2023 Titleist White Box Testing Thread

[GolfSpy_BEN]

+1 at the turn. Initial thoughts: I don’t like this ball. Will expand on that after the round. Stay tuned.

[warrenator8]

Received my box on Monday and am heading to the sim this afternoon to test them out against my usual Warbirds. Can't wait to see how they do!

[martinezm216]

Would love to test these!

[taylorjonasher]

Preliminary Numbers from the Garmin 10

- 20 Balls Each - ProV1 RCT / Titleist Test Ball - TaylorMade P770 4 Iron

-  ProV1's were hit first, then the test ball - club head speed measured faster in the test ball group, I can probably attribute that to warm up time. I tried to warm up for about 5 minutes prior to the start of recording balls. 

- Dropped the bottom 10 balls each for distance

- Estimated spin rate vs. measured spin rate - I am not sure how accurate the estimated spin rate is for either ball. Measured spin was significantly less than the estimated spin with either ball. 

Initial Takeaways:

- When adjusted for the difference in club speed (.95), the test ball carried 1.4 yards further

- When adjusted for the difference in average club speed (.95), the test ball total distance was 2.8 yards less

- The test ball had a higher spin rate; although I can't verify it as it is estimated vs. measured. R10 says that the test ball had an average spin rate of 4725 vs 3653 on the ProV1. 

- The test ball had a higher ball flight (24.49 yds vs 30.33 yds)

Looking at these numbers, the test ball is performing more like what I would expect a ProV1X to - higher launch, higher spin. However, the feel is softer than the ProV1 it was compared against. Curious to see what other people have found. I will report back after putting these down at the practice area and playing this weekend. 

[Fred Mitchell]

6 hours ago, MH15 said:

A Quick Introduction

What's up everyone! I am Mark, and this is my first time getting to test a product for MGS and really in general, so thanks to Titleist and MGS! Very excited to be included in this one and hopefully more in the future!

I have been playing golf since I was a kid, but really became passionate and upped my frequency of play around the time of covid where I got to play almost daily at a local course that a buddy worked at.

I joined a league this year where I finished in 3rd place for individual rankings and 5th as a team. Excited to get back out there in league play once the weather in Chicago allows for it, hopefully in early April (or late March, one can hope!)

My handicap is probably around 18 - I have never have gotten an official number though. I plan to change that next year. My best round this year (and ever) was an 83 at a 71.7/122 rated course... admittedly, I'm not quite sure what that means. I also shot a 38 thru 9 at my league, securing a first place for the week and a good final push towards that top 3 finish. 

This winter, I hope to get a monthly membership for a sim to stay in "golf shape" and to hone in some of the areas that need improvement!

Testing Results!

I am going to go over a few things as well as some of the data. To me, there are 3 main categories for a golf ball: Looks, Feel and Performance. I got to test these with a Trackman at a PGA Superstore which was pretty cool.

*Disclaimer* - I am not the most consistent golfer, meaning I may sometimes hit my 7i 156 yds and then turn around and hit it 150 yds. Usually, the difference isn't drastic, but just thought I'd preface this review with that bit of info!

 

Looks: 6/10

This ball is just so extremely average looking. There is nothing wrong with that by any means. I didn't feel wowed or underwhelmed, more indifferent. The reason I mention this as a factor in my review is because I am a firm believer in the fact that if you are enjoying the ball you're playing and WANT it to perform well, more likely than not you will find ways to make it perform well. That being said, my testing was entirely objective for this ball. I'd give it a 6/10 - I can appreciate the deeper dimples for what I would assume to be higher spin capabilities. It is a pass in my opinion on the looks, nothing spectacular but nothing negative.

 

Feel: 7/10

I usually play softer balls, such as the e6 or occasional Supersoft. This ball did not feel as hard as a high end harder ball such as the pro v1, but also not as cheap as a something like a velocity. It felt like a good balance of clubface feedback without feeling like I'm hitting a stone or a very clicky cheap ball. It provided significantly more feedback than my e6, which admittedly feels like hitting a marshmallow when pured. I would say the feel was slightly above average - I immediately knew a good strike vs poor strike.

