{"id":24059,"date":"2020-10-08T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T18:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/?p=24059"},"modified":"2020-10-16T17:18:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T21:18:12","slug":"rzn_golf_ball_review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/balls\/rzn_golf_ball_review","title":{"rendered":"RZN Golf Ball Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Nike exited the golf hard goods business in 2016, fans of the Nike golf ball with “RZN” technology grabbed all of the remaining balls that they could, fearful that the ball would never be seen again.<\/p>\n

It’s not often that truly new things happen in the golf ball industry. The last may have been the switch to the solid-core ball at the premium level, started by Top-Flite, strongly pushed by Titleist, and now the realm of everyone including direct-to-consumer brands like Snell or Vice. A strong case could be made for the introduction of Nike’s “resin” technology, which isn’t constructed quite like other golf balls.<\/p>\n

\"RZN<\/a><\/p>\n

As best as I can tell, Nike produced balls with Bridgestone for a number of years, but introduced the resin ball produced by Feng Tay Enterprises since 2006<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, fans of Nike’s later golf balls rejoiced, and the rest of the world? Well, I suppose we were interested to see if the golf world had moved on from 2016, or if Nike was truly on to something that was reborn in the RZN.<\/p>\n

Read on to find out what we thought of the RZN HS-Tour and MS-Tour balls.
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Design, Technology, and Esthetics<\/h3>\n

RZN says that their ball, compared to a typical rubber core golf ball, is both “lighter and faster.” The ligher resin core promotes a higher moment of inertia (MOI), which RZN says “grants the ball with a piercing and stable flight, especially in windy conditions.” Speaking from a physics perspective, a higher MOI ball (with more weight toward the perimeter of the ball) would spin less, but would maintain spin a bit longer into the flight.<\/p>\n

As seen in the marketing materials from Nike and now RZN, the balls feature a “3D texture” on the resin core that helps “maximize surface contact for better energy transfer and longer distance.” This 3D texturing not only connects the core to the mantle, but the mantle layers to the cover, too.<\/p>\n

\"RZN<\/a><\/p>\n

The RZN balls have two more features worth noting. First, the company claims that the balls have “13,558 micro-dimples on the entire ball surface” that “reduces air drag and enhances carry distance.” You’ve likely seen Bridgestone balls with “dimple-in-dimple” designs designed to do the same things, and while I couldn’t particularly see these micro-dimples, I trust that at some microscopic level they could result in whole inches added to your tee shots. Penultimately, RZN claims that their balls’ “soft TPU cover enhances grip and control in wet conditions” by eliminating slipping (the ball riding up the club face). If true, this may have put Bryson DeChambeau’s water spritzer guy out of work.<\/p>\n

Finally, RZN also calls their golf ball cores “nature-caring with fully recyclable materials.” And, though the odds of recycling golf balls is probably pretty slim, it’s important not to overlook manufacturing waste in considering recycling efficiency.<\/p>\n

As for the looks, to be honest, the balls fall down here. The two balls feature a logo, a number, and the ball model all on both hemispheres, with a multi-line alignment feature on one “side” along the equator. The HS-Tour features red text for the model name and number, while the MS-Tour is black.<\/p>\n

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Several fellow golfers commented on the logo and alignment line, with one calling them “bargain bin graphics.” I couldn’t strongly disagree. On one hand, the graphics don’t really<\/em> matter – ball performance should dictate whether you like the ball at all. And, to be sure, there is a natural bias in a ball not saying “Titleist” or “Callaway” on it. Other logos are bound to “look” cheaper because golfers simply aren’t used to seeing these fonts or these logos on high-performance balls. On the other hand, how you feel about the product you’re looking down at or playing can influence play.<\/p>\n

As for me, well, I didn’t like the logos at all. The font choice just does nothing for me. But, the balls were easy to identify as mine, whether in the rough or near another player’s ball. So that’s a plus. Nobody’s likely to hit my golf ball accidentally!<\/p>\n

Performance and Playability<\/h3>\n

As noted above, we tested the MS-Tour and the HS-Tour balls, designed for medium-speed (MS-Tour) players and high-speed (HS-Tour) players.<\/p>\n

\"RZN<\/a><\/p>\n

The MS-Tour is a three-piece ball with a soft urethane cover and:<\/p>\n