In my golfing comeback, the one area that I haven’t tinkered with up until now was the ball that I have been playing. I took a stab at one hole with a Titleist Pro V1x, but it wasn’t the feel that I was looking for. My trusty Nike One Gold (2005) were still finding a home in my bag and will probably stay there until I run out of them. Of course, now that I am down to a dozen or so, that won’t take too long since the covers don’t seem to last quite as long as they should when you spin them off a bladed iron like I do. So, that left me starting the process of looking for a replacement to them in my last round. I managed to pick up a few of the low compression offerings from Wilson golf and take them for a spin on my last round.
I started off the front nine with the Wilson Zip, which carries a sub $20 price tag for 24 balls. The “zero” compression core and 302 dimple pattern created a very nice ball flight, even in the breezy conditions that I faced on Sunday. What struck me on my first 3 iron from the tee is how soft the ball felt off the club head. For a feel player, sometimes soft is bad, but these had a feel reminiscent of the old balata balls that I played back in the early 90’s. The only way I can describe it is that they have a click on contact, followed by a soft, squish feel to them. After an opening par, I was feeling that the Zip was a ball to be reckoned with.
The back nine I switched things up to the Wilson Duo, and it’s larger 29 compression core. This two piece ball also had an amazing flight, though it felt like it went higher on my 7-PW than my older balls. I lost a few shots to the wind with the Duo, but it still performed very well for me. The $19.99 a dozen price tag puts them at twice the cost of the Zip, but the higher trajectory may be more beneficial for calm days on the course. I was able to spin the regular version of the Duo extremely well, in fact, so well that I doubt I would try upgrading to the Duo Spin model. The slightly higher cost Duo Spin offers a higher spin rate due to a three piece construction and it’s ionomer outer cover. Still, at $26.99 a dozen, the Duo Spin is about half the price of other premium balls on the market.
Overall, I have to give the nod to the Wilson Duo and the Wilson Zip, but for different reasons. The Wilson Zip gets my vote for performance vs. cost. At $.83 a ball, the Zip is a steal in modern day deals. The lower ball flight and soft click feel was a pleasure to chase around the front side of the course. The Wilson Duo is for the more competitive player that wants that extra bit of stick on the green. At $1.66 a ball, they are about 58% less than a Titleist Pro V1x, yet they played about the same distance and had similar spin characteristics heading into the green. I did see more height from the Wilson Duo, which in windy conditions could create some havoc, but for days like that, I would recommend keeping a sleeve of Zips in the bag. Both of these value balls play more similar to a high end ball than the value balls that I have played in the past. Either way, the Wilson Duo or the Wilson Zip will provide you with a great ball striking experience for very little out of pocket.
No comments:
Post a Comment