Bridgestone came to the club where I was a member at several years ago to do a ball-fitting. I didn't participate, but a guy I played with quite regularly did.

His ball of choice was the ProV1. So they set him up at the launch monitor... they've got this gizmo that detects spin rates, launch angle, the whole deal. So they tell him to hit his ProV, they give him like 10 swings with driver, do the average, etc. and then they compare that with one of their balls, I think it was the E6.

The net result, after the comparison and ball fitting, was that he was hitting the E6 about 9 yards further than the ProV1, most all of it due to spin. So he played a sleeve of the new E6 balls that was given to him for doing the fitting, and although he was hitting it further, he was not satisfied with the control around the greens.

Sometimes it's not necessarily about which ball goes further, but which ball you're most confident with the closer you get to the green.

On soft greens, for me, I don't really want an ultra soft ball. I guess that's why I like the 3-pc Srixon, because it performs pretty much the same regardless of the firmness of the greens. But it's an individual thing and not everyone is looking for the same things in a golf ball's performance.

    PA-PLAYA although he was hitting it further, he was not satisfied with the control around the greens.

    Hence the compromise.

    I have been a Srixon fan since they came out.
    I switched to them after the Precept EV Spin was discontinued.
    Used to play the two piece Srixon Hi-Spin and was lucky enough to take advantage of the tour towel giveaway you got with every dozen purchased. I still have two towels left after ten years.
    You don't get deals like that anymore.

      You guys missed a very important point. ProV1 is still one of if not the most expensive golf balls available.
      Sometimes it's the image one wish to project to the others rather than practicality.

      I know a guy whose golf swing makes no major difference to which type of golf ball he uses. But he likes to use ProV1, even if it was a used one he found on the golf course.

      It's like some golf clubs priced way up in the outer space and they have sales to those whom has a deep pocketbook and just want something different.

      Th ultra soft golf balls do not work well with me on hard fast greens , besides that the 3 piece-4 piece-5 piece golf balls really do not offer a major difference to this golfer. The dimple design and the cover material do make some noticeable difference for my golf game. So the least expensive golf balls in the type acceptable to me will do just fine.
      Bridgestone has the B300RX, RXS on sale with the 2015 model, that's a nice premium golf ball for an old gizzer like myself.

      Attended a Titleist ball fitting last summer. The fitter suggested that I use the Pro Vx instead of a Pro V to reduce the amount of back spin. He also suggested that I get new clubs because my grooves were toast, but that's another story. I moved on to a station nearby and overheard a conversation between the Titleist rep and one of our assistant pro's. He said that they ALWAYS recommend the Pro-V's unless they are pressed for a more affordable alternative and that the NXT Tour is every bit as good as the Pro V series for most amateur golfers.

        Gammapi

        I played the Titleist "test ball" which is almost for certain the 2016 NXT Tour.
        I liked it a lot, i'm also bias to larger dimples and NXT Tour has larger dimple design than Pro V1.

        Except for the slightest difference in greenside shots , the only thing stick out was the spin on the full wedge shot.

        Pro V1 and Pro V1X is the bread and butter for the Titleist, of course they would try to sell these first.

        Today I found 3 almost new Titleist on the golf course, one is the ProV1 and the other two are the Pro V1X. All on the #10 a par 5 with couple of blind spots off the tee box on the left side. I walked along the left side which adjacent to water hazards with bush and trees, sure enough, the big hitter had a little more action off the tee shots ended up lost their tee ball to the left. Maybe the extra spin did not help that time.

          5 months later

          Still have 12 Prov 1 and still like them the best

          Others. I LIKE
          MG Tour ball 19.00 dozen on line only
          Z Star
          Nike Platinum Tour. Can't wait till they go on sale
          Callaway Chrome Soft

          Didn't Like
          SNELL
          Cally Super Soft
          Wilson Duo

          Was playing Wilson Staff FG Tour's till I ran out earlier in the year. Playing V1x's now.

            Srixon Z star xv
            Snell MTB
            Vice Pro Plus
            Taylormade tpx
            MG tour c4

            There are so many good balls out there....my fav is the tpx, best all around ball I've played to date, Vice Pro Plus is very similar.

            I had been playing the Titlelsit NXT Tour S yellow for years. I found a Srixon Trispeed and really liked it. About that time someone posted about a sale at Dick's for the Trispeed $35 for 3 dozen shipped. I got 3doz yellow and 3 doz white, so I have been playing the Srixons most of the summer. They are not too soft and give me a nice crisp click with the putter and I get a nice one hop and stop with the irons.

