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GolfSpy T's Ball Project


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We will be waiting for the results.  Around here, what the ball does when it lands depends a lot on which course I play.  The greens on a couple of courses in my area are very firm and I get roll-out no matter what ball I use.  On two other courses, the greens are very receptive, and I only get a couple of feet (I never spin any back!).  

 

I agree about the Chrome Soft; never play Nike.  I don't play Bridgestone except the Lady in the winter.  I like the ProV1 but not the price.  I used to play Srixon Z-Star and loved it; still do except Snell My Tour Ball came along and I switched for good.  

 

I am not sure how much longer my wife will play the yellow Z-Star.  Last spring we went into our local golf shop to buy a dozen yellow Z-Stars and they were out.  It took them 2 weeks to get some in and they only got 6 boxes of yellows.  Last Sunday we went in again to buy another dozen and they didn't have any.  They had a few white Z-stars, but no yellows and they said they were only getting in 20 dozen, and they said there was a new Cleveland/Srixon rep and they hadn't seen him for 2 months.  

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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If you want the ball to stop dead through the bag, spend your summers in Florida.

 

In all seriousness when I was younger I would always go with balata when I played in tournaments and less expensive balls when I did not.  I thought of myself as a bit of a choker because my performance wasn't up to par whenever I played tournament golf.  Well big surprise there - isn't of rolling out 5-10 feet I was sucking it back a few feet, sometimes more - even if I hit it well I was often coming up short.  While it's not pronounced with the group of balls that T is dealing with it's still there and it does make a difference.  This is why I'm a huge advocate of picking a brand/ball type and sticking with it for a while - that removes a variable - every ball performs just a bit differently and certainly everyone sounds and feels different.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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If you want the ball to stop dead through the bag, spend your summers in Florida.

 

In all seriousness when I was younger I would always go with balata when I played in tournaments and less expensive balls when I did not.  I thought of myself as a bit of a choker because my performance wasn't up to par whenever I played tournament golf.  Well big surprise there - isn't of rolling out 5-10 feet I was sucking it back a few feet, sometimes more - even if I hit it well I was often coming up short.  While it's not pronounced with the group of balls that T is dealing with it's still there and it does make a difference.  This is why I'm a huge advocate of picking a brand/ball type and sticking with it for a while - that removes a variable - every ball performs just a bit differently and certainly everyone sounds and feels different.

While that's obviously true for the single digit players who HAVE consistency, it may be even more applicable to those of us that are trying to get consistency.

 

Whether it's a difference off the driver, the short game, or putting on the green, changing the ball is often the biggest variable we put into play.

 

The ONE thing we CAN control on every hole, is the ball we use.

 

I'm as guilty as anyone, from changing that variable more than I should.

 

Of course, I'm not always as smart as I'd like to be...

What's In the Bag

Driver - :callaway-small: GBB 

Hybrids  :cleveland-small: Halo XL Halo 18* & :cobra-small: T-Rail 20*

Irons  :cobra-small: T-Rail 2.0

Wedges :ping-small: 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58*

Putter     :scotty-small:

Ball :callaway-logo-1:

Bag Datrek DG Lite  

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This continues to be a fascinating experiment for me. 

 

Certainly there is some disagreement within the industry about what the right way to find the best ball for your game is. Bridgestone as you know starts with a launch monitor (and the driver) and then makes recommendations based on what they see there.

Dean Snell has talked about 150 yards and in, and while that aligns fairly well with the Titleist philosophy, in general they suggest you need to go out and play the ball from basically everywhere. Snell says most tour balls are the same with the driver, Bridgestone says there can be substantial differences.

 

So where is the line between marketing and reality?

 

Here's what I've personally discovered, or I suppose, here's what's true for me.

 

Off the driver most balls perform similarly. That said, there is some variance. Again, prefaced with for me, the Nike Vapor Black is longer. It's not too surprising given I've found that it spins less on shots where I might want it to spin more. The Callaway Chrome Soft is shorter for me. It's a bit surprising given the number of guys who have told me that it's longer for them.

 

Maybe they're seeing what they want to see...maybe it's me...

 

The other balls (330, 330-X, ZSTAR XV, ProV1 X, My Tour Ball) of the tee it's a push.

