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Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

SuperStroke
MattyKrack17 said:
how do these spin off wedges? more stopping power, or roll out more?
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Just from initial impressions, I think I'll be able to get some decent spin on these where I can get them to check. What's even better is that I think if I want these to release, I'll be able to do that as well. I want to say that they are very controllable. Just remember this is just first time on a small chipping/pitching area so take with a grain of salt.
 
thedue said:
Well, I get home from golf last night and Liz has a package waiting for me from THP. Looks like the mystery balls have arrived. She know's just how excited I get when something arrives from THP and she gets all excited because I am, haha. She's like open it! Come on, lets look at these, lol. Sorry hun, but I'll open these at the course with some better lighting and actual greens to set them on to start my testing. She's such a kid.

I hope to have these out this afternoon, looking forward to it!
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Looking forward to your thoughts duey! I really don't know how you could not open them right away, I would have nowhere near that much self control.
 
MattyKrack17 said:
how do these spin off wedges? more stopping power, or roll out more?
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From my first round, I saw really good control with my wedges, I could make them check quickly, even backed it up a time or two, but if I turned it over they released nicely. If you go back a few pages you'll find some nice videos that hawk did during his short game practice that shows them in action.
 
Some great writeups and thoughts thus far guys great work! When is it revealed what brand they are? Or is that ever revealed?
 
Spaceman_Spiff said:
Some great writeups and thoughts thus far guys great work! When is it revealed what brand they are? Or is that ever revealed?
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It will be revealed at a predetermined time that is unknown to us. Just like the previous blind ball testing the only thing we're really asked to do is play them and keep on writing our thoughts here (post some pics and/or videos as well) and eventually the veil will be removed.
 
Got mine in today, going to the practice range and playing after work.

--
tapatalk
 
royalwulff said:
Looking forward to your thoughts duey! I really don't know how you could not open them right away, I would have nowhere near that much self control.
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Thanks buddy, normally that would be the case, but I played a scramble yesterday that lasted almost eight hours, I was just beat up, lol. On my way to try these right now though.

Tap,Tap,Tap
 
thedue said:
Thanks buddy, normally that would be the case, but I played a scramble yesterday that lasted almost eight hours, I was just beat up, lol. On my way to try these right now though.

Tap,Tap,Tap
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Eight hours for a scramble??? that is insane. Anyway have fun with the mystery balls.
 
First time out with Ball X today. Played 18 at a course I have not been to in a while as the course I typically play on the weekend had a charity scramble going on. No real practice facilities so all the testing was done during the round.

Driver: I usually have been playing the Bridgestone E6 as I have found my best scoring comes when I am hitting the most fairways possible. I feel the distance was not quite as good as I have been seeing with the E6 but the ground was very soft after heavy rains last night. I would say if it was giving anything up to the E6 it was likely only a few yards. Ball X also has some more side spin than I usually see with the E6 but it was manageable. I would say the side spin was very similar to what I got with the Vision X3 UV on Thursday which is somewhere between the E6 and the 330 series balls for me. I did not notice a difference with the sound coming off the driver and will need to pay attention to it more next time out.

Fairway and hybrids: Did not get many opportunities here as this course played a lot shorter than I am use to. It was typically driver off the tee and right to the irons. I should have a better chance to give feedback in this area of the game next time out.

Irons: Distance was again almost exactly in line with the Vision X3 UV. I hit the two side by side on a couple of holes and landed with in a few feet of each other both times. Likely a little shorter than what I had been seeing with the E6 but only a yard or two. I found this ball seem to have a lower trajectory for me than I have been seeing but still wanted to hop once and stop with in a foot or two of where it landed where the E6 would want to roll out a few yards in the same scenario.

Wedges: This was my Achilles heal all day. I could not judge the distance around the green and this had nothing to do with the ball and everything to do with the person hitting it. I did hit several balls from several companies from the same spot on one hole to judge roll out and most of the other balls ended up in the same spot with Ball X rolling out about 2/3 the distance of the others. I will test this again this week in more detail and with pictures but need a proper practice facility where I won’t slow up play.

Putter: For me this is where this ball shined. I prefer having to hit the ball harder with the putter and can’t stand just tapping the golf ball. The combination of Ball X and the slower greens due to the wet weather was a perfect combination for me. I was aim to take aim and fire and found the ball to not only feel good off the face but roll down the intended target line and into the cup more often than not. I struggled on Thursday with my putting and never got a great feel from the Vision X3 UV. Today it seemed to come together and I will need to see where it goes from here.
 
