2023 Titleist White Box Testing Thread

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

Thanks @Rob Person, and sorry about the gremlins.. 

[Randall Robbins]

11 hours ago, GolfSub70 said:

Hello everyone. Jay from Sub 70 here. First off, sincere apologies to the moderators and Titleist for my delay on my testing. I dealt with a herniated disc in my back two years ago and ended up going through PT and then getting an injection for it. I felt a shooting pain in the same area of my back when I was lifting something about 10 days ago and really haven't been able to swing a club without pain since then. I rested it for the last week and finally go to the point where I could reliably swing a club for more than 10 swings. 

I'll skip the box and ball photos since they are posted often earlier in this thread. I've switched ball models pretty often over the last year or two...Pro v1, AVX, Snell MTB-X, Tour BX, Clear Green and Black, etc. The biggest issue is that two years ago I was a very low driver spin and high iron spin player.  I'm talking like 1800 driver spin and 7000+ with a 7 iron. That has almost completely flipped due to some swing changes and now I tend to have pretty moderate driver spin (2400-2600) and lower iron spin. 

For these first testing sessions I hit shots with the Titleist test ball ("proto"), the AVX, and the Clear Tour Green ball. I started playing the AVX because I hit the ball extremely high and wanted to see if I could get something in a more penetrating window. I used Dynamic Gold S400 shafts for the 50 yard and 120 yard shots and then Project X 6.0 steel shaft for the 170 yards. I wasn't really surprised by much with these three yardages...except that the Tour Green spins like crazy. The AVX and the prototype weren't far off from each other in terms of launch and spin. Biggest difference probably being the 50 yard backspin numbers but the std dev for the proto was pretty big. I may have had a 6500 spinner in there or something.

 

 

 

After that session I had no chance putting together enough good driver swings due to my back issues. I got to that today though and was really impressed by the results. If you go with the same efficiency then the AVX was about 0.5mph faster but that's splitting hairs with about 10 drives hit with each. But the proto launched slightly higher and spun slightly less so it ended up being four yards longer. Unfortunately I didn't hit the Tour Green because I ran out of time but I'll circle back to that at some point.

 

I'll put it through some more testing in the coming weeks and try to report back with a bigger sample size. But all things considered it seemed fairly comparable to the AVX. I may need a ball that spins more off the irons but that's on me.

Thanks, Jay.  Glad your back is on the mend.  Been there, done that.  Review is pretty much what I saw/felt with live play.  Good stuff.

[GolfSub70]

3 hours ago, Randall Robbins said:

Thanks, Jay.  Glad your back is on the mend.  Been there, done that.  Review is pretty much what I saw/felt with live play.  Good stuff.

Thanks @Randall Robbins! I've had a few minor flare ups over the last year or two but that was the worst of them all. I better get back on the stretching/PT schedule I suppose.

I'm hoping to get the prototype out on the course sometime next week. Unfortunately the weather has been terrible for the last 10 days or so...but there's some potential for a week or so from now. I don't know if it's the ball for me but all in all I'd say it's not a bad option.

[TJ Hall]

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for the opportunity to be a part of this test...so grateful for the MGS team and all they bring to this community.

Got out and put the Test balls into play...weather was overcast and temperature was mid to upper 50s, started the round with no wind or rain, ended the round with steady rain and wind blowing around 15 mph.

Throughout the round, hit multiple shots in order to provide a comparison, the Test ball was typically the same distance and height as the other balls (Callaway Supersoft, Titleist AVX, Titleist Pro V1, Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro).  Overall, the Test ball was very easy to launch and had a nice "click" off the clubface.

Driver/3 wood

Did not have a good day with these clubs, distance seemed to be less than other balls but probably wasn't a really good comparison...would want to spend some more time with the Test ball with these clubs

Driving Iron/4-5 irons

These were amazing...first time playing with the Srixon ZX 3 Utility and absolutely loved it!  The ball came off the face very nicely and was a consistent shot shape (driven ball with a slight fade).  4 and 5 irons were crisp and nice, high ball flight.  Was also able to turn the ball over and hit a lower, drawing ball.

6-9 irons

Again, very clean coming off the clubface, consistent height and good distance.  Stopping/holding greens was really good.

PW-SW

Good control with these clubs and again, the ball launched high off the clubs.  Spin was really good on all shots, even shots that were hit a little low on the face had decent stopping power.  Had some time and hit a number of shots from just over 105 yards, all had similar heights and were well struck shots (used Vokey SM8 52* wedge, view of the approach, pin ticked back left):

- Callaway Supersoft: just off the green left, about pin high...ball released forward about 2 feet

- Vice Pro: 25 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 15 feet

- Titleist AVX: pin high to the right, spun back about 5 feet

- Titleist Pro V1: front edge of the green, spun back about 20 feet

- Test ball: 30 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 25 feet

Chipping/Sand

The Test ball just wants to go high...left most of the chips short as they came off the clubface high with spin.  Playing with the ball would likely help with distance control on chips.  Similar to the chipping green noted previously, felt like I could hit the necessary shots.

Coming out of the sand was very easy...again, the ball just gets airborne.  Came out high/soft with a bit of spin.  Really liked the way it came out!

Below is an approach out of the rough from about 50 yards, ball closest to the pin is the Test ball (released about 6 feet), second ball is Maxfli Tour X (released about 10 feet).

Here is another example of an approach from 95 yards with a 56* Vokey SM8…

Putting

Test ball comes off the putter cleanly, distance control was a bit of a problem for me today but that could be from playing the new ball and not spending anytime before the round at the putting green.

