My box arrived today. Will get some time with them and report back.
Blind Ball Testing Review Thread
I have them in hand. I’ll admit that these look “hex’ish” but I will be 100% shocked it this is a Callaway ball.
No I have not looked it up as to where they came from and until I hit Trackman with the good golfing munchkin and we chip and putt some, I don’t want to know.
I have a VERY strong suspicion who is puting these out, but I will not comment on that nor take into account any bias either as there’s about .5% of me that is unsure. Even if there was once I have good raw data to provide, I’ll do it.
I could play all 4 of these balls and be fine. I haven’t loved the ERC but that’s because for some stupid reason I couldn’t square it up enough to get any meaningful data.
I’d love to blame the lines and to my credit I pointed them everywhere. I’ll hide them next time.
Rusty golfer here. I tried like hell and just can’t provide much. Thursday will be better.
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Some interesting first impressions, and I'm noticing some trends - seems that most have enjoyed the feel of our mystery ball when putting. For me, that's where I start with ball preferences so I'm all ears (and eyes) for your future notes!
Interesting to see the colour differences as well. The mystery ball appears to reflect the most light and seems brightest, which is also appreciated, IMO.
Looking forward to more!
Interesting to see the colour differences as well. The mystery ball appears to reflect the most light and seems brightest, which is also appreciated, IMO.
Looking forward to more!
I got my package in yesterday. Seeing this ball in person is pretty wild. This a completely different dimple pattern than anything I’ve seen. I’ll try one on the sim but I don’t think that’s the whole story for this ball though.
The cover seems different too but I’m not sure what the material really is.
So we have the Callaway ERC Soft, TM Tour Response, and Titleist Tour Speed stacked up against this ball. This price range is about as high as I like to go for a good golf ball. I currently game the Q-Star Tours and I also have a dozen Vice Pro balls for backups. All of these balls are priced around $35-$40 which I really think is a good price for a high quality golf ball.
The cover seems different too but I’m not sure what the material really is.
So we have the Callaway ERC Soft, TM Tour Response, and Titleist Tour Speed stacked up against this ball. This price range is about as high as I like to go for a good golf ball. I currently game the Q-Star Tours and I also have a dozen Vice Pro balls for backups. All of these balls are priced around $35-$40 which I really think is a good price for a high quality golf ball.
Well I got the same package as everyone else yesterday. I guess with so many testers the PM got over looked haha. I am planning to start with some putting in the next couple days. I will hopefully be able to get access to the flight scope my club has to do some numbers testing soon as well. Really looking forward to getting some time with these and posting results. Stay tuned!
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- #157
Ok I have Sim Data on all the balls...
Clubs Used:
Full Iron- Apex 21 7 iron (Only because it was already doted)
3/4 Wedges- Cleveland CBX2 56°
Best Shots only (No time to do full data set):
7 Iron Full Swing:
3/4 Wedges (75 yards to pin):
Clubs Used:
Full Iron- Apex 21 7 iron (Only because it was already doted)
3/4 Wedges- Cleveland CBX2 56°
Best Shots only (No time to do full data set):
7 Iron Full Swing:
3/4 Wedges (75 yards to pin):
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A lot of spin comparatively for mystery ball on the 7i versus the wedges.
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Unfortunately company X did not invent the first unlosable ball. I lost one today during a 5 hole after work session. Got to play one hole with it though. I really like the sound it makes off my putter the little ting is quite pleasant.
I hit these on the putting and chipping green today for a while. Initial thoughts, it's definitely soft. ERC was the softest and Tour Speed was far and away the firmest. Ball X was a nice balance of soft, without being mushy. What I'd imagine a good winter ball to feel like. I don't know if it was conditions, or me, but the Tour Speed and Response had noticeably more spin for me off the wedges and checked up 1-2 yards quicker almost every time. The blank ball was rolling out a bit. I have to think it's some kind of surlyn or ionomer cover based on feel off the face and in hand, as well as the brilliant white color. Unfortunately, 50mph gusts prevented me from getting on course time, but hope to tee them up soon.
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I liked the mystery ball... I don’t think it has a urethane cover like the Tour Speed or Tour Response do... I think that it’s a really good ball with a surlyn cover. Looking forward to getting it on the course.
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- #163
The cover matters more related to spin the closer you get to the green.
