The real differences in the Titleist golf balls

[inthehole]

I won't be playing ProV1's until I see them in yellow (I'd prefer orange, but thats alot to ask & I would settle for yellow).     Per Titleist, every player can benefit from using ProV1 or V1x's, but aparently only those who play white.      They make their lesser balls in yellow, seems like a fail to not pony up & offer their premium ball in yellow.     OK OK, off topic I know ... as I step down from my soapbox...

[Jakester23]

The Bridgestone S-330 is a very similar ball to the pro v. I like how the pro v's feel around the greens especially putting but I just can't see paying that much $$$ for balls im going to hit in the wood.I've been gaming the Bridgestone e5's they seem to be decent around the greens and are significantly cheaper.

[dbrock504]

I won't be playing ProV1's until I see them in yellow (I'd prefer orange, but thats alot to ask & I would settle for yellow).     Per Titleist, every player can benefit from using ProV1 or V1x's, but aparently only those who play white.      They make their lesser balls in yellow, seems like a fail to not pony up & offer their premium ball in yellow.     OK OK, off topic I know ... as I step down from my soapbox...

Is having yellow really that important? I find it hard to see in the green grass anyway. I don't like yellow balls, so them not offering it doesn't bother me a lick.

The Bridgestone S-330 is a very similar ball to the pro v. I like how the pro v's feel around the greens especially putting but I just can't see paying that much $$$ for balls im going to hit in the wood.I've been gaming the Bridgestone e5's they seem to be decent around the greens and are significantly cheaper.

Bridgestone e5 are extremely spinny and low compression. I tried them, no bueno. e6 were much better, but I didn't care for the feel much. It was just ok, and for $30/box I want a lot more than just ok. I haven't hit the 330 but I have heard good things. I cant fathom paying $45/dozen for a ball I'm unsure of. I will eventually have to give it a shot.

[NJpatbee]

Good luck with the NXT Tour S - I have played it and the NXT Tour and it does have more spin than regular NXT Tour but I lost some distance with the S.  If you decide to experiment with urethene balls if the S does not work out for you, there are plenty of good quality balls available at a much lower cost than the Prov1 series:  Maxfli U/3, U4, or U6, Gamer Tour, TM Project (a), and Bridgestone E5 to name a few.

Have fun playing with the NXT Tour S - it is a good ball around the green and if you are a long hitter you may not have the distance loss that I had.

[dbrock504]

Good luck with the NXT Tour S - I have played it and the NXT Tour and it does have more spin than regular NXT Tour but I lost some distance with the S.  If you decide to experiment with urethene balls if the S does not work out for you, there are plenty of good quality balls available at a much lower cost than the Prov1 series:  Maxfli U/3, U4, or U6, Gamer Tour, TM Project (a), and Bridgestone E5 to name a few.

Have fun playing with the NXT Tour S - it is a good ball around the green and if you are a long hitter you may not have the distance loss that I had.

Thanks for the input. Fortunately for me, distance has never been an issue. I more often than not get 275+ with the driver and 250-275 with the 3 wood. I prefer the soft feel around the greens, and that's why I decided to go with the S version. I will have to give those you named above a shot, but I don't like the e5. I felt like it was too low compression and too spinny off my tee box. I have never tried the Maxfli balls or the Taylormade balls. I will have to give them a shot eventually.

[inthehole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthehole

I won't be playing ProV1's until I see them in yellow (I'd prefer orange, but thats alot to ask & I would settle for yellow).     Per Titleist, every player can benefit from using ProV1 or V1x's, but aparently only those who play white.      They make their lesser balls in yellow, seems like a fail to not pony up & offer their premium ball in yellow.     OK OK, off topic I know ... as I step down from my soapbox...

Is having yellow really that important? I find it hard to see in the green grass anyway. I don't like yellow balls, so them not offering it doesn't bother me a lick.

Often times I'll play alone after work & I can't pick up white balls in flight (especially if I keep my head down through impact like I'm supposed to do) - especially if it's a cloudy day.    I have lousey eyes, so I use orange balls - can pick up those in flight, yellow is second best and white a distant third.

