Golf ball for the 70 mph swing: Is the Pro V1/Pro V1x wasted on juniors

[Kcct82]

21 hours ago, MB19 said:

Man, now that is just depressing!  Those Otus lenses are about as good as it gets... just sitting there.  Heard lots of good things about the 5Div.

 

I switched from a 6D/60D setup to various Sony A and E-mount bodies since, and roll with an a99ii/a6000 kit now.  Love my Sony-Zeiss glass, even if they are no OTUS.

I blame Jr golf. I drifted away from photography when my son started playing 😅

[uskidsdad]

Lot haters on here.  At 70mph swing speed, I'd argue golf ball selection is one of the most important factors.  Most elite young juniors with around that swing speed have a hard time holding greens with 3w, hybrid, or low irons because they do not have enough descent angle.  Get your child into a premium ball if you can comfortably afford it.  It will only take one tournament where they flush a 5 iron that lands on the front and rolls off the back leading to a bogey that will make you regret not having them in a urethane cover ball.  Elite-level juniors also simply do not hit the bar far enough to damage or lose them.  A dozen golf balls could last them half to a full year, even playing regularly.  Now if your child is still learning, the money is better spent on lessons, but I'd still put them in a lower-end urethane ball like tour response. You said this was your first tournament, so I'm guessing you are in this category.  If so, I understand how showing up and seeing others with all the gear and premium balls can draw the reaction of "really?"  I remember that same feeling.  But as you see your child putting in hundreds and hundreds of practice hours over the course of the year, you will grow to not thinking twice about supporting them however you can within your own financial situation.  After all, who doesn't want to see their children succeed?

So, if you can afford the premium ball, and your child is putting in the time, buy them the premium ball.  There is a parent at my country club with a son finishing top 20 at US kids world, and the kid plays a hodge-podge of cut down leftover clubs and balls from his dad.  That to me is completely irresponsible.  The kid practices or plays 5-7 hours a day 5-6 days a week, and the dad can afford to get him a properly fitting set of clubs.  I'm not saying you should make financial sacrifices to afford a PRO V1, I'm more irritated by those who do not than those who do.

 

Also, keep in mind people have different means.  There are juniors under the age of 10 that have personal fittings and fly private to tournaments.  Is that irresponsible or spoiling the kid?  Absolutely not, that type of luxury is simply commonplace for some.  Others may struggle financially to even buy clubs and afford the game at a local level, let alone traveling.  It can get expensive.  But don't hate on others that can provide a different path for their children simply because they have more money.  And similarly, don't stress if you cannot afford that.  Many great golfers grew up learning to play on baseball fields (John Daly), low-end army-navy "country clubs" (Tiger), and with makeshift equipment (Trevino).  Where there is a will there is a way, and the most important thing will not be the golf ball or whatever, it will be whether your child makes their own decision to put their head down and practice like crazy until they are 15 or 16.  

Edited December 27, 2020 by uskidsdad

[MB19]

1 hour ago, uskidsdad said:

Lot haters on here.  At 70mph swing speed, I'd argue golf ball selection is one of the most important factors.  Most elite young juniors with around that swing speed have a hard time holding greens with 3w, hybrid, or low irons because they do not have enough descent angle.  Get your child into a premium ball if you can comfortably afford it.  It will only take one tournament where they flush a 5 iron that lands on the front and rolls off the back leading to a bogey that will make you regret not having them in a urethane cover ball.  Elite-level juniors also simply do not hit the bar far enough to damage or lose them.  A dozen golf balls could last them half to a full year, even playing regularly.  Now if your child is still learning, the money is better spent on lessons, but I'd still put them in a lower-end urethane ball like tour response. You said this was your first tournament, so I'm guessing you are in this category.  If so, I understand how showing up and seeing others with all the gear and premium balls can draw the reaction of "really?"  I remember that same feeling.  But as you see your child putting in hundreds and hundreds of practice hours over the course of the year, you will grow to not thinking twice about supporting them however you can within your own financial situation.  After all, who doesn't want to see their children succeed?

