Choosing a golf ball is not easy. Especially for players that don’t have tour caliber swings.
Despite having the word “tour” in the name, the Srixon Q-Star Tour is a great ball for mid-handicap players with average speed swings. Which is probably most of you reading this.
Finding a golf ball tailored to your swing and ability is one of the most difficult things about improving your game…outside of the whole making contact with the ball thing.
If you want a complete golf ball buying guide, check out our Best Golf Balls breakdown.
When you head out to play a round of golf, there are very few things that you can control, having the right golf ball is one of them. Luckily for you, we’ve got you covered with an in-depth breakdown of a ball that any golfer can use, the Srixon Q-Star Tour.
Srixon Q-Star Tour
The Srixon Q-Star Tour is perfect for mid-handicap players with average swing speeds who want a little more distance and control out of their game.
Feel
The Q-Star Tour has a Urethane cover and “Spinskin” coating. By Srixon’s own reporting, the Spinskin coating is 25% softer than their previous models of golf balls, providing what they hope is the optimal feel for the golfer with the pleasure of hitting their ball.
Even though it comes down to fractions of a second, when a golf ball is “soft,” it will stay in contact with the club longer. For golfers of any level, extended contact tends to lead to better control and accuracy.
Driving
If you constantly find yourself left or right of fairways, it’s possible that you are using a ball that spins too much. You might benefit from the Q-Star Tour.
While maintaining a lower compression, the Q-Star Tour also has been able to cut down on driver spin. Without dramatic spin off the tee, you’ll find yourself hitting from fairway more often, rather than constantly searching the woods after those big hooks and slices many know far too well.
For most golfers, wind can hurt or help you based on the direction it’s blowing, though wind seemingly always does more harm than good. Thanks to the 338 dimples on each Q-Star Tour, the wind is somewhat neutralized as the design itself is geared towards reducing drag and maximizing lift.
Approach Shots
Besides the ball cover, Srixon has engineered this model with an “Energetic Gradient Growth Core” further reducing spin. The best part about these efforts is that as you decrease side spin, your shots will go farther since it can gain distance compared to errant shots that lose forward momentum by going to the side.
With any luck, you’ll be in the fairway more frequently off the tee giving yourself a better opportunity to hit more greens in regulation. Besides coming in from a better position, optimal ball placement off the tee will have you hitting 8 when you used to hit 7, and hitting far fewer punch shots overall.
The next you’re watching the PGA or LPGA Tour, pay attention to how frequently today’s pros are approaching the green from the fairway, or close to it. Those pros have a far better chance of making par than those who have to spend time searching fescue and woods for their tee shot. Although the level of skill differs greatly from those men and women to your average Sunday golfer, the principle remains: setting yourself up for success leads to success.
What I like about this ball, however, is that the core is able to cut down on spin for longer shots while maintaining enough spin to hold the green on approach shots.
Around the Green
Now back to Spinskin and what makes this ball special. The ability for this dynamic ball cover to prolong contact with your clubface leads directly to increased ball spin and control when hitting onto the green. Adding extra spin helps control the angle from which the ball is coming in, perfect for your favorite chipping style.
For bump-and-run fans, you’ll be able to pick your landing spot with more accuracy and get the ball to stop quicker, running the ball over the green far less than you were before. If you opt for a more lofted approach and chip with a 56- or 60-degree wedge, the increased control helps when you’re just trying to float a chip in, or clear a greenside obstacle.
In a study published on Srixon’s website, when compared to similarly priced golf balls, RPM on half-speed swings is noticeably higher than that of similar models from other brands. The facts speak for themselves, and the opportunity to increase spin and control in tight areas is an opportunity worth exploring.
Pros
Cons
Who Should Be Using This Ball?
There are golfers that should be playing balls that run $50 per dozen, and there are golfers that should exclusively use balls found in the woods, rather than wasting money on a dozen balls that will be lost before their round is over. The Srixon Q-Star Tour falls somewhere between those two types of golfers, ideally for those with handicaps between 9-16. Low-handicap golfers benefit from higher compression balls since they frequently shape shots, but have the ability to control such shots.
For someone at the very beginning of their golfing journey, or with a high handicap, using a one, or two-piece ball provides more benefits than a 3-piece ball like the Q-Star Tour. Some reasons a one or two-piece ball is more beneficial for someone starting out is they are the easiest to advance and ideas such as flight path, backspin and “feel” have yet to pollute your mind and make you lose sight of the whole idea behind golf, getting the ball in the hole.
Most golfers at the mid-handicap level are at their best when they are consistently hitting fairways and greens, and not getting into unnecessary trouble by forcing shots. Before anyone reading this starts, yes, we understand consistent carries a varying definition for just about every golfer out there.
However, the Q-Star Tour is perfect for golfers who have graduated past the stage of simply trying to hit the ball, and are entering the point of ability where they are hitting different types of shots, but still, need a little bit of help with control and stability. Besides mid-handicappers, I would recommend this ball to someone with a low handicap who might be struggling to find the right ball path and are seeking more control shot to shot.
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