2023 Maxfli Tour, Tour X and Tour S

[JohnnyO3478]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:37 AM, cw1209 said:

 

6 rounds! I would say the ball did ok haha

Indeed.  I'll never get on a heater like that again.  I lost two Tour CG balls this weekend!

[JohnnyO3478]

On 2/3/2024 at 10:09 AM, ode said:

I've had it happen on the 19 version as well as the 20 OnCore Elixir (same/similar cover), both yellow versions. I've played the 19 Maxfli Tour a lot and only had one crack like that.  The OnCore only some/sparingly as it's softer and it's relegated to spring/fall.....but it seems to happen in cold temps.  Despite the appearance the covers are the same shade, but due to natural light vs. flash they look different.  Note the cg line on the Maxfli is random as it relates to the seem.  The Elixir which does not offer the cg.....the side stamp lines up with the seem on every ball!

Both Foremost 3 pc cast urathane 318 dimple balls.  I'll keep using them.  I've already reverted back to my regularly scheduled program of losing balls way before i get to a fifth round with one ...

[ode]

23 minutes ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

Both Foremost 3 pc cast urathane 318 dimple balls.  I'll keep using them.  I've already reverted back to my regularly scheduled program of losing balls way before i get to a fifth round with one ...

It dit initially concern me as it happened in the same season, but given the number of rounds played using the Maxfli and it's performance, I won't hesitate to stock up once it's time😉

[Minarets]

Played the S today and generally liked it. I didn’t play worth a darn bur liked the ball. I did pull out an old Tour (previous gen) on one hole and smoked it and thought hmmm but that was too coincidental. 

[PDFPXG]

@Minarets can you give more details about what you liked or disliked about the Tour S. (BTW we share a putter) I don't know much about you but have seen your posts and you are clearly very knowledgeable so your insights will be meaningful.

[Minarets]

1 hour ago, PDFPXG said:

@Minarets can you give more details about what you liked or disliked about the Tour S. (BTW we share a putter) I don't know much about you but have seen your posts and you are clearly very knowledgeable so your insights will be meaningful.

Oh wow.  Feel honored. 😎. The ball is soft off the tee, irons and putter.  Never feels clicky. I didn’t notice a distance loss but only the anecdotal crushed drive the one time I put a 2021 Maxfli Tour on the tee. I hit several with the S that were keeping up with the long hitter in our group.  Was actually further up on most fairways than I typically am playing the same tee box.  It was 55° and still kind of wet from all the rain we had last week. Not plugging wet but “wipe your clubs down after each swing as there is some mud on the sole” kinda wet. 
 

the greens were kinda ridiculous.  I am typically a good putter and had one of my worst days yesterday.  I missed 2 4’ on the lips and 3 putted 3 times. I putted off the green once.  One of the guys we played with putter off the green 4 times. 
 

the ball spun fine off the wedges.  Put new MG4 wedges in play for the first time and the S reacted nicely.  Spun plenty to my liking. 
 

really all I want to see now is, is the Tour and Tour S that different? Do they actually behave to their advertised characteristics?  The S was a lower launching ball which I prefer as a high hitter.  I want to see if one spins more or launches differently or is longer than the other.  I would certainly play the S again. Wasn’t disappointed in any way.  

[JohnnyO3478]

16 hours ago, Minarets said:

Oh wow.  Feel honored. 😎. The ball is soft off the tee, irons and putter.  Never feels clicky. I didn’t notice a distance loss but only the anecdotal crushed drive the one time I put a 2021 Maxfli Tour on the tee. I hit several with the S that were keeping up with the long hitter in our group.  Was actually further up on most fairways than I typically am playing the same tee box.  It was 55° and still kind of wet from all the rain we had last week. Not plugging wet but “wipe your clubs down after each swing as there is some mud on the sole” kinda wet. 
 

the greens were kinda ridiculous.  I am typically a good putter and had one of my worst days yesterday.  I missed 2 4’ on the lips and 3 putted 3 times. I putted off the green once.  One of the guys we played with putter off the green 4 times. 
 

the ball spun fine off the wedges.  Put new MG4 wedges in play for the first time and the S reacted nicely.  Spun plenty to my liking. 
 

really all I want to see now is, is the Tour and Tour S that different? Do they actually behave to their advertised characteristics?  The S was a lower launching ball which I prefer as a high hitter.  I want to see if one spins more or launches differently or is longer than the other.  I would certainly play the S again. Wasn’t disappointed in any way.  