The Good

The ball wants to go high, had plenty of spin (maybe too much).  The Test ball has a very soft feel and has a very nice click off the club.  Distance with the Test ball was very nice.  I did not notice any issues with the ball flight regarding wind.

The Bad

The ball wants to go high...I'm not the straightest hitter and have some shots that need to be hit low/under a tree.  This would likely be a challenge with the Test ball.  The other drawback, as many others have noted, is the durability of the cover...cover showed damage very quickly (first picture was after sand shot, second is with a GW (first shot with this ball)).

Other than the durability issue, this would be a ball I would potentially consider putting into play.

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by TJ Hall

[Cfhandyman]

35 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for the opportunity to be a part of this test...so grateful for the MGS team and all they bring to this community.

Got out and put the Test balls into play...weather was overcast and temperature was mid to upper 50s, started the round with no wind or rain, ended the round with steady rain and wind blowing around 15 mph.

Throughout the round, hit multiple shots in order to provide a comparison, the Test ball was typically the same distance and height as the other balls (Callaway Supersoft, Titleist AVX, Titleist Pro V1, Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro).  Overall, the Test ball was very easy to launch and had a nice "click" off the clubface.

Driver/3 wood

Did not have a good day with these clubs, distance seemed to be less than other balls but probably wasn't a really good comparison...would want to spend some more time with the Test ball with these clubs

Driving Iron/4-5 irons

These were amazing...first time playing with the Srixon ZX 3 Utility and absolutely loved it!  The ball came off the face very nicely and was a consistent shot shape (driven ball with a slight fade).  4 and 5 irons were crisp and nice, high ball flight.  Was also able to turn the ball over and hit a lower, drawing ball.

6-9 irons

Again, very clean coming off the clubface, consistent height and good distance.  Stopping/holding greens was really good.

PW-SW

Good control with these clubs and again, the ball launched high off the clubs.  Spin was really good on all shots, even shots that were hit a little low on the face had decent stopping power.  Had some time and hit a number of shots from just over 105 yards, all had similar heights and were well struck shots (used Vokey SM8 52* wedge, view of the approach, pin ticked back left):

- Callaway Supersoft: just off the green left, about pin high...ball released forward about 2 feet

- Vice Pro: 25 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 15 feet

- Titleist AVX: pin high to the right, spun back about 5 feet

- Titleist Pro V1: front edge of the green, spun back about 20 feet

- Test ball: 30 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 25 feet

Chipping/Sand

The Test ball just wants to go high...left most of the chips short as they came off the clubface high with spin.  Playing with the ball would likely help with distance control on chips.  Similar to the chipping green noted previously, felt like I could hit the necessary shots.

Coming out of the sand was very easy...again, the ball just gets airborne.  Came out high/soft with a bit of spin.  Really liked the way it came out!

Below is an approach out of the rough from about 50 yards, ball closest to the pin is the Test ball (released about 6 feet), second ball is Maxfli Tour X (released about 10 feet).

Here is another example of an approach from 95 yards with a 56* Vokey SM8…

Putting

Test ball comes off the putter cleanly, distance control was a bit of a problem for me today but that could be from playing the new ball and not spending anytime before the round at the putting green.

The Good

The ball wants to go high, had plenty of spin (maybe too much).  The Test ball has a very soft feel and has a very nice click off the club.  Distance with the Test ball was very nice.  I did not notice any issues with the ball flight regarding wind.

The Bad

The ball wants to go high...I'm not the straightest hitter and have some shots that need to be hit low/under a tree.  This would likely be a challenge with the Test ball.  The other drawback, as many others have noted, is the durability of the cover...cover showed damage very quickly (first picture was after sand shot, second is with a GW (first shot with this ball)).

Other than the durability issue, this would be a ball I would potentially consider putting into play.

 

 

 

Very nice review and pictures. Loved the picture of the deer. 

[Rob Person]

Nice review and thanks for your take on its performance 

[TJ Hall]

12 hours ago, Cfhandyman said:

Very nice review and pictures. Loved the picture of the deer. 

Thanks…the deer are all over the course.

[RjGolf4Life]

15 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for the opportunity to be a part of this test...so grateful for the MGS team and all they bring to this community.

Got out and put the Test balls into play...weather was overcast and temperature was mid to upper 50s, started the round with no wind or rain, ended the round with steady rain and wind blowing around 15 mph.

Throughout the round, hit multiple shots in order to provide a comparison, the Test ball was typically the same distance and height as the other balls (Callaway Supersoft, Titleist AVX, Titleist Pro V1, Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro).  Overall, the Test ball was very easy to launch and had a nice "click" off the clubface.

Driver/3 wood

Did not have a good day with these clubs, distance seemed to be less than other balls but probably wasn't a really good comparison...would want to spend some more time with the Test ball with these clubs

Driving Iron/4-5 irons

These were amazing...first time playing with the Srixon ZX 3 Utility and absolutely loved it!  The ball came off the face very nicely and was a consistent shot shape (driven ball with a slight fade).  4 and 5 irons were crisp and nice, high ball flight.  Was also able to turn the ball over and hit a lower, drawing ball.

6-9 irons

Again, very clean coming off the clubface, consistent height and good distance.  Stopping/holding greens was really good.

