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Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

SuperStroke
I am just curious - Has anyone taken these blind balls and hit them on a launch monitor or head to head vs another ball on a monitor?
 
jwalker497 said:
I am just curious - Has anyone taken these blind balls and hit them on a launch monitor or head to head vs another ball on a monitor?
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Please read the thread :) There are two launch monitor evaluations.
 
Hawk said:
I'm really curious about the perception that this is a mid-level or lower priced ball.
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I think some of that comes from the feel of the cover, it's not as soft as that of a Penta or ProV so some golfers equate that with mid-low level balls. I'm not sure what this ball is based on feel in my hand, but off the club it sure feels great.


JB said:
This is something I am thinking about too. It seems that to some, it goes further and spins as much or more. So why the lower or mid level? From an outsider looking in, it appears that most think its a mid level ball based only on the durability. Im loving this testing.
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Could it be that mid-level balls have improved by leaps and bounds the past few years? From the time I quit playing back in the mid-late 90's til 2 years ago when I started playing again a lot had changed in terms of how the balls felt within the low cost market.

Personally durability doesn't reveal ball type to me, the RX is a perfect example of that.
 
SW said:
I think some of that comes from the feel of the cover, it's not as soft as that of a Penta or ProV so some golfers equate that with mid-low level balls. I'm not sure what this ball is based on feel in my hand, but off the club it sure feels great.




Could it be that mid-level balls have improved by leaps and bounds the past few years? From the time I quit playing back in the mid-late 90's til 2 years ago when I started playing again a lot had changed in terms of how the balls felt within the low cost market.

Personally durability doesn't reveal ball type to me, the RX is a perfect example of that.
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Some could say that they have gotten so much better. Im just curious because quite a few in here seem to be seeing more distance off the tee and just as much or more spin into the greens. If that does not say premium golf ball, I dont know what does. I think our perception as consumers plays a huge role in this.
 
JB said:
This is something I am thinking about too. It seems that to some, it goes further and spins as much or more. So why the lower or mid level? From an outsider looking in, it appears that most think its a mid level ball based only on the durability. Im loving this testing.
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Possibly a reason for the mid-level speculation could be because of the improvements mid-level balls have seen lately, i.e. Q-star or the mid level Bridgestones.

Also, I think a lot of folks are hoping it's a mid-level ball that performs like a premium.

Based on my testing alone, i would not be surprised if it is premium. The ball flat out works great for my game, and have enjoyed using it. Testing this ball blind has definitely put brand loyalty into question.


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JB said:
Some could say that they have gotten so much better. Im just curious because quite a few in here seem to be seeing more distance off the tee and just as much or more spin into the greens. If that does not say premium golf ball, I dont know what does. I think our perception as consumers plays a huge role in this.
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Not just as much spin with irons, but I am seeing more. The distance and spin do equal premium ball, but my experience with premium balls is that they scuff a lot easier / faster than lower level balls.

Also, I have not seen as many hooks and slices. (leaving out the fact that I have been swinging better lately) That tells me that the ball is spinning sideways less, with is something that is usually found with medium level balls.
 
war.eagle said:
Testing this ball blind has definitely put brand loyalty into question.
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I think that is the beauty of blind testing. Ripping through marketing completely is a fun thing to watch from the outside.
We see talk or more distance and spin.
We see talk of more durability.
Talk of it being illegal its so good.
Talk of it not spinning like a RX or Pro V1 or Penta
Talk of it spinning as much or more than those.
Talk of mid-level and talk of premium.

Just fascinating.
 
war.eagle said:
Possibly a reason for the mid-level speculation could be because of the improvements mid-level balls have seen lately, i.e. Q-star or the mid level Bridgestones.

Also, I think a lot of folks are hoping it's a mid-level ball that performs like a premium.

Based on my testing alone, i would not be surprised if it is premium. The ball flat out works great for my game, and have enjoyed using it. Testing this ball blind has definitely put brand loyalty into question.


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Good post! It would be awesome if it turned out to be a mid level ball that performs like a premium.
 
blugold said:
Not just as much spin with irons, but I am seeing more. The distance and spin do equal premium ball, but my experience with premium balls is that they scuff a lot easier / faster than lower level balls.

Also, I have not seen as many hooks and slices. (leaving out the fact that I have been swinging better lately) That tells me that the ball is spinning sideways less, with is something that is usually found with medium level balls.
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three questions come to mind.

