Chromax Distance - Forum Testing Review Thread
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
Chromax Testing Putting
Equipment Used:
Odyssey White ICE Belly Putter, #7-Courtesy of Wonton!
Taylormade ATV 56, xFT 52,Chromax Distance balls, green and yellow, Callaway Hex Black
Location: NMSU Golf Course Practice Facility
Conditions: 41*F, low wind,57*, Sunny.
Wedges
Today I went to the practice green to try some short game work. When I arrived I pulled out the Punisher (56 ATV-punish my opponents with my short game) and I hit a few warm up pitch shots, immediately as I hit a full wedge shot into the green with my sand wedge, I felt that the ball was springy through the shot-this is the first time I've felt the compression bit. I noticed that with a full shot, the ball landed on the green with a significant amount of spin, landed and ran out maybe 2 feet, it wasn't too bad. I then hit the same shot with my Callaway Hex Black just as a comparison, and I really felt the soft urethane cover through the swing, and of course that ball landed and stopped as expected. I then moved to the edge of the green, and hit a few 50 yard pitches. When I hit the Hex Black, it stopped nicely about a foot from where it landed. I then proceeded to hit the Chromax, and the ball ran out at least 6 feet from where it landed. The pin was at the edge of the green, so the ball ran off the green to the second cut. Like I've said many times, I expected this, and a simple adjustment could make this ball easily playable.
This is from a couple of pitch shots that I hit, note the divot on the green, and how much the ball ran out from a shot that I'm used to just stopping easily.
I then proceeded to hit some nice chip shots, I hit the callaway first, and then the Chromax. Both balls were pretty much the same, with the chromax running out a bit more than the callaway. Overall I noticed the same trend, the spin I got from the ball was almost non existent on green side shots, but the approach shot spin was reasonable. Regardless of how much the ball ran out, with my new belly putter, I was able to make the ball in pretty easily so it wasn't that big of a deal.
One thing that concerns me though was the way the cover wore. The past three days, I've spent putting and today I chipped, pitched, and hit wedge shots with it, but when I observed the ball, I saw some strange wear in the cover. First of, both my wedges have conforming grooves, but they seem to be biting and shredding the cover somewhat. Maybe it's from the sand bunker? Regardless, the amount I've used these balls shouldn't have allowed it to be this worn.
Note the wear on the cover.
Sand Bunker
I spent a few minutes hitting sand bunker shots with the punisher. The sand I hit from was rather rough and rocky. Not at all what the course itself has. The first shot went much farther than I usually hit that same shot, which could be caused by compressing the ball. I did feel the same thing though, a springy feel off the face. After a few shots and getting used to the ball, I actually hit it right into the green. I noticed that I lost quite a bit of spin, and I had to be careful because the ball ran out quite a bit as in all the other shots I hit overall, the experience was as expected.
Note how much the balls glow in the sun again.
Visibility in the Rough
Just to prove how visible these balls are, I decided to "recreate" several lies that I tend to find in the rough during my fall/winter rounds. I noticed that regardless of how deep the rough was, or how dry, I was able to spot the ball from a few yards away.
Note the difference in visibility between the three balls together, below I placed the 3 balls together, as well as in the same lie, to show the difference. I noticed that the green seemed to stand out more, especially since the yellow ball tends to blend better with the yellow fall leaves. But, the yellow is still quite visible.
While hitting out of the sand bunker, I accidentally hit my ball over the fence into a tumble weed, and if it was a white ball, I would have lost it and never noticed it, but I immediately saw the bright ball cover.
Just more random shots of the green ball and the same "holographic" glow
I'm still not convinced by these balls yet, so far they perform closely to a typical distance ball, and besides the increased visibility, I haven't really seen any advantage of using this ball, I hope more work with this ball changes this.
Equipment Used:
Odyssey White ICE Belly Putter, #7-Courtesy of Wonton!
Taylormade ATV 56, xFT 52,Chromax Distance balls, green and yellow, Callaway Hex Black
Location: NMSU Golf Course Practice Facility
Conditions: 41*F, low wind,57*, Sunny.