[arturo28mx]

For the last year I've used Srixon Q Star and I think it's a great midprice ball.

However, I just switched to NXT Tour S 2014 model. The soft feeling off the face is just wonderful. I may have lost a tiny bit of distance vs the Q Star but it doesn't matter to me.

[boogielicious]

After doing some research, I am going to give the NXT Tour S a shot. I just bought 50 AAAA quality used balls for $35. Not bad considering you usually only get a dozen for that price. I will let y'all know how it is, but I can guarantee it is going to be better than the Nike PD Soft I play now! haha

@dbrock504 ,

It would be helpful if you wrote a review in the Equipment section after you have played them for a while.  It give TST members valuable information.

[dbuck]

I like ProV's and ProV1's in a premium ball. I like the B330 series maybe just a tad better, and they are a few bucks cheaper per dozen. When I am not playing in a formal competition, which is most of the time. I use Titleist SoLo's which are $20/dozen. In that price range, I have heard good things about the Wilson Duo, but have not personally tried them. I have played some with NXT's and while even at my level they are marginally better, it's not worth the extra $10/dozen to me. As I said, if I play in a tournament or something , I will spring for a premium ball-maybe just a couple of sleeves. While I really like the B330 series, I haven't warmed up to the E series Bridgestones, having tried a couple of different ones. I would actually rather play the Titleist SoLo. I need to add that I play a lot with vintage woods-meaning made of wood-hence my attraction to the softer compression balls.

[dbrock504]

For the last year I've used Srixon Q Star and I think it's a great midprice ball.

However, I just switched to NXT Tour S 2014 model. The soft feeling off the face is just wonderful. I may have lost a tiny bit of distance vs the Q Star but it doesn't matter to me.

This really excites me to play these NXT Tour S balls because this is exactly what I want. I don't mind sacrificing a little distance to get that amazing feel.

@dbrock504 ,

It would be helpful if you wrote a review in the Equipment section after you have played them for a while.  It give TST members valuable information.

I will be sure to do that. Thanks for the recommendation.

I like ProV's and ProV1's in a premium ball. I like the B330 series maybe just a tad better, and they are a few bucks cheaper per dozen. When I am not playing in a formal competition, which is most of the time. I use Titleist SoLo's which are $20/dozen. In that price range, I have heard good things about the Wilson Duo, but have not personally tried them. I have played some with NXT's and while even at my level they are marginally better, it's not worth the extra $10/dozen to me. As I said, if I play in a tournament or something , I will spring for a premium ball-maybe just a couple of sleeves.

While I really like the B330 series, I haven't warmed up to the E series Bridgestones, having tried a couple of different ones. I would actually rather play the Titleist SoLo. I need to add that I play a lot with vintage woods-meaning made of wood-hence my attraction to the softer compression balls.

I really ought to give these B330's a shot the way you guys are talking about it. I do have one question. I have a swing speed of 107. People have told me a DT SoLo will be way too soft of a compression for my swing speed and the ball won't "act properly". Of course, you hit anything dead in the middle of your club with a perfect swing, it doesn't matter what you play. You get my point though. Do you experience a sensation of the ball compressing too much or feel like there is a crazy amount of side spin? That was the main reason I decided to stay away from the DT.

[dbuck]

I don't think the side spin is crazy off the DT, but it does feel softer than some. As I mentioned, I play a good bit with vintage equipment, so I like that softness. Some folks like the softness anyway. I don't think that your swing speed will adversely affect the DT SoLo playablility, but I think you'll have to try it to know. I can tell a bit of difference between the ProV and the SoLo, but not $20/dozen in casual play. I like ProV's a lot, don't get me wrong. I only like the B330 series slightly better, but it is $5-$10/doz. cheaper in new balls.

[Strandly]

Good luck with the NXT Tour S - I have played it and the NXT Tour and it does have more spin than regular NXT Tour but I lost some distance with the S.  If you decide to experiment with urethene balls if the S does not work out for you, there are plenty of good quality balls available at a much lower cost than the Prov1 series:  Maxfli U/3, U4, or U6, Gamer Tour, TM Project (a), and Bridgestone E5 to name a few.

