Orlimar Releasing Premium Golf Balls

[BK in TEXAS]

Got mine as well, tooth test says these are closer to a Bridestone RX than a ProV or Callaway.....

I'm almost afraid to ask.......

[RoverRick]

I said I was going to test this but I got the Titlest Test (Pro V1x?) in the mail today then the cart broke down, and I did a shorter driver test, and simply decided the Orlimar Ball could wait until tomorrow.

 

If anyone is interested in the Pro V1x? test you will have to find that thread.

[hckymeyer]

Just got back from playing a quick 9 since the weather is nice here. It's a balmy 45 degrees, sunny with about a 10mph wind.

 

I'm not going to comment on overall distance since the weather is a bit colder and I'm sure I'd pick up some yardage in June, but I will compare to the other ball I was playing. I played two balls today, the Orlimar and a Penta TP5. It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with a true comparison. Mostly due to it being colder out and not being real grooved in my swing right now. I'm still not entirely sure if the differences were me not hitting a shot particularly well, or the ball.

 

Distance - I generally found myself around 10yds farther with the Penta than with the Orlimar. Didn't seem to matter if I nutted it or had a slight mis-hit. Penta off the toe still went farther than a "smashed of the sweet spot" Orlimar. Not by much, but I did notice. For the mid-irons I didn't notice the difference in distance as much, and by the time I was hitting scoring clubs they went about the same.

 

Spin - As odd as it sounds to say, I felt like the Orlimar spun more than the Penta. Both in a good way, and in a bad way. Off the driver, FW, and long irons I was getting a lot more side spin than the Penta. The ball looked like it was ballooning a bit and had quite a slice. Compared to the baby cut or straight ball I was getting with the Penta. Getting into the scoring clubs I was still getting more spin with the Orlimar. My Penta shots would one hop and stop, or maybe come back a couple of feet. With the Orlimar I had a few shots that spun back 10-15'. It felt great coming off the irons, but that spin isn't something I'm used to.

 

Putting - Felt great, very similar to the Penta. Had a nice soft feeling without being mushy.

 

Durability - Only played 11 holes (played #3 & #4 twice while waiting) and it held up great so far. At the end of my round I'd say the Orlimar was in slightly better shape than the Penta. Not a whole lot of difference, but maybe a bit more scuffing on the Penta. I'd wager this ball will hold up well and playable for a few rounds.

 

Overall thoughts - I'm not sure if this ball is the best fit for me. I didn't like the side spin I was getting on my driver and long irons, but I did like the feel around the greens and the spin with wedge shots. I really think I need to hang on to my samples and try them again next spring/summer when the weather is nicer. The bottom line for me is going to come down to price. If they price these balls along the lines of other premium balls (~$45/dozen) I will not be purchasing them. I think I can get better performance with a different ball. If they can price these near the 2nd tear and come in at the $25-$30 per dozen range then I think they are definitely worth checking out.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Just got back from playing a quick 9 since the weather is nice here. It's a balmy 45 degrees, sunny with about a 10mph wind.

 

I'm not going to comment on overall distance since the weather is a bit colder and I'm sure I'd pick up some yardage in June, but I will compare to the other ball I was playing. I played two balls today, the Orlimar and a Penta TP5. It's harder than I thought it would be to come up with a true comparison. Mostly due to it being colder out and not being real grooved in my swing right now. I'm still not entirely sure if the differences were me not hitting a shot particularly well, or the ball.

 

Distance - I generally found myself around 10yds farther with the Penta than with the Orlimar. Didn't seem to matter if I nutted it or had a slight mis-hit. Penta off the toe still went farther than a "smashed of the sweet spot" Orlimar. Not by much, but I did notice. For the mid-irons I didn't notice the difference in distance as much, and by the time I was hitting scoring clubs they went about the same.

