SNELL GOLF BALLS??? anyone???

[bjpjjs]

I tried both over 9 holes (too cold for more) and thought they held up well and ordered 5 dozen of the X.

 

The design is clean the fit and finish of the balls are well done. The prime felt very soft for me and I chipped and putted better with the X - also got apx 5 yds  more off the tee.

 

Looking forward to warmer weather I hope soon. Think they are a great value!

[cassel191919]

On 4/22/2023 at 12:12 PM, Eesh said:

Well.... here we are in Canada once again getting the shaft from SNELL.    US has been able to buy since April 1st ....   with Canada being told we'd be able to buy them mid month... April is almost over.  I'm kind of sick of being second fiddle to a brand.  

Figured you would get used to it outside of bauer and CCM

[bretchev]

Played another nine with the MTB Prime. From a performance perspective there was no difference between this and the Pro V1 for me.  As I said in my last post, it’s slightly firmer. This is most noticeable on chips and putts. For reference  l play to a 5 and have a swing speed around 105.  Will play the rest of the dozen. If no surprises, this will most likely be the ball I play. 

[Naptime]

Played the X yesterday.  Seemed to putt better than usual speed wise but could be my usual variability.

[Imp]

I bought the 5 doz of the PrimeX when they were announced and have been pretty pleased with them so far. Feel about the same as the MTB-X, flight is slightly more controlled, distance about the same. I play a milled putter (MXM #7) and the sound to me is not much different to notice either. To me, performance, distance, control, feel... the same! 

 

My only nit is in cover durability. It's simply not as good. In the 3-4 rounds I've used them, I've taken more balls out of play into the shag bag than I feel I would have the MTBX. The MTBX used to be practically indestructible. Shots out of the sand with the PrimeX about 50-60% of the time will embed sand into the cover creating what I call a little "hangnail" type abrasion sticking out of the cover. Also, full wedge shots will create small lips over some of the contact dimple edges. Hitting tree branches also score the cover. 

 

That about sums up my experience so far. Will update if it changes.

 

 

[iutodd]

I was also playing the MTB X and I didn't like the Prime X at all off the putter.  I have a Cleveland Soft 11 putter and I didn't like it.  Didn't like the feel off the driver either.

 

Maybe I'll give it another try - it was pretty cold when I originally tested the Prime X so maybe that colored my opinion - but I've enjoyed the Prime so far.  I really like the spin around the greens and on wedge shots and it's nice off the putter.  And I'm getting the distance I want.  

 

I agree somewhat with the durability comments.  It's not a huge difference but it will eventually add up...A dozen MTB X would last 12 rounds and a dozen Primes will last...10?

[birdie2bogey]

Got my test pack two weeks ago. Tested them the way dean snell recommends to - 1) greenside 2) 100 in 3) tee

 

8 handicap. I play a baby push draw on just about every shot. Because of the way i deliver the club, i tend to have lower spins numbers. 1800-2100 on driver and usually 2000 below the "recommended spin" for iron. (5000 for 7 iron vs the 7000 recommended). I stick greens mostly with good descent angle, not spin. I usually play high spinning balls (kirkland, chromse soft)

 

Greenside

Prime had lower flight and more spin for me greenside which is what i prefer. I can easily get this ball to check on the first bounce then just gently roll out towards the cup. PrimeX is firmer and just come off a little hotter. It checks but then has much more roll out than Prime

 

100 yards and in

More or less same as above. Prime had a lower ball flight and more spin. I could very easily get the ball to one hop and stop on pitch shots without any problems. PrimeX launched higher and would land and roll out more for me. Against the win, it felt like it would get swallowed in the air because of its higher launch  Both ended on the green but in very different ways for me

 

Off the tee

 

Prime x is firmer and comes out hotter for me. When it lands, it will roll for a while. Carry was lower as a result but total yards still very good because of rollout . Prime got in the air for me very nicely with nice trajectory. carry was higher because of trajectory but total slightly lower due to less roll out

 

 

sound

 

Maybe im just bot good enough to tell the difference but they sounded pretty damn similiar to me. On putting green they also sounded pretty much the same to me off the putter (white hot insert on odyssey 11) off the irons and driver no difference to my ear 

 

durability

 

played 18 with each and three session of greenside chip/pitch without any glaring wear. Cover hilding up. Ive been using brand new vokeys against them. 

