Archives for August 2018

Welcome to the most important leaderboard in golf. A leaderboard so important that to get on it you only have to try once.

In what could be the most scientificy science testing of golf balls I will try to find the best golf ball out there.

And how I’m going to do that it thus. I will buy a sleeve of brand new (never played) golf balls and play 18 holes at Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods, MI (my local course) from the white tees which I typically do once a week during the summer.

I call it the Super Bowl Testing Method. Much like the Super Bowl, each golf ball gets one shot to win the title. All the variables which can be controlled (course, clubs) are the same. But like in the Super Bowl you cannot control the weather, energy levels, if I partied the night before, etc.

If the golf ball truly wants to be the winner than it will need to overcome those factors which cannot be controlled in some silly testing facility. This is the real world and this is sciencey science.

Lowest score wins the title of best golf ball. Thats it. That’s all that matters anyways, right?

We must now find out how good these golf balls are which means we must hand the golf balls over to our tamed golf ball driver.

Some say that when he has a kick in birdie his leg grows. And that when any cart girl sees him her leg shrinks. All we know is that he’s called the Brad Gibala.

Leaderboard

Rank	Score	Golf Ball	GIR	Putts	Fairways	Date	Review
1.	76	Dixon Spirit	8	29	4	8-23-18	Dixon Spirit Review
2.	77	Titleist DT Wound 100	10	29	3	9-28-17	Titleist DT Wound 100 Review
3.	78	FLOATER	7	30	5	6-1-18	FLOATER Review
4.	80	Vice Pro Plus	6	29	7	6-21-17	Vice Pro Plus Review
5.	81	Titleist Pro V1	8	31	4	7-28-17	Titleist Pro V1 Review
6.	81	Srixon Q-STAR	7	32	6	8-24-18	Q-STAR Review
7.	81	Vice Tour	7	35	6	5-17-17	Vice Tour Review
8.	81	Volvik Vivid	7	35	4	9-22-17	Volvik Vivid Review
9.	82	Bandit SB	6	30	7	6-21-18	Bandit SB Review
10.	82	Nike Crush Extreme	4	32	5	9-5-17	Nike Crush Extreme Review
11.	83	Slazenger Raw Distance	9	39	4	10-13-17	Slazenger Raw Distance Review
12.	84	Vice Drive	9	36	4	6-2-17	Vice Drive Review
13.	84	Bridgestone Tour B330S	5	32	5	10-19-17	Tour B330S Review
14.	84	Bandit MD	4	29	3	6-28-18	Bandit MD Review
15.	85	Nike Mojo	7	37	6	8-4-17	Nike Mojo Review
16.	85	Top Flite XL 3000 Super Long	6	32	7	5-23-18	XL 3000 SL Review
17.	85	Titleist Pro V1x	6	33	3	7-21-17	Titleist Pro V1x Review
18.	85	Titleist NXT Tour	5	33	5	8-25-17	Titleist NXT Tour Review
19.	85	FOO-KING-LONG	2	30	4	7-6-18	FOO-KING-LONG Review
20.	86	Vice Pro	9	38	3	6-8-17	Vice Pro Review
21.	86	Titleist Velocity	8	32	6	9-1-17	Titleist Velocity Review
22.	86	Nike PD Long	6	35	10	9-8-17	Nike PD Long Review
23.	86	XXIO Aero-Drive	6	37	1	9-15-17	XXIO Aero-Drive Review
24.	86	Dixon Fire	4	35	6	8-2-18	Dixon Fire Review
25.	87	TaylorMade TP5x	7	37	4	9-14-17	TaylorMade TP5x Review
26.	87	Srixon Z-Star	5	32	4	6-8-18	Srixon Z-Star Review
27.	87	Wilson TC2 Tour	5	34	6	5-17-18	Wilson TC2 Tour Review
28.	87	Kirkland Signature 3-Piece	4	30	3	9-5-19	Kirkland Signature Review
29.	87	Schwetty	4	32	4	5-1-18	Schwetty Balls Review
30.	88	Bridgestone Tour B330RX	5	34	5	8-11-17	Tour B330RX Review
31.	89	Dunlop DDH Deep Distance	7	36	6	5-25-18	DDH Deep Distance Review
32.	89	Titleist AVX	5	35	5	6-6-18	Titleist AVX Review
33.	89	Bridgestone e6 Soft	4	34	7	8-18-17	e6 Soft Review
34.	91	Dixon Wind	6	33	5	7-26-18	Dixon Wind Review
35.	91	Pinnacle Gold Long Drive	4	37	4	5-8-18	Pinnacle Gold Long Drive Review
36.	MDF	Dixon Earth	N/A	N/A	N/A	7-20-18	Dixon Earth Review

 

Tiebreakers are determined by Greens In Regulation (GIR) then Putts, and finally Fairways Hit.

Value

To figure this out I will take the price per ball (assuming a dozen golf balls bought without a quantity discount) divided by the amount of strokes.

Rank	Golf Ball	Price Per Ball	Strokes	Cost Per Stroke
1.	Kirkland Signature 3-Piece	$1.00	87	$.011
2.	Vice Drive	$1.24	84	$.014
3.	Slazenger Raw Distance	$1.50	83	$.018
4.	Wilson TC2 Tour Schwetty Bandit MD	$1.66 $1.66 $1.66	87 87 84	$.019   $.0197
5.	Pinnacle Gold Long Drive	$1.83	91	$.020
6.	Dixon Wind Vice Tour	$2.08 $1.82	91 81	$.022
7.	Top Flite XL 3000 Super Long Dunlop DDH Deep Distance	$2.00 $2.05	85 89	$.023
8.	Nike Mojo	$2.06	85	$.024
9.	FLOATER Srixon Q-STAR	$2.00 $2.08	78 81	$.025
10.	Titleist Velocity Srixon Z-STAR	$2.25 $2.33	86 87	$.026
11.	Nike Crush Extreme Bridgestone e6 Soft	$2.25 $2.41	82 89	$.027
12.	Nike PD Long	$2.50	86	$.029
13.	Volvik Vivid Bandit SB Bridgestone Tour B330 RX	$2.50 $2.50 $2.66	81 82 88	$.030
14.	Dixon Spirit FOO-KING-LONG	$2.50 $2.75	76 85	$.032
15.	Vice Pro Bridgestone Tour B330S	$2.91 $2.81	86 84	$.033
16.	Titleist NXT Tour	$2.91	85	$.034
17.	Titleist DT Wound 100 Vice Pro Plus	$2.83 $2.91	77 80	$.036
18.	TaylorMade TP5x	$3.75	87	$.043
19.	Titleist AVX	$3.99	89	$.044
20.	Titleist Pro V1x	$3.99	85	$.046
21.	Titleist Pro V1	$3.99	81	$.049
22.	XXIO Aero-Drive	$5	86	$.058
23.	Dixon Fire	$6.25	86	$.072
24.	Dixon Earth	$3.33	N/A	N/A

Check out the value with the Vice Tour vs the Titleist Pro V1. Same score for half the price. What a deal!!

Distance

No testing facility needed for this critical piece of information. Going 100% off how I remember driving, hitting fairway woods, and hitting irons with the ball that day. And that’s whats important.