Wedges
Today I went to the practice green to try some short game work. When I arrived I pulled out the Punisher (56 ATV-punish my opponents with my short game) and I hit a few warm up pitch shots, immediately as I hit a full wedge shot into the green with my sand wedge, I felt that the ball was springy through the shot-this is the first time I've felt the compression bit. I noticed that with a full shot, the ball landed on the green with a significant amount of spin, landed and ran out maybe 2 feet, it wasn't too bad. I then hit the same shot with my Callaway Hex Black just as a comparison, and I really felt the soft urethane cover through the swing, and of course that ball landed and stopped as expected. I then moved to the edge of the green, and hit a few 50 yard pitches. When I hit the Hex Black, it stopped nicely about a foot from where it landed. I then proceeded to hit the Chromax, and the ball ran out at least 6 feet from where it landed. The pin was at the edge of the green, so the ball ran off the green to the second cut. Like I've said many times, I expected this, and a simple adjustment could make this ball easily playable.
This is from a couple of pitch shots that I hit, note the divot on the green, and how much the ball ran out from a shot that I'm used to just stopping easily.
I then proceeded to hit some nice chip shots, I hit the callaway first, and then the Chromax. Both balls were pretty much the same, with the chromax running out a bit more than the callaway. Overall I noticed the same trend, the spin I got from the ball was almost non existent on green side shots, but the approach shot spin was reasonable. Regardless of how much the ball ran out, with my new belly putter, I was able to make the ball in pretty easily so it wasn't that big of a deal.
One thing that concerns me though was the way the cover wore. The past three days, I've spent putting and today I chipped, pitched, and hit wedge shots with it, but when I observed the ball, I saw some strange wear in the cover. First of, both my wedges have conforming grooves, but they seem to be biting and shredding the cover somewhat. Maybe it's from the sand bunker? Regardless, the amount I've used these balls shouldn't have allowed it to be this worn.
Note the wear on the cover.
Sand Bunker
I spent a few minutes hitting sand bunker shots with the punisher. The sand I hit from was rather rough and rocky. Not at all what the course itself has. The first shot went much farther than I usually hit that same shot, which could be caused by compressing the ball. I did feel the same thing though, a springy feel off the face. After a few shots and getting used to the ball, I actually hit it right into the green. I noticed that I lost quite a bit of spin, and I had to be careful because the ball ran out quite a bit as in all the other shots I hit overall, the experience was as expected.
Note how much the balls glow in the sun again.
Visibility in the Rough
Just to prove how visible these balls are, I decided to "recreate" several lies that I tend to find in the rough during my fall/winter rounds. I noticed that regardless of how deep the rough was, or how dry, I was able to spot the ball from a few yards away.
Note the difference in visibility between the three balls together, below I placed the 3 balls together, as well as in the same lie, to show the difference. I noticed that the green seemed to stand out more, especially since the yellow ball tends to blend better with the yellow fall leaves. But, the yellow is still quite visible.
While hitting out of the sand bunker, I accidentally hit my ball over the fence into a tumble weed, and if it was a white ball, I would have lost it and never noticed it, but I immediately saw the bright ball cover.
Just more random shots of the green ball and the same "holographic" glow
I'm still not convinced by these balls yet, so far they perform closely to a typical distance ball, and besides the increased visibility, I haven't really seen any advantage of using this ball, I hope more work with this ball changes this.
TripleBogieTim
Long lost sheep
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I understand what you are saying about the cost savings....and I guess that is true...But it would take along time for them to save you that much money.
sounds like you are seeing alot of what I found...balls about 5-10 yards shorter with a lower launch....and I agree with what Hawk said about playing better in the wind...he and I both commented about having good rounds in the wind and I think this may just be a really really good wind ball.
maybe take one of two and put a light coat of white spray paint on them to cut down the reflection?????? Just a thought.
- Moderator
- #254
Maybe, but I'm gonna need a little more testing to prove that. Some shots into the wind were yielding the same results, some weren't.
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Nicely done Satch, that's one thing these balls do bring is visibility. Noticed that a lot this evening while looking at the videos.
