Volvik Vivid Golf Balls: 2024 Forum Review

[MNUte]

12 minutes ago, schooner44 said:

One of the first things I learned from my dad is the most important thing in golf is being able to find your ball. If I can't track it in the air, I have no clue where it lands. I simply cannot see white golf balls but absolutely love the reds and orange. I guess if I knew I was going to pipe it down the middle of the fairway every time, I'd be more willing to play whites since tracking their flight patterns wouldn't be nearly as important. For my level of play, I'll stick with what I can see/find. At the end of the day, its whatever works best for each player...that's why they make a billion different styles of golf balls.

100%. A lot of people I've talked to struggle tracking white balls. For my friend, he mentioned that every time he's tried to play one of the red ones, it just messes with his eyes and he struggles to focus on them. So he not only struggles tracking them, but his ball striking goes to crap as well.

 

My brother in law also mentioned to me during one round that he was struggling to see the red ball on the ground. I thought he was messing with me because it was only about 75 yards away in the middle of the green. Nope, he was being dead serious and didn't see it until we were about 20 yards away. Whereas for me it was bright enough that I was tempted to joke "The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!"

 

The fact that we're all so different and what plays well with our eyes is so different is both fascinating and downright crazy at times. 

[schooner44]

On 9/5/2024 at 3:45 PM, MNUte said:

Take a look at the YouTube video by Golf Sidekick titled "The Easiest Way to Chip with 3 Simple Shots - Rule of 12 Simplified." I go with a slightly different approach of keeping the club itself consistent and just mentally adjust the landing spot on the accordingly instead of keeping the landing spot consistent and adjusting the club. But it just comes down to committing to what you prefer and practicing it a good amount.

I watched that video and it explains it very well. It reminded me of an old video from Lee Trevino. Its also worth a watch.

 

[MNUte]

9 minutes ago, schooner44 said:

Circling back to the chipping and bump n' run discussion, I played in scrambles this past Thursday and Friday. A scramble is a great way to work on those little shots because there's a good likelihood that someone's ball is going to be near the green. I am pleased to say that I saw a big improvement and over the 2 rounds, I didn't once see the Vivids take off like they had before. I guess it was just a matter of knowing what shot to hit and when.

In addition, my putting was definitely much better after switching back to the 15g weights in my Scotty. This just proves my theory that a lot of the issues I had were a result of me trying the 25g weights (clearly not for me) versus anything having to do with the ball. I had always like the way I could lineup the Srixon Divides but there was a marked improvement with lining up putts using the triple alignment on the Vivids.

I did decide to take advantage of the sale Volvik has going on and ordered 5 dozen (3 red, 2 orange) of the Vivids. This will really give me the chance to go back and forth between those and my Srixon Divides over a good period of time before making a final decision on which will be my go-to ball.

You are absolutely drowning in golf balls now! 

I'm glad to hear that the putting has been better after going back to the weights. When I tried the Divides, I noticed I was second guessing myself a lot given how the divide naturally creates a very thin line. Whereas with the triple lines, whether true or not, I felt I had a lot clearer or easier of a time lining the ball up with my read. 

[schooner44]

16 minutes ago, MNUte said:

You are absolutely drowning in golf balls now! 

I'm glad to hear that the putting has been better after going back to the weights. When I tried the Divides, I noticed I was second guessing myself a lot given how the divide naturally creates a very thin line. Whereas with the triple lines, whether true or not, I felt I had a lot clearer or easier of a time lining the ball up with my read. 

I lose plenty of golf balls and firmly follow the 3 minute rule. Its not worth my time to spend 10 minutes looking for a golf ball so I will gladly drop one and move on. I would say I typically go through 1-3 lost balls in a round so my stock won't last me nearly as someone who's a good golfer lol.

[jlofgren22]

1 hour ago, MNUte said:

Bit of a mini-update to start the week: I tweaked my ankle a bit so I haven't been able to play or practice in the last few days. But I did give a sleeve with a white, green and yellow ball to a low-mid handicap friend (I believe he's currently low teens) to get his thoughts.

 

He absolutely loves the white ball, especially how it makes the dimples disappear and how it highlights the alignment aid. He also loved the green and yellow ones since the green is distinct enough from grass without burning your eyes and the yellow is absolutely not a practice ball. On the flip side, when I showed him the red and orange, he hated them. As he said, his eyes have trouble tracking some of the red matte balls and just one look at the red and he outright said it'd be way too bright for him. I'll follow up with him and get his on-course thoughts later. 

 

I also showed them to a friend who used to work at a golf course and who used to sell the older editions of the Vivids. He loved how far the balls have come and absolutely loved the white ball. He also mentioned the fun aspect to them, where he'd absolutely love playing the Marvel Vivids just for fun and how his non-golfing wife would probably go out and play a round if he got her some of the Mickey/Disney Vivids. 

 

So that's two more votes of confidence for the white ball from pretty decent golfers. Guess it truly is just matter of taste at times. 

