Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

[fuffle master]

Mystery Ball: Look (review)

I have to speak on the looks of this ball first and foremost because it feels and looks different than anything I have played with before. The mystery ball has a very pronounce hexagon dimple pattern with the raised circle inside each larger dimple. I would say this is more of a honeycomb look than we see with the Callaway hexagon dimples.

I am including close-up shots of the "Mystery Ball", so everyone can get a real look at the way the dimples are constructed.

Mystery Ball


It's a unique honeycomb dimple pattern with many different size combs spread around each other. The honeycombs/dimples look to be different in depth. I can't measure, but to my eye, they almost seem to have some deeper honeycombs than others. As I said earlier, each honeycomb has another raised circle inside. The closest I can compare this dimple pattern to is the Top Flight Gamer ball.


That ball had a set of dimples inside each dimple.

While these are not dimples in the honeycombs, they are clearly there for a purpose. I am not going to dwell on the Top Flight ball as we are not testing against that one. I just wanted to give as an example because of the unique honeycomb/dimple structure of the "Mystery Ball"

To feel this ball it's like feeling a raw unpolished ball. There is a rough feeling that I am sure some may find different while others will really like. I am mixed on it so far. I did a blind test where I had a grab bag with all four balls in to see if I could tell which ball I was grabbing. I couldn't tell the difference between the three Standard Balls (Callaway ERC, TaylorMade Tour Response, and the Titleist Tour Speed), however, it was very easy to tell which one was the "Mystery Ball".

Just going on the feel and look of the ball I would say it was going to be a hard distance ball. But that didn't feel the case when putting, which I will get into later in a separate post. Being the Mystery Ball is more of a matte or raw finish you can clearly see the color difference from the balls included in the test kit. When placing all four balls on the ground the three standard balls with the Mystery Ball you can clearly tell the Mystery Ball is more like a matte finish and much less reflective of glare. The color is also different in the fact it looks a totally different shade in the white family.

The look and feel are very unique, but I think the whole factor of a golf ball is on performance and how our personal swing, perceptions, feel, and scoring will determine how most will review this ball. Going to have lots of fun coming with testing this ball.

 

[Mmaynard11]

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:

So I’m guessing it’s not the e6...I just got the email from them. I’m liking what I’m seeing so far!!!

 

[golfinnut]

I got out today for a mid-afternoon round at my local home course. (Raspberry Falls https://www.raspberryfalls.com/) Played the front side by myself so it was a great time for practice with all of the balls.

I hit two balls off the tee, two into the green & so on.

Hole #1 - straight away par 4, large green. Started with both Titleist balls. Forgot ..... I added the new 2021 ProV1 to the mix. Contenders .... '21 ProV1 vs Tour Speed



'21 Titleist took all categories. Longer than the Tour Speed, softer & spinnier (is that a word) & nice feel off the putter. I did not like the performance of the Tour Speed at all. At least 10 yards behind the '21 version & no feel whatsoever. #1 winner .... '21 Titleist

Hole #2 - short par 4 with uphill 2nd shot to a large green sloping from left to right. Contenders .... TM Response vs Mystery Ball

This was a very close contest. Distances were almost identical off the tee, while the trajectory was a bit higher with the TM Response. The stopping power were great with both balls. The TM even backed up a bit, which was surprising to me. Off the putter, very nice feel off each one. Made birdie with the TM though, so I got that going for me. #2 winner ... TM Response

Hole #3 - Long par 4 with elevated tee box. Great hole to see what the ball does off the tee. Contenders ... Callaway ERC vs Mystery Ball

Mystery ball longer off the tee box. Put a great swing the TSi2 on both balls but the ERC just didn't go nearly as far. 2nd shot down the fairway just short of the green with both balls. More of an audible click with the mystery ball but not overly harsh. Seemed to be way too much spin with the ERC & it ended up about 10 yards shorter. Pitching, the ERC stopped a bit quicker, to no surprise, than the mystery ball. That one advanced a bit more but ended up closer to the hole. (saving par ) The ERC stopped quicker, so it left me a bit further away than I wanted, so I missed the putt. The ERC does putt well with the alignment lines though. #3 winner .... Mystery Ball