PW-SW

Good control with these clubs and again, the ball launched high off the clubs.  Spin was really good on all shots, even shots that were hit a little low on the face had decent stopping power.  Had some time and hit a number of shots from just over 105 yards, all had similar heights and were well struck shots (used Vokey SM8 52* wedge, view of the approach, pin ticked back left):

- Callaway Supersoft: just off the green left, about pin high...ball released forward about 2 feet

- Vice Pro: 25 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 15 feet

- Titleist AVX: pin high to the right, spun back about 5 feet

- Titleist Pro V1: front edge of the green, spun back about 20 feet

- Test ball: 30 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 25 feet

Chipping/Sand

The Test ball just wants to go high...left most of the chips short as they came off the clubface high with spin.  Playing with the ball would likely help with distance control on chips.  Similar to the chipping green noted previously, felt like I could hit the necessary shots.

Coming out of the sand was very easy...again, the ball just gets airborne.  Came out high/soft with a bit of spin.  Really liked the way it came out!

Below is an approach out of the rough from about 50 yards, ball closest to the pin is the Test ball (released about 6 feet), second ball is Maxfli Tour X (released about 10 feet).

Here is another example of an approach from 95 yards with a 56* Vokey SM8…

Putting

Test ball comes off the putter cleanly, distance control was a bit of a problem for me today but that could be from playing the new ball and not spending anytime before the round at the putting green.

The Good

The ball wants to go high, had plenty of spin (maybe too much).  The Test ball has a very soft feel and has a very nice click off the club.  Distance with the Test ball was very nice.  I did not notice any issues with the ball flight regarding wind.

The Bad

The ball wants to go high...I'm not the straightest hitter and have some shots that need to be hit low/under a tree.  This would likely be a challenge with the Test ball.  The other drawback, as many others have noted, is the durability of the cover...cover showed damage very quickly (first picture was after sand shot, second is with a GW (first shot with this ball)).

Other than the durability issue, this would be a ball I would potentially consider putting into play.

 

 

 

Cool review. You must have a better swing than me because I could not get the ball to spin and hold on greens

[taylorjonasher]

With the recent R&A / USGA rollback announcement, does anyone else think that maybe this is the first prototype release for a new conforming (AVX) ball? I know that my distance numbers as well as several other testers indicated a shorter ball with the longer clubs. Thoughts?

[Rob Person]

21 minutes ago, taylorjonasher said:

With the recent R&A / USGA rollback announcement, does anyone else think that maybe this is the first prototype release for a new conforming (AVX) ball? I know that my distance numbers as well as several other testers indicated a shorter ball with the longer clubs. Thoughts?

I had mentioned this way way back in this thread as well as a first thought after testing it. Definitely a possibility. I am sure these manufacturers have had quite a bit of prep time since this was announced earlier in the year.

[taylorjonasher]

1 hour ago, Rob Person said:

I had mentioned this way way back in this thread as well as a first thought after testing it. Definitely a possibility. I am sure these manufacturers have had quite a bit of prep time since this was announced earlier in the year.

I'm not sure how, but I missed your musings somewhere in the first 24 pages! 

[TJ Hall]

3 hours ago, RjGolf4Life said:

Cool review. You must have a better swing than me because I could not get the ball to spin and hold on greens

I don’t know if it’s a better swing…it comes and goes for me (very inconsistent from round to round, or swing to swing!).  For as clean/crisp as I was hitting my irons/wedges, it was the complete opposite my woods.

While I normally have a high ball flight, I was quite surprised the non-test balls spun that much, generally don’t spin the ball back but has good stopping power.

Afrer reading the numerous reviews to date, I was really surprised the Teat ball spun that much.  I did have very good control on the chipping green previously, so I wonder if we all have the same ball.  Or we all just all hit the ball differently and it really shows the importance of a ball fitting!

[Fred Mitchell]

On 11/15/2023 at 2:31 PM, Fred Mitchell said:

A little late jumping in to post, testing was delayed due to wife having a small and successful surgery, have to get her well, I cant cook. My carpet isnt really conducive to testing with putter even though I tried and sort of got a feel for the ball. Played 9 late yesterday on a 18 hole semi private rural course   Hoping course would be nearly empty up front 9 and had exactly 1 single on the front nine with us [wife was cart driver and took some photos when she could quit watching the turkeys and squirrels lol]. One last disclaimer be easy on my technique , I had 3 right leg surgeries year before last and had to relearn to play again due to very little to no feeling on most of right leg and foot so due to balance that horrid stance and swing looks awful but is fairly repeatable for golf with exceptions of up/down especially thin shots.  I went into pro shop to pay and i told him I would be back in cart to change, pro laughed and said dont bother the only people on course are the founding members and I was pretty much told let them wear what they want, you probably wont see another golfer anyway. So no hating on the attire, I didnt change because that was time I could use testing and practicing before dark. 

