Kirkland V3 or Vice Pro (Sam’s Club deal)

[aguybadatgolf]

Hi all,

This year I’ve been playing the Vice Pro and Srixon Z Star. I’m running low on the Z Stars and started looking around for some good deals. You can by 2 dozen Vice Pros at Sams Club for $50 which is very tempting as that’s a ball I really like. I am curious about the new Ksig V3 now that it is supposed to be less spinny. 
 

I have a pretty high swing speed right around 115mph. With the Vice and Srixon I found that I can go a whole round with my driving average over 300 yards if I’m swing it well. Will I sacrifice that distance if I go with the KSig V3 or is it a better ball now?

[Shrek74]

19 minutes ago, aguybadatgolf said:

Hi all,

This year I’ve been playing the Vice Pro and Srixon Z Star. I’m running low on the Z Stars and started looking around for some good deals. You can by 2 dozen Vice Pros at Sams Club for $50 which is very tempting as that’s a ball I really like. I am curious about the new Ksig V3 now that it is supposed to be less spinny. 
 

I have a pretty high swing speed right around 115mph. With the Vice and Srixon I found that I can go a whole round with my driving average over 300 yards if I’m swing it well. Will I sacrifice that distance if I go with the KSig V3 or is it a better ball now?

I'd wait to make any decisions about the KSig v3 until the ball test report comes out. I think it's supposed to come out this week, but I'd bet the KSig will still be spinny. Every version has been, so no reason not to think this one will be too. But the ball test should help answer that question.

[GregGarner]

5 hours ago, aguybadatgolf said:

I have a pretty high swing speed right around 115mph. With the Vice and Srixon I found that I can go a whole round with my driving average over 300 yards if I’m swing it well. Will I sacrifice that distance if I go with the KSig V3 or is it a better ball now?

Z-Star and Vice Pro are both pretty low-spin balls. With the exception of something like a Chrome Soft, Tour Speed, or Tour Response, pretty much anything else is going to be more spin. I haven't seen the data on the V3 yet (still hoping the Ball Test results drop this week!) but I would bet just about any amount of money that you'll lose some driver distance with the V3 compared to the two gamers you've got.

[aguybadatgolf]

1 hour ago, GregGarner said:

Z-Star and Vice Pro are both pretty low-spin balls. With the exception of something like a Chrome Soft, Tour Speed, or Tour Response, pretty much anything else is going to be more spin. I haven't seen the data on the V3 yet (still hoping the Ball Test results drop this week!) but I would bet just about any amount of money that you'll lose some driver distance with the V3 compared to the two gamers you've got.

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely lean towards low spin after doing some testing on a simulator. I wish I could play the Kirkland just because it’s so cheap but I’m not willing to lose yardage as it’s the best part of my game. 

[storm319]

Keep in mind that the Sam’s Vice double dozen is the 1st gen Vice Pro (just know that it is the same ball that was tested in the 2019 MGS ball test, subsequent tests were a different ball). The current gen Vice Pro (2020) has the newer Foremost cover formulation that is noticeably more durable.

[aguybadatgolf]

2 hours ago, storm319 said:

Keep in mind that the Sam’s Vice double dozen is the 1st gen Vice Pro (just know that it is the same ball that was tested in the 2019 MGS ball test, subsequent tests were a different ball). The current gen Vice Pro (2020) has the newer Foremost cover formulation that is noticeably more durable.

That’s really good to know. Thanks!

[funkyjudge]

I have played the 2020 versions of both the Vice Pro and Vice Pro Plus. I like them both, and still have the 2020 Vice pro balls in my bag (I only have one of the Pro Plus balls left from the “sampler pack” that I bought from Vice Golf, and it has a small blemish on it, so I took it out of play).

My clubhead speed is a bit lower than yours (about 100 MPH or just a bit higher with the driver), and I found that I hit the Pro Plus a bit longer and higher than I do the Pro, but not by a significant amount.

About 10 days ago, I had the opportunity to hit the latest generation K-Sig ball, thanks to a golfing buddy and teammate on one of the golf teams that I captain. I found the K-Sig to be quite a bit spinnier than the Vice Pro. It was OK for approach shots to rock hard greens, although about 1/2 club shorter than the Vice Pro on a consistent basis. Otherwise, there was really nothing about the K-Sig that I preferred over either the Vice Pro or the Pro Plus. One consistent disadvantage of the K-Sig for me was that it exaggerated my misses with excessive side spin, to the point where I had several misses left of fairways and greens where I expected to be just off the greens or on the fringe.

Edited August 20, 2023 by funkyjudge

[aguybadatgolf]

22 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

I have played the 2020 versions of both the Vice Pro and Vice Pro Plus. I like them both, and still have the 2020 Vice pro balls in my bag (I only have one of the Pro Plus balls left from the “sampler pack” that I bought from Vice Golf, and it has a small blemish on it, so I took it out of play).

My clubhead speed is a bit lower than yours (about 100 MPH or just a bit higher with the driver), and I found that I hit the Pro Plus a bit longer and higher than I do the Pro, but not by a significant amount.

About 10 days ago, I had the opportunity to hit the latest generation K-Sig ball, thanks to a golfing buddy and teammate on one of the golf teams that I captain. I found the K-Sig to be quite a bit spinnier than the Vice Pro. It was OK for approach shots to rock hard greens, although about 1/2 club shorter than the Vice Pro on a consistent basis. Otherwise, there was really nothing about the K-Sig that I preferred over either the Vice Pro or the Pro Plus. One consistent disadvantage of the K-Sig for me was that it exaggerated my misses with excessive side spin, to the point where I had several misses left of fairways and greens where I expected to be just off the greens or on the fringe.

That’s exactly what I was afraid of. I can live with a few yards less distance but if it exaggerates my misses that’s a big problem for me.