My Golf Ball Review

[sherwoodnatl]

So today, I tried premium balls and balls around 30 bucks trying to find the ball for me. Here is my (quite lengthy( review

Premium – Bridgestone B330 RX/S/Tour, Callaway Tour ix/I, Taylormade TP Red and Black, Titleist Pro-V1x, Srixon Z-Star X, and Nike ONE Tour

$30 – Bridgestone E5/6/7, Callaway HX Bite, Titleist NXT Tour, Nike ONE Vapor, TaylorMade Burner TP, and Srixon Trispeed

Here are the results. (I determine the spin by RPM’s and the man helping me simulated those RPM numbers on an average green and that is how I determined the spin results)

Premium
1. Nike ONE Tour- absolutely loved this ball. Added It had the best feel of any ball I tested and the spin was excellent (I was told that the spin numbers suggested at max only a foot of backspin.) Overall fantastic ball
2. Srixon Z-Star X- Best distance premium ball and I loved this one too– added about 4 yards. Loved the feel here too and the spin was exactly what I was looking for.
3. B330-S- Started off on this one and I was impressed. It added 2 yards to drives. Spin was a little much but the feel was fantastic. Could have been first if the spin was less pronounced.
4. Pro-V1x – much like the Z Star X. Didn’t fly as far and I didn’t think the feel was as good.
5. B330/B330 RX- RX has a softer feel but I liked the 4 layers of the B330 which added a firm feel and distance
6. TM Black – Don’t be fooled by its position. This really was a good ball. Its like a cross between the 330-S’s feel and distance and the V1x’s spin. Good ball.
7. Cally I/IX – not my favorite. An OK ball. The Cally i killed distance and the ix killed feel. Hopefully the i(s) and i(z) fare better.

Least favorite premium ball
- TP Red – Didn’t like it at all. Spin numbers on this one were skyscraping compared to the others I liked. Also lost a significant amount of yardage. The feel was decent but that’s about it. Strangely, I liked the TP Black...a bit interesting


$30
1. 2010 Bridgestone E5 – Ahhhhhh…..the E5. This was my absolute favorite ball. Great feel, great spin, great distance. Urethane cover on a 30 dollar ball seems uncommon but here it is. Gave me more carry distance – I usually have a mid flight- and this added a bit of distance. I could not tell you what I didn’t like about this ball, it’s really everything I look for. I played the old version of the E5 (E5+) and this to me is much more advanced (better spin and flight) Favorite ball I tested
2. Titleist NXT - This one was also extremely good. Added 3 yards to tee hits. Loved the feel, spin was good (check up spin) and distance was good. Its feels is as good as the B330-s with about 2 ft less spin, which I liked.
3. Nike ONE Vapor- Loved its distance and spin. Feel was about a 7.5. Much better than the ignite and this would be a great ball for longer and straight courses.
4. Bridgestone E6/E7 – Couldn’t decide between the two. E6 – straighter flight, less spin and great feel. E7- longer distance, ok spin and great feel. Bridgestone knows how to make their balls.
5. TP Burner- The LDP stuff works. Average feel and quality spin though. Good for long courses with soft greens. Good not great ball
6. Srixon Trispeed- Surprised by this one. Solid distance, solid feel, some release on wedge shots. Great ball for the new lower price ($15 was like $27)

Least Favorite

- HX Bite – the only one I didn’t like. Felt hard as a rock and spin numbers weren’t as high as I would’ve guessed. Distance was there so I wondered if I was playing an HX Hot at first.


Overall favorites (7 balls that I would play any round with)

1. 2010 Bridgestone E5 – Loved everything about it, including price. Every bit as good as a premium ball for 20 bucks less. To me the improvements are huge – some may not notice any difference between e5+ and e5, but I noticed an improvement in feel, distance, and green control. An extraordinary find.
2. ONE Tour- Surprised how good this one was. Probably the best feeling one out here with solid distance and spin control.
3. Z-Star X- Played this ball all years and it is still one of my favorites- distance ball will feel and check up ability.
4. NXT - actually liked it better than the V1’s. Good distance and good feel – ahead of B330-S because of my preference for less spin.
5. B330-S – Lots of spin here. Feel is a bit firm but distance stays good

Others that I liked
6. V1x – Close to the Z-Star X which made me love it.
7. ONE Vapor- May not be in the top 5 but I liked it enough to add to this list. This ball was great for control – spin was good- feel is just a bit too hard.

Before the testing I sure wasn’t expecting a 30 dollar ball to have tour performance. The E5+ didn’t play nearly as well for me as the new E5. Overall this was 2+ hours of ball testing fun. Plus, I found the ball that is perfect for me.

[ControlJunkie]

When you get a chance, try the TaylorMade Penta. Played with them for the first time today. It's a great ball, though a bit expensive. I'll just say that I really liked it, but I also urge you and everyone else to give it a shot and give an honest opinion.

BTW, good review.

[519crankin]

Great review. Thanks Sherwoodnatl. I'm undecided on a particular ball....still playing the field, so to speak.

[sherwoodnatl]

We dont get Pentas in MO because its like 15 degrees. Ill try em in march tho

[sherwoodnatl]

BTW
Any other ball suggestions would be appreciated - During my time off ill test as many balls as possible if needed

[dzdncfsd]

Thanks for the great review. I'm extremely new to the game so I've been looking for a good ball to play thats on the cheap side since I'm rather good at losing them.

I lucked out on got a great deal on some Taylormade TP Blacks and a couple dozen Titlest Tour Distance SF that I found at costco for 30.00 for 2 dozen. To be honest though I really didn't notice a difference which I guess is expected for someone with my skill level. Both seemed to find the water and the bushes equally well haha.

Where does everyone buy there balls actually? I've been searching ebay as well as some other websites to find a good bulk deal. Im thinking I should start buying them by the 100 as that should cover me for a few rounds.

[ControlJunkie]

Where does everyone buy there balls actually? I've been searching ebay as well as some other websites to find a good bulk deal. Im thinking I should start buying them by the 100 as that should cover me for a few rounds.

Academy, Dick's, Nevada Bob's. Usually, there will be something that I play on sale at one of them. If you're thinking of buying in bulk, check

LostGolfBalls.com and KNetGolf.com . I've been staying away from ebay for a while, just because I'm paranoid of someone with a good stamp screwing me over.

[Hazzy]

Excellent review! What's your driver swing speed?

Thanks,

[sherwoodnatl]

SS is just over 100
Distance is about 260 (give or take)