Got out this aft for some chipping and pitching practice. I took one of each ball and my SM8 60 degree wedge. I spent 45 minutes or so hitting different shots from around the green. I used all four balls for each shot. I chipped from the fringe, dead bermuda rough and fairway worthy grass that they grow around the green. The longest pitch shot was maybe 35 yards or so.
I started with the TM first then the Titleist on to the Callaway and last was the mystery ball. The TM and the Titleist were the hardest balls in the group and the least amount of spin. The ERC and the mystery ball felt very close to the same to me. Both had great feel off the wedge and I felt the ERC had better spin.
I Also tried two rounds of bunker shots that required going over a 4 foot lip and landing downhill onto the green. No real surprises coming out of the sand on any of them. I tried to land them on the fringe to roll down to the pin. The TM and the Titleist rolled out pretty far. The ERC and the mystery ball were better maybe by a few feet. I will say the durability is very good on each ball. No cuts or knicks after all of the shots. They held up very well.
So far I feel the ERC and the mystery ball are very comparable on the putting and chipping that I have done. I am going to play these on Sunday and play a different ball on each hole. Here are a few pics of our sunny 68 degree aft
I started with the TM first then the Titleist on to the Callaway and last was the mystery ball. The TM and the Titleist were the hardest balls in the group and the least amount of spin. The ERC and the mystery ball felt very close to the same to me. Both had great feel off the wedge and I felt the ERC had better spin.
I Also tried two rounds of bunker shots that required going over a 4 foot lip and landing downhill onto the green. No real surprises coming out of the sand on any of them. I tried to land them on the fringe to roll down to the pin. The TM and the Titleist rolled out pretty far. The ERC and the mystery ball were better maybe by a few feet. I will say the durability is very good on each ball. No cuts or knicks after all of the shots. They held up very well.
So far I feel the ERC and the mystery ball are very comparable on the putting and chipping that I have done. I am going to play these on Sunday and play a different ball on each hole. Here are a few pics of our sunny 68 degree aft
Getting out on the practice area tomorrow. Going to try and get on the course for a couple of holes too. Depends on how busy the course is. It will be a little cold, mid 40's but not absolutely horrible. I would also like to try and get them on a trackman, may have to go to my local indoor place.
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Today I found the ERC Soft & Mystery Ball similar because I think they have a similar cover material. I could be wrong but their Sim data related to spin was very similar.
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Well looks like "the cat is out of the bag" on who makes this ball, all over social media today, but even with all of that, it's still an unmarked "next new ball", with no details on construction or the like. :confused2:
I just saw that post.
This is still an interesting ball and I’ll put it through it’s paces on Monday for sure.
Nice! I’m on way to Trackman 4myself. Unfortunately the better striking kid isn’t feeling good so I’m solo. So... mixed bag upcoming, lol.
And the other two test balls had different spin numbers?
I'm trying to remember...the other factors that impacts spin besides cover are how we compress the ball and how we deliver the club head to the ball, right?
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- #171
With the mid & long irons compression & face contact will affect spin more than the cover .
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Mine have come in, I'll give them some full shot feedback and the like on Saturday. It'll be cold, probably windy.. My favorite time to test a ball 
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THP’ers got it in our hands before they put this up on Twitter... I think that is really cool.
Sunday- I’ll put it in play and probably test durability among other things....
I got out yesterday after work for a little bit to putt and chip a for a few minutes.
Putter:
Titleist Tour Speed- This ball felt the firmest and had the loudest click of all the balls.
Taylormade Tour Response- 2nd firmest with a nice sound off the putter. Not clicky but not a dull thud either.
Mystery Ball- Softer than the other two and a little firmer than the ERC. This ball had a dull thud sound off the putter.
Callaway ERC- The softest of the 4 with a very dull thud.
Chipping: Was not my best day chipping and will try to get more in this weekend but here are my initial thoughts.
Taylormade- The Tour Response seemed to come off a little lower than the others but seemed to have the most bite for me.
Callaway ERC- This ball seemed to come off the highest and land a little softer with decent check.
Mystery Ball- granted for some reason I didn't seem to hit these as good, but they seemed to have less check and roll out a little more than the previous two. Launch was in the middle.
Titleist- The Tour Speed launched a little lower than the mystery ball and did not seem to get near as much check. They rolled out quite a bit further than the others.
