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Blind Ball Testing Review Thread

SuperStroke
MWard said:
Nursing a quad strain, so hitting shots at course speed just isn’t gonna happen for a bit. Almost fell down a few times in pain even hitting pitching wedge at 3/4 speed, so it’s gonna be a lot of short game for the next couple weeks. Guess the good news is, I won’t be losing a ball anytime soon haha.

Half wedge shots: 75yds, green slopes left to right, and back to front once you get past the hole. Aka, these should be receptive.
View attachment 8989540

ERC Soft: possibly the worst of all four balls. Compressed wedge shots were still releasing a lot more than what I would have expected. Possibly the worst of the four for One of them just kinda took the slope and away it went. Hilariously bad shot. Really disappointed with the spin on this one compared to its big brothers.

View attachment 8989541

Tour soft: Better spin, seemed to release only a few feet at most with good contact. Ball felt firmer than the others.

View attachment 8989544

Tour response: Soft, but no feeling of where it actually hit on the face. Just felt very... not good. Control was okay. Hit one short right and it spun down the hill so it has the ability to spin, or at least the slope helped.

View attachment 8989546

Mystery ball: Bit surprised by it. Soft, yet receptive off the face, but had probably the best half wedge spin. They weren’t one hop and stop shots by any means, but they seemed to stop pretty quick when they landed.

Chip and pitch shots: all four of these were not that great with short shot spin. Every shot was releasing halfway to the hole to the point I thought I was doing something wrong. Put gamer ball in for two shots, back to normal results. So, even the urethane cover ones don’t quite have the same short game ability as the premium ball. That’s okay, so long as you know what to expect.

Full wedge shots are gonna have to wait a bit. It was made very clear that my leg wasn’t gonna let that happen today after even a practice swing.

Durability: Let’s have a talk. So, each ball was hit essentially three times. Half wedge, chip, pitch. What’s going on here with the covers? These aren’t just dirt scuffs here, these covers are a bit chewed. Testers, anyone else having this problem?


View attachment 8989548
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Mine have only been hit indoors. I went after each exactly one time to try to get a GW into the 11k plus spin range (nipped), as usually full GW’s are about 9k for me indoors.

Here’s some cover from the TaylorMade on a 8 year old wedge (grooves still good though. It’s the only one I’ve had any issues with. CB139D78-7CB5-4F7D-BDF9-9BAA90CD51D6.jpeg
 
Smiter said:
Mine have only been hit indoors. I went after each exactly one time to try to get a GW into the 11k plus spin range (nipped), as usually full GW’s are about 9k for me indoors.

Here’s some cover from the TaylorMade on a 8 year old wedge (grooves still good though. It’s the only one I’ve had any issues with. View attachment 8989552
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I can't fathom 11k RPM, hell even 9k :ROFLMAO:
 
It looks like my package is being delivered tomorrow.
 
MWard said:
I can't fathom 11k RPM, hell even 9k :ROFLMAO:
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Lol! Spin is fun and games with a wedge. Not so much when driver gets north of 4K, lol. Or when half the cover remains on the club.

My GW decent angle is >60*. My damn 7i lands about 55*. I don’t need the spin. But it’s fun sometimes if I have a backdrop right where it needs to be.
 
e1iterate said:
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.
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How did you think the mystery ball sounded off a putter? It had a pleasant ting off of my milled putter.
 
First Impressions

BallLayers and cover
Compression​
Titleist Tour Speed
three-piece, thermoplastic urethane
78​
TaylorMade Tour ResponseThree Piece 100% Urethane Cover
40​
Callaway ERC Softthree-piece Hybrid
60 ish​
Mystery Ball?
?​
Callaway Supersoft *two Piece Ionomer
38​
* This is my usual ball
First thoughts

About my game – I’ve been playing for about 4 years. Swing speed is about 70. I’ve never broken 100 but gotten close.

Played 9 holes Saturday at TPC Myrtle Beach. Weather conditions were not ideal. Cold (40’s) and windy. Course was CPO. I played my Supersoft for the first hole and then 2 consecutive holes with each of the other balls. Since my first hole is usually a mess I didn’t want to prejudice the ball performance with my poor play off the first tee.

Off the tee

The mystery ball and the ERC were close to my normal distances( 130-150). Tour Response came up a little shorter on the Par 4 but landed about 6 feet from the flag on the Par 3 (using a 4H) Tour Speed gave me the shortest distance from the tee box by about 10 yards on the Par 5. I didn’t like the feel, felt like I was hitting a stone. The Tour Speed drew the other Par 3 and I decided to club up and use my Heavenwood. I’m glad I did but I still landed short by about 5 yards.

Fairway and Hybrids

All the balls except the Tour Speed performed well. The mystery ball ended up in the rough and sailed out without issue and I think it actually performed better than my usual Supersoft would have. The ERC rough shot wasn’t as successful. It may have been the wind but it came up much shorter than expected. No rough shots for the Tour Speed but it still felt clunky to me.

Irons

I only had a couple of iron shot since I tend to rely more on my hybrids. I couldn’t really discern any difference in performance.

Wedges

The Titleist and the ERC had the honor of being hit out of a bunker. Both did well, but the ERC had considerable roll after landing on the green. The mystery ball responded well, landed softly and just a bit of roll. I chunked both of the Tour Response so I really can’t evaluate it at this time.

Putter

I’m not going to review the balls reactions on the greens at this time. Unfortunately the greens were in terrible shape. I know it’s winter and we had a lot of rain, but these were really bad. There was no way to read them and they were about as smooth as my cat’s scratch pad.

