MaxFli’s Noodle isn’t so much a golf ball as it is a series. There are currently four versions, and all of them made Golf Digest’s 2006 Hot List in the Value Performance category.

The four Noodles are: Long and Soft, Softest, Longest, and Noodle Ice.

I like the Noodle and have gone through stretches where I’ve played it, but for some reason, I sometimes have a hard time finding it on the shelves. In the best case scenario for MaxFli, that could be a sign that it sells out quickly. I’ve had an easier time getting the MaxFli Revolution balls.

The Long and Soft version is just that: Long and Soft. For me, it goes just as far as the premium balls, and has a nice soft feel around the greens and with a putter. And you can’t beat the price.

Maxfli Noodle Lively Core Distance Golf Balls

Maxfli Noodle Golf Balls Logn and Soft - 15Pk

Maxfli Noodle Ice Golf Balls

MacGregor Golf made the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List with its MacTec NVG2 driver. MacGregor says that—because there are no welds on the face of the club—the MacTec has the largest sweet spot of any driver on the market. Three grades of titanium are used in the face, body and crown. The .6mm crown thickness has allowed MacGregor to move extra weight lower and deeper, moving the center of gravity down. Strategically placed tungsten weights increase the moment of inertia.

MacGregor also says that the club has a higher Coefficient of Restitution at every point on the face than either Callaway or Cobra’s drivers.

The venerable company—it’s 108 years old now—has by far the most high tech-looking of this year’s drivers. It’s almost got a Frankenstein Monster sort of look, complete with bolts and a blocky looking head. Still, I find it attractive.

I have liked all of the incarnations of the NXT ball over the last couple of years. And this year’s model is the Golf Digest 2006 Hot List Editor’s Choice for a value performance ball. They call it the “working man’s” Pro V1.

I’ve generally liked the NXT, and have played it during verious stretches. But I typically prefer a softer feel, and when I play a Titleist, it usually the DT So/Lo. I probably am a little longer off the tee with the NXT, but I feel more comfortable with a softer ball around the greens.

For me, the best thing about all of the Titleist balls is their toughness. You can pop them off trees, skip them up cart paths, and richochet them off sprinkler heads and they stilll are playable. I have yet to see another ball that can survive as many rounds as a Titleist.

TITLEIST NXT Tour

Titleist’s Pro V-1 ball seems to have a permanent place on everyone’s list of best premium ball. This year, it’s one again Golf Digest’s Editors Choice for Tour Performance ball. It’s also the market leader, and the one played by most of the pros.

I’ve played these balls, but I have to say that, in spite of the hype, they just don’t seem to do enough for my game to justify $45 a dozen. I think that it probably has to do with my slower swing speed.

Titleist Pro V-1 New Longer Distance Golf Balls

The weirdest looking club in golf has had an update. Lauded for its playabilty in its first incarnation, its the 2006 Golf Digest Editor’s Choice in the Super Game Improvement category.

The slingback moves the weight further back and lower, and the new cryo steel face is lighter and hotter. Twenty nine grams of weight have been moved away from the face to the perimeter and into a wider sole. The club also featues what Nike calls 3_D flow weighting, which essentially accomplishes what Callaway is doing with its Variable Face Thickness technolgy—it moves the weight around to optimize each club individually.

NIKE Slingshot OSS 4-AW w/Graphite Shaft