Wilson Ball Choices: Zip vs. DX2 Soft vs. PX3 Soft Spin

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Rockbottom Golf $5.99/dozen "Cosmetic Blems"

Yesterday my four dozen Wilson "Cosmetic Blems" arrived from Rockbottom Golf. They were about $31, shipped. That's $5.99/dozen minus a 10% off coupon code plus shipping.

Each dozen has a random mix of various models of Wilson balls but all low-compression types. My four boxes sorted out to a dozen and a half Wilson Zip, almost two dozen Dx2 Soft and eight Px3 Soft Spin. Zip and Px3 are 3-piece models plus the two-piece Dx2, all with surlyn/ type covers. All with that pan-head Wilson dimple pattern.

So which should I try first? I guess the Zip is the only current ball out of my three types and it's supposed to be a pretty soft 3-piece distance/spin compromise ball if I understand correctly. I don't know anything about a Px3 Soft Spin which is a discontinued model.

The best ball for my game that I've tried is the HX Diablo Tour. The only thing wrong with those is the $26/dozen (give or take) price tag. Given that I often lose a ball or two during a round I hate to pay over $2.00 per ball. The 2-piece DT Solo is a bit cheaper but still around $20/dozen but I don't think it putts or chips nearly as well as a Diablo Tour. So which of these three Wilsons might end up being somewhat like an HX Diablo Tour? Failing that, which of them ought to work well for a 85mph clubhead speed upper 80's to mid 90's shooter?

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Doesn't really answer my own questions about the Wilson balls but some searching through the GolfWRX archives shows that the "Px3 Soft Spin" is basically a UK label for the original 312-dimple ZIP from around 2007-2008. So I have 18 of the older ZIP plus 8 of the same ball under a different name. Cool, I'd been wanting to try the ZIP one of these days. I gather that the original version's cover was a little more subject to shredding than the 302-dimple version being sold nowadays.

And I think the "Dx2 Soft" is another UK-labeled ball either the same or somewhat similar to the original Wilson Fifty in USA nomenclature.

These "Cosmetic Blems" are mostly leftover USA and UK models from around 2008. A lot to them seem to have off-color finish as the cosmetic issue. A slightly dim grey-brown rather than bright white.

[Large David Hammer]

If you like the Diablo Tour, the Zip is right up your alley. Play them with total confidence that they're well-suited to your game and swing speed. Zip is nice and long with very soft feel/sound. The spin is very similar to many other mid-level, non-urethane offerings.

Good call.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Sounds good, that's what I'm hoping to find with the Zip. I'll put those in the bag first, although most like those UK-labeled Px3 Soft Spin are pretty similar or maybe even just the same ball. I'll use those when the Zip ones run out.

I'd expect the two-piece Dx2 Soft to be something a little more along the lines of a DT Solo or Precept Laddie type low-tech, low-compression ball. Probably still work OK but I'm glad by luck of the draw I ended up with plenty of the Zips to try. Thanks for the feedback!

[erock9174]

I can't comment on the Wilson's you got but I recently picked up a couple boxes of the new Wilson ball called the Duo. So far really liking it.
My swing speed and handicap is identical to yours.

[ode1]

i bought some of the blems you speak of and of the two dozen I bought 21 were 50 elites and 3 were dx2's. No 3 piece balls, either they are fos or someone picked through them from rbg.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

I saw from some of the comments/reviews on RBG's web site that a while back people were getting a fair many ladies Wilson balls in there. Sounds like it kind of runs in waves maybe, they (Wilson) dump big lots of this or that from time to time and for a while everyone gets a lot of them.

[mozgolf]

Sounds like a good deal. I found a bunch of DX3 Soft for a good price a while back and have been getting on with them just fine (I think they are a 3 piece with a non-urethane cover).; I have bunch of buddies who are all getting on great with the DX2.

[ed27063]

The ZIP are going to be the most comparable to your Diablo Tour. The 302 dimple are what Wilso call "pan head" dimples. They are shallower than normal and therefore are design to create more "lift" for slower swing speed players at the tradeoff of increase drag.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Seems like the dimple design can contribute as much to whether a ZIP works well for me as the low compression thing does. I'd think if you already get pretty decent ball speed and plenty of spin, those shallow dimples might make it fly kind of high and short.