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
rghilljr
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Nice reviews by everyone. I am just getting caught up here on this thread. The pictures and write ups have been outstandig and have answered just about every question that I think I might would have.
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #258
It actually would work, but the paint would come of the ball and leave me a ghosted club face
J4U - excited to hear your thoughts!
Satchmo - again with a fantastic post! I love it buddy. It sounds like you are seeing almost identical results to me when it comes to short game shots. I think having played the e6 for a couple months made the transition pretty seamless to me. If I'd gone straight from the Hex Black or Z-Star to the Chromax I suspect I'd have needed a little more time.
The wear is interesting. Did you say that it showed up after some sand shots? I wonder how the translucent cover affects the way scuffs like that show compared to a white ball. It seems like the scuffs almost turn that area opaque.
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
It actually would work, but the paint would come of the ball and leave me a ghosted club face
J4U - excited to hear your thoughts!
Satchmo - again with a fantastic post! I love it buddy. It sounds like you are seeing almost identical results to me when it comes to short game shots. I think having played the e6 for a couple months made the transition pretty seamless to me. If I'd gone straight from the Hex Black or Z-Star to the Chromax I suspect I'd have needed a little more time.
The wear is interesting. Did you say that it showed up after some sand shots? I wonder how the translucent cover affects the way scuffs like that show compared to a white ball. It seems like the scuffs almost turn that area opaque.
Yeah I noticed it after some sand shots. I'm not sure if it's from the sand itself, or from the wedge grooves, all I know is that all 3 balls have them. I'm going to try and clean it off, maybe it cleans off easily. Yeah it was a bit of a jump going from a multi pics urethane to a 2 piece. Today or tomorrow I'll be hitting the green again and get more wedge work in.
Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
APCoGolfer
My future golfer 8)
I got a tee time booked for in the morning hopefully to get a chance to do some good sand testing for tomorrow... usually try to stay away from sand but tomorrow I wont be bothered if it lands in the trap....lol
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
I am heading out after lunch to test the Chromax balls again. I am thinking about a comparison between three yellow balls, the Wilson Fifty, the Vision UV:X3 and the B330-RX. Visibility will be great as today is a sunny day with a high expected in the low 60's.
d_in_la
Not so in LA.
I am so far behind all, totally my bad. I get about a five minutes with free THP time it feels. 
Anyhoo, I have about three...maybe 3.5 posts to finish. Going to try to leave work early today, get some more testing time and get some posts up tonight. :act-up: Testing this ball has been fun with the looks it gets, I'm so so on performance, but more later today.
Anyhoo, I have about three...maybe 3.5 posts to finish. Going to try to leave work early today, get some more testing time and get some posts up tonight. :act-up: Testing this ball has been fun with the looks it gets, I'm so so on performance, but more later today.
Finally got to the range today. Been hard to find the time with issues at home.
I will get something together and get it posted tonight. I will let you know that I had fun with this ball today. I was wanting to go straight onto the course and play using the Chromax balls, but there was a small back up of 4 somes. Thought that the practice green would serve me better today.
Sent from my S2 using Tapatalk 2
I will get something together and get it posted tonight. I will let you know that I had fun with this ball today. I was wanting to go straight onto the course and play using the Chromax balls, but there was a small back up of 4 somes. Thought that the practice green would serve me better today.
Sent from my S2 using Tapatalk 2
Scrap Iron
On The Eh Team
It sounds like these are just a regular distance ball execpt the colour and the cost. Do you guy's think you will lose less of these balls compared to you regular white ball and that could justify the price?
- Moderator
- #268
Not necessarily. When I lose a ball, it's rarely because I can't find it. It's usually because it's in a water hazard or in a forest. Although it is helpful as can be at locating when not in the fairway
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
I think with the color, I could find them so easily in the rough and other hard to find places, so I'm hoping that I don't lose them as easily as other distance balls. So far I haven't seen performance that stands out to me, it's pretty predictable, but I got to admit that the color is really unique which is an advantage.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Links to my first 2 reviews
Went out to the course to day expecting sunshine and 62* degrees or so. The clouds came out about an hour before I hit the links so there was no sun and the temps were only in the high 50's. For some reason my Flip camera was squirrely and recorded only what it wanted to. I have a partial hole video that I will post, and one pretty cool pic of the balls I was hitting today.