 

Prime is the ball for me of the two. Had good durability and perfirmance.

 

i didnt love either mtb black or mtb x but really like prime! 

 

 

[elwhippy]

UK site still out of stock. Promised they would have balls in stock by mid April. 

[Drewhill44]

Got out to play 9 holes this evening and put the Prime and Prime X in play side by side.  First off…Congrats to @Snell Golf, Dean and his team…Both balls played exactly the way Dean designed them and described them in the release video.  The Prime has a softer feel, lower trajectory, more iron and green side spin compared to the Prime X…The Prime X has a firmer feel, higher trajectory, less iron and green spin than the Prime.  I played well with both balls.  Distance wise they went the distances I expected them to go with all my clubs.  I did notice the X went about 5 yards farther off the tee, but iron distances were close to the same.  Wind today was a 1 club wind and both performed well in through the wind.  Durability for me was on par with other injection mold urethane covered balls, and for me held up well, I would say similar to the Bridgestone Tour BX I usually play.  The Prime and Prime X differences are definitely noticeable as Dean said they would be.   I feel the Prime is a better fit for me…I like the softer feel, lower trajectory and more iron and green side spin. 

[gioreeko]

1 hour ago, Drewhill44 said:

Got out to play 9 holes this evening and put the Prime and Prime X in play side by side.  First off…Congrats to @Snell Golf, Dean and his team…Both balls played exactly the way Dean designed them and described them in the release video.  The Prime has a softer feel, lower trajectory, more iron and green side spin compared to the Prime X…The Prime X has a firmer feel, higher trajectory, less iron and green spin than the Prime.  I played well with both balls.  Distance wise they went the distances I expected them to go with all my clubs.  I did notice the X went about 5 yards farther off the tee, but iron distances were close to the same.  Wind today was a 1 club wind and both performed well in through the wind.  Durability for me was on par with other injection mold urethane covered balls, and for me held up well, I would say similar to the Bridgestone Tour BX I usually play.  The Prime and Prime X differences are definitely noticeable as Dean said they would be.   I feel the Prime is a better fit for me…I like the softer feel, lower trajectory and more iron and green side spin. 

Have you played the MTB Black and MTB X before? how do they stack up against the old balls if you have?

[Drewhill44]

14 hours ago, gioreeko said:

Have you played the MTB Black and MTB X before? how do they stack up against the old balls if you have?

Yes, I’ve played both.  It’s hard to compare because the Prime’s are designed to perform differently(in terms of spin profile and trajectory) than the Black & MTB X.   I will say in terms of feel the Prime feels similar to the Black, but the Prime X feels firmer than the MTB X.  Basically, it seems the spin profiles have been flipped and maybe you could say that the Prime is a softer feeling MTB X, and the Prime X is a firmer feeling MTB Black.  The MTB X fit my game before, and now the Prime is the ball that fits my game better.

Edited May 3, 2023 by Drewhill44

[gioreeko]

4 hours ago, Drewhill44 said:

Yes, I’ve played both.  It’s hard to compare because the Prime’s are designed to perform differently(in terms of spin profile and trajectory) than the Black & MTB X.   I will say it terms of feel the Prime feels similar to the Black, but the Prime X feels firmer than the MTB X.  Basically, it seems the spin profiles have been flipped and you could say that the Prime is a softer feeling MTB X, and the Prime X is a firmer feeling MTB Black.  The MTB X fit my game before, and now the Prime is the ball that fits my game better.

hmmm, interesting. Waiting for the yellow balls to give them a try. Thanks for the info!

[flushem]

2 hours ago, gioreeko said:

hmmm, interesting. Waiting for the yellow balls to give them a try. Thanks for the info!

hoping hot & sexy red one too

[larciel]

I liked 21 maxfli tour x but 23 is meh.

I'll try Prime next. I loved MTB X and it looks like prime should be the next choice.