I have found there's not much difference for me between the Tour and Tour S when it comes to launch and spin - especially around the green.  And they feel about the same putting.  And the Tour goes a bit farther on well tagged shots.  I'm basing my opinion on just launch monitor data and putting/chipping green practice.  I have yet to try the Tour S on an actual course.  

Edited February 7 by JohnnyO3478

[absoludicrous]

On 2/5/2024 at 5:47 PM, Minarets said:

Played the S today and generally liked it. I didn’t play worth a darn bur liked the ball. I did pull out an old Tour (previous gen) on one hole and smoked it and thought hmmm but that was too coincidental. 

Does Dick’s sell sleeves? You need to try the new Tour ball, especially if you’re a BX player. I don’t think it was a coincidence. If you liked the last gen Tour, I’m guessing you’ll like the newer ones even more. I picked up 2 dozen on the Black Friday sale and will pick up a couple dozen on the next big sale. I also play the BX and the new Tours are right up there for me. It sounds like we prefer a similar ball.

[Minarets]

8 minutes ago, absoludicrous said:

Does Dick’s sell sleeves? You need to try the new Tour ball, especially if you’re a BX player. I don’t think it was a coincidence. If you liked the last gen Tour, I’m guessing you’ll like the newer ones even more. I picked up 2 dozen on the Black Friday sale and will pick up a couple dozen on the next big sale. I also play the BX and the new Tours are right up there for me. It sounds like we prefer a similar ball.

I’ll buy a box for sure.  

[sbjinx]

Bought of box of Tours after seeing all the positive reviews and I’ll say they are pretty good balls. Recently switched to left dash coming from pro V1 and from one round, the Tours fall in between the two. I like how they launch higher than the pro V1 but it’s definitely not as long as the left dash. Greens were really wet this morning so hard to judge green side spin but even in the wet conditions the Tours seem to roll out more than pro V1. I also paid 39.99 so for me I’d shell out the extra $15 to play the left dash. It’s not a bad ball for the winter rounds (and especially if I can get then on sale without having to buy multiple boxes). 

Edited February 9 by sbjinx

[absoludicrous]

For $39.99 a dozen, I agree. If I’m in an immediate need and that’s the current price, I will go with my other preference.

 

For ~$25-30 a dozen, they’re great! If you’re not in a rush, there are good deals that pop up sometimes.

[dwboston]

1 hour ago, absoludicrous said:

For $39.99 a dozen, I agree. If I’m in an immediate need and that’s the current price, I will go with my other preference.

 

For ~$25-30 a dozen, they’re great! If you’re not in a rush, there are good deals that pop up sometimes.

 

The key is to wait for the sale price and stack it with DSG Scorecard rewards.

[sbjinx]

1 hour ago, absoludicrous said:

For $39.99 a dozen, I agree. If I’m in an immediate need and that’s the current price, I will go with my other preference.

 

For ~$25-30 a dozen, they’re great! If you’re not in a rush, there are good deals that pop up sometimes.

Yeah if i can get them for 20-30 I’d rather play the Maxifli balls compared to the mid tier stuff from top brands. I was really curious and needed some balls so I decided to grab them at full price. 

[darsony]

To demonstrate the durability of the yellow Tour-X I've attached photos of this ball which I've used for more than three rounds. I took these pictures before I played today but played another entire round with it today.  Both sides of the ball.  Pretty darn durable!!

[Hoyoymac]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:17 PM, dwboston said:

 

The key is to wait for the sale price and stack it with DSG Scorecard rewards.

I agree!

 

The performance of the Maxfli Tour ball is great for me and I would play the ball even if they were the same price as other urethane covered balls.

 

However, when you factor in that I can order them from Dick’s, get free shipping and use my Dick’s Scorecard rewards the value component really kicks in.  During the occasional sale it is even better.  It is hard to beat the performance, value and convenience.

 

When the other ball companies had the occasional Buy 3 get 1 free deals I always stocked up too.  Those promotions have gotten rarer.  

 

Glad I tried the Maxfli Tour ball when the Ping Ballnamic ball fitting suggested it.  It is working well for me.

 

An unintended benefit that might not seem like much is that when I play with other people it is pretty easy to identify my ball from whatever they are playing or when looking for it on the occasional wayward shot.  

[absoludicrous]

14 hours ago, Hoyoymac said:

An unintended benefit that might not seem like much is that when I play with other people it is pretty easy to identify my ball from whatever they are playing or when looking for it on the occasional wayward shot.  

