Golfballselector My Reviews

I decided to test out the website www.golfballselector.com based on a referral. I found a coupon online, so I got the full year of service for a little over $20. It was a fun little excercise and it prompted me to try tons of new balls.

While I am still puzzled by the different balls it gave me, I will give them all a try. I am still very unsure why it selected half 2 piece distance balls and half 3 piece spin balls for me. I found it great that they had it also done by which year golf ball. For instance on Nike Black, I was better suited for the older model. The top 6 on my list is down, I am going to hopefully get the rest of the list done in the next week or so.
I ordered them by day tried, not by my favs.
Here is what I have tried so far:

1. Pro V1- I normally play Pro V1x, so this was not a stretch. It was ranked #4 on my list and I simply dont like it as much as the X.

2. Wilson Zip- This ball was okay. I wouldnt buy them again. They are fine for what they are. About the same distance as my ProV1x, but not even close to as spinny for me. Good ball for the money, but not my choice. Reminded me a lot of the Precept Tri-Tour. They were ranked 5th on my list.

3. Bridgeston E6+ - I liked these a lot of off the tee. Not very spinny for me though. I play a firm course and they just wouldnt stick for me. I would buy them again if I were playing a soft course. They were ranked #2 on my list.

4. Callaway Tour IX- I liked how these performed. To me they are very comparable to the balls I normally play. I would by them again most likely if I had to change. A little shorter off the tee than the ProV1x, but also a little too much side spin. I could get them to stop on the green with no problem, but had a tough time spinning back, compared to others. They were ranked #1 on my list.

5. Nike One Platinum- These were like hitting eggs. Too soft for my taste. Maybe the spinniest ball I have ever played. The side spin off the tee was too much. One shot with my Vokey Wedges and these balls were scrambled. These were ranked 6th on my list.

6. Bridgestone B330- Liked these balls a lot. Very much like the ProV1x. They did not spin quite as much as the ProV1x around the greens, but were damn close. Definately near the top of my list for purchases again. They were ranked #3 on my list.

So as you can see, it did a decent job. I am still unsure why the E6+ and the B330 were right next to each other on my list. They perform much differently and confused me quite a bit. I still have 5 more items to try and will update as they come around. I really liked a couple but I didnt find anything that outperforms my current ball. The B330's were a good ball though. I do like looking down and seeing Titleist on the ball, but I am glad I found something else I like. I am going to play some more with them this weekend and see. The NOP is like an egg. Just too damn soft for me. Each wedge shot I was worried about splitting the ball in two. Reminded me of the old Balata balls I used to play.

Here is what is coming up next for me:
TaylorMade TP Black (08)
Srixon Z-URS (07)
Srixon AD-333 (07)
Callaway HX Hot Bite (08)
Nike Power Distance Soft (08)
Titleist NXT Tour (07)
Callaway HX Pearl (08)
Srixon Z-URC (07)
TaylorMade TP Red (08)
Pinnacle Ribbon (08)
Noodle Noodle (08)
Wilson Fifty (07)
Bridgestone e5 (07)



There are a few more that were on the list, at the very bottom, so I just bought a sleeve of each one of these to make the list an even 20. Expensive exersize, but fun drill. I am playing 6 holes with each ball. Not a true review because its only 6 holes, but my impressions based on what the program spit out at the end. I will list each ball and where they ranked. For those wondering, my normal ball was ranked 7th on the list.

I appreciate your review and look forward to your thoughts on the rest. I don't play as often as I use to, so I don't stay up on the latest. I still play ProV1X.

I am confused...
You paid a website $20 to tell you what balls to go out and buy? They tell you to buy balls that are kind of no-brainer balls. I mean Bridgestone, Titleist, Callaway all make great balls and I would know to try them without having a website tell me to do so. So is there more to this website that I am not getting here? Don't take this as a slam it is not intended to be, I would just like a little more info about how this website works and what intrigued you to sign up for it.