Rank	Golf Ball
1.	Nike PD Long Bandit SB
2.	FOO-KING-LONG Slazenger Raw Distance Titleist ProV1 Titleist ProV1x
3.	Bridgestone e6 Soft Titleist Velocity Bandit MD Dixon Earth
4.	TaylorMade TP5x Dixon Wind XXIO Aero-Drive Dixon Fire Pinnacle Gold Long Drive Srixon Q-STAR Titleist AVX Vice Pro Plus Dixon Spirit FLOATER Srixon Z-STAR Wilson TC2 Tour
5.	Kirkland Signature 3-Piece Top Flite XL 3000 Super Long Vice Tour Schwetty
6.	Titleist NXT Tour Nike Crush Extreme Vice Pro Nike Mojo Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Volvik Vivid
7.	Vice Drive Bridgestone Tour B330 RX Bridgestone Tour B330S Titleist DT Wound 100

There were some ties but what the chart above tells me is the balls designed mostly for distance do just that. They go. The premium golf balls like the Titleist Pro V1 and Vice Pro Plus are just barely behind in distance but excel in other areas.

But if none of those other things matter to you and all you care about is hitting bombs then buy the golf balls in the #1 spot.

Favorites

Sometimes the score doesn’t tell the complete story. If I had to make a list of my top 5 favorite golf balls with only how I liked it taken into consideration than this would be the list.

Rank	Name	Why?
1.	Vice Pro Plus	A complete golf ball at half the price.
2.	Titleist Pro V1	The original complete golf ball.
3.	Bandit SB	Can’t tell you why.
4.	FLOATER	Yes. A floating golf ball.
5.	Dixon Spirit	A golf ball made for her but for him.
6.	Volvik Vivid	A very durable and forgiving golf ball.
7.	Nike PD Long	Hitting bombs.
8.	XXIO Aero-Drive	Because its a tank of a golf ball.

Summary

There is no rhyme or reason as to what golf balls I buy before heading out to play. Once or twice a year I head to the golf store near my house and buy a bunch of different sleeves of golf balls. When I go through those I go back and repeat the process.

I play enough golf outside of my weekly round to use up the golf balls. Sadly, I do lose a golf ball from time to time in my testing which I outline in each individual golf ball review.

If I truly hate a golf ball I will use it on my backyard target green I built as I hit those quite a bit when I’m back there with the kids.

Hopefully all of this un-science will help you in picking the best golf ball for your game.

Up next in my search for the best golf ball are those from Srixon. Only once have I ever bought Srixon’s before and that was when I went to Arizona in 2007 to visit a friend. We played a very fancy course and Srixon’s were the cheapest balls available to buy at the course. So I bought a dozen and actually enjoyed them.

That was over a decade ago and I have not bought Srixon’s since. Nor can I remember playing one that I found. But who knows. Maybe I will rekindle that time I played a Srixon from a decade ago.

Just like I do with all of my reviews I play one 18 hole round at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods, MI. And to keep my reviews nice and tidy I will update this post with the different Srixon golf balls I play.

Srixon Z-STAR Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course. 6-8-18. White Tees. 85 Degrees. Sunny. Very light breeze.

Heading to the golf course I knew I was gonna have to buy a sleeve of golf balls at the clubhouse as I was not prepared. They don’t keep that many golf balls stocked and I’ve played most of them so that left me with the Srixon Z-Star.

A decade has past since I played a Srixon. And my lasting impression of them was a good one. Going into the round I had expectations of a very well performing golf ball.

You don’t see that many pros playing Srixon nor average schlubs like me. They’re just not sexy.

The packaging was fancy and I liked the font but after those initial impressions it looked and felt like a decent golf ball. Nothing more, nothing less.

Everything the Z Star claims should be a golf ball built for me. My swing speed is probably in that 88-108 mph zone. I love me some Spin Skin and a good Speed Dimple. Mmmmm. Don’t even get me going on an Enhanced Energetic Gradient Growth Core.

What is concerning is the warning of “Do Not Leave Near Extreme Heat Or In The Trunk/Boot Of A Car In The Summer.” What happens if I do? Will an authority figure have to be notified?

You know what STAR stands for? No? I’ll tell you.

Spin, Trajectory, Acceleration, and Responsiveness.

So now you know.

And with that lets see what the Z-Star’s got.

Sending Driver – All sorts of average distance for most of the day. And all sorts of below accuracy. Hit the fairway 4 times which is well below average. Was not put into any positions where I could not go for the green or take a full swing on the next shot. Would either push it to the right or send a line drive to the left.

And just when I think the Z-Star is a very average sort of distance golf ball I end up hitting the furthest drive I have ever hit on the Par 4 15th. It’s a deceiving drive as the fairway starts behind a very large bunker up a hill about 150 yards from the tee on an angle. It’s tricky because you don’t aim straight off the box. You need to aim right.

I smoke the Z-Star with the elusive draw that I try to hit on every drive. It felt awesome the second it left the club.

As I made my way up the hill looking for the 150 yard marker I notice the Z-Star to not be there. This is where my typical good drives end up. Not the Z-Star. It was up ahead near the 100 yard marker in the fairway. That puts this drive around 270 yards. That’s a big poke for your boy. And it was uphill. And in a blizzard. And a hurricane. A blizzard hurricane.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – I hit my normal amounts of 3 and 5 woods today with not so many eye-popping results. Distance was ok but it didn’t make that nice “cracking” sound I get with premium golf balls.

And it didn’t produce great feedback either. I’m usually good for at least one GIR with a fairway wood but that did not happen today.

Similarly with the Driver the Z-Star did have two very nice shots with 3 wood on the Par 5 7th and 14th which let me get into position to have a GIR.

Irons – Only 5 Greens In Regulation which is pitiful. Distance was not there with the Z-Star here. Kept coming up short on most of my approach shots.

Feedback was lacking and when I mis hit it was off. The Z-Star did not have that piercing ball flight you want coming off the irons.

All 5 of my GIR’s were done using a 9 Iron or Pitching Wedge. Sad to say the least. Taking full swings with those clubs resulted in very consistent high trajectory ball flight.

In most cases the Z-Star took a hop or two and stopped. No crazy back or side spin.

Chipping – And since the Z-Star kept coming up short on approach shots it left me with many chip shots into the green. Which is where I didn’t mind the Z-Star.

Except for the first hole. That was a disaster with every wedge in the bag. For some reason the Z-Star wanted to fly the green with a Pitching Wedge. Then come up short with the Sand Wedge. Then come up short again with the 60 Degree. That’s how you start your day with a 9.

Got up and down for par twice…which is nice. Damn you first hole. DAMN YOU!!!

Putting – Had 32 putts which is very good. We have to acknowledge my lack of Greens In Regulation which put me in many situations to chip from off the green and get it close.

In many cases I was 5 or 10 yards off resulting in long chip shots. A few yards closer and they would be long putts.

My only three putt on the day came on a hole where I of course was initially putting for birdie. And I had five 1 putts which is quite good. Two of which were birdie putts I made from around 15 feet out.

The Z-Star didn’t have that soft feel coming off the putter or that “clink” sound you get with a ProV1 but was otherwise ok.

Stated differently. The Z-Star did not suck to putt with.

Durability – Surprisingly there were some scuff marks on the Z-Star. And I did not hit any trees or go into any sand traps. The cover still feels like new but the marks were unexpected.

Score – 87. GIR – 5. Putts – 32. Fairways – 4.

I don’t see myself buying the Srixon Z-Star again. It’s a decent ball. But it does not have all the features I want in a golf ball. Mostly feedback and consistency. And it did not score well which is whats most important.

Srixon Q-Star Golf Ball Review

8-24-18. Rackham Golf Course. Sunny. 82 Degrees. Breezy.

