Golf Ball Review!

[Cameron Circle T]

B330 S, Pro V1x, Pro V1 in depth review

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thought I would post a comprehensive review of these three golf balls as these have been the three that I have rotated between recently. In this review I will compare a few different aspects of each golf ball including distance off the tee, mid iron capabilities, wedge/around the green, and putting. As well I will cover such topics as durability of the cover, as well as subjective review of who these balls fit. In each section I will do the review of each ball as well as include the club used, and my player profile for that club. So I will begin:


Distance:

Commonly used driving clubs -

Driver TMaG R5 TP 9.5 UST V2 75x SS - 122 Ball Speed - 175
2 iron Cleveland CG1 18* Dynamic Gold X100 hardstepped

I have played numerous rounds with all of these golf balls both by themselves as well as in comparison testing. The holes that I usually as a determining factor are a par 4 approximately 440 yards fairly straight when windy, this hole gets a somewhat favorable wind, a par 5 approximately 520 yards with a crosswind, and a par 4 460 yards into the wind. I use these holes because of the varying wind conditions. The shortest of them all is the Pro V1, this ball gets the least amount of roll and is the greatest effected by wind. I will also add that this one has the least favorable trajectory due to its "spinny" nature it tends to balloon and get up to a peak flight that is far too high with an approach angle that is far too steep. The next ball would be a very, very close second, the Pro V1x. This ball has a much better trajectory and reaches a much lower peakin in its flight. The angle of descent is still somewhat steep; however, that can be attributed to the driver mismatch for me. With the 2 iron the ball flight on this one is noticeably flatter than that of the Pro V1. The Pro V1x is a great ball in the wind as the spin rate is sufficiently lower that it is not as easily manipulated during flight. The roll is fair on this ball but given that this player hits a higher trajectory shot naturally the roll is not as significant an observation. The longest of the 3 by a small margin is the B330 S. This ball has by far the best trajectory on both the driver and the 2 iron with a nice arching ballflight and a better angle of approach due to a somewhat lower spin rate than the x. The roll on this one is marginally better than the Pro V1x and the wind play has been deemed to be very very similar to the X. This ball is not easily manipulated by the wind, do not let the S (for spin) denotation fool you this ball still is plenty long off the tee.



Iron Play

CG1 2-9 Dynamic Gold X100 hardstepped SS>100
CG10 47*, 58*, 63* Dynamic Gold X100, S400, S400 respectively

The Pro V1 is by far the highest spinning ball on approach with just about any club in my bag. With my sufficiently high trajectory a 4 iron will still come in high enough that the ball will hit and bounce once and stop as long as the greens are not rock. The Pro V1 definitely gave me the most noticeable spin on any shot even out of the rough; however, the spin was a double edged sword. With my CG10 wedges these golf balls were hard to control the backup distance on. It was a game of hitting it approximately 7-10 yards beyond a pin to back it up to be about pin high. This ball because of its high spin had a much floatier trajectory for me on irons, which once again, caused it to be very easily effected by the wind. This was a hard thing to deal with given the fact that the course these were tested on is regularly windy (pga tour stopped holding honda there bc of complaints - TPC Eagle Trace). The Pro V1x still maintains great spin while providing a nice boring and flat, yet still high enough to be to my liking, trajectory. This ball is once again not easily effected by the wind, and still provides enough spin to hold it into many greens. The B330 S is a great feeling ball as well as a great performing golf ball with the irons. This ball provides a great boring trajectory, great spin, and is not easily effected by the wind. I would say this produces somewhat more spin off the irons than the Pro V1x yet still produces little enough to be a very versatile ball. I would say it is a very close tie in playability, spin, and trajectory for the B330 S and the Pro V1x.


