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Maxfli U/4 and U/4x Golf Balls - THP Review

SuperStroke
I agree Hawk. Especially when quite a few of the major companies are putting out premium balls under $40 like the TP3 and Hex Chrome. It makes it hard for a smaller company to say "ours is better" when it is clearly made by one of them as well (to their own specs of course).

I tested a few of these out yesterday and thought they did fine, although I struggled with durability a bit. Im curious as you get to put these in play how that works out for you overall.
 
JB said:
I agree Hawk. Especially when quite a few of the major companies are putting out premium balls under $40 like the TP3 and Hex Chrome. It makes it hard for a smaller company to say "ours is better" when it is clearly made by one of them as well (to their own specs of course).

I tested a few of these out yesterday and thought they did fine, although I struggled with durability a bit. Im curious as you get to put these in play how that works out for you overall.
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Durability is one thing I'm interested in, especially with the U/4. Hopefully I can get 18 holes in sometime soon.
 
Hawk said:
Durability is one thing I'm interested in, especially with the U/4. Hopefully I can get 18 holes in sometime soon.
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I should correct myself and say that is the ball I was using.
 
Hawk said:
Thanks, War Eagle. Those are some honest thoughts and I don't think you're alone with them. They have a 3-piece in the $30 range as well, for what it's worth. I don't know if it's fair to compare the U/4 series to Bridgestone series, mainly because they are a four piece urethane ball. The E5 is a two piece urethane that is actually about 6 dollars more than Maxfli's competing 2-piece urethane.

That being said, I fully understand the issue of the brand name. In my mind, Maxfli has a reputation and I don't know that it's really compatible with the premium price point these are coming in at. However, if the quality is there - five bucks is five bucks. It's certainly interesting.
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I think you hit the nail on the head with the bolded quote there.

Im not usually a brand snob, and am a firm believe in "play what you like." With that said, I know when someone on the course finds an extra ball on the course, you rarely hear someone say, "Sweet, I found a Maxfli!"

With that said, I am looking forward to your thoughts on these Hawk, and will probably try and grab a sleeve myself to see how they work, mainly because trying a new ball always intrigues me and when seeing how it performs from tee to green. I believe Dicks purchased Maxfli, correct? I am curious to see what they did different with these balls compared to the Maxfli's of old.
 
Time to wait and see how the U/4 performs with your Driver and can the ball make it through a round.
I can't see paying that kind of price, perhaps marketing will rethink the price point.
 
I'm not sure if they bought the brand or not, but I do know that they only sell these balls there and at Golf Galaxy.
 
I am hoping this line is the first step that Maxfli is taking to get into the premium ball market. It could take some time to get the name recognition, but if they put together quality balls, it will come eventually. I think the price point is too high to make people run out and grab them, but as Dick's begins to discount them hopefully the price point will work out for me to give the U4x a try.

It sounds like the U2 and U3 could have more success. What other 3piece Urethane ball can be had for 30 bucks? And I have to think the U2 is the only urethane ball for $20.
 
Wake said:
I am hoping this line is the first step that Maxfli is taking to get into the premium ball market. It could take some time to get the name recognition, but if they put together quality balls, it will come eventually. I think the price point is too high to make people run out and grab them, but as Dick's begins to discount them hopefully the price point will work out for me to give the U4x a try.

It sounds like the U2 and U3 could have more success. What other 3piece Urethane ball can be had for 30 bucks? And I have to think the U2 is the only urethane ball for $20.
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Do you think that can happen with zero green grass presence and the issue of only being sold in 2 stores?
 
Reading through this thread has really gotten my curiosity going on these balls, which is a change from when I originally heard about them. At that price point I'm pretty skeptical that Maxfli can pull off a comparable premium ball. Add into that an early mention of durability issue's and I'll stay on the fence until you get a bit more testing done Hawk. I do hope to try out the 2 piece balls soon as I'm curious how they compare to the noodle I often play.
 
