"You've Got to Stop Playing those Top-Flites..."

[Dave40]

I played a lot of the old Top Flite XLs in the 1980s.  They were rocks but they sure would rocket off a driver.  The big thing back then was their durability.  If you bladed most other balls they were ruined - it put a big cut on the cover.

I've tried some of the current Top Flites and they are not bad.  They are not my favorite but the D2 balls are better and softer than Pinnacles, in my opinion.

[RC]

Just to complete a little history, the other big name from the past I left out was Dunlap.  Also,  Top Flite versus Top Flight - you can tell I have not used many of them.

No doubt, modern well made balls are vastly better than the past and there is no reason Top Flite could not make a very reasonable ball.  And they were never the worst balls... Anyone ever play a PoDo?  Posters from the 1930's show Podos selling for 25 cents a ball.  I hit some in the fifties and they became egg shaped after only a few hits.  A Top Flite "rock" from the past would beat that ball easily.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by RC

Just to complete a little history, the other big name from the past I left out was Dunlap.  Also,  Top Flite versus Top Flight - you can tell I have not used many of them.

No doubt, modern well made balls are vastly better than the past and there is no reason Top Flite could not make a very reasonable ball.  And they were never the worst balls... Anyone ever play a PoDo?  Posters from the 1930's show Podos selling for 25 cents a ball.  I hit some in the fifties and they became egg shaped after only a few hits.  A Top Flite "rock" from the past would beat that ball easily.

Oh yeah, those Dunlaps were a great ball. Seriously though, when I was first starting out there were a lot of balls that you were disappointed to find - they felt like garbage and were hard to lose.

Dunlop DDH - they made Top Flites feel like balata

Tommy Armour - all around terrible

Ram and Ram Tour - terrible

Spalding (yeah, they even made balls that weren't good enough to be called Top Flites) Star Flite, Kro Flite, Molitor, etc

Wilson Ultra (not the Staff balls which rocked)

PING (became invisible once struck and spinning)

MacGregor Tourney - I actually liked them at the time but threw away a lot of strokes around the greens

And on and on - there were a lot of "rocks" in the 80s and 90s.

[BostonSully]

Just switched to TopFlight Gamerv2 after reading about them on here and in Golf Digest. Love them compared to the titleist I was playing, especially for the $$. My Shots actually stay on the green w hen they hit it.

[dhanson]

today i ran out of my usual prov1x and picked of this 15-pack of top flites for $9.99.

the greens at my home course have gotten incredibly soft. approach shots were still leaving those massive crater pitch marks even during the month or so of 100+ degree temperatures.

there were only a few situations where there was a noticeable difference in ball performance.

1) a 180 yard par 3 where i hit a 6 iron - winds were gusting ~20mph today so i hit a lower-than-usual shot that hit center green and rolled off the back. that usually doesn't happen with a prov1x.

2) chips to a closely cut pin/green that runs away from you - these chips are hard even with a premium ball, but there's more roll-out with a top flite.

3) i like to hit low punches from ~50-75 yards with my 54* wedge. a prov1x will usually take one big hop, then just stick, but a top flite will take the same big hop, but roll out another 10-15 feet.

those were the only 3 shots where i was saying "that wouldn't usually happen." i couldn't make any clear reads on how the ball was doing off the tee because of the wind, expect that it doesn't balloon quite as much into the wind because of the lower spin.

maybe worth noting: i had one of my better days putting. i just really love the *click* when you hit a ball with a harder cover.

[Ben]

I shot my first ever 4under round using a Top Flite XL3000. I only use Callaway Tour and Bridgestone B330s because I get them for free...