HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
On course footage and video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn8EV4adqNU
More detailed thoughts here
Looks
These balls are definitely strong in the looks department. Vivid by name and very much vivid by nature. Even with a matte finish they are bright. Now as I've already mentioned the dimples don't seem overly pronounced and whether that comes from the finish or is a deliberate manufacturing move by Volvik I don't know. From a short distance away, the green one in particular looked like a small stress ball or table tennis ball and the dimples weren't evident
I like the way the green and yellow versions I tried stood out and if anything preferred the yellow in terms of easiness to follow in flight in bright conditions and certainly against the grass. On the green they seem to stand out against the putter face and I can see how this could inspire confidence over the ball. 7/10
Distance
These are clearly designed for golfers with a slower swing speed of mine and Volvik say that it's optimum range is 70-90mph, I am definitely quicker than that. As I've spoken about already though, the distance achieved was noticeable. I do need to either capture some launch monitor data or better still actually pay these in more favourable and receptive conditions and report back. 7/10
Flight
Again, Volvik are looking for a medium trajectory from golfers swinging in the optimum speed range. I don't but I did find the ball flying on a rather penetrating and pleasing trajectory. While I prefer a higher flying (and therefore in theory softer stopping) ball this wasn't a bad trajectory at all. Tying this in to the distance and waiting for the inevitable rain in the UK and the course being softened back up a tad I'll be interested to see what results I can get, especially in the crucial scoring zone from 120 yards and in 7/10
Control
Another area in which Volvik make the usual claims that most ball manufacturers make and one that I found hard to reconcile the reality I found on the course, and practice before hand with the claims they made. Certainly in the short game area and on the green where I demand the most from whatever ball I play, I didn't see any check out of sand or around the greens and as I have to keep repeating it's an area that begs repeating in more conducive conditions. However at this time I can only comment on what I felt and observed and this was an area I found the ball lacking in 5/10
Feel
Now we come to the most variable and personal of all the characteristics of this ball and I'm aware how subjective this is and so please ensure these comments are my own based on the testing I did and may not correspond to your own experiences.
I didn't enjoy the feel of this ball across any area of the game. I've described the feel as dull or dead and that's exactly how it felt of all of the club faces. The sound even sounded dull and so whether that reinforces this view point is open to argument. It's simply a ball that when it boiled down to it I didn't enjoy hitting and this is something that you can't put down to the dry and warm playing conditions and is something I don't see changing irrespective of how the course may change in different weather. It's an area I find important in picking a ball and never want anything that feels rock hard and pebble like or sounds strong off the face. Even around the short game, I want a ball to give me response through the club face and encourage me that it'll respond as I planned on landing. I didn't get that in any shape with the Vivid 4/10
Overall
On the limited testing I did the simple conclusion is that this isn't the ball for me. I liked the colour and to a degree the matte finish and while I didn't play the ball enough to test durability to any degree there was no significant marking even on the bunker shots. The Volvik Vivid just didn't match what I look for in a ball. I am prepared to repeat the process again in softer conditions but think in most categories the results and overall outcome will stay the same. 6/10
More detailed thoughts here
Looks
These balls are definitely strong in the looks department. Vivid by name and very much vivid by nature. Even with a matte finish they are bright. Now as I've already mentioned the dimples don't seem overly pronounced and whether that comes from the finish or is a deliberate manufacturing move by Volvik I don't know. From a short distance away, the green one in particular looked like a small stress ball or table tennis ball and the dimples weren't evident
I like the way the green and yellow versions I tried stood out and if anything preferred the yellow in terms of easiness to follow in flight in bright conditions and certainly against the grass. On the green they seem to stand out against the putter face and I can see how this could inspire confidence over the ball. 7/10
Distance
These are clearly designed for golfers with a slower swing speed of mine and Volvik say that it's optimum range is 70-90mph, I am definitely quicker than that. As I've spoken about already though, the distance achieved was noticeable. I do need to either capture some launch monitor data or better still actually pay these in more favourable and receptive conditions and report back. 7/10
Flight
Again, Volvik are looking for a medium trajectory from golfers swinging in the optimum speed range. I don't but I did find the ball flying on a rather penetrating and pleasing trajectory. While I prefer a higher flying (and therefore in theory softer stopping) ball this wasn't a bad trajectory at all. Tying this in to the distance and waiting for the inevitable rain in the UK and the course being softened back up a tad I'll be interested to see what results I can get, especially in the crucial scoring zone from 120 yards and in 7/10
Control
Another area in which Volvik make the usual claims that most ball manufacturers make and one that I found hard to reconcile the reality I found on the course, and practice before hand with the claims they made. Certainly in the short game area and on the green where I demand the most from whatever ball I play, I didn't see any check out of sand or around the greens and as I have to keep repeating it's an area that begs repeating in more conducive conditions. However at this time I can only comment on what I felt and observed and this was an area I found the ball lacking in 5/10
Feel
Now we come to the most variable and personal of all the characteristics of this ball and I'm aware how subjective this is and so please ensure these comments are my own based on the testing I did and may not correspond to your own experiences.
I didn't enjoy the feel of this ball across any area of the game. I've described the feel as dull or dead and that's exactly how it felt of all of the club faces. The sound even sounded dull and so whether that reinforces this view point is open to argument. It's simply a ball that when it boiled down to it I didn't enjoy hitting and this is something that you can't put down to the dry and warm playing conditions and is something I don't see changing irrespective of how the course may change in different weather. It's an area I find important in picking a ball and never want anything that feels rock hard and pebble like or sounds strong off the face. Even around the short game, I want a ball to give me response through the club face and encourage me that it'll respond as I planned on landing. I didn't get that in any shape with the Vivid 4/10
Overall
On the limited testing I did the simple conclusion is that this isn't the ball for me. I liked the colour and to a degree the matte finish and while I didn't play the ball enough to test durability to any degree there was no significant marking even on the bunker shots. The Volvik Vivid just didn't match what I look for in a ball. I am prepared to repeat the process again in softer conditions but think in most categories the results and overall outcome will stay the same. 6/10