As far as I know, I'm much more in the category of not very much ball speed and a low to medium amount of spin. So it sounds promising. If I can finish up today's ration of nonsense at work I'll find out how they work about four hours from now!

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Well a long afternoon of waiting on the three foursomes ahead of me to play their 4-man scramble game (good grief, just shoot me) gave me a chance to try out both the Wilson Zip and Dx2 Soft balls. What I did was play one or the other ball from tee to green (Zip on about 11-12 holes, Dx2 on the other 6-7) but generally hit one shot with the other ball. A couple of them were tee shots, a couple more were approaches but most I'd try a second wedge or chip shot with the ball that wasn't in play.

The idea that the Zip will be somewhat like the HX Diablo Tour was dead on. Right down to how nice a roll it gives on the greens, which has always been a part of the Diablo Tour I really enjoyed. It is probably just a little bouncier when it lands on a firm green than the Diablo Tour and I suspect it gives me a couple extra yards of carry distance. Certainly no shorter. B.ut Zip a very predictable and controllable ball for me having played several dozen rounds with the Callaway ball.

To my surprise the Dx2 Soft was perfectly playable. It definitely rolls out more on tee shots than the Zip but I think that's as much because it does not fly as high. The trajectory on the Zip is moderately high with driver and long irons and very high with short irons and wedges. The Dx2 Soft is noticeably lower. It putts and chips well and reacts OK around the greens, not really all that different than the Zip on partial swings. But overall I do prefer the higher flight and slightly softer landing of the Zip.

I could imagine keeping a sleeve of the Dx2 Soft in my bag for the occasional windy day or maybe if I've got a bad case of the side-spins going. But day in and day out, the Zip is my new ball. After each ball got the equivalent of about 13-14 holes of play, the Zip looked a little dinged up but quite playable and the Dx2 Soft looked awful. So they'll be mostly one round and done I suspect.

The good news is, I had my best score in the past year or two today. Shot 41 and 43 for an 84, since last summer my best two rounds were a couple of 91's in February and March and an 86 was my last round in the 80's almost a year ago now. Of course the ball isn't the reason, I've been playing more often and my game has been showing signs of coming around for a few weeks but I'll bet with the balls I've been using that 84 might have been an 86 or 88 instead. Good stuff!

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Final update of my cheap Wilson ball experiment.

I've chosen the Zip/Px2 Soft Spin (same ball) as my ball for the next few months. At first I thought the 2-piece Dx2 Soft Distance was pretty much the same as the Zip except for a bit lower trajectory and a bit more rollout on tee shots. And maybe a tiny bit firmer around the greens. Two more rounds this weekend, including dropping second balls frequently to try the same shot with the alternative type, convinced me they're not really interchangeable.

Not only do I see now that the Zip is just a bit higher but really much higher trajectory, that extra altitude adds "hang time" and adds carry distance. A noticeable amount of distance, actually. On my best swings with an iron, the Dx2 goes kind of low and drops quickly once it reaches its peak. The net effect is a solid half-club distance loss. Interestingly, if I do not catch a shot real solidly the difference is minimal. A weakly struck 5-iron will go maybe 140-145 yards with either ball. A well struck 5-iron is maybe 150 with the Dx2 and at least 155 with the Zip. Occasionally even pushing 160 which is a big hit on a 5-iron for me. And a 4-iron stays in the air forever and carries well over 160 yards. All this on moderate temperature days in the upper-60's to mid-70's.

So for me the Zip is about as long and high as any ball I've ever played while the Dx2 is sort of low with ho-hum distance. And I've gotten pretty dialed in with the way the Zip reacts on wedge and short iron shots once it hits the green. Not sure the Dx2 is quite as predictable although it plays OK. The only exception might be a real windy day where the extra altitude just doesn't work. Not saying I wouldn't pull out a couple of the Dx2 in certain conditions but for everyday use the Zip is every bit as good as an HX Diablo Tour but I''m paying less than 1/3 of Diablo Tour prices for these "blems".