Unofficial Review: Titleist Pro V1/V1x RCT Radar Optimized Golf Balls

[edingc 12,842]

Still using the same RCT ball that I started with. No cracks and the ball speeds seem to be about right, yet. Titleist quality, for sure. I've cracked three other balls now so I continue to be impressed by the longevity of this single ball.

I've learned that the Mevo+ can be pretty finicky and sensitive. Last night I think I did not have the tilt of the Mevo+ quite right (maybe not fully extended), and it was giving me lower than expected launch angles and heights throughout the bag. But, more relevant to this topic, I had a number of estimated non-reads with the RCT ball, and more misreads than I had in other sessions.

For example, out of 20 full swing 9 irons, I had three register as 12,000+ RPM, while the remainder were in the 6,000-8,000 RPM range. Moving to some of the longer clubs I was seeing a lot more estimated reads than I have come to expect.

Again, I think my setup may have been the issue, so I'll pay attention to that next time out.

[golfish! 1,864]

@edingc hmm maybe it gas something to do with my set up as well. I haven't had a chance to redo the setup and test but I do have a lot of metallic objects near the garmin unit when hitting and the base is below the level of the hitting mat (though not sure how this would affect it since the unit sits on a tripod above the ground anyway). Maybe the special radar reflective coating inside the RCT balls is bouncing a lot of waves back and its being reflected again by the metallic objects near the unit? I am also hitting parallel to the garage door which is mostly wood as well.  I have no drywall in my garage. 

[edingc 12,842]

3 minutes ago, golfish! said:

@edingc hmm maybe it gas something to do with my set up as well. I haven't had a chance to redo the setup and test but I do have a lot of metallic objects near the garmin unit when hitting and the base is below the level of the hitting mat (though not sure how this would affect it since the unit sits on a tripod above the ground anyway). Maybe the special radar reflective coating inside the RCT balls is bouncing a lot of waves back and its being reflected again by the metallic objects near the unit? I am also hitting parallel to the garage door which is mostly wood as well.  I have no drywall in my garage. 

I played with my Mevo+ setup this weekend and focused on setting the tilt to 17 degrees (which is what I found as recommended online). Height and launch seemed better. I found a Google Sheet from one of the golf sim forums and used that to confirm launch angle with where the ball what hitting on my net. It's definitely close. Carry and, best I can tell, shape seems about right again too.

That being said, since getting the latest 0.19 firmware for Mevo+ last week, I seem to be having more estimated spin readings with the RCT balls than I did prior. That's completely anecdotal with no concrete numbers or evidence.

I think it's safe to say they are a good partner with the Mevo+ but they don't magically eliminate all misreads/non-reads. In some cases I'd rather have an estimated read because 12,000+ RPM mid-irons are unusable shots.

I know of one other person who is using the Mevo+ and RCT balls locally, and I've heard they have been really solid for him as well. He does not have the same swing speed as I do, however. I also heard back from my instructor and he was not impressed with the RCT as he didn't see any improvement in his readings on his Mevo+ indoors or his Trackman. But I didn't talk to him in person and only through text message, so I'm going to ask more questions next time I see him in person.

[edingc 12,842]

I'm still using the original ball I started my testing with back in November. The RCTs get a big positive mark in the durability category. I have not seen a significant reduction in ball speeds or anything like that.

As the cover has worn, and since the FlightScope firmware update, the estimated reads have gone up significantly, however. For example, from Sunday's session:

• Driver - 6/63 (9.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 2 Hybrid - 2/7 (28.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Hybrid - 0/7 (0%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Utility - 6/18 (33.3%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 6 Iron - 6/14 (42.9%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 7 Iron - 5/8 (62.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 9 Iron - 3/5 (60%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Full 54 Wedge - 12/18 (66.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Partial 54 Wedge - 3/14 (21.4%) Balls captured Actual Spin

Sunday's session was with the Mevo+ set 8 feet behind the ball on the concrete, on indoors mode, with about 13 feet of flight. Mevo+ was set to 18 degree tilt angle, and the ball height parameter was set to 2 inches since the Fiberbuilt Flightdeck I use is about 2 inches above the Mevo+. These settings seem to get accurate peak height and direction, but the lack of spin is a little concerning.

There does seem to be a cutoff at about 140 MPH ball speed where spin seems to be significantly more difficult for the Mevo+ to read. That's right between my 4 utility and 4 hybrid.

