MyGolfSpy 2023 Golf Ball Test!!!

[chisag]

On 8/28/2023 at 11:25 AM, Kenny B said:

I like it and now available in Yellow!!  My new winter ball.

 

... If following the ball flight is an issue, these shouldn't be a problem. I saw them for the first time at GG yesterday and they were the brightest yellow I have ever seen. I was gonna pick up a dozen Tour's but just too bright for me. They look good on you though!

[Siamese Moose]

54 minutes ago, chisag said:

I saw them for the first time at GG yesterday and they were the brightest yellow I have ever seen. I was gonna pick up a dozen Tour's but just too bright for me. 

I find that extra brightness a real plus. Due to some minor eye issues I cannot see a white ball against a white cloud. I wonder if that Australian brand Optic is still around? I didn't care for the performance, but you could see them from two states over.

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, Siamese Moose said:

I find that extra brightness a real plus. Due to some minor eye issues I cannot see a white ball against a white cloud. I wonder if that Australian brand Optic is still around? I didn't care for the performance, but you could see them from two states over.

 

... These should be good for you.   I love when my playing pards use yellow balls because they are so easy to follow and they don't always find the fairway. Or green. 

[KC Golf]

I remain a Srixon Z Star Diamond guy,  The ball test confirms to me that Srixon ZS Diamond is pretty good.  Even the Z Star and the Z Star XV are pretty good too.

Not that I know what the “XV” stands for, but the Diamond is great!   Hard to not like it since it’s always at a nice discount to a Pro V1.

[chisag]

... Those reading and comparing be sure you are comparing similar attributes. For instance, each swing speed has a different driver loft. And this is only one parameter difference. 

High 7.5*
Mid 10.5*
Low 12*

So looking at my ball of choice in the Maxfli Tour and Kirkland V3 it is difficult to extrapolate the numbers since I am at 95 mph with my 10.5* driver. So the 100mph swing speed is more similar than the 85 swing speed with a 12* driver. 

Maxfli Tour Spin:
2744 mid speed
2856 slow speed

Kirkland V3 Spin:
2991 Mid/speed
3256 slow speed

If I take my own formula of my swing being 10mph faster than slow and 5mph less than mid, I can add the mid number twice with the slow and divide by 3 giving me:

Maxfli Spin Combined:
2781 Mid/Low

Kirkland Spin Combined:
3079 Mid/Low

So these numbers are as close as I can get to an estimate BUT I don't play a 12* so my results at 85mph with a 10.5* driver will have lower spin. How much I have no idea. Then I have to wonder why the Maxfli spins 112 more with the 12* slow speed and the Kirkland spins over twice that at 265 more with the 12* slow speed. This throws off my personal estimate even more. Then I have a +3 AOA so these spin numbers are also higher than mine would be with what I assume is a neutral AOA. 

Taking all the above into account and this is only two balls, you can see what I say these teats are just a starting point and your results can be radically different than the data. I have done my own real world testing with quite a few balls but narrowed my choices down to the Maxfli and Kirkland. On the course I certainly don't see the kind of disparity as the test suggests because my parameters are very different that the test. I have no way of knowing if the Maxfli carries 2 or 3 more yards than the Kirkland on average but what I do know is the trajectory is very similar and the carry is very similar and the roll is very similar, and on two holes I have had my longest drives with the V3. Never has the statement "your results may vary" been more appropriate. 





 
 

[JohnnyO3478]

38 minutes ago, chisag said:

... Those reading and comparing be sure you are comparing similar attributes. For instance, each swing speed has a different driver loft. And this is only one parameter difference. 

High 7.5*
Mid 10.5*
Low 12*

So looking at my ball of choice in the Maxfli Tour and Kirkland V3 it is difficult to extrapolate the numbers since I am at 95 mph with my 10.5* driver. So the 100mph swing speed is more similar than the 85 swing speed with a 12* driver. 

Maxfli Tour Spin:
2744 mid speed
2856 slow speed

Kirkland V3 Spin:
2991 Mid/speed
3256 slow speed

If I take my own formula of my swing being 10mph faster than slow and 5mph less than mid, I can add the mid number twice with the slow and divide by 3 giving me:

Maxfli Spin Combined:
2781 Mid/Low

Kirkland Spin Combined:
3079 Mid/Low

So these numbers are as close as I can get to an estimate BUT I don't play a 12* so my results at 85mph with a 10.5* driver will have lower spin. How much I have no idea. Then I have to wonder why the Maxfli spins 112 more with the 12* slow speed and the Kirkland spins over twice that at 265 more with the 12* slow speed. This throws off my personal estimate even more. Then I have a +3 AOA so these spin numbers are also higher than mine would be with what I assume is a neutral AOA. 

Taking all the above into account and this is only two balls, you can see what I say these teats are just a starting point and your results can be radically different than the data. I have done my own real world testing with quite a few balls but narrowed my choices down to the Maxfli and Kirkland. On the course I certainly don't see the kind of disparity as the test suggests because my parameters are very different that the test. I have no way of knowing if the Maxfli carries 2 or 3 more yards than the Kirkland on average but what I do know is the trajectory is very similar and the carry is very similar and the roll is very similar, and on two holes I have had my longest drives with the V3. Never has the statement "your results may vary" been more appropriate. 





 
 

I understand where you are coming from - and most if not all of us are likely in the same boat. I am high 80s low 90s with a driver but I swing my 8i around 73 - so I have been doing quite a bit of interpolation, myself.  There are some really interesting results, once you start moving things around.  It's not always completely directional, either (if you look at all three swing speed ranges).

