In true head-to-head fashion, for this test I put the winners of the first two tests against each other. The Srixon Z-Star beat out its sister ball, the Z-Star XV, and the Taylormade TP5x took on the industry-leading Titleist ProV1x and emerged victorious. Now it's time to see which of these two winners can hold it's ground when pitted against each other.
Most Noticeable Differences:
TP5x is obviously a firmer ball and felt much better off the driver.
Z-Star was fantastic into the wind and on approach shots into greens
Other Notes:
The distance comparison on this was actually much closer than I anticipated. The TP5x feels better off the driver (where I couldn't really feel how well or poor I was hitting the Z-Star due to it's softness) and actually goes farther when I'm hitting well, but the Z-Star goes surprisingly far as well. To be completely honest, I was actually hitting the ball better while using the Z-Star while swinging just OK with the TP5x, but the Z-Star actually held it's ground as far as distance is concerned and I wasn't able to tell too much of a difference between the two on this occasion. I was, however, hitting the Z-Star much straighter and was much more consistent with it. Like I said, it could've just been the day, but that's how they were performing for me when I tested them under the same conditions.
The spin is another interesting comparison with these two. While I was getting plenty of spin with the TP5x (enough to where I would be totally satisfied gaming this ball), the Z-Star spin was incredible. I was holding greens from 200+ yards out with it! I had every confidence with the Z-Star to to play an aggressive game into and around the greens, and it really payed off in terms of GIR and scoring opportunities. When chipping, there was actually less of a difference and I was impressed with how both balls performed. The Z-Star is a softer feeling ball, if that's something you're into, but doesn't matter much to me personally.
It was a very windy day when I conducted this test and this is where the Srixon Z-Star really shined. The TP5x, as noted in a previous test, is pretty good into the wind, but the Z-Star was outstanding! The flight was true, not letting the wind push it around on crosswinds and into the wind no ballooning and a piercing ballflight. It was an absolute dream! This is something that I kept noticing again and again during the course of this test and the ball kept wowing me the entire time.
When putting, I honestly didn't feel much of a difference. If I really concentrated on it, I could tell the Z-Star was softer, but there was nothing really in it as the TP5x is pretty soft for an "x" model ball. There really wasn't much in it for me.
Consistency was the another big difference I was seeing between the balls in this test. I was throwing darts with the Z-Star and hitting all my targets (even surprising myself on a number of shots) while it felt like I had absolutely no control at all over the TP5x. The TP5x was all over the place for me that day; it would go a long way but I could never get it going in the right direction or with the right shot shape. Could it be that the 5 layers where just too much for my game right now? Maybe, but all I can say for sure is that the Z-Star and I were clicking and I have the numbers to show for it.
Lastly, both of these balls are top quality balls. Both feel and perform as a top-tier, premium ball should and I would be more than happy gaming either of these models. Both were good in terms of durability with the Z-Star taking the to seat. The TP5x did well except for one small scuff resulting from a direct hit on a tree, but nothing to cause me to take it out of play. The Z-Star, on the other hand, was an absolute tank of a ball! After 9 holes, this ball looked brand new, even after suffering its own bout with trees, rocks, etc. The Srixon Z-Star's durability is the absolute best of any ball I have ever used.
Overall:
The clear winner here for me has to be the Srixon Z-Star! Pretty much across the board (except for preferring the firmer feel of the TP5x off the driver) the Z-Star has outperformed the TP5x on this test. I didn't really sacrifice any distance by using the Z-Star, while gaining so much control, a great ballflight, amazing spin, and overall just an outstanding performance. The Z-Star gives me everything I could possibly ask for in a ball and I'm loving it so far!