2023 Titleist White Box Testing Thread

[buckpillar]

Dimple pattern seemed the same as the PROV1.

The feel off the irons and the putter felt softer, the sound off the irons appear to be the same as the PROV1, but off the putter you could definitely hear the PROTO type ball was softer.

Distance control off the irons was similar with maybe a yard or 2 difference. My 7 iron shots were about the same at 155yds.

I liked the flight of the the PROTO type ball and its workability, I really liked the way the PROTO type ball reacted from 100yds in, I was able to control the spin, hit the one hop and stop shot with excellent success on my back yard 50yard range, also it rolled nice on the green.

I played 9 holes with the PROTO type ball and the cover was still like new.

I performed 2 indoor test, 1- the salt water test that would tell you if the balance of the ball was off center, all 3 balls were perfectly balanced. 2- I completed a drop test onto a ceramic floor comparing the PROV1 and PROTO type ball, 5 test were completed on each, PROTO type ball averaged approximately 1 inch higher than the PROV1. Overall I would prefer the NEW PROTO type ball over the PROV1, as it just felt better overall and seemed to perform a little better especially from 100yds and in.

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for letting me be part of your testing of the new ball and hope I can get a couple dozen prior to the new season starting.

The wedge video was on my back yard range with a Taylormade milled Grind 50* 8 bounce wedge with the face opened slightly. The Par 3 hole video was a 6iron from 169yds, left it out to the right a bit but still found the green.

My par 3 hole at the Uniontown CC would not fully load and gave an error.  Copy and paste into your browser.

Here is a link to the Par 3 hole --  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO8d8cFRtvWE7vteORoordfjujwrfCuU9xkSShc/photo/AF1QipOROL0I_sXc-o9oO_pvXot4-8UTU8CqbimIAAtD

 

[taylorjonasher]

Well, my round this weekend was cut very short by a change in plans and the weather. My 9:45 tee time was pushed back to 10:30 due to a frost delay, forcing me to only play my main ball (ProV1) after three holes due to time constraints. In three holes though, I found out the following:

- I can blade the test ball with my 54 just as well as any other ball, if not better. The distance when hitting the equator on the nuts was unbelievable - 2 miles, minimum. 

- Greenside spin on the test ball was noticeably less; I could not check it up like the ProV1. 

- Through 3 drives, the test ball was unbelievably straight off the driver, although 5 - 10 yards shorter. Drives were higher with the test ball. 

- Approach shots were also very straight, and slightly longer than the ProV1. There was very little movement left or right with the test ball. This ball carried further on all shots with the irons by a few yards. 

- Putting was soft off the face, but nothing that was a major turn off. I prefer a slightly firmer feel. 

- I only put one ball in play out of the sleeve for the day, and did not have any cover durability issues that others have had. If it's worth anything, the last box of ProV1's that I bought have had durability issues on the cover - scuffing very easily. 

We are supposed to have great weather this week, so I am going to try to get out again and play at least 9 with just the test ball. 

[Cfhandyman]

21 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

Dimple pattern seemed the same as the PROV1.

The feel off the irons and the putter felt softer, the sound off the irons appear to be the same as the PROV1, but off the putter you could definitely hear the PROTO type ball was softer.

Distance control off the irons was similar with maybe a yard or 2 difference. My 7 iron shots were about the same at 155yds.

I liked the flight of the the PROTO type ball and its workability, I really liked the way the PROTO type ball reacted from 100yds in, I was able to control the spin, hit the one hop and stop shot with excellent success on my back yard 50yard range, also it rolled nice on the green.

I played 9 holes with the PROTO type ball and the cover was still like new.

I performed 2 indoor test, 1- the salt water test that would tell you if the balance of the ball was off center, all 3 balls were perfectly balanced. 2- I completed a drop test onto a ceramic floor comparing the PROV1 and PROTO type ball, 5 test were completed on each, PROTO type ball averaged approximately 1 inch higher than the PROV1. Overall I would prefer the NEW PROTO type ball over the PROV1, as it just felt better overall and seemed to perform a little better especially from 100yds and in.

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for letting me be part of your testing of the new ball and hope I can get a couple dozen prior to the new season starting.

The wedge video was on my back yard range with a Taylormade milled Grind 50* 8 bounce wedge with the face opened slightly. The Par 3 hole video was a 6iron from 169yds, left it out to the right a bit but still found the green.

My par 3 hole at the Uniontown CC would not fully load and gave an error.  Copy and paste into your browser.

Here is a link to the Par 3 hole --  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO8d8cFRtvWE7vteORoordfjujwrfCuU9xkSShc/photo/AF1QipOROL0I_sXc-o9oO_pvXot4-8UTU8CqbimIAAtD

 

 

 

22 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

Dimple pattern seemed the same as the PROV1.

The feel off the irons and the putter felt softer, the sound off the irons appear to be the same as the PROV1, but off the putter you could definitely hear the PROTO type ball was softer.

Distance control off the irons was similar with maybe a yard or 2 difference. My 7 iron shots were about the same at 155yds.

I liked the flight of the the PROTO type ball and its workability, I really liked the way the PROTO type ball reacted from 100yds in, I was able to control the spin, hit the one hop and stop shot with excellent success on my back yard 50yard range, also it rolled nice on the green.

I played 9 holes with the PROTO type ball and the cover was still like new.

I performed 2 indoor test, 1- the salt water test that would tell you if the balance of the ball was off center, all 3 balls were perfectly balanced. 2- I completed a drop test onto a ceramic floor comparing the PROV1 and PROTO type ball, 5 test were completed on each, PROTO type ball averaged approximately 1 inch higher than the PROV1. Overall I would prefer the NEW PROTO type ball over the PROV1, as it just felt better overall and seemed to perform a little better especially from 100yds and in.

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for letting me be part of your testing of the new ball and hope I can get a couple dozen prior to the new season starting.

The wedge video was on my back yard range with a Taylormade milled Grind 50* 8 bounce wedge with the face opened slightly. The Par 3 hole video was a 6iron from 169yds, left it out to the right a bit but still found the green.

My par 3 hole at the Uniontown CC would not fully load and gave an error.  Copy and paste into your browser.

Here is a link to the Par 3 hole --  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO8d8cFRtvWE7vteORoordfjujwrfCuU9xkSShc/photo/AF1QipOROL0I_sXc-o9oO_pvXot4-8UTU8CqbimIAAtD

 

 

Very nice review. Nice addition with video clip

[Parshooter36]

I was able to get out on the course yesterday to compare the test ball to my gamer Chrome Soft Truvis.  The test ball was a bit longer off the tee, but not enough that would make me switch.  Where it was the most impressive to me was my approach shots.  It was much more consistant in dispersion both front to back and side to side than my gamer ball.  I assume this is due to the increased spin that I was seeing in the simumlator numbers.  Also, it definitely checked up better on pitch shots than what I am use to seeing.  I had zero issues with durability unlike several of the other reports so far in this thread.  

[ZoonORama]

18 hours ago, brogies said:

Agreed. I was very surprised at how bad the balls looked, specifically after just 10-15 wedge shots. Not just talking marks, but small visible parts of the cover coming off.

