Adam0304
Formerly War_Mongering
I've put little findings, but tonight will be my big test on the sim - so don't think I forgot!
Tap before talk.
Polara Golf Ball Testing Review Thread
I've put little findings, but tonight will be my big test on the sim - so don't think I forgot!
Tap before talk.
SW
Grinder
Played 18 last night, tee to green, didn't putt because the greens were very damp and well that just sucks. Played this ball beside my normal night ball, yellow TF's (they're cheap so if you loose them in the dark it's no biggy) with some surprising results. I've stayed out of this thread because I wanted to keep my opinion clear from others input, sorry if I seemed aloof.
Spent a solid hour putting and chippping greenside with the Polara (for this I used a B330 RX to compare), not much difference in performance at all. The Polara feels a little firmer of the clubface and slightly more audible "pop" of the wedges than the RX which makes total sense. One thing I did note, I really liked the arrow as an alignment aide, I've always thought the B-Stone label was a great help but the Polara arrow just seemed better.
Off to the course I went...
Driver: I play a 10.5 so I teed off twice on each hole that I could use Driver/3W twice, one with each to follow the directions on the packaging as close as I could. I've been fighting the low lefts with my 3W for about 2 weeks now and I'm sure it wasn't the ball that corrected that miss for me last night since I did hit a few with the TF very nicely as well. With the Driver I fight a fade, with the Polara I was still seeing some fade on occasion but not as much (think left edge of first cut as oppossed to well right). The ball felt very firm off the face of the Driver but yet felt supple of the 3W, that I can't explain, but it did feel like two different balls. Distance loss/gain was negligible, few times it was a little longer and once or twice it was a touch shorter.
Irons: High, straight and long; to the tune of about half a club longer overall. Of course that got me in trouble with overshooting a few greens and going into the dark areas of the course...sadly white balls and night golf do not mix well.
PW GW 55* Still a little higher ball flight with these clubs but another disclaimer I watched a better wedge player closely last week and picked up a few keys to try last night swing wise, which, I feel helped bring the ball up a bit. Every shot was sticking about 3 feet from it's mark (remember higher flight+damp greens) but the TF did not get as high on average and often would release a little more.
Wanting to get out Wednesday for another round on a full length course to put these through the ringer again, but I really like what I see so far. If you know someone who struggles a bit, be a good friend and suggest they try these out. They may find golf to more enjoyable and might offer to buy you a round after your round for saving them some strokes.
Spent a solid hour putting and chippping greenside with the Polara (for this I used a B330 RX to compare), not much difference in performance at all. The Polara feels a little firmer of the clubface and slightly more audible "pop" of the wedges than the RX which makes total sense. One thing I did note, I really liked the arrow as an alignment aide, I've always thought the B-Stone label was a great help but the Polara arrow just seemed better.
Off to the course I went...
Driver: I play a 10.5 so I teed off twice on each hole that I could use Driver/3W twice, one with each to follow the directions on the packaging as close as I could. I've been fighting the low lefts with my 3W for about 2 weeks now and I'm sure it wasn't the ball that corrected that miss for me last night since I did hit a few with the TF very nicely as well. With the Driver I fight a fade, with the Polara I was still seeing some fade on occasion but not as much (think left edge of first cut as oppossed to well right). The ball felt very firm off the face of the Driver but yet felt supple of the 3W, that I can't explain, but it did feel like two different balls. Distance loss/gain was negligible, few times it was a little longer and once or twice it was a touch shorter.
Irons: High, straight and long; to the tune of about half a club longer overall. Of course that got me in trouble with overshooting a few greens and going into the dark areas of the course...sadly white balls and night golf do not mix well.
PW GW 55* Still a little higher ball flight with these clubs but another disclaimer I watched a better wedge player closely last week and picked up a few keys to try last night swing wise, which, I feel helped bring the ball up a bit. Every shot was sticking about 3 feet from it's mark (remember higher flight+damp greens) but the TF did not get as high on average and often would release a little more.
Wanting to get out Wednesday for another round on a full length course to put these through the ringer again, but I really like what I see so far. If you know someone who struggles a bit, be a good friend and suggest they try these out. They may find golf to more enjoyable and might offer to buy you a round after your round for saving them some strokes.
BlueTitan
New member
Went out to the course today for what was to be a solid 18 to test these Polara's. Turned into a very slow 9. Not to get off topic so I'll save that for another thread.
Working on full write up now which I'll post later tonight. I'm really impressed with these so far!
Working on full write up now which I'll post later tonight. I'm really impressed with these so far!
thedue
Another Day in Paradise
Were seeing some really solid reviews from everyone.
I've put a lot of thought into the entire thing around this ball and I keep thinking about people such as my mother. She still plays competetively at 80 years young, lol. But if not for that, why would someone ever begrudge her or even a weekend golfer who is just out there for the entertainment, air and fun? The more I think about it the more I want to buy some of these to give her and some friends for when they are just out there for enjoyment.
I've put a lot of thought into the entire thing around this ball and I keep thinking about people such as my mother. She still plays competetively at 80 years young, lol. But if not for that, why would someone ever begrudge her or even a weekend golfer who is just out there for the entertainment, air and fun? The more I think about it the more I want to buy some of these to give her and some friends for when they are just out there for enjoyment.
Weezy
New member
That's sad to see GG. JB and you guys work so hard to let us participate in great equipment trials, and get issues such as these.
Thank you guys again for the opportunity and myself and the other Hacker's are very thankful! Keep up the great work THP!