 

The Numbers: 5/10

The data just does not allow for me to give this ball an outstanding score here. My process was to hit about 7-8 shots per club (7 iron, PW, and Driver in that order) then to eliminate the 2-3 shot outliers that were shanks or chunks, etc... Averages below per club and per ball.

 

Bridgestone e6

 

 

What I gather from this is that the Driver is probably the most telling of the results. The Titlelist gave a significantly higher average spin rate of about 450 rpm, hence the steeper land angle. This cost me about 8 yds total on average. My drives tend to run out quite a bit, so this makes sense to me. I go for a lower spin rate in a ball to eliminate a slice or "strong fade" as I prefer to call it.

What surprised me with the 7 iron was the higher spin rate out of the Titleist, but also 5 yards total more on average. I thought the higher spin would be a steeper land angle, which it was, but I was just hitting it further for whatever reason. 

Both the e6 and Titleist performed almost identical on my PW. The Titleist, as mentioned in the feel portion, gave more feedback as to when I thought it was a spinny shot as opposed to the consistent soft feel of the e6. I can imagine that people with more spin control than myself would enjoy that.

 

Final Thoughts/Score: 18/30

I am not saying this ball is bad by ANY means, it is actually quite an impressive ball - just not for my play style currently. I imagine this ball would best suit the shot shaper and spin controller, who likes a semi-soft ball with feedback that almost provides immediate constructive criticism. For me, however, I cannot justify switching over to this ball despite its superior shot feedback. Also, what would probably deter me is the price point. I imagine that this is a middle to high end model in the Titleist repertoire, which would probably run $30+ per dozen. The e6 at ~$25 per dozen is just unbeatable for me. 

 

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions! This ball is great, just not for me! Thanks again to Titleist and MGS!

Possibly lowering the loft would reduce spin and increase rollout on the driver , if it got it close to your E6 driver and your mid and long irons were plus or minus 5 yards longer with even less rollout than the E6 to hold the green the scenario would change. plus maybe 14 drivers per round compared to several more than that irons.

 

[Fred Mitchell]

2 hours ago, taylorjonasher said:

Preliminary Numbers from the Garmin 10

- 20 Balls Each - ProV1 RCT / Titleist Test Ball - TaylorMade P770 4 Iron

-  ProV1's were hit first, then the test ball - club head speed measured faster in the test ball group, I can probably attribute that to warm up time. I tried to warm up for about 5 minutes prior to the start of recording balls. 

- Dropped the bottom 10 balls each for distance

- Estimated spin rate vs. measured spin rate - I am not sure how accurate the estimated spin rate is for either ball. Measured spin was significantly less than the estimated spin with either ball. 

Initial Takeaways:

- When adjusted for the difference in club speed (.95), the test ball carried 1.4 yards further

- When adjusted for the difference in average club speed (.95), the test ball total distance was 2.8 yards less

- The test ball had a higher spin rate; although I can't verify it as it is estimated vs. measured. R10 says that the test ball had an average spin rate of 4725 vs 3653 on the ProV1. 

- The test ball had a higher ball flight (24.49 yds vs 30.33 yds)

Looking at these numbers, the test ball is performing more like what I would expect a ProV1X to - higher launch, higher spin. However, the feel is softer than the ProV1 it was compared against. Curious to see what other people have found. I will report back after putting these down at the practice area and playing this weekend. 

4 less yards rollout looks nice for the tester also.

[Fred Mitchell]

On 11/7/2023 at 1:21 PM, Hook DeLoft said:

I played with one of the test balls for 12 and 1/2 holes this morning, at which point a very stupid decision led to it being lost in a hazard.  First impressions are that it is as long as anything out there and feels pretty good off the putter (not too hard/clicky).  It doesn't seem to spin as much as my gamer Bridgestone B XS on short shots around the green.  I did test resistance to damage by hitting a pine tree with a tee shot.  Not a mark on it.