Hole #4 - par 5 to the right. Contenders ..... TM Response vs '21 Titleist

Off the tee, the '21 Titleist takes it by a few yards. It wasn't the best swing on the TM ball but it still held it's line really well. 2nd shots .... came out of the TM ball & missed the green short & right. '21 Titleist stuck on the green in two, great trajectory TM Response pitch hit & stuck really well. Tap in birdie & 2 putt birdie with the '21 Titleist. Good performance by both balls. #4 winner .... by a dimple because of the better result on the 2nd shot ..... '21 Titleist

Hole #5 - par 3 Contenders .... Mystery Ball vs Tour Speed

Mystery ball missed the green but flag high. Tour Speed missed short & right ... not even close. Bad swing. Pitch to about 3 feet, stopped pretty quick. Pitch & run with the mystery ball, nearly holed .... ran right by the edge. Tap in par. Bad putt, miss-read with the Tour Speed, bogey. #5 winner .... Mystery Ball

Hole #6 - short par 4 Contenders .... '21 Titleist vs Mystery Ball

Teed off with #2 iron ... perfect club for this hole. (love this club!) '21 Titleist was a perfect trajectory out to the middle of the fairway. Mystery ball was also a nice trajectory, more flat. '21 Titleist takes the distance by only a few yards but more in the center of the fairway. Less than 100 yards in on both .... gap wedge. '21 Titleist was perfect, never left the flag. In fact, it hit the actual flag, got caught up in the flag & dropped right next to the hole. I haven't done that in a long time. It usually would hit the pole itself & clang away ... it's just my luck. Same gap wedge with the Mystery Ball, slight push to about 15 feet, stopped easily. Right near it's pitch mark. #6 winner .... '21 Titleist

Hole #7 - par 3 up the hill Contenders ..... Callaway ERC vs Tour Speed

It's usually a 7-iron for me, but I wanted to hit a bit of a knockdown, punch so I took a 6-iron. ERC ball nice soft response off the face, slight pull to the left (seems I always do when I try to hit the knockdown) but not quite to pin high since the flag was all the way in the back. Tour Speed ... very bad fade, short & into the bunker. Sand shot with a high lip, got out, but couldn't see the flag. It advanced to about 6 feet but still missed the putt. ERC pitch was soft off the 52* which hit & stopped fairly close. Hit a horrible putt, that I should have made, but missed for bogey. Still don't like the way the Tour Speed feels off all shots. #7 winner ..... Callaway ERC

Hole #8 - fairly short, slight dog-leg right par 4. Contenders ...... Callaway ERC vs '21 Titleist

Off the tee, Titleist once again felt great with great distance. ERC way too much spin for me off the tee, fade to the right side but still in play. '21 Titleist takes the distance by quite a margin. Probably a lot to do with the fade but it was at least 12 - 15 yards. 2nd shot .... ERC missed short & right. My misses with the spinnier (in case you actually read this entire thing, that's the 2nd time I've used a word that I don't know is a word or not ) balls all tend to be fades to the right. At least I'm learning what balls fit me best this way. 2nd shot ... '21 Titleist with 8-iron, nice high trajectory that carried pin high, slight push that just didn't come back, hit & spun back & to the right a bit passed it's pitch mark. Pitch ..... ERC hit & stopped with barely any roll out to about 3 feet, still missed the putt .. bogey. 2 putt par with the '21 Titleist. #8 winner ...... '21 Titleist

Hole #9 - par 5 straight away. Contenders ....... TM Response vs '21 Titleist

Off the tee, hit both balls with great swings. '21 Titleist edges out in distance by a narrow margin but both in the fairway. 2nd shot .... layup with 5 iron to just short of the creek & green. Like the trajectory of both balls. Overall feel still goes to the '21 Titleist though off the irons. Short pitch over the creek .... '21 Titleist hits & stops on a dime right near the hole (glad the greens were soft from all the moisture) TM Response pitch .... caught a bit low on the face, so it ran out a bit more than I would have liked to about 6 feet, landed right near the same pitch mark as the '21 Titleist. (yes, grooves help with spin but I must only need a dimple & a groove ) Tap in birdie with '21 Titleist but missed the putt with the TM Response. #9 winner .... '21 Titleist

So .... here we go.

