Equipment

Breaking down Srixon’s Z-Star golf balls and their tour success

Published

3 weeks ago

Jun 25, 2026

Keegan Bradley collected his eighth PGA Tour title last year at the Travelers Championship. It was a dominating performance from tee to green, with Bradley pairing brilliant approach play with stellar short-game control en route to victory, with one major factor contributing to his performance – his Srixon Z-Star golf ball.

Bradley sealed the deal in Cromwell, Connecticut, on the first playoff hole by pumping a driver straight down the middle at TPC River Highland’s 18th hole, before controlling the spin perfectly with his approach using his Z-Star Diamond golf ball, two characteristics of a Tour-level golf ball.

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The wins have continued into 2026 for the Z-Star Diamond, with Nico Echavarria switching to the Diamond this year before winning the Cognizant Classic at one of the tour’s toughest venues in PGA National. During the event, the Colombian gained over 8.5 shots on the field with his ball-striking and short-game, thanks to a unique benefit of increased spin on long and mid-iron shots, while providing feel around the greens that an elite Tour pro is looking for.

The Z-Star Diamond is one of three premium 3-piece construction golf balls in the Z-Star series and sits in the middle in terms of feel and compression. The softest golf ball in the lineup is the core Z-Star model, offering better greenside spin, unmatched control and stopping power. At the other end of the scale, Srixon’s Z-Star XV is the firmest option for maximum ball speed and unmatched driver and iron distance. It’s the ball played by the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Fox, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka, and in total, the Z-Star series earned 48 wins worldwide in 2025.

Talking tech, every Z-Star series golf ball features an extra-thin, urethane cover for that produces tour-feel, spin, and control, along with Srixon’s newly formulated core that starts soft in the center and gradually becomes firm around its edge. Each ball is coated with Srixon’s Spin Skin+ coating, a layer of specialized urethane that increases the cover’s friction to enhance your approach shot and greenside spin.

Keep an eye on Bradley and other Z-Star players this week in Connecticut, at a course that requires players to play aggressively and attack flags and trust their golf ball.

This article is presented in partnership with Srixon.

Equipment

A look at the putters of the past 5 winners of The Open Championship

Published

5 hours ago

Jul 15, 2026

Ben Alberstadt

While we don’t know who will win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, we can make a bold prediction: he will have a putter in the bag. Bold speculation, to be sure.

Motivated by this reality and ever governed by our nostalgic sensibilities, we wanted to take a look at the putters of recent past champions. Their winning wands, if you will.

Without further ado, then, here are the putters of the past five Champion Golfers of the Year.

2025: Scottie Scheffler

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Grip: Golf Pride Pro Only

2024: Xander Schauffele

Putter: Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas Prototype 7CH
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

2023: Brian Harman

Putter: TaylorMade Spider OS CB

2022: Cameron Smith

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Tour Prototype

2021: Collin Morikawa

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Whats in the Bag

Tom Vaillant WITB 2026 (July)

Published

6 hours ago

Jul 15, 2026

Will Schube

Tom Vaillant had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the ISCO Championship

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7 X

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 9 X

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4-6), TaylorMade P7MB (7-PW)
Shafts: Accra iSeries Tour 110i (3), True Temper Dynamic Golf S400

Wedges: TaylorMade MG5 (52-SB09, 60-SB09)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X #3

Grips: Golf Pride

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos of Tom Vaillant’s bag here.

Equipment

Who’s the best golfer you have played with? — GolfWRXers discuss

Published

6 hours ago

Jul 15, 2026

Will Schube

In our forums, one user has proposed a fun question, wondering who fellow forum users consider to be the best player with which they’ve ever played a round of golf.

@nikegolfer93 asked:

“Who’s the best golfer you have played with?

“If you have played with high level golfers, what stood out to you the most?”

Our members in the forum recalled stories of days on the course with some seriously impressive golfers. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

@elwhippy: “Gary Lockerbie made it onto the European Tour and played Walker Cup. The difference was his ability to recover from just about anywhere and a great putting stroke.”
@mikedejong33: “I got paired once with a Senior Tour player. And there are a few member buddies at my club here that played college golf in the states that are plus handicaps still. What stands out is that they don’t really miss. And when/if they do, its not that big a miss, and they either get up and down for par, or are very close and make bogey. Very rarely anything worse. They hit most fairways, most greens, and make a few birdies, lots of pars, and never really any big numbers. They make it look really easy actually, and when you add it up they are 2, 3, 4 under or whatever. If they putt well it can be really low, if they don’t its usually around even par.”
@goaliedad30: “I’ve played with Collin Morikawa and Webb Simpson most recently. Crazy long, and swings that look effortless. Never really had major misses. I also played with Mark O’Meara when he was 20-ish and I was 15-16. It was just a completely different game. I was striping it and shot 70. He had the easiest looking 65 I’ve ever seen …”
@SurfDuffer: “Having been involved with the local LPGA event pro-am for over 20 years I’ve been lucky enough to have played with a bunch of truly great players. For the best I’m going to go with Moriya Jutanugarn who has won twice and has 45 top 10 finishes on the LPGA Tour and has over $6,000,000 in tournament winnings in her young career. What stood out is how every single full swing from driver to wedge has the exact same tempo and effort. She is never swinging hard. Like a machine.

Entire thread: “Who’s the best golfer you have played with?”

If you aren’t already a member, join us in the GolfWRX forums today.