Srixon: The King of Speed

In an industry of ever-increasing homogeneity, it takes something that sounds pretty wild to make you stop and take notice.

It happens certainly as manufacturers these days need to show aflair for innovation to stay alive (it would be inaccurate, unfair, and ridiculous to suggest today’s golf equipment is all the same), but it doesn’t take long for language, terminology and, indeed, technology to become fairly standard across the board. To be fair, golf equipment reviewers sometimes need to be applauded for coming up with new ways to say a product promises greater ballspeed, increased forgiveness, and unparalleled feel all at the same time.

This week, however, a brave new world opens up for the golf equipment geek as Srixon introduces a three-piece distance ball.

Sorry, a what now?

Non-golfers would shake their heads and regard you with a certain amount of suspicion after you announce with some excitement that three-piece distance balls are now becoming a reality (the Maxfli Trifli, released in 2023, broke some ground). “Can you believe it?” you ask as your friend puts a little distance between themselves and you.

Distance balls have two pieces, of course. The bog-standard, unsophisticated, affordable, tech-light distance ball is often considered the runt of the litter and made from stuff manufacturers pick up off the factory floor, yet somehow manage to shape into a product people are willing to buy. It has a big old core and a thick, hard cover made from a material developed decades ago and which hasn’t changed much in the intervening years. It is a rock and something of a cash-cow that requires very little R&D (that’s all a little simplistic, of course, but you get the point).

Srixon’s new Q Star Ultispeed began life as a prototype in Japan with a compression of 11,5, which is to say it had all the feel, give and cushiness of a lump of granite. It has been through numerous iterations, getting a little softer every time but still retaining some hardness. Its compression now stands at a more conventional, but still firm, 85 – the Q Star Tour introduced in early 2024 has a compression of 74.

Though it’s unclear exactly what it is, Srixon says it has developed a new material, ten years in the making, that allowed it to create a Fastlayer core whose transition from soft center to firm perimeter is more subtle. That, says Srixon, means it preserves energy better, which is a good thing for distance.
The Ultispeed was also designed to minimize sidespin, which takes the edge off a hook or, more likely considering who the ball is primarily designed for, a slice.

A casing layer between core and cover means the ionomer (Surlyn) outer layer is relatively thin, and the company’s 338-dimple pattern is engineered to create the desirable combination of penetrating launch with increased hang-time.
Srixon says its new Ultispeed is its longest ever ball which suggests mid/high-handicap readers should give it a test-drive.

$30/dozen
Available in Pure White and Tour Yellow.
us.dunlopsports.com/srixon