DISTANCE
'21 Titleist
TM Response
Mystery Ball
Callaway ERC
Titleist Tour Speed

FEEL & SOUND
'21 Titleist
TM Response
Mystery Ball
Callaway ERC
Titleist Tour Speed

SPIN (HIGHEST TO LOWEST)
Titleist Tour Speed
Callaway ERC
'21 Titleist
TM Response
Mystery Ball

OVERALL
'21 Titleist performed the best all around. Coming in a close 2nd was the TM Response then the Mystery Ball, then Callaway ERC & finally the Titleist Tour Speed. This was a fun time hitting different shots & seeing how each ball performed vs each other. It's amazing how you think you put the same swing on the ball two times in a row but the ball still performs differently. The only reason why I say that is that I was hitting the driver really well today & back to back swings felt the same but the results were completely different.
I love testing balls! Thanks again THP & to all the OEM's

 

[DataDude]

I played a few holes today. I lost another of the test balls. I am down to 1 left. I haven't lost any of the other balls and I have played maybe 13 holes switching them out each hole. Today I hit it off a tree into the woods. My fault not the balls. I did get a hole and a half in before that and I like the ball. I hit a real nice drive on the par 5 I lost the ball on. I then hit my 3 wood wide open into the woods. The ting on putts is still delightful and these balls feel soft off the face. By the look of the downwind drive I hit today they have no problem launching. Of course a small sample size.

 

[Smiter]

I’ve tested the snot out of them. Someone that’s 100% sure PM what they are.

I still have results to sort through and hopefully get up tonight, if not tomorrow night. Got them on Trackman. Didn’t have the ballstriking kid with me but I did find out a bladed one of these with a 7i goes almost as far as my driver, lol. I hit one 271 and being worn out (this was a workout for me) my best out of 4 drives went 281 at the end.

I have solid Trackman data and honestly I’ll have to go back and make some sense of it. I will say that all 4 balls performed very similar, the TM ball being a bit of an exception. I’ll explain why as soon as I can sort through all the pics I took and the relevant versus non relevant data.

Seriously though I’ve done the blind thing and other than adding data from Jr, I’m done testing except long game. I have a good idea, and I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone so someone please PM me. Thanks.

 

[buckeyewalt]

Well, I was really sure that I had the correct ball, it was a DTC, not sold in stores, and has a unique dimple pattern. I got it...I know what it was...until the Tweet came out

Wrong again!!!!

 

[Smiter]

Someone tweet me WTF it is via PM. I’m going nuts as I’m pretty sure I know but want to know for sure. I’ve akready tested and if I find out before Junior has a chance to air them out, he’ll never know. Until after.

 

[Smiter]

Ok, testing today at 419 Golf, a newer Trackman 4 facility with a teaching pro there that I’d let mess with my kids swing. I was a teaching pro once 20+ years ago for a season. I’ve built my kids swing (relax it’s not like mine, lol!) and he’s playing to a + with short game being the main issue-now since he hated practice.

So the amount of tweaking I’m going to let go is minimal. Point is I trust the guy there, and I’m not going to name him as I haven’t asked, but I’d let him tweak a couple things. He knows his stuff and if something isn’t working he’s not scared to change course. That’s what I needed to see before I’ll let him tweak. I’ve been there enough, he knows his stuff. Enough said.


Balls- you all know them so I’ll abbreviate them down. I tested them in order alphebetically so I wouldn’t confuse myself,lol

ERC-putting-it was my second choice. I went on consistent distance on this indoor green that probably rolls a 12-13. It’s fracking fast. All three from 45 feet (ish, as long as you can get) were pin high with out hitting the collar three easy tap ins. That got away from me going back up 45ft-(tough putt as moving 6” made it break 2’ more) but all moved the speed I thought. I only holed one from 15 feet out of the three (this was a harsh putt, again you had to be right where it needed to be, not only on line but on the mat. They need to stretch it again (sorry but legit critique).

TM-to me the softest ball on the green by far. It also, well I’ll get to that later. I made one of the 45ft downhill putts. I left one short by a couple inches, and had a mishit that was 5ft short. That was the only one I didn’t make for a 2 putt on balls that remained on the green (more on that later). I only made 2 uphill putts and I hadn’t quite figured it out yet by uphill I mean rolling 12 only and depending on what crease, you could play 6” of break or 5’. Green needs work. I made my usual 1/3 that I did for everyone from 15ft. I probably could have concentrated and made more of those, but I dunno what was going on? I knew the line, maybe the carpet was creased some skidding early in the putt as I don’t generally skid them.

