Best value golf ball?

[PhilM75072]

The best "value ball" is the one that gives you the performance you want, with some minor compromise maybe, at the lowest price. For some, that best value may come from a ProV1 for someone who is more demanding.

[Willie T]

I can agree with @elight on the TopFlite Hammer balls - have found a few that are in the found ball collection and played a few rounds with them.  I like how they fly, and seem reasonably good around the green. They definitely strike down the “rock Flite” stigma.  

[EEZurg]

Recently tried Srixon softfeels....love them.  May be my new go to.

Just curious about the Kirklands.....does the box label them as v2 or v3?  How would one know?

[fixyurdivot]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:56 AM, elight said:

Balls have been procured. Accidently double-ordered the Srixons. Also, received a box of TM Distance+ as an early Father's Day gift. Sort of wish I could add the OnCore ELIXR (currently B2G1 free, bringing the price down to $20/dozen), which would be interesting as a 3-piece urethane ball at a price point even lower than the MaxFli Tour, but I really can't buy more balls than I already have, and also it appears they only come in white.

 

Holy Hedoublehockeysticks... that is a serious cache of balls.  It would take the rest of my days to use, lose, and/or retire that many balls .  

[Thunderbucket]

Picked up a 48 pack of callaway pack hex tours balls, they’re a bit harder than the chrome soft with a lower flight…. My windy day ball

Edited July 16, 2023 by Thunderbucket

[MrPowerFade]

When I started playing again, I had a lot of luck with Maxfli Straightfli. You can usually get a 4 dozen box for around $70. 

[Hobert]

On 6/29/2023 at 5:33 PM, EEZurg said:

Recently tried Srixon softfeels....love them.  May be my new go to.

Just curious about the Kirklands.....does the box label them as v2 or v3?  How would one know?

Kirkland V3 packaging is different (now predominantly black). Also, "Performance +" alignment mark on ball itself is different.

[chisag]

1 minute ago, Hobert said:

Packaging is different (now predominantly black). Also, "Performance +" alignment mark on ball itself is different.

 

... Yup. V2 on the left and V3 on the right:

 

 

 

[Hobert]

Kirkland V3 packaging

[EEZurg]

excellent....Thanks all

[elight]

Wanted to give an update on my findings before moving into the final phase of testing (which is the Q Star and Maxfli Tour balls).

Overall, I only found one ball that I really didn't like, which is the Snell Get Sum. Just seems excessively spinny off the tee, while also perhaps being the worst performer greenside, and not having any noticeably distance advantage. So basically does nothing in any area to help a high handicapper's game.

On the extreme value end, I liked both the Top Flite Hammer Distance and Maxfli Straightfli for different reasons. Basically, both live up to their billing. The Hammer Distance really did produce an extra 10+ yards for me throughout my bag. The Straightfli was noticeably straighter than probably any other ball tested. Both were decent on approach but mediocre around the green as expected.

The Soft Feel seems to really be middle of the pack in every area. A "jack of all trades, master of none" type ball. It probably won't help you in any area, but won't hurt you either. It's probably a good place for a beginner to start before being able to identify what their priorities and needs are in a golf ball.

On the higher end of the value spectrum, we have the TriFli and the Q Star. I really, really like the TriFli. The greenside spin is noticeably better than the aforementioned balls, I suppose thanks to the 3-piece construction. It just performs well all around except for distance which might be expected for a 45-compression ball. I played the Q Star a while back but want to play it again before any final judgments.

Finally, after playing these balls for the past two months, I want to then switch back to the Maxfli Tour (which I had been playing) and also a Pro V1 (have never really played other than found balls, but have a box that I received as a gift), to get a better feel for how, if any, my game compares with a tour-level ball.

At the end of the day, we understand that you are sacrificing quality for price when you don't play a tour-level ball. But unless money is no object, at some point you will do the math of how many strokes a better ball is likely to gain you (if any) and decide if the extra price is worth it. Although I know that the official MGS line is that these balls aren't worth testing because they are clearly inferior, but I think that this testing is worthwhile to establish these two parameters (likely performance impact especially for high handicappers/beginners vs. price), since almost everyone is doing this math in some capacity. 

[chisag]

5 minutes ago, elight said:

At the end of the day, we understand that you are sacrificing quality for price when you don't play a tour-level ball. But unless money is no object, at some point you will do the math of how many strokes a better ball is likely to gain you (if any) and decide if the extra price is worth it.

 

... To be fair, there are more than a few tour level and especially DTC tour level balls that are low cost. Like the Kirkland V3 at $14 a dozen. 

