Ball Lab Golf Ball Quality Awards

In this, our second annual MyGolfSpy Golf Ball Quality Awards, we showcase the best of Ball Lab – the brands and models offering the best quality and consistency.

We realize not everyone wants to spend $50-plus on golf balls so we’ve highlighted top-quality options at various price points.

These awards are based on the total Ball Lab score (at the time of review posting) of balls measured (both published and non-published) since the beginning of 2023. This time, we only considered models with urethane covers (that will change moving forward), and a minimum of two ball models were required to qualify for brand quality awards.

The Winners

Best Brand Quality

While. again, we only considered urethane-covered options for the Ball Lab awards, it’s notable that nine of the current top 15 models in the Ball Lab database bear a Titleist logo. Equally as notable, no Titleist golf ball produced at Ball Plant 2 (Pro V1, Pro V1x, AVX) has ever scored below 85.

This time around, Pro V1x led the way with a Ball Lab score of 89,while the Pro V1 came in at 85. It’s perhaps circular logic but the strength of the Titleist premium lineup is that there are no weaknesses.

Compression, diameter and weight consistency are always average or better and we find exceedingly few bad balls. Within the ball category, and especially at the premium end, Titleist is the most consistently dependable brand on the market.

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Best DTC Brand Quality

Once the best-kept secret in quality golf balls, golfers are starting to find their way to the DICK’S-exclusive Maxfli brand which continues to impress in Ball Lab and robot testing.

Notably, the latest edition of the Maxfli Tour series (the Tour S) produced the highest score of the three Maxfli models we tested in the last year.

In a year where some DTC favorites took a step backward, Maxfli continued what has become a tradition of producing quality golf balls.

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Best Ball

In some respects, it’s a bit of a surprise to see a TaylorMade ball at the top of the scoreboard but it’s hard to ignore what we saw with the current Tour Response.

Weight, diameter and compression consistency all stretched into the Good range and we found no bad balls in our sample.

Not all that long ago, TaylorMade purchased the factories that produce its golf balls. The sample size is small but there are signs that with ownership and oversight come higher quality.

Could this mean better things to come with TaylorMade’s other premium balls?

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Best DTC Ball

The softest of Maxfli’s three Tour offerings, the 82-compression Tour S, was the standout of the lineup. At the time of testing, compression and diameter consistency were above average while weight fell in the Average range.

No bad balls were found in the sample.

None of this should come as much of a surprise given that Foremost – the factory that manufactures balls for Maxfli – produces among the most consistent golf balls we test.

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Best Soft Ball

At 73 compression, the TaylorMade Tour Response is certainly not THE softest ball on the market but, among the competitive set, we tested none better.

We’ve already discussed the excellent Ball Lab score but it’s important to note that it’s rare for a soft ball to be among the quality leaders. Low-compression balls are more difficult to make or at least to make consistently on spec.

The top of our table is almost exclusively 85 compression and higher offerings, making Tour Response an appealing outlier.

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Best Ball Above $40

Among the most expensive offerings we tested this year, the Titleist Pro V1x rose to the top. With a Ball Lab score of 89, it was the best premium offering we tested.

With market leaders pushing prices to the US$55 range, there’s something to be said for getting what you pay for.

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Best Ball $30 to $40

At the top of this price range, the TaylorMade Tour Response separated itself from the rest with a Ball Lab score of 93.

If you’re looking for high-flying, low-spinning ball with soft feel, it’s hard to look past the ball that received the highest score of any model we tested over the last 12 months.

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Best Ball $20 to $30

The latest iteration of OnCore’s popular ELIXR didn’t have the smoothest sailing through Ball Lab. Our sample contained a few balls that were not what they were supposed to be.

Despite the hiccups, the ELIXR still managed a Ball Lab score of 75. That’s solidly average at a price point where there are few quality options, making it one of the best deals on the market.

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Best Ball Under $20

The bad news is our quality tests suggest the new Kirkland Signature Peformance+ (V3) is a step back from the previous version.

Weight, diameter and compression are all moving targets, which is to say that if consistency is the goal, we can’t promise you’ll find it here.

On a more positive note, we didn’t find any major layer defects which suggests it will fly as straight as its high-spin design allows.

The reality is that there aren’t much in the way of great options below $20 and, given its urethane cover (and the fact that inexpensive ionomer offerings have a poor record in Ball Lab), we still think it’s the best you’ll find for less than $20.

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