I took the Polara's out this afternoon to do some short game work. As Setho and a couple others had said, I'm beginning to notice that the spin is pretty nice with them, especially the XS. I was hitting some 50 SW shots, and was getting some nice 3-5 foot back spin back to the hole. These balls are beginning to surprise me more and more!
I'm with thedue, I think these would be great for some of our elder hackers. I plan on ordering some of these for a couple of the morning tee time fellows at our local club for their birthdays soon!
Ole Gray
Mayor of the Woodshed
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2008
- Messages
- 31,292
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Watkinsville, Georgia
- Handicap
- Average
This ball has it's place in the market and I'm sure there are golfers who will benefit from less side spin. For me it just does not getting it done in the trajectory department. I played a few more holes today with it to verify my thoughts and it all came down to the same conclusion. If I was a weekend golfer who wanted to play more golf than hunting balls, and did not mind the distance loss, go for it.
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BlueTitan
New member
Polara's Ultimate Straight 2 piece ball review.
64* Winds 8-12 mph
With all the rain then being on call, today was the first day I could get to the course to test these. I went out to a local course I've only played a few times, unfortunately it was in poor shape, sloppy wet and muddy. I'm actually surprised that they were letting people play. Add to that very slow play I only got in 9 holes, here's how it went.
Driving: My driver is a 10* So after reading the instructions I tried teeing it up quite high and letting it rip. My usual miss is a slice to a push slice. This drive was just right of center of the fairway, no push thankfully and no slice just straight. Trajectory was difficult to tell off the first tee since it's a downhill fairway. The soft conditions give the ball minimal roll out. Quite a shocking first drive of the day for me. 2nd hole drive over water at tee, well I push it right, luckily missing the water. The Polara will NOT straighten out a pushed ball. :laughing: But it did eliminate the slice that would usually be added to the end of my miss, that probably would have put the ball OB. It was odd to watch the ball fly during this push, it seemed to fly like a pro baseball pitcher throwing a screwball, if you've seen that you know what I mean. It just kind of swirled in the air, but went straight in the end. The only other oddity to my driving with these balls today was on the 505 yard par 5 The wind was at 11:00. I aimed the line straight down the middle and let it rip. The ball actually flew and shaped like a draw, not something I usually do. Perhaps it was the wind reaction on the dimples? Ended up pulling the driver more than usual to test these so, I used my driver 6 times on this 9, missing the fairway only twice. I did not have the benefit of a GPS or other such device so I accurate yardages will have to wait for further tests. But just from being on the fairway this ball is an obvious bonus already.
Fairway Woods: I didn't tee off with the 3wood, was saving that for the back 9... Did have two shots off the fairway with the 3wood, here I did have a problem with the low launching tendency of these balls. I tried hitting down and even took a small divot but never did get the ball very high into the air and lost a bit of distance. I will tee off with the 3wood my next time out.
Hybrids: Ok, here these Polara's were good. They launched just as high as my usual ball and very straight, just smoked them. A little too long as it went way off the back of the green.
Irons and wedges: I'm going to have to test these more as my results were inconsistent. Distances seemed shorter than I'm used to. I had a very difficult time holding a green with the irons even playing for roll out. I even made sure to put the line perpendicular to my target. Perhaps the conditions of the course lend something to this? Wedges were better playing for the roll out. Next time I'll also be trying the XS balls too.
Putter: The greens were in bad shape so it's hard to judge the balls due to this. One thing I didn't like is the sound off the Odyssey insert. Perhaps the XS will be better.
Looking forward to trying the XS and standard version again in better conditions. Thanks a lot
and Polara for choosing us Hackers to test your products!
64* Winds 8-12 mph
With all the rain then being on call, today was the first day I could get to the course to test these. I went out to a local course I've only played a few times, unfortunately it was in poor shape, sloppy wet and muddy. I'm actually surprised that they were letting people play. Add to that very slow play I only got in 9 holes, here's how it went.
Driving: My driver is a 10* So after reading the instructions I tried teeing it up quite high and letting it rip. My usual miss is a slice to a push slice. This drive was just right of center of the fairway, no push thankfully and no slice just straight. Trajectory was difficult to tell off the first tee since it's a downhill fairway. The soft conditions give the ball minimal roll out. Quite a shocking first drive of the day for me. 2nd hole drive over water at tee, well I push it right, luckily missing the water. The Polara will NOT straighten out a pushed ball. :laughing: But it did eliminate the slice that would usually be added to the end of my miss, that probably would have put the ball OB. It was odd to watch the ball fly during this push, it seemed to fly like a pro baseball pitcher throwing a screwball, if you've seen that you know what I mean. It just kind of swirled in the air, but went straight in the end. The only other oddity to my driving with these balls today was on the 505 yard par 5 The wind was at 11:00. I aimed the line straight down the middle and let it rip. The ball actually flew and shaped like a draw, not something I usually do. Perhaps it was the wind reaction on the dimples? Ended up pulling the driver more than usual to test these so, I used my driver 6 times on this 9, missing the fairway only twice. I did not have the benefit of a GPS or other such device so I accurate yardages will have to wait for further tests. But just from being on the fairway this ball is an obvious bonus already.
Fairway Woods: I didn't tee off with the 3wood, was saving that for the back 9... Did have two shots off the fairway with the 3wood, here I did have a problem with the low launching tendency of these balls. I tried hitting down and even took a small divot but never did get the ball very high into the air and lost a bit of distance. I will tee off with the 3wood my next time out.
Hybrids: Ok, here these Polara's were good. They launched just as high as my usual ball and very straight, just smoked them. A little too long as it went way off the back of the green.
