Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

[War Eagle]

Great write up war.eagle! I too find it very interesting that you left a lot of putts short with this ball, yet it was longer off the irons. I see that you stated this ball has a high trajectory, what is your usual trajectory with iron shots?

I thought it was odd as well, and again, I have played all of 9 holes with this ball and some short game practice. Realy looking forward to playing Saturday and Sunday to see if my initial impressions hold true. Usual trajectory with my irons (7,8,9) while I have good distance with them, arent is high with as much of a sharp decline coming down.

Really questioning ten yards gained from a ball war.eagle. I could see maybe 4-5, but ten yards is a lot. It's like going from a Nike Platinum (high spinning, balloon) to a Pinnacle (pure distance, no spin).

In no way am I trying to be "that guy" who claims to be a long hitter on the internet, nor am I trying to say that this ball has "drastically improved my game overnight". I went out and tested this ball, and posted up my results. In those results, I noticed a significant difference in hitting my irons today, while there was not much difference in my driver, and woods. Could it be that I was just having an excellent day of ball striking? Yes, it is a possibility. Could it be that this ball fits well with my game? Again, yes, another possibility. Hopefully I will be able to find out over the next few days, as I get more rounds with this ball. Thats the beautiful part about these forum testings and reviews, it's not just a one and done round with the equipment, we get to test it over a good while, as well as hear back from other folks and what their thoughts are.

 

[coolbreeze]

I thought it was odd as well, and again, I have played all of 9 holes with this ball and some short game practice. Realy looking forward to playing Saturday and Sunday to see if my initial impressions hold true. Usual trajectory with my irons (7,8,9) while I have good distance with them, arent is high with as much of a sharp decline coming down.

In no way am I trying to be "that guy" who claims to be a long hitter on the internet, nor am I trying to say that this ball has "drastically improved my game overnight". I went out and tested this ball, and posted up my results. In those results, I noticed a significant difference in hitting my irons today, while there was not much difference in my driver, and woods. Could it be that I was just having an excellent day of ball striking? Yes, it is a possibility. Could it be that this ball fits well with my game? Again, yes, another possibility. Hopefully I will be able to find out over the next few days, as I get more rounds with this ball. Thats the beautiful part about these forum testings and reviews, it's not just a one and done round with the equipment, we get to test it over a good while, as well as hear back from other folks and what their thoughts are.

Great review WE, I really look forward to your thoughts as you go forward. I'm, playing the Penta as well right now, and it sounds like we have fairly similar games, so that being said, short game spin, who is better? I've never played a ball with the short game spin that the Penta gives me. As for the bolded, rep added.

 

[War Eagle]

[/B]
Great review WE, I really look forward to your thoughts as you go forward. I'm, playing the Penta as well right now, and it sounds like we have fairly similar games, so that being said, short game spin, who is better? I've never played a ball with the short game spin that the Penta gives me. As for the bolded, rep added.

Wow, tough call on that one CB. Ive stated a few times over the last couple of weeks that my short game has been my main focus the past few weeks. I have been playing the TM xFTs for about a month now, and that has helped a lot, especially with being able to work the Pentas pretty good around the green.

Today it just seemed I was getting the short spin a lot easier than in the weeks past, put together a lot of practice with a new ball and maybe that's what got those results. I have a round in the morning, as well as Sunday, and once I get some more time logged, I will make that call on which one wins.

 

[wcueb923]

Nice job So War Eagle

 

[BamBooBender]

I thought it was odd as well, and again, I have played all of 9 holes with this ball and some short game practice. Realy looking forward to playing Saturday and Sunday to see if my initial impressions hold true. Usual trajectory with my irons (7,8,9) while I have good distance with them, arent is high with as much of a sharp decline coming down.

In no way am I trying to be "that guy" who claims to be a long hitter on the internet, nor am I trying to say that this ball has "drastically improved my game overnight". I went out and tested this ball, and posted up my results. In those results, I noticed a significant difference in hitting my irons today, while there was not much difference in my driver, and woods. Could it be that I was just having an excellent day of ball striking? Yes, it is a possibility. Could it be that this ball fits well with my game? Again, yes, another possibility. Hopefully I will be able to find out over the next few days, as I get more rounds with this ball. Thats the beautiful part about these forum testings and reviews, it's not just a one and done round with the equipment, we get to test it over a good while, as well as hear back from other folks and what their thoughts are.