Titleist/I cannot abbreviate this one. I didn’t care for it’s “clicky” feel but I appreciated making 2/3 from 45 feet or so. I also made a 5’ break putt that I fearlessly rolled in with 7” of break as I hit it 6ft oast if if it didn’t go in.

Xp- I loved the way it felt. I had the line down from both the bottom and top of the green by now, the only dissapoontment is only making one from 15ft. By this point the staff thought I could putt (huh?-if I know the line sure) so rolling in one on each side of the 45ft or so Max was impressive? I’d have felt better about it but on an indoor green, so long as you start them online with correct speed they go in. Still made my stupid 1/3 15 footers. That was frustrating when you’re dropping bombs.

So putting I’d probably go

1. Erc-didn’t make crap but felt great and rolled true just didn’t have the line yet. Speed was perfect.

2 XP-ball felt great and rolled great. It's the only one that didn’t skip on me on the uphill/sideways 15 footer that I got from all others. I still only made 1/3 like all he others. I picked the wrong damn putt. I made more from 45ft than 15ft.

I’ll need more testing and my little expert.

3. TM- most responsive and if you need tour level feel, you’ll get it here. I’m not sure it’s not my favorite.

4. Titleist-still impressed. All four balls putted admirably. Thanks to probably taking a slight mishit on one it gets the doghouse treatment. Worst miss I had I will point out in 48 putts 36 of them at 45ft or so and the other 12 at 15 feet I hooked every one. Only three putt was with this one when I had a bout of old guy palsy 2x in a row. Missed a 5 footer that I’d left short from 45.

Softest (of putter, this will change)
XP
ERC
Titleist
TM

More to come tomorrow. I’m tired. Night y’all! Leave you with a teaser, this wasn’t a super grabby wedge, it just ancommin GW. Here is a tease of the next few days and I’ll reveal which cover is still half on my club.....



Great strike, lol. If I sell irons the grooves are good. Mainly because I’ve used most of them.

But only one ball was hurt tonight. It was an 11k RPM clipped spinner but I hit one with each. This one didn’t like it. Which one is it (this with me swinging GW pretty much 85 CHS or less-but I got appx one yard less than carry throughout and even without stupid spin these are coming at 65* so I don’t need a premium ball, lol.

Pre edit, I did a good job at concealing the ball.

I purposefully have not compared them to my gamer. THP wants my feedback on these 4. It is enough of a workout.

I’ll comoare them later after this is over. Tomorrow, at least greenside wedges. I’ll try to go more involved but I type too much.

 

[#troy]

Received the package yesterday, a little late to the party. Some great stuff going on in the thread already.

4 different balls included
Callaway ERC Soft- retails for $34.99
Funny not listed on Callaway website currently
Multi material hybrid cover

TaylorMade Tour Response- retails for $34.99
Urethane cover

Titleist Tour Speed - retail $39.99
Urethane cover

Mystery Ball????




First test was rolling a few putts on the Truline Green.

I like the Tour Speed alignment mark on the ball. Had not used the triple track before, it is not bad, but is quite busy.
The Tour Response is quite plain.
Mystery Ball- plain/no markings


Sound wise to me, Titleist had loudest sound, followed by TM and Callaway and mystery ball were muted.

Heading to the trackman sim this weekend and will get some full swing feedback.

All balls weighed in at 1.6oz

I did cut one of the mystery balls open, 3 piece ball with a large pink core.

 

[Chef23]

I have a couple of hours on our Trackman at our club tomorrow and I think I am going to focus on stats with the 4 balls. I am thinking PW, 7i and driver. I will gather 4-6 good swings with each and get some stats. In a follow up day I will play 9 holes playing two of the balls against each other. It is cold here so outdoors isn't really a fair comparison.

I have been putting a fair amount with all four balls on my putting mat and frankly I could putt with any of them. I think the Titleist ball feels a bit firmer but I could adjust easy enough to any of the balls off the putter. I have hit putts with a Bettinardi milled putter, Odyssey SL Marxman and an older Ping putter with the Isopure insert. If I had to rank the balls I would say the Titleist feels the firmest and the mystery ball is toward the softer end of the spectrum.