1. You said you dont normally play premium balls, so could it be that you would not see as much sideways spin out of them right now in general?
2. What premium balls do you have experience with that says they scuff easier if you dont mind me asking?
3. What mid level balls would you compare them to then?
 
JB said:
I think that is the beauty of blind testing. Ripping through marketing completely is a fun thing to watch from the outside.
We see talk or more distance and spin.
We see talk of more durability.
Talk of it being illegal its so good.
Talk of it not spinning like a RX or Pro V1 or Penta
Talk of it spinning as much or more than those.
Talk of mid-level and talk of premium.

Just fascinating.
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This must be like watching "Usual Suspects", with somebody who has never seen the movie, for you.
 
JB said:
Some could say that they have gotten so much better. Im just curious because quite a few in here seem to be seeing more distance off the tee and just as much or more spin into the greens. If that does not say premium golf ball, I dont know what does. I think our perception as consumers plays a huge role in this.
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Thats what I'm loving about this testing. I'm one uneducated hacker trying to make an educated guess, lol. What I see is a ball that seems to compress easily, spins ok or a little better, has a ton of distance and shows one scratch from a cart path after 3 full 18 hole rounds. After looking at the "S" pattern of the dimples and the overall performance I keep coming back to Nike.
 
JB said:
1. You said you dont normally play premium balls, so could it be that you would not see as much sideways spin out of them right now in general?
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I want to answer this question. But I am not sure what you are asking. Could you please reword?

JB said:
2. What premium balls do you have experience with that says they scuff easier if you dont mind me asking?
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Z-Star, Nike One Tour D, Pro-v1

JB said:
3. What mid level balls would you compare them to then?
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No clue. I want this ball to be <$30. It is easier for me to justify that purchase over a >$40 ball. Diapers and formula are expensive.
 
I have no misconceptions on what this ball is or will be. There's a part of me that wants this ball to be mid to low priced because if it's giving me performance (better or equal) to a tour level ball at a lower price, I would be all over it. As it stands right now I would game this ball just because it's performing for my game at the moment. I think the only thing that could possibly sway me from not gaming this is the mystery price point (if it's too high).

There's also a part of me (if we're all to be honest here) that wishes that it's a major ball OEM brand ball, i.e. Nike, Srixon, Bridgestone, etc. There's also the skeptic side of me that says there's no way for those same companies to be the manufacturer of these balls. Either way, whenever the reveal is on which ball this is, I'm sure there will be some "Oh s#!t, really?!?!?" moments amongst the testers. I think that's what excites me the most is the eventuality of the moment when we as testers realize that the majority, or a good part of us, will realize that our thoughts and ideas about this ball are different than what we originally think of of this make of ball or the actual ball in itself.
 
Spank818 said:
I have no misconceptions on what this ball is or will be. There's a part of me that wants this ball to be mid to low priced because if it's giving me performance (better or equal) to a tour level ball at a lower price, I would be all over it. As it stands right now I would game this ball just because it's performing for my game at the moment. I think the only thing that could possibly sway me from not gaming this is the mystery price point (if it's too high).

There's also a part of me (if we're all to be honest here) that wishes that it's a major ball OEM brand ball, i.e. Nike, Srixon, Bridgestone, etc. There's also the skeptic side of me that says there's no way for those same companies to be the manufacturer of these balls. Either way, whenever the reveal is on which ball this is, I'm sure there will be some "Oh s#!t, really?!?!?" moments amongst the testers. I think that's what excites me the most is the eventuality of the moment when we as testers realize that the majority, or a good part of us, will realize that our thoughts and ideas about this ball are different than what we originally think of of this make of ball or the actual ball in itself.
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Great summary of what blind testing is all about spank!
 
I think a lot of people are posting up what they want this ball to be, see mid-level ball so it's easier on the wallet.

My guess, based on the performance I have seen, is that it's seems to be a premium ball.


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Spank818 said:
I have no misconceptions on what this ball is or will be. There's a part of me that wants this ball to be mid to low priced because if it's giving me performance (better or equal) to a tour level ball at a lower price, I would be all over it. As it stands right now I would game this ball just because it's performing for my game at the moment. I think the only thing that could possibly sway me from not gaming this is the mystery price point (if it's too high).

