faithful scribe was a lad of 23, working nights and playing golf days, gaming Spalding Executive irons and MacGregor Tourney persimmons. And when I had the cash, those weapons would smack PING Eye two-toned balls far and deep into the woods.
And if memory still serves, I carded my very first birdie that year with a PING Eye on the par-3 17th at the Westminster Golf Club.
That summer passed, as did many others, and by 1997 PING was out of the ball business. Today PING’s two-toned balls are quite the collector’s item, fetching big bucks on eBay.
But today Srixon is bringing back the two-toned golf ball with the red and yellow Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE. For some, it’ll bring back memories of the PING Eye while for others, it might make you want to go fishing. Either way, what’s old is new again and it’s fair to ask two simple questions.
Why this? Why now?
Srixon Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE
Why would Srixon decide to make a ball that’s essentially two-thirds of a stoplight? We posed that question to Srixon Marketing Director Brian Schielke.
“Colors, and matte colors, in particular, have just been so popular lately,” he says. “We wanted to do something that would stand out from a color perspective but also give golfers the added performance benefits of a urethane ball.”
Most brightly colored balls are two-piece construction. Srixon’s SOFT FEEL is available in five colors as is the Wilson Staff DUO Optix. In the higher-performing urethane category, there’s the Wilson Staff DUO Professional, also available in five colors.
Volvik, of course, is the unicorn on all this with more colors than a ’60s acid trip.
The Srixon Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE is built on the Q-STAR TOUR platform. It’s a three-piece, 72-compression ball with a urethane cover. Only that it’s in two colors.
“The really cool thing about this ball is that it’s fun, it’s colorful and it’s different,” says Schielke. “You get a lot of feedback when you’re putting or hitting chips or pitches. You can even see the ball spinning off the tee, which surprised me.”
Can’t you just hear the marketing types at PING having the same conversations way back when?
High Tech Half ‘n’ Half
This fishing bobber thing isn’t something Srixon just cooked up overnight. The company had to create a new urethane cover for the Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE. Being part of the Sumitomo Rubber empire surely helped.
“It wasn’t like someone said, ‘Hey, let’s make a two-tone golf ball’, and, presto, the engineers had it done the next day,” says Schielke. “It took quite a bit of prototyping, testing, getting the colors right and getting a really clean seam.”
It’s important to note the red and yellow coloring isn’t painted on. The urethane itself is infused with colored pigments so each half of the cover is solid red or solid yellow.
“It’s not going to scuff or wear off after one shot,” says Schielke.
Matte balls do tend to hold dirt more so than standard balls but Schielke says Srixon is happy with the durability and looks of the Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE. “All golf balls get dirty but we haven’t seen any problems with this one that stand out.”
Since I know you’re wondering, the samples we received are made in Srixon’s factory in Indonesia. MyGolfSpy’s Ball Lab report on the Srixon Q-STAR TOUR last October found significant inconsistencies in both roundness and compression. For its part, Srixon hasn’t officially commented, other than to say they were surprised by the results. By comparison, the Srixon Z-STAR, which is made in Japan, scored very well in its Ball Lab test.
“The performance, technology, manufacturing techniques, the machinery—it’s all the same between the facilities,” says Schielke.
Retro Cool
Yeah, those two-toned PING Eye and PING Eye 2 balls were a special kind of cool in 1983. You know what else was cool back then? Michael Jackson’s first Moonwalk and Prince’s Little Red Corvette. Women wearing leg warmers and shoulder pads and men wearing Members Only jackets and Swatches.
We won’t discuss parachute pants.
Seve won at Augusta and Tom Watson won at Royal Birkdale. Natalie Gulbis, Carrie Underwood and Mila Kunis were all born, and Jimmy Demaret, Muddy Waters and Gloria Swanson all died.
Those PING balls are collectibles now, as are vintage 1983 Cabbage Patch Dolls and the Atari 5200. In-demand color combos regularly fetch $400 a ball. The rarest of the rare can go for upwards of a grand.
To quote another 1983 icon, say hello to my little friend.
“I would say keep a lookout for other colors coming later this year,” Schielke says of the Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE. “This is exciting and we think it’s going to appeal to a lot of golfers.”
Schielke adds it’s a bit too early to think about seeing a two-toned Z-STAR, but never say never.
“Hideki (Matsuyama) saw some and was playing around with them on the putting green,” he says. “He liked the visuals of putting with this ball so you never know.”