 

I actually typed the same thing earlier in the thread and decided not to post it. I do enjoy knowing that most likely my partners are not playing the same ball. Anytime someone is stalking my ball, I yell out “Maxfli?” and they all move away to the next stray ball.

 

I’d like to keep it that way. These balls suck. Don’t play them. 😂😀

[JohnnyO3478]

Something new(ish) this way comes ....

 

 

I liked the 2021 version alignment aid.  Not sure I will like this one.  But I'll give it a whirl. 

[Mike412]

On 2/17/2024 at 8:44 AM, JohnnyO3478 said:

Something new(ish) this way comes ....

 

 

I liked the 2021 version alignment aid.  Not sure I will like this one.  But I'll give it a whirl. 

PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE tell me this isn’t going to be on all the new balls and it is just another option. I started playing the Tour again because they made the alignment aid much cleaner this year. If this monstrosity is on all the new balls I’m done with them.

Edited March 3 by Mike412

[JohnnyO3478]

48 minutes ago, Mike412 said:

PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE tell me this isn’t going to be on all the new balls and it is just another option. I started playing the Tour X again because they made the alignment aid much cleaner this year. If this monstrosity is on all the new balls I’m done with them.

Good question. I read the initial announcement that it would be a new option.  But I honestly was not considering that it may be a replacement. 

[absoludicrous]

It’s a different model and only white. https://www.golfgalaxy.com/p/maxfli-2023-tour-max-alignment-golf-balls-24maxu2023mxfltrmgbl/24maxu2023mxfltrmgbl

Edited February 19 by absoludicrous

[scott406]

I finally broke down and bought some Maxfli Tour and put them in play this weekend

I was a Snell Black player, but the Prime did not work out for me.

I ended up playing the Wilson Triad and while I have no complaints about the Triad, I heard enough good comments about this ball that I thought I would give it a go.

I will say after 18 holes that this ball is a very good ball

I had a hard time distinguishing a difference in performance between the Maxfli and the Triad

Maxfli had good distance, stopped very well, roll off the putter well too.

I would say the only differences I found was the sound of the ball off of the putter was slightly different than my gamer. A little more of a hollow sound when struck well and I have some questions about the durability.   My home course is lined with trees, so much so it is like a bowling alley off the tee.  I nailed a tree with a hybrid shot on a par 5 and it left a big enough mark the ball had to be taken out of play. In all fairness, I really nailed that tree and I think any ball would have had a decent mark in it.  

I will have to do some more playing to see how much damage these balls can take on my home course, but if his is just an isolated incident, then the value these offer will make for a tough decision between this ball and the Triad.

 

Overall a very good ball and the value is very hard to pass up

Look forward to playing some more with this ball

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21 by scott406

[JohnnyO3478]

1 hour ago, scott406 said:

I finally broke down and bought some Maxfli Tour and put them in play this weekend

I was a Snell Black player, but the Prime did not work out for me.

I ended up playing the Wilson Triad and while I have no complaints the Triad, I heard enough good comments about this ball that I thought I would give it a go.

I will say after 18 holes that this ball is a very good ball

I had a hard time distinguishing a difference in performance between the Maxfli and the Triad

Maxfli had good distance, stopped very well, roll off the putter well too.

I would say the only differences I found was the sound of the ball off of the putter was slightly different than my gamer. A little more of a hollow sound when struck well and I have some questions about the durability.   My home course is lined with trees, so much so it is like a bowling alley off the tee.  I nailed a tree with a hybrid shot on a par 5 and it left a big enough mark the ball had to be taken out of play. In all fairness, I really nailed that tree and I think any ball would have had a decent mark in it.  

I will have to do some more playing to see how much damage these balls can take on my home course, but if his is just an isolated incident, then the value these offer will make for a tough decision between this ball and the Triad.

 

Overall a very good ball and the value is very hard to pass up

Look forward to playing some more with this ball

 

 

 

 

 

I played through a box of Triad during the period where yellow Maxfli Tours were not yet available for the 2023 model.  I also found them to be essentially indistiguishable.  IIRC one or the other was slightly lighter - on average - I think it was the Triad.  Being made in the same factory with the same outer materials and the same compression - it's no surprise that they felt the same and wore the same. At their best deal price points - it would make no sense to favor the Triad.

 

All that aside - it is very interesting that they are both 318 dimple cast urathane Foremost products but the dimple pattern is different.  So Foremost has at least 2 318-pattern moulds.  