Maxfli U/4 and U/4x Golf Balls - THP Review

There have been several reviews of these online that I have read and durability seems to be more on the positive side. Of course that all depends on a ton of factors, but that too was a concern of mine, but after reading enough reviews that isn't a huge fear for me in trying these anymore.

That said, I'm sure Dicks has a realistic expectation, or at least I would assume they do for their sales. I like it to their clothing lines. Walter Hagen and Slazenger rarely sell at their $50 price points until they go on sale where they tend to really move items. I expect that to be the case with the balls. $5 less than the big boys isn't going to move a whole lot of balls, but I expect these to go on sale and move fairly well. I am, at least holding out for that or expect them to and at that point, ill probably jump in and try them.

I am still very curious as to who makes the ball for Dicks. I have found no one that knows. I was told some previous Maxfli edition (under the Dicks ownership) was made by Bridgestone, but don't know for sure that was true.
 
I played nine holes with the U/4 last night and I was pretty happy overall.

Off the tee it seems to be average in terms of distance for me. Irons and hybrids are also right around where I'd expect them. Nothing really wows me for full swings, but the performance is definitely respectable. Ball flight seemed to be bordering on very high with driver and woods for me, but that could have been a me thing as much as it could have been a ball thing.

I was pleased with what I saw off the wedges when it came to spin. Our fourth hole has a cruel green that forces you to hit and stick to a spot or you almost always roll off the green. I had an 80 yard wedge shot that I hit and was able to hop/stop. Had another on the 7th hole from 75 yards that did the same, though I misjudged by a few yards and was on the wrong tier due to the quick stop.

My first couple holes were horrible and I had a couple tree shots. The durability seemed fine for the nine holes I played.
 
Good stuff so far Hawk. I just read through the entire thread.

I remember when Maxfli started making higher end balls again, think it started with the C3. I didn't think it was a bad ball, and thanks for my golf galaxy discount at the time I was getting their $40 ball for $17. Had good stopping power, but the cover wasn't durable. Sounds pretty similar to what they are showing you ATM, at least with the stopping power.
 
Good stuff Hawk, I still think at $40 bucks they are going to have a tough time selling these especially when they are limited to Dicks and GG.
 
I picked up a box of the U/4 today and I'm going to use them Saturday. My local Dick's had a ton of space taken up by these new Maxfli offerings in the ball displays. It looked like they made room for it by cutting back on the Bridgestone and Srixon balls that used to be there. I had been playing the B-330RX which I used to buy there, and they didn't have a single box of those available, they did have the B330, 330-S, and 330-RXS, but only in white. There wasn't even an empty space where they should be. Looks like they are trying to push people towards these balls so I sure hope they are good or I might have to pay shipping to get new balls from now on.
 
New to the site, found it while searching for some reviews for the Maxfli U/4X golf balls. I spent some time at Dick's today test driving some new irons and spoke with the manager of the golf department. He said that these balls are manufactured at the same plants that make Titleist golf balls ("we own Maxfli and are in bed with Titleist"). I have not been able to verify that anywhere online, but they are an exclusive ball for Dick's Sporting Goods / Golf Galaxy. He said that he has been playing them the past could rounds instead of the Pro V1x and said that they preform up to those standards. I normally play the Pro V1 and will be giving the U/4X a spin tomorrow. I will follow up with my thoughts.

Not part of the thread...how do you add what equipment you are playing to your profile posts?
 
Smoking Greens said:
New to the site, found it while searching for some reviews for the Maxfli U/4X golf balls. I spent some time at Dick's today test driving some new irons and spoke with the manager of the golf department. He said that these balls are manufactured at the same plants that make Titleist golf balls ("we own Maxfli and are in bed with Titleist"). I have not been able to verify that anywhere online, but they are an exclusive ball for Dick's Sporting Goods / Golf Galaxy. He said that he has been playing them the past could rounds instead of the Pro V1x and said that they preform up to those standards. I normally play the Pro V1 and will be giving the U/4X a spin tomorrow. I will follow up with my thoughts.

