What are you doing with the '21 Ball test data?

[TBS 717]

The ball test in '19 is what drew me to MGS and I've loved going through the '21 data and discussing it on the Ball test thread. I wanted to start a new thread for everyone to share what they are going to do with the data they received. 

So, what is your next move after reviewing the '21 ball test data??

For me, I'm going to try out some of the Vice Pro and Pro Plus. I fall right in between Mid and high swing and although my current gamer Snell MTBX faired well, it was not a standout like last year. Although I think ProV1x left dash would be a good fit, I'm not willing to pay the price at this point, so I like to look at the more premium budget (DTC) options. I've posted this elsewhere but this ball test showed that you really need to find the ball that is best for you, your equipment, and your game. I think Big Box stores should start offering ball fittings for a small price that can be applied when you buy 2 or more boxes of balls. 

[THEZIPR23 6,492]

15 minutes ago, TBS said:

I think Big Box stores should start offering ball fittings for a small price that can be applied when you buy 2 or more boxes of balls. 

How would this be done? You can't test a ball indoors and there are no greens located in the stores. 

[TBS 717]

3 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

How would this be done? You can't test a ball indoors and there are no greens located in the stores. 

Can’t you at least get launch monitor data? Most of the stores in my area have some level of launch monitor for you to see how the numbers change with different balls. 

[BMart519 1,410]

Just before the results were published I bought 1 dozen (used): Pro V1, V1X, Tour Speed, Z Star, and Tour BX. I had some Tour B XS and RX as well as NEW Z Star XV for on course testing over the 2nd half of this season. I now have a bunch of balls that fit well for a Mid Speed guy with aspirations of working towards high speed. The '19 ball test settled me on the Z Star (non-XV) and made the Tour BXS my default ball. 

As an equipment ho always looking for the latest and greatest fix. In the search of distance, I wanted to test other balls and like the last TP5X. The ball lab quality data raised some questions about any non-Titleist ball above which increased this curiosity. 

The '21 / '19 tests in addition to on course tests with the balls above have led me to the following:
- HOT TAKE: disregard the ball lab quality data on the Z Stars and Bridgestone, it didn't generate any real world performance issues that MGS published
- I've never used refurbished and they will continue to go direct to the short game shag bag
- confirmed the BXS as my ball moving forward as it doesn't seem to give up distance to the balls above and gives me best greenside performance (and scores)
- Z Star will be my back up and I will buy new balls to compare with used when they go on sale for 50% off ($27/doz in Canada, Snell is $43 in bulk FYI)
- aerodynamics/spin are important as the longest balls are not strictly the ones with highest ball speed, in a windy area - this requires special attention
- In a pinch I will play a Tour Speed or RX, especially if holding a green is not a concern. But Pro V1 are the best Titleist ball for me and I will keep handing V1X off to friends when I find them. 

Unless I approach scratch or play in competitive events, I have not encountered any problems with used balls to justify spending $40+ per dozen on new balls. Z Star is the only tour level ball that gets close to the price of used balls ($1-1.50 each) in Canada at $27-37/doz. Titleist/Callaway/Bridgestone are $65/doz NEW, which isn't happening when I can get used for $15-20. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by BMart519

[BMart519 1,410]

7 minutes ago, TBS said:

Can’t you at least get launch monitor data? Most of the stores in my area have some level of launch monitor for you to see how the numbers change with different balls. 

1: balls perform different in the wind
2: spin is different off mats, is every ball affected the same by this?
3: most stores do not have systems that read spin consistently or accurately enough to read the small differences between balls (unless they have GC Quad or similar)
4: ground conditions in the sim software will often vary significantly from specific courses or your region, it will be hard to actually judge roll out for full and partial approach shots to assess all the performance aspects that matter in actual golf. 
5: I assume there is more money selling clubs than balls, they want sim time for that. Not for you to discover your Kirkland is costing you 10 yards and you just need to buy some better balls instead of a new driver and irons 

[Shankster 33,161]

Deleting everything that isn’t a Titleist.  
 

Although, that new Srixon Z Star that looks like an old PING ball is pulling at the nostalgic strings.  
 

You can see it on the other golf website.  Subaru makes one.

[Mtbryant01 1,522]

My neighbor’s boys go and find “lost” golf balls off of a course nearby and sells them for cheap to the neighborhood. I asked if they had any Vice golf balls in his stash. They said no one ever wants those and walked out with some Vice pro and pro plus. Will have to give these a try and see how they compare with my current gamer, Snell MTBx.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW 4,992]

I game the mtbx but may just get used prov1s from now on. I want to be balanced. I liked left dash but could not stop it on greens. Also can’t find left dash on lost golf balls anymore. 

[HeathS16 2,315]

56 minutes ago, Mtbryant01 said:

My neighbor’s boys go and find “lost” golf balls off of a course nearby and sells them for cheap to the neighborhood. I asked if they had any Vice golf balls in his stash. They said no one ever wants those and walked out with some Vice pro and pro plus. Will have to give these a try and see how they compare with my current gamer, Snell MTBx.