One thing I found interesting is that the ERC seemed to accumulate a lot of grass on the cover, the mystery ball did too but not as much. The Taylormade had a few clippings stay on it and the Titleist had almost none. I noticed this while putting on the green and it was dry. I actually had to rub the ERC and blow the grass clippings off of it. I took a pic to show this.
Putter:
Titleist Tour Speed- This ball felt the firmest and had the loudest click of all the balls.
Taylormade Tour Response- 2nd firmest with a nice sound off the putter. Not clicky but not a dull thud either.
Mystery Ball- Softer than the other two and a little firmer than the ERC. This ball had a dull thud sound off the putter.
Callaway ERC- The softest of the 4 with a very dull thud.
Chipping: Was not my best day chipping and will try to get more in this weekend but here are my initial thoughts.
Taylormade- The Tour Response seemed to come off a little lower than the others but seemed to have the most bite for me.
Callaway ERC- This ball seemed to come off the highest and land a little softer with decent check.
Mystery Ball- granted for some reason I didn't seem to hit these as good, but they seemed to have less check and roll out a little more than the previous two. Launch was in the middle.
Titleist- The Tour Speed launched a little lower than the mystery ball and did not seem to get near as much check. They rolled out quite a bit further than the others.
One thing I found interesting is that the ERC seemed to accumulate a lot of grass on the cover, the mystery ball did too but not as much. The Taylormade had a few clippings stay on it and the Titleist had almost none. I noticed this while putting on the green and it was dry. I actually had to rub the ERC and blow the grass clippings off of it. I took a pic to show this.
Preliminary work with the balls today: Using just my GW 47degree 716 AP1, I hit approximately 20 shots with each of the balls in the open air. I don't have a high swing speed, last time I had checked on Trackman it was in the 80mph range for irons and driver was in the 95 range.
My observations were that the mystery ball felt the softest and went about the same average distance, 110 yards carry, as my normal golf ball. The mystery ball also seemed to have a good spin rate, though I am going just by it holding the green I was hitting to. This also seemed to be the higher launching ball of the 4. This ball and the TM ball had the least amount of dispersion with my shots into the green.
The TM Tour Response was a little harder feeling off the club but seems to be a few yards shorter on average carry, it also seemed to have a nice spin rate and held the green really well. This ball was a little harsher on mishits versus the mystery ball.
The Callaway ERC Soft was a little harder than the mystery ball and the TM ball, this ball was the longest of them all but also didn't seem to have the spin rate of the first 2. The ERC was about 5 yards of carry longer than the other two. It also had a little more disparity in dispersion versus the 1st two and wasn't as forgiving either on bad shots.
The Titleist Tour Speed ball was my least favorite for feel and forgiveness. This ball just seemed like a rock when hitting it on well struck shots or bad ones. This ball also seemed to have the least amount of spin and ran out on me a lot on balls hit into the green that would normally have held and did with any of the other balls.
I am hoping to hit some 7 irons and drives with this ball before the weather gets colder here. I will also try and get on a Trackman to see how my observations hold up. I haven't hit a putt with them yet as the practice green was closed today. I will take some time this weekend to putt at home on my practice mat and give some initial thoughts for that.
My observations were that the mystery ball felt the softest and went about the same average distance, 110 yards carry, as my normal golf ball. The mystery ball also seemed to have a good spin rate, though I am going just by it holding the green I was hitting to. This also seemed to be the higher launching ball of the 4. This ball and the TM ball had the least amount of dispersion with my shots into the green.
The TM Tour Response was a little harder feeling off the club but seems to be a few yards shorter on average carry, it also seemed to have a nice spin rate and held the green really well. This ball was a little harsher on mishits versus the mystery ball.
The Callaway ERC Soft was a little harder than the mystery ball and the TM ball, this ball was the longest of them all but also didn't seem to have the spin rate of the first 2. The ERC was about 5 yards of carry longer than the other two. It also had a little more disparity in dispersion versus the 1st two and wasn't as forgiving either on bad shots.
The Titleist Tour Speed ball was my least favorite for feel and forgiveness. This ball just seemed like a rock when hitting it on well struck shots or bad ones. This ball also seemed to have the least amount of spin and ran out on me a lot on balls hit into the green that would normally have held and did with any of the other balls.
I am hoping to hit some 7 irons and drives with this ball before the weather gets colder here. I will also try and get on a Trackman to see how my observations hold up. I haven't hit a putt with them yet as the practice green was closed today. I will take some time this weekend to putt at home on my practice mat and give some initial thoughts for that.