Golf Ball Fitting Madness

[Smiter]

Going with Z-Star and Tour Response. I've never hit the RXS but have played the RX. If the RXS spins on short shots as well as the Z, it may be a close. Z-Star is one of my go to balls so kind of biased on this one.
The other two I have no experience with so totally a guess on that matchup.

It won’t be far off on the spin but probably shy. If you want a spinny ball play the X or XS. Those suckers I have to be careful with the zippy on.

I think the RXS could be the perfect ball for you based on general shot shape and distance. It has enough spin that someone hitting a slight fade most likely will like it, but keeps the negative spin off pretty well.

Imma just call it now,

 

[Scott F]

The first matchup I did today was the 2020 Bridgestone Tour B RXS vs the 2021 Srixon Z-Star

View attachment 8997330 VS View attachment 8997331

Bridgestone Tour RXS
The 2020 Bridgestone Tour B RXS is designed for those that have swing speeds of less than 105 mph. The RXS has the Reactiv cover that was created to give golfers the benefit of both distance off the driver and woods, as well as, more spin in the irons and wedges for better control and feel around the greens.

View attachment 8997332 View attachment 8997333

The Bridgestone ball felt very nice on all swings. Soft, but not too soft. The dimple pattern is something that seems to be a growing trend maybe of having different formations inside the dimples. From my naked eye, which is not the best for sure, the dimples look more like a normal pattern. However, when I really blow up the picture, it seems to me that there are these little circles inside of each dimple. My thought is this cover and pattern is the design to allow the maximum amount of flight on full shots while allowing an increase in spin speed around the greens with your wedges.

Srixon Z Star
The 2021 Srixon Z Star is in the 7th generation for Srixon. The new Z Star has a reengineered cover to increase spin and has a new 338 dimple pattern to also create more distance and ball speed.

View attachment 8997335 View attachment 8997336

The Srixon Z Star is a more firm ball. The dimple pattern is the normal symmetrical you expect to see in many golf balls.

Are you just repeating what the marketing department had printed on the package or are you actually testing how firm or soft the balls are?

 

[fuffle master]

I kinda feel like I am Jimmy Stewart as he walked Donna Reed down the street after the dance. I am talking too much and not getting into the ball matchup. Those old enough will get that.

I used three clubs for this round of testing: My Tour Edge EXS 220 10.5-degree driver, a Tour Edge EXS 16.5 degree-3w, and a Callaway 17-degree Super Hybrid. The 3 wood and hybrid are almost exactly the same degree, but I wanted to see the differences when I use a wood versus a hybrid. I use the hybrid much more often during regular play.

I spent a good 45 mins hitting each ball with all the clubs and then recorded the last five shots using a GC2 sim. I didn't have the GC Quad available but look to use that or a trackman in future rounds.

Here are the numbers:




I would love to hear others' thoughts as to which ball is truly the better ball, however, looking over the numbers along with my preference for a softer feel, I would say the Bridgestone Tour B RXS is going to edge out the Srixon Z Star for me.

Looking back at my optimal numbers for a 130 mph ball speed with 89-90 swing speed, I want to be in the launch angle of 14 -16.8 and spin rate of 2300 - 2600, the peak height of 29 - 33 yards, and descent angle of 33 - 37 degrees.

The Bridgestone with driver measured a low 2054 in spin, however, I did have two poor strikes that were really thin. You look at the others and you get 2476 and 2595. The Bridgestone peak height was 29 yards and a descent angle of 37-degrees.

The Srixon with driver measured a VERY low 1589 in spin, also with two thin shots. The peak height of 22 yards and descent angle of 31 were also both too low.

Looking at my offline and dispersions, I generally want to see how many of my drives would hit the fairway or just off. I always strive to be about 60 percent in the fairway or just off. Thinking of the size of the fairways I generally play they are mostly normal with about 40 yards from side to side, so about 20 yards from the middle. The Bridgestone three drives that would hit the fairway or just off and two that would be in the second cut or worse. The Srixon had one drive expected to be in the fairway, two in the second cut, and two that might not be found.

I look more at my carry numbers for my clubs and the Bridgestone had an average carry of 212 vs the Srixon carry of 200.

