Golf Balls

LIVE: 2021 MYGOLFSPY BALL TEST

BY MyGolfSpy
Jul 12th 2021
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This week MyGolfSpy is all hands on deck to conduct the second edition of the MyGolfSpy Ball test. Our first ball test had a massive impact on the industry. More than 2-years have passed, so it’s time to take what we learned the first time around, along with a slew of new ball models, and do it again.

What We’re Testing

Our primary objective is to test the urethane offerings from the major manufacturers as well as balls from the most popular direct to consumer brands. We’ve got over 30 models on the list. We’ll also be looking at both range balls and recycled premium offerings.

How We’re Testing

We’re letting the robot do the work, well most of it. Unlike our club testing where we gather our data with human testers, a golf ball test requires the consistency of a robot. This years’ plan is to test at three different driver and iron speeds. We’ll also be conducting a test of greenside performance.

To capture the full flight of the golf ball, including the influence of the dimple pattern (and potentially paint and other surface defects) data will be collected using a Trackman launch monitor.

Where We’re Testing

Our home for the week is Scottsdale National Golf Club in Scottsdale Arizona.

Your Golf Ball Test Crew

Watch Live

LIVE UPDATES

Check back here for live updates from our social feeds.

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2nd half of High Swing Speed Irons
(87 MPH)

ENGAGE! #BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/jLaFaAnolR
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 15, 2021

BREAKING:

Spin rates have increased a considerable amount in the second half of high speed iron testing.

Collected hit balls ✔️
Recalibrated ✔️

Back to testing.
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 15, 2021

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Q: How did the weather affect testing this morning?

A: Ultimately, only impacted carry distance equally on all balls. This will be further detailed when we discuss conditions.

The key things that impact performance are speed, launch, spin, and any "defect.”
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 14, 2021

Piped. #BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/aMYRnB9iaY
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 14, 2021

Welcome to DAY 3 ????#BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/VUKWe7EJe0
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 14, 2021

Switching to our Iron Testing to close out the evening.

Beginning with an 8 iron and 85 MPH.

Calibrated, and ready to FIRE.
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

NAME THE ROBOT ????
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

Inesis 900

1st ball hit.#BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/LYaxN5fe8S
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

Slight setback this morning.

Unexpected storm wiped power throughout Scottsdale National Facility.

Regained minutes ago.

We are in the calibration process now.

Stay tuned ????????
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

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A Q&A from day 1 of testing

Inesis 900

1st ball hit.#BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/LYaxN5fe8S
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

This just in:

ProV1x has hit 169 MPH ball speed.

The robot definitely his Wheaties this morning.
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

On to our FULL WEDGE TEST.

Finishing Day 1 strong. #BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/1ytXPGH4is
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 13, 2021

Let the sorting BEGIN! pic.twitter.com/Wb1vDxK1Ii
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

Slow Swing Speed (Drivers) 85 MPH are complete.

Too early to see major findings.

On to wedges for the rest of the evening.

Now, to pick up some balls!
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

Hitting roughly 3 balls a minute.

Getting. It. Done.
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

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We have found some interesting ball flights with the slowest driver swing speeds. Just wait until we get up to the 115mph ????????@MyGolfSpy #officalballtest #mygolfspyballstest #2021balltest
— Harry Nodwell (@OldEnglish_GSpy) July 12, 2021

And we're just getting started. pic.twitter.com/WbDM0zOFJt
— Tony Covey (@GolfSpyT) July 12, 2021

Update:

The refurbished balls are 3 MPH SLOWER than the average golf ball.

We are still firing at 85 MPH Swing Speed.

Downhill from here? Let's find out. #BallTest2021
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

From the Instagram Story

We haven’t even hit them yet. #BallTest2021 pic.twitter.com/Xlrmndhwsp
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

Good morning from Scottsdale, AZ.

MyGolfSpy Official Ball Test.

Day 1.

Marking in progress. pic.twitter.com/x4KTWQG4QE
— MyGolfSpy (@MyGolfSpy) July 12, 2021

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Our mission is #ConsumerFirst. We are here to help educate and empower golfers. We want you to get the most out of your money, time and performance. That means providing you with equipment reviews you can trust, as well as honest reporting on the latest issues affecting the game today. #PowerToThePlayer

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Driver Ping G30	Hybrids PXG 0317
3/4 IRON PXG 0311XF	5-GW Srixon Z 565
SW PXG 0317	LW PXG 0311
Putter EVNROLL

MyGolfSpy

comments

Join The Discussion

Connor

3 years ago

When will the results be published?