I'm going to get some launch monitor numbers in the next day or two and compare it to the Bridgestone and the Titleist Pro V1x.

The Bridgestone XS is my gamer as of now but I did but some Maxfli Tour S to try out on the super discount sale. I am curious what the monito tells you.

 

[fixyurdivot]

I spent a little time at the practice area this afternoon, following men's league play, comparing the "Test" balls against an AVX, TP5, and Maxfli Tour.  I did a handful of sets from 60, 30, and 10 yards.  To be honest, I really couldn't tell them apart from sound or feel.  On the 60 yard shots, I'd give the nod to the Maxfli on grab/hold (not by much), with the others pretty much matching each other on that characteristic.

Here is a quick clip of a 10 yard shot.

Tomorrow, I'm playing Desert Springs and will  play a "Test" ball for the first 9, then switch to the AVX.  I play again on Saturday and will do the same but switch to the Maxfli.

[Midwaygolfer01]

Would be pleased to test.

Mike

[GolfSpy_BEN]

6 hours ago, Ben Joest said:

+1 at the turn. Initial thoughts: I don’t like this ball. Will expand on that after the round. Stay tuned.

I finished the round +2 73.

For clarity sake, I played and scored my round with the ball I’ve been playing lately, a Bridgestone BXS. Because I didn’t have any groups bearing down on me, I played a shadow round on each hole. Teeing off with the gamer and then the test ball for comparison purposes. 

The test ball did not stack up well against the Bridgestone. It was consistently 20 yards shorter off the tee. On one hole, it went 246 yards and the gamer went 286 yards. On the par 4 2nd hole, which is a 6 iron off the tee due to a risk/reward forced carry. The Bridgestone went 204 yards, the test ball was approx. 30 yards shorter

The test ball is pictured, the gamer is so far ahead of it, it is tough to see. 

On approach shots it didn’t seem as drastic, but it was probably a half to a full club shorter. 

Spin around the greens wasn’t noticeably better or worse, but it didn’t feel as soft off the putter as the gamer did. Although, to be fair, while using the Odyssey with a white hot insert, everything feels relatively soft off the putter. I will be interested to see how it feels off the LAB, once it arrives. 

Next up will be adding some dots to one of the test balls to use with the MLM2Pro to compare spin numbers with the irons and wedges. 

[Javs]

2 minutes ago, Ben Joest said:

I finished the round +2 73.

For clarity sake, I played and scored my round with the ball I’ve been playing lately, a Bridgestone BXS. Because I didn’t have any groups bearing down on me, I played a shadow round on each hole. Teeing off with the gamer and then the test ball for comparison purposes. 

The test ball did not stack up well against the Bridgestone. It was consistently 20 yards shorter off the tee. On one hole, it went 246 yards and the gamer went 286 yards. On the par 4 2nd hole, which is a 6 iron off the tee due to a risk/reward forced carry. The Bridgestone went 204 yards, the test ball was approx. 30 yards shorter

The test ball is pictured, the gamer is so far ahead of it, it is tough to see. 

On approach shots it didn’t seem as drastic, but it was probably a half to a full club shorter. 

Spin around the greens wasn’t noticeably better or worse, but it didn’t feel as soft off the putter as the gamer did. Although, to be fair, while using the Odyssey with a white hot insert, everything feels relatively soft off the putter. I will be interested to see how it feels off the LAB, once it arrives. 

Next up will be adding some dots to one of the test balls to use with the MLM2Pro to compare spin numbers with the irons and wedges. 

Seems like you saw even more distance loss than I did. I felt like off the driver the prototype White Box Ball was about 10 to 15 yards shorter. I had it about a half Club shorter off the irons. However, it is definitely shorter. On the positive, it did not spin excessively or move sideways too much. Even when I tried to move it, the ball moved only in tight fades or draws. I think it would be a great winter time ball. 