Test comparison [New} balls were my usual gamer Bridgestone BXS, and The Maxfli Tour S that was recently and gratefully acquired when MGS got us the discount code. The purpose wasnt to really play a round. With 3 balls in play, the only time the test ball wasnt played was over water, didnt want to chance 1 on 1st trip out.  I routinely just stopped cart and dropped all 3 at different locations for FW, Utility Iron , long irons. It was just 9 holes far to early to call it yet but the test balls for me at least were longer especially on roll out, I assume the lack of back spin / stopping power contributes to this but it was consistent , thin shots created pretty drastic extra distance for me and since thin shots are my curse I was pretty happy with that, I didnt hit wedges and short irons as well as usual for any ball due to not getting enough height on them, the test balls did fly a little lower and I had to allow for the lower stopping power but even with the short irons and wedges when struck well the test ball was plus 1/2 to plus 1 club length longer in carry distance. My Once hated and now trusty G425 7 wood Likes the test ball, straight only slightly lower but boring trajectory and more carry, same for my TM DHY 4 and 5 utility irons. Mid 5/6 for me irons were about even in carry distance but the roll out edge once again went to the test ball, since I rarely if ever can carry to and  stop my longer irons on a green the stopping power loss here is a moot point for me. Scotty Cameron Golo S center shafted putter and the test balls are currently engaged and planning their honeymoon lol. If I have a strong suit its putting, when I am invited to a scramble they like my geezer tee shots for holes that have a advantage if the senior still has some length with his driver so thats a plus but other than occasional WOW shot with the other irons and woods and my in play drive so they can smash away the putter is the one they smile at, I have had one day putting bad since going to this putter an that was on freshly punched greens, that being said I REALLY putted well with the test balls, a hit a few oh wow putts but the long unrealistic putts that I lagged with it were just as impressive, nothing like having a really long lag put just stop no more than a gimme over and over to make a man happy. I didnt drop in any of the Lag putt length putts but some were nearly kissing the hole, law of averages will reward you if you keep that up, not to mention no 3 putts in 9 holes for a rec player is pretty dang sweet. Driver was hit and miss as far as getting it as high as I wanted but a little shorter carry and a lot more roll out would be a winner except for soft ground conditions, I picked a long wide hole and hit several shots with driver keeping it low as if into the wind, the boring low natural trajectory seemed to help the test ball here and it was the winner on this test. 

In conclusion from 7 iron up due to stopping power the test ball did not fare as well as the Maxfli or Bridgestone but I think my lower that normal ball flight yesterday magnified that some and a high ball hitter would fare much better. It may have been coincidence but the test balls were extra straight yesterday, the only driver yesterday in 9 holes with all 3 balls yesterday was the test ball bit it rolled bast the dog leg right down the middle of the fairway and on other holes the tester seemed more aimable left to right , if I aimed the tester down the left side it pretty much went down the left side and since my gamer and another ball that I have some experience with and gets rave reviews were the opponents it was not confidence in the ball and swing that produced that result.  I have a few photos to share and will put blinders on the wife next time to limit wildlife distractions from photography, especially all those turkey lol.   Note the 1 tee box with the gold tees I teed off from there instead to take water out of play and used my 4 DHY and tried to crush it to the green on a par 4, caught it to thin but still only roughly 35-40 yards short of green. Edit the yellow ball in the 1 pic is one of the other 2 balls, tester was only white one, if you look straight ahead at the tree just to right and end of dog leg sits the test ball, I smoked that one lol.

 

I have played 2 full rounds since the 1st post/round and still dont see how some are seeing it flying higher with more spin, when compared to Bridgestone BXS and Maxfli Tour S the test ball at no point in time flew as high or had as much spin as the other 2 balls. The only possible reason I can see is swing speed, I may not have enough swing speed to maximize the height or spin like some of the others have done. BUT COMMA with the lower trajectory and being HOTT of the face of longer clubs the extra distance has also been very consistent, especially big time rollout. I played the extra geezer tees to keep away from the water the other day on 1 hole on a par 4 but used a TaylorMade DHY 5 Utility iron and tried to cream it and caught the ball thin. The ball came out way to low but hot rolled over a hill and the wife and I lost sight, we looked everywhere and couldnt find it but as I found out after playing it more the roll out for me was way more than I am used to and it was way down the course.  I have not been able to get on a LM unfortunately as I dont own 1 and apparently pre Christmas time makes them unobtanium in the store I usually get any time I want. 

[Fred Mitchell]

5 hours ago, RjGolf4Life said:

Cool review. You must have a better swing than me because I could not get the ball to spin and hold on greens

Me either,I assume mine is slower swing speed.

 

[2puttbogey]

Does anyone want to try these out too? I have all 3 of mine and one has not been used. They do have the lines I put on them for putting. Shipping shouldn’t be too much. If you’re interested message me and we’ll figure it out. I know I’m not going to use them anymore.

[TJ Hall]

2 hours ago, Fred Mitchell said:

Me either,I assume mine is slower swing speed.

 

It could be the swing speed…based on your profile @Fred Mitchell, I do have a higher swing speed than you.  For me, the ball seemed to jump off the face.  Even trying to hit some low runners, the Test ball went higher than my normal ball.

[RjGolf4Life]

8 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

I don’t know if it’s a better swing…it comes and goes for me (very inconsistent from round to round, or swing to swing!).  For as clean/crisp as I was hitting my irons/wedges, it was the complete opposite my woods.

While I normally have a high ball flight, I was quite surprised the non-test balls spun that much, generally don’t spin the ball back but has good stopping power.

Afrer reading the numerous reviews to date, I was really surprised the Teat ball spun that much.  I did have very good control on the chipping green previously, so I wonder if we all have the same ball.  Or we all just all hit the ball differently and it really shows the importance of a ball fitting!

I think it truly shows how a ball fitting can help all of us improve our game because we all have different swings  

[Fred Mitchell]

This article came out on Yahoo news this morning saying the news of the "roll back ball" will be out next week. Somewhere in there it talks about 5% for higher swing speed players . Just a thought but are we testing the new roll back ball?  Woods, Fowler on opposite sides of rollback debate (yahoo.com)   Sorry link wont transfer.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Fred Mitchell
info added

[JeremyD]

Played again today. Played my Maxfli and a test ball picture one is the test ball from a few weeks ago. Scraped on first hole. Second picture from today. May irons, skulls, trees, even over a road. Minimal damage for 9 holes. I’m confused. Ball felt good and went as far as the Maxfli or further. 