A good test will be for me to use a new RCT the next time out and pick a similar selection of clubs. Hoping to get out there sometime Thursday for another session.

[RollingGreens 2,471]

5 hours ago, edingc said:

I'm still using the original ball I started my testing with back in November. The RCTs get a big positive mark in the durability category. I have not seen a significant reduction in ball speeds or anything like that.

As the cover has worn, and since the FlightScope firmware update, the estimated reads have gone up significantly, however. For example, from Sunday's session:

• Driver - 6/63 (9.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 2 Hybrid - 2/7 (28.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Hybrid - 0/7 (0%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Utility - 6/18 (33.3%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 6 Iron - 6/14 (42.9%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 7 Iron - 5/8 (62.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 9 Iron - 3/5 (60%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Full 54 Wedge - 12/18 (66.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Partial 54 Wedge - 3/14 (21.4%) Balls captured Actual Spin

Sunday's session was with the Mevo+ set 8 feet behind the ball on the concrete, on indoors mode, with about 13 feet of flight. Mevo+ was set to 18 degree tilt angle, and the ball height parameter was set to 2 inches since the Fiberbuilt Flightdeck I use is about 2 inches above the Mevo+. These settings seem to get accurate peak height and direction, but the lack of spin is a little concerning.

There does seem to be a cutoff at about 140 MPH ball speed where spin seems to be significantly more difficult for the Mevo+ to read. That's right between my 4 utility and 4 hybrid.

A good test will be for me to use a new RCT the next time out and pick a similar selection of clubs. Hoping to get out there sometime Thursday for another session.

Do you feel that what is being captured is accurate even though it’s not an estimated value? I wonder if anyone who has the update on the mevo has noticed any improvements in spin captured with the RCT balls even though it’s not a main reason to upgrade 

[edingc 12,842]

14 minutes ago, RollingGreens said:

Do you feel that what is being captured is accurate even though it’s not an estimated value? I wonder if anyone who has the update on the mevo has noticed any improvements in spin captured with the RCT balls even though it’s not a main reason to upgrade 

I think the captured spin is pretty good. There are a few low-spin fliers every now and then, but for example, my 7 iron spins somewhere around 5,500-5,600 off the Fiberbuilt on a good, measured strike. That's maybe a touch lower than I'd hope for on course, but with the height I get it's very playable.

The Mevo+ tends to overestimate spin when it doesn't measure it, unfortunately. Since the latest firmware update they've cut the estimated spin on the driver and longer clubs a bit, but it's still higher than I'd expect (and higher than on measured spin shots). For example, it's not uncommon for the Mevo+ to estimate spin at 3,000+ on the driver when a measured spin rate for a similar shot shape might be somewhere around 2,400.

[golfish! 1,864]

Sorry been mia folks just not a lot of time between the move and trying to get settled in.  Haven't had a chance to retest with a better setup.  Playing golf with a new group on Monday,  one whom has a sim in their house.  If it's radar based I may give him a sleeve of rct to test out as well.  Will update s soon as I can! 

[edingc 12,842]

I finally broke the first RCT ball from my box yesterday morning during my practice session. I was in the process of testing the E6 range vs. Flightscope range and couldn't figure out why the E6 range ball speeds went way down. I checked the ball and noticed it had finally split. New ball went in and the numbers looked much better.

I am impressed that there did not seem to be a ball speed drop off until the moment the ball actually cracked.

Driver spin reads still tend to be estimated, but the new ball resolved a lot of my misreads with mid irons. My hypothesis there is that the cover damage on my original RCT was affecting the radar bounce back off the markers.

I don't think the ball is to blame for the driver. For whatever it's worth, in my particular setup the Mevo+ seems to struggle with hybrids and driver. While the ball speeds and carry seem OK with the hybrids, club speed does not line up with my irons. Spin estimation/read is hit or miss. Driver ball speeds are pretty erratic and spin is rarely measured. I think some of it is indoor swing syndrome, but again, none of the numbers fall in line with the rest of the bag. It will be interesting to get outdoors in the spring and see what kind of differences I see between my practice indoors vs. out.

[MGrand 37]

RCT on TrackMan - Unofficial Review

Thanks for starting this thread.  My ProV1x RCTs arrived last week and I finally got to use them for an indoor TrackMan session last night. Very similar impression as others have had regarding durability, but thought I'd share feedback from how the spin data was showing up on a TrackMan in an indoor session. Below are my initial (and purely anecdotal) takeaways from my first time hitting the RCTs.