Here is the picture, the balls were in this order,Chromax Green, Chromax Gold, Vision UV:X3, Wilson Staff Fifty & Bridgestone B330-RX. As bright as the other balls look in this photo, they really do not even come close to having the same visibility as the 2 Chromax balls. I agree with what some of the other folks have posted about the green ball, it just seems to be a little easier for me to see at a distance, but both of them just scream "here I am".
I have some head to head comparisons for only one hole each. The course was fairly crowded on the front side so I could not hit more than one ball as people were behind me and I was playing through people all the way to the eight hole, I seperated from the pack on nine and began my tests on ten. First in the head to head was the Chromax vs the B330-RX. The drive with the RX was 21 yards ahead of the Chromax, I really felt that I put a good swing on each. The tenth is a par 5 and I hit both from the same place as the RX drive. On this shot the Chromax was 10 yards further than the RX and both were hit very similarly again. This put me on the fringe so I chipped each, the RX I ran 6 feet past, the Chromax I hit the pin and stopped about 18 inches past the hole so I am not sure if it would have run long or not. Bottom line is I birdied the Chromax and missed the 6 footer with the RX.
The next challenger was the Wilson Staff Fifty, the Chromax was 23 yards longer on the drive and 6 yards longer with the gap wedge. Both putts were fairly long on two putted each, par with both balls. The next up was the Vision UV:X3 it performed very well. 15 yards ahead of the Chromax on the drive and 6 yards longer with the 9 iron approach shot. I actually missed the green short with the Chromax so I pitched from that position, I was about 20 yards from the pin, I hit the Chromax and it flew about 17 yards and released for about 6 feet, easy par. The Vision was not hit as well and even though it too released a couple of yards I was still 15 feet short, missed the first putt so I bogeyed with the Vision.
I also did a short vid on a par three where I hit one of each of the brands. The Flip camera did not get the tee shots but I have where the shots were and then hit a putt with each ball. I really tried to capture the sound of each ball. The vid has been acting up when I try to view it, I may try to redo it and see if I can get it to work it the problem continues.
The Chromax held it's own against the competition today and as always was fun to hit. I was somewhat surprised that in the vid it sounded closer to the B330-RX than the Fifty, I expected it to be just the opposite. As always please don't hesitate to ask questions.
Spoiler
Went out to the course to day expecting sunshine and 62* degrees or so. The clouds came out about an hour before I hit the links so there was no sun and the temps were only in the high 50's. For some reason my Flip camera was squirrely and recorded only what it wanted to. I have a partial hole video that I will post, and one pretty cool pic of the balls I was hitting today.
Here is the picture, the balls were in this order,Chromax Green, Chromax Gold, Vision UV:X3, Wilson Staff Fifty & Bridgestone B330-RX. As bright as the other balls look in this photo, they really do not even come close to having the same visibility as the 2 Chromax balls. I agree with what some of the other folks have posted about the green ball, it just seems to be a little easier for me to see at a distance, but both of them just scream "here I am".
Spoiler
I have some head to head comparisons for only one hole each. The course was fairly crowded on the front side so I could not hit more than one ball as people were behind me and I was playing through people all the way to the eight hole, I seperated from the pack on nine and began my tests on ten. First in the head to head was the Chromax vs the B330-RX. The drive with the RX was 21 yards ahead of the Chromax, I really felt that I put a good swing on each. The tenth is a par 5 and I hit both from the same place as the RX drive. On this shot the Chromax was 10 yards further than the RX and both were hit very similarly again. This put me on the fringe so I chipped each, the RX I ran 6 feet past, the Chromax I hit the pin and stopped about 18 inches past the hole so I am not sure if it would have run long or not. Bottom line is I birdied the Chromax and missed the 6 footer with the RX.