[Randall Robbins]

Interesting - from you two-year I got just the opposite, gaming some 5 - 10 with the driver, and about 3 or 4 with my irons.  Where I really saw a difference was with fairway woods and hybribs , getting tons of roll once this baby hit the ground.  It was noticeably softer feeling off the putter and chips.  I was also able to get pretty good stopping power on shots into the green.  Will use again Friday and see if I feel any differently, but I certainly would be playing this if it is in production.

[Javs]

5 minutes ago, Randall Robbins said:

Interesting - from you two-year I got just the opposite, gaming some 5 - 10 with the driver, and about 3 or 4 with my irons.  Where I really saw a difference was with fairway woods and hybribs , getting tons of roll once this baby hit the ground.  It was noticeably softer feeling off the putter and chips.  I was also able to get pretty good stopping power on shots into the green.  Will use again Friday and see if I feel any differently, but I certainly would be playing this if it is in production.

Very interesting. Maybe the White Box ball fit your swing and swing speed better? I am used to playing a higher compression ball with a firmer feel. What is the normal ball you play? Just curious.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Javs

[Randall Robbins]

11 minutes ago, Javs said:

Very interesting. Maybe the White Box ball fit your swing and swing speed better? I am used to playing a higher compression ball with a firmer feel. What is the normal ball you play? Just curious.

Proof or AVX

[Javs]

8 minutes ago, Randall Robbins said:

Proof or AVX

That is probably the answer. I found this ball to be an improved AVX.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Javs

[Randall Robbins]

5 minutes ago, Javs said:

That is probably the answer. I found this ball to be an improved AVX.

My feeling as well

[Josh Parker]

40 minutes ago, Javs said:

That is probably the answer. I found this ball to be an improved AVX.

That's kind of my take on it as well.  Shots into the green did a one hop stop or very little backspin.  

Driver felt smooth but I lost a little distance as well. 

[NubianRugby]

Got mine a couple of days ago and it's supposed to be beautiful here in DC tomorrow. I might be able to sneak over to the course tomorrow midday to try and test these out. 

Plan is to hit my regular gamer and then the test ball for comparison, that's how you do this, right?

Many thanks to @GolfSpy_APH for the gentle reminder to post here instead of the DM. Super excited for my first shot at being a MGS tester!!!

[funkyjudge]

Initial Impressions and Data from Launch Monitor Session

You have already seen my unboxing impressions and the dissertation that I did regarding my planned testing methodology. Today, I spent more than 2.5 hours (actually closer to 3 hours) on one of the launch monitors/simulators at Baylinks Golf, which is the golf center where I do a great deal of my clubfitting and analysis work. The LM is an HD Golf model (made in Canada), and as someone who owns two other launch monitors, and who has done fitting and testing work with all of them, plus several other models, I have a great deal of confidence in these monitors, which I have used for close to 6 years, as has the PGA Professional who owns Baylinks Golf.  I collected ten pages of data, and did my tabulations and comparative analysis for another two hours after I got home late this afternoon.  The following is a summary of my findings and impressions based on this launch monitor session.

Partial Shots (25 & 50 yards) with 50* 54* and 58* Wedges:

Most of these shots were taken with my 54-12 and 58-10 Ping Glide 2.0 Wedges, with a small sample of low punched partial wedge shots taken using my 50* Cobra "Snakebite" wedge.  Here's a summary of what the data showed:

1. Total spin is between 900 - 1,550 RPM lower with this Titleist Prototype Ball than with either the 2023 Maxfli Tour X CG or the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash balls on partial wedge shots from both of these distances.
2. Due to the lower spin, run-out is about 20% greater with the Titleist "Test" ball on 25-yard pitch and chip shots (ball speed average of 31.8 MPH), and a whopping 100% greater on-average when the Titleist White Box Prototype ("TEST") ball is used with any of these wedge lofts for 50-yard pitch or chip shots. This run-out gap widens by an even greater margin vs. the above-referenced balls (Maxfli Tour X CG and Pro V1xLeft Dash), plus vs. the standard Pro V1 ball) when hitting lower-trajectory partial wedge shots.
3. The combination of low spin and significantly greater run-out, which naturally go hand-in-hand, makes control very difficult on all types of short pitch and chip shots

