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TaylorMade Blind Ball Testing Results

SuperStroke
Since I posted I had the chance to read through the other reviews. I must say, well written folks...I really enjoyed reading them.

I'm surprised the results have been so consistent.

Again, I know I speak for all of the testers when I say, "Thank you" to both THP and TaylorMade.

I know it sounds silly, but I kinda felt like a big shot telling my playing partners I was testing balls for THP and TaylorMade hahahahaha ;)
 
Love seeing all the feedback on these! I have some numbers I took down that I wanted to share with everyone...

Drives (GPS'd):
238/262, 244, 252, 280/256

Irons(GPS'd):
9i 237 lol I kid. 8i 151, 7i 159,162 6i 173 4i 185 (lol mishit bad), Niblick 149, 121

FIR's:
4/6

GIR's:
3/9 (2 were right on the finge, everything else right off the green by about 10 yards).

Putts:
20 (not the ball lol)

I had 3 3 putts.... 2 of those misses were inside 3 feet lol. I had total control over this ball when putting/chipping/pitching. I loved this off the driver/irons but I had a very curious occurance with ball flight. Ill have to show the wear on this ball after 9 (took a picture) and Ill have my full review up soon. I left my best 9 hole score on the course (41) that I've ever shot. I was texting some friends about this ball and it was hard to put my finger on this one. But results tell the story. Best part, I lost 0 balls. Never happens.

Here is the wear after 9 Holes (scuff from a nasty wedge shot I put on this ball, it made a huge ball mark on the green, ball was washed before picture, trying to get it smaller).
e24bd1ef.jpg
 
Nice stuff so far guys.. gonna put these in play later today. I'll have thoughts up way later.
 
Saturday I had an opportunity for testing.

I agree that the ball feels like butter off the putter, and short irons, I would rate it a solid 10. The ball launches high off wedges and short irons. Yesterday I was crap off the tee so the ball and I did not get along, both in distance and side spin with the ball. At my current lack of skill level I would not play this ball, I would guess I am not the target buyer. I played a TP Red for a few holes to compare, the Red was longer off the tee, but not a match on the greens.

Next time I play I'll use the balls again for a few holes and update my review.
 
The more I read these great reviews the more I think this is the case. They have already released the new burner line (3 different balls?) and the penta will most likely stay as is or with a few minor changes. With the TP Red and TP Black (love the black) now being discontinued I think an RX type ball would be perfect for TM. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these once they are released. Keep up the great reviews you lucky warm weather THP'ers.

cg13 said:
I think you are correct- it's a great niche- those that understand control is better than swingspeed. A ball that compresses easily and provides adequate spin at a reasonable price is very profitable. Also if they fixed the durability of the penta I bet this would fit there too, but they just released the pent for tour swing speeds with what like 2 years od r&d? So I think this is a ball for amateurs hence the selection of a lot of amateurs here... Just my thoughts!
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Just got back from testing this ball.

FEEL: Very very low compression ball....way too soft off the driver and irons for me. I had no "feel" where this ball was going due to how soft it was.... if I missed following the ball off the driver I had no idea where it went. It was ok hitting with wedges but nothing special. I really liked the feel coming off of the putter. It was buttery soft and I do like that about the ball.

SPIN: ABSOLUTE 0! This ball is only good for bump and run... boy does it run. I only had (1) 8 iron stop within maybe 5 feet of where it hit on the green. Around the green the ball was horrible. It didn't check up at all... I hit low spinners where it usually hits and stops ,high flops, and and low checks and it just kept on going. It was good on mis-hits where I came up short and ball did roll out to get somewhat closer.

WEAR & TEAR: No cartpaths today and I couldn't really eat this ball up with the wedges. I think with ball being so soft it was hard for me to do that. I tried flops out of rough and face wide open and didn't damage the ball at all.

BALL FLIGHT AND DISTANCE: A very high launching ball. Something I wouldn't want to have to play on a windy day. I guess with no spin the only way to stop it is to hit it very high and let gravity stop it. Distance was pretty much around the same as other balls I have played. Irons distance was pretty normal and driver was 10-15 less than my normal ball.

I think this isn't a new tour ball or even something right below that level. Being so low compression and no spin I'm thinking something around 2 pc. ladies ball or zero compression like other companies have made.
 
I am loving how there are some wildly different impressions of this mystery ball. I thought this was a high spinning ball and yet JD10 thinks it has 0 spin lol. I can't wait to find out what type of ball this is.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
I am loving how there are some wildly different impressions of this mystery ball. I thought this was a high spinning ball and yet JD10 thinks it has 0 spin lol. I can't wait to find out what type of ball this is.
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That is the beauty of this testing. It should be less about what kind of ball it is, and more about whether or not this ball works for an individual golfer. I look at these a lot like sociology experiments.

1. If someone loved the ball and found out it was a bargain ball, would they still play it?
2. If someone did not care for it that much, but then found out it was a new tour level ball would they then play it?

I think it really will show how much marketing does affect us as golfers in the end. I look forward to doing more tests like this because it surely is educational from the outside looking in.
 
Ill admit Im curious to know. But the results for me dont lie. Its going to take a few rounds to really get a good feel but it works for my game.

People have different needs and I wish when youre selecting a golf ball everything was no name/brand anf marketing was out the door.

I love looking at these reviews. From the perspective of a golfer and from the perspective of someone who loves to figure out what makes people think what they think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If this ends up being a bargain ball I would be ecstatic. As I said I can live with the loss of yardage off the driver because I love all the other aspects of this ball. I would be shocked if this was anything but a premium ball at about the $40-50 price point.
 