Around the greens

Wedges CG10 as stated above
Putter Scotty Cameron 410g Red X2 (gss insert just as a reminder)

Around the greens I am like a few tour players including Annika, and a few others in that I really have a favorite club or two to chip with and will only use those clubs unless there is something completely out of the ordinary forcing me to change. My most common chipping club is a 58*, when I have little green to work with I chose my 63*. The ball that grips by far the best around the greens is still the Pro V1; however, to some extent this may stop too quickly given the type of shots I play around the greens. The Pro V1x and the B330 s have negligible diffferences when it comes to spin around the greens. When testing the putting characteristics the Pro V1 is buttery soft, in a sense it may be too soft to really control the speed as I had trouble "feeling" the ball come off the face of my Red X2, which in and of itself is quite soft. The B330 s was the next softest and for me provided the perfect feel. This ball is mildly soft yet hard enough to get a sense of speed control and feel off the face. As well it provides good feedback on the putts. The Pro V1x is a little bit harder than the B330 s which for some putters I own is great bc it gives that solid feel but I've come to the conclusion its just a little hard for the Red x, which may not make sense given the softness of the GSS, but my intention is not to negate that softness with a firmer covered ball. Hence, this reviewer chose the B330 s as the ideal fit for putting. The Pro V1 makes almost no sound while the B330 s makes a soft kind of thud sound and the Pro V1x makes more of a click against the face of the putter.

Durability

I have had problems with my wedges chewing up golf balls. Given that is what I hit into most par 4's I felt that the ball needed to last more than one hole. With the CG10 the Pro V1 didnt survive more than one hole. Each wedge shot sheared a bit of cover on the ball, even after the wedges had been used for a while. This causes more problems than one might think because you are then forced to putt with a ball this is no longer perfectly round and smoothe. The Pro V1x is somewhat more durable yet still suffered from durability problems. This golf ball still had about one full wedge shot longevity before it began to scrape; however, not to near the extent of the Pro V1 thus if you wanted you could get some more play out of it. By far the most durable cover was the B330 S. This ball has multiple holes of longevity even with the the multiple wedge shots hit. By far the best for durability if you use todays CNC milled grooves that are razor like.


Conclusion

The Bridgestone B330 S is a great golf ball for the higher swing speed player who likes to maintain the advantage of still having a ball that grabs fairly quickly onto greens. This is definitely a durable ball that is well worth its price. You will get many holes of play out of a dozen of these (assuming no donations to the water gods are made). The Pro V1x is a great golf ball for the high swing speed player who is looking to reduce spin by the most of the three balls. If you don't want the ball to grab too quickly or you like a little bit firmer golf ball this is definitely a quality ball in a class close to by itself. The Pro V1 is a high spinning ball for either those that do not put enough spin on the ball off the tee or around the greens. This ball tends to benefit the lower swing speeds as it will tend to balloon for those with swing speeds on the high end. This is a great soft ball with lots of spin, great for the player looking to dominate around the greens.


Alright, well thanks for your time in reading this. I may be able to get some solid and concrete launch monitor numbers up with these three soon. I hope this helps anyone who is looking to decide what golfball a starting place as to where to look. Any questions, just ask.


Thanks,

Adam

[wholeinwon]

Ya I totally agree with everything you just said...

[rednumbers69]

great review adam your amazing at this stuff

[Triplebogey16]

Great review gonna go pick up some b330's

[MR.PINCHY]

great review circle T, awesome!!

 

and totally agree with you that B330 are one of the best balls out on the market today...

 

awesome stuff!!!

[Cameron Circle T]

Thanks for all the kind words.

 

Do keep in mind this review was of the B330 "S" not the B330. This was the higher spinning version not the distance version of the B330 line.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Adam

[birdman72]

I did a similar test last year and came up with the same conclusion. The B330-S is a great golf ball. I switched from the Pro-V1 to this ball and couldn't be happier with its performance.

[OBandPL]

Adam, I also did the same test and came to the same conclusion. I have been playing the B330S for about 4-6 mos. now and couldn't be happier with it's performance.

Tom

[mkb3245]

Great review. I will have to give the Bridgestone 330s a try now. I wonder how the new Nike One Platinum and Black compare to this ball.......

[mlamar]

Great review. I will have to give the Bridgestone 330s a try now. I wonder how the new Nike One Platinum and Black compare to this ball.......

 

 

I'm wondering about the One-Plat/Blk ... I normally play the One-Plat because of feel and control and it's

quite long ... I heard good things 'bout the B330S ... will definitely pick-up a box ...

 

Thx ... Adam