This could be due to the mantle layer being softer. I tested the hardness of all three layers compared to the Pro V1 and AVX directly. The AVX and Test ball have almost identical inner core hardness while the mantle layer s a bit softer on the test ball. The covers were identical as well. Also, the inner core of the test ball seems more chewy and underdone with a hint of cinnamon ….. oh wait, that was the donut testing I was doing. Forget that last part. 

[vandyland]

18 hours ago, Randall Robbins said:

You guys swing too hard

That might be a good point. I don't consider myself an aggressive or high speed player but it is all relative (7 iron swing speed is 86 mph and driver swing speed is 106 mph). Not sure if it matters but my wedges are a few years old. 

At times I forgot I was playing a test ball, I already play a ProV1 AND it was about 45 degrees outside so distances were going to be shorter no matter what. But, the real interesting shot I had was a FLUSHED 6 iron on a downhill par 3 that landed and then rolled out about 8 feet UP an fairly severe upslope and then off the back. So it did not have a ton of stopping power. I am not a big spinner of the golf ball (6,000 rpm with a 7 iron) but I would have expected that ball to stop. This ball seems to fly higher which I would think would offset a little in the lack of spin department (i.e. steeper land angle) but that wasn't really what I saw in practice. 

So to recap my recap:

Pros: High, stable flight
Cons: Durability, lacks stopping power on iron shots

 

[RockerFCC]

Mine just came, no notification. All good, I will be heading to a sim this week to try them out and get some data. 

[d0m41n]

Backyard Testing:
I received the Test Balls on 11/8/23. I took them out that evening for a hitting session in the backyard net.  First thing I noticed is the feel on the ball. I play two balls primarily. I am a big fan of the OnCore Vero X1 for my game and the Maxfli Tour S. I actually felt like the Test ball was much softer feeling than either of those. I almost felt like I could push an indentation into it with my fingernail. As far as how it felt hitting, I hit a 2 hybrid, and a 5-7 irons on it. I could feel the softness as it flew off he face. I am going to upload a copy of my hitting numbers from my ESB1. 

Course testing:
I played 36 holes over the weekend with the test balls in comparison to my standard Maxfli or OnCore ball. The overall synopsis is that this ball is interesting. I did not like it coming off the driver. I tend to hit a fade especially with my driver but I noticed a lot more spin on the ball than my regular balls. I even had a few that faded on me. But with the Irons and Wedges, I think this ball played incredibly well. I'll breakdown each area below.

Distance: 
Overall, distance on the ball was slightly less than I am used to with my OnCore or Maxfli. I will caveat it with that besides the driver, my course today was pretty soggy so the total distance aspect could be affected by that. But I was getting 5-7 yards more with my current balls. Part of the driving distance loss felt like the spin rate was affecting the distances as I was getting much straighter shots with the OnCore or Maxfli.

Ball Flight:  
Overall ball flight was quite high off the face it seemed, which I personally liked. My only issue is it seemed to go that 5-7 yards less comparatively. Although I had a few under tree shots to keep down that made it a bit tricky.

Driver: 
Essentially a repeat of the distance piece. The spin on the ball for me was not what I wanted off the tee. While overall I adjusted a few shots to account for it, 60% or more of my drives were abnormal compared to what I hit normally. I played two balls on each hole side by side and the drive with the test ball displaced me quite a bit as I shot an 81 with the Test balls and a 75 with an Oncore/Maxfli.

Irons: 
Here is where we get to the good for the Test ball. Off the face, with that softness, it felt like butter most of the time. I noticed less rollout than normal on the course so I have to say the spin off the face was very good as well. When I landed a shot on the green with the Oncore/Maxfli, I got around 5 yards of roll. With the Test ball, I was seeing maybe 1-3 yards. I was adjusting by clubbing up a club generally due to that loss of around 5-7 yards but I had an overall really fun time hitting it with irons and some really great results. As my playing partner said, there were a lot of ESPN Top 10 shots while hitting the Test ball with the irons.

Wedges (PW, 50, 54, 60 degree): 
Here is where the great comes in. The spin off the wedges was so good. Rarely have I ever seen my ball actually backspin and I had a few in my 36 holes. Within 80 yards of the green I would say a good 75-80% of my shots either stopped cold or had less than 3 yards of rollout. I made a few foolish attempts from distance with my 60 but because of the spin I was getting, I had some incredible recovery as well. I was loving what I was seeing off the wedges. Compared to my Oncore/Maxfli's, almost every chip up was within 10-15 feet of the pin.

Putting: 
Another area of great for the Test ball. The softness off the face was really nice. The speed control aspect of the ball put a nice cherry on it. I can legitimately say I only had 1 bad putt with the Test ball. Everything rolled where I wanted it and felt so comfortable. 

Overall impressions:  
My overall impression is actually mid-high. I was a bit concerned when I unboxed and how it felt but realistically I was very pleased with the balls overall. I would give it a solid 8/10 for 36 holes so far. If the driving was where I wanted it, I would honestly be right at a 10.

My Likes: I loved the spin off my irons and wedges. I was able to really put myself into a good position to have very few 2 putts. Then when putting came, off the putter felt incredible. It was my favorite part of the day. I'll be honest, putting is probably my weakest area normally but these rounds it was probably my strongest area. 
My Dislikes: I've said it a few times. Honestly the driving was a letdown for me. In my initial testing into my net, it seemed like the spin was in a good range for me per the other clubs I hit with it. Also, the loss of distance on the irons for me was not the best but most of the time, clubbing down did the trick.

Who is this ball for:  In my experience, this ball is higher spin and would suit someone who wants that higher spin rate. I think this ball would fall into a category of a more experienced player. I was able to angle my shots or adjust my overall swing to overcome the issues off the tee but newer players or less advanced players might have trouble with that.

 

Also thanks to @Cfhandyman for the great idea on review format. I stole it a bit  

Edited November 20, 2023 by d0m41n
small grammatical errors

[tdroma98]

First, I’d like to thank both MGS & Titleist for the opportunity to test Titleist New golf ball.

Having had the opportunity to test another golf ball brand earlier this year, it made it easier to get an idea of what approach to take for testing.

Out of the box, I liked the look & feel of the golf ball as well as liking the dimple pattern, meaning smaller dimples & a hexagon style look, not as pronounced as the Callaway golf balls. Also dimples on the Test Ball are not as big as the OnCore VeroX1 golf ball, which I also like.

The word “TEST” is prominent on the side of the ball, in between two rail lines.  Personally, I hope Titleist keeps the rail lines for the new ball & insert the ball name in place of Test.  It makes for good aiming when putting. 

Impressions: 

I put the ball into play immediately.  Since we were the first group of the day off the tee, I didn’t have time to putt or chip before play.  Right out of the box and onto the tee. 1st hole is a Par 5 – the feel and sound off the driver face was really good. I was impressed.  Ball seemed to jump off the club. Putting wise, the feel of the Test Ball was good off the face, not a clunk sound, which is like the Pro V1x. The ball is definitely not as soft as the Pro V1, but don't be fooled about the Test Balls reaction around the green.  I also like the feel & sound better than the Titleist AVX & Toursoft golf balls. I’ll comment about other balls later.

