MyGolfSpy 2023 Golf Ball Test!!!

[JohnnyO3478]

30 minutes ago, tdc1 said:

None of the above!  

Maybe it is because I didn’t start playing until I was 40 y/o (1990) — no junior golf, no family golf club membership growing up, no other players in the family — that I saw a white golf ball as just another choice along with yellow and orange.  Today will I play white, yellow, orange, pink, Tour Response stripe, TP5 pix, Callaway Truvis and triple track.  About the only ones I don’t play are red, blue, and Vice drip — just can’t find them after bad hits.  Yellow remains my preference, however.

If not for Wayne Levi and Jerry Pate, would white still be our only option?

Careful. If you play the wrong color ball, you may never be a scratch player ...

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Played in a fog this morning (actual fog, not a hangover fog). The yellow Maxfli really helped. 

[JohnnyO3478]

2 minutes ago, Dooby said:

Might be a dumb question but does your sim require those dots or what’s the purpose behind dotting it for your sim?

I have a Rapsodo MLM2PRO. If you want to have spin axis numbers on your shots, you need the dots.

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, Dooby said:

Might be a dumb question but does your sim require those dots or what’s the purpose behind dotting it for your sim?

Rapsodo Launch Monitor leverages those dots to better capture data. 

https://rapsodo.com/products/mlm2pro-golf-simulator

https://rapsodo.com/products/callaway-rpt-chrome-soft-x-golf-balls

[chisag]

7 minutes ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

Careful. If you play the wrong color ball, you may never be a scratch player ...

 

... Don't tell Goosen, Couples or Els. 

[Javs]

4 hours ago, GregGarner said:

Truth be told, they're really more of a chartreuse than a yellow. When I think of a yellow ball, my mental model is the dull yellow range ball. These are not those. These can be seen from orbit. Which is good, because that's where I tend to send them when they're a little high on the driver face...

Sounds like they are better for trout fishing than use as a golf ball, ha ha

[PhilM75072]

Despite my slow swing speed, I've had great success in the past with the Vice Pro Plus. Since I like a little softer feel off the driver, operative word here "softer", and the data shows that the Vice Pro and Pro Plus are almost identical (one being longer off the driver, the other off the mid-iron but combined about the same), I'm putting the Vice Pro in play this morning.

It is significantly cooler than it has been, so I'm not sure if it will be a fair comparison to recent rounds with other balls. I do wish they had tested the Callaway ERC Soft, as that has been one of my favorites since they introduced it in 2019.

[GregGarner]

28 minutes ago, PhilM75072 said:

It is significantly cooler than it has been

Well it wouldn't take much...

[JohnnyO3478]

Starting to think this ball deserves its own thread. Not this make/model. This particular ball. 

I played it for another 11 holes tonight, hit another tree and another cart path, thought I lost it twice. It still looks like almost new. 

I went through dozens of the old model yellow Tours - and they seemed to lose paint if you looked at them sideways ....

It supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'll be in the garage, bashing the new model. Will see how it holds up in there.

[mbrodeur86]

Well my ball experiment with the Chrome Soft X LS is officially over. Yesterday I decided to play the X LS vs the Pro V1 and see which one would be the better ball. It wasn't even close:

Chrome Soft X LS - 4 fairways/ 9 GIRs - total 83

Pro V1 - 6 fairways/ 11 GIRs - Total 74

I wanted to play a ball that was less expensive and had a little bit less spin but what I found was when I missed with my driver the X LS was...less forgiving? Basically if I missed with the X LS it would put me in a bad spot which ended up costing me strokes while the Pro V1 stayed in play more and was definitely more consistent. Only reason I want to switch is to save some money. The search continues...

[JohnnyO3478]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:45 PM, JohnnyO3478 said:

Starting to think this ball deserves its own thread. Not this make/model. This particular ball. 

I played it for another 11 holes tonight, hit another tree and another cart path, thought I lost it twice. It still looks like almost new. 

I went through dozens of the old model yellow Tours - and they seemed to lose paint if you looked at them sideways ....

It supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'll be in the garage, bashing the new model. Will see how it holds up in there.

I got 58+ holes out of it before I lost it in the water on 16 this afternoon. Despite the abuse I subjected it to - it looked great and usable right up to the point when it dribbled into the hazzard ....

 

I beat the crap outta that ball ....

 

... I think the rain affected my judgment today ....

