PINNACLE Exception Double Dozen

These Pinnacle Exception balls are a real bargain: $24 for 24 balls.

The Exceptions are an older model—Pinnacle has since moved on to the Platinum models. But at that price, you might want to pick some up. They are a two piece with a “high velocity” core, a soft cover, and a resultant 70 compression.

CALLAWAY Warbird Plus

With the PLUS version of its venerable Warbird golf ball, Callaway has ditched the dimples and applied their unique hex pattern to the surface. At under $20 a dozen, it’s still a bargain two piece ball, but the core has been redesigned with new materials for what Callaway says is more distance with a softer feel.

Meanwhile, the original Warbird is down to $14 a dozen.

NIKE Power Distance High 2009

The Nike Power Distance High golf balls are designed to fly high and land soft. With a softened compression and low-count dimple design, the balls are supposed to offer more carry.

This isn’t a bad idea, especially for place like Michigan, where soft Spring ground conditions result in little or no roll. Until June or so, it’s all about carry in Michigan.

NIKE One Tour

The Nike One Tour is Nike’s answer to the Titleist Pro V1. This four piece ball apparently is the replacement for last year’s Nike One Platinum. Interestingly, it has two “covers.” The inner is supposed to offer feel and workability with the scoring irons, while the 378 dimple outer cover is supposed to offer superior feel and long, predictable flight.

I’ve always liked the feel and play of Nike’s balls, but felt that they just were not durable enough for my tastes. I can live with losing an expensive ball in the woods or a pond, but I don’t like to have to retire one after half a round because they’ve been scruffed up.

2009 Pro V1 Review

TITLEIST Pro V1 2009

Grade: B+
Teacher’s Comments: Long. Great spin around the green. Nice to putt with. Durable. But EXPENSIVE.

I’ve always been skeptical (if not downright disbelieving) of claims made by golf equipment companies connecting the performance of pros to the desirability of their products. So over the years, the notion that I should play a Pro V1 because it’s the number one ball in golf has had no impact on me whatsoever. I’ve always played balls I believed more attuned to amateurs, especially the Callaway HX Hot. I just never thought I had the game to play with a Pro V1, any more than I have the game to play with a set of Mizuno blades.

But Titleist has apparently reforumulated the Pro V1 line. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been playing the 2009 Pro V1 and Pro V1x, and am coming to a different conclusion. I CAN play the Pro V1, and it’s turned out to be a nice ball for this mid handicapper.

Titleist offers two balls in the Pro V line: the Pro V1 and Pro V1x. The V1 is a three piece and the V1x, a four. I played them interchangeably, and to be honest I really can’t tell the difference between the two. I sometimes felt as though I hit longer shots with one, sometimes the other. The same thought applies to the spin. For me, the real comparison is between these premium balls and the lower priced ones I usually play.

My biggest complaint in the past about the Pro V1 models was that I felt I couldn’t take advantage of its qualities. With a moderate swing speed, I was sure that I didn’t properly compress a ball designed for pros who can swing at 120 miles per hour. For whatever reason—the reformulation, or a change in my own game—I haven’t found that to be the case with the new 2009 Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Shots with my driver, woods and irons are no shorter—or longer for that matter—than with my favorite, the Callaway HX Hot. (It helps here to play the same course on a regular basis—I know where my shots usually land.)

Ball flight for both the Pro V1 and Pro V1x were moderately high. Both balls were very straight. But again, I didn’t think there was any real separation from the Callaway HX Hot.

Where the Pro V1 earns its money—so to speak—is that it takes the length of my favorite distance ball, and combines that with outstanding spin around the green. Off the wedges, from 110 yards in, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x fly in high, and check up almost immediately. My normal aiming point with a wedge has in the past been well short of the hole because I knew that—once it landed—the ball would start rolling. With the Pro V1, I can aim for the center of the green, knowing that the ball won’t skid off the rear.

I haven’t done one of those Tour spin backs yet, but the balls do stop very, very quickly.

That kind of spin makes a big difference in my game. In a scramble last weekend, I was absolutely fearless around the greens, taking big swings in the certainty that the ball would fly high, land and stop. When we missed the approach shots, it more often than not was my ball we played for the first putt. (I’d also like to tell you how often we used my tee shots, but that was only when everyone else spun their balls off into the wilderness, leaving me the only one in the fairway).

On the green, the 2009 Pro V1 and Pro V1x both feel very nice coming off the face of my Heavy Putter. As in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, they’re not too firm, not too soft, but just right.

Titleist claims that the 2009 Pro V1 models have a cover that offers improved durability. I can’t speak to that, since I really haven’t spent much time playing the previous models, but they are indeed durable. I can’t finish a round without hitting a couple of trees and a cart path or two, and I didn’t notice any scruffing that would cause me to retire a ball.

And that’s good, because at $45 a dozen, you can’t toss these aside with impunity. In fact, they’re probably too expensve for me to justify playing on a regular basis. At the rate I lose balls, I very quickly would burn through my golf budget. If these were $15 cheaper, I think I’d play them on a regular basis.

WILSON Tx4 Pro

Designed to compete with other Tour caliber balls, the TX4 is priced at $29—at least ten bucks cheaper than other brands.

From the Wilson site:

The Tx4 Pro features multi-layer construction and thin urethane cover for low driver spin, high wedge spin and precision accuracy from 100 yards and in.

  1. Nano-Tech particles infused into the rubber chemistry produce an extremely lively, but soft inner core
  2. Performance mantle layer fuels maximum acceleration off of the club face and generates higher iron spin rates
  3. Thin urethane cover promotes spin, delivers soft feel, and provides extra control off of irons
  4. Unique flat-bottomed, shallow dimples rip through the air to create a more stable, penetrating flight

I liked the Wilson Zips I tried last spring. I’ll put these on my “try them out” list.

NIKE One Vapor

Vapor is not a good name for a golf ball. The image it conjurs is of something that’s non-existent, or at the very least insubstantial.

Actually, Vapor is not a good name for any product.

The Vapor is a three piece ball aimed at players with lower swing speeds. The lower compression core feature something called “Power Transfer Technology” which Nike promises offers distance and control, while the cover’s 336 dimple design adds control and consistency.

I’ve always thought Nike balls felt good off the irons, and played well. My issue always has been with their durability.