So, if you can afford the premium ball, and your child is putting in the time, buy them the premium ball.  There is a parent at my country club with a son finishing top 20 at US kids world, and the kid plays a hodge-podge of cut down leftover clubs and balls from his dad.  That to me is completely irresponsible.  The kid practices or plays 5-7 hours a day 5-6 days a week, and the dad can afford to get him a properly fitting set of clubs.  I'm not saying you should make financial sacrifices to afford a PRO V1, I'm more irritated by those who do not than those who do.

 

Also, keep in mind people have different means.  There are juniors under the age of 10 that have personal fittings and fly private to tournaments.  Is that irresponsible or spoiling the kid?  Absolutely not, that type of luxury is simply commonplace for some.  Others may struggle financially to even buy clubs and afford the game at a local level, let alone traveling.  It can get expensive.  But don't hate on others that can provide a different path for their children simply because they have more money.  And similarly, don't stress if you cannot afford that.  Many great golfers grew up learning to play on baseball fields (John Daly), low-end army-navy "country clubs" (Tiger), and with makeshift equipment (Trevino).  Where there is a will there is a way, and the most important thing will not be the golf ball or whatever, it will be whether your child makes their own decision to put their head down and practice like crazy until they are 15 or 16.  

Thank you for weighing in on this.  Your conclusions are much the same of a number of longtime posters here, and I've bought in.  It was our first go of playing tournament golf, but I wasn't walking in completely unprepared.  That the best girl in the 8-9 age group was playing Pro V1, shouldn't have shocked me, but I just had no idea kids this age really played them.  

 

My son inherited all the Q-Star Tours (still urethane, just don't spin like the higher compression urethanes) and my daughter now has a variety of higher-test balls to try out for the 2021 season--Z-Star, AVX, Mizuno RB Tour.

 

I had a dad who went all-in to get me the best baseball equipment because it was my #1 sport.  For golf, I got cheap gear because it was my 4th sport.  For my kids, golf is their #1 and it is treated as such even if I do whatever I can to avoid paying full price for everything.  If they ever get good enough to travel to better tournaments, we'll try it out.  Bespoke clubs may have to wait until puberty.

[MB19]

It has been a month since I checked in here, but over that time I've had both kids hit a few hundred approach shots with several brands, and a few types of balls.  My 7.5-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter play from the same tournament distances and hit their clubs similar yardage--my daughter hits about a half-club farther.

 

 

My daughter has hit Srixon Z-Star, Titleist Pro-V1x, Taylor Made TP5, Mizunor RB Tour and Callaway Chrome Soft.

My son has hit TaylorMade Project (A) and Tour Response, Srixon Q-Star Tour and Callaway Hex Tour Soft.

 

These are my non-scientific observations...

 

Hitting 8i approaches from 65 yards with his Flynn Velocity, my son's best shots at the pin hopped 2-3 times and then rolled out another 3-5 feet.

With a 712 CB Forged 8i from 70 yards, my daughter could get her ball to stop cold after two hops on her best shots.

 

Hitting with his Flynn Advantage 51* gap from about 40 yards, best case, my son could get his ball to stop after two hops and a six inch roll.  Hitting with a Ping Glide forged 50*, my daughter could get her ball to stop after one hop and a one or two inch roll from 45 yards on her best shots.

 

My son asked my why his balls rolled more, and I told him that his sister just put more spin on the ball.  I told him he would get there, but I'm not convinced he would be able to repeat her results with his clubs or balls.  The combination of the tour-level balls and premium clubs were no match for the softer-compression balls and decent junior clubs IMO.

 

Today was our latest trip out to the PGA Village Short Course, and we saw these same results repeated over and over again trying to throw darts at the green from 40-55 yards.  I'm not sure when I'll move my son into the tour-level ball, but he's got a Prodi G 56* coming in the mail soon to add to the SM7 60* he got handed down from his sister.  Prodi G 52* is next.  After a 18 months of coaching, practice and tournaments, these equipment changes can make an incremental difference around the greens IMO.

 

Going back to last spring where I saw the South FL 9 y.o. girl playing the Pro-V1 assault the greens with wedges that stuck just about where they hit, it is fun to see my daughter build up the skill to do it as well--even if, for now, it isn't completely consistent.

