MGS Golf Ball Test

[chisag]

16 minutes ago, Thin2win said:

Good to know, that will put them right there with the Snell and Vice at that price point. Will have to take a closer look at them.... If only there was a ball test coming out soon that would put some data analytics to golf balls.  Do you know if anyone has ever thought about doing that kind of test? I imagine it would be eagerly anticipated and if you leaked small snipets of data out about it you could really hype it up...

 

... I don't need a test to tell me how good the Maxfli Tour X performs and feels. Or the Snell Black or TP5x. But like everyone else here, I am very interested to see how all the other balls stack up to my 3 favorites. Especially the new Snell MTB-X! 

[MaxEntropy]

1 hour ago, sixcat said:

That's my whole point.  The Kirkland Signature ball provided us with clear evidence that these balls are manufactured in the exact same facilities as Titleist, Bridgestone, TaylorMade and others.  Why else would Titleist attempt to sue Costco for stamping a ProV with the Kirkland Signature logo?  Vice and Snell aren't building their on manufacturing facilities before going to market with a line of golf balls.  They are buying them from the same manufacturers as Costco and Titleist.

With that said, Tony also indicated on social media while teasing #MostWantedGolfBall that results have been eye opening.  A little known "direct to consumer" golf ball with underwhelming performance wouldn't be "eye opening."  Titleist or Bridgestone being underwhelming would be!

Again, I think I will patiently wait for the results and try to remain as unbiased as I possibly can.

In my mind, one of the more important aspects involves the supply chain. In a perfect world, the company who controls more aspects of the supply chain/manufacturing should end up with more uniform balls. Where do all these companies get their polymers/rubber? In the case of Bridgestone and Srixon, I would guess they control more of the process just because of the type of business their parent companies are (SRI in Srixon = Sumitomo Rubber Industries) and Bridgestone is the largest tire company in the world. They likely make their raw polymers or have very tight controls on the sources (by virtue of the total volumes the parents may order), whereas others may be dependent on other companies to provide raw polymers or even pre-mixed rubber compounds where how much you pay determines how wide the tolerances are for the material you get.

If my thinking is correct, I would expect Bridgestone and Srixon to have the lowest dispersion, the DTC's to have to highest, and Titleist, TM, and Callaway to be somewhere in between. Notice I'm purely talking about dispersion, not distance, speed, etc. Tolerances/uniformity should determine dispersion; rubber formulation, construction, and dimples should determine speed and distance.

It's also possible that a company may have super tight tolerances on their materials but have some sloppy manufacturing, but I'm assuming they are all pretty careful when comes time to make a ball from whatever material they have.

I could be wrong, though. It's happened before and it will likely happen again.

Maybe Dick's will take Most Wanted with the Maxfli brand? That would be a shock - a store brand taking two important categories in putter and ball?

[MaxEntropy]

1 hour ago, MattF said:

No and I'm conflicted between them and the Blacks. I'm ordering 5 dozen next week in Optic yellow but the blacks are back ordered until about mid May. So I may just be getting the X's because of availability.

I'm conflicted, too. If the X's are sort of an improved Red, count me in, but I still very much want to try the Blacks.

[Thin2win]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

 

... I don't need a test to tell me how good the Maxfli Tour X performs and feels. Or the Snell Black or TP5x. But like everyone else here, I am very interested to see how all the other balls stack up to my 3 favorites. Especially the new Snell MTB-X! 

I think the comparison will be very interesting. I always assumed that most balls went about the same because... why wouldn't they? But earlier this year I did a ball review(master ball review thread)on a ball that is billed as a premium ball, and my driver distance with it was abysmal. I couldn't really explain why, but I got nothing out of it. So while I am curious to see what the dispersion of balls are, I will no longer be surprised with significant distance differences between some of them.

[GolfSpy BOS]

I can’t wait to see the results. I would be surprised if the Pro V line was far from the top based on what they’ve shown for QC processes (not that I’ve audited them) but I am curious to see who’s on top! I will certainly try that ball and others on the top.

The big shocker would be to see that exotic Rangé brand towards the top.

I just pray that the top performing balls also feel good to hit. Can you imagine if the results were that the old Pinnacle rocks were the best performing ball?!


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[chisag]

2 hours ago, sixcat said:

That's my whole point.  The Kirkland Signature ball provided us with clear evidence that these balls are manufactured in the exact same facilities as Titleist, Bridgestone, TaylorMade and others.  Why else would Titleist attempt to sue Costco for stamping a ProV with the Kirkland Signature logo?  Vice and Snell aren't building their on manufacturing facilities before going to market with a line of golf balls.  They are buying them from the same manufacturers as Costco and Titleist.