Full Swing Shots with Irons and Pitching Wedge:

Once you get to full-swing shots with the irons and pitching wedge, the gaps in total spin and run-out actually widen. I saw an average spin difference of 1,060 RPM on full shots of 100 - 113 yards with my Paradym pitching wedge, which already produces fairly low spin numbers, and about 1,200 RPM less on full shots with my Paradym 7-iron when using the Titleist Test ball. The average spin rate of less than 3,600 RPM with this Titleist ball on full 7-iron shots of between 146-152 yards makes this Titleist Prototype ball unplayable with the irons, in my opinion .... at least, for me.

Add to the above the fact that I saw a consistent trend of almost 9 yards of additional run-out (8.8 yards actual delta) on full 7-iron shots, and about 4.5 to 5 yards of additional run-out on full PW shots with the Titleist Test ball, making the "unplayability factor" even worse.

Here's Some Positive Data Regarding this Test Ball .... at least for me!:

When it comes to the longer clubs (hybrids, and especially fairway woods and the driver), the lower-spin/greater run-out trend continues, which for me is a very good thing.  Lower spin and greater run-out leads to both longer shots (at least overall .... carry distance wasn't the greatest, but it was never more than 10-12 yards short of what I would expect from my better hits) and straighter shots, as well. With these longer clubs, particularly with the driver, I was seeing very straight shots and lots of run-out; however, the launch monitor/sim is set to "firm fairways", and because I was hitting these longer clubs VERY straight, I saw good overall distance. Nearly every shot that I hit with my driver, 4-wood, Apex Utility Wood and 21* Sub 70 hybrid went virtually dead-straight when hitting this ball, while that was not exactly the case with the balls that I was hitting for comparison purposes. There were no extreme hooks, in fact nothing worse than gentle draws and 2 to 5 yard fades with the Titleist Prototype ball, even when I was sure that I had hit some shots that were going to miss the fairways left, and maybe a couple that I thought could fade off the fairway to the right. I wasn't hitting the ball all that well today, and based on a few shots that I missed by a fairly wide margin with the other balls (almost exclusively hooks) I expected to see some that would at least show themselves to be significant draws when hitting this Titleist Test ball, but that definitely was NOT the case. I did hit a few driver shots and one or two with my 4-wood that carried farther when hitting the Maxfli Tour X CG and Pro V1x Left Dash balls, but they ended-up in the rough, or in the "virtual trees" on a couple of occasions.  We'll see how things go when I get outside and play these balls on a real golf course!

Keep in mind that this data and my impressions regarding this ball's performance were derived entirely from a 2.5+ hour launch monitor session. I still plan to spend an hour or more on the chipping/putting green and in the practice bunker at an area golf course tomorrow (I have to go there for an awards luncheon anyway, so I might as well make use of the facilities). This will be followed by a round of casual golf using these Titleist Prototype balls (and hopefully hitting some side-by-side shots with my favorite Maxfli Tour X CG balls for comparison purposes). I will post my final report and complete the questionnaire following these additional ball-testing activites .... stay tuned for the final report.

[CFreddie]

Got my sleeve the other day - as others have noted shown, the box is unmarked and contains three "TEST" balls.  Simple enough.

11/8 Update - Simulator Time

I'm still working on consolidating some data from today's sim session, but this definitely feels a bit "off" - not necessarily a bad thing, just very different from the typical feel of a Pro V1 / ProV1x (note, I've never hit an AVX).  I also brought along my current "gamers" - Maxfli Tour X & Kirkland v3s, along with some V1/V1xs.  

