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Hopkins Golf Balls - Forum Review

SuperStroke
Guys this has been a great read.

To the reviewers, what tier of balls would you slot the Hopkins ball in? I guess what I'm trying to say is what does this ball most closely resemble to you? Something like an "E" series or more of a tour level type ball with it's characteristics?
 
I have enjoyed this thread also. When I read the reviews I think of the Volvik balls. I'm encouraged buy the reports you guys have made about spin and receptiveness into the greens - something I have not seen from the Volviks. I'm like Doc on the greens, I leave them short a lot so the extra firmness there may be okay for me. I'll have to find some of these and give them a play.
 
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dcbrad said:
Guys this has been a great read.

To the reviewers, what tier of balls would you slot the Hopkins ball in? I guess what I'm trying to say is what does this ball most closely resemble to you? Something like an "E" series or more of a tour level type ball with it's characteristics?
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Brad. I would say it competes with most balls in the $24 to $34 range. For me that means the Chrome and QStar.

I haven't played an e ball in several years but would guess its comparable to the e6.

My short game testing with it, was against an RX I had on hand. You can read my comments about that in my review. But in that limited test I found the RX a bit harder in feel.
 
DocTrussell said:
Just a curiosity question, what was your typical miss on the greens today with the Hopkins ball?
I ask because I have actually been putting better with it, but my usual miss before was leaving them short, and the harder aspect I think has made them roll better and longer with my normal stroke.
Just curious if you were getting that same "hot" feeling off the putter.
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I wasn't realy thinking about it but I was missing it long. Maybe due to the hard feeling.
 
dcbrad said:
Guys this has been a great read.

To the reviewers, what tier of balls would you slot the Hopkins ball in? I guess what I'm trying to say is what does this ball most closely resemble to you? Something like an "E" series or more of a tour level type ball with it's characteristics?
Click to expand...

I would put it in with a Q star type ball. And I think it could surpass that category if it just figured out the feel/sound off the putter head...
 
Maybe it's comparable to the Chrome, E Series and Q Star off the tee and irons, but the feel off the wedges and putter is bad enough for me to put in down with SuperDeeps and Warbirds. If you don't mind or even if you like those types of balls, then this one is for you. I don't typically play hard balls, and there's a few soft options in this price category for people like me.

I'm glad it's not me that seriously struggled with these off the putter. I just had no control over speed with these. I'd blast most way past the hole and then get paranoid about it and then wouldn't hit it hard enough. Next putt, feel like I just tap it the same and it goes flying.
 
This is a skim, but aren't these urethane covered balls?
 
I've seen some reviewers say they have gotten some pretty good green side spin with these on approach shots. It sounds like these could at least be in the same ball park as the e5's and Q stars for softness/receptiveness. I need to try these out. The price point is just too good.
 
deuce said:
Where did you find them? I'd like to give them a spin.
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I ordered them off the website when they were first released. I'm always looking for the perfect $20 ball at my handicap, so you take risks. They're not my type of ball for $20, but like I said if you like Warbirds or SuperDeeps these would fit your game. I just prefer a softer feeling ball all around and since noone had even hit them when I ordered mine, I figured a wedge company would make a ball that feels stupendous off wedges.
 
Bullitt5339 said:
I ordered them off the website when they were first released. I'm always looking for the perfect $20 ball at my handicap, so you take risks. They're not my type of ball for $20, but like I said if you like Warbirds or SuperDeeps these would fit your game. I just prefer a softer feeling ball all around and since noone had even hit them when I ordered mine, I figured a wedge company would make a ball that feels stupendous off wedges.
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I've contacted Hopkins, will see if they get back to me. I've been rethinking just about everything I do when it comes to golf, and so I'm really taking a look into which ball to play. While I like the Duo's on the green, perhaps it's not the ball I would be most comfortable with everywhere else on the course.

ETA: As soon as I started typing this up, Hopkins responded to me. You can get them here.
 
Thanks for the reviews guys! Love reading the feedback. I can't wait to try the ones I have out.


Using Tapatalk
 
Intrigued by all the reviews so far, great job guys. I picked up a dozen of these when they came out. I was skeptical at first because they felt pretty firm off the putter, the only practice I'm getting during the winter. But I've kept using them as main practice ball and I've gotten used to the feel. I'm a bargain hunter with balls, so if they perform everywhere else like you guys are seeing, that has me very excited.
 
Played 18 with these this weekend. Working on a full write up, but wanted to note again that I saw nothing performance wise to make me think I couldn't game these. I do notice the difference in feel and sound, but for me personally, it's not enough to discount the performance I've seen so far. I could definitely see it turning some folks off, but at the price point and what they compare to, I really think it's a solid choice.
 