I did it again. I showed up to the golf course without a golf ball ready to play. And since I’ve done this a couple of times now I knew I’d be taking a risk as to what they had available for me to buy.

Out of the dozen or so different golf balls I could choose from I was left with two I haven’t played yet. And one of those was the Srixon Q-Star.

Its been a couple of months since I played a Srixon and I wasn’t overly impressed with the Z-Star. Plus, due to special packaging (Super Sleeve) I had to buy six Q-Star’s when I only wanted the normal three.

Even though the Q-Star is a two piece golf ball I was intrigued with what it could do as it had a lower compression of 75. I’ve been noticing I play better with lower compression golf balls so maybe I could do something with it.

Everything in Srixon’s description of the Q-Star says it should match up well with my game. Soft Feel, Super Long Distance (LOL), Excellent Greenside Control, and a Mid-High Trajectory.

Expectations are a little low as this is a two piece golf ball. My testing so far says these types of golf balls are good until you start having to take half swings and chip shots.

Lets see what it can do. Its golf time.

Sending Driver – Got things going on the Par 4 315 yard 2nd Hole with a super most premium excellent drive. Straight as an arrow and 250 yards down the fairway.

Hit it straight just not in the fairway on the Par 4 365 yard 3rd Hole. An average drive and landing spot for me on this hole.

Sent an excellent 245 yard drive on the Par 4 348 yard 4th Hole to make the right dogleg. Not nearly as far as the drive I hit with the Dixon Earth a month prior that was to the left of the sand trap but in a perfect spot for a 9 iron.

Hit it through the fairway on the dogleg left 311 yard Par 4 6th Hole. Got as close as I could to the trees which guard the left side of the fairway and bounced it here. Another 250 yard drive.

A super most premium excellent drive on the 387 yard Par 4 9th hole too. The 150 yard marker is to my right and ten yards behind. This is a little above average drive for me on this hole.

Didn’t get all of this one on the 418 yard Par 4 11th Hole but its right in the middle of the fairway. Can’t be mad at that.

And my last fairway hit of the day came on the 299 yard Par 4 17th Hole. Didn’t get all of it and probably only put it out there 235 yards but its in the fairway. All good with me.

I was impressed with the Q-Star off the tee. Hit 6 fairways which is about average and if I was in the rough I was just barely off. Had an unobstructed second shot on every hole.

Distance was very good. Didn’t hit any draws or slices. Everything went straight. Compression was top-notch. I could feel it at impact.

Fairway Woods – With me getting good distance and accuracy with the driver I hit more irons with approach shots than normal.

And the Q-Star performed quite well here too. Damn thing came out hot off the club face with a low to medium trajectory. Piercing ball flight if you will.

Was left with a 50 yard chip shot on the 502 yard Par 5 7th Hole after a solid 215 yard 3 wood. There is going to be more about the 7th Hole later on and the upcoming shot.

For the most part it was merely about advancing the Q-Star with fairway woods.

Irons – Hitting good drives gave the Q-Star an opportunity to hit good approach shots and that’s what it did. Had 6 Greens In Regulation on the front nine all with irons.

Like this 5 iron struck from 160 yards into the Par 4 3rd Hole that stopped 25 feet from the cup. I don’t know how it stopped like that.

And the 9 iron that was hit from 115 yards into the Par 4 4th Hole. Q-Star wanted to be dancing.

Then there’s this 7 iron hit into the 150 yard Par 3 8th Hole. It didn’t want to be closer to the cup on this hole for some reason. Fine – I say.

And a 75 yard Pitching Wedge into the 299 yard Par 4 17th Hole.

Seven Greens In Regulation all together which is average. What stood out most to me was the proximity to the hole. Was getting the right distance on a lot of iron shots.

The Q-Star performed quite well anytime I took a full swing. Trajectory was medium and distance was good. Compression was great.

Chipping – Was only able to scramble for par once. Just could not get a feel for it around the greens. Little to zero checking up or stopping on the green.

I don’t know if you could call a shot from 50 yards away (Par 5 7th Hole approach shot) a chip shot but I will in this instance. Took a half swing with Pitching Wedge and landed it on the front of the green.

And watched it bounce, and bounce, and bounce, and then roll ten more yards ending up over the back of the green. Between where it landed and ended up was 25 yards. Insane. I was like WTF.

I hit the Q-Star perfectly and at no point did it want to check up once. And that’s with it going uphill a little.

Putting – One 3 putt and five 1 putts. 32 total putts which is ok.

I liked the Q-Star when putting. Had a firm feel at contact and rolled with pace. Rolled in 3 birdie putts including a bender from 25 feet on the 3rd Hole.

Durability – The good news is I did not lose one. And seeing how I didn’t hit any trees, sand traps, or cart paths you would expect it to be in like new condition. Which it is.

Score – 81. GIR – 7. Putts – 32. Fairways – 6

I’m a tad bit butt hurt about an 81. I rattled off 3 birdies in the first six holes to go 2 under par. Not once had I been 2 under through 6 holes.

And then that 50 yard chip shot on #7 bounces and rolls over the back of the green. As soon as I hit it I’m thinking it’s going to be 5 feet from the hole and I’m putting for birdie.

Nope. Had a chance to save par with a 6 footer but missed. Followed that up with 3 putting on the 8th hole. The steam slowly let out after that and it became a struggle to get the Q-Star home.

Too bad because the day before I shot the best round of my life with the Dixon Spirit and I thought I was on to matching or besting that until the ball bounced over the back.

I liked everything about the Srixon Q-Star except for chipping. I’d say I’d buy them again but I still have five left from that six-pack of golf balls I was forced to buy. Damn you Srixon.

One upon a time in the month of June in the year of 2018 I did a Google search for eco-friendly golf balls. Or maybe it was environmentally friendly golf balls. I cannot remember exactly which one of those phrases it was but it was one of those for sure.

And I also cannot remember why one of those phrases popped up in my head. What I do know is Dixon Golf Balls presented itself as the top search result for whatever phrase I typed in.

With me heading further and further into my quest to find the best golf ball one could play I was thrilled to have found them.

Playing around on the Dixon Golf website you can tell they take the whole eco-friendly thing very serious. Everything about them is “recycle this and re-use that”.

As I read more about their manufacturing process they claim most golf ball companies use heavy-metal pollutants like tungsten, cobalt, and lead. Dixon suggests over 300 million golf balls find landfills in the United States every year.

This does not include the hundred or so shitty shots you hit into rivers, burns (if you’re in Scotland), ponds, lakes, oceans…basically any body of water. When golf balls end up there they start to break down and those metals get released into our bodies of water which is no bueno.

During my teenage years I used to go into the Clinton River behind my house and pick up golf balls in the summer time. Rammler Golf Course is on the other side of the river. I probably picked up 750+ golf balls. Some I played. Some I sold. Most of which are still sitting in a tub in my parents garage some 20 years later.

Many of the golf balls I found were crap. They had been in the water too long and lost their performance.

And while they were chilling in the river they were breaking down and releasing pollutants. I’m sure each golf ball does not have a lot of pollutants but when you start adding them up by the tens and hundreds of thousands you get a problem.

Heavy Earth salts are used as the core for each Dixon golf ball. And the cover is an elastodynamic polyurethane material which under some magical process allows a thing called polymer to break down organically. Heck, their packaging is made out of 100% recycled Kraft paper.

Dixon takes this environmental shit fo real. And while their golf balls are not biodegradable they are many times less harsh on the environment then other golf balls.

