MGS Ball Test 2021

Equipment
#1

Okay, they promoted the heck out of it and here it is, the 2021 Ball Test from My Golf Spy. What are your thoughts?

Here are the takeaways related to my game (103 mph with driver, so a mid-speed player).

  1. There is no perfect low driver spin, high wedge spin ball. It’s always going to have to be a compromise.
  2. Low compression = slower, but not necessarily shorter due to lower compression = lower spin.
  3. Based on what I do and want in a ball, it seems the best ball choices would be the Bridgestone Tour B XS, Titleist ProV1-X and the Chromesoft X. I’ve been playing the MTB-X which isn’t a bad ball for me, but does have some drawbacks in terms of the soft feel that I prefer and the desire to have more spin with wedges.

I’ve recently begun testing the Bridgestone Tour B XS so I’m going to stick out those tests, and possibly make a permanent switch.

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#2

At last. Been waiting ages, I shall now read it!

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#3

I’m still collecting my overall thoughts on it… I’m actively working on lowering my spin numbers… I’m not as crazy as I once was, but I hit the ball hard, high and with a ton of spin…

As a random aside, I swing my 7 iron 96 mph… I’ve done it on multiple simulators across multiple years… but my driver swing is 115… I’m not sure if that just means I don’t mind heavier shafts (which is generically true) or if I’m doing something wrong with my driver swing… I wonder if I can get more efficiency out of it… Maybe something to consider in the off season.

With my recent golf game, I want as low spin as possible… hopefully it will help minimize my big misses and keep them in play…

I’ve been happy with the performance of the Bridgestone B X, and it’s interesting to look at the driver performance of it vs the MTB-X… They have very similar launch numbers, but the Bridgestone goes farther and peaks lower… Honestly, I might move back to it next season…

The Srixon Z-Star also has my attention as it’s lower spin but had a high total distance number… I’ve got a set of Srixon’s on order anyways, so I might consider going matching.

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#4

In real life, can anyone not a professional really tell the difference?

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#5

I can definitely tell the difference in balls… I just got done doing a ball test for titleist on my golf spy… there were noticeable differences.

Do the differences matter? That’s a more interesting question… personally, I’ll alway opt for the ball i hit the farthest, though I haven’t tried a surly ball in awhile… I’m not good enough with short wedge shots for the spin to matter all that much… tucked pins aren’t a huge problem on my home course.

I think it’s worth the effort to find the best ball for your game, but I think best can mean a lot of different things… one of the reasons I went back to Snell is because it has the best value (kirkland balls spin off the planet)

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#6

Just out of curiosity, you can tell the difference by feel if you grab a ball out of the bag when you play? This is prov, not tp5x?

Or you can identify the different characteristics when hitting two balls side by side?

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#7

Heck of a test. Needs 1 more catagory.

  • Which ball will drop my hdcp by a stroke or 2 every month?
    edit: I’ll continue to play the Q~star. except when I find a proV1 or something of similar quality.
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#8

I can gleam differences through trends in ball flight and feel differences with the clubs… I can’t tell the difference with a putter, but some claim they can…

Some are really obvious. The Kirkland ball has a ton of spin. It’s 20 yards shorter off the tee.

I could probably play 5-6 balls and not be able to tell you the specific differences in them if they were low spin.

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#9

It’s an interesting report and generally confirms what I’ve found for my game as a “mid” speed type player. I can usually feel a difference in the “X” balls vs the regular version off the irons and wedges, but not so much otherwise. I will generally lose a bit of distance with some balls off the driver and gain some with the irons. I have just enough short game to tell which balls check more…although the chunks and skulls all feel the same and, around the green, I can get used to any ball that has a urethane cover

I was hoping the new Kirkland ball might show up a bit better. The price is just so good and I’m, picky, but not super picky. I lost too much distance off the tee with the old Kirkland 3-piece so gave it up and the V2 appears similar.

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#10

I have played the V2 and it’s a spin monster… Hit some good drives with it and then they were 20-40 yards short of where I expected them to be… I’ve done it enough to the point I’ve mostly stopped playing them (I still have some in my cart and will break them out when I’ve lost too many balls), but the test confirmed what I’ve experienced on the course.

It’s ALOT of spin… so much so that i can’t play them even at half the price of any other golf ball… I’m very curious to see how the 4 piece ball turns out, but I’m guessing it will have too much spin for me…

This does make me wonder if the next revolution in balls will be high compression, low spin balls… That would be awesome!

