We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

SuperStroke
I played a full 18 at my home course this morning with nothing but Ball X, first I would like to ask for a moment of silence for the one "soldier" that didn't return home from this battle.

<silence>

:sad: He was a good ball, and I'll miss him.

I hit my tee shot on a par 4 dogleg left with water right at the dogleg and I nuked it with Driver through the fairway and right into the edge of the water, I probably could have gotten it back with a ball retriever...but it had a guardian:shock:
Spoiler
689642BB-orig.jpg


Needless to say, it was sacrificed to the golf gods.

Okay now that we got that out of the way, I had a great round today, shot 41 on the front and a matching 41 on the back for a nice 82. Ball X performed great, I was 9/13 Fairways and 10/18 GIR, 31 putts...all in all a pretty solid round for me.

Driver
Ball X fells really good coming off my driver, its got a nice deep sound when I hit it. Being at my home course today I found that I was picking up a good 5-10 yards on my drives from where I normally play from. All you have to do is see the mention above the ball I lost to as a good example...I am usually at least 15 yards short of the water off the tee, but today it landed took a hop and rolled right it. I also saw less sidespin today...hence the 9/13 fairways....I am usually more around the 6 or 7 out of 13 mark. After about the 4 or 5 drives, I really had a lot of confidence with my driver today and I will give alot of the credit to Ball X

Fairway Woods and Hydrids
Again being on my home course today I felt like I was getting 5-10 yards more out of these clubs today...perfect example Hole #6 I am 185 from the front, the pin is about 10 back from there....so its 195 to the flag....I normally hit my 4 hydrid about 190...so I took a nice smooth swing...the ball started low and climbed into a nice penetrating ball flight and dropped into the back bunker which was 215! Now I was a little down wind...but not much. Almost every shot with FW or Hybrids were the same today...ball came up low and climbed into a mid flight that just seemed to really carry.

Irons
I really like the feel of this ball off my irons and wedges...It seems like I can feel the impact better that I can with the ProV1x. My mid irons were much the same story as the others, nice penetrating ball flight, when the mid irons hit the green the ball settled nicely no big bounces...just a couple of hops and a small roll out.

Wedges
I know i have said it before but I LOVE the way this ball feels off my wedges...it almost seems like the ball stays of the face of the club just a split second longer, I don't know if that makes sense or not. Full wedge shots had a nice high trajectory and stopped within 2 feet of where they landed...chips and pitches I can make the ball stop or even back up a litte or release whenever I need.

Putting
31 putts....not too bad, but not great only one 3 putt today....Ball X comes off the face and rolls nicely...being back at my home course I didn't notice it coming up short like I did before...don't know if that was because I am used to the ball or these greens.

Overall
For me, this ball performs as good or better than the ProV1x..it seems to be giving me more distance without sacrificing the spin and control around the greens and is very durable. This is the second round and I have had a couple of short game practices with these balls with no noticable scuffing. I can't wait to find out what this ball is, because I this point I am ready to make it my new gamer!

I'm playing again Sunday morning and this time I will have my new :never: NCX-RAY putter with me (it came in today after I got home) so we will see how it goes.
 
Last edited:
Good stuff TBT, and that was a wise decision to let that ball lie where he is in the water.
 
Nice write up DD, glad you got to get your initial test session in.
 
Good stuff DD and TBT. I can't wait til tomorrow so I can get my second go round of testing done with Ball X. Planning to spend a ton of time at the chipping green and take a few pix as well comparing Ball X to several other balls in a direct comparision.
 
Thanks Howzat, looking forward to reading how it goes with your day tomorrow.
 
SethO said:
Great writeup as always CL! You are a rocking tester!

So you felt that you were over compressing the ball a little perhaps? Did it feel mushy off the driver? I know you normally play the Burner Tour, would you say that it felt a little softer (inner layer/layers/core) than the BT does?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure Seth. It could have just been one of those days. I'm not sure someone with my swing speed can even overcompress a ball. It just felt a little soft. It was definitely softer than the BT. Not even close. Softer off the driver than the B330RX as well.
 
Suhweet! Balls came in today. Conducting first part of my testing right now. Will have initial part of my review up sometime tomorrow. Thanks THP and plain white ball manufacturer!
 
I got to go out again today, but it was kind of crowded so I only hit a few select shots with Mr. X.
Still loving the shot off the driver. Busted one 272 into a tree/pine straw. I would love to know how far it would've gone in the fairway; not hitting some rough first, then tree. :bad:
Next time I think I'm going to kill two birds with one Ball X and hit the new Octane and my old F Speed and see if there's a difference there. First, old tech vs. new tech. Second, I'm still not 100% on the Octane and if the F Speed can stand the test, I may just go back to it.

I'm with DD on the feel off the putter. I feel like I've been hitting this ball forever. I can just walk up and get almost perfect distance every time. My "towards" is often off, but the speed is on it. (By the way, DD, is that Fishing Creek?)

Hit a couple of 6 and 7 irons and love the soft smooshy goodness on a sweet swing. Ball flight is gorgeous and straight.