 

Spin - As odd as it sounds to say, I felt like the Orlimar spun more than the Penta. Both in a good way, and in a bad way. Off the driver, FW, and long irons I was getting a lot more side spin than the Penta. The ball looked like it was ballooning a bit and had quite a slice. Compared to the baby cut or straight ball I was getting with the Penta. Getting into the scoring clubs I was still getting more spin with the Orlimar. My Penta shots would one hop and stop, or maybe come back a couple of feet. With the Orlimar I had a few shots that spun back 10-15'. It felt great coming off the irons, but that spin isn't something I'm used to.

 

Putting - Felt great, very similar to the Penta. Had a nice soft feeling without being mushy.

 

Durability - Only played 11 holes (played #3 & #4 twice while waiting) and it held up great so far. At the end of my round I'd say the Orlimar was in slightly better shape than the Penta. Not a whole lot of difference, but maybe a bit more scuffing on the Penta. I'd wager this ball will hold up well and playable for a few rounds.

 

Overall thoughts - I'm not sure if this ball is the best fit for me. I didn't like the side spin I was getting on my driver and long irons, but I did like the feel around the greens and the spin with wedge shots. I really think I need to hang on to my samples and try them again next spring/summer when the weather is nicer. The bottom line for me is going to come down to price. If they price these balls along the lines of other premium balls (~$45/dozen) I will not be purchasing them. I think I can get better performance with a different ball. If they can price these near the 2nd tear and come in at the $25-$30 per dozen range then I think they are definitely worth checking out.

 

I'll echo the above sentiments...same Minnesota conditions (a little less windy in Lakeville), mid-40's.

 

Distance was hard to judge -- although I played over the weekend in similar temperatures and felt as thought I had a tad more distance with the Titleist NXT and ProV1x I was playing that day, but nothing to get excited about. Distance differences could have been swing related - wasn't swinging my best today.

 

That said, hckymeyer is right on about the spin -- had similar driver and long/mid iron results -- lots of side spin on solid hits (although I was fighting a bad case of the blocks all day). Scoring irons the sucker spun very nicely - was able to back up a pitching wedge from 110 yds and had several other shots check up - even when I didn't want them to!

 

Also agree with the putting - the ball felt terrific off the face with a nice, solid click.

 

Durability -- ditto again. Played 18 with 1 ball (another plus - based on this 1 round I can state categorically that it's impossible to lose these balls ). Not much scuffing - and it's ready for another round.

 

Again, based on the spin, I'd agree with hckymeyer, I don't think this ball is best for me - at least based on how I was swinging today (which wasn't great).

 

Would I buy them? Depends on the price -- the overall feel/performance of them for me was very similar to the Wilson FG Tour, which was a tad too spinny for me. The FG's are priced around $39/dozen...if these are in the same ballpark I don't think I'd buy them. At around $25/dozen is better, but then again I would prefer to use something like the Wilson Duo at only $20/dozen -- I really liked that ball!

[RoverRick]

I played 9 holes with this ball today. I played the front 9 with the Titleist Prototype 2013 and the back with this ball.

 

Unlike I friends from the frozen tundra to the north today was a typical fall day, 75* and sunny and wind was somewhere around 8 or 9 mph. Tomorrow will be the same except 81*. There is a house for sale down the street by the way. I will also say that I was striking the ball really well today.

 

Distance - This was pretty interesting because with the driver and the 3 wood this ball was longer than the Penta by 3 or 4 yards but was actually a bit shorter with the irons. I will get more into this in the Overall thoughts.

 

Feel - This was a soft feeling ball that felt really good off the all the clubs. It felt like it was easy to compress and never

Spin - This ball had a lot of spin. I could stop it on a dime, I could also let it run out. I was even able to back the ball up. it was very controllable around the green. As far as side spin, I moved the ball the way I wanted when I wanted it and it was never out of control. I hit the ball very straight (14 or 14 FWs today, and while I did not hit many GIR today, I was never very far off line.)

 

Putting - Soft without feeling mushy is a very good way to describe it. Distance was what you would expect.

 

Durability - It was just fine after 9 holes. It did not not feel as tacky as it did out of the box but there were no marks on it.