John

3 years ago

This. We need data!!!!

Mike

3 years ago

When will the results be published?

Harry P

3 years ago

Pretty sure Tony said during the live broadcast that results would be published almost immediately. I don’t think readers would keep asking if MGS would respond with an expected date..

James

3 years ago

Hope to see the spreadsheet results of these tests….should finely put some facts about one ball to another…..so far only 100% truth I know is if you want the ball to check up you buy the better ball, if you rather have the ball run out then a cheaper two piece is the answer……

Steve Smith

3 years ago

You, as in MGS staff, go out and pick up balls? I was expecting a troop of summer interns in pith helmets and butterfly nets!

Mike

3 years ago

Since the test was completed over a month ago I think it’s fair to ask again when the results will be released. I am holding off buying balls until I see the data. Could you give us a ballpark of when to expect to see the results please?

I miss, I miss, I make

3 years ago

I can’t say that I am not interested. I read the article and all the comments. )Even the really stupid ones) so I will add to the “stupidity”.. At some point I will hit all the Tour balls on the market and they are all excellent. My gamer is the ProV1x. I like the feel and the way it acts around the green. I will read the results. Give a few hmms and ahhs and then continue to play my stupid V1x even if it is judged to be the “worst” ball ever made.. PS I will not look down my nose at anyone playing a Bridgestone (or any other ball) but I will happily drink any beer they owe me after the round.

Jay

3 years ago

Can you guys test different conditions of used balls such as mint, aaaa or aaa?

Nbar

3 years ago

I agree test the found balls not refurb.

KBrown

3 years ago

Did you use the Check-Go Pro to find CG on the golf ball?

Richard

3 years ago

I don’t know why all ball companies (like Maxfli Tour) don’t spin balance their golf balls

Colin

3 years ago

Love what you are doing guys and at least the way you do it is consistent with every type of shot for wash ball . No variables . Everyone swings different and has different equip . If they see certain results they can use table to see which balls preformed better or worse in the test to there gamer

Mat

3 years ago

I have to ask… if you’re just using a GC Quad for the end result, why not just hit these into a net, in a climate controlled room?

Mat

3 years ago

I take it back; looks like there’s a Trackman as well… although, could still make the case that temperature is a bigger factor.

Chris

3 years ago

They are using both a GC Quad and Trackman. Each has a specific purpose which was explained on one of their posts. If I remember correctly, trackman is for full flight and gc quad is for initial launch conditions.

César

3 years ago

Does oil from hands transferred to the balls while handing them essentially make the ball cover slick and therefore perform less? I noticed when I rub 2 urethane balls together right out of the box or right after washing them; they are gummy and stick together, but after handling them a bit and getting oil on them from my hands then rubbing them together they become slick like non-urethane covered balls. Perhaps making sure they are perfectly clean by wiping them down with damp cloth would ensure this is not skewing the results of your in-depth test. Hope this is helpful info as I have never heard anyone mention this but always see caddies wiping down balls before handing them to the player.

Kevin

3 years ago

Did I miss what clubs you are using for the testing?

David

3 years ago

Can’t wait for the results…

Pg

3 years ago

Hint: worst commercials in golf.

Tony

3 years ago

I realize the effort involved, but the “grail” is testing each ball with different drivers & different shafts with each driver model, by swing speed….Sorry if anyone’s head exploded there

Chris

3 years ago

Maybe a little late at this point, but I’m wondering what the performance difference are for pond balls that have been in the water for any period of time? I always buy new but I have friends who act like I’m an idiot because I won’t put balls found in the lake into play.

Matty

3 years ago

I think Dean Snell talked about water-logged golf balls on one of his talks. As I recall, he said that the casing is porous enough that over time, there is degradation in performance.

I am not 100% sure on that point, so maybe another MGS nerd can help me out.

JD

3 years ago

This isn’t necessarily directed at you, but man you guys have got to stop with the pond/lake ball questions. I’ve seen a million of these over the past few days and I can’t for the life of me understand why someone would even entertain the question. If someone wants to use a pond ball I’m positive he or she isn’t interested in performance.