Didn't lose any today :banana: and hope to hit more this weekend.
 
Good stuff T0AD, you are killing the mystery ball. Yes sir, that is Fishing Creek. You need to get over here an play it sometime.
griff, good luck tomorrow and I am looking forward to reading your initial thoughts. Hit 'em straight buddy.
 
Great stuff guys... TBT, I know ball testing is important but there's no way on God's green earth would I even attempt to fetch that ball. Good call on you sir.
 
First off let me say I got off work late... ARGH!!! I went to play 9 today with Ball X. I only used Ball X. And when I went into every green, I tried to make sure I was a 7 iron or less in. In my last post I posted about each hole the way I scored and what sort of happened with the ball compared to my TM TP Black. This time I am going to change the way I write this review. These are my findings after a full 9 holes with 2 of Ball X into the green. I have to say that I lost my first ball today :sad: I guess after talking all the smack about hitting it better than other testers and stuff. Karma got me today and one is in the creek on hole 3 at my home course... Okay now time for comments about Ball X which are just my opinion and my opinion only. Last time I was trying to compare it to my normal ball. This time I just wanted to see Ball X and Ball X only.

Off of the driver, this ball sounds great. I can sort of feel me compressing the ball. It has a nice high flight for me. But any of you who have played a round with me knows that I usually hit it pretty high off the tee. It seems that I can get this further down the fairway at my home course. I seem to get a good 10 yards more distance. Instead of using a 7 or 8 iron into greens, I found myself being able to get there with a 9 iron. More distance off the tee is always a good thing! I had a few tee shots get away from me, but nothing out of the norm. But most of them went pretty well and further than normally. Miss hits (when topped) with this still run pretty good so distance loss isn't too bad for hitting the ball wrong.

Fairway wood can send this ball screaming with a mid to high flight right off of the ground. I don't think that this runs out as far as my current ball. But it definitely gets more carry and gets me yet a few more yards further too.

Off the irons it has a nice feel. Like I said with the driver, I can feel myself compressing Ball X. I don't mean that I smack it so hard that it dents the ball either. Ball explodes off the iron face when hit well. When I topped Ball X with my irons it really was punishing to my distance. When hitting into the green I really noticed something different. With my normally ball I can really get it to stop since I've purchased my MB's. This is definitely different with Ball X. I don't know if it's the fact that I pick the ball or what is going on. But I didn't seem to get this ball to hit and stop like I normally can. I'm not saying I'm a pro but the ball definitely doesn't roll out for me like it did today with Ball X. Roll out isn't bad IMO and I don't mean it was a ton. Just more than my normal ball. Shot after shot, I couldn't get it bite at all. I know that the greens at my home course are pretty fast. Ball X wasn't making a huge ball mark either sometimes there wasn't even a mark from hitting 130 yards out. I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm not saying that the roll out was bad at all. When I hit it short and had to hit up, I tried to hit my floppy again. I still couldn't get it to hit and bite. But was still closer to the hole. In fact the roll out led me to have less putts! I 3 putt a lot, and today I had only 1 and 1 putted 3 times. When I was hitting into the 9th green, I was about 135 out. I had my 2 Ball X's and hit both into the green. They both had about the same roll out 7-8 ft. It was the last hole for me and the last green I was hitting into so I decided to hit a TM TP Black. And sure enough hit the ball into the green it hit bounced twice and stopped. So I don't know why it's different for me. This was only another 9 holes and it's dry. So we will see tomorrow. I'm playing a course I know that the greens will bite cuz they water constantly.

Putting this ball I really like! It's nice and soft off the face. I didn't seem to have a problem with distance with Ball X. In fact I had a lot less putts today than normal as mentioned before! Although I was closer to the hole on a few more than usual...LOL Alot of time I will miss 3 ft putts but today I seem to make them. The ball really rolls nice towards the hole. Not sure if it's the insert in the face of my putter or not but I like it. I didn't notice myself hitting it harder than I would from the same distance with my normal ball. I also made a couple 7-10 ft putts too. Ball X seemed to be better for me on the green. But like I said not sure if it's cuz it was rolling closer to the hole.:D

Okay, so that's the way Ball X reacted for me today. I know it seems to be different for other tests but it's my honest opinion. Would I use Ball X. Yes I think I would. Today it gave me more distance and I was closer to the hole. Can't ask for more than that!!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED...
 
Awesome reviews guys. I will admit I am skimming them to a degree. I don't want to be swayed or have too many thoughts in my head. Trying to be objective as possible. Been busy with the camera. Couple items that will be in action tomorrow....

6037164206_5020d586b8_z.jpg


:clapp::clapp::clapp::clapp:
 
good stuff bullfrog, I find it interesting tht this ball rolls out so much for you, I would not think the TM black would check appreciably more than the B-330 RX that I normally play and the mystery ball seems to roll out about the same for me. That is what makes this ball so interesting and something each person will need to try out for themselves to see what they think.
 
griff said:
Awesome reviews guys. I will admit I am skimming them to a degree. I don't want to be swayed or have too many thoughts in my head. Trying to be objective as possible. Been busy with the camera. Couple items that will be in action tomorrow....

