2022 Golf Ball Testing

[Celeras]

Will do! So like I said this is an MTB-X vs ProV1X test I did as I was hunting for some more spin. I have always been a very low spin guy, and I recently swapped from GI irons to Player's Distance. Consequently lost a bit of height (the GIs were very very high), so I became slightly concerned about my stopping power without that crutch. Posting the data here because I think it confirms CJs numbers for these two balls rather nicely.

 

Pretty hooky today but it was consistent throughout, and I alternated shots back and forth.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Celeras

[Cactus Jack]

Do you ever have those days when you wonder why you even play this game? Today's driver session was one of those days for me. 

 

I could not get it going. Strike was jumping all over the place, my swing felt terrible, honestly, I'm pretty ticked off with myself. I think hitting a few hundred wedge shots then going into driver testing was an oversight on my part. Anyway, in the spirit of full transparency, I probably shouldn't share these,  below are my preliminary numbers. 

 

No comments on ball performance. Don't ask about the TP5 of B X. I need to re-test this weekend. My speed is down a solid 5-10 mph and I don't know why. 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Cactus Jack

[Cactus Jack]

12 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

Do you ever have those days when you wonder why you even play this game? Today's driver session was one of those days for me. 

 

I could not get it going. Strike was jumping all over the place, my swing felt terrible, honestly, I'm pretty ticked off with myself. I think hitting a few hundred wedge shots then going into driver testing was an oversight on my part. Anyway, in the spirit of full transparency, I probably shouldn't share these,  below are my preliminary numbers. 

 

No comments on ball performance. Don't ask about the TP5 of B X. I need to re-test this weekend. My speed is down a solid 5-10 mph and I don't know why. 

 

 

I woke up in a bad mood and my wife asked why I was being so pissy 🙂 . You know you have a problem (or are a WXRer) when you lose sleep over a pre-season ball speed dip. I went back to some of last seasons data, and after ignoring my wife's "suggestions" to start "exercising" again...I think it's actually time to hit the gym. Forget overall health, I need three more mph!!!

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Cactus Jack

[Cactus Jack]

17 hours ago, Celeras said:

Will do! So like I said this is an MTB-X vs ProV1X test I did as I was hunting for some more spin. I have always been a very low spin guy, and I recently swapped from GI irons to Player's Distance. Consequently lost a bit of height (the GIs were very very high), so I became slightly concerned about my stopping power without that crutch. Posting the data here because I think it confirms CJs numbers for these two balls rather nicely.

 

Pretty hooky today but it was consistent throughout, and I alternated shots back and forth.

 

Do you know your height and decent angle? Based on the numbers I would imagine the Pro V1x will launch a bit higher, drop a bit steeper, combined with the added spin will give you the stopping power you're looking for. 

[Celeras]

2 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

 

Do you know your height and decent angle? Based on the numbers I would imagine the Pro V1x will launch a bit higher, drop a bit steeper, combined with the added spin will give you the stopping power you're looking for. 

 

That's the hope. With the GI irons I was looking at 36y++ height and descents over 50 with the 7i. Excessive for sure. That's dropped to 28-30y height and descents closer to 40.

 

Haven't re-ran them again with the ProV1X but they should all creep up slightly from the spin.

[Cactus Jack]

1 hour ago, Celeras said:

 

That's the hope. With the GI irons I was looking at 36y++ height and descents over 50 with the 7i. Excessive for sure. That's dropped to 28-30y height and descents closer to 40.

 

Haven't re-ran them again with the ProV1X but they should all creep up slightly from the spin.

 

I've always heard 45* decent is a solid baseline. Much lower than that and you'll need to rely upon spin. Sounds like you're on the right track with the Pro V1x. If you need a ton of spin track down some of those Kirkland balls, they spun like a top. 

[Sandman-]

@Cactus Jack just want to say a big thank you for all the testing data and comments too. Been a fascinating 10 minutes or so of reading and checking graphs. I tend to be a low spin player too with irons and wedges, find it interesting that the B XS seems to be doing well for you so far as the 2020 ball was one I felt good about as well. 

[Cactus Jack]

4 hours ago, Sandman- said:

@Cactus Jack just want to say a big thank you for all the testing data and comments too. Been a fascinating 10 minutes or so of reading and checking graphs. I tend to be a low spin player too with irons and wedges, find it interesting that the B XS seems to be doing well for you so far as the 2020 ball was one I felt good about as well. 

 

Happy to share. 

