Golf Balls
Sadly, earlier this year we lost our ability to test golf ball driving distances, without which we didn’t feel comfortable offering consumer reviews. So until we have Iron Byron and a practice facility at our disposal, we offer the table below to provide some information on the variety of golf balls on the market.
Given the vast majority of balls these days are marketed as “longer distance with exceptional feel and durability”, the manufacturer’s information will probably be of little help in finding the most appropriate ball for your level of play. And we don’t profess to be able to tell you which ball will be right for you, although we of course have our personal favorites (Titelist Pro V1 and TaylorMade Red LDP).
But assuming you don’t have to play the same ball as your favorite touring professional, we recommend that players keep an open mind as to what ball could be most appropriate for them. Don’t thumb your nose at (all) inexpensive balls, and if your nearest driving range offers “ball fitting” days from the manufacturers, head on over. You’ll also want to determine your swing speed to find the ball that is the best match (for example, the Bridgestone Tour B330 is for players with Tour fast 112mph+ swing speeds – so you shouldn’t even THINK about this ball if you have an average swing speed like most of us). If you don’t know your swing speed and your local range can’t help out, there are a number of devices on the market that can easily provide this information (and can work as a training device also), including the Medicus Power Meter
Ideally, if you can narrow your choices down to a handful (simply based on price point or marketing information on swing speed and/or ball trajectory), buy a sleeve or two of a few different balls from your local course (or buy a few dozen from Golfballs.com or Golfsmith and split them with your playing partners) based on information included below. You may just find yourself switching golf balls after playing the same ball for years, as we did.
The selection of balls available to the public listed below are all USGA-conforming, non-wound balls with solid cores. Based on the latest USGA and R&A list of conforming golf balls, we have included the construction of the of the ball (two-piece, three-piece or “other”), cover (single or double), driver and short iron spin rates (low, medium or high) and number of dimples. And while it isn’t worth much, we have included the marketing pitch for the ball based on manufacturer’s comments, the most important being the appropriate player clubhead speed.
For pricing information:
Check golf ball prices at Golfballs.com
Check golf ball prices at Golfsmith
Click on the arrows in the table below to sort by the appropriate column. You may also sort by more than one column at a time but holding down the shift key while selecting the column headers.
Golf Ball Information
| Manufacturer | Model | Marketing pitch | MSRP / List price | Construction | Driver spin rate | Short iron spin rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone | Tour B330 | Tour fast swing speeds (112mph+) | 42.99 | O | Low | Medium |
| Bridgestone | Tour B330-S | Tour average swing speeds (103-115mph), softer core and cover than Tour B330 | 42.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Bridgestone | Tour B330-RX | Amateur average swing speeds (<105mph) | 42.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Bridgestone | Tour B330-RXS | Amateur average swing speeds (<105mph); extra spin control vs B330-RX | 42.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Bridgestone | e5 | Players needing greater trajectory | 30.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| Bridgestone | e6 | Reduces excess spin for straighter and longer flight | 30.99 | 3 | Low | Low |
| Bridgestone | e7 | Players needing slightly lower trajectory or additional distance | 30.99 | 3 | Low | Low |
| Bridgestone | TreoSoft | Moderate swing speeds; value ball | 21.99 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Titleist | Pro V1 | Long distance with soft feel; more spin and higher durability than Pro V1x | 58.00 | 3 | Medium | High |
| Titleist | Pro V1x | Lower spin than the Pro V1; longer distance than Pro V1 | 58.00 | O | Medium | High |
| Titleist | NXT Tour | Long distance, lower spin than Pro V1 and Pro V1x | 40.00 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Titleist | NXT | Longer distance than NXT Tour; lowe spin for straight flight; exceptional durability | 34.00 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Titleist | DT SoLo | Value ball - long distance, soft feel, good short game control | 28.00 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| Nike | One Tour | More spin around green, longer distance off tee; for 90+ mph swings | 58.00 | O | Low | Medium |
| Nike | One Tour D | Longer distance off tee; 90+ mph swings | 58.00 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Nike | One Vapor Speed | Longer distance vs One Vapor; amateurs with 80+ mph swing speeds | 40.00 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Nike | One Vapor | Long distance; amateurs with 80+ mph swing speeds | 40.00 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Nike | Crush | Distance ball for players with 80-95 mph swing seeds | 30.00 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Nike | Karma | For 70-80 mph swings, marketed to women | 30.00 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Nike | Power Distance Long | Distance ball for higher swing speeds | 22.50 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Nike | Power Distance High | Distance ball for average swing speeds | 22.50 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Nike | Power Distance Soft | Distance ball for lower swing speeds | 22.50 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Srixon | Z-Star | Softer of the Z-series ball, their Tour ball with higher ball flight; 80-105mph swings | 39.99 | 3 | Medium | High |
| Srixon | Z-Star Yellow | Same as the Z-Star, but in bright yellow (back to the 80s!) | 39.99 | 3 | Medium | High |
| Srixon | Z-Star X | Longer ball with slightly firmer feel; swing speeds over 105mph | 39.99 | 3 | Medium | High |
| Srixon | Z-Star X Tour Yellow | Same as the Z-Star X, but in bright yellow (back to the 80s!) | 39.99 | 3 | Medium | High |
| Srixon | Trispeed | Designed for distance which maintaining feel | 29.99 | 3 | Low | Low |
| Srixon | Trispeed Tour | Distance ball, designed for mid to low-handicap amateurs; <100mph swings | 29.99 | 3 | Low | Low |
| Srixon | AD333 | High launch angle and greater distance | 19.99 | 2 | Medium | High |
| Srixon | Soft Feel | Lower spin off driver and soft feel with high ball flight; best for lower swing speeds | 19.99 | 2 | Low | Low |
| Srixon | Soft Feel Lady | Designed for women (translate = for slower swing speeds and those who like pink) | 19.99 | 2 | Low | Low |
| TaylorMade | Penta TP | First 5-layer Tour ball. High launch and low spin. | 45.99 | O | Low | Medium |
| TaylorMade | TP Red with LDP | Tour performance for higher spin players | 29.99 | O | Low | Medium |
| TaylorMade | TP Black with LDP | Tour performance for lower spin players | 29.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| TaylorMade | Burner TP with LDP | "Tour performance with bombers distance" | 26.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| TaylorMade | Burner with LDP | Soft feel in a distance ball ("bombers distance with a players feel") | 19.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| TaylorMade | Noodle+ | "Long and soft." One of the most popular value balls around. | 15.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| Callaway | Tour i(s) | Soft cover for maximum greenside spin and soft feel | 42.99 | O | Medium | High |
| Callaway | Tour i(z) | Longest Callaway Tour ball | 42.99 | O | Medium | High |
| Callaway | HX Bite | More distance off the tee combined with short-game spin | 29.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Callaway | HX Hot Plus | "Blistering speed and distance" | 29.99 | 3 | Low | Medium |
| Callaway | Solaire | "Power and soft feel for slower swing speeds" - even in pink! | 25.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| Callaway | Big Bertha Diablo | Reduced spin for more distance and less severe hooks and slices | 23.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
| Callaway | Warbird Plus | Maximum distance with a durable cover | 19.99 | 2 | Low | Medium |
Note: “O” indicates “Other” type of construction. This is generally for 4+ piece balls (we aren’t sure why the USGA doesn’t doesn’t provide detail on these balls), or for a design other than single or dual cover balls.
