Golf Digest Hot List Testing (Balls) - My Experience as a Tester

[Chazb]

Very nice job and I coukd see the OP was very enthusiastic on his testing.Well done.

[Mr_Wolfe]

Wow, what a great story and experience that you will have forever. I am going to give the Gamers another try I think. The main reason I have a problem with the Kick X Tour-Z is the huge colorful "X" logo they put on it. Is that logo on all of them?

 

 

Mr. Wolfe

[Agent Jim]

I think I might need to follow the same regime on a few practice days.

[Nessism]

[quote name='OrlandoVol' timestamp='1423577969' post='10923675']

Each of the 10 testers hit 3 each of 54 balls = 10 x 162 = 1,620 balls!

[/quote]

Please don't take this personally, don't mean to be a troll, but how can someone make judgements after hitting a ball only 3 shots? Wouldn't a persons opinion be heavily influenced by whether or not they flushed those shots? Seems to me you would need three rounds with a ball, not shots, before you can truly learn to detect the nuances in the product.

[cz13X4]

did they have snell balls?

[gvogel]

So, which ball goes the farthest?

Just kidding. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[LFreeeman]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

[OrlandoVol]

[quote name='Nessism' timestamp='1423583558' post='10924293']
[quote name='OrlandoVol' timestamp='1423577969' post='10923675']
Each of the 10 testers hit 3 each of 54 balls = 10 x 162 = 1,620 balls!

[/quote]

Please don't take this personally, don't mean to be a troll, but how can someone make judgements after hitting a ball only 3 shots? Wouldn't a persons opinion be heavily influenced by whether or not they flushed those shots? Seems to me you would need three rounds with a ball, not shots, before you can truly learn to detect the nuances in the product.
[/quote]

Well, each ball was hit 3 times with a full iron (150), 3 times from 70 yards, and then usually chipped 3 times and flopped 3 times around the green.

Based on what I saw and after talking with the other testers, our handicaps ranged from +3 to 3... My index is a 2. There weren't a ton of "bad" shots hit, as I recall I maybe hit 10 shots fat and bladed maybe 5 wedges over the course of 3 days. When I did I didn't penalize the ball.

Being able to hit these shots into an actual green/pin as a target - is much better than just hitting them on a driving range. We were able to feel them off the clubface, see the trajectory, notice how the wind affected it's flight and how it spun on the greens. -- A lot of data can be pulled from this method.

Sure, the differences between the balls (in each category) is minute -- when you are hitting say a Taylormade Tour Preferred and a ProV1 -- but sometimes due to the random nature you might be hitting a ProV1 vs a Pinnacle.

[OrlandoVol]

I have edited a few of my earlier posts, as after looking back at them -- I don't want to affect the results or give any kind of recommendation, that could appear as a vote of confidence or a negative review of a specific ball.

[mpghouse]

only sub 5 index? What about for us mis-hitters?!?! lol

[noGIRs]

[quote name='j_king' timestamp='1423571879' post='10923267']
Did they do any testing on trackman to get spin numbers? I always look forward to that spin chart they have come out with the past couple of years.
[/quote]

My guess would be they would use a robot swing arm in a separate test to get these numbers so it is a consistent strike on the ball. I like the spin chart too! Hope to see one again

[Conrad1953]

Interesting stuff Orlando. Glad you had a great time.
Thanks for posting how the tests are done.

Most of us are pretty closed minded when it comes
to balls, lol. Titleist banks on it.

Looking forward to the results on the Chrome Soft.

[jtmagic]

Nice write-up and comments.

[NJpatbee]

Thanks for showing us the process GD uses and the pictures. It is interesting in a mostly blind test (I know the dimples may give it away) to learn that some balls that are dismissed because they are inexpensive can really shine. A ball like the Top-Flite Gamer is a 3 piece quality ball that comes in Surlyn, Surlyn Soft, an Urethene covers that is sold basically at a wholesale price. I am not a tour ball golfer but I would like to see where some of the other direct to consumer balls like MG or KickX wind up in the ratings (if they were tested).

Great job sharing this with us!