The next challenger was the Wilson Staff Fifty, the Chromax was 23 yards longer on the drive and 6 yards longer with the gap wedge. Both putts were fairly long on two putted each, par with both balls. The next up was the Vision UV:X3 it performed very well. 15 yards ahead of the Chromax on the drive and 6 yards longer with the 9 iron approach shot. I actually missed the green short with the Chromax so I pitched from that position, I was about 20 yards from the pin, I hit the Chromax and it flew about 17 yards and released for about 6 feet, easy par. The Vision was not hit as well and even though it too released a couple of yards I was still 15 feet short, missed the first putt so I bogeyed with the Vision.
I also did a short vid on a par three where I hit one of each of the brands. The Flip camera did not get the tee shots but I have where the shots were and then hit a putt with each ball. I really tried to capture the sound of each ball. The vid has been acting up when I try to view it, I may try to redo it and see if I can get it to work it the problem continues.
The Chromax held it's own against the competition today and as always was fun to hit. I was somewhat surprised that in the vid it sounded closer to the B330-RX than the Fifty, I expected it to be just the opposite. As always please don't hesitate to ask questions.
TripleBogieTim
Long lost sheep
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It actually would work, but the paint would come of the ball and leave me a ghosted club face
maybe put some impact tape on your driver to keep the paint from transferring????????????????????
I know that there have been at least 3 times where I hit a ball into deep rough and the chromax just jumped out at me...there was also one that I pulled into some bushes and itt was there just glowing looking right at me. I probably would have lost at least one of those...maybe 2
I will be heading out in the morning and will be putting the Chromax against the Titleist Velocity.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Not only do they jump out at you compared to a regular white ball, they do the same compared to a yellow ball too.
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Some Short Game Thoughts:
12/11/12 52* and Sunny
Just before Sunset between 2:30 and 4:00
Family Sports Center
With the snow finally melting off the ground on Tuesday afternoon, took advantage of some great weather. The previous two days were snow covered and hovering just around freezing. With the melting and doubling of temperatures, the chipping greens were rather soft. The putting greens were not cut, so I focused more on the feel and sound as the sun was going down. With continued treatment, hoping the shoulder/neck heals quickly and can get into some longer club selections and get to some thoughts about the aspect of this ball "Distance".
TOOLS USED:
ATV 56* & 60* (Why not throw another twist and test both a new ball and new wedges on the same day)
Used the 60* on all wedge shots except the green side pitch to see a more lofted landing.
ADAMS CMB PW 48*
Odyssey Protype 2Ball Putter
I opted to just test the Chromax Series (Both M1 and "Distance") around the chipping green:
SAND (ATV60)
I dropped 6 "Distance" balls and 3 "M1" series balls into a green side bunker. This 9 ball combination will also be used on everything except the putting green. The bunker was 6 feet below green level and sand was moist, but not wet as expected from the snow thaw. I couple shots I thinned and went right into some snow that was on the steep side of the bunker, but overall not too bad of conditions. I used the ATV 60* and opened it up to prevent going too deep into the bunker.
There wasn't much difference in feel between the new series vs the M1's from the sand (as expected for the ones that made it to the green anyway). I did not drop down to the 56* this time, but will utilize that club for the next encounter. Sound and feel comparable to the higher compression/harder cover balls that will get more comparison work. The green rolls downhill I would say at about 4* towards the pin you will see. The 60* seems to put enough spin on the ball to just slow down the roll upon impact and then slowly release down the slope. Nothing negative to note in my mind:
50YD Wedge (ATV60)
Here and going forward, I could really feel the higher compression of the "Distance" Chromax balls. The M1 series (at 75) was more of a duller "click" but could tell the cover was still pretty firm.
I liked the trajectory in the wind and really saw no effect of the flight (Cross Wind 7-12mph guess). They landed pretty soft, but did not flop and stop. A little more roll out that what I would want, but expected. Nothing here that would turn me away from this ball right off the bat. Could adjust shots accordingly and allow for the release:
60YD Wedge (ATV60)
As with the 50YD visuals, a little more roll out. I couldn't get my shoulder to relax and try and compress the ball to get more spin. Nothing extreme and could work with what I was seeing. Keep in mind, even though it is winter, the greens were unusually soft and would probably keep on rolling a lot more.