Let's look at the 3 wood and Hybrid shots:

I mainly look at two areas for these clubs: the carry and dispersion. Hoping others can look at the spins, heights, and decent angles to give more insight into what is optimal there.

The Bridgestone Tour B RXS using the 3 wood had a carry of 182 and the dispersion of 12 yards. I would be happy with almost all of my 3 wood swings here. The Bridgestone with the hybrid carried at 187 and the dispersion of 3 yards average. I also would be happy with most of my hybrid shots going into the green.

The Srixon Z Star using the 3 wood had a carry of 178 and the dispersion of only 6 yards. I thought I hit the Srixon very well off the matt with my 3 wood. The Srixon with the hybrid carried 187 and the dispersion was 12 yards. I had one really bad swing with the hybrid using the Srixon and that was a bad snap hook.

As I said, my thought is the Bridgestone Tour B RXS is the better of the two balls for my swing. What say you? Do you agree looking at the numbers?

 

[fuffle master]

Are you just repeating what the marketing department had printed on the package or are you actually testing how firm or soft the balls are?

Yea, I got tied up with work to get most of my numbers out. But alas, no machine to test that type of data.

 

[Bjornjorg]

East region is stacked! Whichever one comes out of there might be to scuffed up and scarred to win in the finals.

 

[fuffle master]

I think you could do driver, 7 iron and a wedge to get a fair comparison. I don't think you need to do every club.

I am doing woods, then irons, then wedges with putter, and playing. Picked three clubs each.

 

[fuffle master]

2nd matchup was the 7th seeded TaylorMade Soft Response vs the 10th seeded Mizuno RB 566v

VS


This matchup is incredibly close. Both balls felt very good while hitting them. Both have areas I really liked and areas that I did not show the best on my swings.

Here are the numbers and let's say you out there in THP. Who should I choose for the next round out of these two balls?



Driver against Driver, TaylorMade and Mizuno both have their strengths and areas of concern. I have TaylorMade edging out Mizuno here.

My numbers are a bit high on the Mizuno with my spin averaging at 2897 and my decent angle of 39 degrees. The peak height was right in line optimally at 29 yards. My carry is coming in at 205. I had two fairway hits and three that would have been in the rough.

TaylorMade spin averaged perfect at 2312, but that is with two thin drives. Both, peak height and decent angle came in at the optimal levels with 27.8 yards and 36 degrees respectively.

When looking at the 3 wood and Hybrid, Mizuno looked to take both of these clubs over TaylorMade. The Mizuno on my 3 wood and hybrid had a carry of 184. The TaylorMade were both much shorter at 171 and 176. The TaylorMade dispersion looks better on both clubs with the 3 wood having three solid straighter shots versus only two with Mizuno. In fact, the Mizuno RB 566v had six of the ten swings over 30 yards off-center. TaylorMade didn't have any swings that were over 30 yards off-center. I give the edge to TaylorMade having the better dispersion, but do think the Mizuno is longer.

What say you? Is TaylorMade the winner here?

 

[tgtt]

Had Tour Response listed in bracket yet went with Soft Response... Listed wrong in bracket or grabbed wrong ball?

 

[fuffle master]

Had Tour Response listed in bracket yet went with Soft Response... Listed wrong in bracket or grabbed wrong ball?

Yea, I have the wrong ball in the bracket. I did go with the Soft Response since I already tested the tour response when reviewing the blind ball testing which ended up being the Bridgestone e12 contact. Mistyped there. Will fix. Thanks for seeing that.

 

[Carey]

Have you tried pitching, chipping, and putting with these balls? I would guess that most balls will go a very similar distance on full shots but will feel different and maybe react a little different on the shorter shots

 

[fuffle master]

That is the next thing after the first round of driver.

 

[fuffle master]

Next matchup was the Top-seeded Titleist Pro V1 vs the 16th seeded Volvik S3

vs

I have never hit a Volvik ball and after playing the S3 against the Titleist Pro V1, I will definitely be playing these ALOT more I think.

Here are the numbers:




The Volvik S3 was a complete surprise to me on everything. From the feel, sound, distance, and everything in between.