Irons and wedges: I'm going to have to test these more as my results were inconsistent. Distances seemed shorter than I'm used to. I had a very difficult time holding a green with the irons even playing for roll out. I even made sure to put the line perpendicular to my target. Perhaps the conditions of the course lend something to this? Wedges were better playing for the roll out. Next time I'll also be trying the XS balls too.
Putter: The greens were in bad shape so it's hard to judge the balls due to this. One thing I didn't like is the sound off the Odyssey insert. Perhaps the XS will be better.
Looking forward to trying the XS and standard version again in better conditions. Thanks a lot
and Polara for choosing us Hackers to test your products!
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golf4life
Grip n rip
I hit several more tee shots today with the Polara 3 piece ball. Nothing new to report. This thing practically nullifies left or right movement. On the first tee, I hit a big old ballooning fade to the right rough with my regular ball. Put the Polara on the tee, and hit what appeared to be the same shot, but shortly after it left the face, it actually straightened out. You could actually see it stop heading right mid flight. The other guys noticed it do that too. I'll let Hanks, OEM and DDec comment for themselves but every shot with the Polara ended up in a playable spot after being hit, and almost all of them were in the fairway.
When you hit them with a low trajectory, you are definitely going to lose significant distance. When hit on a line, they fall out of the sky so fast you would swear they actually had top spin on them. That's how much we are used to the carrying effects of typical dimple patterns.
I think these balls are a great aid to a casual golfer or beginner, or the anchor on a scramble team that needs to put one in the fairway. I think a box of these balls along with a 12* driver would be a great gift to a beginner.
When you hit them with a low trajectory, you are definitely going to lose significant distance. When hit on a line, they fall out of the sky so fast you would swear they actually had top spin on them. That's how much we are used to the carrying effects of typical dimple patterns.
I think these balls are a great aid to a casual golfer or beginner, or the anchor on a scramble team that needs to put one in the fairway. I think a box of these balls along with a 12* driver would be a great gift to a beginner.
10YardDraw
Ex Club Ho
I agree, everything i have seen with these balls are the same as the first on course review i did. They will def help out the people that struggle to keep it in the fairway and just play for fun.
highscoreinky
Hope is not a method.
+1. Again, thanks for all your time consuming, tedious, and underappreciated work!
SD Charlie
New member
Well, got out for a quick nine today. I had just finished up a softball game, so I was a little tired. Tired body means some less-than-perfect swings are in order, so great chance to put this ball to the test. So, here's what I saw:
First hole - 150 yd par 3, tee up the ball aiming the arrow at the green and let it rip. I put such a good swing on the ball, I overshot the green. Which was the first indication of what I was going to see with this ball on iron shots. It really seems like the ball jumps with irons. The ball has a higher trajectory than I'm used to, which could be problematic in windy conditions. I felt as though I could definitely compress this ball with just about any club on a full swing.
First experience with the driver was interesting. I actually blocked my first attempt and pushed it high and right. It hit a tree and unfortunately was lost. I re-teed and put a better hit on the ball this time, but it definitely felt like the kind of swing that result in a strong draw to a hook. It actually looked as though the ball would start to hook, but I swear I could actually see the spin correcting the shot back to center. Trajectory off the driver this time was lower than normal, which probably relates to the company's recommendation to use higher lofted clubs with this ball. My drive actually ended up being about 245 yards, so probably a little less distance than I"m used to, but I'm good with 245 in the fairway any day.
Tee shots with the 3-wood also performed well, even when not hit all that squarely. High and straight, that's what this ball does. Here are a couple notable shots / experiences from the day.
-I wanted to hit a 3-iron cut/fade off the tee to avoid some trees on one hole. Knowing that this ball wants to go straight, I decided to not align the arrow to the hole to get some spin. Boy did I get some spin! I hit the ball square, got a REALLY high launch, and then it seriously cut over to the neighboring fairway. So yes, you can definitely get spin on this ball if you don't use the alignment arrow.
- I had a 2-hybrid tee shot, and my swing was really breaking down a this point. I put a really ugly swing on the ball, and caught it on the toe. As expected, the ball went right, but I think the ball design kept it from really getting lost right. The distance penalty from the mishit wasn't even that bad either. If only I didn't shank the pitch back to the green!
-Putting and short game performance was as good as I could expect. I used the Ultimate Distance XS, and it checked up on the greens pretty well. Similar to a B330-RX, I would say.
All-in-all, the ball does really well. And I can vouch that the technology in it certainly works. I can see this ball being really beneficial to the weekend warriors out there who aren't worried about official handicaps and just want to enjoy a round out in the fairway. I will definitely keep it in the rotation for a round where I might want to have some drinks.
Cheers,
C
First hole - 150 yd par 3, tee up the ball aiming the arrow at the green and let it rip. I put such a good swing on the ball, I overshot the green. Which was the first indication of what I was going to see with this ball on iron shots. It really seems like the ball jumps with irons. The ball has a higher trajectory than I'm used to, which could be problematic in windy conditions. I felt as though I could definitely compress this ball with just about any club on a full swing.
First experience with the driver was interesting. I actually blocked my first attempt and pushed it high and right. It hit a tree and unfortunately was lost. I re-teed and put a better hit on the ball this time, but it definitely felt like the kind of swing that result in a strong draw to a hook. It actually looked as though the ball would start to hook, but I swear I could actually see the spin correcting the shot back to center. Trajectory off the driver this time was lower than normal, which probably relates to the company's recommendation to use higher lofted clubs with this ball. My drive actually ended up being about 245 yards, so probably a little less distance than I"m used to, but I'm good with 245 in the fairway any day.