I have always said I am not sure I have the most sensitive hands in the world when it comes to feel of a golf ball or club.

 

[e1iterate]

I’m doing a little putting on my mat right now. Will report back in a bit.

 

[e1iterate]

So I’ve been messing around putting in my house for the last bit in-between calls with work and here is my initial thoughts from just the putter.

Feel Ranking:
Mystery Ball
Taylormade Tour Response
Callaway ERC Soft
Titleist Tour Speed

I ranked these this way because I felt the ball really seemed to jump off the face for some reason with the mystery ball. The Taylormade ball felt really good as well and seemed to have some pop too it too. The Callaway and Titleist balls both just did not feel good to me. Ironically, the Callaway ball I probably had the best speed control with.

Sound Ranking:
Taylormade Tour Response
Mystery Ball
Callaway ERC
Titleist Tour Speed

I like a more muted sound and I felt the Taylormade and Mystery Ball had the more soft sound to it while the Callaway and Titleist balls had a louder pop to them.

Looks Ranking:
Mystery Ball
Taylormade Tour Response
Titleist Tourspeed
Callaway ERC Soft

I ranked this way as I don’t like a lot going on with my ball. The plain white mystery ball looks clean and it’s super white. The Taylormade was less busy and had a nice white color to it. The Titleist ball looks a bit dirtier than the other balls, but it’s less busy than the ERC. The ERC is just too busy for me, but it’s got a nice white color to it.

 

[WICHITAREJECT]

Noticed an ad to sign up to test a Bridgestone ball....coincidence??!!

 

[Davidhibler]

Got the balls out on the course today. I played 6 holes with each - ERC, mystery ball, tour speed. I did not put the tour response in play as I have played those a ton and am very familiar with how they perform.

I was able to test all types of shots during my round, and had lots of chips/pitches to the real greens so I got a better idea of spin.

Starting with distance.
Driver/woods
1. Tour response
2. Tour speed
3. ERC
4. Mystery ball

Irons and hybrids were much, much closer with distance for me. #2 & 3 could be switched. Its that close.

1. Mystery ball
2. Tour response
3. Tour speed
4. ERC

Spin into the green on full shots was a little different than when I did the short hame testing the other day my spin rankings did change quite a bit, and the mystery ball did want to check up a lot more on real greens.

Spin on full shots

1. Tour response - stops on a dime
2. Tour speed - almost as good as the tour response.
3. ERC - small release after pitch mark
4. Mystery ball - much better check and shorter release, but still too much release for me.

Some final thoughts on the mystery ball - since it is the real test ball -
I did not care for the feel on full swings. It was like hitting a marshmallow or a foam golf ball.
The cover feels harder in the hand, but is very soft off the club face, and I did experience a little shredding on a full wedge shot.
The ball fealt dead in driver mishits, but distance was fair.

@PackersGirl put the mystery ball into play for the last 6 holes of the round.
she currently plays the Bridgestone Lady Precept, and sometime will put an oncore elixr into play.

She seemed to like the ball a lot. She said it feels very similar to her Bridgestone ball, but maybe slightly firmer on putts. Trajectory was higher than the oncore and lower than she gets from her current Bridgestone - what i would call ideal for her. She was getting a bit more distance from the mystery ball, and it checked up much better than her current ball.
She said she wants to buy a dozen if/when they come out.

bottom line here, this is not the ball for my game. Its a good ball for a lower SS player who may be looking for more distance and a little extra spin around the green.

 

[Smiter]

Received the package yesterday, a little late to the party. Some great stuff going on in the thread already.

4 different balls included
Callaway ERC Soft- retails for $34.99
Funny not listed on Callaway website currently
Multi material hybrid cover

TaylorMade Tour Response- retails for $34.99
Urethane cover

Titleist Tour Speed - retail $39.99
Urethane cover

Mystery Ball????

View attachment 8988358


First test was rolling a few putts on the Truline Green.

