2023 Maxfli Golf Balls

• Maxfli has released new Tour, TourX and TourS golf balls.
• Tour S is new to the Maxfli Tour family of golf balls.
• MSRP is $39.99/dozen.

When you have a good thing going, sometimes the greatest challenge is finding small areas of improvement without changing too much. Or as my dad used to remind me, “Hey, it’d be great if you didn’t screw this up.”

That’s essentially the situation Maxfli faces with the 2023 line of its Tour golf balls.

The outgoing 2021 Maxfli Tour and Tour X balls were, by any measure, class-leading. Both the Maxfli Tour and Tour X received high marks in our Ball Lab and gained a lot of traction with consumers who wanted a high-quality cast-urethane ball without the top-shelf price tag.

Based on our comprehensive Ball Lab testing, Maxfli garnered the “Best DTC Brand Quality” award as well.

The takeaway for golfers should be that in a market that is increasingly flooded with direct-to-consumer options, Maxfli has earned its place at the front of that line. However, because we haven’t thoroughly tested the 2023 offerings, it would be premature to make any claims regarding the performance or production consistency of this line. That said, I fully expect Maxfli to maintain its position.

So, what did Maxfli change for 2023? Nothing major. A nip here and a tuck there with one new addition, the low-compression Maxfli Tour S.

2023 Maxfli Tour Golf Ball

The 2021 Maxfli Tour belongs in the conversation with the leading direct-to-consumer balls on the market. Moreover, it’s fair to suggest that Maxfli produces some of the most consistent balls on the market without a Titleist logo.

The Maxfli Tour golf ball is a three-piece (core, mantel, cover) ball with mid-flight and mid-spin characteristics. In terms of compression, preliminary samples of the Maxfli Tour average 91 which basically matches the previous version. For the sake of comparison, that’s similar to Kirkland Performance+ V2 and a few points firmer than the 2023 Titleist Pro V1.

Citing Maxfli’s internal testing, the new 2023 Tour ball is slightly faster (1.1 mph) off the driver with negligible change in spin (+19.4 rpm). This results in 1.2 more yards of total driver distance.

Regarding irons, Maxfli states that the 2023 Tour ball is, again, a bit faster (0.6 mph) with less spin and 2.7 yards of increased carry. I wouldn’t expect major fluctuations in sand-wedge data and that’s certainly the case here. Results between the two generations are within any reasonable amount of statistical noise.

2023 Maxfli Tour X Golf Ball

The 2021 version scored 91/100 in Ball Lab in our Maxfli golf ball review, and, to date, is likely the best-value four-piece ball on the market. Given that Maxfli is sticking with a dual-mantle (as opposed to dual-core) construction in the 2023 Tour X, there’s nothing on paper that suggests this iteration shouldn’t once again be in that conversation.

Anecdotally, our DMs and social media mentions suggest plenty of golfers seem eager to see how it fares in the MyGolfSpy Ball Lab. TBD on all of that.

In terms of compression, preliminary samples measured a tick over 100.  That’s just a couple of points firmer than the previous model but it will likely prove to be among the firmest balls in our database, alongside balls like the Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash, Callaway Chrome Soft X LS and Wilson Staff Model.

Compared to the Maxfli Tour, the Tour X is slightly higher-spinning with a higher ball flight. The challenge Maxfli’s ball development team faced with the 2023 Tour X is one faced by the rest of the industry as well. Chiefly, “Can we get a little more distance without sacrificing any greenside spin?”

Again, based on Maxfli’s internal tests, the data shows the updated Tour X is 1 mph faster off the driver versus the 2021 Tour X with marginally more greenside spin. It’s not a performance difference that golfers will likely notice but that’s sort of the point. The task wasn’t to formulate an entirely new ball—just to take a small step forward or even sideways. Just not backwards.

2023 Maxfli Tour S Golf Ball

Like the 2023 Maxfli Tour, the Tour S features three-piece construction with a thin urethane cover. And as most reasonable consumers would imagine, the “S” does indicate “soft” or low-compression characteristics.

If you’ve followed the ball space for any period, you know that “soft” balls can be a conundrum.  We’re not going to go all the way down that rabbit hole today. But most golfers will be better off with soft and supple gloves or shoes, just not balls.

The quick version goes something like this: Core compression is the primary driver of ball speed. As such, softer, low-compression, balls include a bit of a speed, and therefore distance, penalty off the tee. Some will argue that because low-compression balls also spin less off mid-irons, golfers can recoup any lost distance off the tee on the second shot (assuming it’s a typical par-4). There’s more nuance we could discuss but it’s a topic for a different day.

That being said, with a compression around 80 on our gauges, the suggestion is that the Maxfli Tour S isn’t going all in on soft. Similar compression balls include the 2021 Srixon Z-Star, OnCore Vero X1 and the 2022 Bridgestone Tour B RX.

Ultimately, there is a segment of golfers who a) want a Tour-level ball and b) need a lower trajectory and crazy low spin. It’s for those golfers that Maxfli developed the 2023 Tour S. If you’re looking for a reasonably close comparison, the Titleist AVX is likely the nearest comp.

2023 Maxfli Golf Balls: Final Thoughts

All Maxfli Tour series balls are manufactured by Foremost in Taiwan. In addition, Foremost produces balls for Vice, Wilson and OnCore. Of the Asian factories, Foremost and Nassau tend to be the most reputable, though TaylorMade acquired Nassau Golf Co. Ltd. in late 2021. That leaves Foremost (which also has a relationship with TaylorMade) as the only third-party option currently churning out balls with cast-urethane covers.

Cast-urethane supporters (Titleist, TaylorMade, Snell) will tell you this formulation is more durable and feels better than injection-molded covers. Manufacturers on the other side of the fence will tell you the same.

What makes the Maxfli Tour series different from other Foremost balls is that, other than the cover, much of the core and mantle technology is specific to Maxfli. But the real kicker is Maxfli’s proprietary CG balancing technology. It’s an extra step in the quality-control process where each ball is examined and oriented so that the side stamp aligns with the axis along which the ball is perfectly balanced. Moreover, CG balancing won’t do much for a poorly constructed ball. Beyond that, it gives Maxfli a key differentiating feature and a talking point that other DTC brands lack.

Pricing and Availability

Maxfli Tour series golf balls are $39.99 per dozen (or 2 dozen for $70) and available at Golf Galaxy and DICK’S Sporting Goods

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