[Peejer]

2023 Titleist ===TEST=== Golf Ball Review

 

INTRODUCTION:  Peejer, 57 years old male, 8.4 handicap – been playing for 37 years.  Strengths:  Iron play  Weakness:  Driver distance off tee

Lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (suburb of Denver)

I took this ball to the course for real play and ran the numbers on my golf simulator.  My testing methodology centered around comparisons to known balls.  I compared this Test ball against the current Titleist ProV1 and the Titleist AVX.  The numbers represented below are obviously MY swing.  Speed, Approach, Clubface, etc.  When hitting shots, I removed obviously bad strikes so it didn’t skew the data.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 4 out of 5

I was excited to try out the new ball, I wanted to see if I could figure out what kind of ball it was.  In previous years, I tested various versions of the Titleist ProV1 and Velocity.  I could tell it was a urethane cover ball from the feel, pressing a finger nail into the cover, it had a soft feel to it. 

AESTHETICS: 4 out of 5

Not a fair judgement here, as the word TEST on the ball won’t be in the final product.  What I did note was a ball that was free from defects, what I’ve come to expect from Titleist golf balls.

PERFORMANCE: 3 out of 5

Driver:  The ball had the best ball speed off the driver, but that didn’t really translate to the simulator data.  Another reviewer commented that the bll performed very well in wind, which isn’t a factor I could replicate on the simulator, nor was it windy the days I took the ball out.  The Test ball launched a little bit lower than the ProV1 and AVS balls.  Spin on the Test ball is slightly less than the ProV1, but more than the current AVX ball.  I’m not a big hitter, but the ball feels a little too soft off the driver.

7-iron:  The ball speed was again the best against the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It had significantly less spin of the 7-iron than the others, which also explains why it had more roll.  For me personally, I like iron shots that has minimal roll-out after hitting the green.  The ball definitely had a soft feeling off the irons.

PW:  Ball speed off the Test ball was 1 mph slower off the Pitching Wedge, a contrast to being the fastest with the Driver and 7-iron.  Which also correlates to a little less distance, but it makes up for it with the roll-out being longer.  That was surprising to me, as it launched higher, yet still had 1 yard/3 feet more roll than the ProV1/AVX balls.  I prefer for my wedge shots to stop quickly.  This ball didn’t do that for me.  Here again, the ball felt softer than the ProV1 and almost indistinguishable against the AVX.

PLAY IT OR TRADE IT: 3 out of 5

I don’t think this is the ball for my game.  Could I play it?  Sure, but I don’t see paying a premium price for it.  I also had some wear on the cover of the ball, not bad – but more than the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It was pretty apparent that Titleist made some changes to this ball from the AVX, but to be fair, I wouldn’t play/pay the AVX prices for it.  I don’t think this ball suits my style of play.  As stated in the introduction, I like a ball that stops quickly and the Test ball just didn’t do that for MY swing.  Trade It.

CONCLUSION

It’s not for me, I typically play a Srixon Q-Star Tour Divide, which is considered a low-spin ball.  But I can stop it on a dime, and give you nine cents change!  I wasn’t able to do that with the Titleist Test ball.  For that reason, it’s a pass for me and my game.

Many thanks to Titleist and MyGolfSpy for this testing opportunity.  I hope you gain some insight from my review and the data from the simulator. 

FINAL SCORE 14 out of 20:  70% score

-- Peejer

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Peejer

[MichaelC_81]

On 12/2/2023 at 9:43 AM, TJ Hall said:

Thank you to MGS and Titleist for the opportunity to be a part of this test...so grateful for the MGS team and all they bring to this community.

Got out and put the Test balls into play...weather was overcast and temperature was mid to upper 50s, started the round with no wind or rain, ended the round with steady rain and wind blowing around 15 mph.

Throughout the round, hit multiple shots in order to provide a comparison, the Test ball was typically the same distance and height as the other balls (Callaway Supersoft, Titleist AVX, Titleist Pro V1, Maxfli Tour X and Vice Pro).  Overall, the Test ball was very easy to launch and had a nice "click" off the clubface.

Driver/3 wood

Did not have a good day with these clubs, distance seemed to be less than other balls but probably wasn't a really good comparison...would want to spend some more time with the Test ball with these clubs

Driving Iron/4-5 irons

These were amazing...first time playing with the Srixon ZX 3 Utility and absolutely loved it!  The ball came off the face very nicely and was a consistent shot shape (driven ball with a slight fade).  4 and 5 irons were crisp and nice, high ball flight.  Was also able to turn the ball over and hit a lower, drawing ball.

6-9 irons

Again, very clean coming off the clubface, consistent height and good distance.  Stopping/holding greens was really good.

PW-SW

Good control with these clubs and again, the ball launched high off the clubs.  Spin was really good on all shots, even shots that were hit a little low on the face had decent stopping power.  Had some time and hit a number of shots from just over 105 yards, all had similar heights and were well struck shots (used Vokey SM8 52* wedge, view of the approach, pin ticked back left):

- Callaway Supersoft: just off the green left, about pin high...ball released forward about 2 feet

- Vice Pro: 25 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 15 feet

- Titleist AVX: pin high to the right, spun back about 5 feet

- Titleist Pro V1: front edge of the green, spun back about 20 feet

- Test ball: 30 feet short of pin, ball spun back about 25 feet

Chipping/Sand

The Test ball just wants to go high...left most of the chips short as they came off the clubface high with spin.  Playing with the ball would likely help with distance control on chips.  Similar to the chipping green noted previously, felt like I could hit the necessary shots.

