 |
Rating (1-to-5 balls):  |
Golf Ball Test:
I went to a golf shop once armed with five sleeves of golf balls from various manufacturers and asked if they'd put me on the swing analyzer. At first I received some odd looks when I explained what I wanted to try, but soon the golf pro and golf shop owner were both standing next to me, analyzing the results.
I hit 6-12 shots with each ball with a 33-degree 7-iron, until the computer found an average of those that were hit solidly. Here's what it found:
Ball (Initial Trajectory in degrees / Distance in yards / Backspin in RPM)
- TopFlite XL-3000 Super Feel (27 / 152 / 7,300)
- Precept U-Tri-Tour (27 / 155 / 7,300)
- Callaway HX-Red (27 / 153 / 7,000)
- Titleist NXT (28 / 153 / 7,300)
- Titleist Pro-V1x (30 / 148 / 7,300)
The assessment: there's no "magic" ball for me.
My average 7-iron distance was just over 152 yards (my pre-lesson distance was 145, so based on this I'm going to start playing it as 150 yards off grass, since I hit from a special tee that was just a fraction above the mat surface). The Precept was a bit longer, the Pro-V1x was shorter.
My average trajectory was 27.8. The Pro-V1x was steeper.
My RPMs were lower with the Callaway, but not to any degree of significance.
I then took all the balls to the putting green and hit a dozen or more putts with each.
My own personal feelings:
TopFlite XL-3000 Super Feel
full swing: did about as well as expected, not quite as good as average
putting: second best in feel - good responsiveness/feedback off square hits
Precept U-Tri-Tour
full swing: longest ball, felt as good as any others coming off the clubface
putting: average feel
Callaway HX-Red
full swing: felt very soft, not like it was being compressed, just soft
putting: ditto, like putting a marshmallow, didn't like it
Titleist NXT
full swing: slightly above average, good feedback
putting: best feel of the group, soft, but not too soft, good feedback
Titleist Pro-V1x
full swing: felt hard and didn't seem to compress against the clubhead
putting: ditto, OK on perfectly struck putts, but unforgiving on slight mishits
So I now play with the NXT. I liked it best on the green and it gets me a few more yards off the tee than the TopFlite XL3000. There's something about the Precept that I am just not 100% comfortable with (maybe it's just the name?), but I'd say it runs a close second. I'd rank the TopFlite right in the middle of the pack. The Callaway is out, and I really wanted to like it too (their dimple pattern, six-sided, is really cool looking!). I was also half afraid that I would love the Pro-V1x and then feel like I had to buy them, but my gut feeling is that they're designed more for a scratch golfer, who strikes the ball harder and more consistently than me. Maybe this goes for putting too, but I can't understand how anybody prefers them around the green.
The owner, who ran the computer, said the regular Pro-V1 (which he plays) is a bit softer and I might want to try it sometime. Maybe... but for now I'm staying with the Titleist NXT.
You can purchase any of these balls at Golfsmith.com -- The Ultimate Golfer's Website .
BACK
|
|
|