Regarding durability:
I was hitting with a friend for around two hours and we used the same RCT ball the entire time (although we did go back and forth with the RCT and a regular ProV1x to compare); after all of those shots the ball held up great with barely any signs of use.  Not a surprise from a Titleist, but still was happy to see it, especially since this included hitting some full shots with a 60*.

Regarding spin:
I can only recall seeing one italicized spin rate (meaning estimated) with the RCT and that was a super wild shot that rhymes with "thank" from the guy I was hitting with.  I did notice when we went back and forth between the RCT and the regular ProV1x that the majority of the shots with the regular ball did have italicized spin rates, so that was promising.

With all the clubs the spin on solid shots was right where I would expect it to be.  We also definitely saw the spin pick up on strikes lower on the face and saw the spin drop off when struck higher on the face, etc.  Overall, I was very impressed and can't wait to get back on the TrackMan to keep practicing and testing either tonight or later this week.

[edingc 12,842]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:31 PM, MGrand said:

RCT on TrackMan - Unofficial Review

Thanks for starting this thread.  My ProV1x RCTs arrived last week and I finally got to use them for an indoor TrackMan session last night. Very similar impression as others have had regarding durability, but thought I'd share feedback from how the spin data was showing up on a TrackMan in an indoor session. Below are my initial (and purely anecdotal) takeaways from my first time hitting the RCTs.

Regarding durability:
I was hitting with a friend for around two hours and we used the same RCT ball the entire time (although we did go back and forth with the RCT and a regular ProV1x to compare); after all of those shots the ball held up great with barely any signs of use.  Not a surprise from a Titleist, but still was happy to see it, especially since this included hitting some full shots with a 60*.

Regarding spin:
I can only recall seeing one italicized spin rate (meaning estimated) with the RCT and that was a super wild shot that rhymes with "thank" from the guy I was hitting with.  I did notice when we went back and forth between the RCT and the regular ProV1x that the majority of the shots with the regular ball did have italicized spin rates, so that was promising.

With all the clubs the spin on solid shots was right where I would expect it to be.  We also definitely saw the spin pick up on strikes lower on the face and saw the spin drop off when struck higher on the face, etc.  Overall, I was very impressed and can't wait to get back on the TrackMan to keep practicing and testing either tonight or later this week.

Thanks for adding this, since Trackman is the intended use. 

I have been happy with the RCT performance overall. Way better than using stickers.

[golfish! 1,864]

On 12/22/2021 at 6:46 AM, edingc said:

I'm still using the original ball I started my testing with back in November. The RCTs get a big positive mark in the durability category. I have not seen a significant reduction in ball speeds or anything like that.

As the cover has worn, and since the FlightScope firmware update, the estimated reads have gone up significantly, however. For example, from Sunday's session:

• Driver - 6/63 (9.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 2 Hybrid - 2/7 (28.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Hybrid - 0/7 (0%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 4 Utility - 6/18 (33.3%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 6 Iron - 6/14 (42.9%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 7 Iron - 5/8 (62.5%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• 9 Iron - 3/5 (60%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Full 54 Wedge - 12/18 (66.6%) Balls captured Actual Spin
• Partial 54 Wedge - 3/14 (21.4%) Balls captured Actual Spin

Sunday's session was with the Mevo+ set 8 feet behind the ball on the concrete, on indoors mode, with about 13 feet of flight. Mevo+ was set to 18 degree tilt angle, and the ball height parameter was set to 2 inches since the Fiberbuilt Flightdeck I use is about 2 inches above the Mevo+. These settings seem to get accurate peak height and direction, but the lack of spin is a little concerning.

There does seem to be a cutoff at about 140 MPH ball speed where spin seems to be significantly more difficult for the Mevo+ to read. That's right between my 4 utility and 4 hybrid.

A good test will be for me to use a new RCT the next time out and pick a similar selection of clubs. Hoping to get out there sometime Thursday for another session.

You have 21 feet of space from the Mevo unit to the net? I must have missed the original post somewhere but are you in your garage or basement? Texas does not have basements lol so no luck for me. Also, turns out the new friend has a Skytrak so no RCT sleeve for him!

[edingc 12,842]

1 hour ago, golfish! said:

You have 21 feet of space from the Mevo unit to the net? I must have missed the original post somewhere but are you in your garage or basement? Texas does not have basements lol so no luck for me. Also, turns out the new friend has a Skytrak so no RCT sleeve for him!

