Every major equipment manufacturer has released their 2023 golf ball lineup. Now the work begins. If you’re in the market for a new ball, consider this guide a roadmap to tracking down the best potential model to complement your game.
To be clear, the goal of this guide is to highlight balls that do certain things well. With the help of Golf Laboratories’ swing-robot, we’re able to whittle down the field and provide worthy options to test in the areas you need it most. (Note: We tested 40 golf balls on the swing-robot.)
It’s up to you and a certified club-fitter to determine where you should go from there. Now let’s get to some of the results from robotic driver and wedge (50 yards) testing.
(Methodology: Each golf ball model was hit 10 times by the robot during driver and wedge testing, and the average of those hits was recorded.)
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Driver Results; M < (95 mph)
Ball Speed
The ball-speed delta between the fastest and 5th-fastest was less than .3 mph — a number that’s within the noise. While the difference in speed between the top and bottom was 3 mph (or roughly 9-10 yards), there’s a lot of bunching going on in the top half. In fact, there’s less than a 1 mph difference between the top 14 balls.
Can a golf ball help you gain some speed? Of course. However, a well-fit driver paired with the right ball is always going to help you gain the most distance with an optimal launch angle and spin rate. There’s no such thing as a magic golf ball that will help you gain 15 yards off the tee.
1. Vice Pro
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2. Callaway Chrome Soft X
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3. Srixon Z Star XV
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4. Vice Pro Plus
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5. TaylorMade TP5
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High Spin
Spin is necessary to achieve an optimal carry and peak height with the driver, so don’t assume low spin is the only way to gain more distance. It’s important to point out that half of the balls we tested had a driver spin rate that was within 280 RPMs or less of the five listed below.
Similar to ball speed — you’ll notice a trend here with drivers — there was a lot of bunching going on in the spin department. The tight spin rate delta reinforce that you can use the ball to fine-tune spin characteristics with the driver.
1. TaylorMade TP5
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2. TaylorMade TP5x
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3. Titleist Pro V1x
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4. Wilson Staff Triad
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5. Mizuno RB Tour X
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Low Spin
Several golf balls designed for distance produced high launch and low spin numbers with the driver, which checks out with what we’ve seen in the past from these models. That being said, the difference in spin rate between the highest and lowest spinning balls tested was roughly 600 RPMs.
1. Callaway ERC Soft
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2. Vice Drive
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3. Bridgestone e6
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4. Mizuno RB 566
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5. Bridgestone Tour B RX
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High Launch
Launch varied by less than 1 degree from the highest launching to the lowest launching at 95 mph. The tight launch delta is a reminder that you might see minor changes from one ball to the next with the same driver settings, but if you want to make meaningful changes, focus first on an adjustable driver head or shaft if you’re an average swing speed golfer.
1. Callaway ERC Soft
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2. Titleist Tour Soft
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3. Srixon Q Star Tour
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4. Vice Drive
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5. Bridgestone e6
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Low Launch
One interesting insight from driver testing was the number of Urethane-covered balls that wound up producing a lower launch with the driver. At 95 mph, many (but not all) hovered between 2,400-2,800 RPMs with a reduced launch, while a large majority of the Surlyn offerings ended up producing lower spin rates with a slightly higher launch. It’s just one of the many insights we were able to glean from testing.
1. Mizuno RB Tour X
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2. Srixon Z Star XV
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3. Srixon Z Star Diamond
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4. Callaway Chrome Soft
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5. Srixon Q Star
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Wedge Results (50 yards)
High Launch
Unlike driver testing, the launch deltas were noticeably wider at the top and bottom. For example, Mizuno’s RB 566 launched at 38 degrees on a 50-yard wedge shot, while the Srixon Z Star and Z Star Diamond came in at 30.6 degrees. Bunching existed in the data as 31 of the balls offered a launch that was separated by 1.2 degrees. For the other nine balls, the launch delta expanded to 5.5 degrees.
1. Mizuno RB 566
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2. Mizuno RB 566 V
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3. Callaway ERC Soft
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4. Bridgestone e6
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5. Titleist Tour Soft
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Low Launch
What stands out when looking at the lower-launching golf balls is the number of Urethane-covered balls that are featured. Better wedge players tend to bring the ball in lower on short-game shots for more control. Some of these balls — especially the Pro V1 and Z Star Diamond — are used by a myriad of players on the PGA Tour.
1. Srixon Z Star
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2. Srixon Z Star Diamond
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3. Titleist AVX
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4. Oncore Vero X2
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5. Titleist Pro V1
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High Spin
Spin is necessary to hold the green. But before you assume the five listed here are the runaway winners, consider this: While the spin rate delta between the highest and lowest spinning golf balls was a staggering 3,300 RPMs, only 800 RPMs separated 31 golf balls on the list. That’s our way of saying not to sweat the results too much if you aren’t playing one of the five balls below.
In the end, Urethane balls, or those with a cover modifier that helps induce spin, bring the zip, while Surlyn tends to do what it does best — improve distance with a slight downtick in greenside spin.
1. TaylorMade TP5
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2. Mizuno RB Tour X
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3. Oncore Vero X2
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4. Srixon Z Star
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5. TaylorMade TP5x
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