Not part of the thread...how do you add what equipment you are playing to your profile posts?
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Welcome to the site! I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the U/4x. I think it is common for brand manufacturing plants to make other lesser kown brands. Another example is I think the TM plants make Noodle balls.

Here is info on adding your WITB:
http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...5-How-Do-I-Add-My-quot-What-s-In-The-Bag-quot

Be sure to stop by the check-in thread so everyone can say hi. http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?14-Check-In-Desk
 
Hawk said:
I'm not sure if they bought the brand or not, but I do know that they only sell these balls there and at Golf Galaxy.
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Dick's basically bought the name from Taylormade as TM kept all the patents and the Noodle name.

Maxfli of the past mades some great balls so I don't really know why they ended up with a bad name. Did they ever win/settle the lawsuit with Titleist over the ProV1 (Titleist supposedly infringed on Maxfli patents for the ProV1)?
 
I got out and played the new Maxfli U/4X today and was pleasantly surprised. To start, I haven't played or practiced in over a month, I didn't warm up, I was at a course that I haven't played, it was a mountain course, and there was a light rain for a few holes. With all of that said I played the U/4X and a Pro V1 for the first two holes. They both had similar distance, flight, and spin into the greens. I was worried about the weather, so I quit playing two balls and just stuck with the Maxfli the rest of the way. The front 9 was a little difficult to navigate without having someone with me who had played the course and there were virtually no yard markings except for the 150 stick, so I only hit a few greens. The back 9 had less blind shots and was easier to navigate and I was able to get a better feel for the ball. I was able to work a fade and a draw off the tee and I had my normal boring ball flight. This was by far the best I drove the ball this year. As for my approach shots, I had a couple that bit pretty hard and I had a couple that released more than I expected. Im not sure if this had more to do with the wet bent grass greens or the ball. I think I would have a better feeling if I was able to play them at one of my usual bermuda courses down around Jacksonville. I will say that I finished the day hitting a PW into a very elevated green, where I had no clue the shape of the green, and really no idea where the hole was cut in relation to the green. I hit the ball pure, saw it take a hop and when I got up to the hole it was inside 6" with no pitch mark on the green. It had to of land on the fringe, skip forward, and stopped on a dime. That was definitely a nice performance to leave the course on.

Tee Shots: Performed the same as Pro V1
Iron Shots: Similar ball flight, not sure that it had as much bite. (Not sure if its a fair comparison at this point because of weather and because I haven't played a Pro V1x in a long time)
Wedge Shots: The few wedges that I hit pure had some pretty good check on it.
Around the green: I didn't have many good lies to get any bite on the shots. Still TBD.
Durability: I only used 2 balls for the 18 holes and I lost one on the 3rd hole. There is a little scuff on the one from a full sand wedge, but I could use to start my next round. I shot an 80 with 32 putts, so it made it through 40+ shots.
 
Ok, Mini review of my take on the U4
I purchased a dozen about a week ago, and have now had a chance to put a few rounds on them.
(Disclaimer, I am legendarly hard on golf balls, I shear the cover off pro V1x's in about 4-5 holes. lol)

Tee Shots: Performs nice, a little higher than pro V1x, little lower than Pro V1
2-4 iron shots: Easy to work, just like any nice ball. Gets up quick, and haven't seen any distance loss vs V1x. Hits greens nice and soft, and have seen nice roll out in fairways.
5-7 Iron Shot: Great spin, maybe 2-3 yrd loss with heavy wind. Spins more than V1x less than V1, but still can pull a ball back a few feet. Easy to manuplulate the ball. High low cuts/draws all do able.
8-SW Full Shots: Money in this category. Great spin, easy to pull back, but also easy to hit the knock down shot. Does well. lol Easy to pull a ball back 10-15 feet, has a great sound at impact, great feel
Half shots/Around the green: Again, great ball. No complaints, performs just like a Pro V1 in this space. The sound and feel are great. Soft off wedge faces will still a nice click sound.
Putter: Feels nearly identical to a V1. Soft, but not mushy. Click, but not clack. lol

Durability: Nothing special, about 4-5 solid holes, and i've feathered the cover. But its nearly the same as a Pro V1x for me.