[elight]

The Kirkland balls are an outlier, and their unique properties are well documented. It's possible that this ball could be good for some players who want/need a very spinny ball, but I don't think this describes the vast majority of high handicappers. I played the ball last year and found this to be true. 

Among the DTC balls, we're really talking about the Maxfli Tour ($2.50/ball if you buy 48), Vice Pro ($2.67/ball if you buy 60), and maybe Snell MTB ($2.67/ball if you buy 60). These balls are already tested extensively and certainly there are a great many people who would benefit from using them and for whom they would constitute a great value especially in comparison to other tour-level offerings. 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Check out the Sugar balls. We have some members currently testing them, here is the thread:

They are value priced. I took advantage of a discount code they offered when the testers were announced and I have been pleased with the performance of these balls. Sugar is marketing them as a value competitor of the ProV1 and honestly they aren’t far off. Decent distance off the tee and good spin around the greens.

[chisag]

53 minutes ago, elight said:

The Kirkland balls are an outlier, and their unique properties are well documented. It's possible that this ball could be good for some players who want/need a very spinny ball, but I don't think this describes the vast majority of high handicappers. I played the ball last year and found this to be true. 

 

... You are talking about the V2, not the V3. 

[BallsLeon]

I personally do not buy Kirklands cause I don’t have a Costco membership. You CAN buy them off resellers on Amazon, but most of the listings are for refurbished balls. I have yet to see the V3 listed as well.

Edit: This is wrong lol

[NC Golfer]

It has to be the QStar Tour now at $35 per dozen. The balls seems to fit many swing types. We're likely going to see a big bump in the newest gen when it arrives. Add their buy two and get the 3rd free occasionally, it's been a good value.

[elight]

The Kirkland balls are an outlier, and their unique properties are well documented. It's possible that this ball could be good for some players who want/need a very spinny ball, but I don't think this describes the vast majority of high handicappers. I played the ball last year and found this to be true. 

Among the DTC balls, we're really talking about the Maxfli Tour ($2.50/ball if you buy 48), Vice Pro ($2.67/ball if you buy 60), and maybe Snell MTB ($2.67/ball if you buy 60). These balls are already tested extensively and certainly there are a great many people who would benefit from using them and for whom they would constitute a great value especially in comparison to other tour-level offerings. 

[fixyurdivot]

58 minutes ago, NC Golfer said:

It has to be the QStar Tour now at $35 per dozen. The balls seems to fit many swing types. We're likely going to see a big bump in the newest gen when it arrives. Add their buy two and get the 3rd free occasionally, it's been a good value.

Good case/point.  I'd say that Maxfli Tour and Tour X, initially released and priced, owned this space. Pricing (post Covid) has definitely shifted the landscape a bit.  MGS's Ball Lab's "actual price" calculation is a good measure of answering your question presuming one has narrowed down which comparable ball offerings fits them best.

It might exist, I dunno... but it would be great to see a cummulative data set that has all the ball tests ever done and key findings to include retail vs. actual price.

[hbetts]

1 hour ago, BallsLeon said:

I personally do not buy Kirklands cause I don’t have a Costco membership. You CAN buy them off resellers on Amazon, but most of the listings are for refurbished balls. I have yet to see the V3 listed as well.

You can buy direct from Costco online without a membership. Prices can be slightly higher and you have to pay a 5% non-member fee, but with that included the K-sigs are still the cheapest Urethane ball money can buy.

 

I play the V3's and have no problem with excessive spin, and a slice on the tee is usually my miss. Wedges and irons spin as good or better than any other ball I've played.

[Willie T]

9 hours ago, Ben Joest said:

Check out the Sugar balls. We have some members currently testing them, here is the thread:

They are value priced. I took advantage of a discount code they offered when the testers were announced and I have been pleased with the performance of these balls. Sugar is marketing them as a value competitor of the ProV1 and honestly they aren’t far off. Decent distance off the tee and good spin around the greens.

Good to hear - was wondering if some would be posting "non-official" reviews as well.  

[BallsLeon]

@hbetts well damn! My apologies, I stand corrected. That is a great deal.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

1 minute ago, Willie T said:

Good to hear - was wondering if some would be posting "non-official" reviews as well.  

Maybe, once the official testing is wrapped up. Without stepping on the tester’s toes, I can say I like the ball and would recommend to anyone to give it a try.

