31 replies to this topic

[Funkey]

Someone gave me a sleeve of these balls back in the spring.  Never used them until about a week a go.  WoW is all I can say.  Has to be the best ball I have ever used.  At least for my swing.  Best feel of any ball.  Good stoping power.  Very long off my driver and irons. Very good feel when putting.  Very durable. I

I know it is expensive.  The way it plays and helps my game make it worth the cost for me.

[mukster]

Great ball, do a search here for info on it. I bought two dozen when they had the special on them, long off the driver and great spin off irons. I swore that would be my ball for the season, but I hate paying that much for balls. My buddy owed me a dozen balls, they had the ZStar XVs on at buy two dozen, get one free, so he bought a dozen, as did I, and I got 3 dozen for the price of one

If you don't mind paying the $$, you will not be disappointed.

[MATEUSZEK]

Super long ball off the tee and irons, with wedges and around the green I've had a little bit of trouble stopping the ball. The distance is crazy addicting though.

[mukster]

I have a confession to make; played two rounds this week with the XV's and I believe that they have knocked the Hex Blacks from my no. 1 spot. They stick like Velcro on approach shots and are great off irons and driver. And durable. I gave my buddy one today. His SS is probably 85-90 and he loved it. The very first chip it just stopped, he had to adjust his pitches and chips and drop them much closer to the pin.

[Walkin36]

I love the ball too, very long off the driver. Just I haven't found it to very durable. Wedges chew em up and spit em out.

[jp5612]

Great ball. I spent a long time playing whatever premium ball was on special at Dicks, but now only play either the Hex Black of ZStar XV.  The Hex Black is as good an all-purpose ball as you will find. It's great off the driver and irons and really good around the greens. The only negative for me is the slightly clicky sound off the putter.

[golfdad907]

Awesome ball and not that expensive if you look around.  Far less than anything with a V in its name.  One of the best all around balls ever made.

[KPH808]

Walkin36, on 23 September 2012 - 12:58 AM, said:

I love the ball too, very long off the driver. Just I haven't found it to very durable. Wedges chew em up and spit em out.

+1. It does cut up pretty easily and I don't like the feel off putts.

[morebeerbettergolf]

It, along with the FG Tour X and Z star XV, were the stars of 2012 balls for my preference.

[scratchswinger]

I concur that the Hex Black is money!!! Anyone else notice that they tend to launch a little higher?

[Dscvrr St Louis]

I played a couple of round with it...insane length off the tee, great on approach shots...durablility was an issue, but the big downer for me was that 1. it was clicky and didn't seem to have the spin on the shots around the green and 2. as mentioned above, I found it very clicky off the putter, almost to the detriment of not coming off the putter rolling well....almost too softly and still clicky.

sticking with my TP5's.

I do realize it is Callaways first attempt at the 5 piece ball market..so hopefully the next one will address the around the green issues somehow.  Liked it overall except for that.

[Birdies4Days]

I had a dozen and have found the opposite of what you guys are talking about. I did get longer distance but I almost had too much backspin on the wedges and I found the ball not very durable at all.

[morebeerbettergolf]

I really have to wonder what some of you guys are doing to balls to mess them up so bad. The newer balls are formulated for conforming grooves for one thing. For another, there aren't many if any soft covered urethane balls that aren't going to get beat up by wide razor sharp nonconforming grooves. It's like buying a Ferrari and complaining it didn't hold up well in a demo derby.

Urethane will never hold up like surlyn. Sure I wish a ProV1x could handle full swings with my Chikara 58* wedge but I don't get mad when it puts gills on them because I've got an aggressive wedge meant to grab the ball and spin the hell out of it.

Now if I had 2012 grooves and was tearing covers off of Top Flites I'd complain about durability.

A quick primer for those of you that missed that:

People want tons of spin so they use aggressive wedges and soft covered balls. Aggressive wedges grab the soft cover to create max spin which deforms cover. Max spin occurs at the cost of ball damage. It's like a law of physics and really only the XV and 330 seem somewhat immune to it yet they don't spin like other softer balls do. You've essentially got a take it or leave it situation if you want max spin with today's technology.

[golfdad907]

morebeerbettergolf, on 31 October 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

I really have to wonder what some of you guys are doing to balls to mess them up so bad. The newer balls are formulated for conforming grooves for one thing. For another, there aren't many if any soft covered urethane balls that aren't going to get beat up by wide razor sharp nonconforming grooves. It's like buying a Ferrari and complaining it didn't hold up well in a demo derby.

Urethane will never hold up like surlyn. Sure I wish a ProV1x could handle full swings with my Chikara 58* wedge but I don't get mad when it puts gills on them because I've got an aggressive wedge meant to grab the ball and spin the hell out of it.

Now if I had 2012 grooves and was tearing covers off of Top Flites I'd complain about durability.

A quick primer for those of you that missed that:

People want tons of spin so they use aggressive wedges and soft covered balls. Aggressive wedges grab the soft cover to create max spin which deforms cover. Max spin occurs at the cost of ball damage. It's like a law of physics and really only the XV and 330 seem somewhat immune to it yet they don't spin like other softer balls do. You've essentially got a take it or leave it situation if you want max spin with today's technology.