Well I’ve got to try them now. Especially since Dixon says they plant a tree for each item purchased online.

Dixon makes four golf balls appropriately named Earth, Wind, Fire, and…um…Spirit. They should rename Spirit to “&” or “And”. You know why.

Dixon sells a Signature Pack where you can mix and match sleeves of each. Basically, it’s a sample pack which is exactly what I was looking for. So that’s what I bought. Thankfully for me it was during father’s day and they had a coupon code for 30% off. Lucky me.

And this is where we get into the meat and potatoes of the review. I play one 18 hole round at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods, MI.

Knowing how I thoroughly enjoy and have seen in concert the band Earth, Wind & Fire I will play them in that order with Spirit being last.

Dixon Earth Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course. 7-20-18. 80 Degrees. Cloudy. Some rain.

Dixon makes some hefty claims in that the Earth golf ball outperforms the Titleist ProV1 and a couple other popular golf balls. I am a fan of the Pro V1. It took awhile to get used to spending $4 on a golf ball but once I saw it did make a difference I have not looked back. So the Earth has set the bar high before I even put it into play.

We already know its eco-friendly. And Dixon says it’s designed for golfers with a swing speed under 100 mph and handicaps from 5-25. Basically, the Earth golf ball is Dixon’s working mans golf ball. Just about everybody should feel comfortable playing it.

It conforms with USGA and R&A rules which makes it the first conforming golf ball I’ve played in over a month.

Dixon also says it should provide a medium trajectory, soft to medium compression, and medium spin.

All of those sound like they should work just fine with my game. But the one thing that stuck out was the 92% approval rating from PGA Tour Partners. That’s pretty good. Especially from people who are around golf all the time.

I was contemplating playing today as it looked like there might be a brief shower. Before deciding to go I noticed it was raining (Friday’s round) at The Open in Scotland. To honor golf I decided a wee bit of rain wasn’t going to stop me. Its golf time.

Sending Driver – I immediately knew the Earth was going to be a good golf ball from my first shot. There is a distinct “crack” sound and soft response premium golf balls make when hitting driver. And that’s what the Earth did.

So good in fact that it ended up on the other side of the drainage ditch on the first hole. It wasn’t in the fairway but was a good 10 yards further than anything I’ve ever hit. There will be more about Hole #1 in the fairway woods section.

Cleared the right side fairway bunker on the short Par 4 second hole by a good twenty yards. It’s rare that I do that. This is around a 260 yard drive.

Made it to the middle of the fairway of the left dogleg Par 4 3rd hole which is a typical landing spot. Another 260 yard drive. Anything short or left from here and you have no chance at making the green.

I don’t know what I’ve been doing lately on the dogleg right Par 4 4th hole as I’ve hit some excellent drives lately where I clear the trees near the tee box and those that crowd where the fairway turns but man did I hit one far and accurate here. Has to be my best drive ever on this hole.

My previous longest and best drive ever on this hole happened a couple of weeks prior with the FOO-KING-LONG. You can’t see the fairway bunker to the right in this picture that you can with the FKL. Has to be around a 270 yard drive on this 348 yard long hole. Hit a 3/4 Pitching Wedge with my second shot for the first time.

Two holes later on the Par 4 6th I hit the furthest drive I’ve ever hit on this hole. And that’s a couple of weeks after I hit two of “my longest drives ever” on this hole with both Bandit golf balls. This is every bit of a 280 yard drive on this 311 yard long hole.

Everything about this drive was perfect from the moment it left my drivers face. The sound. The feedback. The flight. Perfect.

I could not see where it ended up but I knew I cleared the trees which guard the dogleg and that’s never happened. Damn near bounced into the tall grass. Not in the fairway but its out there and I have a shot at the green. I don’t think it would have made the green if I tried but it would have been close.

Even the guy I was golfing with said “damn, is that your drive?” As a matter of fact…

And had a decent drive on the very next hole ending up in the middle of the fairway. Not my furthest drive but solid.

Almost made the drainage ditch on the very long 442 yard Par 4 10th hole too. Been doing this a little bit more frequently lately with non conforming golf balls but the Dixon Earth is conforming.

This is around a 250 yard drive which is good for this hole as the tee boxes are above the fairway. From about 20 yards behind me the fairway slowly rises making this 200 yard shot play like its 225.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – My second stroke of the day came with my 3 wood on the 515 yard Par 5 1st hole. After what is probably the longest drive I’ve ever hit on this hole I was left with a legitimate chance to reach in two.

Ok, not really, because 90% of the front of the green is protected by bunkers meaning I’d have to carry it around 240 yards which is tough. And while I did not carry them I did go just right of them. This is every bit of a 230 yard 3 wood which is big time for your boy.

Distance, flight, feedback, and sound were outstanding hitting fairway woods with the Dixon Earth. Didn’t use a lot of fairway woods this day for reasons I’ll explain later.

Irons – A super most premium excellent golf ball to hit irons with. And I’m talking super most premium. The Dixon Earth exploded off my irons. Contact was firm and the sound was awesome.

Put up 5 Greens In Regulation on the front nine and if I wasn’t on I was over. Which is another story. Backed this one up with an 8 iron on the 153 yard Par 3 5th hole.

And decided to hit 3 iron on the very long 204 yard Par 3 13th hole. Typically I hit 5 wood with no wind and 3 wood if its blowing.

Chipping – Chipped that 3rd shot on the first hole from 40 yards away to 8 feet and made the birdie putt. And chipped my 3rd shot on the Par 5 7th hole from 50 yards away to 8 feet and made that birdie putt too! YIPPIE!!

The Dixon Earth was an excellent ball to chip or to take half wedge shots with. It created just enough spin to check up and stop. What I liked most was the feedback at contact.

Putting – Five 1 putts and sadly two 3 putts when I was putting for birdie. Balls. The Dixon Earth wasn’t Pro V1 soft at contact but very close. It was good enough that at contact I was not thinking it was a POS golf ball.

Because those golf balls do exist and the Dixon Earth is not one of those.

Durability – Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Score – MDF.

So I kind of lost all three Dixon Earth golf balls I took to the course. It’s not my fault. It’s the golf balls fault. Like, for real. I finished the round with a Bandit SB.

It all started on the Par 3 8th hole. Tee boxes were back further than normal and pin was in the middle left side of the green. Took out a 6 iron which is one to four clubs more than normal.

I tattooed it. When I looked for it all I could see is it heading dead straight toward the pin. And then it kept going. Last I saw was a bounce on the back of the green. Couldn’t tell if it stuck or not but thought it was on the back of green.

Nope. Could not find it anywhere. It should have been there. I even asked the people who were on the 9th tee box which is directly behind the 8th green if they heard it.

Nope. Oh, I dropped one but did not take a penalty stroke. It should have been there.

On the short Par 4 12th hole I pushed my drive right but had a shot from the 11th fairway. Pulled out my 8 iron from 135 yards and crushed it…left…long…and saw it bounce into some tall grass that I’ve never hit into before. Spent 5 minutes looking for it but could not find it. Ridiculous. I saw it bounce three times.

Here I am with one golf ball left and six holes to play. Two holes later I hooked my drive on the Par 5 14th hole where it magically went through three 80 foot tall Oak Trees clearing the 20 foot tall fence ending up on someones lawn (probably). I thought at worst it would have hit the fence but nnnnnooooooooo. I didn’t see it anywhere.

