TGW Tests the Best Tour Golf Balls of 2021

How We Tested Golf Ball Performance

• All of the golf balls tested within 1,000 rpm of each other with the wedge. For golfers who are looking for more spin in their short game, we noticed that the TaylorMade TP5, Titleist Pro V1x, and Bridgestone B XS golf balls produced the most spin with these three recording average spin rates of more than 7,000 rpm on this type of shot. Some golfers may be looking for a little less spin, for example, those who play on courses with softer greens. For these players, the Srixon Z-Star XV, Bridgestone B X, and Srixon Z-Star produced the lowest spin rates.
• If you need more spin with your 7 iron in order to hold more greens on approach shots, 4 of the golf balls Rick hit all averaged more than 5,000 rpm. Those 4 were the Mizuno RB Tour X, Mizuno RB Tour, Titleist Pro V1x, and Wilson Staff Model. Golfers who are looking to reduce spin to get the most out of their iron shots may be more inclined to play the TaylorMade TP5X or the Srixon Z-Star XV as both of these golf balls averaged less than 4,500 rpm in our test.
• With the driver, most golfers will be looking for the lowest spin possible to help maximize distance off the tee. While every golf ball in this test averaged within 500 rpm, there were a couple of standouts. The Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball was the only one that averaged less than 2,000 rpm at 1,978. Callaway’s Chrome Soft X model just crept above that line at 2,001. Some golfers need to raise their spin off the tee because their swing needs a little extra to help maximize their carry distance. The Titleist Pro V1 and Titleist Pro V1x golf balls both tested well in this category.

• Distance was the same for all these golf balls during our wedge test. The reason for this is Rick was hitting a specific type of short game shot in which he needed to control his distance instead of trying to hit the ball as far as he could. This shot has a half-wedge shot from 45 yards away where he needed to spin and control the ball to hold the green and hit that number.
• Carry distance was more of a factor with the 7 iron. At 167 yards, the TaylorMade TP5X, Callaway Chrome Soft, and Srixon Z-Star XV golf balls all produced the longest average distance. However with every golf ball we tested averaging within 5 yards of that benchmark, every option is going to provide the distance you are looking for from your irons.
• With the driver, every golf ball averaged within 9 yards of variance off the tee for Rick. The longest-performing golf balls for him, on average, were the Srixon Z-Star XV at 252 yards, the Bridgestone B X at 251 yards, and the Wilson Staff Model at 250 yards.