John

3 years ago

Some people are just curious by nature. Non curious people will never understand…

mike

3 years ago

Did you change the shafts to match tune the swing speed shaft characteristic differences ?

Paul Cox

3 years ago

That looks wild it would be a blast to see Bobs facility out there mite need a road trip

denisb

3 years ago

interesting… but why use the robot arm to test ball and not use it when you test driver? when you test driver you ask people to hit with different driver and compile data!!! while it would be so much more precise with the robot and data would be (almos) perfect everytime! is it because drivers makes won’t allow the use of the robot arm or another reason?

Chris

3 years ago

Robots don’t react to feel or looks. Most wanted testing is about how the clubs perform for people and how people react to a clubs look and feel.

Scott S

3 years ago

Okay guys, serious question on the wedge testing. I know it is late, but I had this work think get in the way of watching the live stream last night and today. Why hit the balls of a tee instead of off the mat? Thanks.

Brian

3 years ago

The robot hits the ball at a specific height; they don’t hit off the ground/matt with a robot.

Scott S

3 years ago

Brain, thanks. I know we get ‘action’ off the tee with irons, but it seems that hitting the ball off the tee vs. a mat/ground would change performance characteristics that we see in playing conditions. Appreciate the follow-up.

Scott S

3 years ago

Watching the Q&A this evening I noticed some of the comments; what is with all the stupid, “I made $1000 if 20 days sitting on my couch” crap posted there. There needs to be a filter to keep the idiots and the bots out. Sorry you guys have to live with that, and sorry we have to weed through it all to see if there is anything asked that we might be interested in. Great work, thanks for sharing. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing that “green side performance” report. And no, I really don’t care if you don’t use the same wedge brand I play for the test; but I. might be able to take a couple of days off and head down there to “help” if I could tell my wife you “need” my wedge for the test :D.
Cheers all.

Mike

3 years ago

You mean those “get rich quick / easy money” ads aren’t true?

Scott S

3 years ago

Mike, go figure right, LOL!

Greg

3 years ago

Great team doing great things. I am enjoying being inside the ropes.

Greg

3 years ago

Great team doing great things. I am enjoying being inside the ropes.
85 mph test looks good for the higher compression balls. for consistency.
Data on launch angles smash factor and spin is going to be a revelation
I can’t wait.

Joel

3 years ago

Huge shout-out to Bob Parsons and the team at PXG/Scottsdale National for the use of the robot. Given the disruptive nature of this project and their disruption of the industry (and lack of skin in the game on balls), it’s a no-brainer. Looking forward to the results. Many thanks, as always!

GilB

3 years ago

Curious to know if you are going to test any balls that are “new” but have been sitting around for an extended time at room temp? I have new golf balls in my closet that are a few years old but have never been hit. Is there a real difference between those and freshly made golf balls?

kevin lente

3 years ago

I was wondering if there is a speed difference between hitting a ball on the seam and the middle of the ball, thanks Kevin.

Paul

3 years ago

The live feed is blocked at this moment. “Video unavailable. This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country [USA] on copyright grounds.” Hopefully you can fix it.

Moody River

3 years ago

Great start MYGOLFSPY. Superb work looking forward to the finished product. First class team.

Greg

3 years ago

Would dearly like to know the EI profile of the shaft ,loft swingweight ,dead weight of the club COR of the face and head size
As this does bias ball flights
I understand the test is relative to each ball but do not loose the experiment to the bias of the club we need to know all about that club .

EZ-E

3 years ago

Robot name should be: 007

CAROLYN

3 years ago

Fun to watch and results will be fun to see….truth be told you still have to hit the darn things where you want them to go….and the better you are the better the ball will be…..and no one (OK maybe Mo Norman) is as accurate as the hitting machine.

Jeff Gelb

3 years ago

Since you are testing refurbs along with a select group of DtC balls…Let’s add the Dixon Earth. It’s handed out at countless charity tournaments around the country. Let’s see how it stacks up.!!

Mike

3 years ago

Are the Kirkland balls included?

Scott

3 years ago

I’m curious if you hit the same ball over and over again what if any variances would occur? Maybe the robot it’s always perfect, or the club head/shaft doesn’t always perform exactly the same swing to swing. I’m sure MyGolfSpy has accounted for this.