What really impressed me, right off the bat, was the Test Ball reaction for chipping.  2nd shot came up just short of the green, on the fringe about 15 paces from the pin. Uphill chip on a two-tiered green with pin on upper tier. Took my 58 degree & thought hit it firm to see what the ball does. Ball hit into the hill took a nice bounce and rolled to about 3ft to the pin. Putted it in for birdie & ball felt good off the putter. Making sure it was not a fluke, 3rd hole a par 3, went flag hunting at flag on left side of green, pulled it a bit missed the green to the left, short siding (sorry for being so descript, but to describe the ball reaction is needed). Once again took 58 degree, opened face a bit needing to get ball in the air & hopefully come down soft with little runout.  Once again, executed the shot & ball landed on green took two bounces and maybe rolled a foot.  Once again inside of 3 ft & made putt for par.  I've hit similar shots with OnCore VeroX1, AVX & Taylormade Tour Response. The Titleist Test Ball has a softness to it, which you can't feel.

Out of the Bunker, the Titleist Test Ball reacted very well, several of those bunker plays were unplanned  LOL.  Test Ball came out of the sand nicely.  Didn't spin like a ProV1, but grabbed the green.  One thing I did notice, the wear of the Test Ball.  It seemed to scuff fairly easy. Not as easy as the old Balata balls, but after 1 round of use, the ball did show wear.  The Taylormade Tour Response didn't show much wear. The OnCore Vero X1 had wear however, that ball was on it's third round. 

Excuse the idiot mark on the TEST Ball.  We call that the Ventura logo at our club, LOL, after hitting the cart path.  I played 5 additional holes with the cart path logo with no issues.  

One other TEST Ball performance note, a positive.  The ball is workable, you can keep it low and does not balloon off the face.  I had a 5 iron shot which had to remain low not more than 20 ft high, under a tree limb & ball performed.  

The 2nd Round the ball provided the same feelings & results.  The feel off the putter face - Scotty milled face (not a Callaway putter with soft insert).  The TEST BALL off the putter, wedges & woods has a good feel. Off the Irons, ball feels good as well, not like a rock. 

3rd round was this morning, important because the wind was a factor today, it was a very windy morning.  Into the wind and off the tee, the ball was impressive! I do feel as though a fade into the wind with the TEST BALL, faded a bit more severe. I'd be curious about the spin rate, yet a straight drive with a draw into the wind penetrated wind well and ball held it's line. 

 

11/14/2023 - Additional Comments: 

Today was an example of perfect weather conditions for testing the Titleist TEST BALL; 70 degrees, Wet conditions with Misty rain & rain, 15mph wind or stiffer. One other wrench thrown in - the course sanded the greens this morning, with a light sand, then rolled the greens followed by watering.  

The greens regularly run between 10.5-11 on stemp.  
Today, even with the light sanding of the green, the greens were running nicely & sneaky fast.  

PERFORMANCE:

I was most curious to see if the TEST ball would scuff real easy after hitting the green.  The TEST Ball held up very well. 
A couple of critiques about the TEST Ball which so impressed me out of the box (sorry for the cliche), was how it performed around the greens. I really expected not to control the ball when chipping.  
I chipped from 8 paces (8yds) to 20 yds with a 58 degree and could control my chipping. 

Today, I had multiple shots from the 30 to 40 yd range & was quite impressed.  5th hole is a Par 4 - 302 yds a bit downhill, if you clear a fairway bunker.  Hole was into the wind, I hit a high 3 wd, cleared the bunker & ball rolled down the hill a bit, leaving 42 yds.  I figured with sanded greens, green would be slow. What I did not account for, was the TEST Ball spinning, the ball caught the fringe (it was wet) and stuck. It was not a chunk strike, it was solid & TEST ball spun. 

Next hole is a Par 5, I'm off the green, having pushed the ball right, nearly pin high 31 yds.  Once again I played the 54 degree sandwedge and struck the TEST ball nicely.  It rolled across the green took the slope breaking a bit left and nestled up to within 18 inches of the pin.  The ball cover of the Titleist TEST ball is reactive! Much better, in my opinion, than the AVX, Velocity, TourSpeed, BRX & Tour Response balls. The feel of the ball also feels better than OnCore Vero X1.  

WORKABILITY: 

The second most impressive thing about the Titileist TEST Ball is the workability of the ball.  No doubt there is confidence standing over the ball knowing you can hit a knockdown shot off the tee or from off the fairway needing to keep the ball under a tree limb.  

Confidence is what I had knowing the ball would perform like you envision. Two quick scenarios:  174yd Par 3 playing slightly uphill and dead into the wind.  I figured playing 186yds.  Thought flight down a 5 iron, like a stinger, hoping the ball would not balloon. Bang, the TEST Ball did just that - it never ballooned, almost a stinger type shot & trajectory to the middle of the green, leaving a 30ft uphill putt.  That is a victory on that hole.  

Next, we get to the 16th hole, a par 3, 159 to flag, uphill & wind is even firmer than earlier, playing like 175yds. I thought about the 5 iron shot back on #4, so I swung a 6 iron with the intent of playing the same stinger type shot.  Pin was back on the upper tier of green. Dang, I hit the same stinger type shot to within 4 feet of the pin (yes, made the birdie).  Just impressed with knowing you can stand over the ball and hit a lower trajectory shot or tee it a bit higher to hit a higher shot. 

To summarize the perfomance of the TEST Ball into the Wind is: excellent! Off the tee to a Par 3 or off the tee on a Par 5.  I hit some really good drives, with driver, into the wind and the ball traveled. Sorry i do not have any trackman data to show spin rate.  However, when the TEST ball is traveling as far with the driver, into the wind, as a Tour Response, AVX or BRXS with no wind, I'm impressed.  

LIKES:  

The Feel of the ball off all my clubs, including the putter.  No clank sound off the putter.  Almost the feel of a ProV1. 
Around the greens, the TEST Ball exceeded my expectations. The very  first round using the TEST Ball, the very first hole, got me excited about the TEST Ball.  By the 3rd hole of the first round with the TEST Ball, I was sold on the ball.  

DISLIKES:

The durability of the ball, seemed to be like the old Balata balls. I'll admit, I use golf balls multiple rounds (if I don't lose them LOL).  The TEST Ball, you may get two rounds out of it, should you frequently visit bunkers during a round or hit from pine straw type areas, you may only get 2 rounds out of the ball.  Which is good for Titlist 

FINAL SCORE: 

If scoring was based on a total score of 100, I'd give the TEST BALL a 98.  I can live with the durability issue.  The overall performance & feel of the ball was excellent! 
I'd be interested to see which of the Titleist Golf Balls, this TEST Ball, is replacing.  I can't see the AVX being replaced.  It would makes sense for Titleist to combine the Tour Soft & Tour Speed into this TEST Ball.  

Thank you MGS & Titleist for the opportunity to be included in the  2023 Titeist White Box Testing.  Absolutely Enjoyed it!

 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by tdroma98
Adding Final Survey Thoughts

[ctg44]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:53 AM, brogies said:

More TrackMan testing, this time with a 52º wedge and driver. I might be the only person seeing more spin and more height with the test ball than a ProV1 RCT. I don't get how that is possible lol.

