Srixon Z-Star Tour Yellow Golf Balls

I played with a yellow golf ball yesterday. I didn’t find it in the woods or swipe it from a range basket, and I didn’t get it in a 24 pack from the local Walmart either. No, I played Srixon’s new Z-Star Tour Yellow golf ball. New for 2010, Srixon is making their already very hot Z-Star golf balls in Yellow. Why would a company re-introduce a yellow golf ball to the market? After all, yellow golf balls come with a stigma that they are cheap and only for hackers. In fact, when I started rolling the Tour Yellow on the practice green yesterday, a few of my playing partners made some jokes and asked me if I needed more strokes. According to Srixon, the reason yellow golf balls will make a comeback is purely mental.

According to a Srixon press release “Science has proven that yellow is the most visible color in the visual spectrum and psychology has correlated green with calming and stress relief; therefore Srixon has combined the two colors based on these findings to tap into the player’s mind and expand the benefits of playing a better ball.”

The idea is that a player will feel more at ease standing over a 3 footer to win a few bucks off your buddies if the ball is a yellow with a bit of green, rather than white. I may be more receptive than most to the idea that the ball’s color can help you play better, since I was a psych major in college and I take great interest in the mental side of the game. While I can’t confirm or deny the claims that the Z-Star Tour Yellow has a calming effect on the player, I can say that this ball is easier to see in the grass (and, ahem – the woods) and being yellow, there is certainly no confusion as to which ball was mine. Was it just a coincidence that I played my best round in months and made boatloads of putts with it? Perhaps, because I also had two 3-putts. Either way, I’ve been playing the Z-Star X since it came out and always liked being different, so I’ll continue to play the Tour Yellow and see what happens. Plus, it helps that the ball is the same color as my favorite website’s logo!

“The new Z-STAR and Z-STAR X Tour Yellow golf balls are currently being tested by numerous PGA and Nationwide TOUR players, who are presently playing the Srixon Z-STAR series of balls,” said Chris Beck, Brand Manager for Srixon. “The response from our tour staffers has been overwhelmingly positive. We understand that players at all levels of the game want to lower their scores and the Tour Yellow balls have definitely peaked the interest of our tour players, as well as consumers.” Indeed, early word from a high-ranking source inside Cleveland Golf/Srixon is that several Srixon staffers will put the Tour Yellow into play on the PGA Tour this year.

Recently at the 2010 Masters Par 3 Contest, Jim Furyk made a hole in one with the new yellow ball, and Tim Clark had some success at the ’10 Accenture World Match Play Championships using the ball.

It’s important to note that the Z-Star Tour Yellow is the exact same ball as the Z-Star. They all use an ultra-thin urethane cover technology, a larger core and a softer cover to improve distance, spin and feel. The only difference is the color. For more on the Srixon Z-Star line, check out our review here.

The Z-STAR Tour Yellow golf ball is designed for the low-to-mid handicap players seeking a combination of distance, spin control and soft feel. The Z-STAR X Tour Yellow golf ball is a distance oriented tour-performance ball for players looking for a bit more distance and high-spin performance around the greens. The Srixon Z-STAR Tour Yellow ball lines both feature new Energetic Gradient Growth core technology, which promotes increased ball speed, as well as high launch and low spin. The 324 large seamless dimples also help reduce wind resistance for increased distance, while the new coating on their super-soft urethane cover significantly improves spin performance from the rough according to Srixon.

The Z-STAR and Z-STAR X Tour Yellow golf balls will begin shipping to retailers on April 1, 2010 and will carry a price of $39.99.

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