Gary Mayes' Golf Equipment Journal presented by Equip2Golf.com

2002 Golf Ball Report - Premium Category

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Editor's Note: 10.20.02 update incorporates two additional Premium Category golf balls and expanded analysis. GM

Introduction

In this test, we compile and examine the performance characteristics of 18 premium brand golf balls. In addition, two other popular golf balls (Precept Lady, Pinnacle Soft Feel) are included for benchmarking and comparison purposes. Our testing consists of three phases: Wedge Test, 6-iron Test, and Driver Test. The Wedge Test focuses primarily on initial spin rate (SPIN), the 6-iron Test deals with both distance (DIST) and spin rate (SPIN) equally, and the Driver Test concentrates mostly initial velocity (or overall distance) (DIST).

Wedge Test

The wedge test was performed using a Titleist DCI OS+ pitching wedge (48° loft) with a target swing speed of 65-69 mph (corresponding to roughly 80-85% of full power and a carry distance of 92-98 yards). Shots hit outside of the 65-69 mph swing speed range were re-tried. After data collection, all shot data was normalized to a 67.0 mph swing speed since spin rate increases with increasing swing speed. However, since the average swing speed for each of the 20 golf ball models was within 0.4 mph of 67.0 mph, the normalization procedure had no impact on the rankings.

The data presents the trimmed averages of initial spin rate, SPIN (revolutions per minute) and launch angle, LAUNCH (degrees) for each model of golf ball. Differences of 300 RPM are deemed statistically significant.

View Wedge Data

The data compiled indicates that the Precept Tour Premium, Nike Tour Accuracy, Maxfli A10 and the Srixon Hi-Brid Tour were the leaders in the wedge spin rates. Not surprisingly, the "distance" balls (Precept Lady, Pinnacle Soft Feel) had by far the lowest wedge spin rates of the group. Also noteworthy is that most of the "lower spinning" versions of popular brands (e.g., Nike Tour Accuracy DD and TW, Callaway HX Red and CTU Red, Wilson Staff True Distance) lived up to their billing of spinning less than their related brands (e.g., Nike Tour Accuracy, Callaway HX Blue and CTU Blue, Wilson Staff True Tour). The lone exception was the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1* models which displayed minimal difference.



6-iron Test

Testing was performed using a Mizuno Comp EZ 6-iron (31° loft) with an average swing speed of 81 mph. The Comp EZ iron was chosen due to its relatively large "sweet spot". Since the swing speed on any individual shot varied generally from 80-82 mph, the shot data were normalized to a speed of 81 mph. However, since the average swing speed for each of the 20 ball models was so close to the target speed of 81.0 mph, the normalization procedure had little impact.

The data presents the trimmed averages of carry distance, DIST (yards), smash factor, SMASH (ball speed/club speed), initial spin rate SPIN (revolutions per minute), and launch angle, LAUNCH (degrees) for each model of golf ball. One thing to keep in mind is that the spin rate is the initial rate, not the final spin rate. Different balls have different spin decay rates that can alter the amount of true "bite" power when landing on the green.

Results indicate that overall there is very little difference between the various models of premium balls in terms of carry distance with only 2 yards separating the shortest ball from the longest ball. With the 6-iron data collected, it is worth noting that the marketing claims of brand X being 10-15 yards longer than brand Y are overstated when conducted under strict scientific conditions.

View 6 Iron Data

Predictably, the data indicates the longest balls were the lower spinning balls: Callaway HX Red and Titleist Pro V1*, while the shortest balls were those of the higher spinning variety: Maxfli Revolution, Nike Tour Accuracy, and Precept Tour Premium. Golf balls that displayed the best combination of distance and spin were the Wilson Staff True Tour, Maxfli A10, Precept Tour Premium LS, Titleist Pro V1, TaylorMade TP Tour, Ben Hogan Apex Tour. and Nike Tour Accuracy TW. Note that while the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1* displayed minimal difference in initial spin rate in the Wedge Test, we see a more significant increase in spin rate of the Pro V1 over the Pro V1* in the 6-iron Test. It is worth emphasizing again that overall the differences were small and individual golfer's results may differ based on swing type, weather, or other factors.