And sadly, the Dixon Earth doesn’t earn a score. It gets a MDF. If you’re not familiar with MDF its a term golf tournaments use on Friday for golfers who make the cut but since there were so many players making the Friday cut they have another small cut on Saturday. Players who don’t make it to Sunday get a MDF. Made Cut Did Not Finish.

It pisses me off because I really liked the Dixon Earth. It was a super most premium golf ball. I do not know if I was making better than average contact from my morning P90X2 Yoga session I did which loosened me up. Or if it was in fact the golf ball.

What I do know is I hit the Dixon Earth long and straight with every club. And it performed like every bit of a premium golf ball. I could see myself buying them again for sure.

Dixon Wind Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course. 7-26-18. 80 Degrees. Sunny. Windy (Of all the days)

Fresh off an embarrassing performance losing three golf balls in a round it was time to take the Dixon Wind for a spin.

Promising “Extreme Distance”, the Wind is designed for all swing speeds and is best for those with a 20+ handicap. It has medium trajectory, a firm compression of 110, and low spin.

Dixon might be the first golf ball company to admit who Distance golf balls are really for. They are for those who are not all that good at this silly game called golf. I never thought about it like that. Golf ball companies are doing everything in their power to make a ball to help the average schmo get it out there further.

My many amounts of testing so far is showing distance golf balls do tend to go a little bit further with every club in the bag but severely lack performance when hitting into the greens with irons, chipping, and even putting.

At least Dixon is being honest about it.

And now its time for golf.

Sending Driver – First tee shot of the day did not impress me much…Oh-oo-oh. Could not resist a Shania Twain reference. But yes, it did not. All sorts of regular distance on the first shot.

That changed on the second hole. In regards to accuracy and distance this might be the best drive I’ve ever had on this 315 yard Par 4. Every bit of a 265 yard drive.

Made the dogleg on hole #3 off the tee box but pushed it just off the fairway. This is a typical mis-hit for me here. Not bad because I still have a shot at the green.

Not anywhere nearly as far or as accurate as the drive I hit with the Earth on the 348 yard Par 4 4th hole a couple of days prior but a very good drive as I cut the corner on this dogleg.

On the 333 yard Par 4 12th hole this drive ended up in a typical location around 75 yards from the green.

And I hit an above average drive on the 511 yard Par 5 14th hole. I’m still 255 yards away but this 256 yard drive was perfect.

There were a couple other long drives but those had the benefit of a 15mph wind. The ones above were a mixture of into and with the wind.

Only hit 5 fairways with the Dixon Wind. You would think there would be more with it being windy out there. And it being the Wind and all.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – Lets just say there is only one shot from this category to talk about and it happened on the 418 yard Par 4 11th hole. After pushing my drive into the 12th’s hole fairway I was left with 212 yards to the green and of course it was into the wind.

Hit a perfect 3 wood that started left of the green and was pushed back to the right from the wind. I could not see where it ended up but I knew it was heading towards the green. As I made my way to the green I was the utmost pleased to see this. Just don’t ask me if I made the birdie putt. Because I didn’t.

With it being so windy today I spent most of the day advancing the Wind down the fairway. Outside of that one super most premium excellent shot it was a rather boring day hitting fairway woods. And it didn’t start all that well with those as I duffed two 3 wood shots on the first hole.

Irons – One thing about distance golf balls I’ve found is they are not so good approaching the green. They tend to bounce off and not check up unless you hit it perfect or in the middle of the green.

Hit 6 iron into the green from 160 yards on the 3rd hole and it bounced way off the back.

Dropped this one in from 110 yards on the 4th hole with Pitching Wedge.

And got this guy to stick on the 6th hole with a Pitching Wedge from 90 yards. Magic is what made it backspin.

And my shoot the boot iron shot of the day happened on the tricky 369 yard Par 4 15th hole. Had a solid drive that went right of the fairway leaving me 130 yards uphill to the green. Dropped this 8 iron in from the right side rough. You should know your boy birdied this hole for the first time ever.

Only had 6 Greens In Regulation and one was with a fairway wood. This is below average. With it being so windy today I hit more fairway woods than normal which meant less irons hit.

The Dixon Wind didn’t have consistent performance into the greens and outside of a couple of close shots I wasn’t all that impressed.

Chipping – Lots of chip and three-quarter approach shots with it howling out there. Up and down for par three times due to chipping. Not bad.

The Wind didn’t check up once and performed best when there was a little bit more distance to run it to the hole. Results were mixed.

Putting – Took a whopping 33 putts with the Dixon Wind which is no bueno. This seems to be the case with distance golf balls. They just don’t have a soft feel coming off the putter.

7 one putts and 4 three putts. All of those one putts were from very good chip or approach shots within 6 feet. But the three putts were a disaster. Two times I was putting for birdie. There was just no feel with this golf ball.

Durability – The good news is I did not lose any golf balls today. But the Wind took a bit of a beating today. Hit at least four trees today. It’s really showing those blemishes.

Score – 91. GIR – 6. Putts – 33. Fairways – 5.

Things did not start all that well for the Wind when it put up a 9 on the first hole. I can’t remember the last time I shot over 50 on the front nine. Just horrible. Got things turned around on the back nine with a 40 which is pretty damn good.

It was a little tougher than normal with it being windy but if there is a golf ball that should do well in the wind it would be the Dixon Wind. To give you an idea on how windy it was out there I hit Driver on both Par 3’s on the back nine. Both of which are over 200 yards and where I typically hit 5 and 3 wood into.

Not today. Put it pin high but just off the green and left on #13 and scrambled for par. Went just barely over the green and under a tree on #16 and doubled.

I’ve hit Driver a couple of times on #16 but never on #13.

And that’s the thing about distance golf balls. They can be fun to hit but from 150 yards out they really struggle with performance. The Wind was no different. This is a fancy Nike Mojo. I don’t see myself buying these golf balls in the future.

Dixon Fire Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course. 8-2-18. 82 Degrees. Sunny. Breezy.

Out of all the golf balls I received in the sample pack it was the Dixon Fire that I was most interested in playing. And the reasoning is quite simple. They are a $6.25 golf ball.

HOLY GOLF BALLS!! A six dollar fricking golf ball. And people complain about a Pro V1 being $4. Up to this point the most expensive golf ball I’ve played is the XXIO at $5 a piece. But $6. WOW.

Dixon says the Fire is for someone with a swing speed over 100 mph (80-90 for me) and preferably a single digit handicapper (I’m a 10). Borderline greatness.

There are a few added technologies in the Fire that the other golf balls don’t have in that this one has an “Elastodynamic urethane cover” and a “High-Intensity GreenCore with Ignite Technology”. You see, many technologies.

But a $6 golf ball? I mean, the Fire has a lot to live up to on price alone.

Needless to say but I was actually excited and intrigued to see what I could do with the Fire. So much so that I even did some P90X3 Yoga before heading out to make sure I was all stretchy and stuff.

Its golf time.

Sending Driver – Things started out very average with my first drive. Middle of the fairway and a 230 yard drive.

And they got a little squirrely after that. Kept pushing the Fire right and coming up shorter than average drives. It wasn’t until the 9th hole that I hit the fairway again with another average distance drive.

Got it back into the fairway on the Par 4 11th hole with average distances.

Back in the fairway on the short Par 4 12th too with average distance again.

Had my best drive of the day on the Par 5 14th. Even though it hit the fairway I’d say its a good 30 yards short of the drive I hit with the Wind a week prior. Zero chance of making on the green in two.