Coming out of the sand was very easy...again, the ball just gets airborne.  Came out high/soft with a bit of spin.  Really liked the way it came out!

Below is an approach out of the rough from about 50 yards, ball closest to the pin is the Test ball (released about 6 feet), second ball is Maxfli Tour X (released about 10 feet).

Here is another example of an approach from 95 yards with a 56* Vokey SM8…

Putting

Test ball comes off the putter cleanly, distance control was a bit of a problem for me today but that could be from playing the new ball and not spending anytime before the round at the putting green.

The Good

The ball wants to go high, had plenty of spin (maybe too much).  The Test ball has a very soft feel and has a very nice click off the club.  Distance with the Test ball was very nice.  I did not notice any issues with the ball flight regarding wind.

The Bad

The ball wants to go high...I'm not the straightest hitter and have some shots that need to be hit low/under a tree.  This would likely be a challenge with the Test ball.  The other drawback, as many others have noted, is the durability of the cover...cover showed damage very quickly (first picture was after sand shot, second is with a GW (first shot with this ball)).

Other than the durability issue, this would be a ball I would potentially consider putting into play.

 

 

 

Mate, this is a spot on review. You have literally taken the words out of my mouth in regards to the performance of this Prototype.

I'm no professional, but after using these Titleist's for a full round, I definitely seen and felt the difference from my current Taylormades.

Mainly around the greens and the approach shots. The balls got some great height, flew straight, and either stopped on the spot or got a little bit of back spin.

@TJ Hall awesome review mate, and great pics!

[RjGolf4Life]

28 minutes ago, Peejer said:

2023 Titleist ===TEST=== Golf Ball Review

 

INTRODUCTION:  Peejer, 57 years old male, 8.4 handicap – been playing for 37 years.  Strengths:  Iron play  Weakness:  Driver distance off tee

Lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (suburb of Denver)

I took this ball to the course for real play and ran the numbers on my golf simulator.  My testing methodology centered around comparisons to known balls.  I compared this Test ball against the current Titleist ProV1 and the Titleist AVX.  The numbers represented below are obviously MY swing.  Speed, Approach, Clubface, etc.  When hitting shots, I removed obviously bad strikes so it didn’t skew the data.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 4 out of 5

I was excited to try out the new ball, I wanted to see if I could figure out what kind of ball it was.  In previous years, I tested various versions of the Titleist ProV1 and Velocity.  I could tell it was a urethane cover ball from the feel, pressing a finger nail into the cover, it had a soft feel to it. 

AESTHETICS: 4 out of 5

Not a fair judgement here, as the word TEST on the ball won’t be in the final product.  What I did note was a ball that was free from defects, what I’ve come to expect from Titleist golf balls.

PERFORMANCE: 3 out of 5

Driver:  The ball had the best ball speed off the driver, but that didn’t really translate to the simulator data.  Another reviewer commented that the bll performed very well in wind, which isn’t a factor I could replicate on the simulator, nor was it windy the days I took the ball out.  The Test ball launched a little bit lower than the ProV1 and AVS balls.  Spin on the Test ball is slightly less than the ProV1, but more than the current AVX ball.  I’m not a big hitter, but the ball feels a little too soft off the driver.

7-iron:  The ball speed was again the best against the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It had significantly less spin of the 7-iron than the others, which also explains why it had more roll.  For me personally, I like iron shots that has minimal roll-out after hitting the green.  The ball definitely had a soft feeling off the irons.

PW:  Ball speed off the Test ball was 1 mph slower off the Pitching Wedge, a contrast to being the fastest with the Driver and 7-iron.  Which also correlates to a little less distance, but it makes up for it with the roll-out being longer.  That was surprising to me, as it launched higher, yet still had 1 yard/3 feet more roll than the ProV1/AVX balls.  I prefer for my wedge shots to stop quickly.  This ball didn’t do that for me.  Here again, the ball felt softer than the ProV1 and almost indistinguishable against the AVX.

PLAY IT OR TRADE IT: 3 out of 5

I don’t think this is the ball for my game.  Could I play it?  Sure, but I don’t see paying a premium price for it.  I also had some wear on the cover of the ball, not bad – but more than the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It was pretty apparent that Titleist made some changes to this ball from the AVX, but to be fair, I wouldn’t play/pay the AVX prices for it.  I don’t think this ball suits my style of play.  As stated in the introduction, I like a ball that stops quickly and the Test ball just didn’t do that for MY swing.  Trade It.

CONCLUSION

It’s not for me, I typically play a Srixon Q-Star Tour Divide, which is considered a low-spin ball.  But I can stop it on a dime, and give you nine cents change!  I wasn’t able to do that with the Titleist Test ball.  For that reason, it’s a pass for me and my game.

Many thanks to Titleist and MyGolfSpy for this testing opportunity.  I hope you gain some insight from my review and the data from the simulator. 

FINAL SCORE 14 out of 20:  70% score

-- Peejer

 

Very cool and thorough review!

[MichaelC_81]

Just filled in my review form and it was all positive. It was hard to judge the distance off the driver as I wasn't connecting the best, but I was getting pretty decent connection and flight from my irons.

The one thing that was obvious straight away was that these balls wanted to fly! As soon as they were hit they got some great height, which made the approach shots really easy.