Link to the full report

 

It's honestly not a bad ball. I'm not swinging particularly well right now, but the numbers are fairly similar with a ProV1. Not sure why I spin it more with the test ball, but I'm not hating it. 

Biggest issue is the durability. It's very bad. After 2-3 wedge shots, the ball was already scuffed and only got worse as I used it. I've never seen that before with a ball and I've played a lot of kinds of balls. I wouldn't play this ball no matter how good the performance was.

The pictures below are the test ball (left) and ProV1 (right). The ProV1 ball has already been hit 200+ times on a simulator. The test ball, probably less than 50.

 

No, I definitely had a ton more launch height and spin with these than I did with any other ball, including ProV1 and ProV1X, Maxfli Tour (2023 yellow), OnCore Vero X1, and Bridgestone e12 Contact (2023).  This led to much shorter distances, and off the tee, much greater chances of me having one hook out of play of I yanked one hard.

[Cfhandyman]

1 hour ago, d0m41n said:

Backyard Testing:
I received the Test Balls on 11/8/23. I took them out that evening for a hitting session in the backyard net.  First thing I noticed is the feel on the ball. I play two balls primarily. I am a big fan of the OnCore Vero X1 for my game and the Maxfli Tour S. I actually felt like the Test ball was much softer feeling than either of those. I almost felt like I could push an indentation into it with my fingernail. As far as how it felt hitting, I hit a 2 hybrid, and a 5-7 irons on it. I could feel the softness as I flew off he face. I am going to upload a copy of my hitting numbers from my ESB1. 

Course testing:
I played 36 holes over the weekend with the test balls in comparison to my standard Maxfli or OnCore ball. The overall synopsis is that this ball is interesting. I did not like it coming off the driver. I tend to hit a fade especially with my driver but I noticed a lot more spin on the ball than my regular balls. I even had a few that faded on me. But with the Irons and Wedges, I think this ball played incredibly well. I'll breakdown each area below.

Distance: 
Overall, distance on the ball was slightly less than I am used to with my OnCore or Maxfli. I will caveat it with that besides the driver, my course today was pretty soggy so the total distance aspect could be affected by that. But I was getting 5-7 yards more with my current balls. Part of the driving distance loss felt like the spin rate was affecting the distances as I was getting much straighter shots with the OnCore or Maxfli.

Ball Flight:  
Overall ball flight was quite high off the face it seemed, which I personally liked. My only issue is it seemed to go that 5-7 yards less comparatively. Although I had a few under tree shots to keep down that made it a bit tricky.

Driver: 
Essentially a repeat of the distance piece. The spin on the ball for me was not what I wanted off the tee. While overally I adjusted a few shots to account for it, 60% or more of my drives were abnormal compared to what I hit normally. I played two balls on each hole side by side and the drive with the test ball displaced me quite a bit as I shot an 81 with the Test balls and a 75 with an Oncore/Maxfli.

Irons: 
Here is where we get to the good for the Test ball. Off the face, with that softness, it felt like butter most of the time. I noticed less rollout than normal on the course so I have to say the spin off the face was very good as well. When I landed a shot on the green with the Oncore/Maxfli, I got around 5 yards of roll. With the Test ball, I was seeing maybe 1-3 yards. I was adjusting by clubbing up a club generally due to that loss of around 5-7 yards but I had an overall really fun time hitting it with irons and some really great results. As my playing partner said, there were a lot of ESPN Top 10 shots while hitting the Test ball with the irons.

Wedges (PW, 50, 54, 60 degree): 
Here is where the great comes in. The spin off the wedges was so good. Rarely have I ever seen my ball actually backspin and I had a few in my 36 holes. Within 80 yards of the green I would say a good 75-80% of my shots either stopped cold or had less than 3 yards of rollout. I made a few foolish attempts from distance with my 60 but because of the spin I was getting, I had some incredible recovery as well. I was loving what I was seeing off the wedges. Compared to my Oncore/Maxfli's, almost every chip up was within 10-15 feet of the pin.

Putting: 
Another area of great for the Test ball. The softness off the face was really nice. The speed control aspect of the ball put a nice cherry on it. I can legitimately say I only had 1 bad putt with the Test ball. Everything rolled where I wanted it and felt so comfortable. 

Overall impressions:  
My overall impression is actually mid-high. I was a bit concerned when I unboxed and how it felt but realistically I was very pleased with the balls overall. I would give it a solid 8/10 for 36 holes so far. If the driving was where I wanted it, I would honestly be right at a 10.

My Likes: I loved the spin off my irons and wedges. I was able to really put myself into a good position to have very few 2 putts. Then when putting came, off the putter felt incredible. It was my favorite part of the day. I'll be honest, putting is probably my weakest area normally but these rounds it was probably my strongest area. 
My Dislikes: I've said it a few times. Honestly the driving was a letdown for me. In my initial testing into my net, it seemed like the spin was in a good range for me per the other clubs I hit with it. Also, the loss of distance on the irons for me was not the best but most of the time, clubbing down did the trick.

Who is this ball for: I am planning on taking the balls to a local indoor simulator to get some better data back from the Test balls. In my experience, this ball is higher spin and would suit someone who wants that higher spin rate. I think this ball would fall into a category of a more experienced player. I was able to angle my shots or adjust my overall swing to overcome the issues off the tee but newer players or less advanced players might have trouble with that.

 

Also thanks to @Cfhandyman for the great idea on review format. I stole it a bit  

Excellent and thorough review.  Nice round and pictures.  Well done.

[ctg44]

Just now, Cfhandyman said:

Excellent and thorough review.  Nice round and pictures.  Well done.

Agreed.  Great that you were able to get out and test the balls on the course.  Also like that you got test data w/ the same 2 other balls as I did (Maxfli and OnCore).

[Cfhandyman]

33 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

First, I’d like to thank both MGS & Titleist for the opportunity to test Titleist New golf ball.

Having had the opportunity to test another golf ball brand earlier this year, it made it easier to get an idea of what approach to take for testing.

Out of the box, I liked the look & feel of the golf ball as well as liking the dimple pattern, meaning smaller dimples & a hexagon style look, not as pronounced as the Callaway golf balls. Also dimples on the Test Ball are not as big as the OnCore VeroX1 golf ball, which I also like.

The word “TEST” is prominent on the side of the ball, in between two rail lines.  Personally, I hope Titleist keeps the rail lines for the new ball & insert the ball name in place of Test.  It makes for good aiming when putting. 

Impressions: 

I put the ball into play immediately.  Since we were the first group of the day off the tee, I didn’t have time to putt or chip before play.  Right out of the box and onto the tee. 1st hole is a Par 5 – the feel and sound off the driver face was really good. I was impressed.  Ball seemed to jump off the club. Putting wise, the feel of the Test Ball was good off the face, not a clunk sound, which is like the Pro V1x. The ball is definitely not as soft as the Pro V1, but don't be fooled about the Test Balls reaction around the green.  I also like the feel & sound better than the Titleist AVX & Toursoft golf balls. I’ll comment about other balls later.