Overall, i really like the ball. haven't seen any problems, and its been well worth the $35 paid. Definitely would buy again.
Would recommend for anyone looking for a worth comparison ball to the Pro V series. Does the job, with out the 49 price tag. lol
 
I played the U/4 during a round Saturday. This is a very capable ball, it works as advertised but it definitely wasn't right for me. The urethane cover is quite impressive- it can really slam on the brakes. Just tinkering around with putting I would have a few of them on the ground and would hit a put, then reach over to pull another ball over to hit. If I pinched it on the ground at all with my putter, it was almost like the ball was glued to the ground and I couldn't move it. Very grabby, sticky cover! I played several holes with a back pin position and I just could NOT get the ball back to the hole with approach shots, pitches, or chips. It stops very quickly- and if you aren't used to playing the game that way, which I am not, then this isn't the right ball for you. I never quite realized how much my feel for the game relies on the roll out and the B-330RX plays very nicely for me in that regard. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the ball doesn't go as far- it had great distance off the tee, but my game suffered with it in the scoring areas. I don't blame the ball though. There's probably a U series ball that is a better choice for me.
I'm not sure what to say about durability. I hit several full wedge shots that didn't leave a mark on it. Then I had a 3/4 approach that really took a nasty bite out of the cover. It probably has more to do with my inconsistency in hitting the ball but it is definitely possible to gouge it up.
 
I let a playing partner use the U4/x yesterday for nine holes and I used the U/4. He's a 16-18 handicap and looks to be in the 220-240 range off the tee with a pretty predictable fade. I didn't tell him much about the ball aside from the brand at first.

He absolutely loved the ball off the tee and rightfully so. From my experience playing with him, he was hitting the ball farther and with some good accuracy. Off the irons/wedges/putter he had some very similar thoughts to mine - basically that the ball felt and sounded very firm. Regardless, he hit a few shots into the green that stuck quickly and left him some short putts. He had a pretty good round by his standards. He was a little surprised to hear the price point and that it was a Tour level ball, but made the comment that he remembered Maxfli having some higher quality balls in the past. In all, I'd say he was mostly impressed.
 
Hawk said:
I let a playing partner use the U4/x yesterday for nine holes and I used the U/4. He's a 16-18 handicap and looks to be in the 220-240 range off the tee with a pretty predictable fade. I didn't tell him much about the ball aside from the brand at first.

He absolutely loved the ball off the tee and rightfully so. From my experience playing with him, he was hitting the ball farther and with some good accuracy. Off the irons/wedges/putter he had some very similar thoughts to mine - basically that the ball felt and sounded very firm. Regardless, he hit a few shots into the green that stuck quickly and left him some short putts. He had a pretty good round by his standards. He was a little surprised to hear the price point and that it was a Tour level ball, but made the comment that he remembered Maxfli having some higher quality balls in the past. In all, I'd say he was mostly impressed.
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Thats some great feedback, thanks for sharing Hawk. The price point + Maxfli still boggles the mind, but if it works, then thats all that matters.
 
War Eagle said:
Thats some great feedback, thanks for sharing Hawk. The price point + Maxfli still boggles the mind, but if it works, then thats all that matters.
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I'll have a few sleeves at the outing, so you are welcome to try them out. I'm still not blown away, but I don't have any major complaints either.
 
Hawk said:
I'll have a few sleeves at the outing, so you are welcome to try them out. I'm still not blown away, but I don't have any major complaints either.
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Any other ball you would compare it to?
 
The cover feels similar to a ProV1 to my fingers, but I'm struggling to match it when it comes to performance. My first thought is that it reminds me of the ProV1 or X almost?
 
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