And the last fairway I hit came on the very long Par 4 18th. Yes, its in the middle of the fairway but man does that 150 yard marker look a mile away. This is a good 65 yards behind the drive I hit with the FOO-KING-LONG three weeks prior.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – With me getting all sorts of average to below average distance with the Fire it left me with a lot of 3 and 5 woods. No hybrids though.

And because I was so much further away from hitting any sort of special shot with these clubs it was merely about advancing the ball down the fairway.

There is really only one shot to talk about and thats the 3 wood I hit on the Par 5 14th hole. Remember that good drive I mentioned early and how I had zero chance of hitting the green in two? Well, I still didn’t hit the green but got much closer than expected.

This is every bit of a 230 yard carry with some backspin to boot. It was the only shot of the day with some sort of wood that the Fire impressed me with. Damn thing left the club like a rocket.

Irons – Had four Greens In Regulation with the Fire and that is a bit below average. With me hitting so many fairway woods it didn’t leave many chances to hit irons. It did start out ok with a full 9 iron into the first green for a Green In Regulation.

And I hit the green on the Par 3 5th hole.

Outside of those there wasn’t that much to talk about. I just could not get a good feel for the Fire. It tended to tail off a lot and distance was average.

Chip – Since I couldn’t hit greens with any approach shot I was left with a lot of chip shots.

Used my new 48 degree Cleveland wedge on the short Par 4 6th hole from about 100 yards for a Green In Regulation.

Was able to chip onto the Par 5 14th for a Green In Regulation with a wedge. Scrambled for par twice using a wedge but that’s it.

The Fire didn’t check up or provide any sort of crazy spin with wedges. I’d say it was very average to chip with. Just get it in the air and hope it rolls out.

Putting – Three 1 putts and two 3 putts for 35 total putts. And of course both 3 putts happened when I started putting for birdie. Balls.

The Fire was all sorts of average on the greens. It didn’t have that nice soft feeling at impact or give that “clink” sound a Pro V1 does.

Durability – I have tested over 30 golf balls before playing the Dixon Fire and I have never seen one less durable. The cover (above the D) has already chipped off. It’s already starting to show its age and its only 1 round old.

And this was on an odd day where I did not hit one tree (I’m good for at least one), hit from just one bunker, nor did I hit a cart path. And the course was soft from a heavy rainfall two days prior. No bueno.

Score – 86. GIR – 4. Putts – 35. Fairways – 6.

As you can probably tell I was not impressed with the Dixon Fire. Everything about this golf ball was very average to me. It reminded me of playing a hard to hit Titleist NXT Tour. Which isn’t a bad thing for a $3 golf ball. But that is not what the Dixon Fire is. It’s a $6.25 golf ball.

Could it be that my under 100 mph swing speed limited me from getting the most out of the Dixon Fire? Possibly.

I made similar remarks when playing the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive in that it felt like I needed to swing much faster to even get the ball going.

In the end I just do not feel the Dixon Fire lived up to its price tag. I do not see myself buying these golf balls ever again. Good news is I didn’t lose one.

Dixon Spirit Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course. 8-23-18. 80 Degrees. Sunny. Light Breeze.

Last but certainly not least in the Dixon golf ball lineup is the Spirit. Its like pretty and stuff with its Crystal Pink Eco-cover.

Are you really going to play a women’s golf ball? Yes. Yes I am. And I’m perfectly ok with it.

If you do not know what the difference is between a mens and woman golf ball is then let me briefly explain. It all comes down to compression.

Men typically have faster swing speeds then women which allows them to compress through the golf ball. A higher compression could be looked at as a “tougher golf ball” that can take a beating. Lower compression the opposite. Spirit has a compression of 65 while the Dixon Wind has a compression of 110.

People with faster swing speeds can lose distance with low compression golf balls as they basically hit through the ball. Too slow of a swing with a high compression and the golf ball deflects off the club face losing distance and control.

My expectations with the Spirit are low as I was thinking I’d be hitting through the ball. I had also missed three weeks of golf from a pretty bad cold I got (“A Hot” since it was in August) that drained me of energy. Jokingly I thought it had been a month since I worked out that maybe I lost some of that swing speed and it would work with the Spirit.

But all that you really need to know about the Spirit is in the description.

“The World’s first 100% eco-friendly golf ball designed for her. Spirit is the nexus of style, performance, environment – the elements of golf.” Basically, they are describing a very hot and athletic lady Brad Gibala.

Its golf time.

Sending Driver – It took me a couple of holes to get used to the Spirit. Distance was ok but I was pushing it right ever so slightly.

Made a slight adjustment in my stance on the 4th hole and things started to get interesting. Not as far as the Wind or Earth drives I had on this dogleg right Par 4 but very respectable.

Sent one right down the middle on the 502 yard Par 5 7th hole. Every bit of a 245 yard drive.

Two yards to the left on the 387 yard Par 4 9th and this is probably a top 10 drive for me on this hole.

Sent one of the prettiest drives (because its Pink) I’ve ever hit on the 511 yard Par 5 14th hole. Every bit of a 250 yard drive. Muy bueno.

And to finish off the round I absolutely sent this one to a distance of at least 265 yards.

I only hit 4 fairways with the Spirit which is just under average. Is it ok to admit I actually enjoyed hitting it with driver? Like, a lot. Didn’t hit any draws nor slices. And I did not feel like I had to swing hard. Smooth gas all day. Ball flight was lower than my normal mid to high trajectory.

Fairway Woods – Following the easiness of hitting driver the Spirit was just as so with fairway woods. Distance was on par with just about every premium golf ball I’ve tested. It took me a couple of holes to adjust to the Spirit but when I did it performed quite well.

I only hit two fairway woods on the front nine which were both on the Par 5’s. Both of which were just about advancing the ball with zero chance of hitting either green in two.

On the back nine is when the course lengthens. Hit an amazing (it’s because I impressed myself) left to right 5 wood from 200 yards out into the 11th holes green that somehow rolled over it.

Sent another very pretty 3 wood at least 235 yards on the Par 5 14th hole with some serious spin. Left me 40 yards to the hole for my 3rd shot.

I did not have any GIR’s with fairway woods or hybrids which is ok. Again, distance was better than expected. Ball flight was low to medium. Contact was awesome. Felt effortless.

Irons – What a truly splendid day of hitting irons it was. Did I just admit again I enjoyed hitting a golf ball designed for her?

It started on the Par 5 1st hole when I hit my 3rd shot with a 9 iron from 115 yards out.

Put this one on from 140 yards out on the Par 4 4th hole with an 8 iron.

And another GIR on the short Par 4 12th hole when I hit a 9 Iron from 125 yards out.

All together I had 8 Greens In Regulation with the Spirit when hitting irons. Distance was about the same as “manly golf balls”. Trajectory was my normal mid to high. Contact was awesome. You could feel the compression. And the Spirit landed soft almost every time.

Chipping – If I was not on the green then I was barely off. And again, I was impressed with the Spirit here too.

It did not matter if I was using my Pitching Wedge, 52 degree, or 60 degree to chip with. On almost ever chip the Spirit checked up on either the first or second bounce. Nothing bounced and stopped but the check up was just enough to slow it down. Something I never do on purpose.

Scrambled to save par three times because of good chipping.

Putting – Zero 3 putts and five one putts. 29 total putts. Again, very surprised with how the Spirit performed.

Technically the birdie I had on the Par 5 14th was a chip in even though I putted it in from a yard off the green. Left that 40 yard approach just a bit short. Outside of that I was not able to make any birdie putts. Was close enough to tap in for par a number of times which is alright with me.