Green Side Chip (ATV56)
Apologize for the video, didn't set the mount far enough in the ground and it started to lean forward. Here is where it was really more of my issue with a new wedge, but was very happy overall. Really clicky here and kind of annoyed me a little bit, could have been the wedge as well. Again, soft greens, but liked what I saw with roll out and could possibly get over the click of the cover:
120YD CMB Wedge
Here is where my shoulder/neck told me I was trying to push myself back out on the course. Not really the best feeling motion, but was able to get a good feel for what the ball could do. Really good flight into the cross wind with little to no movement. Only a couple shots that I felt I put a good swing on it and you can probably tell which ones they were. Here is where I could see that these Chromax balls could be held on the green with a hop and stop on softer greens. I don't see them really being able to be brought back much, but like what I saw here. Had a bad camera angle, but all but one stayed on the green (shoulder gave out and I pushed the last one to the right into the bunker). A couple hit closer to the camera, but still held the green:
Putting Green
There were no holes cut on the practice green, and it was a lot firmer. Not what you would expect in the winter, but not as soft as the chipping greens. I mainly wanted to hear/feel what the cover of the Chromax would sound like after reading the other reviews. It is quite loud, but similar to higher compression/harder cover balls that I also putted with during this short trial. The distance loss that I've also read was experienced as well. I attempted to put the same putt on all the balls and noticed that the non-Chromax balls did roll a bit longer.
The balls used in order of putt are listed below the video. I need to renumber them and add a couple I forgot I had since I was off in sequence(out of order from higher to lower compression). The idea was to order the balls based off compression (highest to lowest) and within each level of compression, harder to softer cover.
1: Callaway Hex Black Tour
2: Srixon Zstar XV
3. Bidgestone E5
4. Taylormade Penta TP
5. Titleist ProV1
6. Bridgestone B330
7. Titleist NXT Tour
8. Top Flight Gamer V2
9, Taylormade Rockeballz
10. Bridgestone E7 (should have been 3)
11. Srixon QStar (Don't have specs on this yet)
12. Callaway HX Diablo
13. Nike Vapor Black
14. Wilson Fifty
I will utilize the above, along with a couple others I forgot, for comparison going forward on other avenues of the short game as well.
I've come away with a lot of the same perceptions as other testors after my initial testing session.
12/11/12 52* and Sunny
Just before Sunset between 2:30 and 4:00
Family Sports Center
With the snow finally melting off the ground on Tuesday afternoon, took advantage of some great weather. The previous two days were snow covered and hovering just around freezing. With the melting and doubling of temperatures, the chipping greens were rather soft. The putting greens were not cut, so I focused more on the feel and sound as the sun was going down. With continued treatment, hoping the shoulder/neck heals quickly and can get into some longer club selections and get to some thoughts about the aspect of this ball "Distance".
TOOLS USED:
ATV 56* & 60* (Why not throw another twist and test both a new ball and new wedges on the same day)
Used the 60* on all wedge shots except the green side pitch to see a more lofted landing.
ADAMS CMB PW 48*
Odyssey Protype 2Ball Putter
I opted to just test the Chromax Series (Both M1 and "Distance") around the chipping green:
SAND (ATV60)
I dropped 6 "Distance" balls and 3 "M1" series balls into a green side bunker. This 9 ball combination will also be used on everything except the putting green. The bunker was 6 feet below green level and sand was moist, but not wet as expected from the snow thaw. I couple shots I thinned and went right into some snow that was on the steep side of the bunker, but overall not too bad of conditions. I used the ATV 60* and opened it up to prevent going too deep into the bunker.
There wasn't much difference in feel between the new series vs the M1's from the sand (as expected for the ones that made it to the green anyway). I did not drop down to the 56* this time, but will utilize that club for the next encounter. Sound and feel comparable to the higher compression/harder cover balls that will get more comparison work. The green rolls downhill I would say at about 4* towards the pin you will see. The 60* seems to put enough spin on the ball to just slow down the roll upon impact and then slowly release down the slope. Nothing negative to note in my mind:
Spoiler
50YD Wedge (ATV60)
Here and going forward, I could really feel the higher compression of the "Distance" Chromax balls. The M1 series (at 75) was more of a duller "click" but could tell the cover was still pretty firm.
