MGS Reader Input: Golf Ball Test

I would like to see what balls best balance soft feel with good distance for average swing speeds.

You tested several direct sales balls last time. I would like to see Quantix tested as well.
Thanks.

Most of us are not tour-level and don’t play tour balls. We may play e-6, Q-star, DT Solo or something else that is a good ball but not a tour ball (and it was on sale).

First of all, thanks for the enormous amount of work you do in your testing to provide us with all this info FOR FREE!

I know it’s exponentially more work for you to add another swing speed in testing, but I would love to see the average male driver speed represented, which I believe is 93 mph or so. Even though a lot of followers of the site are big-bombing, 115 mph swingers, if we’re being honest I’m betting that most are not. And the “average of the slow and fast swings” approach is…well, just not really scientific.

And I know you guys hate low compression ionomer golf balls with a deep, rich, and abiding passion, but millions of people are playing them, and these balls represent a big chunk of the market(s), so it only makes sense to test a few of them at least. Maybe one from each big OEM or something? Callaway Supersoft, TaylorMade Distance plus, Srixon Soft Feel, Titleist TruFeel, and Bridgestone E12 Contact, perhaps.

If nothing else, it will provide even more data to back up the “soft is slow” mantra. But I’d really like to know how these balls actually perform in your testing, and I know a lot of other players would as well.

But no matter what you choose to do, it’ll be a great test and I look forward to combing through the data for hours on end.

Keep up the great work!

The other thing I’d love to see is a true ball ranking with all measurables taken into account including price. This would be especially useful if you take into account most of the DTC golf ball brands. You guys love ranking things like clubs so maybe a Most Wanted Golf Ball and you could vary by swing speed as well.

I would like to see the Honma urethane golf balls tested, i.e. the X4, the TW-X and the TW-S.

Like others have noted, there are two things I’d like to see in this test.
1) Add a clubhead speed for the middle of the bell curve – so 95-100 mph driver clubhead speed (according to Hackman, it’s 93.4)
2) Replicates. At the very least, pick any ball and go through the test protocol a 2nd time as if this is a new ball. Compare results to first run to see how much repeatability and reproducibility this experiment has.

Other than that, just like last time. Super helpful content.

Include more two piece balls, please. I would love to see the real performance of balls like the Vice Drive, Snell Get Sum, or Srixon SoftFeel.

Also, I’d be curious to see how the “practice” versions of some premium balls perform.

The Quantix ball and MG senior ball are balls I’ve used and are particularity suited for senior golfer.

I’d love to see more of each major brand’s less expensive balls tested. For instance, balls like the Srixon Soft feel. Its a very popular entry for Srixon at a much lower price point. Each major brand has balls in that category.

If it’s not already been suggested could you test different model balls from the same manufacturer to show the difference between premium priced balls and lower priced ones i.e Callaway chrome soft vs super soft vs warbird etc

Some time ago I saw a device to spin the golf ball and establish its spin axis. The theory being that the balls were not perfectly balanced and correct alignment of the spin axis would enhance accuracy. Could you test for spin axis and hit the balls with varying orientation to see if this does affect dispersion

Test more balls out. There are so many other options out there for “tour balls” that people want to know about in how they compare such as Saintnine, Spalding, Hawkeye, Quantix, Seed, Clear, Trust, FreeBalls Club, and others that are making their way around. What balls are worth our money, what ones are not. And of course what are the standards of each set of balls.

Prove that off center cores impact golf flight, dispersion, speed, deflection off the club face, spin in the air. You started the fight MGS. Finish it

How balls perform with different swing styles i.e. dynamic loft and ball flight.
I hit a high ball, which I like, but some balls get eaten up by wind whereas others do not.

The Quantix and the MG c 4 are both under the radar balls worth testing

It would be interesting to see performance comparison between good and bad balls(and perhaps also heavily used balls). With bad balls I mean balls that you have in your recent ball reviews classified as bad ones. I have always wondered whether or not non-pro player can possible see the difference.

I don’t envy whoever is reading all these comments lol. I think the data from the 2019 test was pretty solid. If there’s anything I’d like to see in addition, it would be the inclusion of ball lab data (at least for the balls that have) to be included in the data table or additional filtering. Durability testing also ranks pretty highly on my list, and the last thing I’d like to see is a simple chart illustrating average trajectory of each ball so we can really get a clear picture of what “lower launching” and “higher launching” mean – relative to both models within the same brand and models across all brands.

I would like to see continued addition of less common golf balls. I play Quantix and have been happy. with their performance You should add them to your next comparison.

Review the Quantix F35 Control golf ball, I have hit a FLURRY of 300 yard drives with this ball and it DESERVES a solid review from your writers!

I use Quantix golf balls and would like to see them tested. I am an older player with slower swing speed and the Quantix F35 Control plays well for me. It would be interesting to see this tested against the major brands. You mentioned Quantix a year or two ago, but I have not seen an actual ball test.

Cut every ball open after testing is complete. If not every ball cut any balls with major flight issues or discrepancies. See if you can contribute a ball that flew 20 yards offline vs. others with a core that was X mm off center. Basically what was the cause of balls that behaved differently.

One suggestion for an additional data point would be more driver swing speeds. 115/105/95/85. That would hopefully provide more precise insight in how we would expect a golf ball to perform for more readers. Better yet would be to combine the reader survey questions to better tailor your different robot swing variables to align with with more of your reader’s swing characteristics (at least the one’s who respond to your surveys).

Not a suggestion for additional data points, but more granularity in being able to compare golf balls. In 2019, it was interesting to see the top 3 performers in driver distance, wedge spin, and value, I found that left me with more questions than answers in trying to figure out which ball I should buy. And while the ball lab comparison is interesting in terms of sorting by consistency metrics, I don’t find it helpful in helping me figure out a ball to buy.

My assumption is that most MGS readers really like their current ball, and this info. could be interesting for them to find a ball that performs the same for less money, or in the same price range but look for different characteristics. Or they hate their ball, and want to know all the balls that have more appealing characteristics (e.g. spin, distance, price) than their current ball

I think it would be great if MGS could cluster the data from the robot testing so we could get more insight into balls that seem similar along the dimensions of price, distance, spin, and compression.

The use cases I’m thinking of are:

I play a ball I really like, but they are sold out. What balls play similar to mine and how much do they cost for looking at alternate options.

The best value moniker is based on MSRP. But with prices and sales changing the actual price points at any given time, how can an MGS reader input the prices in their local area to get a sense of the “Best Value” balls they could buy at that point in time..

Great job guys. Would like to see the Volvik s3 and s4 balls in the test. Cheers

“Drive for show, putt for dough”….. More ball data on putting and greenside control. Every time I look at a new type of ball, I putt and chip first. If it does not feel and perform good there, no further evaluation is needed.

Good job guys (and gals). Many good suggestions.

Please publish number of observations (sample sizes) .
Ideally have large sample sizes, thus yielding narrower confidence intervals.

In the Drive for Show, Putt for Dough….
Several putters claim to help with off-center putts.
How about the results when hit on-center, heel and toe putts. Guessing you’d need a putting machine to eliminate the human variable, but I’d speculate that’s in your wheelhouse.

I would like to see a comprehensive comparison showing distance metrics (ball speed, launch angle, spin, carry and roll) with closer driver swing speed increments (…70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 … mph) and using different compression balls (softest to most firm). This could produce a trend line to show which swing speeds benefit by specific compressions, and what mph the benefits level out, or even drop off as swing speed increases.

Any golfer can know their swing speed, and have a more educated selection of which compression to seek in the ball landscape.

how do refurbished golf balls compare in performance to new

Is there any difference between colors in the same ball model?

It would be great to understand the differences in performance from premium vs mid-range urethane balls.

TP5/Pro V1/Chrome Soft vs. Tour Response/AVX/Vice Pro/Inesis Tour 900

By what margins do the premium “outperform” the mid-range?

Try some “water balls” to see how they compare to fresh-out-the-box ones. This could tell consumers how wary (or not!) to be of used balls.

Affects on a toe vs. heel vs. center strike. Which is more forgiving?

