Absolutely. The performance I see on the wetter/softer greens down here is very different than what other see in colder climates.
. I was able to move the ball a little more off irons and saw some nice draws when I wanted them. And again, those shots off the toe still performed pretty well and didn't kill me.
Course: Monroe Golf and Country Club, Monroe, GA
Weather: GORGEOUS. Not hot, not cold, slightly windy.
So this was the first time I've been able to play golf with no rain puddles and > 45* weather in quite a while. The day was just perfect as OG, KB, MaryC and myself teed off. I asked OG if he had an E6 in his bag because I'd lost all mine and the Walmart on the way up to the course didn't have the new ones to continue the testing. Lucky for us, he pulled out a brand new one and off I went for a nice warm day of testing; a first.
From the very first tee, I was reminded why we should all be enthralled with this ball. I was having a particularly decent day with the driver (up until an unfortunate injury during an 'overswinging' bomber attempt). As much as the performance in chilly, and even downright cold, weather excited me, the performance in warm weather was nothing short of awesome!! Just about every drive was met with an OG-ism of some sort related to the distance I was getting off the tee. Full disclosure: It was breezy and most of the tees are elevated, but I knocked 2 or 3 out very near the 300 mark (285, 291, 297). The one thing we noticed was when I was trying to turn the ball off the tee, it just wouldn't. I'm no pro player, but I can usually slice just by overswinging and draw based on ball position, but the 3 times I tried to move the ball, it went straight as an arrow...and long. Until the "injury", I was having a stellar day of driving. I would grade it an easy 'A'.
Once off the tee, the fun stuff started. This course is no joke when it comes to its rough (which was down, thankfully, due to winter conditions) and the stupidly difficult greens and approach areas with false fronts and other surprises. I really didn't have too much difficulty getting the ball on the green. I've learned to just club down a tiny bit and play the ball as its performance dictates. I hit a fair amount of greens from fairly decent yardages that either stayed on or just touched the fringe. I think on my well struck shots, I was seeing the ball hop and run out to about 12 feet past the pitch mark. I hit one 8i in particular out on the toe that landed just on the front and still only rolled out about 20ft or so. One of the shots of the day, though, was a cut 7i to an elevated green that ended up pin high about 10ft left of the hole. I still wish it would check up more, but I can't argue with what it does off the face and in flight.
Putting on this course is hit or miss. You'll either have the line AND the read AND the grain read correctly and do well, or you will not and will suffer greatly. I was using a stainless face putter with no insert and the e6 still felt 'confident' off the face. I think it was having the wrong putter for these greens more than anything, but I think I got used to it as the day went on. My absolute shot of the day was a speedy, downhill, 5ft right to left breaker from about 25ft that hit center-cup for a hard-scrambled par. (That entire sequence of shots is a story in itself.)
DRIVER: Finally getting to play a warm e6 really opened my eyes to the performance in this ball. If you have to turn lots of tee shots on your course, I hope you're good at it, because I was having a devil of a time getting this ball to move even 10yds off line. My partners that day can attest that I tried like mad to cut one around some trees (open face, ball back, over swing a bit) and the dang ball still jumped straight out down the fairway....and sometimes through the fairway.
IRONS: I was hitting irons pretty well and when the R11 gets hold of this ball right on the nose, it's really a great feeling. Ball flight is a nice, mid-high for me, but never really got caught up in the breezes that were present on the course that day. I didn't see any balooning (off the driver, either) and what I wanted the ball to do, it generally did (until I was on the green :sadface
WEDGE: I used all the wedge shots this day; half, full, punch, flop and chip. In my opinion, the ball performs fine if you know what to expect out of it and don't go shooting right for the cup expecting it to stop dead. I was getting the shots I expected and on each the ball felt solid and 'present' on the face. To me that gives me the confidence of knowing how the ball is going to feel every swing and gives me the abliity to develop a touch for certain shots. I had some long running bump-n-runs as well as a nice high flop that all did what I wanted.
PUTTER: I will be back on my less punishing home course greens this week and in the warmer temps, so hopefully I'll get more feedback from the stainless putter I've been using lately (while I decide which new SeeMore to pick up).
I feel like I want to try the e5 after testing is over, but I will be using that same e6 that OG let me have until I lose it. Yes...I used the same ball the entire round at Monroe and it barely has a mark on it. It wouldn't have ANY marks on it had it not been the two trees I played pinball with trying to create a miracle shot. Durability is definitely above average with this ball as I was beating it around pretty good and only marked it by being silly. I wiped it down after the round and it looked brand new; well, most of it did.
Previous Posts:
Link to:
Unboxing post.
Link to:
First test report.
Link to:
Second test report.
Link to:
Third test report.
Just wanted to report that I FINALLY took this ball out of play. I played all 18 with it in Monroe, another 9 during men's league, and 16 more this past Sunday. I most likely could still play it with no notice to its abrasions. Maybe a shag bag ball now, which is OK. It will be retired with honor.