What really impressed me, right off the bat, was the Test Ball reaction for chipping.  2nd shot came up just short of the green, on the fringe about 15 paces from the pin. Uphill chip on a two-tiered green with pin on upper tier. Took my 58 degree & thought hit it firm to see what the ball does. Ball hit into the hill took a nice bounce and rolled to about 3ft to the pin. Putted it in for birdie & ball felt good off the putter. Making sure it was not a fluke, 3rd hole a par 3, went flag hunting at flag on left side of green, pulled it a bit missed the green to the left, short siding (sorry for being so descript, but to describe the ball reaction is needed). Once again took 58 degree, opened face a bit needing to get ball in the air & hopefully come down soft with little runout.  Once again, executed the shot & ball landed on green took two bounces and maybe rolled a foot.  Once again inside of 3 ft & made putt for par.  I've hit similar shots with OnCore VeroX1, AVX & Taylormade Tour Response. The Titleist Test Ball has a softness to it, which you can't feel.

Out of the Bunker, the Titleist Test Ball reacted very well, several of those bunker plays were unplanned  LOL.  Test Ball came out of the sand nicely.  Didn't spin like a ProV1, but grabbed the green.  One thing I did notice, the wear of the Test Ball.  It seemed to scuff fairly easy. Not as easy as the old Balata balls, but after 1 round of use, the ball did show wear.  The Taylormade Tour Response didn't show much wear. The OnCore Vero X1 had wear however, that ball was on it's third round. 

Excuse the idiot mark on the TEST Ball.  We call that the Ventura logo at our club, LOL, after hitting the cart path.  I played 5 additional holes with the cart path logo with no issues.  

One other TEST Ball performance note, a positive.  The ball is workable, you can keep it low and does not balloon off the face.  I had a 5 iron shot which had to remain low not more than 20 ft high, under a tree limb & ball performed.  

The 2nd Round the ball provided the same feelings & results.  The feel off the putter face - Scotty milled face (not a Callaway putter with soft insert).  The TEST BALL off the putter, wedges & woods has a good feel. Off the Irons, ball feels good as well, not like a rock. 

3rd round was this morning, important because the wind was a factor today, it was a very windy morning.  Into the wind and off the tee, the ball was impressive! I do feel as though a fade into the wind with the TEST BALL, faded a bit more severe. I'd be curious about the spin rate, yet a straight drive with a draw into the wind penetrated wind well and ball held it's line. 

 

 

Very nice on course review. Well done.

[Slater]

I already posted trackman data previously, so here is the on course feedback.

I had the privilege of a Titleist ball fitting by titleist, and I was fit into the X.  The test ball is the opposite,  so there's that haha.

The test ball has a super soft feel.  The ball explodes off the club face.  The test ball has a low, penetrating flight. 

Unfortunately,  it has very little green side stopping power.  I tried some hard, low spinners that would stick like glue with the X; The test ball runs out too much.  I tried the same shot into an uphill green, and the test ball did stop better,  as expected.  Even with an old school bump and run, this ball jumps off the face.  I don't think the lack of greenside spin is a detriment, just a different style of play.  Unless you leave yourself short sided, it will work just fine.

Off the driver, the ball was low and hot!  Lots of roll out and overall straighter ball flight.  I cannot compare distance, because I need lots of spin to keep my ball in the air longer.  Without spin, I lose major distance.  It would be unfair to say the test ball is short, because that's a "me" problem. 

Long irons are insane with this ball; they turn into rocket launchers.

Mid irons are great, but tough to fully hold a green.  You need to adapt to a more link's style of play.

Short irons and wedges are good.  Not a major loss of height, but expect some rollout.

I hit a couple of approaches that should have stuck with any ball, but not this one.  It has the Velocity reaction on the greens... rolly.

This ball delivers some high speed and low flight shots.  Super consistent and predictable, it could be good for different skill levels.

 

[ArizonaLogan]

Putting chart from 11 ft on the flattest ground I could find (one round of two shots was on short carpet). All the golf balls were dumped in a pile and then hit in a random order.

Rankings for this test; more to come.

1. ProV1: Holed the most, and most consistent speeds.
2. Triad: Holed 4, very consistent speeds.
3. Chrome Soft: Holed 3, rolled at consistent speeds of "fast".
4. ProV1x: Holed 4, but less consistent speeds than Triad&CS.
5. White Box: Only holed 2, but a consistent medium-fast speed besides one.

These last three I have found to be very dependent on strike quality.

1. Chrome Soft X: Holed 2, I didn't get consistent speeds.
2. TP5: Holed 3, but even more inconsistent speeds.
3. TP5x: Missed the most, and inconsistent speeds like the TP5.

Edited November 13, 2023 by ArizonaLogan
Better Punctuation

[Steve Knobl]

Congrats to everyone selected! Hoping I get picked for some other testing soon. 

[brogies]

51 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

No, I definitely had a ton more launch height and spin with these than I did with any other ball, including ProV1 and ProV1X, Maxfli Tour (2023 yellow), OnCore Vero X1, and Bridgestone e12 Contact (2023).  This led to much shorter distances, and off the tee, much greater chances of me having one hook out of play of I yanked one hard.

Ok, glad I'm not crazy lol!

[tdroma98]

1 hour ago, Cfhandyman said:

Very nice on course review. Well done.

Thank you @Cfhandyman!  I appreciate the comment!

I'm impressed with the Titleist TEST Ball. Have some additional comments concerning distance & performance of the ball.  Playing 18 again tomorrow morning, conditions will be softer than last week.  Will be interested to see how it performs vs Taylormade Tour Response Stripe golf ball. 

[Cfhandyman]

3 hours ago, Slater said:

I already posted trackman data previously, so here is the on course feedback.

I had the privilege of a Titleist ball fitting by titleist, and I was fit into the X.  The test ball is the opposite,  so there's that haha.

The test ball has a super soft feel.  The ball explodes off the club face.  The test ball has a low, penetrating flight. 

Unfortunately,  it has very little green side stopping power.  I tried some hard, low spinners that would stick like glue with the X; The test ball runs out too much.  I tried the same shot into an uphill green, and the test ball did stop better,  as expected.  Even with an old school bump and run, this ball jumps off the face.  I don't think the lack of greenside spin is a detriment, just a different style of play.  Unless you leave yourself short sided, it will work just fine.

Off the driver, the ball was low and hot!  Lots of roll out and overall straighter ball flight.  I cannot compare distance, because I need lots of spin to keep my ball in the air longer.  Without spin, I lose major distance.  It would be unfair to say the test ball is short, because that's a "me" problem. 

Long irons are insane with this ball; they turn into rocket launchers.

Mid irons are great, but tough to fully hold a green.  You need to adapt to a more link's style of play.

Short irons and wedges are good.  Not a major loss of height, but expect some rollout.

I hit a couple of approaches that should have stuck with any ball, but not this one.  It has the Velocity reaction on the greens... rolly.

This ball delivers some high speed and low flight shots.  Super consistent and predictable, it could be good for different skill levels.

 

Nice follow up on course review to your Trackman data.  I had a similar on course experience with the test ball. 

[2puttbogey]

Trying not to read too much so I can form my own opinion on the ball, and not have any expectations. Was supposed to get them today, but they got pushed back a couple days. Hopefully they come rayon Wednesday so I can get some short game prayin before putting it in play on Thursday.

