Thanks for the balls - have started using the black numbered trio.  They respond off the face, through the air and on the green rather like NXTs.  hey also bounce of the trees and enter the water much like all your golf balls.  David A

I have now had the chance to play some rounds with these balls.

I was with my regular playing partners and I gave one of each ball to them to trial.

Playing partner one did notice a good true ball flight as they sailed OOB after about five shots, he did comment that they felt very nice and he would like a better chance to trial the balls.

Playing partner two played nine holes with each and said they were very nice but he felt the black ball was slightly softer and he preferred that.

I have now played 18 holes with each and have to say they have worn very well and are both lovely balls. If I was choosing a ball I would pick the black ball. I find this ball feels nice for all shots and is really nice to putt with I managed only 29 putts today which is very good for me where I normally average 34.

I will be intrigued to know will TT be feeding back what the balls are?

I will continue to feed back from my playing partners as i get more chance to play wit the test balls

Have now tried the black numbered ball.  Found them slightly harder and longer  than the red numbered ball, they also seem to have less  spin around the green for short shots. Still a good ball but would buy the red version if I knew what  it  was.

Regards

Melvyn E

Found a titleist test ball on my course and pro confirmed there was a trial underway and kindly gave me 3 test balls to evaluate - black numbers

First impressions was that they are harder than the pro vs and sound louder of the driver but putt well

I!m a fairly straight driver and with the test ball hit most fairways with good distance- was heading for a good score  about level par but lost concentration on last 4 holes

Durability  was good, 4 rounds so far! a ball I would use again

Pat Lynch

Hi.

Thanks for the test balls. I share them with my colleagues and the difference was that they are now driving the ball nearly as far as I am ;-( but no problem I will just keep ahead of them. I found the balls lasted well and only showed signs of damage with the use of short irons. They also appeared to keep their line in the wind which is usual on the east coast - well I seemed to be driving straighter than usual. What ball am I to use now that I have tried them out?

Ian Blyth 

I am a member of Southerndown golf course South Wales. A very challenging course that hosts the well known Duncan Putter tournament.  It is also a Senior Open qualifying venue for 2014.

I played with the test ball this month (December) after winning them via a twitter competition with the PGA Pro.  The conditions were windy on the day (approx 10-20 mph).  The general course make up is dry sandy soil.  The greens were responsive, running true and fairways running well.

I am playing generally to handicap at present (7) so I was interested to see if the ball would make a difference.  

Generally

The ball did seem to fly a little further off the tee than the pro v1 I normally play. Maybe 5 to 10 yards more. I found the ball strike a little firmer with this ball which could attribute to this.  The main benefit was around and on the greens. I have just purchased a new vokey wedge 52 degree with a lower bounce (8). The strike from around the green on the ball was crisp and control could be trusted. Again the solid contact was a feature of the ball.

The putting contact off the face of the putter was good. Solid and reliable. I had better distance control due to the trusted solid contact. (Confidence in ball reaction)

I was +2 on my first nine (started at the tenth) due to getting up and down with good chipping and putting.  Wind was about 10 mph.

+5 second nine (conditions were worse with wind at the top end of the scale, approx 15 to 20) this would naturally reduce my ability to score. (Per any golfer)

Analysing

I normally find the back nine harder (my front nine in this case) but the ball seemed to help reduce second shot distances. This resulted in lower iron shots into greens which has to have helped my +2 score. 

My second nine score was mainly due to a couple of lose shots and the conditions. The ball remained responsive and into wind seemed to outperform the pro v's. Not sure if this would be the same in the summer.

So overall I shot the same score on my 2013 average but I did like the harder contact from the ball on the club face.  It did not seem to diminish the control around the greens.

I am playing in colder conditions tomorrow so it will be interesting to see the balls ability. (And mine)

Happy to test further and leave more feedback.

Thank you

Hi,

Many thanks for the opportunity to test these balls. Have played with both the red and black numbered ones and really liked both! Didn't notice any significant difference between them - maybe too subtle for a higher handicapper such as myself  to notice. Both balls performed really well on my better drives - long and straight. They were good for chipping around greens and felt excellent when putting. The skins on the one's I've used and not yet lost are relatively unmarked and still have plenty use left in them. I'll probably lose them before they become unusable!!

I normally play with DT-SoLo's and occasionally with Pro-V1's and would happily play with these if they become generally available.

I tested these balls from equal situations, both balls are equally good for distance but the black one is a couple of yards longer.

Both are easy enough to shape but I felt that the black one had a straighter ball flight and i did not notice any difference in the short game both balls stop equally well.

However the red one felt a lot harder off the club face on tee shots and irons and I definitely prefer the black one, also the red one scuffed a lot easier.

If I were to play either it would be the black one as I loved how soft it felt off the club face.

Neal.

Thank you for the delivery of the test balls. I have Now tried the black numbered balls Good feel. Very durable . They have lasted over 4 rounds without being badly marked. Courses extremely wet at present so not a lot of roll. Very consistent and seem to travel at least as far as the NXT tour balls I normally use.,  Will now try the red ones. Cheers Mike

Have hit these balls a few times, probably not best time of year to get clear viewpoints on them. I have lost all  the black due to plugging somewhere in our extremely wet fairways. I didn't  notice much difference in distance off the driver but really liked the feel on chipping and putting. 