A way to measure the effects of cover and dimple design on performance in a side wind. For example, doing a batch of testing on a higher wind day like 20 mph and comparing it to the results from a 5 or 10 mph wind day.

Golf is a game of misses. How much can a golf ball potentially affect those misses? I’d like to see you test the absolute worst possible dispersion based on light/heavy pole orientation on the tee.

1. Float test to find the light/heavy points on the golf ball.
2. Orient the ball on the tee to maximize influence on flight curvature.

Carry, total distance, launch angle, spin….are all relatively worthless data points if a golf ball doesn’t fly straight. I know you recorded dispersion numbers in your last test, but it seems there was a bit of randomness in the discovery.

If the data could be used to begin creating a ball fitting matrix I believe that would be very beneficial to the golfing public and change the test from a one time event to a lasting and ever improving tool as additional data is added.

As a fitting tool, swing speed, average driver or 7 iron distance could be used as a parameter. Fitting needs could be determined based on desired height, carry distance, average offline distance, standard deviation consistency, green side spin, putting feel.

Recommendations could be based on whatever parameters the user ranks as most wanted. For example, I am looking for a ball that provides a good amount of green side spin while reducing driver spin and providing maximum driver distance with a smaller than average amount of offline distance.

In other words, I want to know which ball will go straight, far and check up around the green taking into account my swing speed and club delivery tendencies.

I would like to know how an “off center” core effects flight and perfromance vs a erfect ball. We always talk quality of the ball….well, what is the result of a bad quality ball and how does it effect scoring?

With the robot test, if you could plot dispersion, and highlight where the ‘bad balls’ ended up.
Also which club and model and tee height is used in correlation. Actually, could you robot test with different clubs? I know this would add a lot of time, but seeing where a ProV1 ends up off a PXG 0211 vs Callaway Epic, at average, high, low swing speeds might be interesting to see dispersion and average telemeterics.

To benefit all golfers, I would like to see the balls tested at three different swing speeds., slow, medium and over 100 mph. By doing that you would have the attention of all golfers and each group could have a better understanding of what to expect when choosing a ball.

Would love you to actually test with the median swing speeds instead of just averaging the high and low. That is number one for me.

Other things mentioned about wind performance (if possible to actually test).

Scuff marks, scratches, blemishes on balls in general. What does that do if anything? Is it like mud where ball moves to opposite side mud is on? Test carrying sizes of scratches to see if it makes a difference in dispersion or distance. “When to put it in the shag ball bin”

Golf has to appeal to an aging population as well as try to attract young players. Testing every ball’s reactions to swing speed is a must. I agree with an earlier comment in that you should get out there in the weeds and test every ball sold under the same brand name. People of all income levels and budgets to spend money on golf play the game. Give everyone an idea of how well the $6.00 per dozen ball performs against the $50.00 per dozen ball. Core centering and roundness should definitely be tested. Putting is hard enough without dealing with a ball that will not travel straight. That information will also help those looking for shot dispersion with identical strikes and spin or stopping power on the green.
As an aging golfer, visibility would be a great test to add as well. The industry needs to do more about visibility.

SUGGESTED FITTING: I’d like descriptions of who each ball might best fit based on characteristics found. Like I have a high flight on most shots and a bit too much spin on driver with a 105-110 SS. I don’t often play super fast greens so greenside spin is nice but not crucial.
Basically, the more player type to ball type info the better.

What golf balls have a tendency to pick up mud or dirt than others?

Hi. Like many others with a sub 90 mph swing speed I would like testing of balls and clubs all done by players with sub 90 SS. I think it would then be more relevant to a vast majority of your readers. Love all your tests and articles and appreciate the work you do to bring some truth into the game. Even in Australia it is all relevant except the price we have to pay for equipment.

Can you chart/reference similar balls performance to swing speeds? When I reach into my bag and tee up a Srixon Soft Feel will it perform similarly to the Wilson Staff that I just rinsed?
Don’t need all the data, just want to match balls during my round.

Best ball for slow swing speed – value and performance

1…distance effect based on swing speed variation.
2. Any chance of including the European ball ?

Your ball testing has always lacked a standard. Since you asked, if I were you, I’d:

#1 – do less testing and do every ball in a company’s line at the same time.
#2 – EVERY test would be related to the Pro V1.

Get an absolute baseline on the ProV1, from a specific year. Test it, and base all your assessments on it. On the day, n ball was +2 yds longer in carry. Or -2y. Or had a bigger/smaller dispersion area.

But if it takes so long, do less! Get the details:

– Compression
– Cover material
– Available colours

Then, for example, do ALL of the Bridgestones at once. All of them. Lay out the X, XS, RX, RXS, e12, etc., and the ProV1 as the control.

* Driver distance
* Driver dispersion
* 7i carry
* 7i spin
* SW spin

And move on… researching things like price, price per good ball, and other things like that are nice but not worth the effort.

Once you have Bridgestone done, move on to Srixon, etc.

If you continue to do all the tests days, months apart, there’s no real control. Please, index against the ProV1.

Please test the Pro V1X Left Dash.

Thank you.

I think it would be great if you could correlate anolomies in the robot ball testing results with the manufacturing defects you are finding. I think it would be interesting if specific anolomies (e.g. off-center cores, cover defects) could be linked to specific inconsistencies in ball flight.

I would also like to see some validation that your mentions in the “CENTEREDNESS AND CONCENTRICITY” sections of your ball reviews often note “none was significantly xxx enough to be of any serious concern” validation in the data from ball flight patterns..

Your “”CONSISTENCY” section rates consistency relative to other brands/balls, but it would be nice to validate if “average” consistency results in relative consistent ball flight data, or if being relative average consistency results in an objectively inconsistent ball..

I also wonder if there is putter robot testing to start to dig in to being able to quantify the impact of an inconsistent ball in terms of putt roll consistency. I think we all assume it would, but I don’t recall a data set validating this. As an example, this could bring credible third-party evidence to quantify the benefit of Maxfli’s CG balancing technology.

I’d love to see a deeper dive into what differences, if any, exist between the same model golf balls made in different factories. I’m especially interested in the Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV balls made in Indonesia vs. those made in Japan, but would also like to know if there are other similar situations you guys have noticed or heard about.

I’d like to see you take folks of different handicaps- say 20 and put them on a launch monitor with different levels of balls and see if it makes a real difference for the different handicap levels. Does a better ball provide measurably better, more consistent shots, distance, spin etc. at each handicap level. Or is there a handicap above which more expensive balls jsut don’t really make a consistent difference.

I would like to see, if it actually matters, the different types of clubs on ball performance. Mostly gamers vice blades. I feel like most average golfers play game improvent clubs vice blades and to see those numbers along with the above mentioned swings speeds, especially average swing speeds, would be great.

What difference does swing speed make in the performance difference? If a high compression ball fly’s 20 yards further with a 100 mph swing speed does that translate to the same distance difference for an 80 mph swing speed.?

Same with spin.. Will swing speed translate into the same difference in spin from high to low.

Do slower swing speeds have the same effect on ball performance?

Wind testing.

The forgiveness of the golf ball.

I would like to see the results published for swing speeds from 70 to 110 in 5 MPH increments. I know at a fitting I swing harder and faster than I do on the course. I also want to understand what changes at each increment. I am a single digit handicap and am 74. Still swing stiff shaft woods, regular shaft irons and stiff wedges. I know each swing speed I have and use trackman all the time to see how the ball spins and check distances but would like to know the effect between golf balls with the variation in speeds.

I would like to see length and left to right dispersion at different swing speeds. It would be interesting to compare the balls that have a quality defect with those that do not.

I have found several ball manufactures say compression doesn’t matter & they don’t list an actual compression number. They instead say: Low, Medium & High compression. Titleist True Feel does this: Those rating have a huge range difference.. I have found balls with the same “actual” compression rating preform differently. I would like to see testing using different brands of balls with the same “actual” compression rating. How they preform at different swing speeds, short game, & putting

How is the performance in cold vs. hot conditions. I have the feeling that some balls really badly underperform in the cold while others just have a small drop off in terms of speed.

I’d like to see comments directed toward the amateur of swing <90 mph. I found a brand of ball that is absolutely incredible for my game, age and swing speed. It has shaved 5 to 6 strokes off my game and I'd like to see more about game improvement balls for geezers like me.