I also used the Titleist and the ERC during the on course clinic. The Titleist surprised me on the Par 3. Sounded great off the tee, caught the downhill slope near the top of the green and rolled down to within 5 feet of the flag. ERC performed well and but still had more rollout than expected on the green.

If the weather holds I’ll do another test this weekend at a different course.
 
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! 1 - resized.jpg
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...
Very interested to hear the philosophy behind the dimple design. Especially, the raised circle inside the hexagon and how that effects flight and spin.
 
I am struggling to get any testing done however I do have a decent 6 iron test with all four, scrubbing best & worst 2 shots to put up.
Want to try putter & wedge around real grass
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...
Do you have a price associated with the ball?
 
fuffle master said:
Very interested to hear the philosophy behind the dimple design. Especially, the raised circle inside the hexagon and how that effects flight and spin.
Click to expand...
Oh believe me, there is so much to be said about this unique design. 1.25.21 is when the beans get spilled.
 
rehbirdie said:
Oh believe me, there is so much to be said about this unique design. 1.25.21 is when the beans get spilled.
Click to expand...
Talk about a teaser! Looks awesome from the ad.
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...

Hah, UT at the Firestone Tower over the lake FTW!

I knew it was you guys, but I resisted trying to find out for certain. I hope you guys enjoyed my kid and I’s honest feedback on this and all the other balls, unbiased.

Honestly he’s too low spin for anything shy of your X or XS. But for a high spin old guy, it’s a decent ball.

I can’t wait to hear the story and labeling behind it.

(PS this time I won the $100 bucks, lol). Bet Mr 122 CHS that my kid would blast it past him. 122 with 4K+ spin, not so good. That was hitting basically range balls.

Kid steps in with a 2020 TourB XS and promptly hits it 279 with 100 CHS. Big boy had two cracks and didn’t break 265. He was hitting it solid, had a SIM driver, but was playing a stock Tensei Blue in it. Yeah. Btdt.

Keep on cranking out great products and we’ll keep on supporting you!

Here’s the one swing that won me his next lesson....

6F2DC27C-BB04-413A-B3FB-C4688AD09BD3.jpeg

Pretty wayward for him, but I did tell him to swing for distance. This isn’t a test ball it’s a TourB XS. It was by 10 yards his longest carry of the night and yet still 10 yards short of his longest low spin runner.

Thanks THP and Bridgestone! This has been fun. I’ll still long iron and driver test them on Trackman but it’s a solid ball, with better attributes than some it was put against and some less desirable. But if I’m the market for any of these balls it’s stacks up nicely. I’ll still stick with my RX and the kid, obviously the XS. It’s nice to have choices though.
 
@JB @rehbirdie @bridgestone

Someone help me out before then! Lol!

I can’t wait 4 more days now, damnit. I can however keep a secret (not that I expect any of y’uns to trust me with one).

I am so glad that even though I was 99.9% sure this was a Bridgestone (ok, who we missing in this box, hmmmm? Lol!) but I tested it as if it was a Costco ball from Indochina. I tried to give the facts without letting bias take over.

Once my irons come in, then I’ll get to some “for me” testing. Can this ball knock out the RX? What does it do better/worse for me?

I’ll share if y’all want but otherwise it’ll just be for me.
 
rehbirdie said:
hmmmm... having trouble loosing the mystery ball, eh??? Could be bad for business!
Click to expand...

Just dredge the lake on 18 on Firestone north if you want some Bridgestone history, lol. I hit the green and was dry on 17 both times. 18? Yeah I don’t like that hole.
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...
SPOILER ALERT SIR! :ROFLMAO:
 
MWard said:
SPOILER ALERT SIR! :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

I mean, I was 99% sure when I opened the box and there was no E12 soft in there regardless of what anyone else got, ( @JB will either ban me or find that humorous, lol!) that it had to be a Bridgestone ball.

My money spends easily so next time at an event, I owe a drink to JB and Adam. I had fun with this and hopefully my crap testing swings will provide some feedback. My kid certainly did, but he’s a (gulp) better (gag) golfer than me anymore.
 
rehbirdie said:
hmmmm... having trouble loosing the mystery ball, eh??? Could be bad for business!
Click to expand...

Not to worry...I have now lost a mystery ball as well. 😬
 
I got my box today! The from address on the shipping label kept the secret (even though I was pretty sure it was a Bridgestone)!!
 
Spoiler alert - found on the internet! Feel free to delete!Screenshot_20210122-142601__01.jpg
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...
Thanks for letting us know. I am excited to learn about it. I freaking loved putting this ball. The sound off a fully milled putter was spectacular.
 
DataDude said:
Thanks for letting us know. I am excited to learn about it. I freaking loved putting this ball. The sound off a fully milled putter was spectacular.
Click to expand...

I would agree with that. It sounds and feels really good off of my milled putter.
 
rehbirdie said:
As everyone has probably figured out by now, it is a Bridgestone ball coming soon. We are super excited to share more with you guys through @JB and the team about it soon.

I have enjoyed creeping and watching and reading all the feedback. Amazing stuff from all you. We have a lot of more fun stuff to come, so keep up the chatter and reviews and as always, hit me up if you have any questions! The DMs are open!

Also, those of you who are still waiting, i can assure you that you'll be satisfied very soon. Thanks for the patience! View attachment 8989679
Click to expand...
I knew it!!! It’s a Bridgestone.
 
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