Rackham’s greens are not that fast which means you have to be comfortable giving it a little extra on any flat or uphill putt.

The Spirit seemed to glide over the grass. Maybe the crystal cover had something to do with it. And it seemed to wobble at the end of each roll as it came to rest. All I know is I liked how it felt at contact.

Durability – I need to make a confession. I lost one on the Par 4 6th hole. What you are seeing is one that made it through 12.5 holes.

There is one scuff mark on the ball which came from hitting a 3 wood into the very long Par 4 10th green from 230 yards out.

Was just off the right side of the fairway and smoked it left. Would have been pin high and 20 feet off the green had it not found the last four feet of cart path for the 11th hole. Damn thing skipped 60 feet leaving me 30 yards from the hole. Magically made bogey.

Other than the scuff mark it appears to be a very durable golf ball.

Score – 76. GIR – 8. Putts – 29. Fairways – 4.

So yah. I shot the best round of my life with the Spirit. A golf ball made for her.

What does that say about me? Probably lots.

After hitting a 5 iron from 160 yards out into the Par 4 3rd green to 25 feet I started to think how much the Spirit reminded me of the Floater.

Decent distance. Soft on contact. Seemed to fall from the sky. Rolled out just a little on approach shots but in most cases took a hop and stopped. Checked up just a little on the green. And was soft at contact with the putter. Everything seemed to work.

So much so that this was one of the more boring rounds of golf I can remember playing. But isn’t that how golf is supposed to be when you’re playing well?

After playing the front nine by myself I caught up with three guys for the back nine. On the 11th hole one of them said “Does your lady know you’re playing her golf ball?”

On the 12th hole I told them the Spirit was the last of the Dixon sample pack I had bought but had yet to play. Told them about me being sick and missing golf. On the 14th hole they all said “well, you sure are hitting the shit out of it.” I agreed.

Does this round deserve an asterisk(*) because I did not take a penalty stroke when I lost a ball on the 6th Hole?

I’ll tell you this much. I refuse to take penalty strokes when I see a golf ball bounce into an area where there is no reason as to why you can’t find it. My tee shot bounced through the fairway and into the rough. There is no reason why I should not have found it. NONE.

I walked around for 5 minutes circling everything. Had to drop one as the group behind me teed off.

I still had plenty of holes to mess this round up. So don’t think I didn’t take a penalty stroke because I was butt hurt about losing out on my possible best score ever like it was on the 17th hole or something.

NO REASON as to why I could not find it.

Anyways. I absolutely loved the Dixon Spirit. What can I say besides it was the perfect golf ball.

And its a good thing for the Spirit that I was the one testing as there are so few men who could have pulled it off.

I could see myself buying the Spirit in the future for you know “shits and giggles” but mostly to play and tell dudes they better not lose to a guy playing a women’s golf ball.

Conclusion

If Dixon releases a new golf ball I will un-conclude my conclusion and test the golf ball on this page.

In the mean time I think it is admirable what Dixon is doing in creating eco-friendly golf balls. This whole pollution and using up of natural resources thing is a big deal. And its nice to see at least one company carving out their niche.

Throw in the fact that Dixon makes some damn good golf balls and what isn’t there to like? Well, maybe except for the Fire and its $6.25 price tag per golf ball. And that its made for the not me’s of the world.

I enjoyed the Wind. I really liked the Earth. Gonna have to buy another sleeve of those and try to keep them visible on the golf course. Again, so embarrassed I lost all three.

And then there’s the Spirit. My Crystal Pink golf ball made for her. It just had to be you that I play my best round of golf ever with. Word is already out too. My brother and a couple of my friends already know.

It would be nice if Dixon could make the Spirit in a Crystal White finish and say that its for “them” or “they”. That would make it easier for slow swinging misters like myself to hide the fact they are playing a women’s golf ball without the hoopla of playing a pink golf ball.

That’s it. That’s all I got. Well done Dixon.

Can some goo help fix a slice or hook?

Can that same goo help you gain distance on your drives?

As I was about to place an order for a piece of home fitness equipment I noticed LazerDrive in my shopping list.

Oh yah, I remember adding this to the list now. It was one of those days where I was looking for non-conforming golf balls and LazerDrive popped up as an item I might like. So I added it. And decided to buy it with my home fitness equipment order.

LazerDrive says their coating will “eliminate slice on the first drive”. It also claims to be anti-slice, anti-hook, gain distance, and reduce spin.

That’s a lot to claim.

It even has a refreshing grass scent and looks like roll on deodorant.

They go into how using LazerDrive will lower scores because of accurate drives and fewer lost golf balls. You’ll also be able to tell where on the club face you are making contact which is very important.

So this is what I do when I test a product like LazerDrive. I play one round at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods, MI. A course I’ve played at least 75 times in the last 6 years.

A Titleist ProV1 will be the golf ball I use as its been my go to golf ball the past five years. I’ve played 30+ rounds with a ProV1 at Rackham. This way I’ll be able to compare results with the LazerDrive and spots I normally end up at. I’ll even keep score. I used a regular plastic one for the front nine and a TRUETEE for the back nine.

Ok, its golf time.

Instructions are simple. Apply LazerDrive to the face of your driver before you use it. So that’s what I did to my Callaway XHot Driver.

1st Hole – Par 5. 515 yards.

Not dead center but close. And the result was excellent. Anytime I’m near the drainage ditch is a very long drive for me. Has to be around 260 yards.

Said “what the hell” and put the LazerDrive on my Callaway XHot 3 Wood and gave it a go.

It looks like I caught it near the heel and took a chunk of dirt to boot.

There have been less than five times I have been this close to the green on the 1st hole. Typically I’m 50 yards behind this shot after two. This is every bit of a 220 yard 3 wood which is decent for me. We don’t need to talk about how I chipped on and four putted.

2nd Hole – Par 4. 315 yards.

So I kind of duffed the tee shot. I missed it so bad. Barely made it past the Ladies Tee Box for a whopping 70 yard drive. Let’s throw this one away.

3rd Hole – Par 4. 365 Yards.

Just missed hitting it dead center and a little high. But the result was a booming drive where it went through the dogleg. I’ve maybe done this three times.

4th Hole – Par 4. 348 yards.

Hit it dead center which resulted in the drive going through the dogleg. I’d consider this a miss but still very good distance.

5th Hole – Par 3. 153 Yards.

What about LazerDrive on an iron? Lets try it. Applied a layer to my Ping G15 7 Iron.

It appears I hit the tee shot dead center but I’m not entirely sure. What was interesting about this shot was it hit on the down slope of the fringe and jumped forward which tells me there was little spin.

6th Hole – Par 4. 311 Yards

I wrote it down as a fairway hit. Don’t like it? Too bad. This is a very good drive. Probably in the 260 yard range.

7th Hole – Par 5. 502 yards.

This might be one of the best drives (position + distance) I’ve ever had on this ever so gently bending dogleg left hole. Let’s say its a 265 yard drive.

Typically I’m on the right side of the fairway with 245 yards to the hole. This time I’m on the left with a realistic chance of hitting the green in two. Put another layer of LazerDrive on my 3 wood and gave it another go.

I have never been in that bunker in two. Oh so close. Made contact closer to the heel of my Callaway XHot 3 Wood and sent it left. There is no way it didn’t hit some leaves as it fell from the sky. Four yards to the right and it’s probably on the front of the green. Anyway you look at it that’s 502 yards in two shots which is rare for me.