Performance, now we are talking. You have cut and measured, now it’s time to hit the road and see what happens when metal hits the ball.

I would like to see at least 3 swing speed tests, 85mph, 95 MPH, and 105MPH, measure swing speed, ball speed, spin, launch angle and smash factor, I am going to assume there are all flying straight. From a club perspective, Wedge, 7 iron , and driver.

Enjoy the testing, and looking forward to the results.

I would like to see testing over a range of club head speeds. For example 75, 90 and 110 or 80, 95 and 115 for the driver. The range should cover what typical golfers are capable of achieving. 3 points would allow for extrapolation.

The variance in crosswind, upwind and downwind
– between few top performing dissimilar balls.
– effect of wind vs no wind

I think there are some good suggestions in this same arena, but I would love to know what compression range I should zero in on when testing/selecting a ball. Certainly you all have shown the relationship between soft and slow, but there is likely a space where certainly compression ranges have maximum impact for a certain swing speed range. A space where i can see I am losing ball speed because of over-compression, and a space where I am under compressing and not fully taking advantage of the balls design.

If the average golfer has a round of approximately 110 shots, what goes a golf look like after 1, 2 and 3 rounds.
Which ball should different club head speeds use? Or does club speed make difference in the way a ball behaves.

Partial 50 yard pitch shots – Spinn consistency and Lenght consistency from this range. I would also like you to test the Tour Balls in the range of speed 95, 105 and 115 mph club head speed with positive +3 dgr., neutral 0 dgr. and negative -1,5 dgr. angle of attack. The differences in spinn and lenght + consistency in each of these categories would be really interesting to examine. Finally it would be nice to examine how each ball reacts with a putter “Smash Factor” and “Ball Speed” neutral impact at: 10, 20 and 30 feet.

Love to see an extensive lower price range category and a rough guide on what type of golfer should be using each ball.
“premium ionomer” need not be included 😉
Great work people!!

I was gonna say, “how can mess with perfection?” Obviously I was wrong, loving these suggestions!

I’m with Gordo. Ball flight first with chart and then cut them open to see if big deviations in flight actually correlates to problems found in the lab. There has never been a direct correlation behind your cut the ball open test and actual performance problems in the field. I am a lot more interested in ball distance and dispersion metrics ball to ball in a dozen set when hit then what it looks like cut open. Great that you are continuing to test. Always interesting.

Gee , I AM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST HERE. . AS PUTTING IS HALF THE GAME AND THE CLUB MOST USED CAN DIMPLE PATTERN BE CHECKED FOR BIAS WITH A ROBOT PUTTING . EG . ALL THE BIAS LIKE POSTIVE AND NEGATIVE AXIS ROTATION , FRICTION THAT WONT TAKE BREAKS REBOUND VELOCITY ON SHORT PUTTS VS LONG PUTTS .
DOES OUT OF BALANCE EFFECT PUTTS .WHAT DOES GRAIN DO AND HOW MUCH SHOULD WE ALLOW. PUTTING IS HALF THE GAME.
CHEERS GREG

data on the 2019 test was great
add
actual compression #
a variety of mid priced balls (kirkland, e12, Q tour, etc,)
i.e., ( $20-35/dozen) for those that don’t use pro level (.$40/dozen) balls
include the Wilson Zip as an example of the lowest priced ball out there (I think this is the lowest priced off the shelf ball out there at $10-12/dozen) to show what improvements, if any, exist when comparing top and mid priced options.

How about you also rank the balls on price v performance?
The average golfer doesn’t play Pro V’s, TP5X, etc. all the time.

The average player in the UK will spend £20-30 for a dozen balls 95% of the time.

Would the average player be better spending their £20-30 on a dozen Srixon AD333, Q Star tour, 2 Doz Kirkland, or going for one of the direct to consumer ball manufacturers??

Testing based on swing speed…say 105+, 85-95, 96-104

A quick note on each ball’s changes from previous version ……. would help to know if I should really change to a new version.

I second all the comments od durability, especially as it relates to overall cost to play the balls. My second suggestion is to somehow quantify the ball flight metric. Can they be grouped by ball flight height data and then perhaps really define what is a low, medium and high ball flight. Many of use do not have access to trackment and would love to better understand that metric.

The ball test of 2019 helped me more than club fitting. Can’t wait to read it. Thanks

I’d like to see some a few more non-premium balls from the main manufacturers. Like Bridgestone e12 for example.

WOW…..I decided to try a softer ball and thought I would give the Wilson urethane balls a try. Tried some of the DUO-U first…..found them on Ebay cheap. They were longer than what I was previously using and felt like butter with my swing speed. I am now 62 with a swing speed in the 85mph range (and a 12.3 index). After that I tried the Duo Professional and you can color me impressed. I’m sure it isn’t for everybody but for my age/swing speed it is perfect. They can be found on EBay for $30/dozen. They have a 60 compression compared to the 55 of the Duo-U but still feel incredibly soft. This will unquestionably be my ball….this summer at least. Great soft feel, excellent price and I am hitting it longer with the Driver than I have in 20 years. If you are getting a little older and your swing speed has started the downward trek, you owe it to yourself to give them a try.

Would love to be able to see how much the inconsistency in the manufacturing process actually affects the balls performance.. I suggest marking the balls from known poor manufacturing processes.(Same could be done for top quality balls). Put those balls through the robot performance tests and chart the results. Which ball flew long, short, left or right. Put the same balls through short game and putting tests. Again chart the individual ball results. After that data collection put those same balls through the ball lab process and see if balls that varied in consistency in each area, either long or short or left or right or deviated from the putt line actually had a physical reason why they performed differently. I.e. lower compression, out of round etc. That way we would know if a ball with a poor manufacturing process actually affected the balls performance and be able to quantify how much of a difference. those manufacturing defects made. For example Ball A of Brand X flew 247yds on the driver test. Ball B of brand X flew 239yds. After the ball lab portion Ball A of Brand X was determined to have 100compression and Ball B of Brand X had 90 compression. We could conclude that for Brand X the poor QC would result in a potential distance difference of 8yds. This way people could determine if the Quality variance was important to them or not.

I would like to see what the spin rates are inside a hundred yards. I don’t care how far it goes.

I’d like to see “green side spin” on 25 yard chip shots.

I’d also like to see if there is a putting distance based on the ball alone for a 50’ lag putt. Would higher compression balls go 2-3 feet further than lower compression balls? Is there a major difference between same brand/box in putting distance or all the balls consistent?

I second this. Range balls would be a geat control, but I am also interested in testing previously used balls. What is the differnce between a AAA (good quality), AAAA (near mint) or AAAAA (mint) of the same ball?

Just for kicks, throw some old clubs into the mix – a persimmon driver, a great big bertha and let’s see if there is significant difference across the top 3 balls.

In terms of durability, if you are using a robot– can the robot do mis-strikes to test the cover? Another option is to have the robot swing a full Sand Wedge with the same ball a few times, and see if the cover has not shed (I found that my slow speed could still mess up the cover of a Maxfli Tour on a full SW).

Would be shocked if this isn’t been suggested, but 200 comments was too much for me to get through…

What balls reduce left and right dispersion the best – which I guess boils down to “most accurate”?

And this is maybe more of a test on the equipment/process rather than the ball… But do you get the same results from the robot hitting into a simulator in an enclosed space versus out into a field/range?

Regardless, super curious to see the results/data will for sure get people buzzing and of course explaining to you how you should have done it better ha!

Since we have to or should play the same ball tee to green, many factors go into selection. The best ball off the driver may not be the best off the putter and so forth through out the bag. I am positive that the science of ball performance can teach us much about what would benefit our game the most. I am not smart enough to massage all the data you are going to collect. However, I would like to see it in such a manner that I can make comparisons about shortcomings of choosing one ball over another. Maybe you already do this. Most likely we will all continue to play the ball that “feels” the best and works for us individually. Thanks for what you do.

I would to have all data downloadable in an excel spreadsheet.

