PXG Golf Ball Review

[funkyjudge]

I received two dozen PXG XTREME Urethane-covered 3-piece golf balls about ten days ago, and today I played my first outdoor round with them (actually played 27 holes).  Here is my take on the balls:

APPEARANCE: The balls are extremely bright white and very easy to spot, even in the woods (at least they were for me).

FEEL:  Despite being relatively low in compression (PXG says 80 compression*), they feel VERY hard off every club from driver to putter. This is the biggest negative by far for me.

SPIN:  It was quite wet on the course today, as we have had significant rainfall three of the last five days, and it was misty all night last night, plus it was quite foggy when I teed-off this morning.  Thus, it was a bit difficult to gauge backspin as well as stopping power, since many if not most shots either plugged in their pitch marks on the fairways and greens. However, by the second nine, the sun began peeking out from behind the clouds and by my third nine, a steady 10-15 MPH wind dried out the fairways and greens to a reasonable extent. On my 17th hole, a 161-yard par 3, I hit my tee shot to about two feet short of the green, only to see it spin back about 9 feet. This is rare for me, particularly with a 6-iron.  On the next hole, I had a 136-yard approach and hit my 8-iron. Again, the ball spun (a bit sideways and back toward the hole), leaving me a 3 foot tap-in for birdie.  On my third nine, I saw more of this type of spin action on partial wedge shots with my PW, GW and 54* SW including a few drop-and-stop results. Decent spin for sure!

DISTANCE:  This was the #1 benefit for me; every shot but one went farther than shots that I hit using the same club with an OnCore 2022 ELIXR (a very similar ball from the same factory and with the same 338 dimple pattern as well as the same 3-piece Urethane cover construction).  I was hitting two balls on every hole because I was playing as a single behind two foursomes and nobody was pushing me (I never saw the guy who was playing behind me until I was on the 18th green, and he had just hit his tee shot on this par-4 hole — come to find out, he was also playing two balls on each hole).  There was only one hole out of 12 where I hit driver off the tee where the OnCore ball was farther down the fairway than the PXG (by 30 yards, no less!), and I thought that I had absolutely nuked both tee shots with my driver on that hole — they were long on this 547-yard par-5, leaving me in go-no go range with the OnCore (I hit my second shot to the front fringe), but not with the PXG ball (I hit a 4-hybrid and left myself a full GW approach which I hit over the green … UGH!  With my irons, I hit EVERY SINGLE SHOT with the PXG ball between 3 and 6 yards farther using the same club as I hit with the OnCore ball.  I had one TM TP5X and one Titleist ProV1x in my bag (the ProV1x is the ball that Ian and Matt at TXG in Canada insist is most similar in feel and performance to the PXG ball, even though the ProV1x is rated at 20+ compression points firmer than the PXG), so in my third nine I hit the TM and Titleist balls side-by side against the PXG ball.  Again, I got a few extra yards with the PXG when hitting my irons and hybrids, up to 10-12 yards more with my fairway woods on similar hits, and about 15 yards more with the driver with the PXG ball, except on one shot where I hit the ProV1x about two yards past the PXG ball.

TRAJECTORY:  The guys at TXG Golf say that the PXG ball creates a trajectory similar to that of the ProV1x….WELL, NOT FOR ME!  I am a notorious high-ball hitter, but the PXG ball flew significantly lower on most all shots for me than any other ball that I hit today (not so low as to prevent me from stopping my ball on greens, but remember, it was pretty wet my first 13-15 holes). I still hit the ball high with my mid-short irons and wedges, but my driver and fairways, as well as my 4-hybrid, had a flatter trajectory with the PXG.

CONCLUSION: Although I hated the feel of the PXG XTREME ball, I will give it a few more rounds of use to see if I can get used to that firmer feel (even firmer than a ProV1x).  I don’t think that I am ready to use the PXG ball in competitive rounds, because I play most of those competitions on courses with very firm and fast greens!

*EDIT (3/5/23):  I went on the PXG website this morning and all reference to compression has been removed.  I tend to believe the reports stating that this golf ball has a compression in the high 90s to low 100s.

