Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

[War Eagle]

This! I have been leaving a ton of putts short with these mystery pearls.

This was the first time it happened for me Blu. I had been putting well with mystery ball on the practice green. I might have just been having a poor stroke last night

BG and chunky both of you have noted this ball is a little short off the putter. Does it feel hot at impact when putting? If so do you think its possible your subconsciously decellerating because it sounds/feels hot off the face?

Spent some more time on the launch monitor tonight since it was storming out. I'm loving the numbers I'm getting from the driver and 4W!

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I really have serious doubts that there is any reason why this ball would be more difficult to putt than any other ball. Unless it is substantially heavier, I can think of no reason why it would come off of a putter any different than any other ball. It doesn't for me.

My initial review on the mystery ball, I had said I was leaving putst short as well. After playing a few more rounds with it, I got adjusted to the feel of the ball and putted great with it, but still felt as if I had to give it a firmer stroke to get it going. I have also posted up that off the putter it has a "heavier" feel than other balls I tested it against (Nike Crush and TaylorMade Burner Tour, both two piece balls). Putting is such a mental thing, and it's quite possible that it is a user issue (not repeating the same stroke time after time, etc).

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Good write up griff, I am feeling some of the same things you are. In fact I had made mention that it just feels like this ball stays on the face of the club longer than my normal ball, the only thing I can think of is that we are just getting really good compression on it.

I wish I had access to a launch monitor to get some hard data.

As far as the putting goes, I mention in my very first review that this ball seemed to come up just a little short on putts for me, since then I have gamed this ball exclusively for the most part and have gotten used to it so I don't notice it anymore. For me it was horribly short, just a few inches but I adjusted quickly and now the ball is just dying in the hole.

I'll play 36 this weekend and put up some more thoughts after that. I am down to 4 balls now and all but one of them has had on course play, Im ready to find out what ball it is so I can go buy me some more

 

[Griff]

Thanks guys.

As to the issues with short putts....it's a simple adjustment for me. That the test ball comes off hotter than a tour ball but slower than a run of the mill 2 piece is somehow working for me. I made some great putts today from the 10-15 foot range. Some real fist pumpers.

I just want to thank THP for this opportunity. Critically analyzing the performance of this ball has revealed a lot about my game and it will ultimately lead to better scores. Testing the mystery ball has been a real challenge and a fantastic learning experience.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

I agree griff, testing this ball has made me concentrate more an certain shots and has helped me make some improvements in my game.

So far I have seen nothing but good results from the mystery ball, I seem to be able to compress it well, I've seemingly gained distance and haven't sacrificed control.

 

[Trout Bum]

I just want to thank THP for this opportunity. Critically analyzing the performance of this ball has revealed a lot about my game and it will ultimately lead to better scores. Testing the mystery ball has been a real challenge and a fantastic learning experience.

Well said griff, and I agree totally. This is my first testing opportunity as well and the whole experience has been really cool, it's amazing how when you test something you become so much more in tune with your game and the surroundings. I'll be gaming it a bit more next week..

 

[Chunkylover77]

You said the ball felt "nice and mushy" off your irons CL, did it feel the same off your woods and hybrid?

It felt too mushy off the woods for me. I swear I am losing distance with the woods with this ball but the irons seem fine

 

[Chunkylover77]

BG and chunky both of you have noted this ball is a little short off the putter. Does it feel hot at impact when putting? If so do you think its possible your subconsciously decellerating because it sounds/feels hot off the face?

Spent some more time on the launch monitor tonight since it was storming out. I'm loving the numbers I'm getting from the driver and 4W!

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It does not feel hot to me. It feels great. I like a softer ball when putting and this ball gives me that. Honestly the putting parts of my posts should just be mocked. I am a horrendous putter so the fault is all user on this.

 

[Chunkylover77]

So, what is it about a ball that could make it longer or shorter off of the putter? You're not compressing it in any way.

No idea Hawk. Leaving it short has been an ongoing issue for me.

 

[Tadashi70]

No idea Hawk. Leaving it short has been an ongoing issue for me.

If it's short with the putter it should be shorter with every club. Can you put hitting tape in the face of your putter to be sure you are hitting the sweet spot? Are the greens slower? As I read through the thread, this puzzles me the most.