First off, the data:

As you can see, the "TEST" ball didn't really stand-out (in a good or bad way).  For example, for Total Distance, the TEST ball got about 3 yards more with my lob wedge and almost 7 yards with the 7I, but lost 7 yards with the Driver.  In addition, the ball does appear to be a little less "spinny", especially with the longer clubs.  Again, not horrible, not great...just "ok".  

One big concern (that others have pointed out) - the cover seems to be less durable than others.  After hitting a number of shots with my lob, I'm already starting to see some wear on the cover.

Planning to play 18 this week to put this ball through a proper on-course test, but results so far aren't overwhelmingly good.  
 

11/21 Update - Putting the Ball on the Course

I was able to get out this morning for a quick 18; slight drizzle and cooler temps meant I had the course to myself (literally was the only person out there for most of my round).  Played decent (85 in these conditions I'll take every time), and utilized the TEST ball in various instances around the course.  Some takeaways:
- Off the tee, the ball felt incredibly "springy" (not shocking) but flew pretty true and had decent roll-out (even though fairways were pretty soft).  In comparison to my gamer, the feel difference was noticeable but flight / carry was pretty similar. 

- On irons and wedges, more of the same with flight & carry, but definitely noticed some degradation of spin (especially on wedges).  Even when attempting to put spin on the ball around the green, I noticed less control on the TEST ball than what I'm typically used to.  
- Finally, while putting, the ball just felt kind "meh".  I'm a big touch guy when it comes to putting, and I really did not enjoy the feel off the face (note - I've been toying with switching my gamer Scotty for the Cobra Kingsport...really enjoying the results so far ).

Conclusions:

All-in-all, as I saw in my sim testing - this ball is just pretty middle of the road for me.  Would I consider gaming it in the future? Probably not, but I did enjoy testing out a new product from Titleist and seeing what they are working on in future.  

As always, thanks so much to the MGS Forum Staff for the opportunity - fire away with questions / feedback if you have any!

Edited November 21, 2023 by CFreddie

[TJ Hall]

Putted with the test ball, Pro V1x, Vice Pro (current gamer), AVX and Tour X this evening for around 30 minutes with my Spider Tour Black

It was very interesting…the test ball had a very muted “click” off the face and was much different than the others.  It almost felt dead coming off the putter, felt like I had to put more effort to get the same distance.

I recently bought an old Zebra putter for my daughter to assist with the test

This is her first time with a real club…let her hit some putts with the test ball and then switched her to the AVX.  Asked her what she thought and she immediately said the test ball felt “different” than the AVX.

Grabbed a Srixion Soft Feel and Callaway ERC Soft just as another comparison and the test ball was still more “muted” than those.

Will be interesting to see how it does with chips/pitches and longer shots.

[Clayton]

I super duper enjoyed testing the ProV last year. One was a hit and the other was a total dud for me. I still don't know what they were and what they ended up doing with the information. Hope all of you enjoy your balls! (golf balls!!!!)

[Javs]

30 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

Initial Impressions and Data from Launch Monitor Session

You have already seen my unboxing impressions and the dissertation that I did regarding my planned testing methodology. Today, I spent more than 2.5 hours (actually closer to 3 hours) on one of the launch monitors/simulators at Baylinks Golf, which is the golf center where I do a great deal of my clubfitting and analysis work. The LM is an HD Golf model (made in Canada), and as someone who owns two other launch monitors, and who has done fitting and testing work with all of them, plus several other models, I have a great deal of confidence in these monitors, which I have used for close to 6 years, as has the PGA Professional who owns Baylinks Golf.  I collected ten pages of data, and did my tabulations and comparative analysis for another two hours after I got home late this afternoon.  The following is a summary of my findings and impressions based on this launch monitor session.