[GregGarner]

On 9/16/2023 at 1:47 PM, mbrodeur86 said:

Well my ball experiment with the Chrome Soft X LS is officially over. Yesterday I decided to play the X LS vs the Pro V1 and see which one would be the better ball. It wasn't even close:

Chrome Soft X LS - 4 fairways/ 9 GIRs - total 83

Pro V1 - 6 fairways/ 11 GIRs - Total 74

I wanted to play a ball that was less expensive and had a little bit less spin but what I found was when I missed with my driver the X LS was...less forgiving? Basically if I missed with the X LS it would put me in a bad spot which ended up costing me strokes while the Pro V1 stayed in play more and was definitely more consistent. Only reason I want to switch is to save some money. The search continues...

My experience with the XLS is that it's not less spin than the ProV1. It's less spin than the Chrome Soft X, but other than that, it's a reasonably high-spin ball. Like you, I find myself gravitating away from the XLS at this point in the season because even though I tend to like working the ball, it is moving a lot even on shots that are really supposed to be fairly straight. It doesn't take much for a tight draw to turn into a sweeping hook!

If you like the performance of the ProV1 and just want to save some money, I'd look at the Maxfli Tour CG, Vice Pro, and OnCore Vero X1. There are plenty of DTC balls out there that are pretty similar to ol' reliable from a performance perspective, but yeah, the XLS is definitely not interchangeable with the ProV1.

[mbrodeur86]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:07 AM, GregGarner said:

My experience with the XLS is that it's not less spin than the ProV1. It's less spin than the Chrome Soft X, but other than that, it's a reasonably high-spin ball. Like you, I find myself gravitating away from the XLS at this point in the season because even though I tend to like working the ball, it is moving a lot even on shots that are really supposed to be fairly straight. It doesn't take much for a tight draw to turn into a sweeping hook!

If you like the performance of the ProV1 and just want to save some money, I'd look at the Maxfli Tour CG, Vice Pro, and OnCore Vero X1. There are plenty of DTC balls out there that are pretty similar to ol' reliable from a performance perspective, but yeah, the XLS is definitely not interchangeable with the ProV1.

I went by what the golf ball test gave us. It was about 200 rpms less spin. I found that for me at least it did spin less. I'm still going to test the ball against the Pro V1 as I want a cheaper alternative. I bought a dozen yellow Pro v1 and I love the color. Putting with the Pro V1 vs the triple track I loved the triple track more. I may go after the yellow X LS and just stick with it. We'll see...

[skraeling]

Had both my dad and neighbor take a whack off the tee with the X LS callaway ball. Both really liked how it felt and launched off the tee. They both had pretty ok distance too.

they both already play callaways (super soft and chrome soft) respectivly.

 

[HikingMike]

Hey all. I just dug into the 2023 ball test data again. I had looked at it again as I just posted my review of the Wilson Triad, and then it kind of went from there with scatter plots for ball speed and spin comparisons for driver/iron. But I had always wanted to check out the data closer. So I found a good way to gather all the data in Excel (similar to what others have posted here earlier). The main reason was so I could analyze things that weren't possible to do with the Tableau plots available. 

It looks like it was September so it will still be a while before we have a new big ball test from MGS. There are definitely some new balls/versions out there though so keep that in mind (AVX, Staff Model, Chrome Tour, Chrome Soft...?).

Below are a couple scatter plots I found interesting - Driver Spin vs. Iron Spin and Driver Ball Speed vs. Iron Ball Speed (both for fast club speed). I'll take requests for other scatter plots! Which two data points would you like to see compared? Be sure to give me club speed and club as well. And I can exclude some brands/models if you want since it's kind of busy.

[StrokerAce]

Maxfli balls are making some headway on both LPGA and PGA tour - hopefully the price doesn't skyrocket.

https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/ben-griffin-maxfli-golf-ball-deal-tour/

[HikingMike]

2 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

Maxfli balls are making some headway on both LPGA and PGA tour - hopefully the price doesn't skyrocket.

https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/ben-griffin-maxfli-golf-ball-deal-tour/

Interesting, and good point. Will they come out with a halo product, $50/dozen ball, to possibly boost credibility of the whole brand? But you definitely have my vote that they keep the excellent lineup they have at their good prices.

