Vice Golf Balls - Anyone Tried them?

[colin007]

20 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Do you any extra that I can buy from you?

Sure 👍🏿

20 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Do you any extra that I can buy from you?

They're lime green, if that makes a difference

[ChetlovesMer]

Okay, I played 18 holes last week and did my usual just get what ever open tee-time exists and allow the course to pair me up. So, I get put in with a twosome of guys in the their mid-20's. On the first hole one of them hits his ball into the left rough. We are looking around for it and I see a Vice Ball less than a foot off the fairway. "Hey man, what kind of ball do you play?" I ask. 

The guy walks over to me and extends his arm like he's going to hand me an invisible sandwich. He looks down at his arm and says "What kind do you think I play?" I look and he's got the Vice logo tattooed on the underside of his left forearm. ... i'm like "Oh, well then. I think this is your ball." 

The two were good guys and I enjoyed the round we played together. I never did ask the one guy why he was so loyal to Vice Balls to get their logo tattooed on his forearm. I did notice the other guy played a mixed assortment of what I'm guessing were either found or recycled golf balls.

[cooke119]

I read the post on Vice balls so I looked them up. I'm an older player, (69 years old), have had three back surgeries so my swing speed is low, 85 with a driver. In reading on the Vice web site I picked the Tour ball anyone in my age group with a low speed speed use them? Your impression? I ordered a dozen to try them out.

 

[iacas]

8 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I read the post on Vice balls so I looked them up. I'm an older player, (69 years old), have had three back surgeries so my swing speed is low, 85 with a driver. In reading on the Vice web site I picked the Tour ball anyone in my age group with a low speed speed use them? Your impression? I ordered a dozen to try them out.

Merged this into an 8-page topic for you, @cooke119.

[jsgolfer]

On 8/29/2020 at 3:14 PM, bweiss711 said:

 

 

My opinion is that I'll never try them. There are too many options out there, and I'm not going to waste my time and money on the one that markets themselves as a "lifestyle" brand.  They might very well be just as good performing as any other ball, but I'm suspicious of any brand in any industry that promotes themselves for any other reason than their purpose.  I don't care if "the cool kids play them" (probably the most cringe-worthy ad I've ever seen), I just care if they perform.

I play the Vice Pro and they are every bit as good as a Pro V1.  Not sure why you wouldn’t try them at half the price of the top end balls.  Lime Green ones are awesome, I like the red too, but they are hard to find if there are leaves.

On 9/29/2020 at 2:00 PM, colin007 said:

Sure 👍🏿

They're lime green, if that makes a difference

Lime Green are the best

[bweiss711]

15 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

I play the Vice Pro and they are every bit as good as a Pro V1.  Not sure why you wouldn’t try them at half the price of the top end balls. 

Like I said, I simply do not like their marketing.  They might be just as good as any other ball, but there are many direct to consumer balls out there that make the same claim, while also marketing towards their merit as a golf ball, not the lifestyle of the people who play them.  If other people want to play them, thats fine.  I don't look down on others for that choice.  Its just not the choice for me.  I'll stick to Snell and used Pro Vs.

[cooke119]

17 hours ago, iacas said:

Merged this into an 8-page topic for you, @cooke119.

Thank you

[colin007]

On 1/5/2021 at 7:44 PM, jsgolfer said:

I play the Vice Pro and they are every bit as good as a Pro V1.  Not sure why you wouldn’t try them at half the price of the top end balls.  Lime Green ones are awesome, I like the red too, but they are hard to find if there are leaves.

Lime Green are the best

Yaaaasssssss!!! Fantastic balls, very visible

On 1/6/2021 at 10:56 AM, bweiss711 said:

 I'll stick to used Pro Vs.

This makes as little sense as buying a ball based on lifestyle or branding

[bweiss711]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

This makes as little sense as buying a ball based on lifestyle or branding

Glad you agree that buying a ball based on lifestyle doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm curious of your take on used balls.  I understand I didn't put a lot of context into what I consider an acceptable used ball, but my thinking is that if I buy "mint" quality used balls, and only play the ones without any discoloration or scuffing of any kind, its not going to be any different than playing the fourth hole with a ball that was new from the new package on the 1st tee.

But thats my thinking.  Is there something I'm missing?

Maybe this discussion is better suited for a used ball thread as opposed to a Vice thread.