 

... Fwiw, Titleist sues practically everyone. The Kirkland Signature is nothing like the ProV1, although according to Titleist they do involve some of their patents. But again, Titleist has sued just about every ball oem for patent infringement. Titleist is kind of like the bully on the school yard and most other oems do not have the financial backing to go toe to toe with Titleist so they often settle. I believe Taylor Made and Callaway did exactly that. But Costco has more than enough financial firepower and didn't back down. I imagine if there were more Signatures available, Costco would not hesitate to release them. But they are not interested in golf ball manufacturing and make the bulk of their money off subscriptions. 

[CarlH]

I still have 3 dozen Snell Black and a dozen Taylor Made TP5X balls before I have to worry about buying new balls....so I'm good

[MattF]

Teaser from MGS Twitter feed.

 

Quote

GOLF BALL TEST TAKEAWAY #1

A soft ball is a slow ball, it’s that simple.

 

[GolfSpy BOS]

Teaser from MGS Twitter feed.

 

GOLF BALL TEST TAKEAWAY #1

A soft ball is a slow ball, it’s that simple.

 


What’s the over under on the # of takeaways before we get the full article?

I’m going to guess 7.


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[tony@CIC]

I was going to run out this morning to DGS to buy a doz TM, but may hold off a day if the report is coming out tomorrow. 

[Berg Ryman]

As to the the soft = slow, the Instagram post also states that their may be a benefit for the high speed/high spin off driver bunch, which is personally why I go softer than normal. 

If you saw my review of the ST-180 Driver last year, I used a Q-Star Tour ball to give spins down toward optimum for my speed and launch angle because even with a low spinning head I was spinning around 3k still with "regular compression" balls. I am currently loving life with the Duo Professional along side the Q-Star Tour, but am open to consideration of other balls, probably X variants of tour balls

[txgolfjunkie]

I just hope they include left-handed golf balls in this test...

[TSauer]

Just now, txgolfjunkie said:

I just hope they include left-handed golf balls in this test...

I agree. I'm tired of playing these right-handed balls, they're hindering my game. 

[tony@CIC]

10 minutes ago, TSauer said:

I agree. I'm tired of playing these right-handed balls, they're hindering my game. 

No wonder my game isn't improving!

[Kor.A.Door]

20 hours ago, MaxEntropy said:

I'm conflicted, too. If the X's are sort of an improved Red, count me in, but I still very much want to try the Blacks.

Both of them are good. The X is vastly improved over the red. Every issue that I had with the red has been “fixed” with the X. The black has always been very good. If you aren’t sure which ball you want, Snell does sell a test pack 6 blacks, and 6 X’s, it’s probably the best way to help. Order them today and you may get them in time to use them this weekend. 

[cnosil]

I just hope they include left-handed golf balls in this test...

Do they use left handed robots to test the left handed balls?

[Kor.A.Door]

21 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I don't need a test to tell me how good the Maxfli Tour X performs and feels. Or the Snell Black or TP5x. But like everyone else here, I am very interested to see how all the other balls stack up to my 3 favorites. Especially the new Snell MTB-X! 

The X is good. Distance off the tee is good, and they have a nice feel with the putter. I like the Black for the in between shots. The performance of the X is very good though. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

I bet robots are RH only. Or the LH version is twice as expensive.


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[sixcat]

2 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Do they use left handed robots to test the left handed balls?

If I'm not mistaken, the robots are amphibious!

[MaxEntropy]

15 minutes ago, Kor.A.Door said:

Both of them are good. The X is vastly improved over the red. Every issue that I had with the red has been “fixed” with the X. The black has always been very good. If you aren’t sure which ball you want, Snell does sell a test pack 6 blacks, and 6 X’s, it’s probably the best way to help. Order them today and you may get them in time to use them this weekend. 

Good thought! My only (minor) complaint with the Red was that it felt/sounded a little firm on short shots, but I loved the stopping power. 

[PMookie]

Referencing Tony’s comments on Twitter about lower compression not going as far as others, in TXG’s video they just did comparing the M5 and Epic Flash fairway metals, the Srixon Z-Star had FIVE mph LESS ball speed than Pro V1X!!! Five! That’s a LOT, and those are “premium” balls. TXG even commented how they’ve seen this more frequently lately and even said to go get fitted for your ball.



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[newballcoach]

On 4/23/2019 at 10:01 AM, txgolfjunkie said:

FYI, for those searching for news, according to OldEnglish_GSpy (Harry), they anticipate the test to drop Thursday, April 25th...pending completion of data gathering. Apparently there's a lot of data on this test and they need to get it right. 