I’d like to see a test about why you highly reccomend not buying refurbished balls

Throw in a Pinnacle range ball and Pinnacle Rush consumer ball. Will these Titleist cheap balls compare with tour level for short game spin? On the launch monitor, NO. But in real life testing, the roll out difference is very small from what I have seen. Yesterday I paid $26 to walk 18 holes and had a bad day. Lost 6 balls. A tour ball would have cost me another $18-30. Price matters. Keep up the awesome work guys!!!!!!!!!!!

I’d like to see a test for the best ball for senior swing speeds

I’d like to see test results based upon swing speed. A ball that’s optimum for a 110 MPH swing speed may not be the best ball for someone with a 90 MPH swing speed. Perhaps test at 110, 95 and 80 MPH (or 110, 90 & 70) – that would cover everyone from big hitters to women and seniors.

Since the majority of golfers are “older”, I would like to see data and commentary for swing speeds below 80. and below 90 mph. From your last test, soft balls were slow balls. Does this apply to those with swing speeds below 80 and 90 mph? With a slower swing speed, should I be playing a ball with more or less spin for max driver distance? Keep up the good work!

A measure of how likely a ball will fly true considering the total sum of defects.

Would love to see ALL balls included, just not “tour” balls. Let’s see how those low compression, distance, and value balls stack up aginst the multi-layer urethane balls that cost 2-3x as much.. For many golfers performance of a ball is just part of the equation….price is just important.

take the balls, best after standard test performing ball, and then run it through various driver lofts and launch angles at the same swing speed. example – make sure to have 115 to 120 swing speed on the test. use the whatever driver at 7, 8.5, 10 degrees and adjust the position of the launch. if drives / balls are designed for low spin high launch, or some combo, then verify example “this (-)prov1 is the best but only at 120 mph 4 deg up with 7 deg driver. if you swing 120 mph using a 10 degree and only 2 up, it is out performed by the avx due to spin xyz etc”

I would like to see the ball testing broken down into categories Examples such as but not limited to: roll,, backspin, distance, and straightness. Would like to also see overall best according to price range.

I play the Snell MTB – X based on seeing it on your site. I’d like to see how it compares to other mid range cost options. While in the past I played Titleist ProV1 & pro V1x exclusively, I’m now retied and need a less expensive option.

I would like to see a test of the Taylor Made Tour Response, curious about its real compression number. Taylor Made advertising for this ball says 2 different things. Maybe compare it to the Project A, I don’t think you tested either.

Please test the the Callaway Supersoft Max. Thanks

Thank you for doing all this testing. Your attention to detail has earned you this space as a disrupter. You have also reached a group of golfers who are just as avid at content and transparency as we are at consuming the game..

You might want to add a typical range ball as a control cross the board from slow to fast swing speed. A lot of us will practice but can only hit $12 buckets and save the good ball for the rounds.

I would love to see testing on a golf balls durability. How resistant is the ball to scuffs/dings etc. Also would be interesting to now how long a ball keeps its ‘new’ look. Knowing that I will never be a tour pro and get golf balls for free, how long a ball lasts is a key factor for purchasing a ball.

unable to make comments or sign up as a tester. what am I not doing rifgt. also please add M G balls to the test

A couple of things I think would be of value in comparing golf balls:

1. Coefficient of friction for the golf ball. Not all Urethane or other compounds are equal. This could be compared between balls for green side and other spin.

2. Aerodynamics in flight.. This could be done in a wind (or water) tunnel to determine effects of spin or wind resistance. Perhaps spinning a ball on a rod and measure the forces at different angles (simulate back and side spin) might provide useful data. More deflection in the rod would equate to more ball movement. Golf ball. dimple pattern impacts ball movement (left right), distance and to a lesser ball dissent angle.

Would love some comparisons to prior generations. What is better 2017, 2019, or 2021 Srixon Z-Star? 2019 ProV1 or 2021? I am assuming you can just use some of the data from the 2019 test again for this comparison. Would be great to see those numbers side-by-side.

The manufacturers do not publish the balls comprsesion. I am not sure if its because they cant agree on a standardized method to test? Can you test for compression and publish it?

The manufacturers do not publish the balls comprsesion. I am not sure if its because they cant agree on a standardized method to test? Can you test for compression and publish it?

Any discernible drop off on used balls

Durability. Is it quantifiable?

I’m not good enough to warrant spending $50 for a dozen balls. A comparison of the ball costing from $20 to $3O per dozen would be welcome

Living up here in Washington state rain and wet conditions are more common than dry conditions. It would be nice to see a wet/dry comparison to see if any of the balls behave better than others in the wet.

I want to see why the golf ball I purchase is different than the ones PRO’s play on PGA Tour.

I’m not good enough to think that I need to spend $50 for a dozen balls. It would be nice to see a comparison of balls costing $20 to $35.

Metrics are awesome, allowing the reader to compare statistics among the balls, but detail on who each ball is made for would be great! For instance, it may be that the Titleist AVX is perfect for a high ball/high spin player, etc., etc., etc…

Honestly – you could crowdsource a huge amount of analysis and perspectives if you simply posted all of the raw data collected during the process. There are plenty of people (myself included) who would take the raw data and report back interesting findings that you had not thought of. Create a forum for users to provide analysis back, leverage google sheets/slides. I bet you would get some fun stuff.

Please test golf ball cover durability … perhaps hit 10 or more shots from a bunker and check for scuffing and any cover damage.

Care most about spin on balls in short game, i.e. 10 – 40 yds

I’d love to see partial (50 yd) and full wedge spin and standard deviation in addition to 6/7 iron and driver stats. I’d also love to see if there’s a difference in spin and std deviation performance in wet conditions.

Keep up the great work!

Would be really interesting to see flight profiles for different balls, for a given swing speed + club. Any differences in peak height and descent angles!

Titleist AVX.

The last big test was great and the data I most use would be the distance, offline, and spin rate for different balls with different clubs.

Srixon Qstar & Qstar Tour, all Vice balls

Every ball on the market tells you what ball to use based on swing speed, handicap, age etc. I would like to see a combine done by handicap etc. Also would love it to include such balls as Snell,Vice and other not well known balls. Perhaps this could wake up the best ball that each of the big three claim to get sales, and how they tell you which is best for you in their website fittings based sometimes on sales

Me gustaría una comparativa de pelotas con velocidades cabeza Driver de 80 mph

After robot testing, I would love to see a results table comparing 1) ball speed, 2) spin rate, 3) apex height, 4) total carry, and 5) roll out for a driver, 7 iron and wedge. I have switched back and forth between a Tour B X & XS and a ProV1x as I quite like them all but I don’t really know the measured difference between them. This type of data would help people understand what they can expect out of the ball they choose to play and have the confidence to stick with it.

A bit more info than just ‘Urethane is better’ please.

At what swing speed is the cut off point between hi and lo compression if trying to obtain more distance i.e does lo compression go further for low swing speeds.
Test a few non urethane balls, 2 and 3 piece to see what these balls are giving up against urethane. Suggest Taylormade Soft Response, Wilson, Srixon AD333/Soft Feel, Titleist offerings, Snell Get Sum.
Do non urethane or 2 piece impart less side-spin? (if you can’t keep it straight you need a ball which will spin offline less) – Does any type of lo spin ball help keep the ball on the fairway? (Maybe non-urethane is better here)
Many people can’t rip a ball backwards on the green and so rely on height or landing short on the fringe and rolling up to the pin – how does a urethane ‘spinny’ ball help here?
Chipping & Pitching – low spinny, two hops and a stop by the pin look really cool will want to get the ball rolling because they find this a more reliable shot around the greens – does urethane help here either?

100 MPH – 85 & 115 are to wide of a range.

I had a Pro Tour Caddy stay with me for a week during a tour stop in our city. He gave a bunch of used balls his player used in the previous week’s event. They were in perfect condition save his personal markings. It turns out the tour pro uses a ball for 3 holes or soon after a sand shot no matter what. His personal quirk. After examining the balls I noticed they were not Titleist’s new ball but rather 2017’s! My caddy friend told me Titleist custom makes balls for tour players and his pro prefers the ProV1X from 2017 and they are made new for him. You learn something new every day.

Distances of balls for different swing speeds.