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#11

I can definitely tell a difference putting. The MTB-X, for example, has a more clicky feel on putts than the MTB-Black.

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#12

While I have certainly fallen into the camp of “use the same type of ball all the time”…I don’t know that I’ve ever really learned “which ball is best for me”. I don’t have access to a GCquad or at-home set up…and it’s really tough to take new balls to the range (with technology) and fire them out there to never see them again…lol.
I’ve played the 2 piece “get sum” Snell this year mainly…tried the MTB…but found the distance of the 2 piece so difficult to give up. My swing speed and/or technique probably just isn’t fast enough to see a huge difference around the greens or on wedges/short irons.
Who knows…maybe I just need to move up to the next tee box.
When did you all think seriously about moving from a 2 piece to a 3 or 4 piece, and why?

Added: I’m an 11.6 right now…typically shooting between low 80’s and 90.

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#13

I thought this year’s test was done really well, pretty thorough and I like the way they presented all the data.

To paraphrase the OP, and in-line with what the report emphasized …

But the report can definitely help narrow down the choices of what balls to put through your own real world tests to find what works right for you.

For example, as an average recreational bogey golfer will I play “better” with a Pro V1 (using that as the proverbial measuring stick)?

Maybe, but maybe not.

Is there a mid-range “good enough” compromise performance all-around ball that - for me - is close enough to a Pro V1 but at several $$ less? (Yeah I still lose a few every round…)

Most likely, and the test report gives me some options on what to look. In fact - again: for me - I’m pretty happy with the MaxFli Tour (from Dick’s/Golf Galaxy … 2 doz for $60 … ie. about ⅔ cost of Pro V1s at, let’s just throw out a number, say 85% of the performance level)

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#14

At 11.5 my pro told me my cheap balls were holding me back. I asked him where it was holding me back. He said on the greens. But when i see the ball mark the ball is three steps away even with 6i.

I favor the bump and run so i dont really need a lot of bite and if anything my oh no! Moments are when ball checks up.

It was hard to quantify any scoring difference for me at handicap 11 between 80cent balls and tp5x after six dozen spendy balls were purchased because of my pro saying so.

I have four dozen prov that i was gifted to go through next. If those dont show any improvement than i may revert to my cheap balls and deal with @Craigers scorn for having a fancy gps watch and cheap gloves/balls. :rofl:

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#15

I too favor the bump and run with an 8i around the greens…but use my SW quite a bit as well. Hard/fast Utah greens (we’re in a drought) didn’t seem to hold either the 2 piece or the 3 piece earlier this year, but as my game continues to improve, I seem to have overcome that part.

I seem to also get a ton of spin from the “Get Sum” 2 piece by Snell when I get the luxury of playing early morning or on a softer course for sure. I just don’t know where I’ll see the difference (except for loss of distance moving from the 2 piece).

I’m happy to test/change if I can just understand and see the “why” a little better…

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#16

I play premium balls (but refuse to pay full premium price) just because I feel like I “should”, but I’m confident that my scoring would be just about the same playing a two-piece ball because of my swing characteristics. I swing fast enough to get acceptable distance out of anything, but not so fast that I over-compress softer two-piece balls. I also hit it pretty high with every club in the bag, so my stopping power comes from the descent angle more so than spin.

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#17

1000% can tell the difference even in similar balls, especially on and close to the green. Feel, sounds, ball flight, distance, spin. Very different across the board ball to ball.

Maybe a high handicapper with an inconsistent swing and inconsistent contact can’t tell much of a difference tee to green, but putting I’m sure they will.

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#18

Reading the ball test has got me thinking, I was playing Bridgestones last year when I was playing my best and then moved away from them but I’m not entirely sure why. I have some left I’m gonna throw in my bag and see if I can get that vibe back.

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#19

This test confirmed that the Pro V1 is good for me. It has good distance and spin, and feels great around the greens. And most importantly, people lose them everywhere so I can find them and play the same ball without paying for them.

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#20

Yeah, my goal is to get a ball I like and stick with it… honestly, the MTB-X served me well a few years back, so I’m excited to see how they do… I also picked up a dozen Srixon z-stars to try out, as they seem to have the same characteristics from the test…

I might have to figure out how to hit driver on the simulator at my club and see my numbers… I hit the net on my follow through and don’t want to get into the habit of shortening my finish… but it would be nice to test these things.

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