Edited March 5 by funkyjudge

[funkyjudge]

ADDENDUM: I went out and played a quick nine holes this morning, using only the PXG ball. It has been moderately windy since mid-afternoon yesterday, so the course had dried out a bit more since yesterday, but it certainly wasn’t remotely what I would call firm and fast. I got fairly similar results as what I experienced yesterday, with the exception of more roll-out in the fairways on tee shots hit with my driver and 4-wood. My tee shots on par-3 holes, as well as approach shots with my irons were also releasing and running out more today than yesterday. Midway through my round, I decided to hit one club less into the greens, especially when the pins were on the rear half of the greens. This proved to be moderately successful, but I did leave a few 30’ putts doing this. I am not sure that this ball will be a great choice for me come summer when most of our courses get dried out and greens are generally pretty hard and fast.

One other thought that I had regarding why this ball feels so much firmer even though it has an 80 compression overall: In cross-section photos that I have seen of this ball (ball cut in half photos), the mantle layer looks thicker than most mantle layers. I suspect that the mantle on these PXG balls is very firm, with a soft inner core. This would explain the firm feel with a relatively low compression, and also why the PXG ball feels significantly firmer than other 338-dimple Urethane covered three piece balls that are produced at the same Foremost factory in Taiwan.*

*CORRECTION: The PXG ball, as well as Kirkland’s Urethane-cover ball with the same 338-dimple pattern come from Vietnam, not Taiwan, which is where the Nassau golf ball factory is located.

Edited March 5 by funkyjudge

[cnosil]

21 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

 

One other thought that I had regarding why this ball feels so much firmer even though it has an 80 compression overall: IIn cross-section photos that I have seen of this ball (ball cut in half photos), the mantle layer looks thicker than most mantle layers. I suspect that the mantle on these PXG balls is very firm, with a soft inner core. This would explain the firm feel with a relatively low compression, and also why the PXG ball feels significantly firmer than other 338-dimple Urethane covered three piece balls that are produced at the same Foremost factory in Taiwan.

From the MGS blog article on the ball; they measured higher compression and the cover :

From a compression standpoint, the goal of the PXG Xtreme golf ball was to split the difference between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x. In preliminary testing, the PXG Xtreme ball measures +/- 97 on our gauge which matches the last two generations of Pro V1x.

That would certainly explain why PXG says it’s as fast as the Pro V1x though, with the thicker cover, golfers may find the PXG ball feels softer.

[funkyjudge]

Just now, cnosil said:

From the MGS blog article on the ball; they measured higher compression and the cover :

From a compression standpoint, the goal of the PXG Xtreme golf ball was to split the difference between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x. In preliminary testing, the PXG Xtreme ball measures +/- 97 on our gauge which matches the last two generations of Pro V1x.

That would certainly explain why PXG says it’s as fast as the Pro V1x though, with the thicker cover, golfers may find the PXG ball feels softer.

That makes a lot of sense, as this PXG ball feels nothing like an 80-compression ball. It’s interesting that the initial MGS article stated that these balls have an 80 compression.

I have two other higher compression ball models that came from the same Foremost factory (Snell MTBx, which was my #1 ball of choice for several years, and OnCore Vero X2, which is just too firm for me even though I generally like higher compression golf balls), and neither of them feels any harder than the PXG XTREME ball.

[funkyjudge]

6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

From the MGS blog article on the ball; they measured higher compression and the cover :

From a compression standpoint, the goal of the PXG Xtreme golf ball was to split the difference between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x. In preliminary testing, the PXG Xtreme ball measures +/- 97 on our gauge which matches the last two generations of Pro V1x.

That would certainly explain why PXG says it’s as fast as the Pro V1x though, with the thicker cover, golfers may find the PXG ball feels softer.

…. and there is no way that the PXG ball feels “softer” than any other ball.

[JOR338]

On 3/2/2023 at 5:19 PM, funkyjudge said:

I received two dozen PXG XTREME Urethane-covered 3-piece golf balls about ten days ago, and today I played my first outdoor round with them (actually played 27 holes).  Here is my take on the balls:

APPEARANCE: The balls are extremely bright white and very easy to spot, even in the woods (at least they were for me).

FEEL:  Despite being relatively low in compression (PXG says 80 compression), they feel VERY hard off every club from driver to putter. This is the biggest negative by far for me.

Hi, and thanks for the write up!  Reviews I’ve seen have compression at about 92.  Are you sure it’s marketed as 80?