LABillyboy

3 years ago

I agree… What is the curve at which a golf ball deteriorates? I’ve had balls last 4-5 rounds before getting scuffed up badly. Seems like they lose their pop at some point. I’m hitting around 115 with the driver and have actually broken/cracked balls in the past. When should I put the survivors in the shag bag?

Morini

3 years ago

golf sim users sometimes use balls until they internally crack. At this point, distance is down 10% or more. Typically takes 300 full swings.. if you retire after 150 you will have no issues. That is about 4 rounds Balls typically are lost before that anyways.

Paul Grant

3 years ago

Are you going to test any of the Nicklaus brand golf balls?

Paulo

3 years ago

Yellow vs white pro vs. I know Titleist say they’re the same but they ain’t

Al

3 years ago

That is because they are compression mold/made. That takes an extra coat of paint, unlike injection mold balls.

Ron

3 years ago

I do agree with DANIE MARÉ above. Scientific tests of “anything” are conducted on the premise of “all other things being equal”.

If you were to start throwing in other variables like different clubs (heads/shafts) or heaven forbid (sorry Bryson), different weather patterns, air density, rain, winds, etc… You would have to agree that the results would resemble something to what we refer to in Australia as a “Dog’s Breakfast”..

Personally, very interested at the outcome of this test. Great job, all you MGS people. Cheers.

Tim

3 years ago

chromesoft leading the way!!!! lol…..

Will A.

3 years ago

Is Trackman able to track the entire flight path, or does it merely simulate the path based on the data captured in the first few feet? If the latter, doesn’t that mean you’re not really capturing the in-flight effects of dimple patterns, but letting Trackman make some pretty big assumptions?

Jon

3 years ago

Trackman “tracks” the ball the whole journey (within reason ie if a hill where ball landing, but will still track the majority)

Andy LaCombe

3 years ago

I would love to see some data on random range balls – I know they fly like crap and it would be cool to see some data on a few from different ranges just put some objective data behind that impression. Another cool test would be to see data on a ball over its life – does the performance change as it is hit 50-100-1000-5000 times, and when do they fail?

Douglas Anderson

3 years ago

I’ve heard if you hit the ball label it goes a smidge farther. Are you hitting each ball on the same relative spot on the balls?

Ryan F

3 years ago

Is the driver being used swapped out for a “fresh” one at some point? I’ve always read that drivers become “hotter” as the face wears, which is usually not a problem for an average golfer, but I would think might come into play when you’re hitting thousands (or tens of thousands) of balls in a test like this?

I would think you would hit the balls with driver A going from 1 to 30 and then again with driver B going from 30 to 1 and average the results?

Danie Maré

3 years ago

Yes, you account for the club and the shaft by using the SAME club and shaft.

Thus the ball is the only variable.

Why would that not make sense, or why would you want any other complexities if you are soing a ball test?

A different shaft/head combination can surely not give a different outcome if ball characteristics is what you are after.

Paul

3 years ago

I assume that the shaft kick point and club loft when combined with the spin/launch characteristics for a given golf ball might influence results. I’m guessing that is why Titleist has 3 (or is it 4) versions of their ProV1 ball. Then again, if the driver is the only club being measure we have different goals, distance and dispersion. We will be ignoring spin from scoring irons and consistency. It would be nice to know that given the same swing from my PW, I get the same distance and spin (side and back) each time. If not, then my scoring iron/ball combination are not helping me.

Matching club, shaft and ball is important. How important, I don’t know. The biggest variable is the human swinging the club. With a robot, adjusting the other variables to determine best ball for a given setup.
Note, I intentionally ignored swing speed as a variable in selecting a golf ball. With the high percentage of golfers with slow swings speeds, other ball characteristics might become more important, like compression and ball cover material.

Let me point out that tee height, read the MGS article, is another variable.

Craig Edgar

3 years ago

Any “Truefeel / Tourspeed” 2 / 3 piece balls in the test?

Joe Bales

3 years ago

How much influence would the club/shaft have on the results? Would there be a significant difference between a TSi2 with a HZRDUSRDX shaft and say, a Sim2 with a Ventus shaft (both stiff). I guess I’m interested in the relationship between the ball and club as anything.

Russell Huntley

3 years ago

What driver are you using for the current test?

Dave

3 years ago

Is there any difference in ball performance by using different top driver choices? Is there any way to account for the club in the test?

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