Driver Test

Testing was performed using two drivers: 1) a Cleveland Launcher with 10.5 degrees loft and a UST ProForce 65 R-flex shaft, and 2) a Titleist 975J with 11.5 degrees loft and a Graphite Design YS6 R-flex shaft. The two-driver system was used to mitigate any driver-specific nuances that head or shaft design can play in affecting launch conditions. A target swing speed of 94-98 mph was used to ensure consistency & accuracy from shot to shot. [Note: Swing speed measurements on the Swing Dynamics system are highly accurate, but tend to read approximately 5 mph less than more commonly used, less expensive devices.] Shots hit with speeds outside of the target range were deleted and re-tried. One other constraint was used. Drives that landed outside of the 30-yard wide "fairway" on the display (i.e. shots that were more than 15 yards offline) were deleted and re-tried. This yields a more accurate assessment of carry distance and reduces the undesired affect that a widely open or closed clubface at impact can have on the ball's flight characteristics. After all the data was collected, all shot data was normalized to a 96.0 mph swing speed since items like distance and spin rate are highly dependent on swing speed.

The data represent the trimmed averages of carry distance DIST (yards), launch angle LAUNCH (degrees), initial spin rate SPIN (revolutions per minute), and smash factor SMASH (ball speed / swing speed) for each model of golf ball. Note that the carry distance does not include the amount of roll expected after the shot lands which is a complex factor between final launch angle and final spin rate, neither of which is known.

View Driver Data

Results from the driver tests yielded several observations and conclusions. First, as indicated in the 6-iron tests, all the premium balls are fairly close together in an absolute sense. Again, manufacturer marketing claims of Brand X being 10-15 yards longer than Brand Y are skeptical, at best, when evaluated under strict scientific conditions. The golf ball that was the leader in distance ranking was the Callaway HX Red, although it was only a yard and a half longer than the next ball. It should be noted that for those golfers with substantially stronger swing speeds (i.e., 120+ mph), it is likely that the differences between the golf balls would be slightly greater than the results presented here. Second, the difference in carry distance between the average premium ball and the two benchmark "distance" balls (Pinnacle Soft Feel and Precept Lady) are negligible. This indicates that one's golf ball selection should primarily focus on other factors such as durability and spin rate off an iron. It also indicates the progress that has been made in golf ball technology and manufacturing process in the past ten years has closed what was an obvious distance gap. Finally, it is worth noting that the alternate, lower-spinning versions of the popular ball brands (i.e., Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1*, Callaway HX Red and Blue, Nike Tour Accuracy DD and TW, Wilson Staff True Tour and Distance) lived up to their billing as lower spinning balls.



Summary

We believe that all of the golf balls tested in the Premium Category would serve the majority of golfers quite well, as evidenced by the overall closeness of the results in an absolute sense. We attribute this mostly to how far golf ball technology has come in the past several years. To conclude our analysis of the Premium Category, we identified an ideal golf ball as having a combination of high distance off the driver and 6-iron while exhibiting high spin off the 6-iron and wedge.

Upon analysis of the golf balls in this category, the following table is presented whereby a check mark indicates that the golf ball ranked above the group average for those particular criteria. Keep in mind, however that this represents the summary of just one set of tests. Results may vary based on golfer, swing type, weather conditions, and other factors.


As indicated in the table, there were three golf balls that exhibited above average in all four "ideal golf ball" criteria. What's not shown, however, is how close several other of the other balls came close to breaking the average for all four categories. Thus, to further improve the analyses, a numerical ranking system was used to quantify the overall performance. This system computes the number of standard deviations above the group mean for each golf ball for all four important performance criteria. The sum of the four standard deviation values is computed for each ball and then ranked based on how that sum compares to the other balls. The ranking in the table reflect the end result of the numerical system.

Based upon these results, four golf balls had overall performances that were well above the group average. They are the Wilson Staff True Tour, Maxfli A10,
Srixon Hi-Brid Tour, and Precept Tour Premium LS. Based upon these results, Equip2Golf.com identifies these golf balls as 2002 Category Leaders for the Premium Category.





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