“Gain distance while going green with Zero Friction 312.†We’re all familiar with Zero Friction tees, right? Of course we are, having just reviewed the Zero Friction Lock N Drive tee, I was more than excited to try out the company’s first offering into the golf ball market as well! The ZF Distance 312 is a 2-piece ball, similar to the construction of a great number of other distance golf balls available today. So will the Zero Friction line intrigue you enough to leave your distance ball for greener pastures? I can already answer at least part of that question with a “yes†read more to find out why I’m so sure.
First, a little about the ball from the company:
2-piece construction for maximum distance, roll, and soft feel
80 compression outer cover, solid inner core
Featuring a shallow 312 dimple pattern for less friction in the air and on the green
Test results show the Zero Friction ball travels up to 5 yards longer than the competition
Armed with the new ZF Distance 312 ball I went off to play a round and see how I felt about them. Before I go too far let me put out this disclaimer- I certainly need a lot of things to help my golf game, but distance is not on top of that list. Now I’m not saying that I’m a gorilla of a driver of the ball, I just think I get enough distance already so I usually seek a ball that can help me with feel and spin around the green. So I was kind of thinking I’d be dealing with a ball that I’d bang deep and come back and talk about how far it went and that was it. So yes, it lives up to the billing of being a distance ball in that I found that I hit it on average of about five yards further than the tour ball I normally play. I would have to say that so far that much is to be expected; after all it is a “distance†ball.
I typically can’t stop much on the greens at my club, so don’t ask if I was sucking this ball back with a 4-iron because I can’t suck back a balata with anything higher than probably an 8-iron. That’s fine with me though, more often than not sucking the ball back ends up leaving you further away from the hole anyway, I like a ball to hit once, bounce and stay relatively close to that spot. If I’m getting that out of my ball, then I’m happy. Now the ZF isn’t a tour ball so you’re not going to get the control over it that you’d expect from those $50 a dozen balls either, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much stopping control I had with the ZF. Especially with wedges while chipping around the green, sure you noticed it wasn’t a Pro V1, but it really wasn’t the significant difference that you may have come to expect from the distance balls on today’s market.
Durability was certainly something that I can say the Zero Friction Distance 312 excelled at. The day I did most of my testing of this ball was a day that I happened to be playing fairly well and didn’t lose any balls. This worked out well for the review for obvious reasons, it’s hard to give a review of a ball that you hit once and it crossed the highway never to be found again! After playing 18 holes with the same ball I don’t think I could have resold it as “mint condition†by any means, but it certainly didn’t have to be retired by any stretch of the imagination either. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to think you could play up to 2 or more rounds with the same ball barring any unfortunate run-ins with a cart path or anything. This goes along well with the final portion of my review that I found to be a positive about the ZF ball.
The Zero Friction Distance 312 happens to be an “Eco-friendly ball from cover to core, made with 100% renewable materials.†See, I told you it would have you in greener pastures! The ZF ball is made from a proprietary polymer blend, with no toxic synthetic materials such as tungsten, cobalt, or lead. It’s nice to see a company trying to make efforts to improve the quality of product you play, as well as being mindful of the hazards these products might have on the environment. I am certainly no tree hugger, but if I can use a ball that won’t sacrifice performance, and at the same time it is eco-friendly I’m all for it!
My conclusion of the Zero Friction Distance 312 ball is this, if you already play a distance ball you really need to get out and try the ZF right now. I would put this ball up against any other distance ball in the market today with the same price point and I would be very surprised if there is something that out performs it. Throw in that you can also be kind to the planet at the same time and you’ve got a win/win situation in my mind. While the ZF Distance 312 will not replace my tour ball anytime soon, that is just fine because that is not what they’re after here. This is a ball you can get for around $20 a dozen, stack this $20/dozen ball against your current $20/dozen ball and I’m guessing that you’ll be jumping ship to the eco-friendly Zero Friction Distance 312 ball real, real soon! Oh, and one more little perk of the ZF ball, in every sleeve there are 3 Zero Friction tees included! Who says you can’t get anything for free anymore?! For more information on any of the Zero Friction Products, check out their website at Zero Friction.
Here is to keeping it in the short grass
Jason K
