Golfballselector.com, TM LDP Red and TM LDP Black

Perhaps it had something to do with your preferences for ball hardness or some other choices. I found I had to play around a little bit with my answers before things started making 'sense' to me. The choices I have now stay fairly stable even making wild changes in the slider bars so I think I've got a core group of balls that will work for me. While I don't necessarily love all of the balls they list in my top 10, I do really like the majority that I have tried. Not only that, but I now have 8 balls that have a percentage above 90 where originally there was the B330S at 100% and everything else below 90% which didn't thrill me since I didn't really love it as much as some of the lower ranked suggestions. I wish there was more of an explanation for the picks made, but then that would likely be giving away proprietary data. As for the LDP Black and Red, for me they were only separated by 0.31% and neither ball was anywhere near my top pick. Since I haven't tried either one yet I can't really comment on how appropriate their ranks are. The only big question for me was why the HX Tour 56 was ranked so low for me given that it's one of my personal favourites. I do think it's cool that my current number 1 pick is the e5+ which I just tried for the first time last week and loved.

Well the thing is I lowered the scale for preference on softness to 0%. It still recommended the LDP Black 100%. I'm starting to think the ball does not do exactly as advertised. Would this not coincide with the findings of GOLF magazine?

I'm trying to recall from memory but wasn't it the longest ball for 90MPH drivers? (Mine is just around 101). Also didn't it spin very little off driver? If this is the case, it would make sense then.

I think the longest ball for 90 was a tp black.

Well the thing is I lowered the scale for preference on softness to 0%. It still recommended the LDP Black 100%. I'm starting to think the ball does not do exactly as advertised. Would this not coincide with the findings of GOLF magazine?

 

I'm trying to recall from memory but wasn't it the longest ball for 90MPH drivers? (Mine is just around 101). Also didn't it spin very little off driver? If this is the case, it would make sense then.

The Black is harder than the Red, so wouldn't you have to make your preference on softness to 100%? I would just answer all the questions honestly and try a sleeve of the ball they recommend. I had the Black chosen for me and I loved it, I didn't think it would select the Black either.

The Black and Red perform the same (except for launch, Black flies higher), until you get to the short irons and greenside, then the Black will spin more than the Red.

Yup, enjoying the Black a lot so far. But the AD333 Srix is good too.... I'll play some more LDP Blacks and report back, but so far it's looking really, really good.

Yup, enjoying the Black a lot so far. But the AD333 Srix is good too.... I'll play some more LDP Blacks and report back, but so far it's looking really, really good.

Hey ColinMB,

You and I seem to be pretty similar in terms of swingspeed and HC (although you're a little better in both regards :) ). I have a box of AD333's that I haven't opened up yet - will they stick to greens at all? I'm really getting addicted to the high spin balls and am afraid I wouldn't be able to deal with the lack of spin with the AD333 even though it sounds like otherwise they'd be a good match for me.

The AD333 actually is my 'cheap ball' right now.

Out of everything in that category for price I think it's a real sleeper hit. At my league night I didn't realize I had it in play, and missed longest drive by about 8 yards. I walked up to the ball thinking it was a LDP Black, and it was the AD333! So I kept it in play and ended up winning closest to the pin on a par3 (3 feet) with it! That's proof of spin for me. Provided the AD333 is struck right, I found it one hops and stops very nicely.

The LDP Black is magnificent in all regards so far. I can't complain, and it does spin more. The AD333 is so much better than I thought it was. I would also challenge the GOLF magazine article that had it at about 8K (I don't have the article in front of me) for greenside wedge spin. I have to admit, I do change my wedges every season (Vokey's) for serious ball cutting action though.

When I am at a new course, or very high winds are in play, or even my swing is off, I have no issue whatsoever, putting away the LDP Blacks for AD333's. Just personal opinion of course, so your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the detailed reply! I've still got too many balls of too many varieties left from getting carried away during Golf Town's boxing week sale. One of the 'downsides' of actually significantly improving this year is that I seldom lose more than one ball during a round these days and I'm loath to throw away any damaged balls after years of playing whatever balls I would find. Once I'm through the 2+ dozen of my bad-game/crappy weather balls I'll defintely give these a try.

uh, 08 LDP black is softer and spins WAY more than the 08 LDP red. I tested both extensively last week.

by the way, looks like they fixed the cover shredding issue this ball had when first released this year.

the black is my new ball for 08

raidernut,

I've used the 2007 version of the TP Black and frankly I was perplexed by its apparent adaptability to my short-hitting 16-handicapper's game. I had found it to be every bit as long with the driver as the E6+ I normally use, albeit up to a club shorter on iron shots. And it had all the advantages around the green of a urethane-covered Tour ball, just without the 100mph+ clubhead speed requirements of others I've tried. Then just this week I saw the Golf magazine test results, removing any doubts that perhaps I'd been fooling myself with wishful thinking and selective memory.

So that said...should I expect the 2008 TP Black LDP to be equally ideal for my game or do you think it perhaps spins considerably more than the '07 version did? I believe that very spinny balls costs me some distance on approach shots due to poor contact and too-high trajectory (yes, like most weak players I tend to get flippy with my irons at times). I'm pretty sure that more spin off the driver is better in terms of maximum carry but that's only on tee shots. I would hate to give back parts of the tee shot and short game advantage by having to club up beyond my abilities on long approach shots.

I'm all set to make the TP Black my long-term every round ball now but I'm wondering if there's any need to stock up on the 2007 model (since I know it works great for my game) or maybe even try the 2008 TP Red LDP (although with the 2007 TP Red model I got none of the distance advantages of the TP Black).

One of the few good shots I have in my bag most days is the controlled 80% approach shot with an 8-iron through the wedges. I don't get many opportunities to hit second shots from inside 130 yards but surprisingly often I can play those shots for my third...and I ain't talking just Par 5's, if you get my drift :) . The TP Black (2007) is really easy for me to control in those situations and it chips nicely plus I get tons of carry off the driver. What's not to love?