Definitely liked the feel of these off of all my clubs, and the sound when I did manage to bomb one was amazing. I don't think they have the distance in them as other balls, but they were a pleasure to use. Will be heading out again in the next week or so and looking forward to having another hit with them.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Want to shout out and thank everyone for contributing so far! There will be servesl reports and articles written on these and very much looking forward to the official release from Titleist.

For those who haven't done the form yet please do asap!

For the 5 of us that don't have the golf balls yet they have be resent. Fingers crossed!

[TJ Hall]

5 hours ago, MichaelC_81 said:

Mate, this is a spot on review. You have literally taken the words out of my mouth in regards to the performance of this Prototype.

I'm no professional, but after using these Titleist's for a full round, I definitely seen and felt the difference from my current Taylormades.

Mainly around the greens and the approach shots. The balls got some great height, flew straight, and either stopped on the spot or got a little bit of back spin.

@TJ Hall awesome review mate, and great pics!

Thank you, appreciate the kind words

[ZMendle10]

I'm going to be doing almost all of my testing indoors and so far I have found the TEST ball to be incredibly soft to the point where every iron shot feels out the middle. I haven't done any driver testing yet but so far this is proving to be a very low spin ball with PW and 7i. Gonna also save the wedges for last since it seems that the durability might be an issue based off of the other testers feedback so far but we shall see. 

[Cfhandyman]

7 hours ago, Peejer said:

2023 Titleist ===TEST=== Golf Ball Review

 

INTRODUCTION:  Peejer, 57 years old male, 8.4 handicap – been playing for 37 years.  Strengths:  Iron play  Weakness:  Driver distance off tee

Lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (suburb of Denver)

I took this ball to the course for real play and ran the numbers on my golf simulator.  My testing methodology centered around comparisons to known balls.  I compared this Test ball against the current Titleist ProV1 and the Titleist AVX.  The numbers represented below are obviously MY swing.  Speed, Approach, Clubface, etc.  When hitting shots, I removed obviously bad strikes so it didn’t skew the data.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 4 out of 5

I was excited to try out the new ball, I wanted to see if I could figure out what kind of ball it was.  In previous years, I tested various versions of the Titleist ProV1 and Velocity.  I could tell it was a urethane cover ball from the feel, pressing a finger nail into the cover, it had a soft feel to it. 

AESTHETICS: 4 out of 5

Not a fair judgement here, as the word TEST on the ball won’t be in the final product.  What I did note was a ball that was free from defects, what I’ve come to expect from Titleist golf balls.

PERFORMANCE: 3 out of 5

Driver:  The ball had the best ball speed off the driver, but that didn’t really translate to the simulator data.  Another reviewer commented that the bll performed very well in wind, which isn’t a factor I could replicate on the simulator, nor was it windy the days I took the ball out.  The Test ball launched a little bit lower than the ProV1 and AVS balls.  Spin on the Test ball is slightly less than the ProV1, but more than the current AVX ball.  I’m not a big hitter, but the ball feels a little too soft off the driver.

7-iron:  The ball speed was again the best against the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It had significantly less spin of the 7-iron than the others, which also explains why it had more roll.  For me personally, I like iron shots that has minimal roll-out after hitting the green.  The ball definitely had a soft feeling off the irons.

PW:  Ball speed off the Test ball was 1 mph slower off the Pitching Wedge, a contrast to being the fastest with the Driver and 7-iron.  Which also correlates to a little less distance, but it makes up for it with the roll-out being longer.  That was surprising to me, as it launched higher, yet still had 1 yard/3 feet more roll than the ProV1/AVX balls.  I prefer for my wedge shots to stop quickly.  This ball didn’t do that for me.  Here again, the ball felt softer than the ProV1 and almost indistinguishable against the AVX.

PLAY IT OR TRADE IT: 3 out of 5

I don’t think this is the ball for my game.  Could I play it?  Sure, but I don’t see paying a premium price for it.  I also had some wear on the cover of the ball, not bad – but more than the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It was pretty apparent that Titleist made some changes to this ball from the AVX, but to be fair, I wouldn’t play/pay the AVX prices for it.  I don’t think this ball suits my style of play.  As stated in the introduction, I like a ball that stops quickly and the Test ball just didn’t do that for MY swing.  Trade It.

CONCLUSION

It’s not for me, I typically play a Srixon Q-Star Tour Divide, which is considered a low-spin ball.  But I can stop it on a dime, and give you nine cents change!  I wasn’t able to do that with the Titleist Test ball.  For that reason, it’s a pass for me and my game.

Many thanks to Titleist and MyGolfSpy for this testing opportunity.  I hope you gain some insight from my review and the data from the simulator. 

FINAL SCORE 14 out of 20:  70% score

-- Peejer

 

Excellent and well thought out review. Enjoyed reading it. Well done.  

[golfinnut]

9 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Want to shout out and thank everyone for contributing so far! There will be servesl reports and articles written on these and very much looking forward to the official release from Titleist.

For those who haven't done the form yet please do asap!

For the 5 of us that don't have the golf balls yet they have be resent. Fingers crossed!

 

Awesome comments so far.  I can't wait for this official release either because I'm sure this ball will go in the bag.  

Hmmm ...  I'm pretty sure I haven't received the balls either.  Still have my address?    