I would lie to know more about the different wedge distances. Maybe you could treat 60, 80 and 100 yards or 50, 60 and 70 mph seeing speeds? I’m not sure how to decide but something that gives more info on wedge performance for partial shots would be helpful.

Thank you for all that you do!

I would like to see a drop down to select the brand and model. Then have the ability to compare with a t-test to see if there if is a statistically significant difference between the populations.

If possible, please test with a drive speed of 120 or higher. This would be great to get definitive answers on launch and spin for us high swing speed guys. Excited to see how the ProV1x Left Dash performs as that is my current gamer.

I would like to see you take a given ball 1-3 dozen, check them for dispersion, maybe hit them on two different axis, and then do a ball lab on that batch. Basically to find out what variances in compression, layer thickness, weight and core being centered have on dispersion.

Best ball no matter the cost for a driver swing speed in the mid eighties along with some spin characteristics around the green.

It would be great to see you compare the “perceived” top marketed balls against the middle tier for the average golfer swing speed. Does it really make a big difference in yardage, accuracy, roll, spin?

Ex: Is there a significant difference in the Titleist ProV1, AVX, and Tour Soft that your average golfer is going to notice?

I would be gratis to include some affordable balls as benchmark, like Inesis 100 ot 500, to see the difference between cheap Surlyn balls and urethane tour balls.. The assumption would be that there is a massieve performance difference.

Moreover a swing speed breakdown would be helpfull (also include the slower swing speeds).

Few ideas

1). It will take more time – BUT comparison vs prior generation golf balls- is it really worth it to buy a box of TP5s, Prov1s etc vs prior year models?

2) Designate (or validate) whether a ball is really a high/medium/low launch – off of multiple clubs. For those that care about trajectory. And what does that really mean in terms of performance.

3). Can the robot be set up to deliberately hit a slice or hook? Which of the balls minimize or maximize such a strike?

4). If one is a slow or medium swing (however defined) player – how much does playing a “tour” / expensive help?

I’d love to see if there is a difference in performance between white or yellow balls of a specific type/brand. I’ve been playing a yellow ProV1x for the better part of a year, but I swear it feels different than the white version. It’s almost like the yellow version has a slight matte finish and is covered in some type of Clark Griswold super varnish. The feel different in the hand and (maybe I’m crazy) but different with the club. Is there an actual performance difference between them?

Include a lot more cheaper balls and non-urethane cover balls. Cover all the direct to consumer balls Snell, Vice, Seed, Inesis etc.

I would like to see testing results from golfers swinging at different speeds (75/85/95/105 +) using high/mid/low compression balls. Specifically, results for launch angles, ball speed, back spin and side spins. Most of us k ow that a low compression ball results in shorter distances, but what will it do for a player who can’t compress a harder golf ball and vice-a-versa. What would be the ideal compression/firmness for those varying swing speeds. I understand everyone swings differently and can get a variety of results.. Thank you.

It would be nice to also (robot) test how well each ball performs into a headwind compared to LM data. Some data on how well the cover performs to minimize the effect of wind on both the carry distance and how far offline. Without trying to change trajectory – just stock shots.

Please include the weather conditions on the days you test. Especially wind direction and wind speed.

How about a test for consistency on balls that have been in play? Test them after 9 holes of play (different swing speeds / typical shot patterns / real world shots off grass) Compare those numbers to new balls. What if Titleist dropped off the charts but Callaway didn’t? That’s a test that I’d like to see and would probably change the golf world (again).

I would like to see a mid swing speed category. As some one whose speed virtually splits the high and slow speed on the 2019 data makes it hard to know which results would mirror my game.

Durability with wedges. I want a ball that isn’t going to be useless after 2 holes with new grooves tearing apart the cover.

Love MyGolfSpy and No Putts Given! I would like to see a test of the golf ball performance BEFORE the same golf balls are tested for golf ball quality. It would good to see if the impact of the potential quality issues can be seen in performance before the internal inspection. Chart the perception of a series of balls based on performance versus the actual internal quality inspection. Does the performance hypothesis match the results?!?!?

Stopping power … a way to compare the trade offs between a lower spinning ball and a higher launching ball on approach shots. Stopping power is probably some combination of angle of decent, spin, and terminal velocity. Of course maybe the easiest way is to just show us the roll out yardage on greens.

I’m not sure if this was covered before but want to see data on off center shots. Most of us aren’t hitting the sweet spot on the club face every time (or even half the time lol). So how about some data on off center shots?

I know this results in extra testing and more balls hit. But I’d like to see data specific to mid swing speed. I know last time you guys did slow and fast, then you could just toggle both to get the average. And I’m sure that’s relatively accurate but still think it makes sense to do specific tests for mid swing speed since I’d guess 90% of your audience falls into that bucket.

The last ball test had pretty significant distance carries and totals between the bottom and the top balls. I’ve noticed other guys have tested for example MTBX vs Chrome-soft, in their own tests and received much closer results from a simulator. Maybe include a segment about the dimple pattern of a ball plays a roll in distance as well? As it seems aerodynamics is the big missing factor between your testing (which I do trust more) and others.

I would like to see test results of balls in midrange price area, not only tour balls. Think of: Bridgestone E6, Callaway Supersoft, Callaway ERC Soft, Srixon AD333, Titleist Velocity, etc. Thank you !

I would like to see results on 30 yard chips with a sand wedge, roll after 1st contact with green.

I want to see golf balls tested for aerodynamics. So maybe do the test in a wind tunnel?

I’d like to know if balls are balanced, or if they have a spine you can align to so the call flight is straighter. Eg. is it smart to use the alignment line on the ball for better ball flight?

I’d like to see the best ball for 90mph swing speed

85-90 SS please.

Also matte balls of diff SS – just to verify if Tony’s hate is personal, or verifiable.

2021 QS Tour made in japan.

I hope that the OnCore Vero and Elixir balls are included in this testing. Thank you MGS for your in depth testing.

Durability would be great to see. I love my 2019 Srixon Z XVs, but sand embeds in them with each bunker shot I take.

Not sure if this could be incorporated in your testing primaries.

Use categories of swing speed for both drivers and irons. Also, vary angle of attack. Is one golf ball better for a slower steep swing or better for a fast shallow swing?

I would like to see 3 swing speed categories and the addition of a partial wedge measurement. Thanks for all this work I refer back to the 2019 version often. I still haven’t followed your advice to pick one ball and stick with it.

This may be for a later test but I would love to see the impacts of scuffs or cuts on used balls as well as balls salvaged from water hazards.
We’ve all tried to milk an extra few holes after hitting the cart path or tree, I’m wondering how much this effects my next drive/ chip/ putt. Thanks

Putter test on best feel, alignment and roll

Various swing speeds on all balls (even ones designed for higher speeds). I think taking each human tester’s swing speed from the HCP levels would be ideal and help us relate to what actually happens.
Various handicap levels (scratch,low,mid,high)
Cheap balls vs top of the line
Actual ball feel from the human testers
Would love to know from slicers and hooksters which balls were harder or easier to control when hitting a slice or a hook

Would like to see a FF measure…Feel Factor.

I would like to results for slower swing speeds. 80 to 85 mph. 15 hcp. I play every ball that I find and except for the feel off my driver I see very little difference.

What would I like to see in a golf ball..?

Water- and Bunker-repulsion technology 🤪🤣

Ha but seriously, if it’s not already in the test maybe some sort of correlation that can suggest a match of ball type to swing speed or, possibly, general handicap range / avg playing ability.

I’d like to know any differences with the putter – given same conditions, compare distance due to compression and cover difference. Have no clue how much that will factor in.

Everything should be done the same as in the 2019 ball test plus add results for the average driver swing speed of approx 94 mph. For balls with an unusually large shot area, you can refer to the ball lab results (Chrome Soft in 2019 that I believe led to ball lab)

I have tried several of the top brands over the last 2 years, and found that with my swing speed of approximately 85, I am getting much better results playing the softer Bridgestone “Tiger” balls, that recommend a swing speed of over 105.. Yet, I get the best results with a ball I “shouldn’t play”. This may be something that should be tested., and likely, other brands may show similar results that some slow swingers like me can take benefit.