Sorry to hear you tweaked your ankle! Never fun to deal with - hope it heels up quickly!

I think it's cool that Volvik did a Vivid ball in matte white. While I don't personally think I'd play the white ball because of tracking it in the air reasons, I think it's smart for Volvik to produce a white option for players who want the benefit of playing matte balls without needing to play a neon bright color. 

[jlofgren22]

1 hour ago, schooner44 said:

One of the first things I learned from my dad is the most important thing in golf is being able to find your ball. If I can't track it in the air, I have no clue where it lands. I simply cannot see white golf balls but absolutely love the reds and orange. I guess if I knew I was going to pipe it down the middle of the fairway every time, I'd be more willing to play whites since tracking their flight patterns wouldn't be nearly as important. For my level of play, I'll stick with what I can see/find. At the end of the day, its whatever works best for each player...that's why they make a billion different styles of golf balls.

I 100% agree with you. My initial reason for playing matte balls prior to this test was for ease of sight in the air. I love the Volvik gave multiple options though for those players who don't need the neon balls.

[jlofgren22]

1 hour ago, schooner44 said:

Circling back to the chipping and bump n' run discussion, I played in scrambles this past Thursday and Friday. A scramble is a great way to work on those little shots because there's a good likelihood that someone's ball is going to be near the green. I am pleased to say that I saw a big improvement and over the 2 rounds, I didn't once see the Vivids take off like they had before. I guess it was just a matter of knowing what shot to hit and when.

In addition, my putting was definitely much better after switching back to the 15g weights in my Scotty. This just proves my theory that a lot of the issues I had were a result of me trying the 25g weights (clearly not for me) versus anything having to do with the ball. I had always like the way I could lineup the Srixon Divides but there was a marked improvement with lining up putts using the triple alignment on the Vivids.

I did decide to take advantage of the sale Volvik has going on and ordered 5 dozen (3 red, 2 orange) of the Vivids. This will really give me the chance to go back and forth between those and my Srixon Divides over a good period of time before making a final decision on which will be my go-to ball.

That's huge! Being able to get the Vivids to play to your shot strengths has got to feel great. At this point, Volvik might need to bring you on as a brand ambassador for the Vivids 

[schooner44]

3 minutes ago, jlofgren22 said:

That's huge! Being able to get the Vivids to play to your shot strengths has got to feel great. At this point, Volvik might need to bring you on as a brand ambassador for the Vivids 

If they want to supply me with golf balls, I'll gladly accept the position!

[jlofgren22]

54 minutes ago, MNUte said:

100%. A lot of people I've talked to struggle tracking white balls. For my friend, he mentioned that every time he's tried to play one of the red ones, it just messes with his eyes and he struggles to focus on them. So he not only struggles tracking them, but his ball striking goes to crap as well.

 

My brother in law also mentioned to me during one round that he was struggling to see the red ball on the ground. I thought he was messing with me because it was only about 75 yards away in the middle of the green. Nope, he was being dead serious and didn't see it until we were about 20 yards away. Whereas for me it was bright enough that I was tempted to joke "The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!"

 

The fact that we're all so different and what plays well with our eyes is so different is both fascinating and downright crazy at times. 

Crazy the games our eyes play on us! With my terrible vision, I can't imagine not being able to see the bright red balls, but clearly my eyes are flawed since I need them in the first place lol!

I did notice that when taking pictures of the balls, my phone camera had difficulty focusing in on the red balls and made them appear slightly blurry. Maybe that same effect happens with other peoples' actual eyes when trying to focus in, kinda' like looking into the sun. It's so bright that it's hard to focus on.

[jlofgren22]

56 minutes ago, schooner44 said:

I watched that video and it explains it very well. It reminded me of an old video from Lee Trevino. Its also worth a watch.

 

Agreed that the video broke down the 6, 8, 10 rule really well. I'm definitely going to give that a try the next time out as well as when I practice some chipping again. I'll add the Trevino video to the list, too!

[jlofgren22]

57 minutes ago, MNUte said:

You are absolutely drowning in golf balls now! 

I'm glad to hear that the putting has been better after going back to the weights. When I tried the Divides, I noticed I was second guessing myself a lot given how the divide naturally creates a very thin line. Whereas with the triple lines, whether true or not, I felt I had a lot clearer or easier of a time lining the ball up with my read. 

The Vivid alignment aid is the best aid I've ever seen on a ball. I love it! Not too big or loud over the entire ball, but large enough to give a great visual.

[jlofgren22]

40 minutes ago, schooner44 said:

I lose plenty of golf balls and firmly follow the 3 minute rule. Its not worth my time to spend 10 minutes looking for a golf ball so I will gladly drop one and move on. I would say I typically go through 1-3 lost balls in a round so my stock won't last me nearly as someone who's a good golfer lol.

You and me both! I'd rather keep up with the pace of play vs looking for a $2 golf ball for 10 minutes.