 

I can't say whether or not the Pro-V1x, Mizuno RB Tour, Srixon Z-Star, TaylorMade TP5 or Chrome Soft is better.  The Chrome Soft seemed to be on a half-tier below the other four, but not a drastic difference IMO.  The Titleist, Mizuno, TM and Srixon were all extremely high performing around the green.  The Mizuno held up the worst, and it wasn't even close.  I've never seen a ball get discolored so fast by the turf. 

 

**Disclaimer** I have a box of Titleist AVX sitting in my garage waiting on spring tournaments.  I will likely test these after we play in a tournament next Saturday, and I am expecting elite performance from these balls.

Edited January 28, 2021 by MB19

[hangontight]

On 1/27/2021 at 6:00 PM, MB19 said:

It has been a month since I checked in here, but over that time I've had both kids hit a few hundred approach shots with several brands, and a few types of balls.  My 7.5-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter play from the same tournament distances and hit their clubs similar yardage--my daughter hits about a half-club farther.

 

 

My daughter has hit Srixon Z-Star, Titleist Pro-V1x, Taylor Made TP5, Mizunor RB Tour and Callaway Chrome Soft.

My son has hit TaylorMade Project (A) and Tour Response, Srixon Q-Star Tour and Callaway Hex Tour Soft.

 

These are my non-scientific observations...

 

Hitting 8i approaches from 65 yards with his Flynn Velocity, my son's best shots at the pin hopped 2-3 times and then rolled out another 3-5 feet.

With a 712 CB Forged 8i from 70 yards, my daughter could get her ball to stop cold after two hops on her best shots.

 

Hitting with his Flynn Advantage 51* gap from about 40 yards, best case, my son could get his ball to stop after two hops and a six inch roll.  Hitting with a Ping Glide forged 50*, my daughter could get her ball to stop after one hop and a one or two inch roll from 45 yards on her best shots.

 

My son asked my why his balls rolled more, and I told him that his sister just put more spin on the ball.  I told him he would get there, but I'm not convinced he would be able to repeat her results with his clubs or balls.  The combination of the tour-level balls and premium clubs were no match for the softer-compression balls and decent junior clubs IMO.

 

Today was our latest trip out to the PGA Village Short Course, and we saw these same results repeated over and over again trying to throw darts at the green from 40-55 yards.  I'm not sure when I'll move my son into the tour-level ball, but he's got a Prodi G 56* coming in the mail soon to add to the SM7 60* he got handed down from his sister.  Prodi G 52* is next.  After a 18 months of coaching, practice and tournaments, these equipment changes can make an incremental difference around the greens IMO.

 

Going back to last spring where I saw the South FL 9 y.o. girl playing the Pro-V1 assault the greens with wedges that stuck just about where they hit, it is fun to see my daughter build up the skill to do it as well--even if, for now, it isn't completely consistent.

 

I can't say whether or not the Pro-V1x, Mizuno RB Tour, Srixon Z-Star, TaylorMade TP5 or Chrome Soft is better.  The Chrome Soft seemed to be on a half-tier below the other four, but not a drastic difference IMO.  The Titleist, Mizuno, TM and Srixon were all extremely high performing around the green.  The Mizuno held up the worst, and it wasn't even close.  I've never seen a ball get discolored so fast by the turf. 

 

**Disclaimer** I have a box of Titleist AVX sitting in my garage waiting on spring tournaments.  I will likely test these after we play in a tournament next Saturday, and I am expecting elite performance from these balls.

Good review.  For some reason, my son loves our annual "Ball Test" where we spend an afternoon with a sleeves of different balls comparing.  A cheap way to satisfy the "new equipment" itch...and admittedly fun.    He keeps coming back to TP5, AVX, or proV1x.....for various reasons, both seem to work well (even though in some ways these balls are pretty different).  

 

Sorry if I missed it, but I am curious.  In general do the tour level balls suit your son better (it sounds like it) ?  If so, why not let him play a premium ball.  Sure , a little more expensive but in the grand scheme of total money spent on golf...it really isnt that much....especially consdidering that the younger kids rarely lose balls.     I do remember when my son was younger that the tour level balls didnt seem to fly as high...at the time the cheaper balls (Duo Soft was a favorite) launched higher, especially on iron shot, and bounded down the fairway with driver like a runaway rabbit!    