Hopkins Ball Testing - 2-2-2014 - Lake Padden Golf Course Bellingham, WA 35*F

Links to previous thoughts:
Review #1 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2712323
Review #2 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2724080
Review #3 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2732910


I got out with SkiBumGolfer and play (walking) 18 at Lake Padden.
Spoiler
Scorecard%20Inside%202010.jpg
We played the Granite tees due to the cold. I played my R11 driver, Burner 2.0 irons, Scor Wedges, and Seemore M1 putter. It was a bit chilly (never got above 38F), but the course was in good shape. I played the Hopkins ball the entire time and went in with the mindset that I was just going to play my round instead of trying to be overly critical of anything.


Driving:

I played driver on 14 of the holes this time out. I was pretty happy with my drives on all but 2 or 3 holes. I found the sound off the driver was not as bothersome when I wasn't specifically listening for it. The harder feel was still there, but results were comparable to what I'm used to normally so I didn't think too much of it. Overall I was pleased with how it went with the driver. Poor shots were because of me putting a bad swing on it, but even then the ball tended to hold it's line (except when I cold shanked one on 10 because I was mad the grill was closed haha).


Irons/Wedges:

My iron and wedge game was the best part of this round. Again, the harder feel was noticeable, but performance was good enough to get over the feel. There was noticeable more rollout on some of the long iron shots by about twice as much as I would normally see. This was a difference of 6-8 feet of rollout with the Hopkins vs 3-4 with the Bridgestone I usually play. Having seen this before, I played to allow for this and it was an easy adjustment. I was able to stop some shots on one hop (including a 4 iron from about 190 out off the tee) and did get one to back up about 4 inches. For the most part I was able to put the ball fairly close to where I was hoping with my irons and nothing performance wise made me feel the ball wasn't doing what I intended. I do wonder how much more rollout I would see on harder greens like say in summertime. I would tend to think it would be a bit more than I'm seeing now, but still manageable, though I can only speculate on that.


Putting:

I will say straight up my putting was off this day. I have 5 three putts, one of the worst putting outings I've had in a while. I did better on the back than the front but all around it wasn't very good. For the most part I struggled with speed. I feel like the feedback from the ball made me think I'd hit it harder than I actually had and I ended up leaving it short a lot. I did start to get things going towards the end, which made me feel like I was getting used to the feedback and trusting more how hard I needed to hit it. I very well may have just been putting poorly so I don't want to read too much into this. I am going to go out in the next couple of days and just spend an hour putting to try to make more sense of this.


Final Thoughts:

Again, nothing on this round would prevent me from playing this beyond preference for the feel. For the price, even that can be overlooked I believe. I didn't have a great round, shooting 48/50 for a 98, but I did have several pars on the round and pared the last 3 holes of the day settling down after a disastrous start to the back nine. So far this ball has held up to its claims, and compares as closely as I can tell to the balls they lay claim to comparing to. Not everyone is going to like this ball with the sound and feel, but it sure performs well enough for the price to be a ball to consider.

As always any questions or anything, feel free to ask or message me.
 
checkered said:
Hopkins Ball Testing - 2-2-2014 - Lake Padden Golf Course Bellingham, WA 35*F

Links to previous thoughts:
Review #1 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2712323
Review #2 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2724080
Review #3 http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Forum-Review&p=2732910&viewfull=1#post2732910


I got out with SkiBumGolfer and play (walking) 18 at Lake Padden.
Spoiler
Scorecard%20Inside%202010.jpg
We played the Granite tees due to the cold. I played my R11 driver, Burner 2.0 irons, Scor Wedges, and Seemore M1 putter. It was a bit chilly (never got above 38F), but the course was in good shape. I played the Hopkins ball the entire time and went in with the mindset that I was just going to play my round instead of trying to be overly critical of anything.


Driving:

I played driver on 14 of the holes this time out. I was pretty happy with my drives on all but 2 or 3 holes. I found the sound off the driver was not as bothersome when I wasn't specifically listening for it. The harder feel was still there, but results were comparable to what I'm used to normally so I didn't think too much of it. Overall I was pleased with how it went with the driver. Poor shots were because of me putting a bad swing on it, but even then the ball tended to hold it's line (except when I cold shanked one on 10 because I was mad the grill was closed haha).


Irons/Wedges:

My iron and wedge game was the best part of this round. Again, the harder feel was noticeable, but performance was good enough to get over the feel. There was noticeable more rollout on some of the long iron shots by about twice as much as I would normally see. This was a difference of 6-8 feet of rollout with the Hopkins vs 3-4 with the Bridgestone I usually play. Having seen this before, I played to allow for this and it was an easy adjustment. I was able to stop some shots on one hop (including a 4 iron from about 190 out off the tee) and did get one to back up about 4 inches. For the most part I was able to put the ball fairly close to where I was hoping with my irons and nothing performance wise made me feel the ball wasn't doing what I intended. I do wonder how much more rollout I would see on harder greens like say in summertime. I would tend to think it would be a bit more than I'm seeing now, but still manageable, though I can only speculate on that.