Tee shots with the 3-wood also performed well, even when not hit all that squarely. High and straight, that's what this ball does. Here are a couple notable shots / experiences from the day.
-I wanted to hit a 3-iron cut/fade off the tee to avoid some trees on one hole. Knowing that this ball wants to go straight, I decided to not align the arrow to the hole to get some spin. Boy did I get some spin! I hit the ball square, got a REALLY high launch, and then it seriously cut over to the neighboring fairway. So yes, you can definitely get spin on this ball if you don't use the alignment arrow.
- I had a 2-hybrid tee shot, and my swing was really breaking down a this point. I put a really ugly swing on the ball, and caught it on the toe. As expected, the ball went right, but I think the ball design kept it from really getting lost right. The distance penalty from the mishit wasn't even that bad either. If only I didn't shank the pitch back to the green!
-Putting and short game performance was as good as I could expect. I used the Ultimate Distance XS, and it checked up on the greens pretty well. Similar to a B330-RX, I would say.
All-in-all, the ball does really well. And I can vouch that the technology in it certainly works. I can see this ball being really beneficial to the weekend warriors out there who aren't worried about official handicaps and just want to enjoy a round out in the fairway. I will definitely keep it in the rotation for a round where I might want to have some drinks.
Cheers,
C
bogey_russ
outside operations
im still waiting also... an im not in canada hahaha
Lynchburg14
New member
Okay today was the first time I was able to get out and test these golf balls. I went to a course I have played tones so I knew where to hit the ball and how far I normally hit the ball on this course. The course was a little wet but the temps were in the mid 60's with a slight breeze. Here are my findings.
I started with the ball on the putting green and putted both the ultimate straight and the ultimate straight xs along with a Callaway Tour IZ. Both of the Polara golf balls felt very heavy off the face of the putter. When I made contact with the Callaway it was very smooth and felt solid. The polara felt like I had to put more behind the putt to get it there. Also it had a different sound compared to the Callaway and just about every other ball I have played. With that said the ball still rolled fine and I was able to lag it just fine. Other than the heavy feeling off the face of the putter there was not problem with the ball putting. My overall score for the balls putting would be a 7
As for chipping the ball felt good off the face. It did not have that heavy feeling like it did when I was putting. I am not the best chipper so I did not have any real expectaions. I did not notice any difference in spin compared to the Callaway I was playing. I normally use my 9 iron to chip with and let the ball run. The Polara's ran just as good as the Callaway. I chipped just as good as I normally do so therefore I would give this ball an overall score of 10.
Off the tee with Driver was whole different story. This ball SUCKS off the tee. It felt heavy again and made me feel like my driver was dead. I was out driving these two ball by 70-80 yards with my driver. The driver I was using is the Adams 9064ls x-stiff at 9.5 loft. The ball would go about 200 yards and nose dive straight down. It did go straight most of the time. I had one shot that still had a fade to it. The best comparison I could come up with on how the ball felt with the driver was like when hitting a water logged baseball. It just had the dead feeling. For driver I give this ball a score of 3 only because it do go straight.
My woods were completely different then the driver. I crushed my 3 wood all day with both of Polara's. I hit them straighter by about 10 yards compared to the Callaway. The distance was with in 5 yards of Callaway every time, some were longer some were shorter but they were deadly straight. I do not know how to shape the ball so I can give no feedback on that issue. The ball did not feel heavy and it had a nice crisp sound off of my Taylormade R9 which is a 13 degree. The woods score is a 8.
This ball was made to be hit with irons or at least my irons. I hit both of the balls straighter than any ball I have ever hit! It had a great pop of the iron and went a long way. I lined the stamp up with it pointing towards my target line. The ball went longer and straighter then the Callaway. I hit the Callaway higher then the Polara's. Here are some of the distances I hit today. Callway: 5iron 175 yards, 7iron 155, 8iron 145, PW 120. The yardage with the Polara's are as follows: 5iron 185, 6iron 175, 8iron 153, 9iron 145, PW 135. I was longer with the Polara but I had better action on the ball with the Callaway when landing it on the green. My shots with the Polara's would hit and get a long bounce and lots of roll. The Callaway would land softer and not bounce as much and I had some action to it. This could be because I hit the ball higher or because I did not have the alignment on the Polara's perpendicular. I was able to compensate for this by clubbing down. For example there was a par 3 that sat 170 today. I hit 6i knowing that the Polara would go longer (i normally would hit 5i on this hole). I landed the ball pin high (170) but it bounced and rolled 15 yards to the back of the green and into the bunker. I re-hit and hit a 7i it landed around 165 and rolled another 10 feet or so. My overall score for the irons was a 10
Overall this ball is 6 because the driver brings it down so bad. I really like the fact that the ball went straight and that I crushed my woods and irons. But being so short on every swing with the driver is enough to make me not play or buy these balls. It just felt so bad with the driver that I wanted to put it back in the bag after the 4th hole. This ball is best suited for par 3's in my opinion. The guys I was playing with all hit them too and they felt that this would be good for the older golfer who is not worried about distance and just wants to be in the fairway. I hope this helps in the review process.