[jjfcpa]

Played 18 holes with the MTB PRIME and I am totally impressed.  Current ball is the Callaway Chrome Soft.

 

In summary:

 

Driver - what a solid feel, yet not harsh.  Distance was longer than the CS but since I didn't hit both balls, I can only guess that it was about 10 yards longer.  Loved the ball flight.  I normally hit a high ball off the tee with the driver so if this ball really has a lower trajectory, it was perfect for me.  I normally don't get a lot of roll out with the CS, but I was getting some pretty significant roll out with the Prime.

 

Irons - felt great, sounded great and distance and spin was really good.

 

Wedges - really impressed with the spin.  

 

Putter - need more time with the Prime just because there is a feel difference, but distance control was really good.

 

Ordered 5 dozen today.  New ball going in the bag.

[bakere]

I usually use MTB Black in yellow as my fall/winter ball as it's much easier to find in the leaves/browned out colors of winter here in Ohio. However, now that I've just switched to my spring/summer ball in white I find that I'm missing the yellow color! So much easier to track in flight and hunt down when I hit errant shots. I'm going to wait for the Prime in yellow and give it a go.

[Eesh]

These are going to have to be REALLY good to justify $52 a dozen in Canada.

[tboh]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:16 PM, gioreeko said:

hmmm, interesting. Waiting for the yellow balls to give them a try. Thanks for the info!

+1

[jimb6golf]

Curious to see if Dean puts out a video explaining the change from cast urethane to TPU urethane covers.  He's always stated that cast is the better method, but I understand his supply chain/ factory issues and apparent reasons for changing to TPU, BUT....  Durability has always been the issue after all.  What is Snell's response?

[Drewhill44]

9 hours ago, jimb6golf said:

Curious to see if Dean puts out a video explaining the change from cast urethane to TPU urethane covers.  He's always stated that cast is the better method, but I understand his supply chain/ factory issues and apparent reasons for changing to TPU, BUT....  Durability has always been the issue after all.  What is Snell's response?

I believe he addressed it in the Prime & Prime X release video on Snells website. MGS also talked about it in their POD cast available on YouTube as well.  

Edited May 10, 2023 by Drewhill44

[storm319]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:51 AM, jimb6golf said:

Curious to see if Dean puts out a video explaining the change from cast urethane to TPU urethane covers.  He's always stated that cast is the better method, but I understand his supply chain/ factory issues and apparent reasons for changing to TPU, BUT....  Durability has always been the issue after all.  What is Snell's response?

Very simple. There is only one remaining independent factory with cast thermoset capabilities (Foremost) and they are at capacity. Also moving from having all of your eggs in one basket to literally doing the same only in a different basket is just asking for more of the same that was experienced over the past couple of years. Basically the switch to TPU appears to be about survival.

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, storm319 said:

Very simple. There is only one remaining independent factory with cast thermoset capabilities (Foremost) and they are at capacity. Also moving from having all of your eggs in one basket to literally doing the same only in a different basket is just asking for more of the same that was experienced over the past couple of years. Basically the switch to TPU appears to be about survival.

It's interesting that for a decade or so the trend appeared to be that the (IMO superior) cast thermoset method was going to gradually become widely available for white-label and contract brands. I kind of thought additional Asian factories would gain that capability over time and the technology would proliferate. But in fact, we seem to have passed "peak cast thermoset" during the early COVID period and it's returning to be the province of a small number of factories supplying a limited number of brands. 

 

Obviously doing it properly while making it profitable is still as much art as science and not just anyone can do it. 

[storm319]

19 hours ago, North Butte said:

It's interesting that for a decade or so the trend appeared to be that the (IMO superior) cast thermoset method was going to gradually become widely available for white-label and contract brands. I kind of thought additional Asian factories would gain that capability over time and the technology would proliferate. But in fact, we seem to have passed "peak cast thermoset" during the early COVID period and it's returning to be the province of a small number of factories supplying a limited number of brands. 

 

Obviously doing it properly while making it profitable is still as much art as science and not just anyone can do it. 