My college baseball alumni tournament handed out some of the pro pluses as part of the gift bag a couple of years ago. They play pretty well from my experience but didn’t really convince me to switch. From what I remember it’s a nice feeling ball, that performs pretty well. Happy hitting! 

[HeathS16 2,315]

What am I doing with the data? I’m currently trying to convince myself that I don’t need to buy all of these golf balls I want to test. Life was more simple before this test. 

[DiscipleofPenick 4,172]

Oof, I know I'm gonna hear it for this. (Deep breath) I've reviewed it, narrowed it down to the balls I'm interested in, and nothing's changed. Soooo (trigger warning) I'm going to kind of ignore it .

Hear me out I've already switched to the Z-Star from ProV1 and I have a 107 mph driver speed so I looked at both high and mid data sets. The balls I'm considering are all in the tour category. BX, BXS, TP5, ProV1, Z-Star, ZXV, AVX, and MTBX. MGS has already done ball labs on these other than the AVX. I haven't really learned anything new.

The ProV1x & TP5x didn't make the cut because I've already tested them and did not like them. They were very clicky to me and I didn't like them around the green and didn't notice that I hit them any further. To clarify further, it's not that they were bad performing in the short game, it's that they weren't performing the way I like a ball to perform on the green.

So when I looked at the data on those 8 balls and, from best to worst, I saw 10 yards difference on drives, 7 yards difference on 8i, and a few hundred rpm on wedges, I'm just not seeing a huge performance difference in any of them. Why pay $50 for Bridgestone, TM, or Titleist offerings when my Z-Star is already performing the way I want it to for a much better price. I will say Snell had my curiosity, now they have my attention.

I keep reading these things and trying to break down the data and qualities, and come up with my own conclusions, and I never come to a decisive result. I look at this and expect to find THE BALL FOR ME. One ball that jumps off the page that is undisputably the best fit for my game. And nothing ever does. As much as the manufacturers try to make their products stand out, the only conclusion I've come to is that there's actually very little difference in them.

What I have learned from this is find a ball you are comfortable paying for (and losing!), and that has the feel a performance you prefer. And stick to one ball!

 

 

[Nolan220 2,038]

Bought a dozen of tour B S ball to try out 

[jroot327 51]

I am taking my gamer, which was based off the 19 test (Tour BX), and comparing other balls numbers in this test to see if any can give me more help. I need lower spin off the driver, without giving up distance in the high swing speed, but play fast greens, so I'd like spin in the short irons and wedges. Very surprised how well the Srixon Z-Star compared to the BX, ProV1, CS, etc in this years test. Lower spinning off the driver (just as long as all of them) with as much or more spin around the green and with wedges, and they're less money than the alternatives. Will be giving them another shot with this new model and it's numbers in this test.

[GregGarner 1,320]

10 hours ago, jroot327 said:

I am taking my gamer, which was based off the 19 test (Tour BX), and comparing other balls numbers in this test to see if any can give me more help. I need lower spin off the driver, without giving up distance in the high swing speed, but play fast greens, so I'd like spin in the short irons and wedges. Very surprised how well the Srixon Z-Star compared to the BX, ProV1, CS, etc in this years test. Lower spinning off the driver (just as long as all of them) with as much or more spin around the green and with wedges, and they're less money than the alternatives. Will be giving them another shot with this new model and it's numbers in this test.

The 2021 Z-Stars are no joke. I was skeptical about their marketing when they increased cover thickness to improve greenside control but it's super legit. In the previous iteration, the XV was leaps and bounds a better ball, despite being stupidly clicky off the putter. With the 2021 version, they've made the XV less clicky AND the Z-Star was given the thicker cover and both of these minuscule refinements are *chef's kiss*

[Tsecor 733]

After reading all the data and looking at all these charts, my head literally exploded so im putting the pieces back together. With the data now in hand, I have been running a summer long ball test with the following balls

• Prov1
• Prov1x
• Left dash
• TP5
• TP5X
• Chromesoft
• AVX
• Chromesoft X
• Looking for a bridgestone ball right now

I have found that a lot of these balls may end up within 10 yards of each other in distance, but they all act differently on the course and im searching for the most playable ball. I am not sure the unicorn ball is out there (possibly the new left dot coming out?)  If i could take one aspect from each of these balls and make my own ball i would do the following. I looked at all the data to see if it aligns with my own personal testing. I am finding out data and on course playability are two completely different worlds.  A robot hitting an 8 iron off a tee is obviously not like an 8 iron off a hard pan surface or semi-deep rough.  Ive learned feel is important to me, maybe too much in fact so im trying to ignore it and just go full performance mode. Its hard to ignore "feel" though.

im finding out Prov1 is prpbably the best all around ball, tee to green but Chromesoft has really been awesome this summer. I was disappointed with TP5X again even though the data suggests it would be really good.  TP5 is pretty much the same as the 2019 version but  the new dimple pattern seems to make the ball balloon for me. V1X was a disaster for me. Left dash is really good off the tee but hard to figure out around the green and its a real HARD BALL....it flies far though.