Partial Shots (25 & 50 yards) with 50* 54* and 58* Wedges:

Most of these shots were taken with my 54-12 and 58-10 Ping Glide 2.0 Wedges, with a small sample of low punched partial wedge shots taken using my 50* Cobra "Snakebite" wedge.  Here's a summary of what the data showed:

1. Total spin is between 900 - 1,550 RPM lower with this Titleist Prototype Ball than with either the 2023 Maxfli Tour X CG or the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash balls on partial wedge shots from both of these distances.
2. Due to the lower spin, run-out is about 20% greater with the Titleist "Test" ball on 25-yard pitch and chip shots (ball speed average of 31.8 MPH), and a whopping 100% greater on-average when the Titleist White Box Prototype ("TEST") ball is used with any of these wedge lofts for 50-yard pitch or chip shots. This run-out gap widens by an even greater margin vs. the above-referenced balls (Maxfli Tour X CG and Pro V1xLeft Dash), plus vs. the standard Pro V1 ball) when hitting lower-trajectory partial wedge shots.
3. The combination of low spin and significantly greater run-out, which naturally go hand-in-hand, makes control very difficult on all types of short pitch and chip shots

Full Swing Shots with Irons and Pitching Wedge:

Once you get to full-swing shots with the irons and pitching wedge, the gaps in total spin and run-out actually widen. I saw an average spin difference of 1,060 RPM on full shots of 100 - 113 yards with my Paradym pitching wedge, which already produces fairly low spin numbers, and about 1,200 RPM less on full shots with my Paradym 7-iron when using the Titleist Test ball. The average spin rate of less than 3,600 RPM with this Titleist ball on full 7-iron shots of between 146-152 yards makes this Titleist Prototype ball unplayable with the irons, in my opinion .... at least, for me.

Add to the above the fact that I saw a consistent trend of almost 9 yards of additional run-out (8.8 yards actual delta) on full 7-iron shots, and about 4.5 to 5 yards of additional run-out on full PW shots with the Titleist Test ball, making the "unplayability factor" even worse.

Here's Some Positive Data Regarding this Test Ball .... at least for me!:

When it comes to the longer clubs (hybrids, and especially fairway woods and the driver), the lower-spin/greater run-out trend continues, which for me is a very good thing.  Lower spin and greater run-out leads to both longer shots (at least overall .... carry distance wasn't the greatest, but it was never more than 10-12 yards short of what I would expect from my better hits) and straighter shots, as well. With these longer clubs, particularly with the driver, I was seeing very straight shots and lots of run-out; however, the launch monitor/sim is set to "firm fairways", and because I was hitting these longer clubs VERY straight, I saw good overall distance. Nearly every shot that I hit with my driver, 4-wood, Apex Utility Wood and 21* Sub 70 hybrid went virtually dead-straight when hitting this ball, while that was not exactly the case with the balls that I was hitting for comparison purposes. There were no extreme hooks, in fact nothing worse than gentle draws and 2 to 5 yard fades with the Titleist Prototype ball, even when I was sure that I had hit some shots that were going to miss the fairways left, and maybe a couple that I thought could fade off the fairway to the right. I wasn't hitting the ball all that well today, and based on a few shots that I missed by a fairly wide margin with the other balls (almost exclusively hooks) I expected to see some that would at least show themselves to be significant draws when hitting this Titleist Test ball, but that definitely was NOT the case. I did hit a few driver shots and one or two with my 4-wood that carried farther when hitting the Maxfli Tour X CG and Pro V1x Left Dash balls, but they ended-up in the rough, or in the "virtual trees" on a couple of occasions.  We'll see how things go when I get outside and play these balls on a real golf course!

Keep in mind that this data and my impressions regarding this ball's performance were derived entirely from a 2.5+ hour launch monitor session. I still plan to spend an hour or more on the chipping/putting green and in the practice bunker at an area golf course tomorrow (I have to go there for an awards luncheon anyway, so I might as well make use of the facilities). This will be followed by a round of casual golf using these Titleist Prototype balls (and hopefully hitting some side-by-side shots with my favorite Maxfli Tour X CG balls for comparison purposes). I will post my final report and complete the questionnaire following these additional ball-testing activites .... stay tuned for the final report.