If Srixon did go ahead with a Tour-level DIVIDE type, they’d probably have to forgo a matte finish. As we’ve learned, when matte balls get wet, they tend to launch significantly higher and spin significantly less than balls with a traditional gloss finish.
However, one thing is certain: If any Srixon Tour staffers did play a Z-STAR level DIVIDE, Srixon would get more TV time than it ever thought imaginable.
Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE Price, Specs and Availability
The new Srixon Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE features an updated FastLayer Core. Since the Q-STAR TOUR first came out in 2017, each generation has featured an updated core. FastLayer is Srixon-speak for a core that’s soft in the middle and gradually gets firmer toward the outer edge.
The Q-STAR TOUR release cadence says the full line is due for an update by the middle of summer. It would reasonable to assume the DIVIDE is using the most up-to-date core.
Srixon categorizes the Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE as mid-to-high-launch and, at 72 compression, it definitely registers on the soft side.
The Srixon Q-STAR TOUR DIVIDE will retail for $32.99. They’ll hit retail on Tax Day, April 15.
For more information, visit Srixon.com.
*We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.
David
2 years agoI just got two boxes, one going to a buddy. I play the q-star tour ball but will use these for putting drills to quickly see putting mistakes.
Ben
2 years agoWhile I wasn’t around yet during the great two tone era of the early 1980’s, I do think srixon might be into something with these. I’ll buy a dozen, since I’m regularly in the weeds and hope the visuals help with…something. Do how they make a non matte version eventually though. If they are successful, rest assured we’ll see other brands follow suite.
Michael
2 years agoNice article but I’ll pass in the balls, look like toys for the kids.
T. Stack
2 years agoPair these with a set of RAD irons and you’ll be one groovy golfer
GREG
2 years agoIn the very early 80’s I used the Ping balata ball, An amazing golf ball, could spin it back 20 feet if I had to, and very long off the tee.
Kiwi Phil
2 years agoMaybe a sleeve of Z-Star’s if they ever come out for short game and putting practice
Steven T.
2 years agoI have 2 Pings – ( green/yellow & Eye2 orange/yellow) and 1 Nitro Eclipse (orange/white)
Lou
2 years agoAccording to MGS, Srixon golf balls are garbage. Why would anyone buy one? Matte balls are changed for the worse by the morning dew, or by rain or by hitting into a creek. I’m waiting for MGS to do a full ball review, something they seem very reluctant to do. Is it because the Snell ball might not be the #1 ball in the world this year and Dean Snell might be upset?
Madison
2 years agoI have had strokes in both eye and can’t seem to see white balls anymore.
Can’t seem to find orange or red premium golf balls .
i will buy a dozen or two on 4/15/21
Geno
2 years agoI used the Ping balls in my junior clinics back in the day for putting practice. I think I still have 6 or 8 of them around here somewhere. Never realized they were potentially worth so much money. I’ll try to find them and see what’s up. They make great training balls so maybe I will pick up a dozen for when I get asked about tips for putting. Thanks for the memories.
Kev
2 years agoThey can also sell for around $5, the writer sensationalized the value.
Gary Demko
2 years agoI used to play the Q star until you guys showed how inconsitant they were quality wise. Now playing the Snell mtb black. less money and i know they are round
Thomas A
2 years agoI will buy 2 dozen of these when they hit the shop. I saw photos of Hideki hitting thses on the practice greens on WRX. I thought they were just a putting aid.
Kurt Hiner
2 years agoMy wife has one or two of the ping half and half sitting on one of her bookshelves.
Ivan Guertin
2 years agoWell done on the article John. Retro is cool!
Great idea Srixon! Love them. Will I use them? For practice absolutely. And my wife will use those golf balls for sure!
Great idea, way to stand out!
Are they self correctly? Do they float? Oh well I guess we can’t have everything!
Jay
2 years agoI am a little disappointed that this article says that this will be golf’s first two-tone golf ball since the Ping Eye 2. Nitro has been making the Eclipse two-tone ball for years., so you have to give credit where it is due! It may not be the golf ball of choice for many golfers, but it is definitely a two-tone ball that one could choose to play if “rock-like feel” is your sensation of choice, with way more color options to boot. I expect more from you MGS…
John Ahn
2 years agoIt’s the very first thing this article stated right under the “Key Takeaways:” section, which is probably what some editor put up.
