Titleist Pro V1/TaylorMade Penta/Nike 20XI-S Testing

Dan McClellan

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Since I'm getting back into the game after about 10 years of not playing, I figure I should find a golf ball to commit to. The last time I was playing regularly I was using the Slazenger balata, but that was a while ago. I just won some money from my first round in the local men's league, so I headed to the golf shop today and picked up some Titleist Pro V1s, TaylorMade Pentas, and Nike 20XI-S's. These are the three that I keep hearing people talk about. For the next couple weeks I'll use one brand per 18 hole round and alternate each round. I'd be happy to post my observations and impressions if there's anyone here who thinks they would benefit from it.
 
I'd suggest including Srixon Z-Stars in your testing. There are lots of Srixon supporters here....myself included!
 
I'd suggest including Srixon Z-Stars in your testing. There are lots of Srixon supporters here....myself included!

Agreed. Srixon makes some awesome golf balls. I am a Q-Star guy myself, but they are worth testing for sure.
 
I'd be very interested to see how the Penta's stack up against the rest. I also second the suggestion of including the Z-Stars as well.
 
i think you'll really like playing the Penta.
i absolutely love that ball. it does great things for me.

i also swap in and out between the Pro V1 and the Bridgestone B330-S.
you should look into testing Bridgestone's as well...
 
Z-Stars, huh? I figured everyone would be suggesting Bridgestones. I'll have to win some more money on Wednesday and see about the Srixons.
 
curious as to why you chose those particular brands? I'd go through an entire ball fitting at a big box store to see if there was an option better for you than what you may have picked up. you'll soon see that there will be a ton of other suggestions in this thread beyond the original 3 you chose
 
Heck yeah...I'm about to do the same very thing...grab about 6 different brands and test for myself. Also, Hanks is right about ball fitting...if you don't have a good store, there are plenty of Ball Fitting Online tools from each of the OEM. The Nike online ball fitting told me to use Vapor (I'm glad to know it doesn't default everybody to the 20XI).
 
I used to be a Pro V1 guy for several years.
Then I got fit for the Bridgestone B330-S and really liked them so that became my ball for a few months.
Then I tried the Penta's....done deal....Penta's are my ball hands down.
I'm not disparaging either the Pro v's or the Bridgestones at all.
I just found that the Penta's worked best for me.
Good luck with your testing, and congrats on winning the money!
 
you have a pretty good list of balls to work with. Ive hit most and find them to be pretty similar. In the end I've decided to hit Pentas because I can find them for 2/3 the price of the others but I would be just as happy with the others.
 
curious as to why you chose those particular brands? I'd go through an entire ball fitting at a big box store to see if there was an option better for you than what you may have picked up. you'll soon see that there will be a ton of other suggestions in this thread beyond the original 3 you chose

It's just based on the comments I've seen here and in other reviews, my own past experiences with different brands (and some I've picked up and played on the course), and the different online "fitting" sites.
 
you have a pretty good list of balls to work with. Ive hit most and find them to be pretty similar. In the end I've decided to hit Pentas because I can find them for 2/3 the price of the others but I would be just as happy with the others.

If I find the Pentas perform as well as I want, I think that may also be the deciding factor. By the way, is that Old Mill in your avatar?
 
I used to be a Pro V1 guy for several years.
Then I got fit for the Bridgestone B330-S and really liked them so that became my ball for a few months.
Then I tried the Penta's....done deal....Penta's are my ball hands down.
I'm not disparaging either the Pro v's or the Bridgestones at all.
I just found that the Penta's worked best for me.
Good luck with your testing, and congrats on winning the money!

I've heard a lot of people say the Bridgestone's perform on level with the other brands. It would take a lot for me to feel as comfortable with them, though. Just some plain old brand prejudice (it would be like expecting a thinking adult to root for the Raiders [zing!]). I was surprised by the money, by the way. It was the worst round I've played since I started back up, but a couple birdies on tough holes on the back won me a couple skins. Funny how that works.
 
I played the Nike 20XI-S today, so I'll provide some info on my round and the ball. Although I'm quite upset about my round today, I'm providing my scorecard below. My round started off with a three-putt from eight feet and ended with 37 putts. It was not a good day for my short game, but that had more to do with a lack of practice than with the ball. An additional note: our club recently moved the tees around a bit and this scorecard app hasn't caught up yet, so the yardages are a bit off. I don't hit my 7i 204 yards (although I do hit my 4i 207 yards). I'll follow the same pattern I've found elsewhere in the reviews.