Correct, 21 feet between the Mevo+ and the target. Eight feet from Mevo+ to ball. I'm lucky to have a 26 foot wide garage.

[golfish! 1,864]

14 minutes ago, edingc said:

Correct, 21 feet between the Mevo+ and the target. Eight feet from Mevo+ to ball. I'm lucky to have a 26 foot wide garage.

That is awesome! I already know that when I buy a house (currently renting) I will be looking at the garage and making sure I can get a full sim space in there lol

[ZMendle10 307]

Been following this topic for a while and my dozen of Pro V1 RCT's arrived last week. Anyone seeing any issues with durability at all? I'm guessing that I got around 1,500 shots in on one ball before it cracked on me. The cover also got torn up pretty quickly and knowing this I haven't been using it with my wedges to keep it from getting beaten up quicker. Not sure if this is a me problem or a ball problem.

[edingc 12,842]

1 hour ago, ZMendle10 said:

Been following this topic for a while and my dozen of Pro V1 RCT's arrived last week. Anyone seeing any issues with durability at all? I'm guessing that I got around 1,500 shots in on one ball before it cracked on me. The cover also got torn up pretty quickly and knowing this I haven't been using it with my wedges to keep it from getting beaten up quicker. Not sure if this is a me problem or a ball problem.

I would say 1,500 shots sounds about right. It took me over a month of hitting a single ball to crack my first one. I now rotate between two of them and have not had another crack on me yet. I have hit a lot of drives as well.

I can't speak too much to the cover durability because occasionally mine hit the concrete floor in my garage which scuffs them up pretty good. I did notice that one of the two balls would more frequently cause elevated spin readings for a while, but that seems to have resolved itself. My hypothesis to explain that is the reflective pattern was altered by the cover damage.

Still, worth the money to me versus the metallic dots because the balls are lasting much longer. It only took less than 200 shots with my two dotted balls to crack them.

[golfish! 1,864]

Can't really speak on durability as I have not had much time to hit in my garage but I did hit a few half wedges and full irons and did not notice any difference between the RCT and a standard ProV1x. As per edingc's testing seems like you are also on par for ball durability.

[golfish! 1,864]

38 minutes ago, edingc said:

I would say 1,500 shots sounds about right. It took me over a month of hitting a single ball to crack my first one. I now rotate between two of them and have not had another crack on me yet. I have hit a lot of drives as well.

I can't speak too much to the cover durability because occasionally mine hit the concrete floor in my garage which scuffs them up pretty good. I did notice that one of the two balls would more frequently cause elevated spin readings for a while, but that seems to have resolved itself. My hypothesis to explain that is the reflective pattern was altered by the cover damage.

Still, worth the money to me versus the metallic dots because the balls are lasting much longer. It only took less than 200 shots with my two dotted balls to crack them.

@edingc How high is your garage? I don't have enough clearance to hit drives inside. I mean swinging slowly I can keep it under the rafters but at full speed I am afraid if I raise up even the slightest I will smack the rafters. 

[edingc 12,842]

1 hour ago, golfish! said:

@edingc How high is your garage? I don't have enough clearance to hit drives inside. I mean swinging slowly I can keep it under the rafters but at full speed I am afraid if I raise up even the slightest I will smack the rafters. 

It's 10 feet to the rafters. I feel like my garage is a unicorn because I'm in the city but lucked out with the perfect area for hitting balls.

It took a bit to swing freely, but after 100 or so balls I got used to it. I don't think I've actually gotten too close to anything.

[golfish! 1,864]

18 minutes ago, edingc said:

It's 10 feet to the rafters. I feel like my garage is a unicorn because I'm in the city but lucked out with the perfect area for hitting balls.

It took a bit to swing freely, but after 100 or so balls I got used to it. I don't think I've actually gotten too close to anything.

Hmm my garage total height is much taller than 10 feet but the rafter comes down about that much. How tall are you? Sorry I am not trying to get personal data on you lol. Just want to compare and see if I can also swing a driver inside!

[edingc 12,842]

Just shy of 6 feet tall. Standing on a 1.75" stance mat. Don't think I get that close to the rafters. I did several tests and the only way I could hit anything would be to completely let go of the club with one hand or swing basically upward. The snippet from a driver swing kind of shows where my club head gets to (although it's cut off from the frame). About even in height to the opener which sits probably 8 inches down from the ceiling.