[Ger21]

On 2/17/2024 at 9:44 AM, JohnnyO3478 said:

I liked the 2021 version alignment aid. 

I switched to Vice because of the 2021 alignment markings.

[Golfinfloridaafter40]

4 hours ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

I played through a box of Triad during the period where yellow Maxfli Tours were not yet available for the 2023 model.  I also found them to be essentially indistiguishable.  IIRC one or the other was slightly lighter - on average - I think it was the Triad.  Being made in the same factory with the same outer materials and the same compression - it's no surprise that they felt the same and wore the same. At their best deal price points - it would make no sense to favor the Triad.

 

All that aside - it is very interesting that they are both 318 dimple cast urathane Foremost products but the dimple pattern is different.  So Foremost has at least 2 318-pattern moulds.  

The Triad and Maxfli Tour are both good balls but the Wilson Staff balls is the best I have ever used.  You can get them cheap if you do some digging

[Morry]

Been playing Tour for a full year now 

beyond solid 

I will test against new RX, Prov1x and CTx, but I don't expect any changes

so underrated

happy Lexi is rocking it. hope she has a Great year 

[scott406]

The Triad is 362 dimples according to MSG

 

 

I personally like the Triad better simply because It rolls better than any ball I have putted on the greens.

At least in my mind it does, which is why I keep playing it

You can find a good deal on eBay just do not buy the "Raw" balls.  They are a disaster

 

The Maxfli is going to give it a run for its money though, I really liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike412]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:02 PM, absoludicrous said:

It’s a different model and only white. https://www.golfgalaxy.com/p/maxfli-2023-tour-max-alignment-golf-balls-24maxu2023mxfltrmgbl/24maxu2023mxfltrmgbl

That’s good to hear.

[ode]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:22 AM, Mike412 said:

PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE tell me this isn’t going to be on all the new balls and it is just another option. I started playing the Tour X again because they made the alignment aid much cleaner this year. If this monstrosity is on all the new balls I’m done with them.

Yeah it's horrendous.....like TMag R11 stage 2 and r1 horrendous.

[JohnnyO3478]

I was playing a practice round solo last night - with probably just enough daylight to finish nine holes - and I had a new version of each (Tour, Tour S and Tour X - all yellow) in my bag - so I figured that I'd settle it for myself once and for all by scrambling all 3 - sort of.    I'm currently an 19 index player with a driver swing speed in the 88-92 range.  I'm playing on dormant bermuda and the ground has finally mostly dried out from an unsual amount of rain - but not getting any real roll out with the soft winter conditions.  Temps were in the high 50s - wind at about 7 mph max.  

 

It started out kinda comically.  On the first hole (#10 at Willow Creek in Knoxville) - the X went wild right off the heely tee shot but still in a very playable spot on the double dog leg par 5.  The Tour - I smacked down the middle - but only after knocking the driver head off the big ball the little ball was tee'd to.  I got hold of the Tour S - middle of the face - again, straight down the middle.  I won't go into every shot for the rest of the round - but after I picked up the X I found the S and the Tour had finished within about 2-3 feet of each other:

 

  (Green still not visable after 222 yd drive)

 

I just ended up playing the Tour vs Tour S for the rest of the hole and they never ended up very far from each other.  Second shot, uphill with a fairway wood - Tour went a tad further:

 

 

And third shot was an 8i uphill that blew a little past the pin to the back fringe (Tour) and back rough (Tour S):

 

 

Left myself a tough down-hill up and down but walked away with a scrambled 5.  I won't go shot by shot for the rest of the round - but here's where I ended up:

 

For well struck shots in the center of the face, tee to green - there's not much difference for me with these three.  It comes down to feel. While it may be that I'm just used to it - I like the feel of the Tour best, then Tour S, then the X.  I didn't hate the feel of  any of them - they were as you'd expect with the compression range.  Tour and S were very close in feel and sound.

 

For tee to green shots that do not find the middle of the clubface - the winner for me is the Tour.  When you hit the X well - it's really great.  When I hit it off center - I felt like I was paying a bigger penalty with the X over the other two.  Poorly struck shots with the Tour seemed like they had a better result, distance wise than poorly struck shots with the S.

 

Around the green - I felt like I could use any of these balls with just a little time dialing in chips and putts.  The X felt noticably faster off the face for putting - but nothing I could not get used to.  The X was also noticably clickier in sound and feel.  The other two felt and sounded the same around and on the greens.  

