So a funny thing happened on the course the other day… Well, maybe it was funny to me, but to the people I was playing with, they didn’t find it as funny as they did amazing. When I took the first tee, I didn’t tee up my usual Wilson Zip ball, but instead, took out a sleeve of the Vice Pro+ ball and proceeded to take it for a spin. The Pro+ is a stunning ball to look at with just the Vice logo and number showing off against the stark white urethane cover. The cover isn’t just bright white though, Vice’s MXWhite technology keeps the urethane cover from reacting with the sunlight that normally yellows the cover, which makes it one of the longest lasting whites on the market. Speaking of long lasting, the blend that is used in this cover also holds up to even my “chew through the cover” wedges without any issue what-so-ever.
Moving on to the performance of the Pro+ off the tee, I found the ball to be very, very long. The distance on the Pro+ exceeded my typical ball by about 10 yards a drive. I was picking up a solid 1/2 to 3/4 club on almost every approach shot. Now for someone that used to play a wound balata with a liquid core, most of this new ball technology is lost on me. I measure a ball by three basic things: how far does it go off the tee, how well does it spin on the green and how does it feel coming off my putter. The Pro+ passed all three of these tests very easily, which made it continue past the first few holes without much thought. Without knowing exactly why I like them so much, and why they played so well for me, I have to say that Vice really did nail the Pro+ design. It’s the first 4 layer ball I’ve ever played, and that layer seems to make all the difference.
From what I was able to put together about the ball is that you start out with a proprietary blended core that is wrapped in DupontTM Surlyn®, which is then wrapped in a DupontTM HPF outer casing before they apply the soft case urethane cover. In simple, I don’t want to think too much about this terms, Surlyn® was what the old rock balls were covered in, but they didn’t use it for a cover, it’s the core. Then then covered that with various materials to increase the feel of the Pro+ before they coated it in a super soft, high spin urethane cover. The larger cores allow Vice to put a thinner cover on the ball, which only increases the potential distance and playability of the ball, while keeping the cover extremely soft and workable. The Pro+ is the best of all the ball world’s rolled into one super performance ball.
Even playing from hazards was no problem for the Pro+. From wet bunkers to damp rough, the Pro+ still spun like a top and stopped on a dime. Their claim of “S2TG” made me chuckle a bit when I read it online, but I’ll gladly admit that I shouldn’t have. The Pro+ just plain performs around the green. With the softer feel of the urethane cover, I felt that I had complete control over my putts and chips, and this was on the first round with the Pro+. After I became adjusted to the shorter clubs into the greens, I didn’t have to worry too much about chipping the ball because I was able to launch a perfect wedge to the flag and stop the ball with a consistent 15-20” of back spin. That’s what I would call “sticking to the green”.
Putting was another adventure with the Vice Pro+. I’m calling it an adventure because it was so different than anything I had tried before. Honestly, I haven’t enjoyed hitting my putter this much since I had an old brass Acushnet Bullseye and Maxfli HT100 balatas. The soft tick, although even using the word tick might be too much, of the ball against the face just felt perfect. Even on the practice green, my distance control was spectacular and the Pro+ rolled smooth. Their KIL putting line was clean and clear and left me no need to decorate the ball with my fancy blue Sharpie line that I sometimes resort to with new balls. All in all, the Vice Pro+ is what many would call the perfect ball for the performance player. Now, Vice isn’t limited to just the Pro+ that I used here. They also have balls designed to help your game at every level. Check out the Vice Recommendation Tool here to see which ball is right for you.
Beyond just a fun ball to play, the Vice Pro+ was a dream on the course. It moves around the course like a ball that would cost $5 a pop. It spins like a $50 a dozen ball. It rolls to the hole so true that I can’t even put a value on it. But now here’s the scary part, at just $2.07 a piece when you buy 5 dozen, they are about half the price of those other tour level balls. The difference is that Vice isn’t paying some huge advertising fee or making back door deals that will increase the cost to the end user. They are just producing the best quality balls at prices that take me back to 1989. I have a few more sleeves of Vice offerings to take out on the course before I order my 5 dozen of these, but I can tell you that these are on my short list of the best balls I have ever played. Between the gain in distance, the increased spin on irons and the incredible touch around the green, I don’t know if there could be a more perfect ball on the planet.
Visit www.vicegolf.com for more information on the Vice Pro+ and the rest of the Vice Golf line up.
No comments:
Post a Comment