The four-piece Hogan Apex Tour is actually a first cousin to the Strata Tour Ultimate balls. (Both companies operate under the Spalding golf umbrella). In fact, the Apex Tour originally began development as a Strata project. The folks at Spalding say that the ball turned out so well that they deemed it worthy of being [...]

Most golf junkies have heard of the notorious Lady Precept by now. A well-know, amateur champion in Alabama began playing these distaff balls with great success achieving prodigious distances along the way. By word of mouth and via Internet chatrooms, the word spread like wildfire. The MC Lady soon developed a rep for going farther [...]

The Top Flite XL series has long been the best-selling ball line in the world. But it has always suffered from an image problem. Traditionally, Top Flite’s have not been balls played by low-handicappers. The design changes made to the extensive XL line have done much to remedy that situation. The improved, high-spin version of [...]

We are not going to really review the Titleist Pro V as a high-end performance ball. That review is being conducted on tour and everyone knows that this ball is working exceedingly well for tournament players. If your handicap is near zero, this may be the best ball ever made. We are just going to [...]

The Original Titleist Pro V1 is no longer produced. It and the Titleist Pro V1 Improved are essentially the same ball. The Improved is just what the name implies. It is a refined version of the Original. The Titleist Pro V1 Star is also a second generation Pro V1. While it shares some of the [...]

To say that the jury is still out on the much ballyhooed Rule 35 ball from Callaway Golf is an understatement. National opinion has been deeply divided as have the opinions expressed by our regular testers. Two things are agreed upon by all: the price is too damn high and it is annoying to spend [...]

Companies have attempted to design golf balls that feature low compression cores, low spin rates, a soft, enjoyable feel and excellent distances for slower swing speeds. In an inspirational move, Maxfli decided to name its combatant in the category, the Noodle. The move worked. Some love the name; some hate it, but all agree that [...]

There are six small, bald spots on each ball that do not contain any dimples. The rationale to these smooth spots is that the uneven, unpredictable nature of a standard ball’s dimpled surface dictates that the contact made with a putter face will cause slight deviations in roll. The manufacturer claims that a more pure [...]

The NXT Distance is two-piece, Surlyn-covered ball. For a Titleist, it is a very firm (hard) golf ball. The NXT Distance replaces the HP Distance in the Titleist lineup. It becomes the second firmest ball in that lineup. It is less firm than the new DT Distance, and more firm than the Tour Distance SF. [...]

The Dunlop LoCo and the popular Maxfli Noodle are very similar balls. Maxfli and Dunlop balls, as well as Slazenger and TaylorMade balls, are manufactured at the Dunlop plant in Westminster, South Carolina. The two parent companies have been interrelated in varying degrees for many years. While Maxfli and Dunlop are again separate entities, design [...]

For our economy distance shootout, we went with the inexpensive Dunlop that said “Explosive Distance.” on the box. After it finished last for the comparative sessions, we picked up a dozen of the Steelcore’s to see how well they would do. Running at slightly over a dollar a ball, the Steelcore is also very economically [...]

It’s not all talk, join the band wagon, be as specific with your ball selection as you would with your driver! It’s long, it spins, it’s durable whilst offering exceptional feel, what more can a golfer ask for? Go ahead try it, what have you got to loose? Maxfli Revolution Seventeen Professional Tour wins and [...]

The Titleist Golf Ball brand has always been driven by innovation and performance enhancing technologies. Titleist HP Tour This ball fells soft, flies long and spins from short distance. The characteristics which I as a professional would seek when playing long courses soft damp conditions through winter months. A single figure handicap golfers kind of [...]

The golf ball has come along way since the late 1700′s. The earliest golf balls were made of wood and frequently cracked and warped from the harsh elements of the Scotland seasons. In the early 1800′s came the evolution of the “feathery ball”. Made of leather and tightly packed with feathers, it quickly became the [...]

We did not set out to intentionally review the Wilson ProStaff Platinum Pure Distance balls. We just needed to find some orange golf balls, but since a lot of readers have requested that we pay more attention to lower-end, affordable balls, we decided to hit two clubs with one ball. We not only use many [...]

The Top Flite Tour has been designed by Spalding to appeal to better players, especially those better players who are looking for a budget-priced performance ball. It is a soft-feeling, low-compression (66), three-piece ball that generates high spin rates. At less than $20 per dozen, the Tour is a bargain when compared to comparable balls, [...]

We never set out to intentionally review the Titleist Tour Distance. Several of our testers had played the Tour Distance and the Tour Distance SF on numerous occasions. In addition, we had frequently used both balls for comparative purposes during the reviews of other balls. One day it dawned on us: No one disliked this [...]

The Callaway HX Tour Series balls are available in four forms. The basic HX is a 3-piece ball that comes in a Blue and a Red version. The HX 2-Piece is a less expensive ball that also comes in a Blue and a Red version. Appearance-wise, they are very similar balls. This review is based [...]

The Soft Feel has what Srixon calls a “Soft EGG Core” – softer than the regular EGG core. The Soft Feel is a 2-piece ball with a “highly elastic” ionomer cover and 410 dimples. We have been hitting and playing this ball a great deal of late. It is included in an upcoming comparison review [...]

The Pro UR is designed to be a compromise ball. It is Srixon’s response to the popularity of the Titleist Pro V1. The Pro UR is a 3-piece, solid ball designed to produce good distances while maintaining a high degree of green holding ability. Between the Poly-Amide enhanced Urethane cover and the Srixon EGG core [...]

The U-Tri Extra Distance has built a substantial following among North American players. It has a good reputation. Golf forum regulars will be well aware that more than a few U-Tri Extra Distance devotees swear by this ball. It has a three-piece construction with a seamless Thermoplastic Urethane cover. The Extra Distance also features Precept’s [...]

The Maxfli M3 Tour comes in two versions: the regular Tour (Red) and the Tour LT (Black). The “LT” stands for “Low Trajectory”. Maxfli developed these balls to go head to head with the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x. They were designed to create solid distances and good shotmaking abilities without excessive spin characteristics. [...]

The Hi-Brid Tour golf ball is the Srixon’s premium offering. It is a 3-piece ball with a thin middle layer of high-tension rubber windings and a soft, elastomer cover. The Hi-Brid Tour is a performance ball, but it is not an aggressive, power ball in the vein of the Titleist Pro V1. Instead it is [...]

Srixon is the name used by Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries (Japan’s largest ball manufacturer) for their North American golf balls. In spite of winning many PGA events including seven majors, Srixon is a brand name that is just vaguely familiar to most American golfers. Accustomed to the soaringly optimistic golf ball names such as Titleist, [...]

The Pro V1x is the newest version of Titleist’s hugely popular Pro V1 line (see Understanding Pro V1 Variations). This ball replaces the Star in the Titleist lineup. Its target demographic is a bit different, however. Titleist recommends the ‘X’ for players who hit at driver swing speeds of 115 or more. That rules out [...]