Ball Comparison Wish

[chipyips 4]

With the release of the new Bridgestone e12 contact, it got me thinking about the mid tier $25-$35 ball market.  There is quite an array of balls that land in this pricing: Taylormade Tour Repsonse, Bridgestone e12, Titleist Velocity, Titleist Tour Soft, Callaway Super Soft, Srixon Q-star to name a few.  Some have urethane cover, some not. We know Pro-V's, TP5, and Tour B's dominate among the professional market, but for us that are not as good and not willing to pay as much for premium golf balls, which balls should the amateur play?  It would be an interesting test by MSG to help us in determining best performing mid tier golf balls.

[wely324 111]

Not exactly answering your question but out the balls you mentioned in that price range I would just pick one and stick with it. Sometimes I play with my father and some of his friends and I always notice they are switching balls to whatever is in the bag, because they got them on a deal or someone gave them to them. Playing one ball is key to knowing how it will play and the yardages you will hit it. 

Also, best performing ball is subjective, and at this price range their will be some balls that are very distance oriented, which may appeal to some.

Pro V1's and Tour B's are not just beneficial to tour pros, but will really be the best ball for all golfers as they provide the best feel, spin, and consistent distance. If price is the only thing keeping you from playing a premium ball, look for sales or check the forums or ebay and you can score a good deal on them. I played B-Stone tour B XS all last year, the 2019 ball, for $30 a dozen. 

Edited January 25 by wely324

[DiscipleofPenick 2,129]

Keep looking for the MGS ball labs. They've tested the majority of the tour balls already so these should be coming up soon.

Take Dead Aim

[RickyBobby_PR 5,794]

For any player regardless of handicap and ball category they should test the balls they are interested in against each other starting on the green and working back to the tee. Then choose the ball that worked best.

some balls may be better off the tee than others but not be so good around the green. So you have to find the one that works best overall

[chipyips 4]

Thanks for the replies.   A most wanted type of review would be ideal with comparison data and MSG selection of top balls

[Middler 2,398]

OP: They will get to many of the balls you'd like to see evaluated, so you can pick and choose what you want to pay for and play?

2-PC Non-Urethane   Bridgestone e6 - MSRP $21.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Callaway Supersoft - MSRP $22.99 - TP $XX.XX - Srixon Soft Feel - MSRP $21.99 - TP $XX.XX - Titleist Tour Soft - MSRP $34.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Titleist Velocity - MSRP $27.99 - TP $XX.XX - Wilson Duo Soft+ - MSRP $19.99 - TP $XX.XX -   3-PC Non-Urethane   Bridgestone e12 Soft - MSRP $24.99 - TP $XX.XX - Callaway E.R.C. Soft - MSRP $34.99 - TP $XX.XX - Taylormade Soft Response - MSRP $24.99 - TP $XX.XX - Top Flite Gamer - MSRP $22.99 - TP $XX.XX -   3/4/5-PC Urethane   Bridgestone Tour B RX - MSRP $44.99 - TP $XX.XX - Bridgestone Tour B RXS - MSRP $44.99 - TP $XX.XX - Bridgestone Tour B X - MSRP $44.99 - TP $XX.XX - Bridgestone Tour B XS - MSRP $44.99 - TP $50.61 - https://mygolfspy.com/ball-lab-2020-bridgestone-tour-b-xs/ Callaway Chromesoft - MSRP $47.99 - TP $59.79 - https://mygolfspy.com/ball-lab-2020-callaway-chrome-soft/ Callaway Chromesoft X - MSRP $47.99 TP $XX.XX -  Cut DC - MSRP $29.95 - TP $XX.XX -  Kirkland 3-PC - MSRP $12.50 - TP $XX.XX - expected 10/7 Maxfli Tour - MSRP $34.99 - TP $XX.XX - Maxfli Tour X - MSRP $34.99 - TP $XX.XX - Mizuno RB Tour - MSRP $42.95 - TP $XX.XX -  Mizuno RB Tour X - MSRP $42.95 - TP $XX.XX -  Oncore Elixr - MSRP $35.00 - TP $XX.XX -  Oncore Vero X1 - MSRP $39.99 - TP $XX.XX -  RZN MS-Tour - MSRP $29.95 - TP $XX.XX -  RZN HS-Tour - MSRP $34.95 - TP $XX.XX -  Snell MTB-X - MSRP $32.99 - TP $XX.XX - expected 9/30 Srixon Q-Star Tour - MSRP $32.99 - TP $XX.XX - expected 10/14 Srixon Z-Star - MSRP $39.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Srixon Z-Star XV MSRP $39.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Taylormade Tour Response - MSRP $34.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Taylormade TP5 - MSRP $44.99 - TP $XX.XX - expected 9/23 Taylormade TP5 X - MSRP $44.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Titleist AVX - MSRP $47.99 - TP $XX.XX - Titleist Pro V1 - MSRP $47.99 - TP $49.36 - https://mygolfspy.com/ball-lab-2019-titleist-pro-v1/ Titleist Pro V1x - MSRP $47.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash - MSRP $47.99 - TP $XX.XX - expected 10/21 Titleist Tour Speed - MSRP $39.99 - TP $XX.XX -  Vice Pro - MSRP $34.95 - TP $XX.XX -  Wilson Staff - MSRP $49.99 - TP $XX.XX -

[WR3 19]

I played the new Bridgestone e12 Contact yesterday for the first time.  Yes, the dimples look very odd at first glance but I gotta say, the ball definitely flies consistently straight and doesn't seem to get a lot of wear/tear on the ball.  A few holes had some 'user error' but still shot one of the better winter golf rounds for the year. 

[DaveP043 4,456]

On 1/25/2021 at 9:57 AM, chipyips said:

, it got me thinking about the mid tier $25-$35 ball market. 

but for us that are not as good and not willing to pay as much for premium golf balls, which balls should the amateur play?

You mentioned a number of truly premium balls, and some lesser-priced balls from major manufacturers.  In my experience, this is a niche for Direct to Consumer balls like Snell.  I've been playing the Snell MTB Black and MTB X, and before that the original MTB.  Before that, I played the ProV1 almost exclusively, and the Snell balls are extremely close in performance, at a price that's right in the range you mention, $33 for a single dozen, as low as $30 if you buy 5 dozen.  Snell also makes a lower-price 2-piece ball.  Its certainly a ball to consider, top-level performance at mid-level pricing.  If you search MyGolfSpy, you can find member reviews of these.

[Tom the Golf Nut 3,348]

Having just finished testing the Top Flight Gamer ball, I can tell you i was impressed with the performance. I would recommend you give these a try. At $20 something a box there is plenty of value for the money. Trust me, these are not the rocks of day's past. Look at the reviews in the tester section.

 

[golfish! 887]

@chipyips go check out the deals on golfdiscount. I just bought 5dz Taylormade TP5 Pix at 19.99/dz. They are the practice balls which is basically the same ball but with cosmetic blemishes so they stamp practice on them. 

[Hook DeLoft 274]

If you google "golf ball performance chart" you'll find some of the info you're looking for, both from older MGS tests and Golf Digest.

[fixyurdivot 10,544]

On 3/1/2021 at 1:22 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Having just finished testing the Top Flight Gamer ball, I can tell you i was impressed with the performance. I would recommend you give these a try. At $20 something a box there is plenty of value for the money. Trust me, these are not the rocks of day's past. Look at the reviews in the tester section.

 

As a big best bang for the buck guy, I appreciate feedback like this.  They had these on sale at the PGASS Scottsdale store and I meant to grab a box but forgot .