Do they send you free sample(s) of the balls that are recommended for you? Or even coupons or promotional deals on the balls it recommends?
If that is the case then that is a great idea/deal.

I did go to the website to find some more info and it didnt seem to answer my questions...

It is a virtual fitting. I dont really know what it is to get? You must know your swing speed, ball speed, and tons of other things. The site lets you use it for a year. They didnt tell me to try Callaway or any others. Based on my shot input, they rate how each ball will work for me? It was fun and enjoyable. Plus great insight into each ball and why it will owrk for my swing. The service should be free? Ball fittings usually arent free unless they are sponsored by a maker. WHy would this be free?

As to your question, I dont think you are getting it. It is a ball fitting. It would be the same as a club fitting online. There is more to picking a ball than just going with what the pros use or what others like. The fact that some 2 piece balls were in my top 10 opened my eyes to the fact that maybe it is worth checking out.

Cool stuff.. Looking forward to hearing about each.. Not many multi ball reviews out there by "normal" guys.

No one charges $20 for a club fitting online, and then charges you to buy a sleeve of balls and try out how accurate they are.

That's like paying $20 for an online fitting to know where to start when you go to a certified fitter. You're not getting anything out of it that you couldn't get by buying a sleeve each of the most popular balls and trying out each. Considering you took their rankings, then did just that, you just wasted $20 to get told that the most popular balls are best for you.

No, I think you are missing the point. Nobody has to do what I did. You could just use the ball that they are picking as your top choice. A BALL FITTING. I chose to have some fun with it. Maybe in my mind $20 is not that big of a deal for a year of use for this thing. It was fun and opened my eyes up to a few things. If you would rather spend your $20 on something else, that is up to you. And BTW, the most popular balls are not always what are picked. Half of the balls chosen in my top 20 were stuff I would never have considered. Including one that I am using today that has made me rethink my ball of choice.

But before you criticize, you have never tried it. You know nothing about it. As for your analogy about club fitting. You are saying that the club fitting services should be free or have clubs included. Golfsmith charges just for a club fitting. So do others. You are criticizing something you have never tried or even seen.

No,

you are missing the point. This isn't a fitting to you, this is a fitting to some stock player who happens to have your swing speed. A fitting would be taking a handful of each ball and testing each with proper data to determine which is the best for you. It's certainly possible to gather enough data on your swing to fit a ball without ever touching it, but I assure you that you don't have it and this website didn't ask for it.

I guess what they are saying is that per your review Golfballselector.com isn't worth the twenty dollar sign up fee (and that was with a discount!).

Now that is well said. I love how someone was trying to review my review on a product that was never tried by them.

$20 for a "fitting" that still requires you to spend money to confirm its fit is not a fitting, it's a scam. If it collected the data you provided based on your performance with a ball, and determined which would be the best ball for you, then it would actually do some type of analysis. It doesn't do that. It predicts based on arbitrary swing values which will do well for you.

It's a great suggestion for which balls to try, I agree. Unfortunately, now that you've posted your information, I think you'll find that you were provided with the most popular, best-selling balls in the market. If you don't believe this, consider how your testing of their products compared to their suggestion: it didn't. It suggested the Callaway ix, which you have covered this forum saying how much you hated it. Great fitting. Ping has a "club fitting" on their website, too. It's a good place to start, but it doesn't replace a real fitting. Fortunately, they don't charge for it.

I said I hated it????
Here is my quote on the 1st page about that very ball....
4. Callaway Tour IX- I liked how these performed. To me they are very comparable to the balls I normally play. I would by them again most likely if I had to change. A little shorter off the tee than the ProV1x, but also a little too much side spin. I could get them to stop on the green with no problem, but had a tough time spinning back, compared to others. They were ranked #1 on my list.


