Titleist Velocity

I'm sure one of the experts here will chime in, but it is my understanding that for a golf ball to conform to Royal and Ancient and USGA standards it can only travel so far when tested by the machine they nicknamed Iron Byron.  When Titleist says there is only a 4 yard difference I expect they are referring to the test conditions under which a ball must conform.

 

The difference in golf ball construction and design is to make a ball that is suitable to all different types of swings and swing speeds, with features to promote high spin, low spin, high trajectory, low trajectory, soft feel, etc. They can put all these different features into a ball but it's still not allowed to go farther than the standard.

 

I played a sleeve of the new Velocity balls and hated them. Distance for me was just a little longer than the Pro V1 I usually play, but not enough for me to want to give up the feel and the spin characteristics just to get a few more yards. I didn't make any reall reliable measurements but I'd bet a good deal of money that I didn't get 5 extra yards.

The Titleist Velocity ball seems to just skate the line of what the USGA allows for conforming golf balls. I bought a couple boxes and have been playing them for the last few weeks. I personally find the Velocity to be the longest and STRAIGHTEST golf ball I have ever played. My Driver gets a little wild at times, and I honestly feel this ball helps my mis-hits from spraying too far off-line.

There have been some mixed reviews about the balls ability to hold greens or it's 'feel' for putting. I personally have had no issues with the ball holding greens. I hit my irons quite high, and this ball seems to sit fine for me on greens.

My usually weekly playing partner has always been 10-15 yards longer than myself off the tee, sometimes more. Recently, with the Velocity, (and my new Callaway Razr X Black Driver) I have been driving the golf ball side by side with him, or out-driving him occasionally.

The above opinions are solely based on my experiences over the last couple weeks. The ball is clearly not a magic fix for anything. If you play the Pro V1 now, I'm not sure you would enjoy the change. Unless you are trying to find a more affordable option, I'd say stick to the Pro V.

No. Not true at all. The balls stops on greens. It hits nothing like a range ball. It is not going to have the feel or spin like a Pro V1.

I hit a handful of 100 yard gap wedge shots yesterday into (soft) greens and got some backspin around the pin while using the Velocity. I think the comparisons to a range ball is way off.

Like a lot of the other distance balls, it will be longer than a Pro V1.  How much is dependent upon your swing.  Unlike a robot, most of us dont hit the ball perfectly every time, so all that lovely backspin of a tour ball turns into nasty sidespin.  With a distance ball, the harder cover helps to limit that spin, which helps us to hit longer, straighter shots.

However, you will pay a penalty when you are trying to hit your shot into the green in that the ball wont check up as much as a Pro V1 will.  Its a tradeoff and you need to decide which is more important to you.

I have not played either of those balls enough to make a direct comparison. Sorry.

I have not played the HX Diablo Tour ball but I sometimes play the NXT Tour I get a reasonable amount of spin on green side chips and pitches with the NXT Tour but none with the Velocity. The NXT has a better feel and is closer to a ProV1 in feel and performance than the Velocity.  I can make a range ball spin with a full swing from 100 yards but that isn't where the spin is important for me.  I want the stopping power on half swing wedges and chips. The Velocity just doesn' have it.