Could you test the Sugar golf ball and the Snell MTB Black?

Can’t wait to see how the RZN Golf Balls stack up against the rest!

I’d love to see if you guys can ascertain any difference whatsoever between a used/recycled golf ball and the brand new ones of any of the top urethane covered balls. I ordered 4 dozen Pro v1x from Lost golfballs.com and I cannot find a difference at all. I’ve weighed them on my kitchen scale, tested for roundness with a micrometer and bounced them all off of a wedge. I compared them to brand new Pro V1 and Snell MTB’s, I figured if they were waterlogged from being at the bottom of a pond they would have to weigh more. All Balls, new and used, we’re showing me between 1.61 and 1.64 Oz. But I’m sure that’s the accuracy of my scale. I found nothing out of round and they all seem to bounce the same height and make the same noise off of my 60 degree wedge. I’ve played three rounds with them so far, and I would have no idea they were used balls if I didn’t buy them that way.

You read one article, likely written or paid for by golf ball manufacturers, saying that a ball that has been under water will greatly affect his performance. Then you read another article, likely written or paid for by one of the companies that recycle them let’s say there is no difference whatsoever. I’d like to know the truth and you guys can do it way more scientifically than I can.

Do you ever set the robot up to INTENTIONALLY SLICE like a high handicapper is prone to do? I would be interested to see the actual results of the spin measurements. For instance, this ball had a carry distance of 250 yds, but was 50 yards right while the next ball had a carry distance of 260 but was only 20 yards right.

Would there be any value in testing each ball two ways by setting up the robot to have a sweeper swing and a downward angle of attack swing?

A little more thought about testing wedges.. In the 2019 test, you used 2 swing speeds for driver and 7 iron . For wedges, you simply stated that it was a 85 yard shot. A player that has a 115mph driver swing speed will play that shot completely differently to a player with a 85mph swing speed…. and this is not reflected in the data….Perhaps 110 yards and 50 yards might be useful??

More focus on the 90-95 mph driver swing speed.

I would like to know the different flight characteristics of the balls which produce lower and higher apex points over various clubs.

Please test the obvious metrics- distance (carry, total), dispersion, spin rates, launch angle, and descent angle, across multiple swing speeds (85/92/100/115) and multiple clubs (Driver, 7 iron, wedge, partial wedge). With regard to new metrics-. putter performance (distance consistency, true roll, etc.) and any observations on overall ball durability would be appreciated. We all have been waiting on this, so good on you for getting it scheduled and I look forward to the results.

I golf in the Midwest where the temperature can vary greatly depending on the season. Currently I play Pro V. Should I be changing balls for the colder weather conditions

MGS, you have been a godsend over the last few months that I have been making an effort to improve my game in every aspect. So thank you for that! What I would love to see is results on off center hits, or even results on a swing with a right to left path causing a slice. It is great to see results of balls head to head, but knowing how they perform for the majority of golfers, that have inconsistencies in their swing, would be amazing. I am late to the party, so I don’t know if this is already something that is tested, but I would love to see the data.

I would be grateful if you would please provide the estimated total distance of the balls, in addition to the carry distance. The reason is that a lot of golfers use low spin balls and the carry distance does not factor in the additional roll that comes from such balls. Thank you for considering this!

I would like to see some data around trajectory on drives and spin on wedges. We say this ball is a “low trajectory” off the driver. What does that mean with data vs. a higher trajectory ball? Also spin numbers off a full wedge. I’m looking for data verses adjectives like low or high.

Sound

Bridgestone Tour B- RX

Please can you test the Srixon balls, specifically the Q-star Tour?

I think you’ve got the consistency part covered already, so I’m looking forward to performance data:

Most wanted: Average carry and total distance for each ball by swing speed, for driver, mid-iron, short-iron..

I’m intrigued because in some limited on-course testing with a friend’s swing (100) and mine (95), we found a significant distance advantage with the Zstar and ProV1 over the Zstar XV and ProV1x, which seems to contradict the “soft is slower” paradigm, at least at our swing speeds and for these particular balls.

I would like to see 50 yard pitch to see which ball stops the fastest. Into the the wind and cross wind with driver and 7 irons to see which balls are affected by the wind the most. Some 3 wood testing would be nice to see. You can see a big difference in 3 wood distance with AVX vs ProV1x with the spin reduction. Also it would be cool to see GC quad data vs track man data to see the difference. It would be cool see normalized data vs. what the ball actually did. I think that would be a good test of quality control of the balls.

1. When the final results are published i would like to have the ability to input my own swingspeed and have the results (club recommendation order) customized for that swingspeed.

2. I would like data for how long each ball will last before scuffing to the point of it negatively impacting contact/ball flight/roll on the greens.

3. A ball visibility test to determine how easily it is to follow flight and to find when off of the fairway.

4. Tighter swingspeed brackets for final ball recommendations.

5. Ball recommendations that can be customly adjusted by swingspeed combined with handicap.

I believe that tour quality balls are available at less than the $50/ dozen price.
Like Snell balls and am playing MTB-X. Could you compare performance with the Maxfli Tour & Tour X X ? as they are in the same price range $28-32/ dozen.
Are there any other balls which should be considered in this Premium Value category? You guys do great work- keep it up. Thanks

I think you left a big question unanswered on your first test: do any “distance” balls live up to the name? Especially for shorter to medium-length players, is there a cheaper (presumably harder) ball which goes as far or farther than the top-tier tour balls? And how much spin do you sacrifice for that distance?

What I would like to see would take a little long-term planning, but would be something that I’ve almost never seen actual data on: what actually happens to golf ball performance depending on what environment they are stored in?

For example: Purchase several dozen balls presumed to all be identical, and then leave sleeves of balls in all the places in the real-world that people leave balls. 1) leave a sleeve in your car’s trunk for a year 2) leave a sleeve in your garage for a year 3) leave a sleeve in your basement or attic for a year 4) leave a sleeve stored in a living space (almost as a control) 4.1) leave a sleeve in a locker at a club for year 5) leave a sleeve in your bag for a year 6) leave a sleeve in your backyard shed. And then let’s start getting creative 7) bury a few balls and dig them up in a year (if you really want to be thorough, get some friends from all around the country to do this as 1 year in Minnesota is not the same as 1 year in Florida) 8) get a few balls placed in a pond a fish them out after a year 8.1) do the same, but with ocean salt water instead of fresh water 9) leave a few balls sitting out in the sun (i.e. up on a roof, get plenty of exposure to UV and all the elements) for a year 10) leave a sleeve in your fridge for a year 11) leave a sleeve in your freezer for a year 12) and so on — as many different environments as one can think of.

And then come back in a year and test them and see what, if anything, has changed performance wise. The question I really would like to know is given the unknown provenance of the lost ball resellers, just how good of a deal are we getting there? Or if someone gives you a sleeve of 2015 ProV1s that they found in the back of their garage cleaning last week, are those any good anymore? And if you’re going to go to the effort of submerging/burying/leaving balls out in the elements, I’d just suggest going as crazy as possible to fill out a full spectrum of environments.

It would be incredibly informative if you were to mark every ball and track it’s individual shot results. Then after the testing is done, do a ball lab on every ball tested. Let’s say Titleist ProV1 ball 34 was determined to be “bad”, you see what the impact of an off center core has when compared against the sample of good balls from the same dozen. If dispersion increases 20%, that is a big deal. If it increases 2%, maybe not so much. I imagine the ball lab testing would take time. But it doesn’t have to be released at the same time as the Ball Test.

Alternatively, you could try to identify balls that have irregular results when compared to the averages within that particular model and you can ball test those outliers to determine if they are bad.

Maybe you can take advantage of the test to try something that might be interesting: balls marked in your tests as “bad” balls with issues vs good ones (Maybe a bit tedious to mark balls and later cut them after…)

Update on Srixon Qstar Tour.

I would like to see Callaway Supersoft and Supersoft Max tested and compared to other low compression balls.

The distance of 90 mph club head speed drives

This ought to be good as I am sure there is not a tour ball out there that will suit my game! Why? At somewhere around 20 handicap, I have a lot more to work on than the latest $40+ per dozen golf ball to hit. Does this mean that after this will come tests for balls that best fit the GI and SGI handicappers?