Trying to decide between the BXS, BRXS and BRX for my next test.  They all have some great qualities but the BXS, although not designed for my game, seems to check all the boxes from a data standpoint....Testing the CSX this coming week.    

DATA DATA DATA.....head exploding.......

so far Prov1 / CS are the leaders in the clubhouse.....V1 is better around the green for me,, so that may be the deciding factor

[BMart519 1,410]

6 minutes ago, Tsecor said:

im finding out Prov1 is prpbably the best all around ball, tee to green but Chromesoft has really been awesome this summer. I was disappointed with TP5X again even though the data suggests it would be really good.  TP5 is pretty much the same as the 2019 version but  the new dimple pattern seems to make the ball balloon for me. V1X was a disaster for me. Left dash is really good off the tee but hard to figure out around the green and its a real HARD BALL....it flies far though.

Trying to decide between the BXS, BRXS and BRX for my next test.  They all have some great qualities but the BXS, although not designed for my game, seems to check all the boxes from a data standpoint....Testing the CSX this coming week.    

DATA DATA DATA.....head exploding.......

so far Prov1 / CS are the leaders in the clubhouse.....V1 is better around the green for me,, so that may be the deciding factor

The B RXS and RX will have less greenside spin the the Left Dash as well as stopping power on approaches. The XS is the ball most similar to the V1 and CS (I've played all 4 Bridgestone balls). The B X would then be your next option, but it is definitely firmer and low spin. 

[RickyBobby_PR 10,061]

18 minutes ago, Tsecor said:

I am not sure the unicorn ball is out there (possibly the new left dot coming out?

To clarify the left dot isn’t a new ball. It’s been around for almost a decade on tour, it’s just a ball like the left dash that titleist is going to offer to the public. It’s what lead to the 2017 prov1.

Like we talked about in other posts/threads it’s going to fall in between the original avx and Prov1 and with the redesign of the avx my guess it will be similar to the new version on the green. 

[Tsecor 733]

21 minutes ago, BMart519 said:

The B RXS and RX will have less greenside spin the the Left Dash as well as stopping power on approaches. The XS is the ball most similar to the V1 and CS (I've played all 4 Bridgestone balls). The B X would then be your next option, but it is definitely firmer and low spin. 

I always have a high angle of descent so im not worried about stopping power unless im inside 30 yards and around the greenside.....thats where i need spin the most.  I have hit the BX before and i didnt like it for some reason. 

Off the driver (mid speed), the BXS is noticeably longer than the other two balls but when you get to the 8 iron (mid speed) the XS gives those yards right back. ...then nyou get to the wedge and the XS has ~ 500 more rpms which equates to ~ 40 revolutions during a 5 second wedge flight....its literally splitting hairs....so, from a playability standpoint, does one of these "grab" a little more on bump and runs or is one of these better feeling around the green (not too soft or hard), so it feel like whatever you put into it, you will get that out of it?

The left dash was bad for me around the green because I would hit it and think im gonna run it 15-20 feet and it would go 25 feet or i would feel like id have to hit it softer and it would not runout enough.....

[Tiftaaft 1,005]

My takeaway from the results are to gravitate more to the firmer balls, opposed to the softer balls.  Pretty much anything with an "X" in the name is under consideration at this point.  It is really off the driver that I'm looking for ball performance, then will work my iron game to suit the spin for that ball.  Soft feels good, but not so much that I can't practice and get used to the "click" of a firm ball.  So... ProV1x and left dash, AVX, TP5X, Tour B X, and Chrome Soft X as potential options vs. my gamer MTB-X.  The Z star is also interesting.  

One interesting comment to my game... while my swing speed seems to be more closely matched to the "Mid Speed" in both Driver and 8 iron from the test - my distance is more closely matched to the "Slow Speed".  I need to review the machine positions compared to my own positions to find out where I'm losing my efficiency.  (path for sure, but I would guess my impact position is not stellar).  

[Tsecor 733]

1 hour ago, Tiftaaft said:

My takeaway from the results are to gravitate more to the firmer balls, opposed to the softer balls.  Pretty much anything with an "X" in the name is under consideration at this point.  It is really off the driver that I'm looking for ball performance, then will work my iron game to suit the spin for that ball.  Soft feels good, but not so much that I can't practice and get used to the "click" of a firm ball.  So... ProV1x and left dash, AVX, TP5X, Tour B X, and Chrome Soft X as potential options vs. my gamer MTB-X.  The Z star is also interesting.  

One interesting comment to my game... while my swing speed seems to be more closely matched to the "Mid Speed" in both Driver and 8 iron from the test - my distance is more closely matched to the "Slow Speed".  I need to review the machine positions compared to my own positions to find out where I'm losing my efficiency.  (path for sure, but I would guess my impact position is not stellar).  

if you are going towards the firmer balls, AVX is not for you.  Thats as soft as it gets and feels completely different than the other balls you listed. Its a good ball, but way different