[MB19]

2 hours ago, hangontight said:

Good review.  For some reason, my son loves our annual "Ball Test" where we spend an afternoon with a sleeves of different balls comparing.  A cheap way to satisfy the "new equipment" itch...and admittedly fun.    He keeps coming back to TP5, AVX, or proV1x.....for various reasons, both seem to work well (even though in some ways these balls are pretty different).  

 

Sorry if I missed it, but I am curious.  In general do the tour level balls suit your son better (it sounds like it) ?  If so, why not let him play a premium ball.  Sure , a little more expensive but in the grand scheme of total money spent on golf...it really isnt that much....especially consdidering that the younger kids rarely lose balls.     I do remember when my son was younger that the tour level balls didnt seem to fly as high...at the time the cheaper balls (Duo Soft was a favorite) launched higher, especially on iron shot, and bounded down the fairway with driver like a runaway rabbit!    

The annual ball test may have to become a thing for us, I know other parents do this and have fun with it.

 

I have like three boxes of QST right now, a box of Tour Response and possibly a few sleeves of Project A left--so I'm going to keep him in those balls for a bit longer. I can always bundle the balls and sell them on ebay, I suppose, but for now he stays in them.  For the sake of our test, it was kinda cool to have him as the control group to my daughter's test group.  

 

The Duo Soft we used last winter/spring and we had a blast with them in the colder weather.  The kids gained some confidence getting them into the air, I think--so they served their purpose for sure as starter balls.

[darter79]

On 1/29/2021 at 1:31 PM, hangontight said:

Good review.  For some reason, my son loves our annual "Ball Test" where we spend an afternoon with a sleeves of different balls comparing.  A cheap way to satisfy the "new equipment" itch...and admittedly fun.    He keeps coming back to TP5, AVX, or proV1x.....for various reasons, both seem to work well (even though in some ways these balls are pretty different).  

 

Sorry if I missed it, but I am curious.  In general do the tour level balls suit your son better (it sounds like it) ?  If so, why not let him play a premium ball.  Sure , a little more expensive but in the grand scheme of total money spent on golf...it really isnt that much....especially consdidering that the younger kids rarely lose balls.     I do remember when my son was younger that the tour level balls didnt seem to fly as high...at the time the cheaper balls (Duo Soft was a favorite) launched higher, especially on iron shot, and bounded down the fairway with driver like a runaway rabbit!    

Duo soft yes!! Best ball for little kids getting started that ball jump off the face, when spin is irrelevant which is really younger kids.  We used to call that ball the rabbit ball because once it landed it no stopping it. I actually found two dozen of those balls recently cleaning up our golf room and had her hit those again. Her face was so funny now considering how 0 feel those balls have. She acted like she didn't even hit a ball. Good times. 

[Golfingdawg19]

My daughter uses the TP5 and does well with it. I’m sure she would do just as good with the AVX or Pro V1. I get a discount on TM stuff because I coach HS golf so it just makes sense for her to use those. Her coach has advocated for a urethane covered ball the whole time. 

[leezer99]

Just spent the day testing the new ProV1 today. It’s much softer than previous versions. Son is a convert. 

[darter79]

12 hours ago, leezer99 said:

Just spent the day testing the new ProV1 today. It’s much softer than previous versions. Son is a convert. 

 

We done similar testing. That ball is very soft now. Even the new prov1x is softer than before. 

[tiger1873]

On 2/2/2021 at 7:38 PM, Golfingdawg19 said:

My daughter uses the TP5 and does well with it. I’m sure she would do just as good with the AVX or Pro V1. I get a discount on TM stuff because I coach HS golf so it just makes sense for her to use those. Her coach has advocated for a urethane covered ball the whole time. 

 

We use the same ball a lot too. With the AGJA discount it simply can't be beat for the price.  I'll still buy prov1 for bigger tournaments since i do think that is a better ball but these are almost as good for half the price.

[BloctonGolf11]

I will be the outlier. For this year my son is using the Cut Blue. For him, it is better spinning, longer, and more consistent than other balls and the $20 a dozen price tag is just lovely. 