Obviously we lynch Harry if it's not up... so at least we get some fun on Thursday either way!

[Shankster]

As to the the soft = slow, the Instagram post also states that their may be a benefit for the high speed/high spin off driver bunch, which is personally why I go softer than normal. 
If you saw my review of the ST-180 Driver last year, I used a Q-Star Tour ball to give spins down toward optimum for my speed and launch angle because even with a low spinning head I was spinning around 3k still with "regular compression" balls. I am currently loving life with the Duo Professional along side the Q-Star Tour, but am open to consideration of other balls, probably X variants of tour balls

I generate a crap ton of spin off everything. Usually hit greens from a high altitude with irons. Mostly drop and stop or spin them back a few feet. I can back up a 5 iron if I wanted to... could even make the DUO back up.

Driver spin is 2900ish. The best performing ball I’ve found for me is that 2015 Wilson FG Tour. Discontinued now, so my game will suffer for ever. Hoping the softer BStone XS will tame some of that.

My question is if we generate enough spin with a “straight ball” do we need the extra spin for irons?

As stated a proper fitting will do wonders.

Hope you’re enjoying those Orange Rockets.

[Berg Ryman]

50 minutes ago, Shankster said:

 

I generate a crap ton of spin off everything. Usually hit greens from a high altitude with irons. Mostly drop and stop or spin them back a few feet. I can back up a 5 iron if I wanted to... could even make the DUO back up.

Driver spin is 2900ish. The best performing ball I’ve found for me is that 2015 Wilson FG Tour. Discontinued now, so my game will suffer for ever. Hoping the softer BStone XS will tame some of that.

My question is if we generate enough spin with a “straight ball” do we need the extra spin for irons?

As stated a proper fitting will do wonders.

Hope you’re enjoying those Orange Rockets.

 

Played them for my round of 79, straight and longish. Big fan. Likely going for the yellow when this group runs out, not because of looks, but my girlfriend's fav color is Orange, so those are the balls she may want to play

[chisag]

53 minutes ago, Shankster said:

 

I generate a crap ton of spin off everything. Usually hit greens from a high altitude with irons. Mostly drop and stop or spin them back a few feet. I can back up a 5 iron if I wanted to... could even make the DUO back up.

Driver spin is 2900ish. The best performing ball I’ve found for me is that 2015 Wilson FG Tour. Discontinued now, so my game will suffer for ever. Hoping the softer BStone XS will tame some of that.

My question is if we generate enough spin with a “straight ball” do we need the extra spin for irons?

As stated a proper fitting will do wonders.

 

 

... Shankster, like everything with golf, equipment choices are never easy or cut and dried. A great example is my P790's. They launch higher than irons I have played and they spin less. That combination worked great on the soft courses in the midwest. Most iron shots, even 5 irons were within a few feet of their ball mark but rarely backed up. But after a wet and softer than normal Jan/Feb in Phoenix, the fairways and greens started to get had and fast and I had a hard time stopping my P790's. Playing Papago I hit a sky high 4 iron off the tee and it hit the front of the green, bounced once and continued to roll until it was on the back fringe. I switched back to my Cobra Forged Tours and holding greens was much easier. 

...  Of course balls are similar and getting the spin and trajectory right for your style of play, on your course in your conditions can vary for different players. I agree, a proper fitting is always a great start, but experience in your playing conditions should be the final determinator. 

[cnosil]

Results on Monday per the latest MGS post on the subject.

[TSauer]

13 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Results on Monday per the latest MGS post on the subject.

One of the few times I'll ever look forward to a Monday. 

[Markelly82]

I'm ready to read the details of the test.  I'm more interested about the balls that produce the most side spin on the ball.  It's pretty amazing to hear that balls were flying so far off line from a robot.  I'm currently gaming the TP5, but I'm more than willing to consider something else.  I have no real brand loyalty anymore.  I was a huge Prov fan, up until I realized how much side spin the balls produced.  I know some of the factors are my swing that attributed to the side spin.  

I also put a ton of back spin on the ball but come to find out it was my iron shafts that caused that.  There's so many factors that go into this game.  Another reason why you should be fitted for everything in your bag.  

[txgolfjunkie]

*cancels Monday morning meeting and Dr appt*

*Loads up various golf balls in Amazon cart in anticipation*

*Sets alarm to make popcorn while reading comments section after the test results are revealed*

 

 

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[THEZIPR23]

I'm torn.

Not sure if I am more excited for the test results or the comments...