9%3A14%3A11 Scorecard.jpg


Player Bio

Gender - Male
Age - 31
Height - 5'11"
Weight - 190 lbs.
Dexterity - Right handed
Clubhead Speed - 115 mph
Handicap - GHIN 3.9

Feel

Our first hole was playing around 330 with a back pin placement, so I hit a 3i with the intention of leaving myself 110 to the pin (a dialed-in distance for my 53° wedge). I hit the 3 a little off the toe, but it still felt soft and the trajectory was good. The ball was sitting in a divot in the fairway but my wedge made good contact and I felt that soft yet crisp pop off the club face. Off the driver I could feel the ball compress, but I don't feel like I was striking the ball consistently enough to say much more.

Spin and Distance

The Nikes are said to have a higher "spin slope," which means if you chart the spin off the driver, 3w, on down to the wedges, there is less spin at the beginning than normal, and more spin at the end. I definitely saw more spin. I was impressed with the control around the greens (when I struck the ball correctly), but I did get the impression I was getting a lot more spin off the driver as well, which affected my distance. A lot of my tee shots today, with the driver and the three wood, were higher and "spinnier" than normal. Until I get my new driver I'm stuck with a regular flex shaft on an older 9.5° Adams Insight, so that may have contributed to the increase in spin (although I didn't have this problem hitting the Callaway Warbirds). I did borrow a playing partner's driver on one hole--an 8.5° Adams Speedline with an Aldila Voodoo XVS8 X-Stiff shaft--and hit it 311 with just the right trajectory, so it's possible this ball was just more responsive to the mismatch between my clubhead speed and the shafts on my woods.

Putting

Coming off the putter the ball sounded a little more muted than some other balls. I don't really use alignment aids on golf balls, so I can't comment on that aspect of the ball's appearance. I do think the ball looks attractive with the varying thickness of the letters on the alignment aid (<20XI•S>), although on other balls it is usually wider, which I imagine is slightly more helpful.

Durability

I used the same ball throughout the round, which is saying something for its durability. It did pick up a small nick and a couple scuffs, but they were very minor.

Overall Impression

This was a durable ball that had a good deal of feel and workability, but that seemed to me to spin more than I wanted off the driver (which admittedly does not have the right shaft right now). The 20XI-X is supposed to have less spin, so perhaps I should try that one out next. The ball's are on the expensive side, and I don't know that it performs better than other quality balls that cost the same or less. On Friday I will play the Pro V1 and on Monday the TaylorMade Penta. I'll have a better feel for how the Nike compares to other high-end golf balls next week.
 
great write up dan,i'm looking forward to the other write ups.

i agree that your regular shafter driver will be causing the ball to spin up off the tee,i'm guessing the flight you are getting is way too high especially in comparison to the one you got with your friends driver?
 
Great write up- thanks!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Dan,
Two things stuck out to me in your detailed review. Number one, your handicap is 3.9 and you shot 85 at your home course. That to me would say that maybe the golf ball had something to do with it? I mean at that slope rating and it being your home course, I would assume that most of your numbers are significantly lower. Do you believe the ball attributed to this? Second thing, I am literally shocked at the durability thoughts on this one. Now I have never seen you play, and dont know what type of ball first contact you make or damage you normally do to a golf ball, but I have never even made it through 9 holes with these before having to replace them. In the 20XI thread, during our testing, I put up pictures of the golf balls after 6 and 9 holes and they were torn up pretty good from wedge play.

Good info, thanks for sharing.
 
Dan,
Two things stuck out to me in your detailed review. Number one, your handicap is 3.9 and you shot 85 at your home course. That to me would say that maybe the golf ball had something to do with it? I mean at that slope rating and it being your home course, I would assume that most of your numbers are significantly lower. Do you believe the ball attributed to this?

Thanks for your thoughts, JB. I don't know if I can blame it on the ball. On the holes where I hit the green I didn't have problems with spin, and my distances were dead on with the irons. Beyond what seemed to be more spin off the driver, I think the main issue was that I was playing in men's league for only the second time since picking the game back up and my nerves were not quite settled down. This was most evident in my putting. I usually have great feel on these greens, but yesterday I kept blowing everything by the hole. I three putted for bogey on the first hole from eight feet, and that just made me more aware of that little bit of anxiety. Normally I average around 30/31 putts per round and 9/10 greens, so the putting was way off yesterday. My scrambling percentage was a third of what it normally is, but, again, I think a lot of that had to do with missed putts.

Second thing, I am literally shocked at the durability thoughts on this one. Now I have never seen you play, and dont know what type of ball first contact you make or damage you normally do to a golf ball, but I have never even made it through 9 holes with these before having to replace them. In the 20XI thread, during our testing, I put up pictures of the golf balls after 6 and 9 holes and they were torn up pretty good from wedge play.