Have fun playing with the NXT Tour S - it is a good ball around the green and if you are a long hitter you may not have the distance loss that I had.

Maxfli U3 was on sale at Dick's earlier this spring and I picked up a box.  Not a bad ball actually, I'd maybe try it again if it went on sale again.

I am so, so tempted to buy a box of Pro V1s to see how long I can make it last.  Almost every single time I play with one I hit an amazing, straight, long shot.  It would be so much easier to blow them off if I hit bad shots with them but it just rarely seems to happen.  I hate the idea of paying $4 for a ball but I seriously can't argue with the results.

[dbrock504]

For those that were interested in my results with using the NXT Tour S balls, here are the results for the day:

Played at a course for the second time called Southwyck in Houston, TX 70.6/118

Started the day off by loosing 2 balls and going from one side of the green to the other chipping and finishing with a 9 on par 4 . +13 on the front 9. Played much better on the back 9 (+5) and finished the day with a 90, 6 GIR. ALMOST broke 90 for my first time . Had a ton of fun today.

The balls were impressive. Incredible feel off of all clubs and great spin off of iron shots. A lot of my iron shots that were supposed to land on the green 150 and in, did. Hit hop stop action on everything including chip shots. I really felt as if I could control the greens much better. Felt very soft and comfortable off of the putter. I did loose about 5 balls throughout the day (usually loose about 10), but most of that was my fault trying to "go for it". It wasn't because there was high side spin resulting in me loosing a lot of balls. All of my shots with an iron were perfectly straight although my driver and 3W hooked all day (really frustrating, but it never got too bad).

Here is a picture to give you just an example of the action the balls were giving me on the greens. This is par 3 149 yds (8 iron) with a 15-20 mph cross wind. (The other balls behind the pin were chipped up there. I was the only one to stick the green like I did)

[boogielicious]

Nice!

[vangator]

Both ProV1 and ProV1x are great balls, but I think the ProV1 feels a little soft and the ProV1x feels too hard. I prefer the Srixon Z-Star. The Z-Star SL is for slower swings (not me), the Z-Star is softer, The Z-Star X is harder and The Z-Star XV is just right. A better blend of distance, spin and feel. I play the yellow because I see them better. I have been contemplating switching to the Calloway Hex Tour becaue I like the hex dimples. :)

[Valleygolfer]

@dbrock504 if you are "losing" 10 balls a round, I can understand why you don't want to buy V1s or V1xs. If you have the swing speeds stated, I am surprised you like to use the soft balls. It must be a matter of your preference. I find the nxt tour s and pd soft balls are like hitting marshmallows.

[dbrock504]

@dbrock504 if you are "losing" 10 balls a round, I can understand why you don't want to buy V1s or V1xs. If you have the swing speeds stated, I am surprised you like to use the soft balls. It must be a matter of your preference. I find the nxt tour s and pd soft balls are like hitting marshmallows.

It is preference. The PD Soft balls are junk. I just got them because they are cheap. I used to hit the Callaway Diablo and I didn't like the feel as much. I just prefer that soft "marshmallow" feel. The Pro V1 is the best feeling ball I have hit yet. Very soft feel. I have some friends that play the Pinnacle Gold and love that firm feel with a ball. I just can't get used to it...

[dbrock504]

After a great day Friday, I decided to go again Saturday, but this time on a much harder course.

Again, nice control around the greens and stuck greens even out of the sand as well as having 7 GIR. I was shooting +6 leading into the clubhouse at 9, but screwed up the 9th scoring an 8 :(. I ended up with a 95 because I tried to shoot under 90 and played too aggressive on the back 9 when I really shouldn't have.

Don't let someone convince you that the NXT Tour S balls sacrifice distance. I hit 4 drives +300 yds. They might in comparison to the Velocity per se, but I saw no issues. Again, a great ball.