I started with the ball on the putting green and putted both the ultimate straight and the ultimate straight xs along with a Callaway Tour IZ. Both of the Polara golf balls felt very heavy off the face of the putter. When I made contact with the Callaway it was very smooth and felt solid. The polara felt like I had to put more behind the putt to get it there. Also it had a different sound compared to the Callaway and just about every other ball I have played. With that said the ball still rolled fine and I was able to lag it just fine. Other than the heavy feeling off the face of the putter there was not problem with the ball putting. My overall score for the balls putting would be a 7
As for chipping the ball felt good off the face. It did not have that heavy feeling like it did when I was putting. I am not the best chipper so I did not have any real expectaions. I did not notice any difference in spin compared to the Callaway I was playing. I normally use my 9 iron to chip with and let the ball run. The Polara's ran just as good as the Callaway. I chipped just as good as I normally do so therefore I would give this ball an overall score of 10.
Off the tee with Driver was whole different story. This ball SUCKS off the tee. It felt heavy again and made me feel like my driver was dead. I was out driving these two ball by 70-80 yards with my driver. The driver I was using is the Adams 9064ls x-stiff at 9.5 loft. The ball would go about 200 yards and nose dive straight down. It did go straight most of the time. I had one shot that still had a fade to it. The best comparison I could come up with on how the ball felt with the driver was like when hitting a water logged baseball. It just had the dead feeling. For driver I give this ball a score of 3 only because it do go straight.
My woods were completely different then the driver. I crushed my 3 wood all day with both of Polara's. I hit them straighter by about 10 yards compared to the Callaway. The distance was with in 5 yards of Callaway every time, some were longer some were shorter but they were deadly straight. I do not know how to shape the ball so I can give no feedback on that issue. The ball did not feel heavy and it had a nice crisp sound off of my Taylormade R9 which is a 13 degree. The woods score is a 8.
This ball was made to be hit with irons or at least my irons. I hit both of the balls straighter than any ball I have ever hit! It had a great pop of the iron and went a long way. I lined the stamp up with it pointing towards my target line. The ball went longer and straighter then the Callaway. I hit the Callaway higher then the Polara's. Here are some of the distances I hit today. Callway: 5iron 175 yards, 7iron 155, 8iron 145, PW 120. The yardage with the Polara's are as follows: 5iron 185, 6iron 175, 8iron 153, 9iron 145, PW 135. I was longer with the Polara but I had better action on the ball with the Callaway when landing it on the green. My shots with the Polara's would hit and get a long bounce and lots of roll. The Callaway would land softer and not bounce as much and I had some action to it. This could be because I hit the ball higher or because I did not have the alignment on the Polara's perpendicular. I was able to compensate for this by clubbing down. For example there was a par 3 that sat 170 today. I hit 6i knowing that the Polara would go longer (i normally would hit 5i on this hole). I landed the ball pin high (170) but it bounced and rolled 15 yards to the back of the green and into the bunker. I re-hit and hit a 7i it landed around 165 and rolled another 10 feet or so. My overall score for the irons was a 10
Overall this ball is 6 because the driver brings it down so bad. I really like the fact that the ball went straight and that I crushed my woods and irons. But being so short on every swing with the driver is enough to make me not play or buy these balls. It just felt so bad with the driver that I wanted to put it back in the bag after the 4th hole. This ball is best suited for par 3's in my opinion. The guys I was playing with all hit them too and they felt that this would be good for the older golfer who is not worried about distance and just wants to be in the fairway. I hope this helps in the review process.
tomahawk18
Waiting for some sun!?
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2011
- Messages
- 3,100
- Reaction score
- 16
- Location
- Bothell, Washington, United States
- Handicap
- GHIN 6.6
Got my balls Saturday morning, played today. I hit them, and also Gave a sleeve to my dad, (68 years old), and my buddy, (a 22 handicapper). In short, these balls are very effective in keeping the ball straight. You can almost see them correcting in flight. Pretty cool technology. The launch angle and distance issues with low loft drivers are troubling, but if you need to keep it in play, these are for you! Just got home and will be posting a full review tomorrow with some pics I took. I would like to thank THP and Polara for the opportunity to test this product. I'm surprised at the results... 
pickemfootball
Member
Over the weekend, I had a chance to test out the Polara Ultimate Straight (“US”) and Ultimate Straight XS (“XS”) balls. My driver is a Ping G5 10.5* with Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue regular shaft.
I was a bit nervous on the first hole. I haven’t been this nervous on the first tee since I first began playing golf. Even though I read the prior reviews, I didn’t know exactly how the ball would react to my swing. Luckily, the first hole on this course is a fairly wide open par-4. You really have to duck hook the drive to put it into the adjacent driving range on the left. I decided to take a nice and easy swing. I made two rhythmic practice swings to slow down my swing for the first drive with the XS. All I can say is “wow!” This thing really works. I saw the ball want to go left, but it fought the draw and landed in the middle of the fairway. That was a great feeling to see the ball in the middle of the short grass. The ball flight was a bit lower than my usual flight. Like others have reported, I was about 10 yards shorter than my usual distance. I had about 100 yards to the pin, so I grabbed my 56* sand wedge. I wanted to leave myself an uphill putt for birdie. With a nice easy swing, I landed pin high, but rolled about 8 feet past the hole. I missed the slick downhill putt, burning the edge, and tapped in for par. At this point, I was feeling very confident and good about the round.
Hole #2 is a dogleg left par-5. Feeling confident and greedy for the 10 yards I lost on the previous drive, I decided to swing a little harder. I know greed is my number one fault in my golf game, but with this self-correcting ball, I thought I will give it a go. BIG MISTAKE!! There is a maintenance area on the left side of hole #2. The fence starts about 70 yards to the left of the hole. Well, the reason I mention the maintenance fence is I ended up swinging too hard and duck hooked my new XS ball towards the fence. It was a low shot that screamed into the fence and somehow went through and ended up in the maintenance yard. I was so angry at myself. After hitting a perfect drive, I hit a rookie shot and lost my new technological product. I teed up my third shot and hit the exact same shot. What the heck!! Luckily, the ball stayed on the course. But, at this point, all the confidence I had on hole #1 is gone. I will save you guys the details of my up and down round, but highlight the general shots I was hitting with the US and XS balls.