Thanks for the quick reply. So true that it could be just a better ball striking day, it's just one nine hole round after all. A little extra height on a shot is sometimes a good thing though. I have hit balls that flew higher than my already high trajectory, that did actually fly farther on average, usually softer balls with a harder cover that lacked big time for green side control.

 

[JConn]

Really questioning ten yards gained from a ball war.eagle. I could see maybe 4-5, but ten yards is a lot. It's like going from a Nike Platinum (high spinning, balloon) to a Pinnacle (pure distance, no spin).

There is no point in questioning it IMO. He stated what he found, just as testers should.

I think a ball most certainly can add 10 yards. A couple days ago I was playing multiple balls (playing alone and the course was dead). I hit a B330-RX, a ProV1, and a ProV1x. With the driver, I hit the first two (B330RX and ProV1) the same distance give or take a couple yards and I hit the ProV1x 40 yards further!! No joke, 40 yards, I paced it off. I couldn't believe it and had to double check the ball to make sure it was mine. I drove these same three balls on another hole and the ProV1x was much longer again, not 40 yards but quite a bit longer. The first one was obviously a fluke bounce or a miracle or something, I'm just saying, 10 yards is definitely possible. I know I hit NXTs about 10 yards farther than ProV1s.

 

[JTnumbers]

Great Write Ups so far guys. This is so quality information being given.

 

[thedue]

I was not going to come back in here before posting my own thoughts, but just couldn't stay away, lol. Mine have yet to arrive, so it may be early next week before I can post up, but great job so far guys, sounds like some serious results so far.

 

[Trout Bum]

I really want to know how Trout is enjoying his new Balls...

Lol! We know he likes the way they feel!

Hahaha, the only thing going through my mind last night was the song Only You by the Platters LOL!

I think I've been reading to many of Ole Gray's posts lol.

 

[War Eagle]

I was not going to come back in here before posting my own thoughts, but just couldn't stay away, lol. Mine have yet to arrive, so it may be early next week before I can post up, but great job so far guys, sounds like some serious results so far.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts Due!

Hahaha, the only thing going through my mind last night was the song Only You by the Platters LOL!

I think I've been reading to many of Ole Gray's posts lol.

Rolling! Absolutely hilarious.

 

[biggsy]

Great write-up war.eagle. I missed what your regular ball was earlier.

Would you say the ball felt softer on the green and that is why you had to hit it harder? Do you use a putter with an insert?

 

[bgammill]

You guys are doing great with this review. I'm having a hard time keeping up.


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- Tapatalk... Loved by me hated by the wife.

 

[Bullfrog]

Okay my mail man is on his 2nd day of hiking up the mountain to my mailbox... Hopefully he doesn't stop to camp for the weekend...

 

[War Eagle]

Great write-up war.eagle. I missed what your regular ball was earlier.

Would you say the ball felt softer on the green and that is why you had to hit it harder? Do you use a putter with an insert?

Have been playing the Penta for about 2 months now, as well as trying out the Burner Tour as well.

I use a Corza Ghost with the Pure Roll insert.

Course conditions were wet yesterday, and initially I thought it was the greens being slow. When I tested the Penta on the same green, ball x did feel a bit softer at impact than what I had grown accustom to.

I have a round of 18 in 30 minutes, and will post up how I play with it today.


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- ...just tap it in...

 

[biggsy]

Have been playing the Penta for about 2 months now, as well as trying out the Burner Tour as well.

I use a Corza Ghost with the Pure Roll insert.

Course conditions were wet yesterday, and initially I thought it was the greens being slow. When I tested the Penta on the same green, ball x did feel a bit softer at impact than what I had grown accustom to.

I have a round of 18 in 30 minutes, and will post up how I play with it today.

Very interesting, thank you.