Hi David,

thanks for inviting me to participate in testing the new equipment. Working in development, I appreciate customer feedback is critical to getting new products right. It's great to see your so open with new developments, keep up the good work!

there is a noticeable difference between the two test balls. black feels softer off the club face, is more responsive around the green and spins far more. Whilst the red defiantly flies farther with slightly lower trajectory. I'm guessing this is down to the dimpled pattern and construction. Is the red a two piece and the black a three?

Both balls have been in play for around 6 weeks and have survived several rounds without scuffing up, which is credit in winter conditions. 

Preference is the black, due to improved feedback and higher spin around the greens. Would have no problem putting these in the bag for 2014.

all the best for the new year to all atTeam Titleist!

Thanks!

andy

Tried the test balls with my regular fourball - our best player (hcp 3) actually lost his with his first shot (!), but the rest of us (hcp 5, 7, 8) all had good rounds with ours and were very impressed (I beat my handicap). I've since played another round with these balls and was once again under my handicap. The balls fly on a good trajectory (not too high, not too low) and a good distance, while remaining quite straight. Please let us all know when they are available to buy!

Received my tests golf balls other month.

After playing with them over the winter, I've found them to be very responsive in the feedback i get on most shots. Off the tee they feel very nice, no distance change but they give confidence to your drive as they can be easily shot shaped. (Remember position over distance all day, not how far but how many)

With irons, the feel off the clubface is good, you know immediately wether you have hit the sweet spot. Again easy to shop shape. Distance the same as other balls on the market.

Short irons/pitching. Good feedback again, not too much spin on the greens though. So was a little difficult to pitch n run or stop the ball.

Chipping, again difficult to judge how the ball would react off the green surface so difficult to judge distance needed, however when judged correctly feedback is dream and had a couple of chip ins.

Putting- A very good putting ball, feedback is lovely off the face, and stays online.

Durability is very good with the ball, not much scuffing, used 1 ball for 2 rounds (which is good as balls are expensive these days and average golfers want balls to last now)

Overall, a decent ball, certainly dont think they are pro V's but perhaps in middle range between DT Solo and NXT. Would be a very good improvement ball for the 12 and above handicappers.

thanks for the prototypes again.

Hi , thanks so much for the Test balls I have really enjoyed playing with them. Not too sure how many ladies have responded on here, I have had a quick browse through replies and could not see any ?

But two of us have used them for the last few weeks in the usual wet , cold , wintry conditions on a parkland course - probably 2 or 3 games a week. We play off 8 and 16 respectively and normally use a range of balls including Pro V1 and Pro V1X.  I came to try and like Pro V1X courtesy of your stand and free trial balls at Sherwood Forest 4BBB Open last summer. Thanks for those too!

I am the 16 player and have to admit I really liked them both very much - but my preference if pushed would be for the black numbered ball - just. I found good distance with drives, nice and straight, and good feel on the greens. My golfing partner off 8 plumped for the red numbered balls - based on better feel and control for them. I am hoping you eventually tell us what they are as we will definitely be buying them.

One of the main things that struck me was also how well they have worn - I have another "prestige" level ball that I use regularly and have to say it wears so poorly I wonder of the manufacturer has gone for built in limited life span. So these have been fantastic  on that front.  

Thanks for the 2 Sleeves of balls, sent out in November, only started using them in Mid Decemeber, due to club competitions.

First used the Red numbered balls, which felt firm off of all my clubs and gave quite a low ball flight but it was straight and penetrating, my natural ball flight is usually quite low. The ball flew well off of my short irons and height was similar to my usual NXT Tour ball, and again it was quite firm off of the putter face but had a good roll on it.

I didn't notice any spin from any of my short irons or wedges, from either full or partial shots but the ball did perform well on these shots and around the greens.

I have used this ball for 4 and a half rounds (about 80 holes) and found the ball to be very durable, with the cover showing limited wear, I have lost 1, so 2 balls are still in use. I have found that even on my mis-hits, usually where I hit the ball barely above knee level, even on winter fairways, the ball still travelled well and went a considerable distance. 

Overall, I found the ball to be quite firm, with a lower flight, but it had a good all round performance and I would certainly use this ball.

The black numbered ball was quite different and felt soft off of all my clubs and gave a higher ball flight but still travelled a good distance and with my driver (910 - D2)  there was some noticeable spin, which produced a slight fade with a number of drives, 5 to 10m of movement. Off of my short irons and wedges, the ball felt soft but gave good feedback, on  most wedge shots the ball spun and slowed up and on occaisions I achieved back-spin, which is quite unusual for me.

On partial shots in to the greens (30 - 40 yards) I found that the ball offered a very good level of spin and felt soft but solid off of the putter.

Unfortunately the three balls sent to me were lost in 9 holes, 2 due to drives being well struck but slightly pulled, which was dis-appointing as I would liked to have tried them over a longer period.

Overall, the black numbered balls performed well, offered a softer feel but with a high ball flight and a lot of spin available, to well struck shots and I would certainly like play these balls, if they are made available.

Both balls performed well and I would certainly consider using either ball but for me, if I had to choose just one, then it would have to be the black numbered ball, due to the high er ball flight on offer and to the spin that is offered.

Hi Titleist, so far tested 3 black numbers.. not reds as previously stated... I usually play NXT or NXT Tour...I found these slightly longer than both.  They have great feel for putting (even better than the occasional PROv that comes my way).

Am unable to use the reds yet as we're either playing waterlogged or temp greens...its hardly a fair test. I will submit my feedback once things have returned to normal.

Thanks, ChrisC

It's difficult to tell with the winter conditions but both balls seems to perform really well for me, I'd have no problem using either of them full time.