Even with a 10.5* driver, I had a hard time keeping the ball in the air long enough to get my usual distance. When I didn’t generate enough launch, the ball “died” in the air. On average, I was 10-15 yards shorter with the driver. However, on par-3s, with the arrow pointed at the target, I was about 5-10 yards longer with my irons. On a par-3 150 yard hole, I hit my 8-iron over the green and bunker (about 165 yards). My usual distance with an 8-iron is 150 yards. I hit the ball clean and it felt great seeing the ball launch high and straight at the flag. It was a pretty sight in the air. The result was not what I expected, but the flight was ideal. For all the par-3s, I had the arrow pointing at the target. Ball flights were straight and went where I was aiming.
The technology on the Polara balls really works. On numerous drives, I could see the dimples helping my ball stay on the fairway/green. Now, no technology will help correct an awful swing, as evidenced by my shots on hole #2. I didn’t have a great FIR number because my swing was making adjustments due to the lack of confidence after hole #2. Also, even with a 10.5 driver, I had some really low drives. The ideal results for me were when my drives were high with a smooth swing.
As I did not lift the balls and align them to the target after each shot, I could not really test the effects of the balls on approach shots (outside of par-3s). Balls did roll after landing on the greens, and only slightly more than the ProV1x I usually put into play (FYI all my approaches bounce and roll).
I thought the balls would feel hard on putts and roll more than other balls I have played, but that was not the case for me. It rolled exactly the distance I expected. The sound was clicky but not too loud. It was a little louder when I had to putting harder, but it was fine for me. Chips and pitches rolled slightly more than other balls I use, but not by much. I couldn’t notice a technology advantage with chips, pitches or putts.
For most of the round, I used the XS balls. The US balls are a bit harder, but did not give me more distance. I couldn’t see a benefit with the US balls over the XS balls.
Overall, the technology works. For me, there are certain trade-offs with these balls. I rely on my distances with my driver because of my poor iron game. It puts too much pressure on my mid irons if I lose 15 yards on the driver. Also, this day, my swing was not consistent enough to hit a high launching shot each and every time. I think the Polara balls are fun and great for a casual round with friends on those tight, short courses, especially with holes with water surrounding the par-3s.
Thanks again to Polara and THP for this opportunity to test these balls.
I was a bit nervous on the first hole. I haven’t been this nervous on the first tee since I first began playing golf. Even though I read the prior reviews, I didn’t know exactly how the ball would react to my swing. Luckily, the first hole on this course is a fairly wide open par-4. You really have to duck hook the drive to put it into the adjacent driving range on the left. I decided to take a nice and easy swing. I made two rhythmic practice swings to slow down my swing for the first drive with the XS. All I can say is “wow!” This thing really works. I saw the ball want to go left, but it fought the draw and landed in the middle of the fairway. That was a great feeling to see the ball in the middle of the short grass. The ball flight was a bit lower than my usual flight. Like others have reported, I was about 10 yards shorter than my usual distance. I had about 100 yards to the pin, so I grabbed my 56* sand wedge. I wanted to leave myself an uphill putt for birdie. With a nice easy swing, I landed pin high, but rolled about 8 feet past the hole. I missed the slick downhill putt, burning the edge, and tapped in for par. At this point, I was feeling very confident and good about the round.
Hole #2 is a dogleg left par-5. Feeling confident and greedy for the 10 yards I lost on the previous drive, I decided to swing a little harder. I know greed is my number one fault in my golf game, but with this self-correcting ball, I thought I will give it a go. BIG MISTAKE!! There is a maintenance area on the left side of hole #2. The fence starts about 70 yards to the left of the hole. Well, the reason I mention the maintenance fence is I ended up swinging too hard and duck hooked my new XS ball towards the fence. It was a low shot that screamed into the fence and somehow went through and ended up in the maintenance yard. I was so angry at myself. After hitting a perfect drive, I hit a rookie shot and lost my new technological product. I teed up my third shot and hit the exact same shot. What the heck!! Luckily, the ball stayed on the course. But, at this point, all the confidence I had on hole #1 is gone. I will save you guys the details of my up and down round, but highlight the general shots I was hitting with the US and XS balls.
Even with a 10.5* driver, I had a hard time keeping the ball in the air long enough to get my usual distance. When I didn’t generate enough launch, the ball “died” in the air. On average, I was 10-15 yards shorter with the driver. However, on par-3s, with the arrow pointed at the target, I was about 5-10 yards longer with my irons. On a par-3 150 yard hole, I hit my 8-iron over the green and bunker (about 165 yards). My usual distance with an 8-iron is 150 yards. I hit the ball clean and it felt great seeing the ball launch high and straight at the flag. It was a pretty sight in the air. The result was not what I expected, but the flight was ideal. For all the par-3s, I had the arrow pointing at the target. Ball flights were straight and went where I was aiming.
The technology on the Polara balls really works. On numerous drives, I could see the dimples helping my ball stay on the fairway/green. Now, no technology will help correct an awful swing, as evidenced by my shots on hole #2. I didn’t have a great FIR number because my swing was making adjustments due to the lack of confidence after hole #2. Also, even with a 10.5 driver, I had some really low drives. The ideal results for me were when my drives were high with a smooth swing.
