Choosing a Golf Ball

Equipment
#1

I’ve been experimenting with golf balls this fall. I’ve been playing Snell for years and I’ve determined I’m going to stick with Snell, but what I haven’t decided is which ball I’m going to play. I’m between the MTB-BLACK and MTB-X. Here are my performance observations:

MTB-BLACK:
-Softer all around feel
-Lower spinning on shots around the green
-Slightly flatter trajectory on iron shots
-Slightly more spin on mis-hits with the driver
-Very durable

MTB-X
-Firmer all around feel
-High spin on shots around the green
-Higher trajectory
-Lower spinning on the driver
-Low durability (cover marks up easily)

In general, the distance I see with the two balls is almost identical. The MTB-X might be slightly longer, but only by a few yards.

I definitely prefer the feel of the MTB-Black, but I really like the greenside spin of the MTB-X.

So should I pick the ball that I like the best around the greens and adjust to everything else? Or go with better overall feel for me, and plan for more roll-out around the greens? How do you all pick your golf balls?

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#2

I’m always interested in these conversations. I’ve played both balls, and I really couldn’t tell you the difference in terms of feel - it’s not something I think about much or give value to. A golf ball has to be REALLY soft (like some of the new Bridgestones) for me to notice. That’s just me.

For me, I went to the MTB-X (or any higher spinning tour ball) because I don’t spin it as much as most player do at my swing speeds due to how I deliver the club. So getting a little extra zip around the greens does seem to help me. Other than that, I’ve found that a lot of modern premium balls don’t have what I would call “significant” differences that most players would notice. I would classify them as minor refinements.

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#3

I started experimenting with some of the soft or senior balls as I was losing some distance as I age. I went back to ProV1s. I have played them for 20 years and just can’t find any other ball that goes as far or feels as good to me.

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#4

Like I said the performance is almost identical. I think I maybe get 1-2 feet more roll-out with the BLACK vs the X on shots inside 50 yards.

I do definitely notice a difference in feel (soft vs firm). Interesting that you don’t. :thinking:

#5

I had been using the Black for a year or more, but this spring our greens gradually became really firm. I went to the X in order to get a little better stopping power on short iron shots. Either way, I think you can almost certainly adjust for the characteristics of either ball, as long as you play one consistently.

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#6

I played the black last season and the x this season… I’m not sure I noticed much difference…

If I were making the decision based on your data, I’d probably play the black… I’m not good enough from 50 yards for a yard of rollout to be anything more than random variance.

And roll out increases your chances of the ball going in!

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#7

I bought a ton of Snell golf balls when they finally came out with the 4 piece Red. I think that ball was fantastic, it gave you all the distance attributes of a 3 piece and all the greenside spin you would need from a multilayer “tour”-type ball. As much as I love Snell, I am not sure if I can go back to the 3 piece Blacks.

Now enter my latest golf ball purchase (much to the chagrin of my wife). Despite my lack of playing due to the pandemic, it hasn’t stopped me from picking up a bunch of Maxfli Tour X’s with (you guessed it) 4 layers. Coming of age in the 90s, the Maxfli brand tugs at the 'ol heart strings for me and Dick’s often has 2 for $50 (or less) deals on the balls. I have zero idea if they are actually any good but that has never stopped me before and I am going to hit the heck out of em to find out!

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#8

The red spun wayyyy too much for me. I think the feedback they got was that it was really a problem in the wind, and they had to work on a new design for the MTB-X

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#9

It being October, I’d be interested to hear, do you have any preferences for balls to hit in 40 degree weather?

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#10

In my testing, it’s only a few hundred RPM on wedges, which is not earth-shattering but still can make a difference. I have no idea why firmness is not a thing I notice :joy:

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#11

My only preference is that I hit them in the center of the clubface. No matter what ball I’m using, off-center strikes hurt my hands. But I’ll be watching along with you, I don’t know if different balls work better in warmer of colder weather.

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#12

I like the Black because, to me, it plays similar to my favorite ball, the Bridgestone Tour B RX. “X” balls feel a little firm to me and my sub-100 swing speed.

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#13

I play the ChromeSoft X. When I’m testing a ball I look how it performs from 175 yards -> in to start. I’m looking for predictable performance. Next is various 1/2 wedge shots, pitches and chips. How is it releasing. Then out of a greenside bunker. Release again. Finally lag putting 20-30 feet. Can I get consistent pace. Last driver performance is a push for me.

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#14

I played a round with the 2020 AVX. I liked it much better than the 2018 AVX. The 2020 is supposed to have better short game spin. And, it seemed longer off the tee than tp5 and proV1. Anybody have opinion on the ‘20 AVX?

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#15

The maxfli balls have a pretty good reputation from all I have seen. They are definitely a bargain.

I was really impressed with the Bridgestone ball this year, but for $15 less a dozen, I went snell…

I’ll probably end up with another 24 maxfli as the season winds down and I need some more balls quickly.

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#16

Softer, less spinny balls are better for colder weather in my experience. That said, I don’t usually switch to anything different when it’s cold.

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#17

I completely agree with you on the Snell balls. I like both, but have tended towards the X as it’s a bit longer off the driver and a bit better around the green for me. The Black is much nicer feeling to me though and is still a great performer. I still think the ProV1 and ProV1x are probably my faves, but I only bought some this year because I had a DSG gift card and points. I did play the Bridgestone Tour B X this year and liked that a lot. It doesn’t feel as good as the MTB Black, but maybe less firm than the X. Overall it performed really well for me. The TM TP5X was good too, but I didn’t like it as much around the green. I liked the Chrome Soft X as well overall, but stayed away after hearing about the quality issues.

I will generally take greenside performance over distance, but I don’t want to lose too much distance since I’m not a big hitter. I don’t want to have to throttle back too much on my chips and pitches. I ruled out the TP5 and Kirkland 3-pc ball as they seemed noticeably shorter hitting for me even though they were excellent otherwise.

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#18

This is where I’m struggling. I’ll have to keep trying both and see where I land. Last time I compared them I decided the MTB-X was too firm for me. But after playing a few rounds this fall I really do like the green side performance better than the MTB-BLACK. But I like the BLACK better on full shots.

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#19

So today, in high wind, I switched back and forth between the MTB-BLACK and MTB-X. I truly feel like the X performed better in the wind. So I think that will be my ball going forward.

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#20

I like the Snell ball a whole lot. Price is good, I like the story… I’m curious to see if Costco releases a better ball next season, though!

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