 

The XS is a great ball and does appear to be near ideal for my game. Honestly, even though opposite in many ways, the XS and Chrome Soft X have started to separate from the pack. They both spin well, are fast and feel good from putter to driver. 

 

More to come. Additional driver testing, followed by a re-test of my finalist, are on the way. 

[Sandman-]

3 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

 

Happy to share. 

 

The XS is a great ball and does appear to be near ideal for my game. Honestly, even though opposite in many ways, the XS and Chrome Soft X have started to separate from the pack. They both spin well, are fast and feel good from putter to driver. 

 

More to come. Additional driver testing, followed by a re-test of my finalist, are on the way. 

Interesting re: chromesoft X. I tried some of them last year and really wasn't thrilled with the feel like I was with the 2020 XS, would you say there's a difference between the 2021 Chromesoft X and the the 2022 Chromesoft X feel/sound wise?

Edited April 13, 2022 by Sandman-

[von3jack]

This is a fantastic thread, thank you CactusJack! I can't wait to see the final results. The Bridgestone Tour B XS is a fantastic ball that I have played for 3 years now. I have yet to try the 2022 version but I am expecting great things. 

[yodatodd]

Hey OP. Wondering how the swing is going and if you got back to your usual form. From the sounds of it we are remarkably similar player profiles so I’m quite interested in your final results! Good luck with everything and thank you for this thorough and intriguing test and convo!

[Cactus Jack]

Hey guys, sorry for the absence. I’m going to jump back into ball testing but have spent my time building a golf sim in my garage. I’m not done yet, but plan to be hitting balls soon. 
 

 

[Cactus Jack]

I took some time off from building my simulator and hit the course for a few rounds this past weekend. I had really enjoyed the Bridgestone Tour B XS during the initial testing so I decided to put it into play. After 3 rounds, I can say the ball is not for me. Why? The ball performed exactly as designed, it spun and spun a lot.

 

The spin was so high I ripped a few full wedge shots straight off the green. One shot, in particular, felt great, looked great, and then backed up a solid 10 feet taking me out of the one-putt zone. I found chip and pitch shots difficult to judge because they'd hop and stop to the point where I'd need to relearn my wedge game. If you like to throw the ball at or past the hole, this is likely the ball for you. Short irons and par 3 shots exhibited the same high spin, which made it difficult for me to judge how to play shots. Also, I saw more spin off the driver than I saw on the launch monitor. The ball flew well but visually you could tell it was a high spin ball. I did hit a few drives, which I thought I smoked, but fell short of expectations which I attribute to increased spin.

 

The XS is a great feeling ball, and for a low spin player, is the first ball I'd test. The feeling off the putter is fantastic, durability was solid, but man of man, this ball spins. 

[North Butte]

4 minutes ago, Cactus Jack said:

I took some time off from building my simulator and hit the course for a few rounds this past weekend. I had really enjoyed the Bridgestone Tour B XS during the initial testing so I decided to put it into play. After 3 rounds, I can say the ball is not for me. Why? The ball performed exactly as designed, it spun and spun a lot.

 

The spin was so high I ripped a few full wedge shots straight off the green. One shot, in particular, felt great, looked great, and then backed up a solid 10 feet taking me out of the one-putt zone. I found chip and pitch shots difficult to judge because they'd hop and stop to the point where I'd need to relearn my wedge game. If you like to throw the ball at or past the hole, this is likely the ball for you. Short irons and par 3 shots exhibited the same high spin, which made it difficult for me to judge how to play shots. Also, I saw more spin off the driver than I saw on the launch monitor. The ball flew well but visually you could tell it was a high spin ball. I did hit a few drives, which I thought I smoked, but fell short of expectations which I attribute to increased spin.

 

The XS is a great feeling ball, and for a low spin player, is the first ball I'd test. The feeling off the putter is fantastic, durability was solid, but man of man, this ball spins. 

I'm a low spin (and low height) player but it spins too much for me, even so. I'm not nearly good enough to learn how to manage a GW sucking backward off the front of a green or a 9-iron with a little cut spin on it zipping sideways 10-15 feet after it lands. The only other ball I've hit that even occasionally spins back a foot or two with a full wedge shot is Pro V1x. And the B XS spins tons more than that for me.

 

It's cool to see but not so fun to try and play when keeping score!

[Cactus Jack]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

I'm a low spin (and low height) player but it spins too much for me, even so. I'm not nearly good enough to learn how to manage a GW sucking backward off the front of a green or a 9-iron with a little cut spin on it zipping sideways 10-15 feet after it lands. The only other ball I've hit that even occasionally spins back a foot or two with a full wedge shot is Pro V1x. And the B XS spins tons more than that for me.

