2024 was a big year for DICK’S Sporting Good’s in-house Maxfli golf ball brand. Despite not launching a new flagship lineup, Maxfli Tour balls went mainstream with Ben Griffin opting to play Maxfli on the PGA Tour and Lexi Thompson teeing up Maxfli on the LPGA.
While that surprised many, MyGolfSpy readers have been in the know about the best value ball in golf balls since our first robot ball test in 2017. I suppose you could say that, in 2024, the rest of the golfing world finally got wise to the secret.
Suffice it to say, Maxfli finally has some category momentum for something other than the Noodle so it makes sense that it would try and capitalize with the release of a new ball. That, and it’s been two years since the current models launched, so the timing just feels right.
New Maxfli Tour series
For 2025 (and presumably 2026), Maxfli will again offer three models and, again, all three will be produced by Foremost in Taiwan. For our money, Foremost is, by far, the most reputable of the non OEM-owned factories. Our testing repeatedly has shown Foremost bests some of the OEM facilities for quality and consistency.
We’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating: From a quality perspective, you could spend a lot more and get a lot less than you get with the Maxfli Tour.
Unlike 2023’s launch, there’s nothing entirely new in the Maxfli lineup. The Tour, Tour X and new-in-2023 Tour S all remain in the lineup but, as you’d expect, there are some upgrades.
Maxfli Tour S
The softest of the Maxfli Tour offerings, the Tour S (soft) has a stated compression of 85. That puts it a few points softer than a Pro V1 and loosely in Bridgestone Tour B XS territory. That makes it soft by Tour ball standards but not so soft to put you at risk of losing significant distance off the tee.
It’s soft but not slow soft.
The new Tour S will again offer three-piece construction and a 336-dimple design. That last bit is interesting if only because the higher dimple count cover of Foremost’s two most popular offerings is typically found on higher-compression four-piece models.
It’s the same cover used on the original Tour S and it’s hard to find fault with the performance.
In what should prove to be the theme for the new family, the Tour S features a new high flexural modulus mantle layer. That amounts to a tweak to the stiffness profile in the mid-layer in a three-piece ball that should produce more speed without sacrificing feel.
As with all Maxfli Tour models, the Tour S is CG balanced which means each ball is run through what might be described as an industrial-grade, high-tech version of a check-go-pro. The seams are marked for the optimal balance point which, in theory, could improve performance off the tee and on the putting green.
Maxfli Tour
The most popular of Maxfli’s ball, the Tour is meant to compete directly with some of the best-known balls on the market.
Like the Tour S, it offers three-piece construction. Compression is listed as 95 which is roughly five points firmer than a Pro V1. The new Maxfli Tour retains the 318-dimple pattern from previous Tour models but gets the new high flexural mantle layer for added speed and distance.
Maxfli Tour X
The Tour X is Maxfli’s only four-piece offering. With a stated compression of 100, it should prove to be one of the firmer balls on the market and, with that, we expect one of the fastest as well.
In addition to the new high flexural mantle layer, the Tour X now features a 336-dimple cover. As I said, that’s the cover most commonly found on higher-compression four-piece balls so it’s always been a little odd that previous Tour X iterations leveraged the 318-dimple pattern.
With the change, golfers can expect the new Tour X to produce a flatter trajectory relative to the previous Tour X.
Availability and pricing
Retail price for the new Maxfli Tour family of golf balls is $39.99 per dozen or two dozen for $70 via an ongoing promo. Packs of 48 have a list price of $159.99 but the actual street price should be $120.
Yellow versions will be available in March. Max Align (alignment aid) versions will launch in April.
The new models are available at DICK’S Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy locations.
ctg44
1 year ago
My initial testing of the Tour X ball in the simulator shows it’s VERY (as in almost identical) to, but maybe even slightly better than, a Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. These are absolutely a BEAST of a golf ball. They’re better off the driver, shortening approaches by an average of AT LEAST 1 club. They’re better off the irons, reducing lateral dispersion a lot. I haven’t had a chance to do any significant putter testing, but in the limited amount I have done, they feel just like the Left Dash. I have played 2 full simulator rounds with these and have broken par in 1 round and shot even par in the other. Now, that’s a simulator round, so take that with a grain of salt as I’m a steady 6-8 handicap right now. However, these golf balls are better than most I’ve used this year, and that includes everything currently available from Titleist. Whether the 2025 Pro V1 / V1x beat it remains to be seen starting this weekend.