 

[Hawk]

Did a couple things this morning. First I grabbed three other balls and closed my eyes while feeling the cover. I did this as a way for the readers to have an idea of how the cover feels. My goal was. To feel which cover was softer.

Balls:
Titleist ProV1 - 3/3 times picked as softer than mystery ball
Titleist DT Solo - 3/3 times picked mystery ball as softer
Srixon Z Star - 3/3 times picked as softer than mystery ball

So, what does that tell me? I guess that mystery ball's cover feels a bit firmer than two of the very soft balls on the market to my fingers. It seemed softer than what I consider to be a firmer surlyn covered ball.

Again, just trying to give a decent picture to those at home as to the cover softness.

 

[Golfingmedic]

Great write up W.E. Seems like you are pleased with the way ball x is performing. I look forward to hearing the reviews from the rest of the testers!!

 

[Hawk]

I putted on the indoor mat. This ball seemed to have the slightly deeper toned sound at impact that I like. It sounded fairly soft off my milled putter. No sharp click, just a solid, pleasing sound.

 

[INgolfer]

I'm really enjoying reading about this ball and I'm even more interested to find out what kind it is. The only thing that bothers me so far is that I absolutely LOVE the way the Penta feels off a putter, and it sounds like this ball does not have that same feel according to WE. I will be interested to see what everyone elses thoughts are after putting with these balls. Great write-ups guys!

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Okay guys and gals, be gentle this is my first ever testing review so I am just learning:bashful:

I played my first round with the "mystery ball" this morning, first I want to preface this by saying I could not play my normal home course today as it was closed for a Corporate Outing..."bastards" I instead ended playing a little municipal about 20 minutes up the road.

PUTTING
After warming up on the range for about 20 minutes I still had about 15 minutes until our tee time so I decided to have some putting practice with the Ball X and my ball de jour, the ProV1x. Right away I could tell a difference in the sound the ball made coming off my putter, it just sounded more "muffled" than the ProV1x. I also noticed that I was leaving everything with the mystery ball about a foot to a foot and a half shorter than the the ProV, but I kept thinking I wasn't putting the same stroke on it, so my buddy and I staged a test. Using his Corza Ghost with the pure roll insert, I had him hold the putter between 2 fingers in front of him with the head barely resting on the ground. This way I could grab the putter by the shaft, pull it back a little way and let it swing freely like a pendelum...my own homemade putting machine..
I then placed a tee in the ground about 10 inches back so that I would be releasing from the same point each time. We then proceeded to hit 10 balls marking the distance each time. We hit 3 with my ProV1x, 2 with his Penta and and 5 with Ball X. The results were pretty conclusive.....the Penta's and the ProV1x's ended up within an inch of each other everytime, however Ball X was at least 4 to 5 inches short of the shortest putt with the other balls and that was with pure inertia on a 10 swing, so on a 20 foot putt you could easily be a foot to 2 feet short. Now to the course!

On the Course
1st hole is a tight 385 yard par 4 with overhanging trees on each side and a slight dogleg right, I decided to hit 3 wood to try to keep it in play. Off the face of the 3 wood Ball X felt great, nice sound coming off the club and a nice high ball flight with a baby fade at the very end. I ended up just right off center with 158 left to the center, so a 227 yard 3 wood off the tee....not bad at all for the first full swing. Pin was in front only about 144 yards which is right in between 9iron and 8iron for me. I chose 9 Iron and hit a high fade that came up just short of the pin by about 4 yards, took one bounce and stopped on a dime about 6 feet short for birdie!! I got over the putt with the thoughts of our tests on the practice green and hit the putt too firm right through the break and lipped it out....oh well tap in par.

2nd Hole is a 591 yard par 5 with a wide open fairway, so I break out the driver and take a nice smooth swing and hit a rope right up the left side about 255 yards. Ball felt good off the face, seem to compress very easily and I LOVE the ball flight!! It was one of those that never seems to get about the tree tops but just carries like hell. GPS says I have 319 to the front edge and according to the flag color, the pin is in the front. My full SW is 105 so I break out my 3hybrid to try and layup to that, I hit it fat and right underneath some limbs and have to punch out to about 50 yards and now I am laying 3. My short game has really been my strong point lately so I was really interested to see how Ball X measured up...I hit a low sand wedge pitch to about 15 foot past the flag and it hopped once then backed up about 6 inches....NICE! I 2 putted from there for bogey.