I liked the trajectory in the wind and really saw no effect of the flight (Cross Wind 7-12mph guess). They landed pretty soft, but did not flop and stop. A little more roll out that what I would want, but expected. Nothing here that would turn me away from this ball right off the bat. Could adjust shots accordingly and allow for the release:
Spoiler
60YD Wedge (ATV60)
As with the 50YD visuals, a little more roll out. I couldn't get my shoulder to relax and try and compress the ball to get more spin. Nothing extreme and could work with what I was seeing. Keep in mind, even though it is winter, the greens were unusually soft and would probably keep on rolling a lot more.
Spoiler
Green Side Chip (ATV56)
Apologize for the video, didn't set the mount far enough in the ground and it started to lean forward. Here is where it was really more of my issue with a new wedge, but was very happy overall. Really clicky here and kind of annoyed me a little bit, could have been the wedge as well. Again, soft greens, but liked what I saw with roll out and could possibly get over the click of the cover:
Spoiler
120YD CMB Wedge
Here is where my shoulder/neck told me I was trying to push myself back out on the course. Not really the best feeling motion, but was able to get a good feel for what the ball could do. Really good flight into the cross wind with little to no movement. Only a couple shots that I felt I put a good swing on it and you can probably tell which ones they were. Here is where I could see that these Chromax balls could be held on the green with a hop and stop on softer greens. I don't see them really being able to be brought back much, but like what I saw here. Had a bad camera angle, but all but one stayed on the green (shoulder gave out and I pushed the last one to the right into the bunker). A couple hit closer to the camera, but still held the green:
Spoiler
Putting Green
There were no holes cut on the practice green, and it was a lot firmer. Not what you would expect in the winter, but not as soft as the chipping greens. I mainly wanted to hear/feel what the cover of the Chromax would sound like after reading the other reviews. It is quite loud, but similar to higher compression/harder cover balls that I also putted with during this short trial. The distance loss that I've also read was experienced as well. I attempted to put the same putt on all the balls and noticed that the non-Chromax balls did roll a bit longer.
The balls used in order of putt are listed below the video. I need to renumber them and add a couple I forgot I had since I was off in sequence(out of order from higher to lower compression). The idea was to order the balls based off compression (highest to lowest) and within each level of compression, harder to softer cover.
Spoiler
1: Callaway Hex Black Tour
2: Srixon Zstar XV
3. Bidgestone E5
4. Taylormade Penta TP
5. Titleist ProV1
6. Bridgestone B330
7. Titleist NXT Tour
8. Top Flight Gamer V2
9, Taylormade Rockeballz
10. Bridgestone E7 (should have been 3)
11. Srixon QStar (Don't have specs on this yet)
12. Callaway HX Diablo
13. Nike Vapor Black
14. Wilson Fifty
I will utilize the above, along with a couple others I forgot, for comparison going forward on other avenues of the short game as well.
I've come away with a lot of the same perceptions as other testors after my initial testing session.
- Sound off multiple shot types are loud and clicky but not a deal breaker..hey they stand out in the rough, why not in sound
- The ball does seem to require more adjustment when putting.
- There is added roll out possibility, but nothing that couldn't be adjusted for.
- Price point for the performance aspects seems at least one level high (Could compensate for lost balls where normally you shouldn't but water is water).
- These are an absolute eye catcher, especially in low light conditions. Uriel has captured both low and sunny shots..they speak for themselves (great pics Uriel).
Today was my first day at the course to do some testing. I was going to head out onto the course and paly a few holes, but there were to many people out enjoying the day. Since that was not an option for the time available to me, I went to the practice green to finally put a club to these Chromax balls. I had stopped this past weekend and grabbed some balls to use for comparison, but did not find all the ones I wanted to use. So today I used two that I just did geet,Titleist NXT Tour S and Callaway Hex Chrome Yellow, along with a new TM Penta TP5 and an old Callaway HX Hot Plus.These are what I was using for comparisons today.