MattyKrack17 said:
how do these spin off wedges? more stopping power, or roll out more?
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In my opinion, this has been the most noticeable difference for me. With my short irons and wedges, these balls will stop on a dime.

coolbreeze said:
WOW, just finished catching up on this thread, and everyone has done a great job so far. I have to say, this round of testing is even better than the last round of testing because we don't even know the OEM, its killing me to know what ball this is, and I have my guess as to what it is.
So far I've gathered that:
- No loss in distance over normal balls played.
- Cover is harder than Urethane, but soft enough, and durable.
- Checks up pretty well in the short game.
- Muted sound putting, but comes up a little short.

Anything I'm missing testers?? Everyone keep up the great work, this is facinating to me.
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That pretty much covers it IMO. I played for the third time with these today and have gotten use to them for putting. Feel great, and once you get adjusted, roll very nice, just have to learn their speed.
 
Played for the third time today with Ball X today, best outing I have had so far with them. I shot a 39/40; 79.

Ball continues to feel nice off the tee. Feels good at impact, I have yet to notice an ballooning. Had a much better day driving the ball today, was absolutely killing the ball off the tee today.

Iron play with this ball continues to do me well. I stuck an 8i on a 162 yard Par 3, 2 feet from the hall. Nice, high ball flight, with the ball trajectory on sharp downward angle, hitting and checking back to right a 2 feet. Easy tap in birdie.

Short game and wedges continue to do great. Today I was left with a lot of short chips that needed to roll out to the pin. Ball X performed well here as well, with getting a nice chip and letting the ball bounce and roll with the green toward to the hole. Still amazed at how well I have been able to control this ball in the short game.

Once the greens dried a bit my Putting improved greatly. Teeing off at 7am when the greens were still heavily saturated with dew made a for some difficult putts on the first few holes. I left a birdie putt about 2 inches short of the hole, not due to the ball, but the wetness of the green. Once the greens dried up, the ball was rolling well. Love the feel off the putter, and every time I play with Ball X, I get more and more adjusted to it with the flatstick.

Was another fun round of testing. I continue to be amazed at the way this ball performs with the short irons and wedges. Being able to have this kind of control on a ball around the green is a huge plus when looking for a ball to game everyday.
 
First off, just a little intro video. Didn't really have much luck with video today, so the rest will be written.



A quick summary of my game/swing.

I have a 95mph swing speed with the driver. Typical trajectory is a mid/high draw when I'm swinging well. When I'm off I can either slice or hook. Just depends. I hit my irons pretty high and generate a little spin. A full, well struck 8 iron would normally hop and stop for me. I don't spin the ball back. I have what I feel like is a pretty good wedge game, but again, I don't put a ton of spin on the ball.

On to the ball.

Off the tee:

Started off fighting an OTT swing that produced some high slicers. From what I saw the ball reacted like most others when they are given that type of swing. Mystery ball didn't go any further right or less right than I'm used to. I was able to get my driver swing under control by the 7th hole or so and was hitting a slight draw from that point on.

Feel off the driver was very nice and it seemed like I was compressing it well. Ball flight was medium to high off the driver, which is what I like. No ballooning at all. Just a nice piercing ball that took awhile to rise to its apex.

Distance was neither longer or shorter than I'm used to. I'll reserve distance measurements for the launch monitor, but I didn't notice any distance loss or gain with mystery ball.

Irons and hybrids:

Mystery ball got up in the air fast and landed very softly off of my irons and 5 hybrid. It sounds very nice and has a lower tone than is great. Distance was the same as I'm used to.

A couple shots of note that illustrate the spin characteristics.

140 yard 8-iron from the right rough. Ball got up very fast, held it's line in the wind and drew slightly. Hit the green, hopped and stopped. The ball was 4 feet from the pitchmark. I don't get much spin from the rough, so this was good to see.

180 yard uphill from the fairway with the 3 hybrid. Trajectory was medium. Had a good draw on it and hit the front left of the green and rolled out. Ended up 15 feet from the pitchmark. Not bad for an uphill shot from a hybrid!

In all, I enjoyed the ball off the irons and hybrids. I felt like I was going to keep the ball on the green with each club, including hybrids.

Wedges:

Lots of wedge shots today. Pitch shots had plenty of bite and so did full wedge shots. It sounds and feel nice off of the wedges. Didn't really do any damage to the balls with them either.

A couple shots.

60 yard pitch shot to an elevated green with the 50° wedge: Just trying to keep the ball low here and stop it as quick as possible. The ball was a couple feet from it's pitchmark. Didn't see it hit, but I assume it had good spin as it was an uphill shot and stopped so fast.

90 yard full swing GW from thick rough: A nice surprise here. Ball got way up in the air and stopped on a dime. Probably a foot from where it landed.

20 yard chip shot with 50°: The reason I'm highlighting this shot is because I made a mistake and the ball saved me a bit. I hit the ball way too hard and it landed right by the hole rather than 15 feet short like I was hoping. The ball checked very nicely and rolled about 20 feet past the hole. Without that check-up, the ball would have been off the green easily. Allowed me to save bogey.