As I did not lift the balls and align them to the target after each shot, I could not really test the effects of the balls on approach shots (outside of par-3s). Balls did roll after landing on the greens, and only slightly more than the ProV1x I usually put into play (FYI all my approaches bounce and roll).
I thought the balls would feel hard on putts and roll more than other balls I have played, but that was not the case for me. It rolled exactly the distance I expected. The sound was clicky but not too loud. It was a little louder when I had to putting harder, but it was fine for me. Chips and pitches rolled slightly more than other balls I use, but not by much. I couldn’t notice a technology advantage with chips, pitches or putts.
For most of the round, I used the XS balls. The US balls are a bit harder, but did not give me more distance. I couldn’t see a benefit with the US balls over the XS balls.
Overall, the technology works. For me, there are certain trade-offs with these balls. I rely on my distances with my driver because of my poor iron game. It puts too much pressure on my mid irons if I lose 15 yards on the driver. Also, this day, my swing was not consistent enough to hit a high launching shot each and every time. I think the Polara balls are fun and great for a casual round with friends on those tight, short courses, especially with holes with water surrounding the par-3s.
Thanks again to Polara and THP for this opportunity to test these balls.
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bogey_russ
outside operations
dang youre only 45 mins away from me lol... good review bro
Fairway2Green
The Obstacle is the Path
I'm really tired so I'm going to post a review from a full 18 with these today tomorrow morning when I wake up. I can say I was really shocked by these. I couldn't hit one offline. Didn't notice much distance loss. Only negative is they do release quite a bit, but you can play for that most of the time.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lynchburg14
New member
I played Sleepy Hole over in Suffolk shot 95. Should have been lower but had one BAD hole.
bogey_russ
outside operations
still waiting on my balls :sad:
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2010
- Messages
- 10,448
- Reaction score
- 135
- Handicap
- 20
Maybe your ghosts stole them?
- Staff
- #521
getting ready to call it a night but wanted to drop a few quick thoughts on these tonight.
Hit these a few times off the tee today, sure enough straight. If you've ever played Tiger Woods golf and you pick where you want to hit it and hit that target majority of the time, well using these are similar. Over the weekend I used these 11 times off the tee, no surprise I found it in the fairway all 11 times. As long as you get the ball up in the air and not a line drive this ball will work for you. While it may not fly as far as some other balls, I think we've all said before I'd take center cut over 10 yards in the rough. Line it up, tee it high, and give it a whack and you'll be hitting fairways at an unbelievable rate. This product works as advertised.
Hit these a few times off the tee today, sure enough straight. If you've ever played Tiger Woods golf and you pick where you want to hit it and hit that target majority of the time, well using these are similar. Over the weekend I used these 11 times off the tee, no surprise I found it in the fairway all 11 times. As long as you get the ball up in the air and not a line drive this ball will work for you. While it may not fly as far as some other balls, I think we've all said before I'd take center cut over 10 yards in the rough. Line it up, tee it high, and give it a whack and you'll be hitting fairways at an unbelievable rate. This product works as advertised.
Staples
Dirtydawg67
You might want to look into this. I got mine 3 days after GG sent them.
bogey_russ
outside operations
maybe the mailman stole them
another one from va... hmmm i wonder if something went wrong
kdub1981
New member
Hit these Polaras over the weekend at Sandpines Golf Club in Florence, OR. First off the conditions were not ideal. Sideways rain for most of the weekend. What I noticed is the ball was not ideal in the wind. It's high trajectory need was not ideal for these conditions. I tried a couple with a low trajectory shots but the ball didn't have enough time to "self correct." I lost a couple into the woods because the wind. The ball did appear to "self correct" when I misshit but not to the extent that I would say was "valuable." I was disappointed in a way but because I don't feel like these are real golf balls. They're kind of a hokey idea. You're not really testing yourself if the golf balls are doing it for you. (Although I'm sure that could be said about some drivers.) While I'm sure the market is out there for these balls, I don't know that I would ever buy these.
For those that want to know, they do feel different in weight and sound odd off the tee.
Anyway, I thank Polara and THP for the opportunity. Pretty fun.
For those that want to know, they do feel different in weight and sound odd off the tee.
Anyway, I thank Polara and THP for the opportunity. Pretty fun.
Adam0304
Formerly War_Mongering
Alright, I'm home from the range/simulator and in the following paragraphs I'll attempt to break down my thoughts.
Looks: this is extremely petty since it's white and round, but I just don't enjoy looking at this ball. The dimples are shallow and unattractive and company's logo is tacky. I do like the alignment feature on both, and I like that they are color-coated to decipher which ball you're using. Overall, I most definitely don't prefer the balls looks, but if they perform I couldn't care more. Also, to echo some of the other testers - the sleeves and box are extremely generic. I think they could have made the sleeves look much more appealing.
Feel: When I first held this ball, I had one feeling: this feels like a used range ball. It felt heavy (until P4B proved that untrue) and the cover didn't give me that nice sticky feeling that you get with a premium ball.
The test: I decided to hit 15 balls with each club with each ball instead of playing a simulated round since I believe these numbers will be more beneficial.
Driver: here's some background, I use a Supertri 10.5 with a C. Kua 39r and have a mid ball flight. My swing speed is up to the low 90's and my miss is a hook, my worst miss is a duck hook that normally lands OOB.