[scubahoops]

On 11/30/2023 at 4:42 PM, GolfSub70 said:

Hello everyone. Jay from Sub 70 here. First off, sincere apologies to the moderators and Titleist for my delay on my testing. I dealt with a herniated disc in my back two years ago and ended up going through PT and then getting an injection for it. I felt a shooting pain in the same area of my back when I was lifting something about 10 days ago and really haven't been able to swing a club without pain since then. I rested it for the last week and finally go to the point where I could reliably swing a club for more than 10 swings. 

I'll skip the box and ball photos since they are posted often earlier in this thread. I've switched ball models pretty often over the last year or two...Pro v1, AVX, Snell MTB-X, Tour BX, Clear Green and Black, etc. The biggest issue is that two years ago I was a very low driver spin and high iron spin player.  I'm talking like 1800 driver spin and 7000+ with a 7 iron. That has almost completely flipped due to some swing changes and now I tend to have pretty moderate driver spin (2400-2600) and lower iron spin. 

For these first testing sessions I hit shots with the Titleist test ball ("proto"), the AVX, and the Clear Tour Green ball. I started playing the AVX because I hit the ball extremely high and wanted to see if I could get something in a more penetrating window. I used Dynamic Gold S400 shafts for the 50 yard and 120 yard shots and then Project X 6.0 steel shaft for the 170 yards. I wasn't really surprised by much with these three yardages...except that the Tour Green spins like crazy. The AVX and the prototype weren't far off from each other in terms of launch and spin. Biggest difference probably being the 50 yard backspin numbers but the std dev for the proto was pretty big. I may have had a 6500 spinner in there or something.

 

 

 

After that session I had no chance putting together enough good driver swings due to my back issues. I got to that today though and was really impressed by the results. If you go with the same efficiency then the AVX was about 0.5mph faster but that's splitting hairs with about 10 drives hit with each. But the proto launched slightly higher and spun slightly less so it ended up being four yards longer. Unfortunately I didn't hit the Tour Green because I ran out of time but I'll circle back to that at some point.

 

I'll put it through some more testing in the coming weeks and try to report back with a bigger sample size. But all things considered it seemed fairly comparable to the AVX. I may need a ball that spins more off the irons but that's on me.

Sorry about the back problems, glad you are doing better.  

Very nice review and the data behind it is great and very helpful.

[HikingMike]

16 hours ago, Peejer said:

2023 Titleist ===TEST=== Golf Ball Review

 

INTRODUCTION:  Peejer, 57 years old male, 8.4 handicap – been playing for 37 years.  Strengths:  Iron play  Weakness:  Driver distance off tee

Lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado (suburb of Denver)

I took this ball to the course for real play and ran the numbers on my golf simulator.  My testing methodology centered around comparisons to known balls.  I compared this Test ball against the current Titleist ProV1 and the Titleist AVX.  The numbers represented below are obviously MY swing.  Speed, Approach, Clubface, etc.  When hitting shots, I removed obviously bad strikes so it didn’t skew the data.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 4 out of 5

I was excited to try out the new ball, I wanted to see if I could figure out what kind of ball it was.  In previous years, I tested various versions of the Titleist ProV1 and Velocity.  I could tell it was a urethane cover ball from the feel, pressing a finger nail into the cover, it had a soft feel to it. 

AESTHETICS: 4 out of 5

Not a fair judgement here, as the word TEST on the ball won’t be in the final product.  What I did note was a ball that was free from defects, what I’ve come to expect from Titleist golf balls.

PERFORMANCE: 3 out of 5

Driver:  The ball had the best ball speed off the driver, but that didn’t really translate to the simulator data.  Another reviewer commented that the bll performed very well in wind, which isn’t a factor I could replicate on the simulator, nor was it windy the days I took the ball out.  The Test ball launched a little bit lower than the ProV1 and AVS balls.  Spin on the Test ball is slightly less than the ProV1, but more than the current AVX ball.  I’m not a big hitter, but the ball feels a little too soft off the driver.

7-iron:  The ball speed was again the best against the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It had significantly less spin of the 7-iron than the others, which also explains why it had more roll.  For me personally, I like iron shots that has minimal roll-out after hitting the green.  The ball definitely had a soft feeling off the irons.

PW:  Ball speed off the Test ball was 1 mph slower off the Pitching Wedge, a contrast to being the fastest with the Driver and 7-iron.  Which also correlates to a little less distance, but it makes up for it with the roll-out being longer.  That was surprising to me, as it launched higher, yet still had 1 yard/3 feet more roll than the ProV1/AVX balls.  I prefer for my wedge shots to stop quickly.  This ball didn’t do that for me.  Here again, the ball felt softer than the ProV1 and almost indistinguishable against the AVX.

PLAY IT OR TRADE IT: 3 out of 5

I don’t think this is the ball for my game.  Could I play it?  Sure, but I don’t see paying a premium price for it.  I also had some wear on the cover of the ball, not bad – but more than the ProV1 and AVX balls.  It was pretty apparent that Titleist made some changes to this ball from the AVX, but to be fair, I wouldn’t play/pay the AVX prices for it.  I don’t think this ball suits my style of play.  As stated in the introduction, I like a ball that stops quickly and the Test ball just didn’t do that for MY swing.  Trade It.

CONCLUSION

It’s not for me, I typically play a Srixon Q-Star Tour Divide, which is considered a low-spin ball.  But I can stop it on a dime, and give you nine cents change!  I wasn’t able to do that with the Titleist Test ball.  For that reason, it’s a pass for me and my game.

Many thanks to Titleist and MyGolfSpy for this testing opportunity.  I hope you gain some insight from my review and the data from the simulator. 

FINAL SCORE 14 out of 20:  70% score

-- Peejer