The Titleist Pro V1 is a top-selling ball for good reason, but the ball is not perfect for everyone. When looking at the driver comparisons, the Titleist Pro V1 does what it is expected and is an incredibly consistent golf ball. However, for my swing and how I hit the golf ball, I think the spin is and has in my history of playing it prior too high. The spin number comes in with an average of almost 3200 and the lowest was listed at 2799. The Launch at 15.3 and Peak Height at almost 32 is good, but the decent angle at over 40 is why the ball isn't rolling much after landing.

The Volvik S3 just smashed it out of the park for me. The Launch at 15.4, the average spin at 2493, the decent at 38, and peak height at just about 30. My carry with the Volvik came in a beautiful 216 with a total of 241. The importance of hitting the fairway came in about the exact same for both balls. I had two perfectly straight middles of the fairway shots, two that would be just off, and one probably the second cut. None of the drives would be totally lost unless playing a very tight section.

The same-looking numbers carried thru the 3 wood and 17-degree hybrid, in that the Volvik was both longer on carry and had some more consistent location of dispersion. The Volvik S3 beat the Titleist by carry on the 3 wood by 4 yards and on the 17 hybrid by 9 yards.

I would say that the Volvik S3 definitely beat out the Titleist Pro V1 for my swing and this is a good showing of why a ball fitting is different and important for every player. I am sure most would find the Titlest Pro V1 as the better ball, but for my swing and game off the tee with driver and long woods, the Volvik S3 was just better.

How many out there are using the Volvik balls and what are your thoughts? I can't wait to get this ball out there in the next round for the irons to see what I can do hitting to the green.

 

[Chef23]

For you the Volvik is definitely the choice.

I have been looking at your data and wonder why you have a 3W and a 17h. You hit them the same distance. You either need to find a better fit in the 3W slot or ditch it and add a wedge or something else.

 

[GraniteRoost]

Unsolicited commentary - Your 3w and 17h appear to be doing similar things, but the 17h is more consistent and giving you more carry. Maybe drop the 3w for 2nd driver or extra wedge?

 

[fuffle master]

For you the Volvik is definitely the choice.

I have been looking at your data and wonder why you have a 3W and a 17h. You hit them the same distance. You either need to find a better fit in the 3W slot or ditch it and add a wedge or something else.

Unsolicited commentary - Your 3w and 17h appear to be doing similar things, but the 17h is more consistent and giving you more carry. Maybe drop the 3w for 2nd driver or extra wedge?

In general I do not play this 3 wood. I received the TE EXS 3 wood via THP and wanted to use to get a feel and have an idea how it plays.

I generally use a long hybrid as my normal club. I am generally more consistent with the hybrid.

I only use two long clubs and five wedges in my bag.

 

[Crapgame]

Unsolicited commentary - Your 3w and 17h appear to be doing similar things, but the 17h is more consistent and giving you more carry. Maybe drop the 3w for 2nd driver or extra wedge?

agreed, would like to see how the Volvik compares regarding wedge consistency and spin.

 

[fuffle master]

The real Tournament starts tonight (last night if you count the first four) and I wanted to get a couple more matches done.

On the West Region side, I did a ball matchup of the 3 seeded Srixon Q-Star vs the 14 seeded Titleist Tour Soft

VS

Here are my numbers for the Matchup:




Driver:
I really thought both balls were strong for me on the driver. I had a carry of 208 with the Srixon vs a 211 with the Titleist. Both balls have their pros and cons when looking at my swing.

The Srixon Q-Star had just a bit too much spin average of 2754, but the Titleist was well under optimal spin averaging only 1891.

The Srixon Q-Star average peak height was good at 32.57, but the descent angle was too high at 41. This descent angle is probably why my rollout was lower than expected.

The Titleist, due to lower spin, had a low peak height of 26, but compensated with an average descent angle of 34.

When looking at dispersion from the drivers, both did well. Both balls would have hit the fairway on 3 out of 5 shots with both being off the target line at 30 yards.