Once again, you are reviewing something and commenting on something that you have never tried or know nothing about. As for having to spend money after the fact, that is true of any fitting. If I get a club fitting, I still have to get the clubs and confirm that it actually worked???? That makes no sense at all. Im done arguing about it. Until you decide to try something, maybe you should not review it.

Here is an update on 4 more balls that have been tried.

7. TaylorMade TP Black - I play a fairly high ball flight, so I was skeptical about this ball. Man did I like this ball. Distance was very close to the same as my Pro V1X I normally play. Maybe even a few yards futher. The spin on this ball was very good. Everything checked as expected and brought balls back that I wanted to. The feel is fantastic. This ball will stay on the short list. I liked it that much. This ball was ranked #7 on my list.

8. Srixon Z-URS - Another ball that I was very fond of. As Long off of the tee as my Prov1X and the Taylor Made Black. Straight as heck. Spin was not quite up to par with what I am used to, but still spun ok. All in all, a very good ball that will see my short list again. This ball was ranked #8 on my list.

9. Callaway HX Hot Bite - I really liked this one. It is longer than what I am used to and spun as good as anything for me not named ProV1 or Nike One Platinum. For the money this is going to be hard to beat. The feel was excellent. A classic example of a ball I would have never tried had it not been for this software. Definately on the short list. This ball was ranked #10.

10. Nike Power Distance Soft - Another one that suprised me. This ball I had never even heard of before. It is very long off the tee and straight. But this ball spun for me quite a bit. Not at the level I am used to with the premium balls. But not a bad ball. For someone looking for a "long & soft" bargain alternative, this could be a good one.

So there you have it. I will have the rest of them up by next week. Then I will draw up my short list and see what happens. So far it has been a blast.

Good insights. I agree with your reviews of the ones I have tried, too.

The Nike Power Distance Soft is $15 a dozen, and I agree a great ball not in the 'premium' category...good distance and some spin, if the course is wet, and the greens aren't running fast - a great choice - my 'sleeper' choice.

Let me ask you Birdieman - ProV1x vs TP Black - do you find them very similar in spin? I play the ProV1x, as you do, and was curious? I see you said the distance was the same...

Sounds like the $20 for the service was worth it for you, and ultimately that what matters. It may not be worth that to someone else, but you seem to have benefitted from it, and have shared the knowledge - so thank you!

I do find that the ProV1x and the TP Black were similar in spin. But with the high launch of the TP Black, it seemed to just be "different". Both great balls and we shall see how the short list comes out.

So for the last few days I had a chance to try out each of the next 7 balls on the list. Some good and some not. Here are the breakdowns.

11. Titleist NXT Tour - These balls were pretty good. Nice and straight off of the tee and good distance. Very comparable to what I am used to. Decent spin on the green. Not great, but good. Very similar to Hot Bite. I loved the putting with this ball. Just the right sound and feel I guess. Very good ball.

12. Callaway HX Pearl - This one puzzled me a little bit. Before I played I had that Laddie vs Lady thought in my mind. I ended up not liking these at all. I got virtually NO spin on short game. It felt like I was hitting a "rock flight" from the 80s.

13. TaylorMade TP Red - I was really looking forward to these after really liking the TP Black. There is definately a difference. They felt like a good all around ball, but not the same as the black for me. The ball flight was much lower. The distance between these and the black was definately noticeble. The spin was great but just not my cup of tea.

14. Pinnacle Ribbon - I wont even comment much. Long off of the tee, but the firm course I play, these balls just would not hold. Not for me.

15. Noodle Noodle - See above. These seemed almost exactly the same as the Pinnacles.

16. Wilson Fifty - These balls were ok. Decent length off of the tee, and the spin was ok. I found that the noise putting seemed different to me. The ball was not my fav, but for the price, is not bad.

17. Bridgestone e5 - I know a lot of people really liked these. And like the + ones even more. I did not care for them at all. I liked the E6+ I tried, but these just did not feel right. A decent all around ball, but not for me.