[Peejer]

Ran the new Titleist Test Ball against the current ProV1 and AVX.  The shots with this test was only with my 7-iron, P790 (2021) in Stiff shaft.  My simulator is the SkyTrak+.

A little about me, 57 year old male in pretty good shape, driver swing speed mid-90's.  My handicap flexes between 6 and 9, currently sitting at 8.4.  The best part of my game is typically my iron play.

Of note, I removed any bad swings so I didn't skew the data.  It seems to have normalized pretty well, overall.

Stats are below, some interesting observations from my swing. 

 

For the new Titleist golf ball, the ball speed is +1 mph faster than ProV1/AVX, it launches slightly higher and spins less.  End result here was its a longer ball with carry and roll.

This could be a ball I would use - I like lower spin.  In my next test, I'll bring in the driver.  If it's also lower spin off the tee, it's definitely something I'd play.

More to come...

-- Peejer

 

[Peejer]

16 hours ago, taylorjonasher said:

Well, my round this weekend was cut very short by a change in plans and the weather. My 9:45 tee time was pushed back to 10:30 due to a frost delay, forcing me to only play my main ball (ProV1) after three holes due to time constraints. In three holes though, I found out the following:

- I can blade the test ball with my 54 just as well as any other ball, if not better. The distance when hitting the equator on the nuts was unbelievable - 2 miles, minimum. 

- Greenside spin on the test ball was noticeably less; I could not check it up like the ProV1. 

- Through 3 drives, the test ball was unbelievably straight off the driver, although 5 - 10 yards shorter. Drives were higher with the test ball. 

- Approach shots were also very straight, and slightly longer than the ProV1. There was very little movement left or right with the test ball. This ball carried further on all shots with the irons by a few yards. 

- Putting was soft off the face, but nothing that was a major turn off. I prefer a slightly firmer feel. 

- I only put one ball in play out of the sleeve for the day, and did not have any cover durability issues that others have had. If it's worth anything, the last box of ProV1's that I bought have had durability issues on the cover - scuffing very easily. 

We are supposed to have great weather this week, so I am going to try to get out again and play at least 9 with just the test ball. 

I ran the test ball against the current ProV1 and AVX on my simulator tonight (posted above).  My stats reflect what you wrote about.  Lower spin (hence straighter shots and not as much greenside check) and it was a longer ball.  Thanks for the write-up, good stuff!

-- Peejer

Edited November 14, 2023 by Peejer

[HikingMike]

Hey this is my first test! Fun times Great posts everybody btw. I finished reading through the thread, phew.

I game a Titleist AVX most often. Otherwise I find a fair amount of Pro V1s at my home course and I like playing those. And I'll definitely try some others now and then. But like everyone else, I noticed the similarities with the AVX's flat dimples right away.

So Friday I had my Covid and flu shots scheduled. The weather turned out to be nice and my spouse was working and I was off. Hmm interesting. I have lots of things I should be doing, but it was still light outside and now might be the time to try out these shiny Titleist TEST balls. That is an obligation. I made a promise after all.

I made a couple quick googles. It turns out light exercise after your vaccines is fine, and can actually boost antibodies for flu and Covid vaccines and make them more effective. Also, arm movement helps to reduce muscle soreness from a shoulder shot. Heck yeah, let’s gooooo!

The high was 58F, sunny with a light breeze - a bit lucky there with the late Fall weather here in the St. Louis area this year. I figured the course would be fairly open so I walked my first 9 of the year! I like walking, but don't get to often since nobody else I know walks. 

I wouldn't have been considering golfing at all if I hadn't gotten these tester golf balls. So there you have it folks. In conclusion, these new top secret Titleist golf balls can increase your antibodies and boost your immune system, especially with the proper level of Zinc and Vitamin D. There, I win the reviews. 

By the time I finished, my shoulders were getting sore, the temp had probably dipped to the high 40s F (low was 30), and the sun was setting. But I shot pretty well and it was great to get out. No 3 putts, and I didn't lose a ball, though the TEST ball did take a peek into the edge of a hazard. I know you may be young and inexperienced, TEST, but trust me, don't go there.

Here are the day's contestants, at least for the #1 tee. I ended up not hitting the Pro V1x here though. After 1, I continued playing with the TEST and the AVX for the remaining 8 holes, each ball playing independently. Thankfully I had an empty enough course that I didn't bother anyone. #1 turned out to be the best driving hole of the day. The TEST and the AVX were very even at around 300 yards. The Callaway Supersoft I didn't hit as well and pulled it a little so it was shorter, my bad there. I have played Supersofts before and liked them fine, I seem to drive them well normally. #1 was also my only birdie. Of course I made the longer putt (the AVX) and missed the shorter one (TEST). So TEST did have the better pitch shot.

 

By the way, I think I can drive 300 yards occasionally because I am also a member of r/golf on Reddit. Anyone? You know who you are, lol.

Time to get up and down for par with Mr. TEST. Done.

Low fade punch time. Doh, too much fade.

This chip scared me a bit with the AVX, but I actually put a really nice one up there, though I couldn't make the par putt.

I also didn't make TEST's putt here on the same green.

No way am I seeing these 2 drives into the sun at sunset. Good thing they were down the middle!! TEST's was better here, right over the sun, and got me a par.

Score 
AVX 41 (16 putts)
TEST 42 (16 putts)

More about the TEST - 

I liked hitting it, putting, etc. I liked the feel, though I think I liked the feel of the AVX slightly better. That is super subjective and I don't have a reason there. To be honest I don't know what I can tell since probably the biggest thing affecting my game is inconsistent swings

Driver - the TEST and the AVX seemed neck and neck in distance. I wish I could tell you my driver swing speed. I do have my 3 wood club speed at 98.2 mph and my 7 iron at 90.6 mph when I fitted a couple years back.

Oddly I had the TEST make an unexpected fade for me a couple times with driver, but nothing extreme. I normally play a draw. It was odd because it didn't feel it like it normally would with a miss right. The ball isn't going to cause a stealth fade (right?), but I just mention this for completeness. The distance was surprisingly about my normal. Maybe the hardness of the ground cancelled out any loss from the cooler temps. Also the AVX is a lower spinning ball and perhaps that helped. Did it also help the TEST ball?  Reading through all the posts, I noticed some testers noticed more spin and some noticed less spin than their gamers or other Titleists. 

Irons - I think my iron distances were slightly short due to the cooler temps, and that would still be consistent with my driver observation since the irons don't have roll-out. But I had a really nice 8 iron onto a green with the TEST ball on #7 (still shorter than expected), and 2-putt for par. I was also able to get it up over a close tree with my PW as a recovery shot on a par 5, and it had the trajectory I expected and was hoping for, definitely with some slice I was adding too. The fading punch out 3 iron under a tree with TEST went how I wanted except faded too much and into a bunker.

Putting - I made 2 nice putts with both and both felt good. Both the TEST and the AVX had 16 putts. The TEST had 3 greens in regulation and the AVX had 2 GIR.