John Barba
2 years agoDOH! Apologies all around…
Scott D
2 years agoUhmmm, the very first sentence says that. It does go on to distinguish that this is a urethane covered ball, but nonetheless the article does initially say that, and it is true that Nitro has had a two tone ball like this in color in Walmart for quite some time now, although I never bought any. I would try this but I have a lot of brand new Project a golf balls that I haven’t used yet, and those Project a balls seem to be very durable and long lasting.
Chris
2 years agoIt’s in the first bullet point under “Key Takeaways”
buckeye doug
2 years agoGreat call Jay I also have a couple dozen Eclipse two-tone balls. You only use them on the putting green anyway right
Deadeye
2 years agoI remember playing those Ping two color balls in 1987. They were ok but not great. I seem to remember that Ping discontinued them because they thought the performance was not up to their standards.
Carolyn
2 years agoI have used the Nitro two color ball for putting practice for years…still for sale at Rockbottom golf for $16….Nitro Golf’s use of Tu Tone’s proprietary technology has created Nitro’s first two color semi-transparent golf ball, The Eclipse……
Paul G
2 years agoThese are a great idea! For those of us with older eyes, they thread the needle perfectly: red/orange balls are hard to find during autumn leaf fall, and yellow/green are sometimes hard to find during the spring season.
evasavealot
2 years agolove these, they need to make z-star version! take my money!
Mark Blutstein
2 years agoSorry to let Srixon down, but they copied Nitro Golf on these. Nitro has had these out for the past 6 years and has done extremely well in sales. I guess being copied is the highest form of praise there is, so thank you Srixon.
Rob
2 years agoRight you are, my go to ball in bad weather.
Jon
2 years agoNitro balls stink.
Golfinnut
2 years agoAll I think of is Putt Putt for the Fun of It! Exact colors of putt putt balls I play with my daughter.
And yes, I had a Member’s Only jacket, wore a Swatch watch, and also had a Bomber’s Jacket from Britches Great Outdoors. That was the “cool” place to shop in my local mall. Ahhh … the ’80s … the greatest decade!
Paintman
2 years agoYup, I completely concur with your views of the 1980s. I’m probably going to try out a box of those balls just due to the coolness factor and I have some depth perception problems and the way I see color is a little odd. White balls are next to Impossible with a cloudy sky..
John Barba
2 years agoYes, but did you push up the sleeves on your teal blazer, a la Crockett and Tubbs?
Bob
2 years agoI have played the Q Star Tour a few time and personally like the ball. I don’t think I will buy into the 2 color ball to play but maybe for putting practice. Bold leap by Srixion.
Lou
2 years agoOh YEAH!.. This ball I played when I first starting playing Golf. It’s the reason I been a PING loyalist. Sunk my first 40 ft birdie with that ball type! Thanks for the memories!
Don Derova
2 years agoNice gimmick, however, the poor QC on the MGS-tested Q Star tour revealed a significant portion ( >30%) of balls were not round. I can’t see spending money on oval-shaped golf balls.
Drew
2 years agoWilling to bet these will be easier to track in the air and find in the rough. I like it.
Leo
2 years agoAbout time someone did it. Love the look…. the Q-star not so much.
A 2-tone Z-Star would definitely be in “shut up and take my money” territory.
John phillips
2 years agoLoved the 80’s references!!
Shay Hogan
2 years agoAh memories. I used to run a small golf outing in the 80s and every foursome was given a “Ping” ball. The ball was switched from player to player and they recorded their score with that ball on each hole. Added another fun element.
I loved those balls, but I am not a lover of matte finishes.
Imafitter
2 years agoI still have one Ping Eye2 ball with a Disney logo I bought in the 80’s. Loved to putt with it. I will buy a box of Srixon’s when they’re available.
Isaac Ward
2 years agoLOVE these! Not a huge fan of matte in general because of the scuff factor but visually these are a great throwback.
Paul
2 years agoI’ll get a dozen just for putting and chipping!!! Very cool. I miss the old Ping ball!!!!
Mat
2 years agoSame. These are worth a dozen just for the practice. As said before, there are the Nitros, but they are not great – but I liked them for practice. These will be at home.
If they made a Z-star X, I’d leave Bridgestone for it. Bridgestone is really blowing it on being so stuck to white.