[Tsecor]

On 9/24/2023 at 6:59 PM, mbrodeur86 said:

I went by what the golf ball test gave us. It was about 200 rpms less spin. I found that for me at least it did spin less. I'm still going to test the ball against the Pro V1 as I want a cheaper alternative. I bought a dozen yellow Pro v1 and I love the color. Putting with the Pro V1 vs the triple track I loved the triple track more. I may go after the yellow X LS and just stick with it. We'll see...

people have to remember the spin numbers are what come off the face of the club.....not when the ball is midflight or upon landing......the degradation of spin throughout the flight may be different from ball to ball and NOBODY has any idea how much spin is on the ball when it hits the green.....the spin number you see directly affects the immediate trajectory of the ball which results in height and distance....other than that, focusing on a 200rpm difference between balls is flawed thinking.....you have absolutely NO IDEA if that 200 rpm difference is the same off the club face and in flight as the other ball.....do you know how each ball is with side spin? and what those numbers may be? This is why a lot of people should play the calloway chromesoft ball.....it has been tested with the least amount of side spin and it could be marketed as a "forgiving ball". People talk all day about forgiveness but never talk about the one piece of equipment that you hit EVERY TIME on the course.....the ball......

 

"I found that for me at least it did spin less"......how did you find this out? just curious..

[Tsecor]

when going through a bunch of data, i fall into the mid swing speed category. I wanted to look at distance initially, followed by spin rates 35 yards and in, once i found a good ball for distance off the driver and mid iron....basically im thinking "what ball can get me to the green faster and easier than the others"....once i got to the green or near the green, i looked at spin rates.....my angle of descent is pretty good so spin rates off the mid iron was not a factor for me

When comparing the V1 line up, the V1X is 10 yards longer than the V1 when it comes to combining the driver and a mid iron.....so that means im using one less club throughout many par 4's.....the V1x is even 6 yards longer the left dash over the course of those two shots.........around the greens the v1x and V1 are only separated by a few hundred rpms, which means nothing...after analyzing almost every ball id buy......the V1x looks to be the longest and best overall performer.....i basically looked at TM. Titleist, Callaway, Maxfli, srixon and bridgestone...out of all these balls, the only one over 440 combined yards for the 2 shots was the V1x (445 total yards)....left dash was 2nd at 439....

I really hope the new TP5 series of 2024 has improved tremendously because the version tested is extremely bad for a mid swing player

tp5x is 17 yards shorter between the driver and mid iron

tp5 is 23 yards shorter

no other ball really jumps off the page....MOST of the balls i analyzed are in the 433-435 range.....10 yards off the v1X.....

i need to try a box and see how they do on the course

[chisag]

1 hour ago, Tsecor said:

"I found that for me at least it did spin less"......how did you find this out? just curious..

 

... I have always said numbers/data are simply starting points. The proof is in the pudding when you actually play. When playing mid to short irons I like my ball to hop, take a small skip and then spin back from 6" to 12". If I am testing a new ball and it rips back 4-6 feet that is too much spin for my iron game. If it releases 10 feet (or more) from where it lands that is too little spin. 

... In played with a guy that has won on the Outlaw Tour in town to qualify for the Phoenix Open and he shot 7 under on the front 9 from the tips. He was averaging around 350 off the tee. But what impressed me the most was his wedge game because with his length he was hitting wedges on most every hole. His shots would hop, skip and spin back 1-2 feet every time. Easy to see because he was always around the hole and it was amazing to watch. On #18 he caught a downslope not reachable off the tee for 99.9% because it is about a 350yd carry and went into the lake 410yds from the tee.   Just jaw dropping length with a normal looking swing. But again equally impressive was he dropped on the other side of the lake and his wedge shot just missed landing in the hole, hopped about 3 feet and spun back 2 feet leaving a 1 foot tap in. He said he did a lot of on course testing and the ProV1 Left Dash gave him the exact spin he wanted. Said he doesn't pay much attention to numbers hit on a LM because that isn't "playing golf" and all his important testing is done on the course. 

[funkyjudge]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:16 AM, StrokerAce said:

Maxfli balls are making some headway on both LPGA and PGA tour - hopefully the price doesn't skyrocket.

https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/ben-griffin-maxfli-golf-ball-deal-tour/

I just posted the same thing in the “what golf ball are you playing in 2024” thread.

[HikingMike]

2 hours ago, Tsecor said:

do you know how each ball is with side spin? and what those numbers may be? This is why a lot of people should play the calloway chromesoft ball.....it has been tested with the least amount of side spin and it could be marketed as a "forgiving ball".

Can you say what testing you are referencing for the side spin? That sounds really interesting to me. I know there is a "spin axis" column in MyGolfSpy's data, but I'm not sure what that means or how to use it.