I like the Tour Speed alignment mark on the ball. Had not used the triple track before, it is not bad, but is quite busy.
The Tour Response is quite plain.
Mystery Ball- plain/no markings


Sound wise to me, Titleist had loudest sound, followed by TM and Callaway and mystery ball were muted.

Heading to the trackman sim this weekend and will get some full swing feedback.

All balls weighed in at 1.6oz

I did cut one of the mystery balls open, 3 piece ball with a large pink core.

View attachment 8988367

I knew someone would but I promised it wouldn’t be me, lol.

 

[Mmaynard11]

Will be putting these through the paces on the course tomorrow morning. Looking to see how they perform in all aspects of the game...off the tee, iron shots, wedges & putting.

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

I don’t really know what to make of this, but they’re clearly excited about the prototype.

 

[mikeg_74]

I’ve spent the better part of this week taking time and putting with each ball. Some indoors and some outside on the practice green. Nothing scientific, just getting a feel for each ball and mainly paying attention to what kind of speed/distance control I saw with each. For reference I alternated between a 330M Metal X Milled & a Toulon Las Vegas.

Sound/Feel -
This is an area that is so subjective. For me the ball has to feel good coming off the putter. I don’t mind an audible “click” as long as it’s not a firm/dead type of feel. I use a milled putter so that can have an effect on what I’m feeling/hearing also. An insert putter most likely would provide different feedback and I might do that at some point later on for reference. As I said, the following is based on indoor and outdoor putting

1. TM Tour Response - I was pleasantly surprised how this ball felt coming off the putter. Nice muted sound at impact with a consistent roll over and over again.

2. Mystery Ball - It was really close, but this one came in just below the Tour Response. Honestly, you could slap the TM logo on this one and tell me it was the Tour Response and I would believe it. Sound was nice and it felt great coming off the putter, but for me

3. Callaway ERC - This one had a more audible click for me. It didn't feel bad off the putter face, but not a feel/sound I would prefer.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - The harshest feeling ball of the bunch. This one felt really firm and produced a feeling I did not care for. A little surprising given it has a Urethane cover.

Distance Control -

1. Mystery Ball - I really like this ball with longer putts. Anything inside of 10ft reached the hole and didn't offer any surprises. At this distance I am looking for consistency with the roll and it did all I needed to do. Where I was really happy was on longer putts, especially lag putts. Again I tried to make a repeatable swing each time and this ball was closer to the hole more often than not. It even went in a couple of times, and offered consistent results.

2.Callaway ERC - Nothing really excited me about this ball. That’s not a bad thing as it showed to be predictable from the distances I tested, but something was just off. The only thing I can think of was the sound/feel was not jiving with me. I can’t ignore the performance, because like the mystery ball, it proved to be really good on longer lag putts.

3. TM Tour Response - This was the surprise of the bunch. Based on the sound/feel I really had high hopes. Inside of 10 feet I had no issues. I saw a nice roll and the ball reaching the target without any issues. Where this one fell short for me was on longer putts. I don’t know if it was the softness at play here, but I found myself needing to swing a little quicker to get the distances I needed. I tried to repeat my swing like I had with the first two balls and it consistently came up a couple of feet short.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - This ball was my least favorite. If the sound/feel didn’t putt me off, the overall experience did. Distance wise it was ok and better on lag putts than the Tour Response, but I’m putting this one last because it just felt dead to me. I know that’s not scientific or descriptive enough, but I’m struggling to find words to describe it. I just never felt comfortable putting with this ball.

I’ve got a round set for Sunday so hopefully I can give some thoughts on these from the tee and into the green post round.

 

[Mmaynard11]

I don’t really know what to make of this, but they’re clearly excited about the prototype.

Aerodynamic

 

[Mmaynard11]

I’ve spent the better part of this week taking time and putting with each ball. Some indoors and some outside on the practice green. Nothing scientific, just getting a feel for each ball and mainly paying attention to what kind of speed/distance control I saw with each. For reference I alternated between a 330M Metal X Milled & a Toulon Las Vegas.

Sound/Feel -
This is an area that is so subjective. For me the ball has to feel good coming off the putter. I don’t mind an audible “click” as long as it’s not a firm/dead type of feel. I use a milled putter so that can have an effect on what I’m feeling/hearing also. An insert putter most likely would provide different feedback and I might do that at some point later on for reference. As I said, the following is based on indoor and outdoor putting

1. TM Tour Response - I was pleasantly surprised how this ball felt coming off the putter. Nice muted sound at impact with a consistent roll over and over again.