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[PhillyV]

If it's short with the putter it should be shorter with every club. Can you put hitting tape in the face of your putter to be sure you are hitting the sweet spot? Are the greens slower? As I read through the thread, this puzzles me the most.


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i was thinking the same thing

 

[T0AD]

Lost another last night. I know I have one left, but am pretty sure I actually have two...just need to dig around in my bag. I was in a hurry the other day and didnt' separate them like I should have.

Until that loss, though, business as usual. Nice, long shots off driver to start off the first couple holes. I've had to back off a club on almost every approach. Instead of hitting 8i to 141 flat, I can now hit the same 8i 141 up a big hill. I hit a little 3/4 swing GW dead at a 105yd pin and it made it. I was kind of surprised. My putting was horrendous last night but was my fault. I was pushing and pulling and missing speeds; it was awful. LOL

I have hit plenty of 3w with this ball now ('08 Burner/NV 65) and I can flat out smoke a baby draw. I've outdriven or very nearly matched three different people this week with their drivers. Last night's shot du hour was a mid-flight, 5-10yd draw that ended up at 241. I kind of wanted to :banana: but I didn't really know the guy who hit driver 3ft in front of me.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Man everything about his ball sounds great except the putting aspect. You use your putter on every hole, so it is the most important club in the bag. Sounds like this ball really requires you to hit the ball harder with the putter, and I make the best putts when I can take a nice smoothe stroke. I don't want to have to go after it just to make sure I get it there. Only time will tell once I find out what ball this is a give it a roll myself, but this is just one thing that is really concerning me.

I cannot say that I have had the problem with leaving the putt short consistently as some have IN, as I posted in my initial review I immediately putted this ball very well, I like the feel and it rolls very good for me. I don't know if it matters that my putter has no insert, that is all I could imagine as a difference maker in the leaving the ball short problem some have mentioned. Being as you putt with the BB8 you might get the same results I do with my VP Milled.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Lost another last night. I know I have one left, but am pretty sure I actually have two...just need to dig around in my bag. I was in a hurry the other day and didnt' separate them like I should have.

Until that loss, though, business as usual. Nice, long shots off driver to start off the first couple holes. I've had to back off a club on almost every approach. Instead of hitting 8i to 141 flat, I can now hit the same 8i 141 up a big hill. I hit a little 3/4 swing GW dead at a 105yd pin and it made it. I was kind of surprised. My putting was horrendous last night but was my fault. I was pushing and pulling and missing speeds; it was awful. LOL

I have hit plenty of 3w with this ball now ('08 Burner/NV 65) and I can flat out smoke a baby draw. I've outdriven or very nearly matched three different people this week with their drivers. Last night's shot du hour was a mid-flight, 5-10yd draw that ended up at 241. I kind of wanted to :banana: but I didn't really know the guy who hit driver 3ft in front of me.

LOL, so that means I get to watch you dance all day the next time we play?
Nice report T0AD, glad you are loving the mystery ball so much, I will be getting out again tomorrow to test it and will report after that round, I still have 4 left.

 

[Hanks]

agreed....there's no real weight difference with this ball so any issues with putting is primariliy user error

I really have serious doubts that there is any reason why this ball would be more difficult to putt than any other ball. Unless it is substantially heavier, I can think of no reason why it would come off of a putter any different than any other ball. It doesn't for me.

 

[blugold]

agreed....there's no real weight difference with this ball so any issues with putting is primariliy user error

I think that the materials of construction may effect the putting. I do agree with you that I believe that this is a case of us thinking too much.

 

[Griff]

I dropped down a Z Star, E6, and mystery ball to do some testing in putting area. I covered putting in my first post, just wanted to revisit it as people are bringing up valid concerns.

Yes, the test ball is pokey compared to the E6. The Z Star is pokey compared to the test ball. I am able to adjust to the speed. If you are using a standard issue 2 piece the mystery ball will move slower.

On the first day of my testing I recall hitting the E6 next to the test ball on the practice green. Something I noticed was the E6 is a bull on the green compared to the test ball. It doesn't like to hold the line as well as the test ball. I am not sure if this is a speed thing or a cover thing...probably both. The E6 cover does seem to be more slick than the the test ball cover. Awesome that this was brought up as it was able to jar my memory.