 

What about the ZStar the ProV1, RZN Platinum, and the TaylorMade trio (you may find yourself asking)?

 

In the case of the TaylorMade balls...with new models are due very soon, I'm holding off. There's little point in testing a deprecated ball. The RZN Platinum...it just feels weird. It's unique.

 

As far as the ProV1 and ZStar go...in both cases, I'm particularly fond of the X version, and so forcing myself to try the other ball is a bit challenging.

 

Both hold their own off the tee, and mid-iron performance is relatively consistent for me across the board. Where I notice differences is with my hybrids (205-225 yards), and from 145 or so (9-iron) and in. 

 

You probably seen that hybrid control is all the range this season. The idea is that perhaps we should think of hybrids less as distance clubs, and more as scoring clubs. To that end - and my preference really - is for a ball that helps minimize roll on long shots. It's not just about holding greens, but about landing soft. It's the difference between stopping within a few pace of where it lands, and rolling to the back.

 

Now certainly there are conditions...low trajectory shots, greens that slope from front to back, elevation changes, etc., where no ball is going to hit and stop, but for what you might call a normal shot, I want the ball that lands and stops quickly.

 

The other area where I notice big differences is 9 iron range and in. Again...land and stop, land and spin back (a little). One or the other and be consistent. What's perhaps interesting is that what works with the hybrid also works very well here (perhaps strange because I don't find much difference off the middle irons).

Finally, I see HUGE differences on little chips around the green. Here's an area where feet matter more than anywhere else on the golf course, and I find some balls I can can easily get to skip and check and others simply roll farther. I don't like that. 

 

Some guys like the roll...there's an element of personal preference in how we play the game that dictates what the right ball for each of us is.

 

I happened upon this tweet from Titleist (quoting Web Simpson) that sums up how I feel about the ball.

 

 
Basically, I want a ball that can be counted on to do what I want it to do more often that not.
 
While I'm not done testing by any stretch, so far the balls that do that for me are the ProV1x, the ZStar XV, and to a slightly lesser extent, the Snell My Tour Ball. It will be interesting to see how the new TaylorMade offerings stack up, and what comes from the standard ZStar and ProV1 when I can bring myself to spend more time with each.

 

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Basically, I want a ball that can be counted on to do what I want it to do more often that not.
 

 

 

While you're at it, you should test every ball in a box, to see how much each ball out of the same box differs. lol

 

 

 

In a related note, I got tired of losing balls in leaves, so I bought 2 dozen MG C4s for $40...........damn, it's a good ball.

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T have you looked into the MG Tour C4? I've been rotating between the Snell My Tour Ball and the C4 and have thoroughly been impressed by it.

DRIVER:   :taylormade-small: Stealth 2, 9* Upright setting, Mitsubishi Kai' Li red, 60g Stiff flex, New grip coming

Woods:   image.png.b032bfa6bceb3d86677e537bac666ed6.png Sim Max 3 Wood, 15*, Fujikura Ventus 6 Blue 65g, Stiff flex, New grip coming

HYBRIDS:   :mizuno-small:    JPX 850 hybrid 19*, UST Proforce V2 85g, Stiff, New grip coming                                  

IRONS:      image.png.e097bd129e11b5c3535389554504a9e8.png    MP-20 HMB 4 iron, Project X LZ 6.5 shaft, Stiff+, Ping Midsize grip

                              JPX 919 Tour 5i-pw, Project X LZ 6.5 shafts, Stiff+,  Ping Midsize grips

WEDGES:    New Level Golf   50*, 55*, 60* M-Type Wedges with True Temper Elevate Tour X-Stiff flex,                                               New Level Midsize grips

PUTTER:    :ping-small:   Heppler Ketsch 35", Ping PP62 Pistol Grip

BALL:           :titleist-small:     Pro V1 (2021 + 2023 Versions)                                                                              
                  
BAG:       image.png.21a67eec796936e08fafc83a822b0d7f.png  TM19 Select Plus Cart Bag 
 
Shoes:  Under Armour     HOVR Fade 2 SL Spikeless  Shoes

Tech: :918457628_PrecisionPro: NX7 Pro Slope golf laser Rangefinder

          Frogger Golf Towels, 4 more Yard blue/ yellow golf tees

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