Finally, someone explains to those 'shredders' why tour balls peel.  Well done!

[NRJyzr]

morebeerbettergolf, on 31 October 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

I really have to wonder what some of you guys are doing to balls to mess them up so bad. The newer balls are formulated for conforming grooves for one thing. For another, there aren't many if any soft covered urethane balls that aren't going to get beat up by wide razor sharp nonconforming grooves. It's like buying a Ferrari and complaining it didn't hold up well in a demo derby.

Urethane will never hold up like surlyn. Sure I wish a ProV1x could handle full swings with my Chikara 58* wedge but I don't get mad when it puts gills on them because I've got an aggressive wedge meant to grab the ball and spin the hell out of it.

Now if I had 2012 grooves and was tearing covers off of Top Flites I'd complain about durability.

A quick primer for those of you that missed that:

People want tons of spin so they use aggressive wedges and soft covered balls. Aggressive wedges grab the soft cover to create max spin which deforms cover. Max spin occurs at the cost of ball damage. It's like a law of physics and really only the XV and 330 seem somewhat immune to it yet they don't spin like other softer balls do. You've essentially got a take it or leave it situation if you want max spin with today's technology.

If you look at a clubface after a full shot, you'll notice you can see the mark of the ball on the clubface, including an "image" of dimples, perfectly round.  In order for this to happen, friction is not in play; if the friction were a factor, the marks showing the dimples would be distorted.

In other words, grooves don't cause spin.

Now, at a certain point in the loft progression, the collision between ball and clubface at full swing speeds becomes less efficient, and friction can indeed enter in to the equation.  However, it's not the main impetus behind the spin those shots.  As the speed decreases, friction will become a larger player.  When you're making the partial shots, chips and short pitches, that friction can help.  But sharp grooves are generally inferior to a proper overall surface friction.  Not long ago, Tom Wishon posted something about hitting your wedges every so often with a blasting with Aluminum Oxide media (can't remember the exact blasting media, sorry), which would provide the optimal spin.

Years ago, in an effort to check the spin rates provided by grooveless clubs, testers took clubs and filled in the grooves with solder, and then filed the clubs to create the grooveless face (cheaper than trying to cast a grooveless clubhead).  They found they produced more spin with the grooveless faces, instead of the expected reduction in spin.  Ultimately, it was discovered the reason for this increase in spin was due to their having created perfectly flat clubfaces through the filing.

It's not the grooves that cause spin, it's a perfectly flat clubface, the speed of the collision, etc.; it's basically vector physics.

Sharpening your grooves to try and "grab the ball" is only going to increase your golfball spending.  You might get some spin increase in the short game, but you won't see much on full shots.  Is it worth the cost?  Particularly when you can get the same thing by blasting the face with the proper media...

Too bad Bart isn't still around, he'd love this.  LOL
(long time golf forumites will know who Bart is)

Edited by NRJyzr, 02 November 2012 - 10:32 AM.

[deadsolid...shank]

I agree with the majority. Very good distance, not a lot of greenside spin (but I don't spin it at all anyway, so no big deal for me there), but the clickiness and hard feel off the putter just kind of put me off.

I found a hex chrome during a round and decided to try it one hole. I still got the ample distance, but it felt much softer to me off both the  irons and putter, it ended up being my ball of choice.

[ram01002]

Its clicky - - but so good in the wind that I'm willing to live with it. Best golf ball I have ever played.

[nuthin but a hacker]

ram01002, on 02 November 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:

Its clicky - - but so good in the wind that I'm willing to live with it. Best golf ball I have ever played.

I found one during a round and decided to give it a try. I noticed the sound too. One of the guys I was with asked "What did you just hit? A Top Flite?". It has the sound of a hard golf ball. I never could get used to the sound.

[ram01002]

nuthin but a hacker, on 04 November 2012 - 12:50 PM, said:

ram01002, on 02 November 2012 - 04:08 PM, said:

Its clicky - - but so good in the wind that I'm willing to live with it. Best golf ball I have ever played.

I found one during a round and decided to give it a try. I noticed the sound too. One of the guys I was with asked "What did you just hit? A Top Flite?". It has the sound of a hard golf ball. I never could get used to the sound.

It really is the only downside to the ball. I was playing an alternate shot hit & giggle tournament this spring. Wind was steady at 20 mph. We played the Callaway and my partner kept air mailing greens. He was amazed at how little the wind affected the ball compared to proV1x. He switched to the Callaway once he saw its flight in the wind.

[J.W.]

scratchswinger, on 31 October 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

I concur that the Hex Black is money!!! Anyone else notice that they tend to launch a little higher?

Here is a funny one, when I posted my 913 review and it came out where I worked I had a few WRX'ers contact me for fittings.  When he came for a 913 fitting he wanted to try it with his ball of choice which was a Hex Black Tour.  He hit 3 balls with it, all 4500-4700 rpm of spin with the club I fit him for... weird.  He was spinning range balls at 2300.  ProV1X spun at 2300... Srizon XV... 2300... range ball 2300...Hex Black 4650... range ball 2300... XV 2300... Hex Black 4700....  His reasoning for playing it was because he thought it was good in the wind.