[funkyjudge]

1 hour ago, JOR338 said:

Hi, and thanks for the write up!  Reviews I’ve seen have compression at about 92.  Are you sure it’s marketed as 80?

Yes; i have seen that in the PXG press release and several reviews (TXG, etc.)

[JOR338]

On 3/3/2023 at 12:17 PM, funkyjudge said:

That makes a lot of sense, as this PXG ball feels nothing like an 80-compression ball. It’s interesting that the initial MGS article stated that these balls have an 80 compression.

I have two other higher compression ball models that came from the same Foremost factory (Snell MTBx, which was my #1 ball of choice for several years, and OnCore Vero X2, which is just too firm for me even though I generally like higher compression golf balls), and neither of them feels any harder than the PXG XTREME ball.

Interesting that the MTBx is made there as well.  I played that for about 2.5 years.  Only changed because Covid / supply chain hit small guys so hard and it’s still a 2019 design.  Looking forward to Snell’s new model this year.  And also seeing the quality/consistency review if MGS does that on the PXGs.  I’m sure these are different designs but I wonder if the consistency is the same coming from the same factory.

[funkyjudge]

The reason that Snell Golf got squeezed on inventory fulfillment was because they formerly used the Nassau ball manufacturing facility to make their golf balls, but TaylorMade bought the Nassau factory and knocked all other manufacturers out. Then, TaylorMade also bought a stake in Foremost and insisted on receiving first priority in the manufacturing queue there.  It affected quite a few ball lines, not only Snell (OnCore and Kirkland were two other victims).

[JOR338]

Interesting that a big player is using the same facilities. Quality control must be at least decent. Though for some reason TaylorMade isn’t on my radar for good balls.  

[PhilM75072]

10 hours ago, JOR338 said:

Interesting that a big player is using the same facilities. Quality control must be at least decent. Though for some reason TaylorMade isn’t on my radar for good balls.  

As far as I'm concerned, the only truly great balls from TM were the TP Red and TP Black. I believe Dean Snell had a had in designing those balls as well.

[cnosil]

17 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

Yes; i have seen that in the PXG press release and several reviews (TXG, etc.)

Compression numbers are funny as it will depend on the device uses.  I have seen your 80,  MGS 90s, and an online review that stated 108.   Another non standard in the golf industry.  I'd personally trust the MGS numbers since all balls are tested on the same equipment.

[funkyjudge]

14 hours ago, JOR338 said:

Interesting that a big player is using the same facilities. Quality control must be at least decent. Though for some reason TaylorMade isn’t on my radar for good balls.  

Nassau was always the best of the golf ball manufacturers in Asia and Foremost is right up there with them.  That is why the best of the DTC balls, and some of the top premium golf balls from companies such as TaylorMade have come out of those factories.

[funkyjudge]

3 hours ago, PhilM75072 said:

As far as I'm concerned, the only truly great balls from TM were the TP Red and TP Black. I believe Dean Snell had a had in designing those balls as well.

Correct!  And those TP Red and TP Black balls came out of the Nassau golf ball factory that TaylorMade now owns.

[funkyjudge]

On 3/3/2023 at 1:11 PM, cnosil said:

From the MGS blog article on the ball; they measured higher compression and the cover :

From a compression standpoint, the goal of the PXG Xtreme golf ball was to split the difference between the Pro V1 and the Pro V1x. In preliminary testing, the PXG Xtreme ball measures +/- 97 on our gauge which matches the last two generations of Pro V1x.

That would certainly explain why PXG says it’s as fast as the Pro V1x though, with the thicker cover, golfers may find the PXG ball feels softer.

I agree with the folks who have said that this PXG ball has a compression in teh high 90s to low 10s, and I have also edited my initial post to reflect the fact that PXG has removed all reference to compression from their website.

[John W Sutch]

Have played two rounds with the PXG ball thus far. Initial impressions are very good.  Have been playing Pro V1. PXG is hotter off the driver face and slightly longer and lower in trajectory. My driver swing speed is 91 as I am an old fart of 77. It is a firm ball. I am pleased with the results with all clubs. Also like how it performs in the short game. Good spin and holds greens well. My overall opinion is that it is comparable to the ProV. At $20.00 a box less than Titleist, it's worth the purchase price.

[Gregger]

I could be wrong but Matty boy from TXG got his fastest ball speed ever off a driver today using the PXG ball....Can't wait to see what driver he used...