I'm not going to do a blow by blow of every shot, but I wanted to give you the first couple of holes because I hit a fairway wood, a driver, a hybrid, a short iron and a pitch shot in those 2 holes...only thing I was missing was a bunker shot and a mid iron and I would have had them all

Overall

I didn't see a noticeable difference in distance on my Driver, fairway woods, hybrids or irons...just a little short on putts...but after about 3 holes I got used to that and Ball X rolls very pure. I would say I was impressed with Ball X for my first round...shot 42 front and 44 back for an 86, not bad for a course I havent played in like 5 years.

I'm not ready to say I like this ball better than my ProV1x yet, it's only one round...but the highest compliment I can give it right now is I don't think I would have scored any better with my regular ball.

I have short game practice tomorrow and I will probably play 18 late in the day when there is not many on the course, that way I can play two balls from every position and see how that goes. Hope that wasn't too bad for my first write up, be gentle. :fingers-crossed:

Oh, and I almost forgot....I didnt lose a single ball today:bananadance::blob::clapp:

 

[mdbuschsr]

Yesterday, I received my very nondescript package. I had to swallow the excitement back as I had company over for dinner. Now today I'm at work. Finally I had time to open up the boxes and get my first look at this new-to-me ball. I have been skimming along in the thread trying to avoid actual data on the ball before I had my own chance to see it and get it in the grass. I'm hoping that I can go over to the course after work today, and mess around at the chipping/putting green to get some first impressions. Here are some pictures of the balls that were shipped to me.

Thanks again to THP and our mystery company.

And don't forget...

Spoiler

 

[Hawk]

Took the mystery balls to my short game area today. This spot gives me the ability to hit balls at a green from up to around 100 yards. Today, I hit the mystery balls and some others from 25, 50, and 75 yards. I'll post some videos first. Hope they aren't too boring for you, but you can see how the ball reacts on the green.

50 degree wedge chip shot from 25 yards:

Spoiler

60 degree wedge from 25 yards:

Spoiler

50 yard pitch. Sorry, it's zoomed in way too close to my face:

Spoiler

75 yard choked up 56° wedge. Again, too much zoom:

Spoiler

Short game recap. Yoccos style:

Spoiler

 

[TC]

The Hawk, bringing some video pain. I loved it. Good job buddy. On those short chips I kept yelling at the screen, "aim left hawk"!!! hahaha

I hope my balls are at the house when I get there this afternoon. They sound good off the wedges for sure.

 

[Hawk]

The Hawk, bringing some video pain. I loved it. Good job buddy. On those short chips I kept yelling at the screen, "aim left hawk"!!! hahaha

I hope my balls are at the house when I get there this afternoon. They sound good off the wedges for sure.

I was thinking the same thing haha! I wasn't really trying to hit the flag tbh. I just wanted a distance target. They feel and sound nice off the wedge for sure. Should be able to really get some good feedback tomorrow.

One set of balls that I hit, but didn't video record were from the 75 yard flag, but with a low flying 50°. Ball back in my stance and really holding off my finish. They were just perfect from there. Really quick stop and they stayed nice and low. I think that's going to be my shot from 65-80 yards tomorrow.

 

[TC]

I was thinking the same thing haha! I wasn't really trying to hit the flag tbh. I just wanted a distance target. They feel and sound nice off the wedge for sure. Should be able to really get some good feedback tomorrow.

One set of balls that I hit, but didn't video record were from the 75 yard flag, but with a low flying 50°. Ball back in my stance and really holding off my finish. They were just perfect from there. Really quick stop and they stayed nice and low. I think that's going to be my shot from 65-80 yards tomorrow.

Nice! It's great when testing leads to one of those "ah ha" moments. Hopefully that shot suits you well tomorrow buddy. I love ball testing. I just get the ball and test it and play with it. I don't really compare it to anything. Just me, that ball, my routine and my game and either it will work for me or it won't. Love it! The videos were a nice touch.