2. Mystery Ball - It was really close, but this one came in just below the Tour Response. Honestly, you could slap the TM logo on this one and tell me it was the Tour Response and I would believe it. Sound was nice and it felt great coming off the putter, but for me

3. Callaway ERC - This one had a more audible click for me. It didn't feel bad off the putter face, but not a feel/sound I would prefer.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - The harshest feeling ball of the bunch. This one felt really firm and produced a feeling I did not care for. A little surprising given it has a Urethane cover.

Distance Control -

1. Mystery Ball - I really like this ball with longer putts. Anything inside of 10ft reached the hole and didn't offer any surprises. At this distance I am looking for consistency with the roll and it did all I needed to do. Where I was really happy was on longer putts, especially lag putts. Again I tried to make a repeatable swing each time and this ball was closer to the hole more often than not. It even went in a couple of times, and offered consistent results.

2.Callaway ERC - Nothing really excited me about this ball. That’s not a bad thing as it showed to be predictable from the distances I tested, but something was just off. The only thing I can think of was the sound/feel was not jiving with me. I can’t ignore the performance, because like the mystery ball, it proved to be really good on longer lag putts.

3. TM Tour Response - This was the surprise of the bunch. Based on the sound/feel I really had high hopes. Inside of 10 feet I had no issues. I saw a nice roll and the ball reaching the target without any issues. Where this one fell short for me was on longer putts. I don’t know if it was the softness at play here, but I found myself needing to swing a little quicker to get the distances I needed. I tried to repeat my swing like I had with the first two balls and it consistently came up a couple of feet short.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - This ball was my least favorite. If the sound/feel didn’t putt me off, the overall experience did. Distance wise it was ok and better on lag putts than the Tour Response, but I’m putting this one last because it just felt dead to me. I know that’s not scientific or descriptive enough, but I’m struggling to find words to describe it. I just never felt comfortable putting with this ball.

I’ve got a round set for Sunday so hopefully I can give some thoughts on these from the tee and into the green post round.

I felt the same as you Mike on long putts with the TaylorMade Tour Response. After a few rounds of putting I felt myself either speeding up the stroke more or having to hit it harder to give me a comparable distance to the other balls.

 

[YukonLiving]

Great feedback and reporting all around! Those are some consistent numbers @JDax!

The cover sure does intrigue me here. That shape is mesmerizing. And putting feel continues to be just about universal...

 

[Smiter]

I’ve spent the better part of this week taking time and putting with each ball. Some indoors and some outside on the practice green. Nothing scientific, just getting a feel for each ball and mainly paying attention to what kind of speed/distance control I saw with each. For reference I alternated between a 330M Metal X Milled & a Toulon Las Vegas.

Sound/Feel -
This is an area that is so subjective. For me the ball has to feel good coming off the putter. I don’t mind an audible “click” as long as it’s not a firm/dead type of feel. I use a milled putter so that can have an effect on what I’m feeling/hearing also. An insert putter most likely would provide different feedback and I might do that at some point later on for reference. As I said, the following is based on indoor and outdoor putting

1. TM Tour Response - I was pleasantly surprised how this ball felt coming off the putter. Nice muted sound at impact with a consistent roll over and over again.

2. Mystery Ball - It was really close, but this one came in just below the Tour Response. Honestly, you could slap the TM logo on this one and tell me it was the Tour Response and I would believe it. Sound was nice and it felt great coming off the putter, but for me

3. Callaway ERC - This one had a more audible click for me. It didn't feel bad off the putter face, but not a feel/sound I would prefer.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - The harshest feeling ball of the bunch. This one felt really firm and produced a feeling I did not care for. A little surprising given it has a Urethane cover.

Distance Control -

1. Mystery Ball - I really like this ball with longer putts. Anything inside of 10ft reached the hole and didn't offer any surprises. At this distance I am looking for consistency with the roll and it did all I needed to do. Where I was really happy was on longer putts, especially lag putts. Again I tried to make a repeatable swing each time and this ball was closer to the hole more often than not. It even went in a couple of times, and offered consistent results.