Putter:

I'm going to be perfectly honest and say that I really don't have any preference or thoughts on how a ball reacts off a putter for me. I can hear the difference between a 25-cent two-piece rock and a quality ball when it comes to sound, but that's it.

Mystery ball did just what any other ball does for me off the putter. It sounded nice, with a lower tone. Nothing about the ball affected my putting for better or worse.

In all, I quite enjoyed mystery ball today. It was good off the tee when it came to trajectory and distance. It was good off the irons and wedges when it came to trajectory and spin.

Thanks again to THP and the mystery company for giving us the chance to do this!
 
Good job guys and now I am really interested to find out what company sponsors this ball :blob:
 
Ole Gray said:
Good job guys and now I am really interested to find out what company sponsors this ball :blob:
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I don't think these guys should know...just us non-testers :D
 
First off, just a little intro video. Didn't really have much luck with video today, so the rest will be written.
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This is my fault I can't work a camera worth a damn.
 
I got rained out both days this weekend, but we're planning to take off early from work and play one day this week. Not a lot of feed back I can give from the putting mat in the garage. :)
 
liquidrage said:
I got rained out both days this weekend, but we're planning to take off early from work and play one day this week. Not a lot of feed back I can give from the putting mat in the garage. :)
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Luckily, I got out before the rain the past two days. Nothing worse than planning on being on the course, and getting rained out.


TapaTalk...THP on the fly!
 
Great to hear

I tapatalk better then I golfatalk
 
I didn't get my 18 in this morning as planned, wife ended up sick last night. I did get two hours out chipping and putting with the mystery balls.

I am having continued success with this ball and my 60* wedge. Awesome combination from about 40 yards on in. My putting has been equally the same with this ball compared to my typical ball. It feels great off the Pure Roll insert of my Ghost Spider. The practice green was like glass this afternoon, I had to barely tap the ball for the 15 footers I was hitting.

Still loving this ball. Looking forward to Wed. night league. Another update then.


Just tap it in, just tap it in.
 
Okay, just back from my short game practice session, I was gonna to try to sneak in 18 afterwards but the girlfried had other ideas:bulgy-eyes:

I spent about an hour on the putting green working with Ball X and I have to say I am liking the results. The ball rolls very pure and has a deeper tone coming off the putter face, now that I've gotten used to the speed of this ball I was really holing alot of putts, it held it's line very well and it seemed like I was dropping everything in on the high side of the hole WHICH I LOVE! Everything was just rolling in almost dead weight and all of my misses were within one handed tap in range.
Wedge game
I'll just say it, I am LOVING the control I have with this ball off the wedge! I seem to be able to stop it when I need to or let the toe of the club turn over and let the ball run out when needed, here's a good example:

I set up a 45 yard pitch shot up hill with a ridge just in front on the hole, I only had about 15 foot of green between the rough and the pin. I took all six of my Mystery Balls and my SW, played the ball back in my stance and got really agressive coming into the ball. I got a nice low ball flight and managed to land the ball about 8 feet onto the green and have it hop up over the ridge and then just stop almost dead still! I hit all six balls....4 were inside the leather, one was about 4 feet and the other would have been within a couple of feet but it hit the pin on the bounce and ended up about 7 feet to the right!

Next I moved to about 60 yards with a pin at the back of the green up a little rise, about 50 feet of green to work with, took my GW and hit a mid flighted shot trying to land it about 10-15 feet on the green and let it run out just to see the results. The ball came in took one big hop a second smaller hop and then rolled like well struck putt. Out of the six balls closest was about 3 feet and the furtherest was about 15 feet...not too dang bad.

I played several more types of shots around the green all with similar results, so the one thing I didn't experience on the course yesterday was bunker play

I went to the practice bunker and set up several shots, short sided where I needed to create spin, a long chunk and run and even a buried lie and each time I got great results. The shortsided shot was my favorite, using my 60 log wedge I got really fast and zipped the club under the ball, it came out nice and low took one bounce and backed up about 5 inches...I love it!

Thats about it for now, really disappointed that I didn't get to go to the course, maybe I can sneak out one night this week!
 
