Ball Lab: Quick Reference

[CWilson216 52]

There aren't that many balls that fall into the category I'd like to see, however it does matter to me.......where the ball is made. I like to buy Made in USA when I can. May not be a huge factor to most as I am pretty sure all ProVs are made in oversea plants, but I think the Bridgestones are still made here last time I checked (e12/Tour)

[JohnSmalls 6,196]

1 hour ago, CWilson216 said:

I am pretty sure all ProVs are made in oversea plants

Not quite.  Titleist ball plants #2, #3, and C (New Bedford, Massachusetts) make most of the Titleist golf balls for the U.S. market.  Titleist ball plant #4 (Thailand) supplies global distribution and some big box stores in the U.S.

[greggarner 606]

4 hours ago, CWilson216 said:

There aren't that many balls that fall into the category I'd like to see, however it does matter to me.......where the ball is made.

I have a hunch @TR1PTIK
can run this down

[CWilson216 52]

5 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Not quite.  Titleist ball plants #2, #3, and C (New Bedford, Massachusetts) make most of the Titleist golf balls for the U.S. market.  Titleist ball plant #4 (Thailand) supplies global distribution and some big box stores in the U.S.

Well, the last few boxes of ProV's I looked at came from #4. These were in Dicks though, so maybe that is the difference?

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

11 hours ago, CWilson216 said:

Well, the last few boxes of ProV's I looked at came from #4. These were in Dicks though, so maybe that is the difference?

Possibly. It makes sense that Dick's would have partners overseas where they can produce and distribute products at a lower price so why not get golf balls from those same distributors? I couldn't honestly tell you for sure, that's just a hunch. What at @JohnSmalls posted above is absolutely correct though. 

Other companies that produce balls in the US: Bridgestone, and Callaway. As noted in the most recent Ball Lab, Taylormade has a ball plant in the US, but they only put the covers on there. The cores are produced overseas by two sources and sent to Taylormade. 

I'm curious, what category of golf ball are you looking for? Just those made in the US, or are you looking more specifically for a lower tier ball made in the US?

[fixyurdivot 10,544]

17 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Not quite.  Titleist ball plants #2, #3, and C (New Bedford, Massachusetts) make most of the Titleist golf balls for the U.S. market.  Titleist ball plant #4 (Thailand) supplies global distribution and some big box stores in the U.S.

Tony's test matrix just exploded .  By the time he gets all the permutations accounted for, the OEM's will have changed their process and/or mfg. locations and he'll have to start over 

[JohnSmalls 6,196]

12 hours ago, CWilson216 said:

Well, the last few boxes of ProV's I looked at came from #4. These were in Dicks though, so maybe that is the difference?

I think that's a safe bet. 

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

Updated with the Snell MTB-X! Can't wait for the discussion thread on this one!!!

[cdstall 13]

Just ordered a test pack of the Snell's (Combo MTB-X & Black) in optic yellow. I'm looking forward to putting them to the test to see how they play. I had been waiting on the Ball Lab report and was pleased to see only 1 bad ball in the lot. At their prices, and the "true price", they really seem like a great value. Of course, MGS hasn't tested the MTB Black yet, but I imagine from a quality standpoint it would stack up very similarly to the MTB-X. 

[Middler 2,398]

13 minutes ago, cdstall said:

Just ordered a test pack of the Snell's (Combo MTB-X & Black) in optic yellow. I'm looking forward to putting them to the test to see how they play. I had been waiting on the Ball Lab report and was pleased to see only 1 bad ball in the lot. At their prices, and the "true price", they really seem like a great value. Of course, MGS hasn't tested the MTB Black yet, but I imagine from a quality standpoint it would stack up very similarly to the MTB-X. 

I’ve been playing MTB Blacks, more recently MTB-Xs almost exclusively for years, so I’m a fan. 

As for your assumption above, different metrics in 2019 but FWIW... https://mygolfspy.com/most-wanted-golf-ball/

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

43 minutes ago, Middler said:

I’ve been playing MTB Blacks, more recently MTB-Xs almost exclusively for years, so I’m a fan. 