Putting:

I will say straight up my putting was off this day. I have 5 three putts, one of the worst putting outings I've had in a while. I did better on the back than the front but all around it wasn't very good. For the most part I struggled with speed. I feel like the feedback from the ball made me think I'd hit it harder than I actually had and I ended up leaving it short a lot. I did start to get things going towards the end, which made me feel like I was getting used to the feedback and trusting more how hard I needed to hit it. I very well may have just been putting poorly so I don't want to read too much into this. I am going to go out in the next couple of days and just spend an hour putting to try to make more sense of this.


Final Thoughts:

Again, nothing on this round would prevent me from playing this beyond preference for the feel. For the price, even that can be overlooked I believe. I didn't have a great round, shooting 48/50 for a 98, but I did have several pars on the round and pared the last 3 holes of the day settling down after a disastrous start to the back nine. So far this ball has held up to its claims, and compares as closely as I can tell to the balls they lay claim to comparing to. Not everyone is going to like this ball with the sound and feel, but it sure performs well enough for the price to be a ball to consider.

As always any questions or anything, feel free to ask or message me.
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Awesome write up John. Interesting to see you getting some spin on long irons with these balls. I have a dozen sitting in my office waiting for the temps to warm up.
 
mmaynard11 said:
Awesome write up John. Interesting to see you getting some spin on long irons with these balls. I have a dozen sitting in my office waiting for the temps to warm up.
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Thanks! That 4 iron was off a tee, so I'm sure that helped. :) That said the spin doesn't seem to be terribly much less for me from what I've seen so far off any of the irons. Definitely less, but still enough spin to be worked with.
 
Great write up checkered. You guys really have me excited to try this ball when it warms up.
 
Thanks for the write up Checker. That was well detailed.
 
So with having more time putting with these, I've found that for the most part I'm just rusty with putting and need to practice more. That said, I do notice a different sound and feel which does mess with me a little on things. I have also found this is pretty easily adjusted for if I just spend some time warming up putting. Again, I do see the feel and sound being a turn off for some, but it really doesn't take much to get over it.

I've got rain forecast for the next 10 days, but I'm going to try to get out and get at least 9 in over the weekend if it's not pouring out.
 
Finally got out this weekend for a round (I feel for all of our northern neighbors, all of our courses have been closed for over 2 weeks due to snow). I could definitely tell that the rust was back after just a few weeks off. Swing felt mostly disconnected all day, so I don't feel I had as good of an evaluating round as the ones before, but still some aspects to look at.
First up, off the tee. As I said the swing did not feel anywhere close to right for the majority of the round. My typical miss when feeling like this is a huge slice with the subsequent loss in distance while playing my E6. For the most part with the Hopkins ball, it was a manageable fade with decent distance. Did feel like I got adequate rollout on all tee shots whether with driver, 3 wood or hybo. Sound off the tee was acceptable for me, but to the more advanced golfer (auditorially) it could be a drawback.
From the fairway: can't comment much on this truly as I only actually hit 2 fairways all day. Now with that, most second shots were only a few yards off the short grass, but dead Oklahoma rough can still leave some decent lies. I did have a couple of real mishits on second and third shots, which is where I definitely felt how hard the ball was with some harsh feedback. I don't see this as an absolute negative as I knew (and my hands and arms felt) how bad the shot was, which made me look over my position and try to evaluate what happened to cause it. It did not bother me in the long run, only stung for a few seconds but I could see this as a drawback to players with some arthritic type ailments in the hand/wrist area.
More to add, will edit post shortly for approach shots and on the green
finally getting back to the keyboard with adequate time.
On the approach shots (<130 yards) the ball shined on this round. Had a handful of the longer shots make it to the green, and everyone of them did a hop and stop within a few inches of the divot. Actually backed up a 9 iron on a short par 3 (125) about a foot. As I said earlier in the post everything just felt out of sync in the swing, so I felt I was getting good work out of the ball while not making the best of contact. Had a number of shots within the 30 yard range and ball performed very well. Was getting very little roll out on these shots, mostly a hop then a roll of 18-24 inches, which in my view is more than adequate.
Putting: not much to add from my previous posts. Ball rolled well off the putter, has that firmness that pops a little more than my E6 off of the face which equates to a little more distance (which I need as I my usual miss is short). I did not drop any putts outside of 6 feet, but that was all because of bad lines, but distance was good for me.
I may not get to add much more to this thread, as I am down to only having 1 test ball left (a few wanted to take a hike in the woods, and several of them got thirsty and went for a drink). Had a wonderful time doing the testing, and based on my results during this test, the next balls I buy will be these. They worked better for me than my current E6 with more control inside 150 yards.

My overall feeling is this: I started playing the E6 to help control spin off of the tee with the knowledge of giving up some spin around the green. After getting a little better control of my swing off the tee, I started to look for something to give a little more greenside control and this testing opportunity came along at just the right time. So if you are in a similar situation (enough control with the long shots to minimize your miss and need a little more greenside control), you should give these balls a try, especially since they won't break the bank for a dozen.
 
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Great job testers!
 
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