8th Hole – Par 3. 150 Yards.

Pulled out my Ping G15 6 Iron and sent this one pin high to about 25 feet. Again, you can’t really tell where I hit it on the club face but the result (right side of picture) says I made good contact. Just like on the fifth hole it didn’t back spin. This one rolled out a good six feet.

9th Hole – Par 4. 387 Yards.

Didn’t even make contact with 15% of the golf ball and still hit an excellent drive. The 150 yard maker is directly to my left. Tee boxes are to the right of the fairway so where I ended up is very good.

10th Hole – Par 4. 442 Yards.

Back to back holes where I missed some of the golf ball. This time hitting it closer to the toe which pushed it right of the fairway. This is a typical mis-hit on this hole. (Friendly reminder I switched to the TRUETEE for the back nine)

11th Hole – Par 4. 418 Yards.

It’s hard to tell where I made contact on this drive but it looks like I severely mis-hit this one. No part of the golf ball hit the center of my Callaway XHot Driver and yet the result was ok. It looks like I made contact near the toe and still hit the fairway. Distance was not great as I’m typically ten yards behind the 150 yard marker.

12th Hole – Par 4. 333 Yards.

Would appear I decided to actually hit the golf ball where I’m supposed to this time. And the result was a super most premium excellent drive. The sprinkler head says 73 yards on it which makes this a 258 yard drive. That’s good for your boy.

13th Hole – Par 3. 204 Yards.

Pulled out my Callaway XHot 5 Wood which I typically hit on this very long Par 3. Proceeded to just about miss the golf ball entirely. What is that? Like 50% of the golf ball made contact with the face?

I did not take a picture of where it landed because it went left and nearly into the beginning parts of the 12th fairway. Had to wait for guys on the 12th to tee off before hitting my second shot and didn’t want to hold up my group any longer. Still had good distance as it was pin high just way left.

14th Hole – Par 5. 511 Yards.

On this Par 5 the tee boxes are 40 yards left of the middle of the fairway. Made decent contact but pushed it right. Typically when I end up over here I am short of this hill. It’s too bad because this was a decent drive distance wise.

15th Hole – Par 4. 369 Yards.

Dead center. And the result is very good. Tee boxes are a good 45 yards left of the middle of the fairway on this hole. I did not mis-hit this one. Just wasn’t lined up correctly and hit it through the fairway. If I’m lined up right it probably goes further than the Srixon Z-Star I hit on this hole.

16th Hole – Par 3. 215 Yards.

Pulled out my Callaway XHot 3 Wood as I normally do on this long Par 3 and hit the green. Got most of it in the center but am seeing a good 15% didn’t even hit the club face. Damn thing dropped from the sky and nearly plugged. Hitting this green is tough. We don’t need to talk about how I three putted from here.

17th Hole – Par 4. 299 Yards.

Almost got all of it and the result was another super most premium excellent drive. Every bit of a 265 yard drive. Probably a top five drive for me on this short Par 4. And your boy birdied it too.

18th Hole – Par 4. 431 Yards.

Could not keep the three hole streak of hitting in the center of the face alive. Pushed it right and into an area where most of my mis-hits end up. Decent distance on this long uphill Par 4. Your boy magically scrambled for par.

Thanks Brad. Will you actually get onto the review?

Ok Ok. Maybe I was a little too detailed. That’s how I do things.

Did LazerDrive help remove a slice or hook?

I don’t really slice or hook the ball. My misses are either a push or a pull which means the ball flies in a straight line left or right of the fairway. I setup to hit a draw and in most cases when I make good contact it goes straight.

So I can’t say it removed a slice or hook but I can say I didn’t do either of those the entire day. What I can say is do not expect to hit a draw or fade with LazerDrive. Expectations should be straight drives only.

Did LazerDrive help reduce spin?

Yes. As I turned to look to the sky after making contact with my first drive I broke out in laughter. All I saw was a Titleist ProV1 knuckelballing over the fairway. It was like this the entire day.

It’s as if the LazerDrive brought it back online one and a half second after leaving the club face. When it started heading left the ball magically came back right. Same so for heading right.

What stuck out to me was the ones I hit high. My drives tend to land and stop. Not so with the LazerDrive. It seemed to magically drop and re-start on a new, lower trajectory. It was hilarious.

Reminded me of playing shortstop in softball when our pitcher would throw a knuckelball and it would come off the bat back at me knuckelballing. All I’m thinking is get the hell out of the way and do some sort of “olé” with the glove and hopefully knock it down without getting hit in an unfortunate place.

Drives and fairway woods rolled out a couple extra yards as did those few iron shots I hit into the greens. Nothing checked up.

Did LazerDrive help gain distance?

Probably. I can’t say definitively but it did appear when I made good contact the shots were ending up 5-10 yards further then my average drives. And the mis-hits seemed to get out there too. But those two Par 5’s where I came so close to reaching in two tell the story.

Did LazerDrive help lower my score?

One of the other claims LazerDrive makes is by getting rid of your slice or hook and adding distance that it will lower your score. Makes sense.

Score – 81. Greens In Regulation – 9. Fairways Hit – 6. Putts – 35.

No lost balls. No penalty strokes.

I seem to shoot an 81 every time I play with a Titleist ProV1 now. Don’t get me wrong, 81 is a fantastic score for me. Especially since I double bogeyed two holes.

Hitting 9 GIR is above average and hitting the fairway 6 times is a tad above average too.

Damn those 35 putts and double damn the four I took on the first hole. Putting for birdie and end up with a double bogey. Balls. So close to breaking eighty.

If I could check the replay it wouldn’t surprise me to see some LazerDrive caked into the dimples over the first three holes. Went a little overboard applying it and I’m sure I smashed a thin layer onto the ball causing it to roll different. Good in the air. Not on the ground.

How does LazerDrive taste?

I’m pretty sure I ate some LazerDrive. During the many times of applying it to my clubs faces I’d barely touch its remnants with my hand or golf glove. It wasn’t a big deal until I went for my apple after hitting my tee shot on the 10th hole.

Noticed a distinct “Refreshing Grass Scent” taste going on in my mouth. When I touched  the apple with my glove and hand it transferred to the apples skin.

It lasted for a solid six holes. Good news for me is almost a month later I am still here. Thankfully its non-toxic.

What did I learn from using LazerDrive?

In the end I think LazerDrive is a damn good training tool. Sure, the other things are great and appear to be true but you’re probably not going to apply LazerDrive every time you play.

Going back and looking through the pictures there were two things that stuck out. I don’t hit it in the center all that much. I’m really all over the place. Getting closer to dead center would have to help with distance and control.

Most importantly I noticed I make contact higher on the club face. People who play with me tell me I hit it high. LazerDrive told me I hit it high. I get it. I hit it high.

I get good distance and in most cases tend to be consistently further than people I play with and not that far behind longer hitters.

Maybe all I need to do is lower the tee a quarter of an inch more than I do now to get a medium trajectory that cuts through the air. I’ll be trying that for sure in the future.

On the LazerDrive companies website I found they make a four-piece and two-piece golf ball too. If I decide to buy and enter them into my best golf ball challenge I’ll be sure to review them here. But it seems what they do best and are known for is the anti-slice goo.

I don’t know if I’ll buy LazerDrive in the future as its going to take me awhile to go through what I have. Barely used 10%. You could probably get away with applying it every other drive and still get its benefits.

But it was fun to use and a great training aid. Perfect for a driving range session. And for $10 its worth it to try if you want to see where you’re really making contact.