I would love to see more focus on partial shots and short game. Could that offset long game benefits? Dimple pattern impacts on short shots and potentially putting? Keep up the great work.

Are there any golf balls more impacted by wind than others?

Test some cheap golf balls to see which is the best for the buck.

I feel that the parameters that you used last test were great ,it really opened my eyes on not just the materials but on Industry QC
we pay a lot for balls these days and when we see a high percentage of off center cores etc ,it impacts my purchase for sure!!!

Not sure the best way/how to test, but it’d be interesting to see if there was a level of forgiveness to the balls on miss hits. Dispersion when I get it near the sweet spot is one thing, but is there a difference between tour balls for miss hits..

Ideas:
“Soft” golf balls are all the rage right now from the manufacturers. Low Compression. Is it all Hype or do they offer a clear advantage over mid or high compression balls? Testing head to head between “Soft” and Mid-high compression golf balls to test the hype.

Very expensive balls versus more affordable balls – head to head comparison to determine if more expensive balls are worth the money. Have a best ball for a number of price points.

Durability. Which golf balls are longest lasting under normal play conditions? Shortest? I’m thinking about the durability of the cover to resist scuffing and cutting.

I just love the fact that you’re mixing robot testing with human testing, allowing you to compare and contrast real world and lab experiences. You always hear that robot testing doesn’t give you real world results, but the same can be said for human testing because every human is different. Good job MGS, and I look forward to the results.

I believe it would be great to see the golf balls tested and rated/ ranked, based on their construction. All the 2 piece balls. All the 3 piece balls, and the 4 piece balls, and etc. Also knowing if any 2 piece balls are good around the green would be great knowledge for most value, high handicap golfers.
Thanks you for all the hard work, my golf spy. Keep telling it like it is. Truly appreciated.

Kirkland V 2.0!!!

Hello,
Can you put some grass between club and ball and test how the ball plays from a “hitting a flyer” perspective. It would interesting to see how balls perform from the rough. Thank you.

Swing speed is important. Like last time 85mph gave valuable insight form female golfers and lead to my wife making an informed ball decision.

Please consider a typical female swing speed when choosing your proxy swing speeds.

Thanks

I would like to see consistency in manufacturing, durability, and if you have time the facts on the DTC balls.

What would you like to see us test?

Which golf ball goes farthest with slow swing speeds. Which golf ball has fewest nicks while hitting a cart path or other rough surface?

Please show results for different swing speeds for each ball

Can you do separate tests at different ball speeds, like 85-95-110 or something like that. My own “tests” show great differences in ball performance at different speeds.? I think that would be a great help to the most golfers.

During robotic test please very swing speeds, three or four swing speed groups with short, mid irons and hybrid, fairway, and driver.
Tthanks

73 years young! Like most have distance problems. I know club head speed is primary issue. But ball seems to “drop” out of air. Have been told a higher spinning ball might help. (Always used to go for less spin)
I play Taylormade tpx5. Thx

If I recall reading your last big ball test. I was disappointed in the extreme differences between ball swings measured. There was an 85 mph swing category and a really fast 110 or above being measured. I felt like I couldn’t really figure out the best ball for me with a 100mph swing. So my request is to include us middle swing guys! Thanks for all you do.

Two suggestions:
(1) Wet ball wedge test (~100yd). I’m curious whether there is any difference among tour balls in terms of spin retention when wet.
(2) Measure a ~15yd chip. I’m curious whether there are differences on this type of shot. In my own testing on CGQ, I think there is a difference between ProV1 and ProV1x on this type of shot that is more noticeable than you might expect.

I would like to see a more extensive durability section of the reviews. I think everyone here would agree.

A big factor in deciding is durability of a golf ball. An example, Tour B XS for me feels the best and is one of my favorites, but the durability is pretty bad…While a 2021 Prov1 doesnt feel as good (to me) but the cover is much more durable, but also they are more expensive.

When money is a factor, how long a ball lasts or how durable it is makes a big difference. All of the balls tested are usually top tier, quality balls. Some sort of ranking system for durability versus cost would be really nice to see.

What about a pass/fail style rating or score against the claims the manufacturer makes, vs the results of the actual test.
Spin rate
Ball speed
Launch angke
Visibility???
Actual roll alignment?

I would like to see a comparison of distance and spin at slower swing speeds, typical of older golfers, perhaps 90 MPH.

Definitely the -ProV1x (left dash). Tried it for the first time last weekend and was blown away.

We always are confronted with balancing spin / short game attributes with distance when picking a ball.

My question – how much are you really giving up in short game if you opt for a longer ball.. Let’s say you stay away from extremes – what about something simple like the ProVX versus the AVX? If you anted to expand beyond that and throw in some real rocks that would be fun as well.

Thanks, Peter

driver and 7 iron carry distance / spin rate and apex height for 85 mph ss with driver

Please emphasize AVERAGE swing speeds. The vast majority of amateur golfers do NOT have swing speeds of 100mph, or even 95mph.

I want to see the continuation of testing of D2C balls like Vice, Snell, OnCore and continue to compare those to B2B balls like Taylor Made, etc.

I’d also like to see recommendations on balls that are seemingly starting to overlap – Titielst Tour Soft or AVX compared to the “tour” balls and for handicap ranges – +-5, 5-10, 10-15, etc. balls that fit certain metrics – swing speeds, etc. I think that would be very helpful.

I personally don’t have an absolute go to ball – played Vice Pro Plus, but your analysis of them wasn’t great. Tried Snell, OnCore and have been buying ProV1 X’s from Lost Balls to save a few bucks. I’m a 9 handicap index and 60 years old so looking for the right ball at the right price point if that helps.

Thanks

Add in the Inesis Tour 900 too if you can please. I think the v2 version came out after the original test.was done.

And how about including some popular ‘non tour’ Ionomer balls for comparison, such as Srixon AD333 and Soft Feel, and similar offerings from other manufacturers..

Hi MGS;

It would be great to see robot performance with a driver, 7-iron and PW (same club for each ball), based on an indoor simulator?

That would give us the actual performance of each ball? (Carry, accuracy, spin, sound (loudness?))

Great work as usual !

2021 Kirkland Signature Version 2.0. It seems that the distance has improved, but I don’t have any proof.

I would like to see a category for driver swing speed under 80 mph. This opens the field for both females and senior golfers who don’t generate what the average male does

Spin and launch angle on short chips/ pitches with high lofted wedge. Also mid range at 40 yards. Dispersion pattern on the green.

Driver launch/spin and carry at different speeds.

driver and 7 iron carry distance/spin rate and apex height for 85ss from driver

I am a 62 year young female. I would like tests to help us older ladies get some info on what ball is the best for us at our age. I usually shoot in the mood 80’s. Always wanting to improve my game.

Do scuffs, and balls used for more than a round make a difference with performance.?

2 of the best value for money Golf balls that I haven’t seen tested are… The Callaway Supersoft, best all round ball I have ever used, feel around the greens is exceptional,..Also the Pinnacle Soft is soooo underrated and an amazing bargain .. great ball for the early Spring and late fall when greens are more receptive….
Thanks for all the great work you do…..

Would like to see test for mid-handicappers around 100MPH.

The 2021 Kirkland Signature Version 2.0 3-layer ball. It seems that they improved some weaknesses from the 2018(?) ball. From my experience, it seems the distance has improved, but I don’t have proof.

Relative spin and distance from one ball to another under the same impact conditions. Is there anything else?

Since you are using a robot, could you provide any data on ball apex? Some balls claim to be lower flighted balls than others which, if its true, would be helpful for getting the right ball for your flight but I’m not sure I believe the claims.

Appreciated your last golf ball test—great reliable data. I would be interested in how the various balls perform with different swing speeds, perhaps from a fast, medium and slow mph standpoint. Thanks.

Can u add titelist trufeel balls to your test… they feel great it would be interesting to see how they stack up at 50% cheaper MSRP

Please test the Maxfli Tour Golf Ball 2021.

I would like to see data on least durable ball covers and most durable. Greenside spin on pitch/chips shots would be great; or maybe shorter shots 25 and 50 yards to keep it simple. Thanks for putting this together MGS!

