Impending 2025 Ball Test

[Shrek74]

Am I the only one excited for the 2025 ball test? I realize it's probably 6 months away (or more), but I'm already excited to get all those details and stats and stuff from the test. It's one of my favorite things HQ does, even though they do a ton of other very important and informative things.

I play in Excel for days/weeks after the ball test releases it's stats. But then again, many would call me a bit strange and a nerd (I have worked in IT for 25+ years).

I'm just excited about it.

[Erin B]

I’m excited too, although I could care less about the data stuff. I just want it to play better than what I’m playing now. I’m still in ProV1 and Chrome Tour mode, ProV1 is my favorite. OnCore was great for a minute, but now not so much.

[The TXBexar]

22 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

Am I the only one excited for the 2025 ball test? I realize it's probably 6 months away (or more), but I'm already excited to get all those details and stats and stuff from the test. It's one of my favorite things HQ does, even though they do a ton of other very important and informative things.

I play in Excel for days/weeks after the ball test releases it's stats. But then again, many would call me a bit strange and a nerd (I have worked in IT for 25+ years).

I'm just excited about it.

Am in the same boat with ya. The data is what I love about golf, digging into different things and making determined decisions based on real, measured numbers is always something that has intrigued my engineering mind.

I'm just curious to see what kind of data they actually release; It's been seeming that lately they don't really provide the data dumps they used too. I forget what it was for, but the last ball test dat they provided parsed it all down to a few key metric numbers and put it in a simple categorical table to sort & filter in and that was it. It was a little disappointing... 

[Rob Person]

I know titleist has already started their white box testing with the pros, as per their email, so it's only a matter of time before they are in the hands of HQ and amateur testers!

[JAYER38]

58 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

Am I the only one excited for the 2025 ball test? I realize it's probably 6 months away (or more), but I'm already excited to get all those details and stats and stuff from the test. It's one of my favorite things HQ does, even though they do a ton of other very important and informative things.

I play in Excel for days/weeks after the ball test releases it's stats. But then again, many would call me a bit strange and a nerd (I have worked in IT for 25+ years).

I'm just excited about it.

This is 1 test that makes me really excited! I love the data it gives and honestly enjoy playing different types of balls just to see the feeling, performance, and overall how they affect my personal gam.

its really funny to see how 2  balls can be close to the same spec yet perform so different on course with an average of shots

[KC Golf]

I love the Pro v1x but too cheap to keep buying them so I play the Z Star Diamond. 

It’s pretty good and I use it because of MGS testing results. 

[VernL4]

I am very curious about the next round of ball tests. I saw an article on a different golf website that said to STOP using Titleist and TaylorMade balls. According to their "robot testing", they said Wilson and Callaway balls gave the best results. I did have good results with some Callaway balls that I used recently, but I've not hit a Wilson ball in years.

[GR_Golf_Guy]

Love how you guys handle your balls.  These tests are always very well done, and I enjoy grabbing some of your recomendations and trying them for my self in the real world.  This past year I played a lot of ProV1s and Chrome Tours, Think I like the Cally's best for me.  Then my buddy talked me into trying some of the Titleist Tour Softs and I got really good results, and the ball was much more durable.  I would love to see you guys organize your results and say, here are the best balls performance wise regardless of price point, but then also give results for best performance for balls under $40... a lot of players out there are still interested in ball performance but just aren't willing to spend the big bucks on the top of the line balls.

[trike11]

Anything new I cannot wait to see. Snell came out with a super scathing email in response to the "Do not play these" article so I am kind of interested to see how those perform since they said they fixed whatever issues were had when MGS tested.

I think it would be cool if MGS combined the testing with the ball lab but I suppose you can easily cross check. Anyway, I will have my popcorn ready regardless.

Edited October 18 by trike11

[LarryG]

Really excited for the new ProV1- rumors tell me it will have many of the attributes of the ProV1 left dot.

[Siamese Moose]

2 hours ago, VernL4 said:

I've not hit a Wilson ball in years.

Ping's Ballnamic recommended the Wilson Staff as first choice for me (second was Callaway Chrome Tour then TP5x), so I tried all three. I am not good enough to tell any difference between them (and I spent a couple hours around the practice green with them, that's my first priority). I usually find the Wilson $5 cheaper than the others, so it's now my primary ball.

[chisag]

On 10/17/2024 at 9:28 AM, Shrek74 said:

Am I the only one excited for the 2025 ball test? I realize it's probably 6 months away (or more), but I'm already excited to get all those details and stats and stuff from the test. It's one of my favorite things HQ does

I'm just excited about it.

 

... Such an interesting test and lots of value but again, just a starting point. MGS uses a specific standard for each swing speed. As an example, slow swing speeds are measured with something like a 12* head, regular flex shaft and a neutral AOA. Fast swing speeds will be measured with something like a 9* head, x flex shaft and a +2 AOA.

... I get those are probably close to what the average users are playing with those swing speeds but if you aren't using those parameters your performance could be very different. A slow swinger using a 10.5* head, with an A flex shaft and a -3 AOA may spin the ball off the tee much more than the robot using the standard testing driver. And if the slow swinger is playing a 9* head with a stiff flex shaft and a +3 AOA he may spin the ball much less than the robot. 

... If you have a baseline with the ball you play using your driver, it can help a ton. If the robot produces 3256 spin with a Kirkland V3 but you produce 2647 spin with a Kirkland, you can extrapolate the Maxfli Tour S that the robot spins 2782 has a good chance of spinning 400-600 less for your swing and at a slow speed, not enough spin to optimize your carry. 

... I love the MGS Ball Test and look forward to it while realizing it is just an average and a starting point. Knowing my ball preference and comparing the test to what I play is always interesting and fun! 

Edited October 18 by chisag

[Josh Parker]

I enjoy looking at all the data but agree that it's a starting point of what to look at/for.

[Coulter]

I really enjoy the golf ball test! With so many ionomer 3 piece balls out now I wish they had that as a category. I know they don’t perform like the urethane balls but would love to see just how different they are plus I’m always searching for a deal on balls and these are typically much cheaper than urethane 

[D-M-G]

Better check these out:

TOBIEMON High-Performance Golf Balls

[Bohnson]

Prov1 will perform, but the chrome tour line is great too! 

[Kory Zimney]

Bring on the data. Best way to make good decisions and the golf ball is the one piece of equipment you use on every shot.