I teed up the 2 piece ball after I'd hit a small bucket to warm up. First couple of swings were solid, and I'm pretty sure I didn't need the spin-correcting technology. I attempted to put a hue draw on the ball and here is where the ball shined positive, the draw never came. The ball stayed near the target line (5-10 yards) to the left but it would have found the short grass. Using the simulator, I'm unsure if the ball flight would have been lower but it did feel lower. (average drive: 223)
The 3 piece felt softer on impact and I still had no problem compressing it. The spin results were similar to that the of 2 piece. I had spin but it was significantly reduced when I put a bad swing on the ball. Also, distance was closer to my average with this ball. (average drive: 238)
Irons: The two balls performed admirably off the irons. I didn't notice any significant distance lost off the irons, but the balls felt clicky, but not to the extent of feeling poorly. I hit a natural draw with my irons and when the stamp was aligned, my draw was shrunk to a ball that was going straight with a trickle to the left. I did duck hook one and the simulator showed the duck hook, but I'm pretty sure it was simulator error because it was the only extreme spin I'd seen.
The 3 piece felt much better than the 2 piece, they both compressed and I'd noticed more ball residue on my irons from the 3 piece.
Wedges: I did not like full shots with my irons and the 2 piece ball. They didn't feel as if they were being struck well (Callaway Diablo hx tours felt fine) and all strikes felt like mishits. The ball went straight as desired but something just "felt" wrong. The 3 piece felt like a harder (cover) version of the e6. I was getting solid distance and it was point and shoot. If I squared the club face it was like putting through the air.
Putter: I did not either ball of the putter. Both balls felt all wrong, and I couldn't judge distance. They were very clicky and felt significantly harder off the putter face than all other balls I use. The alignment aid was effective, but I just didn't enjoy putting with these.
2nd opinion: I had a buddy who is just starting the game hit these. The ball stayed lower than ideal but his slice was turned into a meager fade. His distance didn't suffer as much as mine, and I plan on letting him use them on the simulator again soon.
Company satisfaction: A+. Any company that offers this many balls to testers is a company I hope succeeds. While I wouldn't game the ball I certainly believe this ball SHOULD have a market with people who struggle with left/right spin.
Conclusion: The ball is durable and works as advertised, but the feel of the ball just lacked. I wouldn't use it as my everyday ball, but I do see it's benefits. I'm hoping to use the sim again this week, and solidify my thoughts or revise any that change.
Tap before talk.
Looks: this is extremely petty since it's white and round, but I just don't enjoy looking at this ball. The dimples are shallow and unattractive and company's logo is tacky. I do like the alignment feature on both, and I like that they are color-coated to decipher which ball you're using. Overall, I most definitely don't prefer the balls looks, but if they perform I couldn't care more. Also, to echo some of the other testers - the sleeves and box are extremely generic. I think they could have made the sleeves look much more appealing.
Feel: When I first held this ball, I had one feeling: this feels like a used range ball. It felt heavy (until P4B proved that untrue) and the cover didn't give me that nice sticky feeling that you get with a premium ball.
The test: I decided to hit 15 balls with each club with each ball instead of playing a simulated round since I believe these numbers will be more beneficial.
Driver: here's some background, I use a Supertri 10.5 with a C. Kua 39r and have a mid ball flight. My swing speed is up to the low 90's and my miss is a hook, my worst miss is a duck hook that normally lands OOB.
I teed up the 2 piece ball after I'd hit a small bucket to warm up. First couple of swings were solid, and I'm pretty sure I didn't need the spin-correcting technology. I attempted to put a hue draw on the ball and here is where the ball shined positive, the draw never came. The ball stayed near the target line (5-10 yards) to the left but it would have found the short grass. Using the simulator, I'm unsure if the ball flight would have been lower but it did feel lower. (average drive: 223)
The 3 piece felt softer on impact and I still had no problem compressing it. The spin results were similar to that the of 2 piece. I had spin but it was significantly reduced when I put a bad swing on the ball. Also, distance was closer to my average with this ball. (average drive: 238)
Irons: The two balls performed admirably off the irons. I didn't notice any significant distance lost off the irons, but the balls felt clicky, but not to the extent of feeling poorly. I hit a natural draw with my irons and when the stamp was aligned, my draw was shrunk to a ball that was going straight with a trickle to the left. I did duck hook one and the simulator showed the duck hook, but I'm pretty sure it was simulator error because it was the only extreme spin I'd seen.
The 3 piece felt much better than the 2 piece, they both compressed and I'd noticed more ball residue on my irons from the 3 piece.
Wedges: I did not like full shots with my irons and the 2 piece ball. They didn't feel as if they were being struck well (Callaway Diablo hx tours felt fine) and all strikes felt like mishits. The ball went straight as desired but something just "felt" wrong. The 3 piece felt like a harder (cover) version of the e6. I was getting solid distance and it was point and shoot. If I squared the club face it was like putting through the air.
Putter: I did not either ball of the putter. Both balls felt all wrong, and I couldn't judge distance. They were very clicky and felt significantly harder off the putter face than all other balls I use. The alignment aid was effective, but I just didn't enjoy putting with these.
2nd opinion: I had a buddy who is just starting the game hit these. The ball stayed lower than ideal but his slice was turned into a meager fade. His distance didn't suffer as much as mine, and I plan on letting him use them on the simulator again soon.
Company satisfaction: A+. Any company that offers this many balls to testers is a company I hope succeeds. While I wouldn't game the ball I certainly believe this ball SHOULD have a market with people who struggle with left/right spin.
Conclusion: The ball is durable and works as advertised, but the feel of the ball just lacked. I wouldn't use it as my everyday ball, but I do see it's benefits. I'm hoping to use the sim again this week, and solidify my thoughts or revise any that change.
Tap before talk.