Some have said it's in between the Pro V1 and AVX. I would say it's a little different. Someone else said it's a softer AVX, and I would definitely lean toward that. Spinning? I couldn't tell. My ball stuck for my GIR like normal. It's rare that I spin balls back with anything though. 

Durability seemed fine. It was really shiny/glossy for sure, so that makes me feel like it would be a softer cover. Besides a small dark mark on it that it picked up, I would only know I had played 9 holes with it if I looked very closely. There was maybe a tiny line on it and a no longer glossy spot on the ridges, but no pieces sticking up or anything. I don't really tear them up with wedges though. I didn't hit it with my 60 degree and I don't have anything between that and a 50 degree GW in my iron set. I guess sign me up for the next wedge testing.

I wish I had a sim or launch monitor like you guys, kinda jealous here. But I'm happy to see your numbers comparisons. I may have to try doing some chipping practice around a practice green next. I'll post more thoughts regardless.

Many thanks to MyGolfSpy and Titleist for this!

Edited November 14, 2023 by HikingMike

[buckpillar]

20 hours ago, Cfhandyman said:

 

Very nice review. Nice addition with video clip

Thank you, had fun doing it, I got a practice green for putting and the short pitch and chip shots.

[JackBurtonsPorkchopExpress]

8 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Hey this is my first test! Fun times Great posts everybody btw. I finished reading through the thread, phew.

I game a Titleist AVX most often. Otherwise I find a fair amount of Pro V1s at my home course and I like playing those. And I'll definitely try some others now and then. But like everyone else, I noticed the similarities with the AVX's flat dimples right away.

So Friday I had my Covid and flu shots scheduled. The weather turned out to be nice and my spouse was working and I was off. Hmm interesting. I have lots of things I should be doing, but it was still light outside and now might be the time to try out these shiny Titleist TEST balls. That is an obligation. I made a promise after all.

I made a couple quick googles. It turns out light exercise after your vaccines is fine, and can actually boost antibodies for flu and Covid vaccines and make them more effective. Also, arm movement helps to reduce muscle soreness from a shoulder shot. Heck yeah, let’s gooooo!

The high was 58F, sunny with a light breeze - a bit lucky there with the late Fall weather here in the St. Louis area this year. I figured the course would be fairly open so I walked my first 9 of the year! I like walking, but don't get to often since nobody else I know walks. 

I wouldn't have been considering golfing at all if I hadn't gotten these tester golf balls. So there you have it folks. In conclusion, these new top secret Titleist golf balls can increase your antibodies and boost your immune system, especially with the proper level of Zinc and Vitamin D. There, I win the reviews. 

By the time I finished, my shoulders were getting sore, the temp had probably dipped to the high 40s F (low was 30), and the sun was setting. But I shot pretty well and it was great to get out. No 3 putts, and I didn't lose a ball, though the TEST ball did take a peek into the edge of a hazard. I know you may be young and inexperienced, TEST, but trust me, don't go there.

Here are the day's contestants, at least for the #1 tee. I ended up not hitting the Pro V1x here though. After 1, I continued playing with the TEST and the AVX for the remaining 8 holes, each ball playing independently. Thankfully I had an empty enough course that I didn't bother anyone. #1 turned out to be the best driving hole of the day. The TEST and the AVX were very even at around 300 yards. The Callaway Supersoft I didn't hit as well and pulled it a little so it was shorter, my bad there. I have played Supersofts before and liked them fine, I seem to drive them well normally. #1 was also my only birdie. Of course I made the longer putt (the AVX) and missed the shorter one (TEST). So TEST did have the better pitch shot.

 

By the way, I think I can drive 300 yards occasionally because I am also a member of r/golf on Reddit. Anyone? You know who you are, lol.

Time to get up and down for par with Mr. TEST. Done.

Low fade punch time. Doh, too much fade.

This chip scared me a bit with the AVX, but I actually put a really nice one up there, though I couldn't make the par putt.

I also didn't make TEST's putt here on the same green.

No way am I seeing these 2 drives into the sun at sunset. Good thing they were down the middle!! TEST's was better here, right over the sun, and got me a par.

Score 
AVX 41 (16 putts)
TEST 42 (16 putts)

More about the TEST - 

I liked hitting it, putting, etc. I liked the feel, though I think I liked the feel of the AVX slightly better. That is super subjective and I don't have a reason there. To be honest I don't know what I can tell since probably the biggest thing affecting my game is inconsistent swings

Driver - the TEST and the AVX seemed neck and neck in distance. I wish I could tell you my driver swing speed. I do have my 3 wood club speed at 98.2 mph and my 7 iron at 90.6 mph when I fitted a couple years back.

Oddly I had the TEST make an unexpected fade for me a couple times with driver, but nothing extreme. I normally play a draw. It was odd because it didn't feel it like it normally would with a miss right. The ball isn't going to cause a stealth fade (right?), but I just mention this for completeness. The distance was surprisingly about my normal. Maybe the hardness of the ground cancelled out any loss from the cooler temps. Also the AVX is a lower spinning ball and perhaps that helped. Did it also help the TEST ball?  Reading through all the posts, I noticed some testers noticed more spin and some noticed less spin than their gamers or other Titleists. 

Irons - I think my iron distances were slightly short due to the cooler temps, and that would still be consistent with my driver observation since the irons don't have roll-out. But I had a really nice 8 iron onto a green with the TEST ball on #7 (still shorter than expected), and 2-putt for par. I was also able to get it up over a close tree with my PW as a recovery shot on a par 5, and it had the trajectory I expected and was hoping for, definitely with some slice I was adding too. The fading punch out 3 iron under a tree with TEST went how I wanted except faded too much and into a bunker.

Putting - I made 2 nice putts with both and both felt good. Both the TEST and the AVX had 16 putts. The TEST had 3 greens in regulation and the AVX had 2 GIR.

Some have said it's in between the Pro V1 and AVX. I would say it's a little different. Someone else said it's a softer AVX, and I would definitely lean toward that. Spinning? I couldn't tell. My ball stuck for my GIR like normal. It's rare that I spin balls back with anything though. 

Durability seemed fine. It was really shiny/glossy for sure, so that makes me feel like it would be a softer cover. Besides a small dark mark on it that it picked up, I would only know I had played 9 holes with it if I looked very closely. There was maybe a tiny line on it and a no longer glossy spot on the ridges, but no pieces sticking up or anything. I don't really tear them up with wedges though. I didn't hit it with my 60 degree and I don't have anything between that and a 50 degree GW in my iron set. I guess sign me up for the next wedge testing.

I wish I had a sim or launch monitor like you guys, kinda jealous here. But I'm happy to see your numbers comparisons. I may have to try doing some chipping practice around a practice green next. I'll post more thoughts regardless.

Many thanks to MyGolfSpy and Titleist for this!

Just across the river from you in STL. Great review! 

[Cfhandyman]

13 hours ago, Peejer said:

I ran the test ball against the current ProV1 and AVX on my simulator tonight (posted above).  My stats reflect what you wrote about.  Lower spin (hence straighter shots and not as much greenside check) and it was a longer ball.  Thanks for the write-up, good stuff!

-- Peejer

Ver nice test and review.  Interesting that the AVX ball spun the most and the test ball had the least spin, best carry and height.