On the green the test ball is nice for me because I am rewarded for properly reading the green. Mystery ball holds its line quite well especially the first few feet.

 

[Hanks]

The issue with all of these putting comparisons is consistent swing/tempo. Unless you could get a calibrated robot and program it to the same swing speed and tempo and have it use the same putter for all balls, we will never have a true idea of how a ball rolls off a putter

I think that the materials of construction may effect the putting. I do agree with you that I believe that this is a case of us thinking too much.

I dropped down a Z Star, E6, and mystery ball to do some testing in putting area. I covered putting in my first post, just wanted to revisit it as people are bringing up valid concerns.

Yes, the test ball is pokey compared to the E6. The Z Star is pokey compared to the test ball. I am able to adjust to the speed. If you are using a standard issue 2 piece the mystery ball will move slower.

On the first day of my testing I recall hitting the E6 next to the test ball on the practice green. Something I noticed was the E6 is a bull on the green compared to the test ball. It doesn't like to hold the line as well as the test ball. I am not sure if this is a speed thing or a cover thing...probably both. The E6 cover does seem to be more slick than the the test ball cover. Awesome that this was brought up as it was able to jar my memory.

On the green the test ball is nice for me because I am rewarded for properly reading the green. Mystery ball holds its line quite well especially the first few feet.

 

[Howzat]

The issue with all of these putting comparisons is consistent swing/tempo. Unless you could get a calibrated robot and program it to the same swing speed and tempo and have it use the same putter for all balls, we will never have a true idea of how a ball rolls off a putter

+1, I know it is now in my head from reading the other reviews that Ball X is not going to make it too the hole and think no matter how hard I try it is tough to put the same stoke on each ball when testing.

 

[Griff]

The issue with all of these putting comparisons is consistent swing/tempo. Unless you could get a calibrated robot and program it to the same swing speed and tempo and have it use the same putter for all balls, we will never have a true idea of how a ball rolls off a putter

Very true. It's all subjective. All we can really do is report what we see and hope it's good enough.

 

[Bullfrog]

Played around with the Ball X again. Still have the same thoughts as before about more distance off of my driver and irons. Still having about the same roll out as I did at Valleywood, but at my home course. We got a little rain, so I guess that helps. I seem to be getting roughly 6-8 ft of roll out. Which is definitely better for my game. Closer to hole means less putts to me. As far as putting this ball. I really like putting it. I've made more putts cuz I think the ball just hugs the line you choose when you hit it square. Distance I can't say that I have a problem reaching the hole with it. But the greens I play are fast. I still have 2 balls left. I pitty the day that I lose them both and have to wait to find out "WHAT" it really is. I have been meaning to take a picture of them. They both have about 2-3 rounds a piece on them. And they still look almost perfect. This ball is pretty durable! Unlike my normal ball.

I really like this ball and I look forward to finding out what it is. If it's already on the market, I'm going to be upset with myself for not trying it out before! Maybe I have tried it, if it is on the market. But after initial results didn't like it and moved on. Or Just stayed away from it because of the manufacturer. I'm hoping that's not the case. Then that would mean that my bias towards a certain company has kept me from longer distances and less putts.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

I've really been wondering if this ball is already on the market and I just haven't tried it yet. I can't wait for the official announcement as to what it is.

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

This test has certainly provided some interesting reviews and, like everyone else, I'm looking forward to finding out the identity of this ball so that I can give them a try.
I find the varied thoughts on this ball's putting characteristics to be very interesting. Personally, the TM Penta is one of my favorite balls to game, but off the putter, it feels like it is light and doesn't have the momentum to roll as far. By comparison, the TP Black also feels a little light to me, but seems to have a harder cover than the Penta, allowing the ball to click off the putter and roll out a little farther. Perhaps my favorite putting ball is the 330-RX as it seems to have the Penta's softer feel off the face, yet feels like it's heavier which allows it to maintain momentum and roll out farther.
Of course this opinion is based solely on the use of my Odyssey White Steel #1. In using my Ping Anser, I really haven't been able to distinguish much difference in the feel and performance of these three balls. In light of this, perhaps it's the wide variety of putters used by the testers that's causing the varied opinions of the mystery ball's putting characteristics.