I just want some balls that are very durable and soft around the greens and not to expensive. The Kirkland signature one’s I use a the moment are great around the greens but don’t half scrub/mark up. Maybe it’s just my style of play. I previously used Sirxion soft which I very rarely marked up but where very clicky feel in strike. So hopefully you can find some decent balls for us mid handicappers who lose to many ball for us to fork out £40 on tp5 and prov 👍

Most recreational golfers, myself included, don’t get the full benefits of your level balls. You should include a couple lower cost balls as a control. Trusoft, Supersoft/Superhot, Q Star, RX, etc. This would allow us to see the difference that we pay for.

Please test spin rates.

For me I would like all the balls tested with a more complete range of swing speeds with a 7 iron. Most of the tests are done with higher swing speeds. Most people flat out lie about how far they hit the ball and a lot of demos are done with run out distance like you are airport runway.

You’re going to test ball flight on the robot.Ok.How about true roll on the green?Seems putting has been forgotten. Let’s test that too.

What ball is best for seniors with a light shaft and slower swing speed

Include Snell MTB and MTB-X in the test.

I would like to be able to see the actual shot groupings for each ball and then be able to compare 2 or 3 against each other. The average is good, but it only tells part of the story for a sport where long/short and left/right are also reasonably important. Theoretically, with a robot hitting the ball, they should be very tight, but with what we know from Ball Lab, that won’t be the case.

I am 72, disabled Vet, with a 18 Handicap. Of course I am looking for a ball which will go farther, as I age. Problem is swing speed of 85….

Thank you for this outlet…

I like the golf ball tests. Even if selection of golf ball is a matter of preference the tests give a good foundation to start from.. The only key aspect I’d like to see, if posible, would be durability of the shell/top layer. I’m quite picky and don’t like wedge marks and cuffs on my golfballs. I like shell to last more than a few wedge shots.

The New Chrome Soft X LS Is a good 1, and that’s coming from a life long Titleist user (50) years so that should tell you something

Please test the sugar golf balls

Please try test the Vice Proplus. Have change from pro-v1 to the vice the year and have being terrific.

Longer off tee IMO.
Less back spin on my wedge approach shots which I do prefer.

Keith (4 h’cap).

Is it possible to combine your test lab data a compression/feel versus distance test. Some of us older golfers want to know the best possible ball for our slower swing speed.

I’d like to see spin numbers for each ball, using a new wedge and a 4 year old wedge. Needing a sharp groove to spin a ball is very different than what a majority of golfers have in their bag. Even as a +1 handicap, I use wedges for at least 3 years before buying new ones. I’d love to know the data around that choice. Thanks!

I play a yellow ball. I find that some yellows are more vibrant than others and that some are “washed-out”. It would be nice to see you line up all the yellow balls next to each other for a color comparison. Thank you.

I’d be very interested in testing the “workability” of golf balls. We always seem to test the same things, but if I’m honest, I need to work shots left or right too because I’m not always on the fairway. Can we test the ability of a being able to shape a balls flight?

I would like to see more testing of two piece balls.

Srixson Q Star Tour

1. I’d like to know which ball curves offline the least.
2. Standard Deviation of Distance.

Both of those are connected to Dispersion Area but are not totally proportional to that one stat.

And, 3. Total Distance.

And, of course these three would be aggregated by club.

I’d also LOVE to see differences in those three stats for each ball aggregated by swing speed.

I want to see best distance for club speed of 90.

How the ball reacts to “miss hits” ie, toe, heal, open or closed faces,

So glad you asked! One aspect I would like to see tested is if the golf ball alignments manufacturers place on the ball truly rolls straight when you line the marker to the target line… I often find one side of a golf ball’s weight is more than the other side and thus making the ball wobble. In addition, how about testing low pitch shots for ball checking. Most of us can’t get that spin that tour players do but it would be nice to know just how far a ball is rolling when you hit those 25 to 30-yard pitches that land on the green..

What ball is best for us that do not have 90+ mph swing speeds

Would love to see the dispersion broken out and/or error bars on the various averages. This would help illustrate the difference between consistent manufacturers and those with off-center cores, etc. I guess it would also be important to specify how many individual balls go into the sample for each type.

I would love to see how the Snell MTB Black and the Vice Pro and Pro Plus stack up against the Pro V1, Pro V1x, TP5, and the TP5x.

I would love to see maximum launch height, would love to know the highest ball in golf

I’d like to see the results of having a slightly open club face and conversely slightly closed club face to swing path at ball impact in wet conditions. My hypothesis is that a wet ball with the club face x degrees away from straight aligned would cause increased misses left, right and also lose distance. It would be helpful to know how significantly the wet conditions impact ball flight, spin and accuracy during the wet conditions in general as well. Knowing this would help make better decisions on the course in rainy weather to minimize mistakes and keep scores lower.

Actually I was going to ask a similar question..in relation to premium balls ie titleist prov and tp5 after how many rounds do they lose the control and wear and tear on the outer surface….balls are expensive enough just be curious to see when they start deteriorating
Keep up the great wirk

Oncore VeroX1 please. you have done the Elixr, please do their newest ball!

I’d really like some data to help address swing speed and the ideal ball based on ball compression data or other data to help identify the best ball for my swing speed….or other easy to identify data point.

I am most interested in seeing what balls are the most consistent in performance. Are balls really out of balance anymore, and if they are how much, what is the impact of the ball being out of balance. What balls are the most consistent and vis versa..

Spin rates by ball for Wedge, mid iron, long iron and driver.
Thank you

Clear Sports golf ball.

I’d like to see same brand balls from different manufacturing facilities compared, specifically Pro V1x from plants 3 and 4.

Would love to see how different balls spin based on various clubhead speeds

It would be great to see the data set for each ball based on slow, medium, and fast swing speeds to better determine which ball fits each individual golfer’s game.

Like to know what ball really is a low spin ball

Only 2 suggestions. First, you have already extensively looked into deformities and the prevalence of issues in balls. Considering this, ONLY USE BALANCED AND CONFORMING BALLS IN THE TEST. This way you will have true max potential performance IF the balls are conforming considering only X% of the balls are conforming. Second, a few more swing speeds in the “typical” range would be appreciated.

Like to see how balls from the same factories compare as well as mid-priced and high-priced balls within a brand. Excited for the results!

Would love to see the infamous OnCore Vero X1 included in the test group of not already on “the list”!

Distance, spin rate, trajectory of a ball for seniors or average golfer. They are the largest golf population that spend the most on balls, trying to find a simple way to improve their game.

Would love to see the Titleist AVX included.

What is the best golf ball for distance and accuracy for slow swing speeds?

Spin on 50 yard shots

Like to compare tour balls against a 90 mph Driver speed.. I play Bridgestone RXS and RX depending on wind. How wold that compare to PRoV1 or V1X

I would like to see how far balls roll using a Stimpmeter that is set a consistent height. Do some balls roll farther than others? Do 2 piece balls roll farther than 3 piece balls. I would expect the distance balls to roll further but it would be an interesting test.

Test balls at several different driver speeds, 80,90,100,110mph.

I would love to see the new 2021 Maxfli Tour and Tour X tested. I assume they will since they preformed well last test, but wanted to make sure they get a shout out to get in the test again.

Keep up the great work, guys. I’d love to see the Kirkland Performance + V2.0 tested. Cheers.

Not exactly sure how you would do this, but I’d like to see a test of cover durability. This does have an impact on golf ball costs and it appears some brands might be better than others.

Can you test the MG C4 golf ball?

Thank you

Please test the Kirkland golf ball to see how it compares to the other golf balls.

I would love to see a two piece ball test in and of itself. I would then like to see how the very top two piece balls fall amongst the already tested balls. If even one two piece shows well it would be an enormous revelation and most likely should be the ball 75% or more of golfers should play in my opinion. I don’t see how less layers wouldn’t make it much easier to produce a more consistent manufacturered ball.

I think looking at balls that are comparably to top tour ball manufacture consistency or higher and pairing that with ball flights for discount balls. Obviously best bang for the buck is what most am’s want.