As for your assumption above, different metrics in 2019 but FWIW... https://mygolfspy.com/most-wanted-golf-ball/

When the ball test came out last year I assumed this chart had some relation to quality, but after looking at the report again I'm not sure what exactly this chart is meant to imply. I know it's a combination of all performance metrics including some related to quality, but there were no standout issues noted about the MTB Black so now I'm curious what differentiates it from the balls in the Very Good category. ??? Hopefully Ball Lab can clear that up, but as far as I know Tony doesn't have any MTB Blacks to test due to sourcing issues related to COVID. It's going to take a while.  

[cdstall 13]

6 hours ago, Middler said:

I’ve been playing MTB Blacks, more recently MTB-Xs almost exclusively for years, so I’m a fan. 

As for your assumption above, different metrics in 2019 but FWIW... https://mygolfspy.com/most-wanted-golf-ball/

 

@Middler to clarify, I meant more about quality of manufacture, not necessarily performance. From a performance stand-point, I have to think the golfer's game has more of an impact than the design of the ball, assuming all other things are equal- meaning, if my game is suited toward a firmer ball, I would see better performance with a firmer ball than a softer (slower) ball. I would agree with @TR1PTIK's comment later: 

6 hours ago, TR1PTIK said:

When the ball test came out last year I assumed this chart had some relation to quality, but after looking at the report again I'm not sure what exactly this chart is meant to imply. I know it's a combination of all performance metrics including some related to quality, but there were no standout issues noted about the MTB Black so now I'm curious what differentiates it from the balls in the Very Good category. ??? Hopefully Ball Lab can clear that up, but as far as I know Tony doesn't have any MTB Blacks to test due to sourcing issues related to COVID. It's going to take a while.  

My assumption here and in my earlier comment with Snell is same factory, same QA guys/standards, just a different performing ball. I'm looking forward to hitting with both and I'm glad I got the test pack. Unfortunately, they won't arrive in time for a round this weekend.  

@TR1PTIK I agree, I hope the revised 2020 Most Wanted will factor in quality/true price/Ball Lab results into the Most Wanted evaluation. It would be great if we could ultimately get a report that illustrated:

1. Here is what these balls claim to do
2. Here is what they actually do
3. Here is what they claim to cost
4. Here is what they actually cost
5. Here are some balls that buck the norm positively (a 3 piece that plays like a 4, a $32 dz that plays like a $44 dz)
6. Here are balls we would consider avoiding (sub-standard quality, dramatically underperform their peers in the category, deeply misleading claims)

It would be even better if that were a filterable list. Instead of saying "This is THE ball of 2020" MGS could say, put your own inputs in- sort/filter based on price, quality, country of origin, features, and performance. I think the ultimate tool would allow different users to say, "here's what I know about my game and budget, given those factors, and MGS' information, this is the best ball (or 2/3) for me."

Regardless, I deeply appreciated the Ball Lab analysis and I'm very grateful for this summary thread. It was especially helpful to see what was coming down the pipeline. 

 

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

Another update for the thread. Tony posted three new additions on Twitter! Vice Pro (White), Vice Pro Soft (White), and Titleist TruFeel.

I'll wait until tomorrow to update the chart since I'll be updating it tomorrow anyway. Just wanted to get the word out.

 

[HeathS16 1,493]

This post is BEYOND useful @TR1PTIK I have referred back to it at least half a dozen times just in the last few days! 

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

Chart updated!

[greggarner 606]

I wonder if we could petition the mods to pin this post...

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

Took a little longer today, but I've updated with the latest ball lab.

The Maxfli Tour presents a 94.44% value in terms of MSRP vs. True Price. That places it securely in 3rd for that specific metric. Impressive.

[yungkory 10,251]

This is a cool compilation -- thanks for putting it together!

[TR1PTIK 2,876]

Just read the report on the Srixon Q-Star Tour and adding it to the database. This one's gonna hit below the belt for a few forum members and casual observers commenting on the blog...

[Nolan220 736]

13 minutes ago, TR1PTIK said:

Just read the report on the Srixon Q-Star Tour and adding it to the database. This one's gonna hit below the belt for a few forum members and casual observers commenting on the blog...

me too .. wow couldn't believe it