 

[thedue]

As mentioned yesterday after my round, I had to pull out a very used ball X to continue my testing. I put it up against a ball that has always been very spinny for me with solid distance. Ball x continued to perform very well even under its fourth 18 hole round which just amazed me. I will say that it just does not spin as much as the other ball for me, but thats a good thing IMHO. I stayed plenty close to the divot, a few feet, but not within inches when coming in with a full wedge shot. Putting, I found zero difference between the two in distance, sound and line. Distance off the tee was very similar as well, but I have a feeling my ball X has lost a little sizzle in age as I was not reaching the same spots I had early on in its testing.

Possibly the best thing about this ball for me is the lack of side spin off the driver and long clubs. I hit several of my best iron shots with this ball and one 3w from 210 into the wind that went over the green by 15 yards, lol. I can only make guesses at this ball and have a couple, but who ever produced this ball has a winner IMO.

 

[Chunkylover77]

If it's short with the putter it should be shorter with every club. Can you put hitting tape in the face of your putter to be sure you are hitting the sweet spot? Are the greens slower? As I read through the thread, this puzzles me the most.


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I would disagree. It's definitely shorter off the driver and yet my irons are the same. No doubt about it. Off the putter as I said I'm not going to blame the ball. I stink at putting so my stroke is always going to be a little inconsistent. I will however go out and get some putter tape as that is a good idea. I will video the results

 

[Howzat]

I got a practice round in today at a local muni. The course was fairly quiet and I was able to play a couple balls side by side off the tee. The course was in very good shape and it was drier than normal but very windy today. I actually am now a member as they had a $100 special to play for the rest of the year.

After the great results I had chipping and putting with the TaylorMade Penta TP in my head to head last week with Ball X I decided to have the two balls do battle today on the course.

Driver: With the windy day I used a smaller tee than I normally would and tried to hit it a bit lower than normal. I was having a good day today with my Z Star driver.

Distance: Ball X seemed on average to be about 6-8 yards longer today. I hit my driver on every hole but the par 3’s today in part because I was hitting the driver that well and to get as much testing with the driver as possible today. I am only comparing shots where I feel my swing was very consistent and the balls went in the same direction and rolled along similar paths.

Trajectory: Ball X seemed to have a nice mid ball fight and a fair amount of roll. The Penta seemed to have a mid-high ball flight that likely caused it to roll less and was part of the distance loss.

Dispersion: Ball X was very straight. Extremely straight. Did I mention straight. I hit 11/14 fairways and the ones I missed were in the first cut of rough and were not quite on-line from the start. The TaylorMade was not as successful for me grabbing only 8/14 fairways. I never felt like the Penta would get away from me like a B330-S will tend to do. I was able to work the Penta quite nicely actually. I reached a particular dogleg Par 5 in 2 shots today which I was not able to do before using a nice control draw with the Penta. But when I was looking to hit it down the middle the Penta would not quite cooperate and I found the rough more times than I would like.

Feel: I am not a “feel” player so take it with a grain of salt but I could not tell much difference in the two balls today off the driver in this category.

Irons: This part of my game was all over the place and I could not judge the distance today due to the wind so I don’t think it is fair to give an assessment in this area today.

Wedges: For me this area of my game has improved greatly as testing Ball X has meant spending several more hours practicing with these clubs than I normally would. The TaylorMade seemed to land and hop a couple times and stop where Ball X had a tendency to land and then roll a few feet past the Penta. For more details on the two side by side see my previous post comparing the two side by side.

Putter: Again similar results to my last head to head. It makes no sense to me but I tend to leave Ball X short compared to any other ball. I have no idea why it is and I think it may be a mental issue at this point.

Overall: I came away very impressed with Ball X. I have used the same ball for about 30 consecutive holes and it is now starting to show enough wear that I would consider putting it in the shag bag. I will post pictures of the condition of the ball in the next few days. To compare it to my normal E6 I would say it is just a straight but with better “control” around the greens. This was my first round ever with the TaylorMade Penta and think I will keep one in my bag for times I need to work a ball left or right off the tee but I personally like a straighter ball. My testing is far from complete as I have found this to be a difficult ball to lose but if today is any indication this is a ball I could see myself playing.