Ball Review

[bobsterthelobster]

Personal testing results

Some background on me. Consistently score mid 70s to low 80s. I'm a good ball striker - consistently 11-12 fairways, just straight, don't work the ball and greens about 11-13 greens consistently.. Average chipper, poor pitcher, average putter. Clubhead speed all out with driver is around 109 to 112. Average driver swing realistically is probably 102 - 105. Driver is a standard Callaway Diablo Edge Tour 10.5 degree with stock shaft cut down to 43.5 ", Golf Pride mid size grips with 11 wraps of tape. Typically carry 250, total around 260-270

So after being totally warmed up I went out to 2 par 4s: # 8 (20-25mph L to R sidewind) and #9 (20-25 mph headwind) with each of the following 6 balls: New Bridgestone 330, Titelist ProV1x, Callaway Hex Black, Taylor Made Penta 5, Taylor Made LP Black, Wilson FG Tour. All drives for both holes felt like there were hit pretty well and they landed within 20 yds Left to Right of each other. Here are the approximate results for distance:

Hole #8 (20-25 mph L-R sidewind)

Wilson FG Tour - 280
Taylor Made Penta - 270
Callaway Hex Black - 268
Titleist ProV1x - 265
Bridgestone 330 - 262
Taylor Made LP Black - 260



Hole #9 (20-25 mph headwind)

Wilson FG Tour - 250
Taylor Made Penta - 242
Titleist ProV1 - 240
Callaway Hex Black - 238
Bridgestone 330 - 235
Taylor Made LP Black 230


On both holes I went to a distance for a full lob wedge so that I could see the distance, ball mark and where the ball ended up. Of course all shots were within 5 yards of each other (front to back) so I wasn't concerned with the distance (although Wilson and Taylor Made Penta were the longest by about 2 - 5 yards). There wasn't any real noticeable spin differnence between all of them in that they all were within 3-5 ft of their pitch mark.

CONCLUSION: Blown away by the Wilson Staff FG Tour...Obvious difference in distance, nice feel, nice sound, great distance and plenty of stopping abililty. I had read really good reviews for the Wilson FG Tour (not the FG X or whatever but just the tour) and was curious how it would compare with the others. The price at a local store was $32.99 and that was no on sale. The guy at the store told me that a pro there had been playing it and really like it...said it was long and had a good amount of spin. The only ball I didn't test that I wanted to was both of the Srixon Tour balls. I played my first round today with the Wilson FG Tour and nothing but impressed with it. I consistenly hit longer than I normally do on all of the holes (irons included) and the ball held up really well...very little scuffing/brusing. Looking forward to seeing how the Srixon balls do but for right now, I'm a confirmed believer of the new Wilson ball and will be staying with this ball with no complaints. Hope this helps anyone out there who is always checking out balls.

[jonn443]

Just picked up a new dozen of the FG Tours for $20.00, really liked this ball is my time with it

[cristphoto]

Different results from some of my testing. For me the Taylor Made Black was consistently longer throughout the bag than the ProV1X. I now play the Z-Star which is a yard or two shorter than those two but I love the feel and the durability. The X and Black just felt a little too hard for my tastes (particularly the Black). I've never hit the Wilson or the Callaway so can't comment on those. For my swing the only decent ball that went further than the Black was the Nike One D. It wasn't as good on the short game however.

[RainShadow]

FG tour is my gamer. Great ball. Glad to hear others are starting to try it as well. <BR>I like the Z Star and of course the TM TP Red ( Still have 3 Dz.)

[archienc]

[quote name='bobsterthelobster' timestamp='1332105197' post='4530889']
Some background on me. Consistently score mid 70s to low 80s. I'm a good ball striker - consistently 11-12 fairways, just straight, don't work the ball and greens about 11-13 greens consistently.. Average chipper, poor pitcher, average putter. Clubhead speed all out with driver is around 109 to 112. Average driver swing realistically is probably 102 - 105. Driver is a standard Callaway Diablo Edge Tour 10.5 degree with stock shaft cut down to 43.5 ", Golf Pride mid size grips with 11 wraps of tape. Typically carry 250, total around 260-270

So after being totally warmed up I went out to 2 par 4s: # 8 (20-25mph L to R sidewind) and #9 (20-25 mph headwind) with each of the following 6 balls: New Bridgestone 330, Titelist ProV1x, Callaway Hex Black, Taylor Made Penta 5, Taylor Made LP Black, Wilson FG Tour. All drives for both holes felt like there were hit pretty well and they landed within 20 yds Left to Right of each other. Here are the approximate results for distance:

Hole #8 (20-25 mph L-R [u]sidewind[/u])

[b]Wilson FG Tour[/b] - 280
Taylor Made Penta - 270
Callaway Hex Black - 268
Titleist ProV1x - 265
Bridgestone 330 - 262
Taylor Made LP Black - 260



Hole #9 (20-25 mph[u] headwind[/u])

[b]Wilson FG Tour[/b] - 250
Taylor Made Penta - 242
Titleist ProV1 - 240
Callaway Hex Black - 238
Bridgestone 330 - 235
Taylor Made LP Black 230


On both holes I went to a distance for a full lob wedge so that I could see the distance, ball mark and where the ball ended up. Of course all shots were within 5 yards of each other (front to back) so I wasn't concerned with the distance (although Wilson and Taylor Made Penta were the longest by about 2 - 5 yards). There wasn't any real noticeable spin differnence between all of them in that they all were within 3-5 ft of their pitch mark.

CONCLUSION: Blown away by the Wilson Staff FG Tour...Obvious difference in distance, nice feel, nice sound, great distance and plenty of stopping abililty. I had read really good reviews for the Wilson FG Tour (not the FG X or whatever but just the tour) and was curious how it would compare with the others. The price at a local store was $32.99 and that was no on sale. The guy at the store told me that a pro there had been playing it and really like it...said it was long and had a good amount of spin. The only ball I didn't test that I wanted to was both of the Srixon Tour balls. I played my first round today with the Wilson FG Tour and nothing but impressed with it. I consistenly hit longer than I normally do on all of the holes (irons included) and the ball held up really well...very little scuffing/brusing. Looking forward to seeing how the Srixon balls do but for right now, I'm a confirmed believer of the new Wilson ball and will be staying with this ball with no complaints. Hope this helps anyone out there who is always checking out balls.


[/quote]

[size="5"]Nice post! I've been wondering about that Penta ball. But then you discuss the Wilson Staff Ball. I am looking for less side-spin and am finding it somewhat with the Bridgestone 330 RXS and RX but would like to find a high-end ball that also spins well around the greens. What do you think?[/size]

[craz-e]

I miss the old Taylormade Black, that ball back in the day was the longest ball I had hit and the spin was awesome close in

[DLiver]

11 wraps of tape?

[jonn443]

I play the FG Tour currently and I love this ball...but I'm very surprised that the tp black was the shortest ball. Thats my back up ball...makes me think

[thegrayman]

The Nike One Tour D is my favorite ball of all time, and the only one I've ever (without any doubt) driven further than 300 yards. The Golf Digest chart puts the FG Tour pretty darn close to it. To hear that it performed this well for you really makes me want to pick up a dozen. Thanks for the review!

[jabrch]

I've never seen that large a spread (20 yards) amongst premium balls.


Cool for you....