I don’t think the number of factories with this capability has changed, but the demand for alternatives to the big 5 and the DTC boom has increased dramatically in recent years. Couple that with the fact that Taylormade either partially or outright acquired the two factories in question (Foremost and Nassau) and it easy to see why we have seen more DTCs shift to TPU.

[jjfcpa]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:51 AM, jimb6golf said:

Curious to see if Dean puts out a video explaining the change from cast urethane to TPU urethane covers.  He's always stated that cast is the better method, but I understand his supply chain/ factory issues and apparent reasons for changing to TPU, BUT....  Durability has always been the issue after all.  What is Snell's response?

 

Played another 18 with the Prime and there is definitely a lack of durability compared to the previous MTB.  Also had a very difficult time with distance control on the greens, but I'm sure this is because of me and not the ball.  Seemed to be consistently short with my lag putts compared to the Callaway Chrome Soft.  I figured with a slightly firmer feel it would require a softer putt, but it seemed just the opposite.  

 

Towards the end of the round, the increased compression over the Chrome Soft was noticeable.  Started to affect my strike but again, that's probably me and not the balls fault.

 

Most concerting was what appeared to be less spin when chipping into the greens.  I'm still a little confused about this, but I will do some more comparisons with the Chrome Soft to see if this is a figment of my imagination.

[gioreeko]

3 hours ago, jjfcpa said:

 

Played another 18 with the Prime and there is definitely a lack of durability compared to the previous MTB.  Also had a very difficult time with distance control on the greens, but I'm sure this is because of me and not the ball.  Seemed to be consistently short with my lag putts compared to the Callaway Chrome Soft.  I figured with a slightly firmer feel it would require a softer putt, but it seemed just the opposite.  

 

Towards the end of the round, the increased compression over the Chrome Soft was noticeable.  Started to affect my strike but again, that's probably me and not the balls fault.

 

Most concerting was what appeared to be less spin when chipping into the greens.  I'm still a little confused about this, but I will do some more comparisons with the Chrome Soft to see if this is a figment of my imagination.

Maybe Dean can chime in, but I don't think hardness affects putting distance at all, you aren't swinging fast enough to compress the ball. 

[Arlin964]

If anyone is interested, I have 5 PRIME and 5 PRIME X balls that I’m looking to offload. 
 

I bought the trial pack and only used one of each. 
 

PM me if interested. 

[brew4eagle]

48 minutes ago, gioreeko said:

Maybe Dean can chime in, but I don't think hardness affects putting distance at all, you aren't swinging fast enough to compress the ball. 

Probably the sound/feel affecting touch/speed control rather than a compression effect

[hammergolf]

20 minutes ago, brew4eagle said:

Probably the sound/feel affecting touch/speed control rather than a compression effect

Yes, not being hit hard enough for compression to matter or affect speed. Only effect would be sound, which is feel.

[jjfcpa]

3 hours ago, gioreeko said:

Maybe Dean can chime in, but I don't think hardness affects putting distance at all, you aren't swinging fast enough to compress the ball. 

i'm quite sure it's not the ball but my reaction to the feel of the ball.  After playing the Chrome Soft for almost 2 years now, I'm pretty acclimated to the feel and even the slightest "feel" difference affects my putting.... at least for a while.

 

In my opinion, there needs to be a significant reason to change, and right now the only significant difference is price.  I don't normally lose balls and I'm not price sensitive, so that alone is not the kind of difference that I'm looking for.  I need a performance difference in order to make a change, not a price difference.

 

I need to play a few holes with both balls side-by-side to see if there is a performance difference.  I'm also quite intrigued by the new Tru Track on the newest Chrome Soft.  I've never really used the alignment on a ball for putting, but this might be something worth trying.

[wantacigar]

Just the way my mind works.......If cast is better (IMO it is) and Dean actually helped in developing the process with the ProV1 and the high demand from the DTC market wouldn't and investment into starting your own small factory to produce cast urethane golf balls be a profitable endeavor?  You would never have to worry about factories leaving you high and dry, the cost would be offset by the other DTC brands you can produce balls for and the ability to scale when needed.