3 balls - chipping and putting only evaluation.

I only had time for some chipping and putting practice, so I used 3 balls for comparison at Laughlin Ranch in Laughlin, NV (actually located in Bullhead City, AZ across the river from Laughlin)

Bridgestone Tour B RX (current gamer)

Snell MTB Black

Bridgestone e12 soft

For pitching, I used 3 of each ball and paid absolutely no attention to the order hit. I only noted the results.

I did a bunch of chips from various distances, some down slope and some up slope. Some that required a flop shot and some that required a bump and run. All shots were taken with a Callaway PM 56 degree wedge, which was the best wedge I've ever used for hitting a flop shot.

The results were fairly similar and the only distinguishing thing that I came across was the the Snell felt the most controllable, if that makes sense. I found that I could control the roll out when necessary and it was more predictable the longer I chipped. It was a little easier to get it up in the air if a flop was required. All 3 seemed to check up about the same amount which is a plus for the new e12.

I would give a slight edge to the Snell, but could probably play any of these balls if a chip was required.

All putts were taken with a Odyssey Stroke Labs One putter. I used one of each ball and made left breaking, right breaking, and straight putts from distances ranging from 3 feet to 30+ feet.

After a number of putts with no real differences, I found that the Snell was by far the easiest to control distance. It also required a softer stroke which became very natural as I continued putting from different distances. I played the Snell MTB for a portion of last year and switched to the RX because I felt like it was giving me better results. However, on this day, the more I putted the easier it became to put the Snell either in the hole or closest to it. The RX and e12 switched positions quite often - sometimes the RX was closer and sometimes the e12 was closer.

The feel of the Snell became very noticeable and familiar as I continued testing. In the end, I would definitely say the Snell gave the best results.

I would also consider using the e12 soft, but to tell you the truth, I couldn't really observe or feel any difference from the RX, which is probably a reason to try it since it is quite a bit less expensive. It would probably come down to how it behaves off the driver and irons but for putting and chipping, it was definitely comparable. Impressed!

So based on my results in chipping and putting, I am going to put the Snell MTB Black in the bag and use it for the beginning of the new season. Since I'm only here for another day, then back to Omaha and a foot or more of snow on the ground, that will be a while. it was nice just to be able to get out and play a couple of times.

Revised my opinion of the ERC after playing 9 holes with it today. It was much better, which probably means that my swing was affecting my opinion as opposed to the actual performance of the ball. Today it was very good in pretty much all facets of the game, and in particular, distance wise. Another 9 holes on Sunday to confirm my results today.

Interesting on the Snell and putting. That reminded me that the MTB Red in yellow was my favorite ball off the putter last year, just couldn't do the ball flight and wind performance. On the ERC, are you normally a line on your ball guy? I want to try the ERC but don't use lines for putting and am afraid the random line orientation will be distracting on fairway shots.