Very detailed review and very interesting. Seems that some of us are getting very different results. While I notated the lower spin on this ball, I did not find that there was excessive run out on pitches or chips. My results were more of a one hop and stop. When the ball did run out it was just a few feet. Additionally, on 6, 7 and 8 iron shots the ball hit like a lawn dart and stuck. If it moved it was just a foot or two forward or spinning back. However, never any excessive run out or back spin. I found the ball was very predictable after a practice session. This carried over into course conditions. Maybe club head speed and angle of attack was a large influence on these results. I fully agree that with longer clubs (especially the driver) there was only moderate side spin. When I moved the ball it was tight fades or draws. I also found a loss of distance. Great review and my curiosity is up now on the various results on the different shots. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Javs

[funkyjudge]

10 minutes ago, Javs said:

Very detailed review and very interesting. Seems that some of us are getting very different results. While I notated the lower spin on this ball, I did not find that there was excessive run out on pitches or chips. My results were more of a one hop and stop. When the ball did run out it was just a few feet. Maybe club head speed and angle of attack was a large influence on these results. I fully agree that with longer clubs (especially the driver) there was only moderate side spin. When I moved the ball it was tight fades or draws. I also found a loss of distance. Great review and my curiosity is up now on the various results on the different shots. 

Javs,  You'll see my full review within a few days (4 or 5 at the most).  Often, the on-course results are quite different than the "dry ball data", as a certain Welsh YouTube Golf Reviewer likes to call it, seems to indicate. We'll see if that's the case here.

[Javs]

Just now, funkyjudge said:

Javs,  You'll see my full review within a few days (4 or 5 at the most).  Often, the on-course results are quite different than the "dry ball data", as a certain Welsh YouTube Golf Reviewer likes to call it, seems to indicate. We'll see if that's the case here.

Thanks and I am looking forward to seeing your final results. Mine are on page 4 of this thread if interested. 

[ctg44]

Mine came earlier this week, but work has sucked badly and now the weather is supposed to go from perfect to awful. I've got some great luck going on right now....not only not getting to play any golf, but when I will get to go play, the weather will be bad.

[funkyjudge]

16 minutes ago, Javs said:

Thanks and I am looking forward to seeing your final results. Mine are on page 4 of this thread if interested. 

Yep, saw it and read it last night .... very good (and thorough) review.

[Javs]

1 minute ago, funkyjudge said:

Yep, saw it and read it last night .... very good (and thorough) review.

Thank you! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

[taylorjonasher]

44 minutes ago, Clayton said:

I super duper enjoyed testing the ProV last year. One was a hit and the other was a total dud for me. I still don't know what they were and what they ended up doing with the information. Hope all of you enjoy your balls! (golf balls!!!!)

 I will never not laugh at a ball joke. 

[brogies]

I did initial testing tonight on a Trackman indoors, comparing the test ball with a 2023 ProV1 RCT. I was not hitting the ball especially well tonight for a few reasons, including I was in a rush and didn't warm up as much as I usually do. Anyway, initial thoughts are that the ball feels a bit softer than the ProV1 off the club head, but not by a lot.

I did notice after only 7-8 56º wedge shots, the cover was already getting minor scuffs. So durability is definitely a concern. The cover does feel softer.

I hit 56º, 7-iron, and driver, both with the ProV1 RCT and the test ball. As mentioned, not a good practice session really. I play a draw but for some reason was fading everything pretty heavily.

Initial results seem like the 7-iron and driver are longer with the ProV1 RCT with lower spin. The test ball seems to spin higher with every club, which is interesting. You can see the full results here.

I'll test more head-to-head with the ProV1 and might mix in a TP5 as well. Most likely this weekend and will report back.

Edited November 9, 2023 by brogies