Good info, thanks for sharing.

I'll have to take a look at your thread. I was quite pleased with how they stood up. I was concerned when I began that I would go through several balls over the course of the round, but the one did ok. One factor that might contribute to this is my tendency to play down a club on my approaches and make an easier swing. I don't come down too steep on the ball, and the grooves on my irons and wedges are all 10+ years old. Perhaps my impression will change when I'm able to upgrade to new clubs.
 
I played the Nike 20XI-S today, so I'll provide some info on my round and the ball. Although I'm quite upset about my round today, I'm providing my scorecard below. My round started off with a three-putt from eight feet and ended with 37 putts. It was not a good day for my short game, but that had more to do with a lack of practice than with the ball. An additional note: our club recently moved the tees around a bit and this scorecard app hasn't caught up yet, so the yardages are a bit off. I don't hit my 7i 204 yards (although I do hit my 4i 207 yards). I'll follow the same pattern I've found elsewhere in the reviews.

9%3A14%3A11 Scorecard.jpg


Player Bio

Gender - Male
Age - 31
Height - 5'11"
Weight - 190 lbs.
Dexterity - Right handed
Clubhead Speed - 115 mph
Handicap - GHIN 3.9

Feel

Our first hole was playing around 330 with a back pin placement, so I hit a 3i with the intention of leaving myself 110 to the pin (a dialed-in distance for my 53° wedge). I hit the 3 a little off the toe, but it still felt soft and the trajectory was good. The ball was sitting in a divot in the fairway but my wedge made good contact and I felt that soft yet crisp pop off the club face. Off the driver I could feel the ball compress, but I don't feel like I was striking the ball consistently enough to say much more.

Spin and Distance

The Nikes are said to have a higher "spin slope," which means if you chart the spin off the driver, 3w, on down to the wedges, there is less spin at the beginning than normal, and more spin at the end. I definitely saw more spin. I was impressed with the control around the greens (when I struck the ball correctly), but I did get the impression I was getting a lot more spin off the driver as well, which affected my distance. A lot of my tee shots today, with the driver and the three wood, were higher and "spinnier" than normal. Until I get my new driver I'm stuck with a regular flex shaft on an older 9.5° Adams Insight, so that may have contributed to the increase in spin (although I didn't have this problem hitting the Callaway Warbirds). I did borrow a playing partner's driver on one hole--an 8.5° Adams Speedline with an Aldila Voodoo XVS8 X-Stiff shaft--and hit it 311 with just the right trajectory, so it's possible this ball was just more responsive to the mismatch between my clubhead speed and the shafts on my woods.

Putting

Coming off the putter the ball sounded a little more muted than some other balls. I don't really use alignment aids on golf balls, so I can't comment on that aspect of the ball's appearance. I do think the ball looks attractive with the varying thickness of the letters on the alignment aid (<20XI•S>), although on other balls it is usually wider, which I imagine is slightly more helpful.

Durability

I used the same ball throughout the round, which is saying something for its durability. It did pick up a small nick and a couple scuffs, but they were very minor.

Overall Impression

This was a durable ball that had a good deal of feel and workability, but that seemed to me to spin more than I wanted off the driver (which admittedly does not have the right shaft right now). The 20XI-X is supposed to have less spin, so perhaps I should try that one out next. The ball's are on the expensive side, and I don't know that it performs better than other quality balls that cost the same or less. On Friday I will play the Pro V1 and on Monday the TaylorMade Penta. I'll have a better feel for how the Nike compares to other high-end golf balls next week.

Great writeup, looking forward to the next one, Im sure you will get that putting under control.
 
That was a great write up Clark! I think you should also check out the offerings from Callaway Golf.

Winners play Callaway.
 
Great review Dan. Looking forward to see what u find with the other balls.
 
That was a great write up Clark! I think you should also check out the offerings from Callaway Golf.

Winners play Callaway.

Srixon Q-star makes me weak in the knees, similar to what Tmex does to me.
 
Srixon Q-star makes me weak in the knees, similar to what Tmex does to me.


Lol!

I would recommend going to a golf store and having a ball fitting. I would then test the recommended balls on course to see what you prefer. Good luck!

The Penta is a great all around ball.

John Deere Tappin...
 
Thanks for that write-up Dan. I always enjoy reading ball testing.

You said your putting speed was off, do you think that could be down to the ball?
 
That was a great write up Clark! I think you should also check out the offerings from Callaway Golf.

Winners play Callaway.

I had been using the Warbird just because it was cheap. Would you suggest the Tour i(z/s)?
 
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