 

I'm basing my decisions on Tony's (that's who I heard it from, anyway) advice of picking a ball that is right for my irons/wedge play and then fit my driver to the ball I have chosen. With a definite nod to how the balls feel around and on the green.  The latter lands me in the mid 80s compression range and there ends up being some good choices for me there that both perform well on the course, and are affordable for a new guy that still loses too many balls .....

 

Edited August 29 by JohnnyO3478

[JerryB]

Lots of info to peruse here, both with the test and with many of the comments.  Good stuff!

 

Now, if someone will kindly complete this sentence:  Jerry, the ball you should play is ________.

[JohnnyO3478]

Been doing some testing on my own - in advance of the MGS results being published - and following the discontinuation of my old Tour CG model.  As of right now - I would order a big supply of the Elixr if they were available in yellow (my old eyes just see and find yellow balls better).  Since that's not likely to happen any time soon (I've bugged them but they quit responding) it will probably be either the new Tour CG going forward - or the as of yet to test Triad (on order).

[GolfSpy SAM]

5 minutes ago, JerryB said:

Now, if someone will kindly complete this sentence:  Jerry, the ball you should play is ________.

"Round."  You're welcome.

[GregGarner]

4 hours ago, lopey986 said:

i almost bought that dang cubed box early this year and talked myself out of it...now i'm really hoping it makes a comeback again. i might have to drop into my local dicks and see if they don't possibly still have some on shelfs even though they don't show online anymore. that's a great deal.

My local Golf Galaxy has tons of the cubes left... For a nominal fee, I can pick some up and ship em to you

[chisag]

6 minutes ago, GolfSpy SAM said:

"Round."  You're welcome.

 

... LOL, knowing Jerry I was gonna say cheap inexpensive. 

[Javs]

15 minutes ago, JerryB said:

Lots of info to peruse here, both with the test and with many of the comments.  Good stuff!

 

Now, if someone will kindly complete this sentence:  Jerry, the ball you should play is ________.

As obedient and loyal as a good dog!

[JerryB]

  Y'all really do get me!

[Dooby]

1 hour ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

I understand where you are coming from - and most if not all of us are likely in the same boat. I am high 80s low 90s with a driver but I swing my 8i around 73 - so I have been doing quite a bit of interpolation, myself.  There are some really interesting results, once you start moving things around.  It's not always completely directional, either (if you look at all three swing speed ranges).

 

I'm basing my decisions on Tony's (that's who I heard it from, anyway) advice of picking a ball that is right for my irons/wedge play and then fit my driver to the ball I have chosen. With a definite nod to how the balls feel around and on the green.  The latter lands me in the mid 80s compression range and there ends up being some good choices for me there that both perform well on the course, and are affordable for a new guy that still loses too many balls .....

 

As far as the logic of picking a ball that is right for irons/wedges and then fit it to your driver - can you explain that or point me in the direction of that rationale? I am curious about it and when I am going through the data I find myself in between a handful of balls because there does seem to be a performance difference when going from driver to mid iron.

[Dooby]

On 8/28/2023 at 12:27 PM, golfer3134 said:

Anybody know of a way to get the data from the 2023 ball test into an excel or google sheet? I'd like to add a ranking column next to each ball and see which one's have the highest average position between driver/iron/wedge when it comes to spin, distance etc. I have tried copying and pasting but nothing has worked for me. Any help is much appreciated!

Did anyone end up telling you the answer to this?

[Siamese Moose]

4 hours ago, chisag said:

I love when my playing pards use yellow balls because they are so easy to follow and they don't always find the fairway. Or green. 

I resemble that remark!

[ZackS]

32 minutes ago, Dooby said:

As far as the logic of picking a ball that is right for irons/wedges and then fit it to your driver - can you explain that or point me in the direction of that rationale? I am curious about it and when I am going through the data I find myself in between a handful of balls because there does seem to be a performance difference when going from driver to mid iron.

There are 2 main things with idea. First being balls tend to differentiate themselves more in the wedges and irons than with driver. The other with the fact most people have adjustable drivers you can adjust it to the ball if needed. So for example if you go with a ball that spins more you can use the driver adjustments to decrease loft or more weight forward. But if you go with a lower spin ball for your driver you can easily make your wedges create more spin. 

[EFConn]

I am sure that this is just a temporary promotion, but Carl's Golfland is offering 4 dozen LA Golf Balls for the price of 3 dozen.  So if you were planning to "stock up" this makes the LA Golf option the essentially the same price as Pro V1, Pro V1x or - Pro V1x.

After watching the "cheeky video" that the team did 4 weeks ago with all  the "LAGOLF!" hints, I bit the bullet and got 4 dozen LA Golf Balls instead of my planned 2 dozen - Pro V1x.   For me, the LA balls feel more like an AVX but fly higher like the - Pro V1x for me especially off the irons.

 

Thanks for all the testing and documentation.

[KC Golf]

2 hours ago, Dooby said:

As far as the logic of picking a ball that is right for irons/wedges and then fit it to your driver - can you explain that or point me in the direction of that rationale? I am curious about it and when I am going through the data I find myself in between a handful of balls because there does seem to be a performance difference when going from driver to mid iron.

This makes total sense to me. Well articulated!
I think some would say start with putter just to make sure the balls are okay for feel before going to the irons.  Most premium balls pass this test easily though….

[GolfSpy_APH]

Question for the group now that the results are in. What would you pay for the LA Golf ball and what are the performance levels required to be at the cost of $70 if any?