TripleBogieTim said:
Okay, just back from my short game practice session, I was gonna to try to sneak in 18 afterwards but the girlfried had other ideas:bulgy-eyes:

I spent about an hour on the putting green working with Ball X and I have to say I am liking the results. The ball rolls very pure and has a deeper tone coming off the putter face, now that I've gotten used to the speed of this ball I was really holing alot of putts, it held it's line very well and it seemed like I was dropping everything in on the high side of the hole WHICH I LOVE! Everything was just rolling in almost dead weight and all of my misses were within one handed tap in range.
Wedge game
I'll just say it, I am LOVING the control I have with this ball off the wedge! I seem to be able to stop it when I need to or let the toe of the club turn over and let the ball run out when needed, here's a good example:

I set up a 45 yard pitch shot up hill with a ridge just in front on the hole, I only had about 15 foot of green between the rough and the pin. I took all six of my Mystery Balls and my SW, played the ball back in my stance and got really agressive coming into the ball. I got a nice low ball flight and managed to land the ball about 8 feet onto the green and have it hop up over the ridge and then just stop almost dead still! I hit all six balls....4 were inside the leather, one was about 4 feet and the other would have been within a couple of feet but it hit the pin on the bounce and ended up about 7 feet to the right!

Next I moved to about 60 yards with a pin at the back of the green up a little rise, about 50 feet of green to work with, took my GW and hit a mid flighted shot trying to land it about 10-15 feet on the green and let it run out just to see the results. The ball came in took one big hop a second smaller hop and then rolled like well struck putt. Out of the six balls closest was about 3 feet and the furtherest was about 15 feet...not too dang bad.

I played several more types of shots around the green all with similar results, so the one thing I didn't experience on the course yesterday was bunker play

I went to the practice bunker and set up several shots, short sided where I needed to create spin, a long chunk and run and even a buried lie and each time I got great results. The shortsided shot was my favorite, using my 60 log wedge I got really fast and zipped the club under the ball, it came out nice and low took one bounce and backed up about 5 inches...I love it!

Thats about it for now, really disappointed that I didn't get to go to the course, maybe I can sneak out one night this week!
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Nice writeup Tim. I see you have had a similar experience as I have with getting used to the speed. As I have used this ball more, I have gotten adjusted to it and have started rolling it pretty good.

Good luck on getting out on the course!
 
I didn't play today as planned,but I did hit the short game area again today.



Putting I'm sticking to my original statement that this thing is hot off the putter, I didn't want to compare it with another ball but after reading other reviews where it was left short, I had to give a pro v1x a go. Same stroke, same distance the v1x came up pin high or just short and mystery ball was 2 ft past the hole every time lol. roughly about 100 putts ranging from 4 ft to about 40 ft.

54 and 58 deg wedges They rolled, verticut, and mowed the chipping green this m orning and the green was perfect. 1st flag was about 25 yds and I used the 54 with a few dozen low runners and today they checked up but had a little more rollout, about 4 to 5 ft, with the 58, it was the same as yesterday, hit, check, and about 2ft of rollout, very nice and consistant. I moved back to about 40 yds and hit a bunch out of the rough, the ball performed like most other balls, control varied depending on the depth or thickness of the lie, nothing shocking here.

Overall I like the ball alot so far, I just want to get some rounds in with it, thursday will be my only weekday to get out and play 18 barring any hickups at work, but tomorrow I'll be hitting a different range with a longer shortgame area and will be able to get some 80 to 100 yd shots in.
 
I was able to hit the short game area today and got to know the mystery ball a bit....here's what I experienced:

Putter (insert): The ball felt really nice off the putter, not too soft and not too hard. Maybe a tad on the firm side but it wasn't like I was putting with a rock. I do have an insert on my putter so my thoughts on feeling are even more subjective but I think there's some good feeling to this ball coming off the putter. The roll seemed to be true and I didn't notice a ton of skid after initially coming off the putter face. On shorter putts I found myself not having to take too much of a stroke as the ball seemed to get off the club face quick and not linger on the insert. On longer putts I had a little trouble with distance control for some reason and was constantly running putts past the hole. Once I got the feeling for the ball the longer putts were closer or going in. This may not be a by-product of the ball and could be user error but if anything I tend to leave longer putts short so running this ball past the hole consistently was surprising.

Wedges (conforming grooves): There was some slight 'click' to the ball coming off the face. It wasn't an obnoxious click but just enough for you to notice. I'm not a big spinner of the ball but I did notice that these balls do have some stopping power with aggressive chips and pitch shots. More often than not there was minimal roll out and not an exaggerated run once the ball got to the green. On full wedge shots (125 and under) the ball launched high and landed with a hop or two but again, not much roll out to take into account. With some balls I use (urethane cover) I sometimes notice a little bit of the cover being left behind in the grooves on full shots but these balls weren't leaving anything behind that I could see so I'm doubting that this is a urethane covered ball.

On bump and run shots with an 8i or a hybrid the ball didn't seem to jump off the club face overly hot but it didn't seem to want to sit on the face either. good balance and feeling for the most part. I did notice that I didn;t have to take as long a putting stroke to get the ball to the hole as I do with my current ball which I found interesting. The rollout was very controllable and predictable for the most part.
 
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