 

It's cool to see but not so fun to try and play when keeping score!

 

Funny you mention the cool factor. I don't think the folks I played with (public course muni) have seen a ball spin back in real life 🙂 . They would hoot and holler while I'm ticked off and frustrated...but it did look cool as heck! 

[Roejye]

5 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

 

Funny you mention the cool factor. I don't think the folks I played with (public course muni) have seen a ball spin back in real life 🙂 . They would hoot and holler while I'm ticked off and frustrated...but it did look cool as heck! 

As someone who's never seen their ball spin back, I may try to pick up a sleeve lol. Although I did have that weird sidespin thing @North Butte was talking about in my last round, so hopefully I'll be able to see that soon.

[Cactus Jack]

52 minutes ago, Roejye said:

As someone who's never seen their ball spin back, I may try to pick up a sleeve lol. Although I did have that weird sidespin thing @North Butte was talking about in my last round, so hopefully I'll be able to see that soon.

 

If you want some serious spin, and save a ton of cash, go pick up some Kirkland/Costco balls. Those suckers are the highest spin balls I've come across. Could be a fun experiment. Either way, let us know how it goes if you end up trying some of these spinny balls. 

[Roejye]

1 hour ago, Cactus Jack said:

 

If you want some serious spin, and save a ton of cash, go pick up some Kirkland/Costco balls. Those suckers are the highest spin balls I've come across. Could be a fun experiment. Either way, let us know how it goes if you end up trying some of these spinny balls. 

I already primarily use the cut blue, which is another very spinny ball, I'm just a low spin player. I'm working on getting a stock shot shape, particularly with the driver, so hopefully I'll be able to hit some sand wedges into the greens and get some of that sexy backspin.

[teeithigh33]

On 5/9/2022 at 1:12 PM, Cactus Jack said:

I took some time off from building my simulator and hit the course for a few rounds this past weekend. I had really enjoyed the Bridgestone Tour B XS during the initial testing so I decided to put it into play. After 3 rounds, I can say the ball is not for me. Why? The ball performed exactly as designed, it spun and spun a lot.

 

The spin was so high I ripped a few full wedge shots straight off the green. One shot, in particular, felt great, looked great, and then backed up a solid 10 feet taking me out of the one-putt zone. I found chip and pitch shots difficult to judge because they'd hop and stop to the point where I'd need to relearn my wedge game. If you like to throw the ball at or past the hole, this is likely the ball for you. Short irons and par 3 shots exhibited the same high spin, which made it difficult for me to judge how to play shots. Also, I saw more spin off the driver than I saw on the launch monitor. The ball flew well but visually you could tell it was a high spin ball. I did hit a few drives, which I thought I smoked, but fell short of expectations which I attribute to increased spin.

 

The XS is a great feeling ball, and for a low spin player, is the first ball I'd test. The feeling off the putter is fantastic, durability was solid, but man of man, this ball spins. 

XS does spin alot. Switched to the X and have better feel and confidence in the one stop hop on full wedge shots.

[kevinmdowney]

Great info here. I don’t hit it that hard compared to some of you guys - 150+ ball speed with driver.

 

Cut Blue lost me because cover fell apart.

 

Maxfli Tour excellent ball!

 

Others on radar (note I’m a D2C / value guy, so not paying $50 when I can get same thing at $35):

 

Balls

Mid-Compression (85-90)

-

Maxfli Tour - $35

Snell MTB Black - $35

Vice Pro - $36

Piper Black - $35

Quantix F18 Tour - $34

Trust Bison V - $35

 

 

[Haewood32]

Wow lot of info thanks for the work CJ!

[Go_Blue!]

After spending a ton of time narrowing it down to the new Tour BX, Srixon Diamond and Pro V1, the best and most consistent in performance and durability is hands down the Pro V1. The BX and Diamond are both very good, but the Pro V just is that much better. I have not really been a Pro V guy ever and I am now convinced after thorough testing this year.

[joshrad_golf]

I'm a ProV1x guy and made the switch from the ProV1 last year. I like having the option to put more spin on it off the tee and into the greens. It does great for me at different elevations, whereas the ProV1 spun too little.

[Cactus Jack]

It’s been a crazy few months. I finished my simulator build, got some new gear (typical WRXer move) and my family adopted a new born. It’s been a blur but things have settled down and I’m jumping back into ball testing. I’ll post some updates within the next few days. 
 