There's also a part of me (if we're all to be honest here) that wishes that it's a major ball OEM brand ball, i.e. Nike, Srixon, Bridgestone, etc. There's also the skeptic side of me that says there's no way for those same companies to be the manufacturer of these balls. Either way, whenever the reveal is on which ball this is, I'm sure there will be some "Oh s#!t, really?!?!?" moments amongst the testers. I think that's what excites me the most is the eventuality of the moment when we as testers realize that the majority, or a good part of us, will realize that our thoughts and ideas about this ball are different than what we originally think of of this make of ball or the actual ball in itself.
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There will definitely be some "oh $h!t" moments when we find out who makes the ball.

For me, ive seen increased spin with this ball. If it's announced and the ball is "marketed" to have less spin, I am going to sit here and wonder how the heck I got a low spin ball to spin like crazy.


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BamBooBender said:
More great reviews testers! This ball certainly seems to be a strong performer. Question for the testers: How many of you would honestly switch to this ball if turns out to be a value brand?
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I would definitely switch to this ball! If anything it's a better fit for me the TM TP Black that I normally play. This testing has showed me what a ball can do to your game.

I have a question. If this was a premium ball and you didn't lose a ton of balls while you play. It's durability held up. Why wouldn't someone pay more for a ball that would last longer. Like buying a truck. If you get a diesel it will last longer but cost more money. If you have it longer, does it really cost more?
 
I played it vs a cheaper (but I consider a very nice) ball in the Soft-Feel and a Pro-V1. My thoughts are it was more like a V1 than the Soft-Feel.

Does that make it mid-level to me? No. I think it's a urethane cover which points to *at least* a mid-level ball, but could be a premium ball. And of course, we could all be way off. It could be made of sheeps bladder for all I know. The obvious thing is what we think about it without caring what it is.


This weekend or before I'm going to play it vs a Q-star. Only using the Q-Star on holes that have a risk of losing the ball. And I'll only chip with Mystery ball before hand so as to have a better mindset as to how far it'll roll out.
 
bullfrog41775 said:
I would definitely switch to this ball! If anything it's a better fit for me the TM TP Black that I normally play. This testing has showed me what a ball can do to your game.

I have a question. If this was a premium ball and you didn't lose a ton of balls while you play. It's durability held up. Why wouldn't someone pay more for a ball that would last longer. Like buying a truck. If you get a diesel it will last longer but cost more money. If you have it longer, does it really cost more?
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That's kind of how I see it. I hope its a cheaper ball, but I would consider it at a higher price because it holds up well.
 
BamBooBender said:
More great reviews testers! This ball certainly seems to be a strong performer. Question for the testers: How many of you would honestly switch to this ball if turns out to be a value brand?
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I would put in my bag tomorrow.
 
The first post indicates that this is a Major OEM ball. So, does anyone know if this ball is already on the market?? Or is it is a pre-release or prototype? I just want to know so that once we find out what maker it is, we can run out and buy some.
 
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JB said:
This is something I am thinking about too. It seems that to some, it goes further and spins as much or more. So why the lower or mid level? From an outsider looking in, it appears that most think its a mid level ball based only on the durability. Im loving this testing.
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I'm just catching up on this thread from all of the posts made yesterday and today, but perhaps some people are thinking mid-level ball because the last round of blind testing was for a mid-level ball? In my limited testing of this ball, the performance has been very close to the tour-level balls that I have been playing, so I would not be surprised if it is a newer tour-level ball. If this is a mid-level ball, I will be pleasantly surprised and would be willing to give that ball a shot over the tour-level balls that I currently play.
 
this has me thinking....what if it's something already out there and this is just a 'test' to see if we are looking past something that's already there?

We may assume that just because there's no logo on it that it may be some 'super secret not yet released ball' when in fact it's already out there?

jwalker497 said:
The first post indicates that this is a Major OEM ball. So, does anyone know if this ball is already on the market of if it is a pre-release or prototype? I just want to know that once we find out what maker it is, can we all run out and buy some?
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Hanks said:
this has me thinking....what if it's something already out there and this is just a 'test' to see if we are looking past something that's already there?

We may assume that just because there's no logo on it that it may be some 'super secret not yet released ball' when in fact it's already out there?
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Well, from an earlier part of the thread it appeared that several forum members already knew what it was based on photos. They were asked to not say anything so the testers could provide an unbiased review. I completely believe this ball is already on the market.
 
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