Z-Star Diamond vs. TP5x: Does Saving $23 a Dozen Cost Your Game?

TaylorMade TP5x is a $57-a-dozen tour ball played by some of the biggest names in the game. Srixon Z-Star Diamond is the ball J.J. Spaun played to win the 2025 U.S. Open, and it costs $34 a dozen in bulk.

In our 43-ball test, TP5x out-performed Z-Star Diamond in distance, wedge control, and accuracy. But the gap between them was smaller than the $23-per-dozen price difference might suggest.

Here's exactly where TP5x pulls ahead, where Z-Star Diamond holds its own, and which one actually makes sense for your bag.

Both balls are firm, high-spin, urethane-covered tour balls built for better players who want to shape shots and control trajectory, not just find the fairway. TP5x edges ahead in nearly every category we measured, but Z-Star Diamond isn't far behind, at a fraction of the price.

TP5x finished at 242.3 total yards in our driver test, about a yard and a half past Z-Star Diamond's 240.6 total yards. TP5x's higher launch angle off the driver gave it a modest edge in carry.

Neither ball is built primarily as a distance ball. Both are higher-spin designs meant to prioritize shot-shaping and control over pure carry, and the numbers reflect that: Z-Star Diamond's 7.3 distance score and TP5x's 7.7 both sit closer to the middle of our 43-ball field than the top.

Stopping Power is Z-Star Diamond's best category relative to TP5x, and the two balls are close. Z-Star Diamond's steeper 43.0-degree descent angle produced just 9.0 yards of roll, edging out TP5x's 41.3-degree descent and 10.1 yards of roll.

Both balls stop well compared to the rest of our field. Z-Star Diamond's slightly steeper landing angle gives it a marginal edge here, despite two fewer layers of construction and costing $23 less a dozen than TP5x.

Check out our complete Srixon Z-Star Diamond review here.

TP5x regains its edge when we get to wedge control. Its 7,231 RPM of 50-yard spin and 2.4 yards of roll narrowly beat Z-Star Diamond's 6,949 RPM and 2.8 yards of roll, good for an 8.9 wedge control score compared to 8.6 for Z-Star Diamond.

It's a close gap. We’re talking about a difference of 14 inches of roll from 50 yards. Both balls control well enough that most players will get plenty of stopping ability inside 50 yards. TP5x technically has the advantage here, but I don’t think it’s meaningful enough that you’d notice it on the course.

TP5x was the more accurate ball off the tee, with 107.8 RPM of sidespin, compared to Z-Star Diamond's 168.0 RPM of sidespin.

The gap narrows considerably in the iron game where Z-Star Diamond actually produced less iron sidespin (134.5 RPM compared 139.5 RPM for TP5x). Overall, TP5x's driver accuracy is enough to give it the higher score, 8.9 compared to 8.2.