2.Callaway ERC - Nothing really excited me about this ball. That’s not a bad thing as it showed to be predictable from the distances I tested, but something was just off. The only thing I can think of was the sound/feel was not jiving with me. I can’t ignore the performance, because like the mystery ball, it proved to be really good on longer lag putts.

3. TM Tour Response - This was the surprise of the bunch. Based on the sound/feel I really had high hopes. Inside of 10 feet I had no issues. I saw a nice roll and the ball reaching the target without any issues. Where this one fell short for me was on longer putts. I don’t know if it was the softness at play here, but I found myself needing to swing a little quicker to get the distances I needed. I tried to repeat my swing like I had with the first two balls and it consistently came up a couple of feet short.

4. Titleist Tour Speed - This ball was my least favorite. If the sound/feel didn’t putt me off, the overall experience did. Distance wise it was ok and better on lag putts than the Tour Response, but I’m putting this one last because it just felt dead to me. I know that’s not scientific or descriptive enough, but I’m struggling to find words to describe it. I just never felt comfortable putting with this ball.

I’ve got a round set for Sunday so hopefully I can give some thoughts on these from the tee and into the green post round.

Starting to sound like the Titleist ball may not be great for milled faced putters as that was my impressions too. I purposefully didn’t read many prior reviews and tried to ignore what type of ball we were playing. I want to provide the best feedback I can.

I was going to talk about chipping some but I was at an indoor place with a 45ft long green. Thinking back on it, I need something more. I was chipping out of their “fringe” which would be the absolute worst thing you could chip off of.

I didn’t realize until later as the pro there was giving a kid a lesson, but there was a spot about 15ft off the green that had tight mat you could chip and generate some spin.

So I’m going to skip the chipping part until I follow up as most of mine I was just trying to carry it 8 feet and let it run the other 35 like a putt. Not real meaningful. But... I’m going to start working on my GW review. I’ll get through it sometime tonight. Unfortunately even on Trackman 4 I didn’t have a lot of the data I’d have liked. I do have CHS and ball speed. I don’t have carry numbers for the group, I was just snapping a picture after I had several good strikes and I dropped anything that wasn’t pretty damn close to center. I didn’t realize this until later in the testing. Anyways, I’ll start a new post.

Anyone with questions for me please @ me. Like I said until I am done with testing for that particular area I am trying to avoid others comments so that I’m not biased in my thoughts. I still have long iron, FW, and Driver to go. Probably next week to get back on Trackman, maybe Sunday?

 

[Raiderboost]

I felt the same as you Mike on long putts with the TaylorMade Tour Response. After a few rounds of putting I felt myself either speeding up the stroke more or having to hit it harder to give me a comparable distance to the other balls.

Interesting because I felt the Tour Response was pretty good for me and made the most or was closest to making it with that ball. Mystery ball was next followed by the ERC with the Titleist coming in last. It's very clicky and feels hard coming off the putter.

 

[DataDude]

Just finished playing 8 holes. Played 3 with the Tour Response, 3 with the test ball, and 2 with the ERC Soft. Wind was stiff at 10-15 MPH. The back 9 here has 8 parallel holes that alternate and go back and forth into and with the prevailing wind. The other hole is bookends the property and the wind blows directly left to right on it. It's a 185 yard par 3 tucked in behind a tree guarding the front left side. A real tricky shot when the wind is blowing like today if you don't hit a draw. Anyway, back to the balls. The test ball is definitely a lower spinner. I hit a good solid drive into the wind that got real nice carry and I also hit one downwind that carried for ever. I anticipate my normal distance this time of year is 225. I got 200 into the wind and 240 with it. Based on past knowledge and playing these holes hundreds of times I think I would have lost a few more yards with a ProV1 so my guess is they are lowish spinning. They do launch high also though. They feel really soft of the center of a driver. It's a sensation similar to breaking a whiffle with a tape wrapped whiffle ball bat when you were a kid. I can't tell much apart between the tester and the ERC Soft. The ERC maybe feels a touch denser maybe. The ball I have been really impressed with is the Tour Response. It really has a premium feel to it. Anyone play these? Given the price I am surprised I don't see it more often.

 

[tequila4kapp]

So what do people have planned for golf ball testing over this holiday weekend?