This Week in Gear: Hideki Matsuyama Starts Season with Big Win Hawaii

The PGA Tour kicked off its 2025 season in Hawaii for The Sentry, where for years now low scores and tropical views are part of what makes this tournament such a great primetime watch, especially for those of us who live in northern climates. It was close at times during the middle stretch of the final round but with deft ball striking and a hot putter, Hideki Matsuyama took home his 11th PGA Tour victory. Speaking of Matsuyama he made a surprising gear change this week that seemed to really help - so let's dive into the week that was in gear at the Sentry.

Record-setting start to the season

It seems appropriate to kick off the first "This Week in Gear" of the year with Matsuyama after an incredible record-setting 35-under par over four days at the Plantation Course in Lahaina, Hawaii. This win marks his third since putting Srixon's new Z-Star XV golf ball into play going back to the 2024 season. As for what's going on with this new ball we’ll touch on that in a moment.

Matsuyama also won with a Prototype Scotty Cameron center-shafted blade putter and, while the putter style isn’t unique, what is interesting is that Matsuyama has almost exclusively used plumber's and flow neck blades in the past. Yes, he has dabbled in using mallets but when it comes to blades, his departure from this neck style is certainly of interest. Now whether Matsuyama keeps this in the bag for the rest of the year, that is yet to be seen for the 32-year-old in his 11th year on tour who has become known to be quite a putter tinkerer. I guess we’re just going to have to keep an eye out.

New Srixon Z-Star Golf Balls

So about that golf ball.

Matsuyama won using the new 2025 Srixon Z-Star XV, which is part of the 2025 Z-Star lineup. When it comes to technology, the new Srixon golf balls include a thin urethane biomass cover which helps the ball maintain its cover and spin performance longer.

Another feature of the 2025 Z-Star golf balls to highlight is the fast-layer DG 2.0 core. This improved gradient core is firmer on the outside, helping the golf ball maintain ball speed off longer clubs while still maintaining a softness internally to provide a softer feel. With the addition of new technology, the Z-Star line continues to maintain its three core models:

Z-Star - Led by a reduced compression at the center to minimize spin off the driver for increased distance, softer feel, and enhanced spin around the green.

Z-Star XV - This ball offers more firmness at the core to enhance ball speed, brining more distance and improved iron spin control through the bag.

Z-Star Diamond - The third option in the Srixon Z-Start golf ball family features a slightly firmer core construction but with reduced compression to minimize spin off the driver without sacrificing premium control around the green.

The full Srixon Z-Star line of golf balls will be in store January 24th and will retail for $50 a dozen. All three models will be available in pure white and tour yellow, with the Z-Star and XV models also available in multicolor divide.

Driver and ball changes

It was a big week for driver changes with second place finisher Collin Morikawa putting TaylorMade's newest Qi35 LS driver in the bag. We were surprised to see the 6-time-PGA-Tour-winner as such a quick adopter to the new tech after watching him return to TaylorMade's first generation Sim driver and typically one of the slower pros to switch to new models— but considering how he drove the ball all week we don't see this one leaving his bag anytime soon.

As for more information on the QI 35 series we expect to hear more this week.

One more big driver and fairway wood switch of note belongs to Xander Schauffele, who moved into Callaway's new Elyte Series. Shauffele used the new Elyte Triple Diamond model driver and a Triple Diamond prototype HL 3-wood.

As for other switches Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, and Will Zalatoris all moved into Titleist’s new 2025 Pro V1X. This golf ball has been in use on the PGA Tour since last year’s Las Vegas event in the fall series and we should expect to hear full tech news on this golf ball and the rest of the 2025 Titleist Pro V1 line before the end of the month.

New Titleist woods and hybrids spotted

Last but not least, speaking of Titleist, it went largely unreported that the manufacturer saw the additions of new GT hybrids, along with a GT1 driver and fairway model on the USGA and R&A conforming lists. This makes sense since previous iterations of their drivers have included a “1” series model which is designed to be lighter weight for golfers in the moderate swing speed category who are looking for distance. Considering Titleist Cadence with the GT line of products, I would expect to hear more news about the GT1 series before the end of the month.

Bonus - New Mizuno 925 Forged iron

Mizuno just announced the release of its newest tech-forward JPX 925 Forged iron which will be available in both a satin and black finish. The irons will be available for presale starting January 23rd, and will hit retail February 6th. Consider this a tease because Mizuno has a lot of products releasing this week—so stay tuned for a full overview and release wrap-up.