Today we look at the differences between a tour style ball and a lady ball using the Srixon Z Star and Srixon Soft Feel Lady. Find out how they compare on distance, spin, consistency, and feel.
Check out my video on hitting mats and backspin.
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41 Comments
Secrets is out Ladies balls : ) My driver speed is 105 MPH and love using them. Ladies then Compression 40s ( TM Speedsoft, Pinnacle soft, Callaway Supersoft ) > Compressions 60s ( soft feels, or TM response) > Then 70s ( AD333, Trufeel Velocity). Only during the hot UK and Irish Summers would I dare go to Compression 80+
Add to this my driver hits are all over the face. So I get a decent straight shot. Irons is generally on target if my drives are on the fairway. I like the green side control too.
You forgot to do the visibility test for when it goes into the trees.
I tried the Lady Precept ball back in the day. With my driver the ball would go about 240 and just fall out of the air. Same thing with some irons. Just fall.
I'm guessing it was extremely low spin doing that.
That experiment didn't last long. Lol.
Lady balls for the win! Wait,what…lady balls🤔. Really interesting stuff.
Great review.
Nice test, I’d really like to see the iron test with 2 golfers, 85-90 swing speed, 8-15 hcp, hooky or sliced swings. Then concentrate your review on the bad swings not the good swings. You just too good to bring out the strength/weakness of these balls for the regular guy.
So at my 90mph SS I should just buy the lady 🎉and save some $
The Lady balls have a deviation off the charts!! Way way underarted stat and no way the tour ball should be played with that inconsistancy. Dispersion can be manipulated, so the std devitation can not and the lady balls are the winner here imo!
Seems like the Lady ball actually performs better with the higher swing speed. Your average distance was better with the Lady than Z Star. Lower spin but higher trajectory should hold greens with irons…am I correct? Seems like it provided a better benefit to the high speed swings…very interesting!
What other balls are very similar to the Lady Srixon? I’m gonna give them a try.
like the old men who refuse to move to the red tees and will never reach a par 4 with there second shot for the rest of their lives, these same guys will keep kicking themselves in the (high compression) balls.
How does Lady compare to Soft Feel?
Interesting stuff thanks what about us slower swingers the numbers should be different across the board!
Most golfers would benefit from a lower compression ball. There's many out there and they're all about the same. They do fly higher and often straighter. About the only downside, for me at least is distance consistency. I could hit one pitching wedge solid at 125 and another solid, same swing at 145. With the driver and hitting it super flush, there's almost no feedback and I've had some drives balloon here and there. Also not good for wind overall. For a slower swinger these are a win-win.
Great test, thank you!
What about 80mph swing speed
I have an idea for another golf-ball test. I've been experimenting with trying to find the right ball for me and came across a deal on some golf balls, so I decided to try them out. The catch was that they're matte-red. Fortunately, I ended up liking them enough to play with them. But, it got me thinking: does the finish on the cover of a golf-ball make any significant difference in performance (eg. matte-red finish vs. glossy-white finish)? I'd love to see a test on this.
Swing and your swing speed is below 90 mph – do not use tour balls. Now 2 piece balls performing so much better than 15 years ago.
I’m definitely interested in trying this on the course to see greenside spin for stopping power. That’s really the only reason for me playing a “premium” ball. Definitely see more stopping power and less roll out with a urethane cover ball.
Hit 7 iron 75mph with both and see if lady ball is better for slower swing speeds
lady balls are great for courses with alot of houses. no one expects a male to use ladys balls if ya catch my drift
Thanks for the info I may give it a try. Half the price is worth looking at.
Even on the max distance test the deviations were far better with the lady ball. If we say golf is about consistency I think we know which ball won. Truth be told if you put a Z-Star label on the lady ball and a lady ball label on the Z-star and ran the same test people would say, yep, that consistency is why you buy a premium ball.
I was all about the Precept Lady back in the day
Curious … do you attribute the differences (spin rate, launch, etc) to the difference in COMPRESSION?
… or the COVER? (Urethane vs Ionomer)
… or something else?
Sounds like your conclusion is:
they’re comparable.
But since Urethane cover balls are so much more expensive, I might be able to save a few bucks 🤷🏼♂️ because it looks like the technology has improved dramatically making the more affordable Ionomer cover balls perform better.
I Play the " find in the bush " Balls
I still play a ladies ball and my driver speed is only 123 mph max!
I can't imagine that the variance in ball performance is greater than my variance in swing/contact. If you're a very good golfer then maybe it matters, I'm not and it doesn't matter to me.
Lady Precept won the televised national PGA Club Pro event back then,,,and people started buying them. I tried them too…they were fine. But then again I will play with almost anything as long as it's in decent shape. And yes, I'm scratch most all my life…now still scratch at age 70.
Definitely remember the Precept Lady ball suddenly becoming all the rage, they worked fine. Those things started flying off the retail shelf when the word got out, I remember a guy finding one while looking for his ball and had a grin ear to ear like it was gold or something, LOL!
Expensive pro v1, tp 5 and other pga tour favorites work great with lots of speed and perfect contact…I'm not quite there yet, hardy har!
Cool test. Bottom line I think is sticking with one ball because your results will vary. I suspect the lady ball compares closely to the Callaway Supersoft. I prefer to have more spin as a low spin player.
When i was a kid, i played a ladies' ball in cooler months.
Guy has the most casual 300 yard drive ever. 😎
I’m surprised, no shocked, at this. How can the tour ball be justified?
Wilson Duo is the most under rated low compression out on market . It had the best iron dispersion and driver on an iron Byron robot !!! Let that sink in !!! I love them and at 19.99 a dozen on Amazon it’s incredible value.
Like to see a low compression test with 105 mph speed !!
Dispersion and distance !!!!
Wilson duo
Callaway super soft
I like the lower speed test but if your driver loft is set for lower launching tour type balls why not lower the loft for these higher launch balls and see if it outdistances the Z Star?
I switched to the Lady Precept when the choices were a balata tour ball or any of the surlyn covered balls on the market. The softer feel of the Lady sealed the deal when compared to the standard compression surlyn balls. I wonder if Precept/Bridgestone missed a huge opportunity? What if they had released a "Lady" tour ball with a urethane cover as soon as that technology was available?
Are the Z-Star balls, 2024 model? If not, what year?
Interesting results, but would have liked to see the comparison with the Lady ball against a Pro V1X (longest ball at those speeds)? The Srixon Z-Star is one of the shortest ball among all for medium and high swing speeds. I also have doubts on control with the « inside 100 yard shots » and around the green shots with that much less spin.
What’s the difference between the “Lady Ball” and the “ Soft Feel”?
Thanks for the video AJ. From some other ball reviews on YouTube I recently discovered the Precept Laddie Extreme at Walmart and really appreciate the lower compression and way it jumps off the club face. I’ve hit some of my best drives with it. I also appreciate you slowing your swing down to provide some results there. I hope some day to hit the ball as relaxed as you are with those results. Thanks for all the great videos, sharing your experience and educating us!