[colin007]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:53 PM, bweiss711 said:

Glad you agree that buying a ball based on lifestyle doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm curious of your take on used balls.  I understand I didn't put a lot of context into what I consider an acceptable used ball, but my thinking is that if I buy "mint" quality used balls, and only play the ones without any discoloration or scuffing of any kind, its not going to be any different than playing the fourth hole with a ball that was new from the new package on the 1st tee.

But thats my thinking.  Is there something I'm missing?

Maybe this discussion is better suited for a used ball thread as opposed to a Vice thread.

Because neither is based on performance. Buying a pack of Vice because they're every bit as good as a ProV would be a good reason. Buying a used ProV when you could buy new Vice doesn't make sense

[dennyjones]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:53 PM, bweiss711 said:

Glad you agree that buying a ball based on lifestyle doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm curious of your take on used balls.  I understand I didn't put a lot of context into what I consider an acceptable used ball, but my thinking is that if I buy "mint" quality used balls, and only play the ones without any discoloration or scuffing of any kind, its not going to be any different than playing the fourth hole with a ball that was new from the new package on the 1st tee.

But thats my thinking.  Is there something I'm missing?

Maybe this discussion is better suited for a used ball thread as opposed to a Vice thread.

a little off topic:

I've bought used golf balls (Project (A)) and there was a noticeable difference between them and a new ball.   I've used golf balls that I've found and they felt like new.   It's buyer beware here, you won't know what you are getting until you hit them.   

[bweiss711]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

Because neither is based on performance. Buying a pack of Vice because they're every bit as good as a ProV would be a good reason. Buying a used ProV when you could buy new Vice doesn't make sense

I understand why you make that point and its not wrong, but it's kind of twisting my words a bit.  It assumes the choice is only used ProV or a Vice. 

I don't think a high quality used ProV differs all that much from a new ProV in performance.  And I'd rather play a ProV than a Vice, or any other "tour" quality direct-to-consumer ball.  

But even if I concede for the sake of argument that a used ProV is inferior to a new Vice or other "tour" quality ball at that price point, I'm still going to make a different choice when it comes to buying a new ball. Yes, to your point, my choice not to play Vice has nothing to do with performance.  My argument is NOT that Vice is an inferior ball.  My point is with all the options out there for a new "tour" quality ball at that price point, which all claim to be as good as a ProV, I'm not going to choose the one that chooses to differentiate itself by the lifestyle of people who play it.  

For people to choose Vice because its every bit as good as a ProV is fine, but there are plenty of balls that make that claim. So if you choose Vice, there has to be another reason why it was chosen, and I'd like to think Vice's marketing people would like to take credit for that.  I'm not saying people shouldn't play Vice.  Its just not how I choose my brands.

3 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

a little off topic:

I've bought used golf balls (Project (A)) and there was a noticeable difference between them and a new ball.   I've used golf balls that I've found and they felt like new.   It's buyer beware here, you won't know what you are getting until you hit them.   

Let me start by saying as a 17 handicapper, I am aware its silly for me to be talking about the differences in golf ball performance when the differences in my swing from shot to shot completely overwhelm any difference in performance of golf balls.

That out of the way, and yeah, this is probably off topic, but I do go through great care when buying used balls.  I've settled on only a couple sellers that I've found which seem to consistently sell good balls.  And even then, I'll visually inspect every single one looking for discoloration and scuffing.  The ones that don't make the cut go in the "winter ball/practice round" bucket, and If i get enough of them, I'll actually resell them as 3A/4A quality balls.  So I work a bit to mitigate the "buyer beware" aspect.

[colin007]

3 hours ago, bweiss711 said:

But even if I concede for the sake of argument that a used ProV is inferior to a new Vice or other "tour" quality ball at that price point

I could be mistaken, but I don't believe there are any other legit tour level balls at the Vice price point. There might be some that are close, but not quite that cheap.

Do you think new ProVs are superior to used ones?

[misty_mountainhop]

FWIW, tried both the Vice Pro and the Pro Plus over extended periods. Both are superb balls. I prefer, just, the Pro Plus as I find its feel and performance just a little better. Both are exceptionally resistant to damage. Value is insanely good.

I've played the Snell MTB (and the newer MTB Black) quite a bit too. Prefer the Vice balls as the Snells, for me, feel too hard; their performance otherwise is excellent though.