Id love it too! Haha. I didnt lose much off the tee really. Plus with it being soft off the irons, its actually fun hitting them.


Chunkylover77 said:
If this ends up being a bargain ball I would be ecstatic. As I said I can live with the loss of yardage off the driver because I love all the other aspects of this ball. I would be shocked if this was anything but a premium ball at about the $40-50 price point.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lol I wonder how many of us would play it if it turns out to be a ladies ball.
 
I would lol. Just depends if it can outperform consistantly what I have in my bag now. That would be cool though haha.
Chunkylover77 said:
Lol I wonder how many of us would play it if it turns out to be a ladies ball.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would as well. In fact would love to point out to my buddy I beat him with a ladies ball.
 
some of the best holes I've played this year have been with a pink Solaire ball.....just saying....just shows how up and down my game has been this year too
Chunkylover77 said:
Lol I wonder how many of us would play it if it turns out to be a ladies ball.
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I'm at the range with them now and I'm really confused by this ball. It feels great and sounds great but I can generate NO spin with this ball. How can something that feels so dang soft just not spin?

I'm working as much DG Spinner magic as I can and I'm getting nothing. I will say this though, for bump and runs this ball is superb, it's very predictable in that regard.

I need to play a round of golf with this ball asap. I'm concerned that it's to soft for me off the tee and I don't want to go into with that mindset at all.

I'm off to the putting green now!
 
great 'real-time' update TC....looking forward to more
TC said:
I'm at the range with them now and I'm really confused by this ball. It feels great and sounds great but I can generate NO spin with this ball. How can something that feels so dang soft just not spin?

I'm working as much DG Spinner magic as I can and I'm getting nothing. I will say this though, for bump and runs this ball is superb, it's very predictable in that regard.

I need to play a round of golf with this ball asap. I'm concerned that it's to soft for me off the tee and I don't want to go into with that mindset at all.

I'm off to the putting green now!
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Hanks said:
great 'real-time' update TC....looking forward to more
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I can tell you that this ball is phenomenal off the putter. Great audible sound, great feel and good true roll. It feels better than the tour b330 on the green but not sure if it's worth what I lose getting the ball on the green.
 
TC said:
I can tell you that this ball is phenomenal off the putter. Great audible sound, great feel and good true roll. It feels better than the tour b330 on the green but not sure if it's worth what I lose getting the ball on the green.
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Great updates TC. Interesting that you are finding no spin even with spinners and others are finding they are spinny.
 
Yeah, that' puzzling but it's what I'm finding. I really have to put some height on my shots to keep the ball from running out.

I love putting with it though.

coolbreeze said:
Great updates TC. Interesting that you are finding no spin even with spinners and others are finding they are spinny.
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TC said:
Yeah, that' puzzling but it's what I'm finding. I really have to put some height on my shots to keep the ball from running out.

I love putting with it though.[/ QUOTE]

TC they must have slipped us the non X/spin version. LOL
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Man this is the worst. I pulled a muscle in my neck and it hurts whenever I move it. So far, I have only been able to review full wedge shots and shots 100 yards and in. I'm really sorry and hope to review them Tuesday or Wednesday if it's not too late and if my neck's better.
Here are my results so far:
Full 56* shots: rolls out a little bit. A little less roll out than Gamer V2 and DT Solo. Much softer compared to both of those balls but only a little softer than Pinnacle Dimension.
50 Yards and in: Rolls out consistantly, not hard to know where to land it. Same as above in that it is soft.
Putting: Very very soft off of the face. I usually don't feel a difference in balls off of the putter, but there is a huge difference in these. When I hit it in the sweet spot it rolls the same distance, but here is where the problem is. Sometimes I hit the putt off the toe and my usual gaming balls don't have a big distance drop. But with the Blind ball, it has a distance difference of a foot sometimes, not just a few inches.

Depending on the cost, I may start using these as my gaming balls, once I see them off the tee and irons.

Once again, I'm sorry that I will be a little late with the full review but I can't swing a golf club comfortably. I would rather have an accurate late review than a review that does not use my real swing.
 
I hit these unknown balls in my driving cage this morning before work. Tomorrow, I hit them on the course. I plan on getting there early enough to put them in an intensive workout on the practice bunker and green. I will be comparing them to my beloved FUZZ, e6, and a sleeve of Pentas I saved for a special occasion. I think this situation calls for an all out.

I am bringing Ludicrous Axhandle McShaftwielder and my wife. She will be comparing them to the Chromax and the e5. Ludicrous Axhandle McShaftwielder will be comparing them to the Pro V1 and the Pinnacles he always buys at the course when, he "forgets his game balls".

We all will be looking for ball characteristics and taking notes. We are also going to come up with a real name to call it. Early voting has powder in the lead, because they both like that movie with the creepy albino kid.
 
Okay- Course testing Results!

Driver- These were great for me off the tee. Nice and straight, and pretty darn long. Felt great off the driver, and seemed to get in the air really nicely.

Long irons- Great feel continued here. I only hit a couple, but when I did, my long irons were, well, long. And accurate. Had no issues with undue side spin.

Short irons/ wedges- Spun VERY well. I rarely spin a ball back, and off my dull-grooved 52*, I brought one back about 6 feet on a par three, ending 4 feet from the hole. I then missed the tricky birdie putt, but whatever...

Putter- Super soft, and had no problem judging the distance it was going to go despite this. Had a great day (for me) putting, actually.

Durability. I aint gonna lie, I put some pretty serious scuffs on these, but not cuts or anything that would affect play. Also, I really go after the ball on par threes, and my short iron groove have been known to scuff top-rocks, o not really this things fault.
 
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