As you can see I had 3 white and the one yellow that I will use for the first couple days here. I really was just trying to get a feel for the Chromax balls today and see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary while striking these balls. Many of the testers have already discussed the color and brightness of these balls and they were not joking. They stand out like a neon light.
On the far left is the gold chromax and the middle green is chromax.( Sorry about the picts. I was not sure how the samsung picts would turn out.) And when the sun is on them I believe it would be hard to loose these. I did chip a few out into a grassy area off to the side, not looking where I was intending the ball to go, just to see how easy it would be to find in the late afternoon sun. I was not watching where they landed or rolled to. Curious as to how hard they would be to see from a distance. Honestly I was thinking to myself that it would suck loosing one of these balls while at the practice green. How bad would that be? I finished chipping the other 5 balls up onto the green and then went off looking for lost green chromax. I can tell you that when I came around the bush that was between me and the area that I chipped this ball to, it was very surprising how well that ball stood out in that grass. I can say that the white ball would have taken some time to find in that thick dormant bermuda.
I played around with all 6 balls for some time trying to get a feel for the distance of carry and roll for each of these. I did see 2 chips that just continued to roll out, but the rest were all generally the same. The TP5 was def stopping shorter that the rest, but I was fine with all and no one in particular was going crazy long. I tried some bump and runs with my 56* with some pretty good luck. Toward the end of my time chipping, I went and got my 58* to see if I could get these balls to stop where they landed. No way I could do that. Now I am not the best at this, but I tried it from tight lies, fluffy lies, and fairway lies. No good from me. I did get into some thick rough and popped some out with the 58*. Nice high flighted balls, maybe 25/30 yards out. The chromax came off the club rather softly and landing good. It felt good coming off the face, not like a rock, but a nice playable shot.
Sorry, but I ran out of time tonight to address putting. I did get some time in with these, but I will have to get to that tomorrow. Time to get the kids to bed.
I had a good time playing around with these tonight. This was def not what I was expecting for my first experience with these balls. I will be getting these onto the course at the beginning of next week. Try to get in a few rounds before the holiday.
As you can see I had 3 white and the one yellow that I will use for the first couple days here. I really was just trying to get a feel for the Chromax balls today and see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary while striking these balls. Many of the testers have already discussed the color and brightness of these balls and they were not joking. They stand out like a neon light.
On the far left is the gold chromax and the middle green is chromax.( Sorry about the picts. I was not sure how the samsung picts would turn out.) And when the sun is on them I believe it would be hard to loose these. I did chip a few out into a grassy area off to the side, not looking where I was intending the ball to go, just to see how easy it would be to find in the late afternoon sun. I was not watching where they landed or rolled to. Curious as to how hard they would be to see from a distance. Honestly I was thinking to myself that it would suck loosing one of these balls while at the practice green. How bad would that be? I finished chipping the other 5 balls up onto the green and then went off looking for lost green chromax. I can tell you that when I came around the bush that was between me and the area that I chipped this ball to, it was very surprising how well that ball stood out in that grass. I can say that the white ball would have taken some time to find in that thick dormant bermuda.
I played around with all 6 balls for some time trying to get a feel for the distance of carry and roll for each of these. I did see 2 chips that just continued to roll out, but the rest were all generally the same. The TP5 was def stopping shorter that the rest, but I was fine with all and no one in particular was going crazy long. I tried some bump and runs with my 56* with some pretty good luck. Toward the end of my time chipping, I went and got my 58* to see if I could get these balls to stop where they landed. No way I could do that. Now I am not the best at this, but I tried it from tight lies, fluffy lies, and fairway lies. No good from me. I did get into some thick rough and popped some out with the 58*. Nice high flighted balls, maybe 25/30 yards out. The chromax came off the club rather softly and landing good. It felt good coming off the face, not like a rock, but a nice playable shot.
Sorry, but I ran out of time tonight to address putting. I did get some time in with these, but I will have to get to that tomorrow. Time to get the kids to bed.
I had a good time playing around with these tonight. This was def not what I was expecting for my first experience with these balls. I will be getting these onto the course at the beginning of next week. Try to get in a few rounds before the holiday.