3 Wood and Hybrid:
Looking at how the two balls compared in the fairway wood and hybrid, the Titleist was just longer. The Titleist Tour Soft was especially longer on the hybrid. I have to say I really was cranking some of the hybrid shots when hitting the Titleist, but still, there was a noticeable difference in carry of about 10 yards. The Srixon carrying 176 to the Titleist's 185 in the hybrid was the largest difference between the two.

Looking at dispersion, the Titleist was the clear winner. On the 3 wood, the Srixon had no strikes that were less than 20 yards right of the target line. The Titleist Tour Soft didn't have any over 16 yards away from the target. However, the hybrid did better on the Srixon with four shots less than 10 yards off the target line versus the Titleist Tour Soft will all five 10 yards or more off the target line. I guess the distance versus straight could be in play here.

With both balls being very close I am giving the nod to Titleist here because I really like the alignment line used.

Here is a picture of the Titleist Tour Soft Alignment:



I really like how this setup for my driver and expect will really love this setup when putting it. However, on the flip side, after the drive and playing the ball down, the alignment did look odd since you can't set up to be straight to target.

Thoughts?

 

[GraniteRoost]

I like the Q Star in this matchup. Specifically regarding ball speed, the fact that you have similar ball speed with Driver and 3w sets indicates to me that the differences in ball speed in the hybrid set are due to strike, and not the ball itself. Put a better set of strikes on the Q Star, and your hybrid carry will be closing the distance gap, peaking higher, and coming a couple degrees steeper, which will let you hold a green better if needed.

The low driver spin with Tour Soft is a red flag to me, and with all three clubs really. Overall the Q Star provides closer to what I'd want to see for stable flight. The Tour Soft looks like it might get touchy on misses.

 

[fuffle master]

Adding some new Golf Ball testing results.

Today I am adding the matchup of the 4th seeded Callaway Chrome Soft vs the 13th seeded Mizuno Tour RB

vs

I wasn't swinging the clubs well on this day at my numbers will show it. My normal gamer is the Chrome Soft, and I did hit as I expected for the day (as I said, not a great striking day), but the Mizuno did well, and as the numbers will show the Mizuno went toe to toe with the Callaway Ball. The difference here would be the Mizuno Tour RB can be purchased for $35 and the Callaway for $47.

Here are the numbers:


Driver:
I always look at the carry number first and foremost and the Chrome Soft had a 207 carry vs the Mizuno at 209. Slight edge to Mizuno. My spin was better with Chrome Soft at the averages are very similar, but looking at each shot the Chrome Soft didn't have any shots over 3000 and the Mizuno had two (3098 and 3099).

Next most important section to me is going to be the dispersion. The Chrome Soft was much more consistent and in line for fairway hits. Four out of the five shots would hit the fairway versus the Mizuno where only two would have hit the fairway.

Looking at the peak height and descent angles the Chrome Soft also looks to have more consistent numbers and fit my optimal section better.

Callaway Chrome Soft with the lead

3 Wood and Hybrid:
Looking at the carry numbers for my other two clubs used would show the Chrome Soft at 185 and 190 for the 3 wood and 17-degree hybrid respectively. The Mizuno also had solid numbers with 182 and 192 for the same clubs in order.

The Mizuno dispersion off both the 3 wood and the 17-degree hybrid had better dispersion off the deck. With the 3 wood, Mizuno did have one shot over 20 yards off target (5 for 5), and the 17-degree hybrid only one shot was off by 20 yards from dead center. The Chrome Soft with the 3 wood had two over 20 yards from center, and with the 17-degree hybrid, three shots were off by at least 20 yards.

Both the peak height and spin numbers look better with the Chrome Soft.

I think the edge for the 3 wood and Hybrid go to Mizuno

This is a really difficult matchup as I like pieces of both balls. I like the dispersion I was seeing with the Mizuno off the deck while I like the driver numbers much more for the Chrome Soft. While I love that the Mizuno RB Tour is only $35, I also love the Triple Track lines with the Chrome Soft. (I would make my own putting line if using the Mizuno)

I would say this was too close to call, but what say others. Do you think I should play the Chrome Soft or the Mizuno just looking at these numbers for now? I didn't bring in the irons, wedges, or putter yet.