 

Overall thoughts - This ball is very similar to the old Nike One Platinum. Much closer to that than the Pro V1. Because of the spin on this and the Platinum most people found that they were short. Way shorter than most balls. Because my driver and 3 wood are spin killers I experienced longer results than the other guys. I think much like the NOP you have to have a pretty good swing speed to take full advantage of this ball. However, while it depends on what price they put on this ball, I would play it. I like a ball that spins more than anything else.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

 

Unlike I friends from the frozen tundra to the north today was a typical fall day, 75* and sunny and wind was somewhere around 8 or 9 mph. Tomorrow will be the same except 81*. There is a house for sale down the street by the way.

 

81*? If it wasn't a toaster oven in the summer, would be down there in a half a heartbeat!

 

Then again, we did get to play last January 7th up here. Needed an awl to make a hole for the tee, and hitting the green was like hitting the cart path, but it was golf!

[RoverRick]

81*? If it wasn't a toaster oven in the summer, would be down there in a half a heartbeat!

 

Then again, we did get to play last January 7th up here. Needed an awl to make a hole for the tee, and hitting the green was like hitting the cart path, but it was golf!

 

I often can still wear shorts to play golf in December and January here. Not the whole time but at least one week a month it will be pretty warm

[BK in TEXAS]

The bottom line for me is going to come down to price. If they price these balls along the lines of other premium balls (~$45/dozen) I will not be purchasing them. I think I can get better performance with a different ball. If they can price these near the 2nd tear and come in at the $25-$30 per dozen range then I think they are definitely worth checking out.

I asked them about that. Price point will be $35.99/doz retail

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

I often can still wear shorts to play golf in December and January here. Not the whole time but at least one week a month it will be pretty warm

 

Will be in Dallas for a big trade show in late Jan/early Feb -- is there still a season then? May have to figure out a way...

[RoverRick]

Will be in Dallas for a big trade show in late Jan/early Feb -- is there still a season then? May have to figure out a way...

 

 

That depends on the luck of the draw. It could be 57* or 7* that time of year, possibly in the same week. We play golf year round but there is no predicting what the weather will do until much closer to time. We will keep in touch. I may or may not be here then. I will be traveling back and forth to Europe and found out just yesterday how things change. I was packing my bag, with plane ticket in hand just about, when I got the call it was delayed 3 weeks until after Thanksgiving. If I am in the country I will play golf that week if it is not snowing. If weather permits, I will get to Dallas and we can play there.

[Tyk]

I really liked this ball! Unfortunately, I lost both of them in one round! (oops) I don't really pay attention to driver distance but this ball seemed no different than normal. Iron distance was consistent and the greenside feel was superior to most. I would definitely game them, especially if the price is right!

[JBones]

I really liked this ball! Unfortunately, I lost both of them in one round! (oops) I don't really pay attention to driver distance but this ball seemed no different than normal. Iron distance was consistent and the greenside feel was superior to most. I would definitely game them, especially if the price is right!

I had the same results, although I did gain a few yards over the Penta TP3 on driver distance (about 3yds on the average). I also have lost both of mine, due to the amount of leaves on the course. I will pick up some of these, as Tyk said, if the price is right.

 

On a side note, I didn't even realize Orlimar was still around until this ball came out.

[Tyk]

I didn't either. I actually thought Adams bought Orlimar years ago. I had an Orlimar rescue/fairway wood, it was in the same style as the Adams Tight Lies but I ended up replacing it with a Tight Lies.

[Ice]

i played so bad on Sunday when I tried these I won't even bother describing them. IIRC I lost one of them. Hopefully tomorrow night I play well and can describe the balls accurately.

[BK in TEXAS]

I finally got out to play today. I am VERY IMPRESSED with this ball. I played 2 balls on each shot; the 318UC and my normal ProV1.

 

Drives were all the same distance, irons played the same distance, full wedges spun the same, and greenside wedge spin was the same, feel off the putter was the same. In essence, the 318UC played identically to the ProV1. That's no easy task.

 

For about $10/dz cheaper I will be switching to this ball over the ProV1 when my stash of balls runs out.