[Willie T]

Just for kicks, broke out a sleeve of Srixion Soft Feel for the round Saturday afternoon with my son and grandson.  Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the humidity but I felt like I was a club to a club and a half short all day.  The ball just seemed to rise and die.   Anyway, they won't be part of the upcoming wedge testing with the Indi wedges....

[Duxman130]

Hold on - if a dozen Maxfli Tour balls costs $40, that's $10 if you lose three balls in a round. If you drop down to a non-tour ball at $25 dozen, that's $6 in lost balls in the same round.

Is saving $4 per round worth it?  Putting with a urethane ball is far superior.  Urethane balls check up with wedges around the green. Maxfli offers one of the highest quality balls on the market.

Do a side-by-side putting and chipping test with 3 Maxfli Tour balls and 3 non-tour balls. Suspect you'll have your answer very quickly.

 

 

 

[chisag]

46 minutes ago, Duxman130 said:

Hold on - if a dozen Maxfli Tour balls costs $40, that's $10 if you lose three balls in a round. If you drop down to a non-tour ball at $25 dozen, that's $6 in lost balls in the same round.

Is saving $4 per round worth it?  Putting with a urethane ball is far superior.  Urethane balls check up with wedges around the green. Maxfli offers one of the highest quality balls on the market.

Do a side-by-side putting and chipping test with 3 Maxfli Tour balls and 3 non-tour balls. Suspect you'll have your answer very quickly.

 

... Good points and when you buy the Cube of 4 dozen, the Maxfli Tour and Tour X drop to $30 a dozen so you are saving even less. If you don't wanna spend the $120, 2 dozen Maxfli's are usually on sale for $35 a dozen. I always think a urethane ball is best for almost any player because sooner or later you will be faced with a shot where you need to spin the ball, especially a pitch or chip to a short sided pin. You may not have the skill to pull it off consistently and granted if hitting it very fat or thin, the type of ball won't matter but if you do pull off the shot with decent results it should encourage you to do a little more short game practice so you can do it again. 

... Other than the already mentioned Maxfli's and Sugar balls, there are often sales from previous years offerings and many DTC's that make the cost much more palatable. I would add I disagree with elight and have introduced several slower 85 and under swing speed high index players on to the Kirkland V2's and the added spin produced more distance off the tee. I put a new Aldila NVS sr flex shaft in my 81 yr old pard and with the Kirkland V2 he gained 20 yards off the tee. After struggling to shoot in the low 80's the added distance had him shooting under his age several times now. 

[russtopherb]

18 minutes ago, chisag said:

I always think a urethane ball is best for almost any player because sooner or later you will be faced with a shot where you need to spin the ball, especially a pitch or chip to a short sided pin. You may not have the skill to pull it off consistently and granted if hitting it very fat or thin, the type of ball won't matter but if you do pull off the shot with decent results it should encourage you to do a little more short game practice so you can do it again. 

This is kind of where I'm at right now. I have a few dozen e12 Contact to play, but from here on out I think I'll be going strictly urethane balls  when I stock up. I'm losing a lot less than I used to, and finding that with some of the courses I play, having a little extra bite around the greens especially when they're dry is going to work in my favor. 

[chisag]

3 hours ago, Ben Joest said:

Maybe, once the official testing is wrapped up. Without stepping on the tester’s toes, I can say I like the ball and would recommend to anyone to give it a try.

 

... Maybe you can answer this Ben, but the pictures seem to show a very shiny cover that looks like a cheap surlyn covered ball to my eye. I know it's urethane but my lifelong personal bias just won't let me play a shiny cheap looking ball. The original CUT ball had this same look. I know pictures can be deceiving and wondered if they look the same in person? 

[golfmule]

I've been a Srixon Soft Feel fan for around four years now. I've used them at least 80% of my rounds during that time. I don't see any lo9ss of distance with them but no, they don't check up as well on the green on approach shots. As has been stated, the price is hard to beat for a quite good ball. I also like the Maxfli Tour X but keep going back to the Soft Feel's because the Maxfli's didn't come in yellow or green which are easier for me to follow and find in the rough. I want to try the Q Star Tours but haven't yet.

 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Maybe you can answer this Ben, but the pictures seem to show a very shiny cover that looks like a cheap surlyn covered ball to my eye. I know it's urethane but my lifelong personal bias just won't let me play a shiny cheap looking ball. The original CUT ball had this same look. I know pictures can be deceiving and wondered if they look the same in person? 

Hopefully the picture does it justice. In comparing the finish of the ball with a ProV1, it’s stated target competition , the finish of the ball is very similar. I would not characterize it as glossy or shiny.