[Tsecor]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... I have always said numbers/data are simply starting points. The proof is in the pudding when you actually play. When playing mid to short irons I like my ball to hop, take a small skip and then spin back from 6" to 12". If I am testing a new ball and it rips back 4-6 feet that is too much spin for my iron game. If it releases 10 feet (or more) from where it lands that is too little spin. 

... In played with a guy that has won on the Outlaw Tour in town to qualify for the Phoenix Open and he shot 7 under on the front 9 from the tips. He was averaging around 350 off the tee. But what impressed me the most was his wedge game because with his length he was hitting wedges on most every hole. His shots would hop, skip and spin back 1-2 feet every time. Easy to see because he was always around the hole and it was amazing to watch. On #18 he caught a downslope not reachable off the tee for 99.9% because it is about a 350yd carry and went into the lake 410yds from the tee.   Just jaw dropping length with a normal looking swing. But again equally impressive was he dropped on the other side of the lake and his wedge shot just missed landing in the hole, hopped about 3 feet and spun back 2 feet leaving a 1 foot tap in. He said he did a lot of on course testing and the ProV1 Left Dash gave him the exact spin he wanted. Said he doesn't pay much attention to numbers hit on a LM because that isn't "playing golf" and all his important testing is done on the course. 

awesome!!!  I totally agree with his aproach to testing.....2 seasons ago, i bought 5 different brands (12 different dzn) and tested them all and Bridgestone, TM and Srixon were all horribe for me......callaway CSX and even CS were awesome......the best ball out of everything i tested was the left dot.  I still play that today but i am running low......so im off to try something new.

Thanks for the response

[Tsecor]

1 hour ago, HikingMike said:

Can you say what testing you are referencing for the side spin? That sounds really interesting to me. I know there is a "spin axis" column in MyGolfSpy's data, but I'm not sure what that means or how to use it.

callaway talks about it in some of their videos......mainly with the CS.  I think thats the axis number......obviously that promotes slices and hooks....

 

 

Edited May 2 by Tsecor

[HikingMike]

1 hour ago, Tsecor said:

callaway talks about it in some of their videos......mainly with the CS.  I think thats the axis number......obviously that promotes slices and hooks....

Alright, yeah, I need to figure out how to interpret that spin axis number.

[Tsecor]

19 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Alright, yeah, I need to figure out how to interpret that spin axis number.

IMO i think. as amateurs, we get bogged down in this type of data and it really may not be connected to scoring. There is NOTHING that you can connect to scoring....does it 100% matter if you are in the fairway when you hit your approach shots?  nope....you may be 20 yards closer to the hole when you are in the 1st level rough.....so balls that tend to fly 5 yards off center may benefit you in a strange way.....the spin #'s do not 100% relate to distance either....sure it has an impact and lower spin is equated to longer distance, but when you truly look at spin #'s, you will see some balls have high spin numbers but do not balloon and fly the furthest......sometimes too much data is counterproductive, especially when you have no idea what the degradation rate is of each ball flying through the air and as they hit the ground.....I mean, does a TP5 spin at 2800 rpms off the driver and at its peak spin 40% less, while a Bridgestone BX spin at 2400 off the driver but degrades at a 30% rate?  none of this truly matters and can not be connected to scoring......so my advice is to pick the longest ball for your swing and go from there.....angle of descent into a green can be much more important that spin.....

[HikingMike]

2 hours ago, Tsecor said:

IMO i think. as amateurs, we get bogged down in this type of data and it really may not be connected to scoring. There is NOTHING that you can connect to scoring....does it 100% matter if you are in the fairway when you hit your approach shots?  nope....you may be 20 yards closer to the hole when you are in the 1st level rough.....so balls that tend to fly 5 yards off center may benefit you in a strange way.....the spin #'s do not 100% relate to distance either....sure it has an impact and lower spin is equated to longer distance, but when you truly look at spin #'s, you will see some balls have high spin numbers but do not balloon and fly the furthest......sometimes too much data is counterproductive, especially when you have no idea what the degradation rate is of each ball flying through the air and as they hit the ground.....I mean, does a TP5 spin at 2800 rpms off the driver and at its peak spin 40% less, while a Bridgestone BX spin at 2400 off the driver but degrades at a 30% rate?  none of this truly matters and can not be connected to scoring......so my advice is to pick the longest ball for your swing and go from there.....angle of descent into a green can be much more important that spin.....

But I want to make the scatter plots man! 

Haha, yeah you're right. I have no delusions that my 18 or 9 hole score will change much with a few hundred rpm on the driver. That is dwarfed by so many other factors, mostly how I'm playing. I like the data though. This is the first time in my golf life I've thought about this kind of stuff.