Game On!

 

[Cactus Jack]

I picked up a new Stealth Plus and jumped into some driver testing. While my speed has started to come around, and dispersion has improved, now I'm fighting launch & spin conditions. I swear my swing is a never ending circular reference, but hoping dropping loft will help out. Anyway, here are tonight's results...as always, take them for what they are:

 

 

A few observations:

 

The Maxfli balls are solid all around performers, but for a similar price the Snells are just a bit better. Both Snell models felt quick off the driver and are pretty darn nice. 

 

I got on a run with the Pro V1x, and it produced fantastic results. I crossed 170mph a few times and all metrics were super tight. However...the ball sounds bad, felt hard not fast. Ugh...I really don't like the ball, but it keeps performing. 

 

Bridgestone Tour B X...very explosive feeling ball. The B X produced the highest single drive ball speed, 172mph, and longest carry 317. That was a fun one 🙂 . 

 

I really like the Chrome Soft X, but it was the only ball to produce no spin fall out of the sky knuckle balls. I hit a handful in the 1,200-1,500 RPM range, which would be an absolute round killer on the course. I do like this ball, and plan to keep testing it, but I can't play golf with random low/no spinners. 

[zap311]

10 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

I picked up a new Stealth Plus and jumped into some driver testing. While my speed has started to come around, and dispersion has improved, now I'm fighting launch & spin conditions. I swear my swing is a never ending circular reference, but hoping dropping loft will help out. Anyway, here are tonight's results...as always, take them for what they are:

 

 

A few observations:

 

The Maxfli balls are solid all around performers, but for a similar price the Snells are just a bit better. Both Snell models felt quick off the driver and are pretty darn nice. 

 

I got on a run with the Pro V1x, and it produced fantastic results. I crossed 170mph a few times and all metrics were super tight. However...the ball sounds bad, felt hard not fast. Ugh...I really don't like the ball, but it keeps performing. 

 

Bridgestone Tour B X...very explosive feeling ball. The B X produced the highest single drive ball speed, 172mph, and longest carry 317. That was a fun one 🙂 . 

 

I really like the Chrome Soft X, but it was the only ball to produce no spin fall out of the sky knuckle balls. I hit a handful in the 1,200-1,500 RPM range, which would be an absolute round killer on the course. I do like this ball, and plan to keep testing it, but I can't play golf with random low/no spinners. 

Congrats on your new Stealth! Thanks for these observations too. I’m glad you called out Chrome Soft X low spinners because sometimes we forget that sub-2000 spin isn’t really playable on course. 
 

It’s interesting, if not surprising, to see the lower spin & compression models of V1 and MTB Black spinning more with driver than V1x and MTB X. Did you notice any difference in dispersion with these balls or were they generally the same?

Edited July 2, 2022 by zap311

[Cactus Jack]

14 minutes ago, zap311 said:

Congrats on your new Stealth! Thanks for these observations too. I’m glad you called out Chrome Soft X low spinners because sometimes we forget that sub-2000 spin isn’t really playable on course. 
 

It’s interesting, if not surprising, to see the lower spin & compression models of V1 and MTB Black spinning more with driver than V1x and MTB X. Did you notice any difference in dispersion with these balls or were they generally the same?

Im going to add dispersion data going forward. I think side spin was definitely impacting performance. Updates coming later today. 

[NRJyzr]

On 7/2/2022 at 12:55 AM, Cactus Jack said:

really like the Chrome Soft X, but it was the only ball to produce no spin fall out of the sky knuckle balls. I hit a handful in the 1,200-1,500 RPM range, which would be an absolute round killer on the course. I do like this ball, and plan to keep testing it, but I can't play golf with random low/no spinners

 

Try bumping your loft up a bit, see what you get?  I've had to do that with the ball I've been playing for the last few years, due to lower spin and trajectory.  Add 1* to 1.5* and it was golden.

 

Congratulations on the new baby.  

 

Edited July 7, 2022 by NRJyzr

[gioreeko]

On 7/2/2022 at 10:02 AM, Cactus Jack said:

Im going to add dispersion data going forward. I think side spin was definitely impacting performance. Updates coming later today. 

Great stuff, congrats on the baby! Any ProV1X left dash to test?

[kevinmdowney]

I’m testing these… Warbird to see what happens with wedges.

 

Balls - Mid-Compression (85-90)

Maxfli Tour - $35

Snell MTB Black - $35

Quantix F18 Tour - $34

Trust Bison V - $35

Callaway Warbird