[leezer99]

2 hours ago, BloctonGolf11 said:

I will be the outlier. For this year my son is using the Cut Blue. For him, it is better spinning, longer, and more consistent than other balls and the $20 a dozen price tag is just lovely. 

 

[MB19]

5 hours ago, leezer99 said:

 

I just watched the accompanying video, and it was a very interesting test.  It would be interesting to see how each ball would fare with swing speeds tamped down to 60-70 mph for driver, and corresponding speeds down the bag.

 

My son has played the QST and my daughter the ZST their last two scored rounds.  The last round from 1500 yards, my daughter won by three strokes and this round from 1850 yards my son won by three strokes.  The QST may very well give my son a small edge off the tee in spite of his 3mph slower swing speed, but my daughter's wedge and low iron shots stop quicker on the green (and its not even close).

 

In more non-scientific testing, the Mizuno RB Tour stops every bit as effectively as any premium golf ball we tested--but on drives it is easily the lowest-flying ball we tried... as well as the least scuff-resistant. 

[leezer99]

2 hours ago, MB19 said:

I just watched the accompanying video, and it was a very interesting test.  It would be interesting to see how each ball would fare with swing speeds tamped down to 60-70 mph for driver, and corresponding speeds down the bag.

 

My son has played the QST and my daughter the ZST their last two scored rounds.  The last round from 1500 yards, my daughter won by three strokes and this round from 1850 yards my son won by three strokes.  The QST may very well give my son a small edge off the tee in spite of his 3mph slower swing speed, but my daughter's wedge and low iron shots stop quicker on the green (and its not even close).

 

In more non-scientific testing, the Mizuno RB Tour stops every bit as effectively as any premium golf ball we tested--but on drives it is easily the lowest-flying ball we tried... as well as the least scuff-resistant. 

 

Try a sleeve of the ProV1x balls.  You won't regret it.

[MB19]

5 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

 

Try a sleeve of the ProV1x balls.  You won't regret it.

The new ones, right?  That will happen.

 

We have hit the previous model some, and they are comparable to the Z-Star by my eyes—which means awesome.

[leezer99]

1 hour ago, MB19 said:

The new ones, right?  That will happen.

 

We have hit the previous model some, and they are comparable to the Z-Star by my eyes—which means awesome.

Yes. My son has been playing the new ones this week and they are amazing. 

[BloctonGolf11]

18 hours ago, leezer99 said:

 

Peter Finch tried every ball under the sun for his swing speed and came out rocking the Vice Pro. Different strokes for different folks. We were playing the RXS and he has tried Chrome softs, Zstars, Qstars, and ProVs and so far the Cuts just behave the best for him. 

[Guy In Lyon]

If she's good and her dad is willing to pay for them, why not? Some parent drive their kids hundreds of miles each weekend to ice hockey games or cheer leading competitions. Some parents buy their kids a show jumping horse and pay for stabling and feed.

 

I would never use a ProV1 because I hate the thought of an expensive ball going into the water, but If I didn't lose a few balls every round I'd be happy to use them.

 

[Medson]

My daughter’s driver swing speed is 58-62 MPH. She currently plays Callaway ERC. Are there other golf balls she can try?
 

We are pretty happy with ERC. (To be honest, I’m only familiar with Callaway balls) Being on WRX, just wanna see the options. 

[Kcct82]

9 minutes ago, Medson said:

My daughter’s driver swing speed is 58-62 MPH. She currently plays Callaway ERC. Are there other golf balls she can try?
 

We are pretty happy with ERC. (To be honest, I’m only familiar with Callaway balls) Being on WRX, just wanna see the options. 

My kid played Taylormade project (a) at those speeds. He’s not much faster now, but still plays the same ball. 

[MB19]

10 hours ago, Kcct82 said:

My kid played Taylormade project (a) at those speeds. He’s not much faster now, but still plays the same ball. 

My son plays Project (a), Tour Response and Q-Star Tour interchangeably.  Very similar behaving balls.

[RmoorePE]

Great thread. My daughter has tested a lot of balls and actually likes the Chrome Softs the best so far. Practicing around the greens with the soccer ball looking ones has really helped her. She can easily see the spin.

