Blind test on golf balls ?

[User101]

For those who play premium balls, do you think you could tell the difference between different makes of balls ??

i.e. ProV1/TP5/Chrome soft etc ??

 

[srixon 1]

I'm not blind and I can also read, so yes

Seriously, I could probably tell the difference between the normal and the X but not the different brands.

 

[road2ruin]

I’d imagine I’d know (and feel) the difference playing a gold ball pretty quickly.....a golf ball on the other hand, maybe not so much.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Title of thread edited .

 

[Hobbit]

I usually buy whatever premium ball is on offer. I thought I couldn't feel any difference between them till I bought a doz Pro-v last week. There seemed a definite difference on the odd really well struck shot, but in truth 90% of them I still wouldn't be able to say its a Pro-v/TP5 etc.

That said, there's a world of a difference between a Pro-v and a Pinnacle pebble.

 

[KenL]

I think I could tell the difference between normal and X balls but not so much between a pro v and a z star etc.

Chrome soft and their X version are very different, don't like the X at all.

 

[User101]

I meant specifically from company to company.

I've played 4 different company balls in the past couple of weeks and couldn't tell the difference, Titleist and nike felt exactly the same.

 

[Carpfather1]

off The putter there’s a noticeable difference between a pro v1 x and normal pro v1 but otherwise wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference they both spin around the greens and I can still easily wing either out of bounds 😂

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Similar to many things in golf though, it is psychological. If you go to get fitted for new irons and the ones that give the best results don't suit your eye then they wont work for you long term. You have to look down and fancy the clubs you are using. They give you confidence. The same is true for balls. A blind test would expose the similarities but when the logo is back on your brain tells you whether you like / trust that ball or not.

I should add, I don't buy premium balls but I do enjoy playing ones that I find . Taylormade are my favourite found brand.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Would love to see a test done when you cant see the make and can not hear the sound. Would be very interesting the results.....

 

[virgilvdk]

At best you could tell that the ball has been changed, but i would think it very unlikely that anyone could tell the make or model.

 

[drewster]

Cabby, like you I've used them all and it's very hard to tell the difference although sound for me is a telling point. The Nike ball whilst performance wise is very similar it , for me anyway, does sound "clickier" both off of the driver and putter than the other Callaway, Titleist and TM equivalent.

 

[Slab]

When folks say they can tell between two different balls, what is the measure?

Is it the sound, the contact, the result, the performance, the 'feel' or something else

 

[need_my_wedge]

I picked up a TP5x the other day and used it over a couple of rounds. Felt very hard and clicky off both the putter and irons. I also used a ProV at the same time, playing some of the shots again. The ProV definitely felt much softer off all, and didn't feel so clicky either. I'm sure I've used a normal Tp5 before and been happy with it, as have I used a Prov1x before and been happy with that as well. Maybe it was just me the other day, but it has led me to question whether I open the first box of the 24 TP5x I received from GM for signing up.

 

[User101]

I'm not on about x versus normal, I'm referring from company to company ball be it normal ball v normal ball or x versus x

 

[Foxholer]

I could probably tell that there WAS a difference, but generally couldn't tell which ball was which. With some ocasional exceptions, Bridgestone and Srixon equivalents all seem very close; Nike generally seem 'hard', even compared to my 'choice' (on vfm!) Srixon Distance. For 'feel' in summer, AD333 Tour or NXT Tour (Yellow seems just a tad harder/better than white to me!) seem to work well!

I'm not particularly fussed which ball I use (though see exception), though I prefer to use the same brand/type in any round. The exception is AD333 Soft! Never (in 15+ years!) got on with this ball! Lost 20+ yards with Driver; gained 15+ yards with irons and Putting felt like hitting a lump of soap when I first tried it! May be less extreme than those numbers now, but the putting feel still puts me off!

 

[jim8flog]

The latest Chrome soft definitely yes. It has a feel and sound that is totally unique.

I could tell I was playing a different ball by the feel off the putter but not necessarily from shots with drivers or irons. Having said that there are some brands with a very similar feel off the putter eg TaylorMade TP5 and Bridgestone B330 S and RXS .

 

[USER1999]

Probably. I am quite fussy about dimple patterns.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm still not convinced the majority of handicap golfers would tell the difference between two like for like premium balls and I'd go further and say they'd not be able to differentiate either in the mid price market (NXT, AD33 tour, Project A or S etc). I would love to see a magazine or online site actually commission such a test. I think the results would be very revealing

 

[r0wly86]

I'm still not convinced the majority of handicap golfers would tell the difference between two like for like premium balls and I'd go further and say they'd not be able to differentiate either in the mid price market (NXT, AD33 tour, Project A or S etc). I would love to see a magazine or online site actually commission such a test. I think the results would be very revealing

I do wonder how much golf ball snobbery is involved or at least an uncoscious bias with some golfer.

People thinking that a Titleist will be good because it is a titleist etc

I would be very interested to see a blind tes, with the Pro V1, Vice Pro, Dunlop etc to see if there is a real difference