[Cfhandyman]

And now for some fun and humour.  What am I: ?

            

A) Golf ball with spotted dot syndrome

B) New “Ouch” golf ball with soft reactive cover that bruises when hit. 

C) Marking your golf ball to the extreme. The new wtf ball. 

D) The new black dot launcher golf ball, guaranteed to maximize distance

E) Some crazy old dude trying to count the number of dimples on the test ball. He needs a hobby, like golf. 

 

The correct answer is E and the number of dimples was 348. Hopefully my eyesight didn’t betray me. 

[Cfhandyman]

12 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Hey this is my first test! Fun times Great posts everybody btw. I finished reading through the thread, phew.

I game a Titleist AVX most often. Otherwise I find a fair amount of Pro V1s at my home course and I like playing those. And I'll definitely try some others now and then. But like everyone else, I noticed the similarities with the AVX's flat dimples right away.

So Friday I had my Covid and flu shots scheduled. The weather turned out to be nice and my spouse was working and I was off. Hmm interesting. I have lots of things I should be doing, but it was still light outside and now might be the time to try out these shiny Titleist TEST balls. That is an obligation. I made a promise after all.

I made a couple quick googles. It turns out light exercise after your vaccines is fine, and can actually boost antibodies for flu and Covid vaccines and make them more effective. Also, arm movement helps to reduce muscle soreness from a shoulder shot. Heck yeah, let’s gooooo!

The high was 58F, sunny with a light breeze - a bit lucky there with the late Fall weather here in the St. Louis area this year. I figured the course would be fairly open so I walked my first 9 of the year! I like walking, but don't get to often since nobody else I know walks. 

I wouldn't have been considering golfing at all if I hadn't gotten these tester golf balls. So there you have it folks. In conclusion, these new top secret Titleist golf balls can increase your antibodies and boost your immune system, especially with the proper level of Zinc and Vitamin D. There, I win the reviews. 

By the time I finished, my shoulders were getting sore, the temp had probably dipped to the high 40s F (low was 30), and the sun was setting. But I shot pretty well and it was great to get out. No 3 putts, and I didn't lose a ball, though the TEST ball did take a peek into the edge of a hazard. I know you may be young and inexperienced, TEST, but trust me, don't go there.

Here are the day's contestants, at least for the #1 tee. I ended up not hitting the Pro V1x here though. After 1, I continued playing with the TEST and the AVX for the remaining 8 holes, each ball playing independently. Thankfully I had an empty enough course that I didn't bother anyone. #1 turned out to be the best driving hole of the day. The TEST and the AVX were very even at around 300 yards. The Callaway Supersoft I didn't hit as well and pulled it a little so it was shorter, my bad there. I have played Supersofts before and liked them fine, I seem to drive them well normally. #1 was also my only birdie. Of course I made the longer putt (the AVX) and missed the shorter one (TEST). So TEST did have the better pitch shot.

 

By the way, I think I can drive 300 yards occasionally because I am also a member of r/golf on Reddit. Anyone? You know who you are, lol.

Time to get up and down for par with Mr. TEST. Done.

Low fade punch time. Doh, too much fade.

This chip scared me a bit with the AVX, but I actually put a really nice one up there, though I couldn't make the par putt.

I also didn't make TEST's putt here on the same green.

No way am I seeing these 2 drives into the sun at sunset. Good thing they were down the middle!! TEST's was better here, right over the sun, and got me a par.

Score 
AVX 41 (16 putts)
TEST 42 (16 putts)

More about the TEST - 

I liked hitting it, putting, etc. I liked the feel, though I think I liked the feel of the AVX slightly better. That is super subjective and I don't have a reason there. To be honest I don't know what I can tell since probably the biggest thing affecting my game is inconsistent swings

Driver - the TEST and the AVX seemed neck and neck in distance. I wish I could tell you my driver swing speed. I do have my 3 wood club speed at 98.2 mph and my 7 iron at 90.6 mph when I fitted a couple years back.

Oddly I had the TEST make an unexpected fade for me a couple times with driver, but nothing extreme. I normally play a draw. It was odd because it didn't feel it like it normally would with a miss right. The ball isn't going to cause a stealth fade (right?), but I just mention this for completeness. The distance was surprisingly about my normal. Maybe the hardness of the ground cancelled out any loss from the cooler temps. Also the AVX is a lower spinning ball and perhaps that helped. Did it also help the TEST ball?  Reading through all the posts, I noticed some testers noticed more spin and some noticed less spin than their gamers or other Titleists. 

Irons - I think my iron distances were slightly short due to the cooler temps, and that would still be consistent with my driver observation since the irons don't have roll-out. But I had a really nice 8 iron onto a green with the TEST ball on #7 (still shorter than expected), and 2-putt for par. I was also able to get it up over a close tree with my PW as a recovery shot on a par 5, and it had the trajectory I expected and was hoping for, definitely with some slice I was adding too. The fading punch out 3 iron under a tree with TEST went how I wanted except faded too much and into a bunker.

Putting - I made 2 nice putts with both and both felt good. Both the TEST and the AVX had 16 putts. The TEST had 3 greens in regulation and the AVX had 2 GIR.

Some have said it's in between the Pro V1 and AVX. I would say it's a little different. Someone else said it's a softer AVX, and I would definitely lean toward that. Spinning? I couldn't tell. My ball stuck for my GIR like normal. It's rare that I spin balls back with anything though. 

Durability seemed fine. It was really shiny/glossy for sure, so that makes me feel like it would be a softer cover. Besides a small dark mark on it that it picked up, I would only know I had played 9 holes with it if I looked very closely. There was maybe a tiny line on it and a no longer glossy spot on the ridges, but no pieces sticking up or anything. I don't really tear them up with wedges though. I didn't hit it with my 60 degree and I don't have anything between that and a 50 degree GW in my iron set. I guess sign me up for the next wedge testing.

I wish I had a sim or launch monitor like you guys, kinda jealous here. But I'm happy to see your numbers comparisons. I may have to try doing some chipping practice around a practice green next. I'll post more thoughts regardless.

Many thanks to MyGolfSpy and Titleist for this!

Ver nice review and great pictures.  Thanks for sharing

[vandyland]

I’m pretty confused at this point. Maybe I am influenced by expecting to see AVX tendencies based on other remarks on this thread but I hit 15-30-45-60 yd wedge shots for an hour today with the test ball and ProV1 and I got nothing. One ball would check up faster on one good round and then the other the next. It was back and forth. So ultimately it was an hour hitting balls (3 test balls vs 3 proV1s) where I can say, for my purposes, they behaved very similarly. *sigh*
 

[HikingMike]

44 minutes ago, Cfhandyman said:

And now for some fun and humour.  What am I: ?

            

A) Golf ball with spotted dot syndrome

B) New “Ouch” golf ball with soft reactive cover that bruises when hit. 

C) Marking your golf ball to the extreme. The new wtf ball. 

D) The new black dot launcher golf ball, guaranteed to maximize distance

E) Some crazy old dude trying to count the number of dimples on the test ball. He needs a hobby, like golf. 

 

The correct answer is E and the number of dimples was 348. Hopefully my eyesight didn’t betray me. 

@Cfhandyman doing the real work here