 

Last Sunday morning she wanted a fresh sleeve for the tournament she was going to play in the afternoon. I had to stop at our local course on the way to the tournament to pick up her range finder she left in our cart, and buy some balls. They were out of the CS she wanted and so I grabbed a couple sleeves of Bridgestone Tour BXS, thinking she had enough Chrome Softs on hand to play her round. Anyway, she took the BXS on the putting and chipping range before the round and decided she would game them. 

 

She hits driver about 230 and everything else is pretty much in line with that swing speed. She hit the BXS maybe a little farther than she did the CS. She had a tremendous driving and striking round and a terrible chipping and putting round. She never mentioned the ball, but as daddy caddy, I was wondering if I had screwed her over by allowing her to use those new balls in a pressure situation.

 

On #18 she had a 155 yard approach from a pretty steep down hill lie and the green well below her. She used a 7i thinking the downhill would deloft and it did. The ball launched straight out from the club, screaming at the green like a stinger. I was cringing thinking she was about to bounce off the back of the green and likely OB due to the concrete cart path right behind, but that ball only bounced about 4' forward. Setting up an eagle putt (which she 3 putted and it cost her 3rd place-story of the round). Nevertheless the BXS performed really well for her tee to green.

 

One thing about them she hated was the slickness of the cover. Her sharpie marking had to be refreshed about every 4 holes and got it all over her pocket, the sharpie sticks much better to the CS.

 

This week we are going to do some more testing. She also has really enjoyed the QSstar Tour 2 -color balls for practice. They are matte finish so not great for using in wet conditions and I hate the sound, but for putting and chipping the 2-color finish is a great tool.

[AC168]

My son is on the younger side, but I've had him hit a variety of golf balls.  He doesn't really care, but I can see a noticeable difference with the Pro V1x, B XS, etc. vs the lower spin and launch balls.

[delacruz.c5d]

I'll jump in on this thread as well.

 

First, I'll say it REALLY helps to have a launch monitor to test these things...which I do have access to.

 

Originally, I had a bunch of old 3 piece Kirkland/Costco specials laying around, and I thought that they'd be great for my (at the time) 8 year old to play with.  Just to give a little background, he's roughly 50/50 (50#s, 50"...kinda slight).  He does have custom fit Flynn Golf equipment: Driver, FW, Hybrid, 6i, 8i, PW, SW @ 15, 21, 27, 32, 40, 48, 56 degrees.  He's starting to get competitive, and I figured that it's time he starts to play a consistent golf ball.

 

He starts hitting the Kirkland, and hates them.  "They don't go as far!" he says.  "I want to play ProV1, because it goes farther!"  Ugh, I call "BS" and tell him he can't tell the difference.  But, I do have samples of MANY golf balls, so, to prove it to him, I get a launch monitor out, and we start testing.

 

Low and behold, the Kirkland is SIGNIFICANTLY slower than the $50/dozen ProV1.  Like 3-5 mph ball speed slower.  Ugh, great.  And at his speed, it's a big difference in terms of percentage.

 

In his case (all of this is specific to the player), he actually doesn't create enough spin at times to keep the ball in the air with the driver (I wish I had that problem).  While a premium golf ball would do the trick (ProV1, TP5, etc), his Dad is too cheap to shell out over $4/ball.  Ultimately, we got the Vice Golf Ball sampler pack, and test them all out.  We found that the Vice Pro was a good fit.  The price was right, he likes the feel and performance, and we found the cool drip color way that he enjoys.

 

To be honest, he doesn't really lose golf balls that often, so it was an easy investment.

 

Moral of the story from my perspective:

1) If your child is starting to play competitively, they should be playing 1 type of ball to remove variables, and not the #1 ball in golf...which is the ones that you find on the course.

2) If you invest the time in equipment for your child, it does make sense to fit a golf ball as well.  If you can find launch monitor time, or find a place that does launch monitor golf ball fitting, then it's worth the time to find the golf ball that fits in performance for them, and the budget for your family.

[AC168]

I agree.  My son is 7 and everything is a knuckle ball so he plays with high launch and high spin urethane balls.  
 

I would add it’s not just a premium ball that may be best.

[Leftychamp]

My son plays prov1x. Low compression balls may add distance (7yr old 69 mph club head speed) but they don’t bite like the thin cover of a premium offering.