He looked back at me and couldn't believe it, I couldn't either.  Maybe he'll post here.

Edited by J.W., 04 November 2012 - 04:08 PM.

[miz85uno]

J.W., on 04 November 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

scratchswinger, on 31 October 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

I concur that the Hex Black is money!!! Anyone else notice that they tend to launch a little higher?

Here is a funny one, when I posted my 913 review and it came out where I worked I had a few WRX'ers contact me for fittings.  When he came for a 913 fitting he wanted to try it with his ball of choice which was a Hex Black Tour.  He hit 3 balls with it, all 4500-4700 rpm of spin with the club I fit him for... weird.  He was spinning range balls at 2300.  ProV1X spun at 2300... Srizon XV... 2300... range ball 2300...Hex Black 4650... range ball 2300... XV 2300... Hex Black 4700....  His reasoning for playing it was because he thought it was good in the wind.

He looked back at me and couldn't believe it, I couldn't either.  Maybe he'll post here.

maybe it was the compression? hex black is incredibly firm and one of the highest compression balls around

[J.W.]

miz85uno, on 04 November 2012 - 08:14 PM, said:

J.W., on 04 November 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

scratchswinger, on 31 October 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

I concur that the Hex Black is money!!! Anyone else notice that they tend to launch a little higher?

Here is a funny one, when I posted my 913 review and it came out where I worked I had a few WRX'ers contact me for fittings.  When he came for a 913 fitting he wanted to try it with his ball of choice which was a Hex Black Tour.  He hit 3 balls with it, all 4500-4700 rpm of spin with the club I fit him for... weird.  He was spinning range balls at 2300.  ProV1X spun at 2300... Srizon XV... 2300... range ball 2300...Hex Black 4650... range ball 2300... XV 2300... Hex Black 4700....  His reasoning for playing it was because he thought it was good in the wind.

He looked back at me and couldn't believe it, I couldn't either.  Maybe he'll post here.

maybe it was the compression? hex black is incredibly firm and one of the highest compression balls around

Maybe so but it spun more than anything I've ever seen.

[JDorfler]

Walkin36, on 23 September 2012 - 12:58 AM, said:

I love the ball too, very long off the driver. Just I haven't found it to very durable. Wedges chew em up and spit em out.

KPH808, on 31 October 2012 - 01:51 AM, said:

Walkin36, on 23 September 2012 - 12:58 AM, said:

I love the ball too, very long off the driver. Just I haven't found it to very durable. Wedges chew em up and spit em out.

+1. It does cut up pretty easily and I don't like the feel off putts.

Liking them on putts, but then again again I have a Metal-X face.  I read somewhere the Metal-Xes were made for these balls.  But I am seeing a trend that they are tearing up easily.  Anyone know a good replacement that is a bit more durable?

[scratchswinger]

J.W., on 04 November 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

miz85uno, on 04 November 2012 - 08:14 PM, said:

J.W., on 04 November 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

scratchswinger, on 31 October 2012 - 10:19 AM, said:

I concur that the Hex Black is money!!! Anyone else notice that they tend to launch a little higher?

Here is a funny one, when I posted my 913 review and it came out where I worked I had a few WRX'ers contact me for fittings.  When he came for a 913 fitting he wanted to try it with his ball of choice which was a Hex Black Tour.  He hit 3 balls with it, all 4500-4700 rpm of spin with the club I fit him for... weird.  He was spinning range balls at 2300.  ProV1X spun at 2300... Srizon XV... 2300... range ball 2300...Hex Black 4650... range ball 2300... XV 2300... Hex Black 4700....  His reasoning for playing it was because he thought it was good in the wind.

He looked back at me and couldn't believe it, I couldn't either.  Maybe he'll post here.

maybe it was the compression? hex black is incredibly firm and one of the highest compression balls around

Maybe so but it spun more than anything I've ever seen.

That's interesting, I will be on a LM in a few weeks and have a few scrap Hex Blacks that I can test with.

[Padre John]

Switched to the hex black this summer and lowered my handicap by 4 to a 5!!

[harleydavis]

I also agree with what has been said. I received a free dozen from Callaway in the guess what Phil was playing thread.

I had never played them before. I typically play ProV1x or Penta TP5. I found the ball to be on par with driver distance and iron distance. The ball felt much harder coming off the face of the drive. However I had trouble spinning these on 3/4-1/2 wedge shots and around the greens. I also found the ball to be very "clicky" on all shots.

A free dozen was great. I will have to play a few more round with them to really decide. But at this time I will not be switching.

[golfcaddy1969]

Ok I give it's time to give these a try.

[randywildman]

After having read this thread, I will give them a try. Thanks for posting

[ram01002]

It might actually be an adjustment for you in a crosswind. The prov1's move all over for me. The Callaways just seem to hold their line. Tough to trust that sometimes.

[Flykixz23]

Got a free dozen of theese and absolutely loved them but then fell in love with the Bridgestone Rx B330 !