 

Durability wise - I managed to hit cart paths with both the Tour and the Tour X - and they both fared about the same from the encounters.  

 

All that said - I had all but eliminated the X from contention before I even tee'd it up for the first hole.  Foremost has demonstrated sufficiently to me that they struggle making a consistent 4 pc ball (compression for Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro Plus, Concnetricity Wilson Staff).  At my level - I do not need inconsistency of manufacture to compound my inconsistency of ball striking.  If I had seen anything positive in the performance to indicate that my game cries out for a 4 pc ball - I may have mulled it over a bit more - but I probably would have just resigned myself to ponying up for Pro V1x.  Fortunately - that was not the case.  A 3 pc ball seems to suit me the best.  I know I could play the either the Tour or the Tour S and be happy - so I will probably spend a little time head to head with them on the chipping and putting green and in another self-scramble practice round.  THAT said, I'll be teeing up the Tour when I play with the fellows this weekend.

Edited February 22 by JohnnyO3478

[zebra2955]

2 hours ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

I was playing a practice round solo last night - with probably just enough daylight to finish nine holes - and I had a new version of each (Tour, Tour S and Tour X - all yellow) in my bag - so I figured that I'd settle it for myself once and for all by scrambling all 3 - sort of.    I'm currently an 19 index player with a driver swing speed in the 88-92 range.  I'm playing on dormant bermuda and the ground has finally mostly dried out from an unsual amount of rain - but not getting any real roll out with the soft winter conditions.  Temps were in the high 50s - wind at about 7 mph max.  

 

It started out kinda comically.  On the first hole (#10 at Willow Creek in Knoxville) - the X went wild right off the heely tee shot but still in a very playable spot on the double dog leg par 5.  The Tour - I smacked down the middle - but only after knocking the driver head off the big ball the little ball was tee'd to.  I got hold of the Tour S - middle of the face - again, straight down the middle.  I won't go into every shot for the rest of the round - but after I picked up the X I found the S and the Tour had finished within about 2-3 feet of each other:

 

  (Green still not visable after 222 yd drive)

 

I just ended up playing the Tour vs Tour S for the rest of the hole and they never ended up very far from each other.  Second shot, uphill with a fairway wood - Tour went a tad further:

 

 

And third shot was an 8i uphill that blew a little past the pin to the back fringe (Tour) and back rough (Tour S):

 

 

Left myself a tough down-hill up and down but walked away with a scrambled 5.  I won't go shot by shot for the rest of the round - but here's where I ended up:

 

For well struck shots in the center of the face, tee to green - there's not much difference for me with these three.  It comes down to feel. While it may be that I'm just used to it - I like the feel of the Tour best, then Tour S, then the X.  I didn't hate the feel of  any of them - they were as you'd expect with the compression range.  Tour and S were very close in feel and sound.

 

For tee to green shots that do not find the middle of the clubface - the winner for me is the Tour.  When you hit the X well - it's really great.  When I hit it off center - I felt like I was paying a bigger penalty with the X over the other two.  Poorly struck shots with the Tour seemed like they had a better result, distance wise than poorly struck shots with the S.

 

Around the green - I felt like I could use any of these balls with just a little time dialing in chips and putts.  The X felt noticably faster off the face for putting - but nothing I could not get used to.  The X was also noticably clickier in sound and feel.  The other two felt and sounded the same around and on the greens.  

 

Durability wise - I managed to hit cart paths with both the Tour and the Tour X - and they both fared about the same from the encounters.  

 

All that said - I had all but eliminated the X from contention before I even tee'd it up for the first hole.  Foremost has demonstrated sufficiently to me that they struggle making a consistent 4 pc ball (compression for Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro Plus, Concnetricity Wilson Staff).  At my level - I do not need inconsistency of manufacture to compound my inconsistency of ball striking.  If I had seen anything positive in the performance to indicate that my game cries out for a 4 pc ball - I may have mulled it over a bit more - but I probably would have just resigned myself to ponying up for Pro V1x.  Fortunately - that was not the case.  A 3 pc ball seems to suit me the best.  I know I could play the either the Tour or the Tour S and be happy - so I will probably spend a little time head to head with them on the chipping and putting green and in another self-scramble practice round.  THAT said, I'll be teeing up the Tour when I play with the fellows this weekend.

Like the comparison. I have tried all three myself. I also eliminated the X . But the difference is I like the S a little more then the Tour. Just because I like the feel of the S off the putter.