[bweiss711]

1 hour ago, colin007 said:

I could be mistaken, but I don't believe there are any other legit tour level balls at the Vice price point. There might be some that are close, but not quite that cheap.

Do you think new ProVs are superior to used ones?

Not sure if you're trolling or not, but I'll bite anyways.

A 5 pack of Snell MTB ships for the same price as a 5 pack of Vice.  And there are plenty of other premium urethane covered balls that ship at a similar price point.  Some even cheaper than that.  Oncore, Maxfli Tour, Kirkland, and Quantix to name a few more. 

And yes, if the choice was a brand new ProV or a used one, I'd take the new one.  If the choice was a ProV that I saw taken out of the box 4 holes ago, or a "mint" used ProV with no discoloration or scuffing, i'd say the performance is identical. 

How often do you play a new ball from the box?  At what point is a new one considered used?

[colin007]

20 hours ago, bweiss711 said:

Not sure if you're trolling or not, but I'll bite anyways.

A 5 pack of Snell MTB ships for the same price as a 5 pack of Vice.  And there are plenty of other premium urethane covered balls that ship at a similar price point.  Some even cheaper than that.  Oncore, Maxfli Tour, Kirkland, and Quantix to name a few more. 

And yes, if the choice was a brand new ProV or a used one, I'd take the new one.  If the choice was a ProV that I saw taken out of the box 4 holes ago, or a "mint" used ProV with no discoloration or scuffing, i'd say the performance is identical. 

How often do you play a new ball from the box?  At what point is a new one considered used?

5 pack of Vice and Snell are not the same price - close, but the Vice is a lil cheaper.

 I guess my point is, if you and I are both buying balls for the performance, then we can throw out the whole branding issue as moot. Who cares what other people do? So from a performance standpoint, I guess it's my opinion that Vice is as good as a pro V, if you think that pro Vs are better than Vice balls, then by all means you should get used Pro Vs that meet your criteria since you will be saving the money, but if all things are equal, why would you play a used pro V when you could play a brand-new VICE ball? Then there's no guesswork as far as what that ball has been through, even if it is pristine white un-scuffed? 

[Lefty4life]

Just did some comparisons with Vice pro + , prov1x, chrome soft x, tp5x, snell. All were tested on my launch monitor by my Stepson using wedge to target of 147hrs. All balls delivered spin over 8000 the prov1x was the only ball to spin higher at 9323.

I wouldn't hesitate to game any of these and do own snell mtbx and prov1xs but at $20 less a box  with similar results Vice pro plus looks like great option. 

 

 

 

[bweiss711]

2 hours ago, colin007 said:

5 pack of Vice and Snell are not the same price - close, but the Vice is a lil cheaper.

 I guess my point is, if you and I are both buying balls for the performance, then we can throw out the whole branding issue as moot. Who cares what other people do? So from a performance standpoint, I guess it's my opinion that Vice is as good as a pro V, if you think that pro Vs are better than Vice balls, then by all means you should get used Pro Vs that meet your criteria since you will be saving the money, but if all things are equal, why would you play a used pro V when you could play a brand-new VICE ball? Then there's no guesswork as far as what that ball has been through, even if it is pristine white un-scuffed? 

No, they aren't exactly the same price.  I think they qualify as the same "price point", but fine. They are not the same price.  Vice is a lil cheaper.  The used ProVs I buy are even cheaper than that.

And obviously the stigma of playing used balls has clouded this discussion.  My opinion is a pristine used ball is no different than a new one that has been played for a few holes.  So if anyone would choose to play a new ProV over a new Vice, Snell, or other, then its not that big a stretch to also prefer to play a high quality used ProV.  If someone's opinion is that used balls aren't worth the trouble, then that argument won't resonate.  I get that.

And now we're just going to continue to go in circles here.  The Vice is a fine ball by all accounts.  But there are plenty of other fine balls out there.  That's the point you're not entertaining.  Vice is as good as ProV.  I'm not saying it isn't.  I am saying there are other balls at a similar price point that are also as good as a ProV.  Which means there are other balls at that price point which are just as good as Vice.  Specifically Snell, but I also like the Maxfli Tour. 

So, to finally answer your question, all else being equal, fine, I'll choose a new ball over a pristine used ProV.  But I'd choose a Snell or Maxfli Tour over a Vice when deciding which new ball to buy.