6037164206_5020d586b8_z.jpg


:clapp::clapp::clapp::clapp:
Click to expand...

Sweet picture, you will be styling tomorrow with the pin stripes.
 
griff said:
Suhweet! Balls came in today. Conducting first part of my testing right now. Will have initial part of my review up sometime tomorrow. Thanks THP and plain white ball manufacturer!
Click to expand...

Looking forward to hearing your initial impressions griff.


---
- ...just tap it in...
 
With the rain canceling me out on Wednesday and being forced to go short game only, I have two days in a row this weekend of 18 to get some more time with Ball X.

Looking forward to seeing if I still have the same results I was having last weekend with my short irons and wedges, as I feel like my short game has been dead on with this ball.

Really struggling if I want to compare this ball to another, or just play completely with ball X tomorrow...


---
- ...just tap it in...
 
war.eagle said:
With the rain canceling me out on Wednesday and being forced to go short game only, I have two days in a row this weekend of 18 to get some more time with Ball X.

Looking forward to seeing if I still have the same results I was having last weekend with my short irons and wedges, as I feel like my short game has been dead on with this ball.

Really struggling if I want to compare this ball to another, or just play completely with ball X tomorrow...
Click to expand...

Call it on the course. If it's busy then stick to one (this will most likely be the case since it's the weekend) if not then rock two. If I get a chance I'm gonna do some comparison with the yellow Trispeed Tours tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some pics this time.
 
First write-up time!!! I finally got out. I have been up at 4:45 everyday this week. It has been very rough. But I did get to put the blind balls through some swings. Initial thought, I am very impressed with whatever they are.

I am forcing myself not to speculate on who makes this ball and what level this ball is. I am trying not to figure out if it's a premium, or a budget.

Is this ball even USGA legal? I have never driven a ball as consitently far and straight. I usually play the TriSpeed Tour or Z-Star. I like how stout they feel off of the driver. They always give me the feeling of solid contact. This ball isn't quite as firm off of the tee. These blind balls do not feel too soft, just not as firm as I'm used to. The distance was way beyond what I expected. My swing may have been behaving, either way the ball went a while. I hit almost everything straight with a baby draw. Which tells me my swing was working, but this ball never cut. I usually miss one or two to the right, not with this ball. Very straight. I didn't notice a lot of side spin off of the tee. I usually put a ball sideways, in either direction, not with these little pearls.

I left myself with pitching wedges and gap wedges on a few holes. I was happy to have a chance with a full wedge swing. I did this with a full PW...
IMG-20110812-00075.jpg

I don't back up many balls. I was very happy to see this.

I also left myself with some chipping and flop opportunities. I was very impressed and happy with how well I was controlling the rollout with this ball. I felt like I had control on shots that I usually hope and pray. The flop shots felt fantastic. I never felt a harsh note, just a soft flutter off of the 60*. I was happy with that. Even better, I didn't notice any scuffs. My biggest complaint with any ball, especially the Z-Star, is how easily I scuff them. I can be having a good round and make a nice full wedge swing, only to scuff the ball. I never retire a scuffed ball, I just play it until it's gone. But the scuffs usually get in my head and I lose the ball, almost like clockwork, on the next hole. I was happy to not feel or see any scuffs with these balls. I loved that.

The ball rolled off of the putter like a golf ball. I guess I never put much thought with how a ball comes off of the putter, at least from the ball's perspective.

I will have more/better feelings after a few more rounds and sessions with these blind balls. But after the first I can confindently say, I'm impressed with the performance and most importantly the durability.
 
I admit, I am coming into this a little late but I wanted to know when the ball will be revealed?
 
Spank818 said:
Call it on the course. If it's busy then stick to one (this will most likely be the case since it's the weekend) if not then rock two. If I get a chance I'm gonna do some comparison with the yellow Trispeed Tours tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some pics this time.
Click to expand...

Good call. Will definitely see how the course is tomorrow. Have a box of Q Stars I want to test out. Will have to see what tomorrow brings.


---
- ...just tap it in...
 
jwalker497 said:
I admit, I am coming into this a little late but I wanted to know when the ball will be revealed?
Click to expand...

Some are just now getting their balls in the mail. It will be a few more weeks til we know.


---
- ...just tap it in...
 
Nice writeup Blugold...

It almost looks like I am looking at one of my own pictures when you posted that one up of your Divot/ball mark. I have had many, many shots do the same thing with this ball.


---
- ...just tap it in...
 
war.eagle said:
Nice writeup Blugold...

It almost looks like I am looking at one of my own pictures when you posted that one up of your Divot/ball mark. I have had many, many shots do the same thing with this ball.


---
- ...just tap it in...
Click to expand...

I was pretty amazed at how much back spin this ball had with iron and wedge shots. I didn't take a picture of it, but I left a pitching wedge about 2 yards short. It back up off of the fairway grass. I could not believe it. I felt like I was striking the ball well, but I rarely strike the ball THAT well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top