            Release Ditto for me on the NXT Tour. Tried a ProV1x again - no go. Too spinny off the driver. I like it around the greens, but not enough to have to fight the tee ball.

                The MG C4 balls are really good.

                Just went into Dick's and picked up two dozen Maxfli Revolutions, only because they were on sale for 10 bucks a dozen. So I guess those are my balls for autumn.

                Orlimar1

                I believe the Pro V's are the highest spinning ball out there. A few years ago they were at 10,000 rpm. Average swing speeds (90 mph driver) are too slow to take advantage of the high spin balls like the Pro V. Have a golf buddy with a similar swing speed and he plays Pro V's. I give him any Pro V's I find on the course. I don't see any advantage he gets playing such an expensive ball.

                    85 mph geezer swing = soft ball for me calaway chrome soft or one of Tom Watson soccer pattern which seem easier to line up putts and are kinda fun to play
                    Right now got a box of the Felon balls to see if they give anything in extra air time
                    Played 2x 9 practice holes and like them okay . Only lost 2. Deep rough lots of rain soft fairways and greens not much rollout

                    Whatever I can pick up for $20 or less. TF D2 Feel, Wilson Duo, Titleist DT TruSoft, Cally SuperSoft, etc.

                    Been playing a box of yellow TF Gamers. Pretty good ball. Maybe it doesn't spin quite as much as other balls, but it works pretty well for me so far. Was playing the NXT TourS, and ProV1X (from lostgolfballs.com) before that. Still haven't seen my scores change, so why spend the extra money. I can get 3 doz Gamers for $40 new. Why not...

                    TM Project (a) for the last two seasons. Works for me.

                    It generally always comes down to what works within one's budget and obviously their playing characteristics based on where they play most often.

                    The greens where I play are notorious for being soft... I could certainly justify playing a lesser-expensive ball that doesn't "bite" off of short-iron approaches because the proximity-to-the-hole is somewhat mitigated because of the receptiveness to the greens.

                    So essentially it comes down to (1) how straight can I hit the ball, (2) how much further the ball travels, (3) how the ball reacts from green-side chips and pitch shots and (4) how soft the ball reacts off the face of the putter. And it's worth nothing that not everyone needs all of those boxes ticked, at least based on whether one is paying $2.50 for the ball versus $4.00... it ultimately comes down to how the ball one chooses performs based on their individual expectations.

                    I've spent the past month or so playing the ChromeSoft from Callaway. The ball feels great off the club, whether it's an iron, hybrid or driver. It's soft... it feels like it stays on the face of the club just a tad longer, which is great as far as being able to feel like I have some means of control as far as accuracy. Is it a better performer than my more-economical choice 3-piece Srizon Z-star? Not really... there's not enough of a difference in green-side performance to justify another 7-8 bucks for what I essentially feel is a very comparable option to the ChromeSoft. Again, I'm not playing most of my rounds on hard, firm greens where there might be a premium on backspin off of short or mid-iron approaches. And as far as approaches beyond mid-iron approach shots - I'm not expecting much in the way of hit-and-hold type shots with hybrids and fairway woods. So it's all relative, too.

                    But for several seasons now I've played more than enough rounds with the uber-expensive ProV1X to appreciate the overall performance characteristics compared to the lesser-expensive options... part of that has to do with the way I compress a golf ball at impact, the understanding that no matter which ball I play - I'm generally hitting the ball fairly straight with a somewhat repeatable angle-of-approach, and ultimately the green-side control in addition to the added 8-10 yards off the tee ultimately makes it my ball of choice in a competition round.

                    I guess you could settle the debate one simple way. If you're a competitive golfer who plays in a dozen or so tournaments each season - which ball do you feel most confident playing? If you don't compete in tournaments and you prefer to compromise via the cost-vs-performance ratios - it really just comes down to personal choice. But if you are a tournament player - you spend X number of dollars per season to compete in those tournaments, and you probably don't mind spending an additional $7 or whatever in those instances to play the ball that you feel gives you the absolute best performance.

                    And if you're accustomed to playing NXT's, Srizon Q-stars or Z-stars, the low-compression Wilson offerings, or even the TopFlight Gamer - it essentially comes down to your game, what you expect, what you're willing to part with as far as cost, and being content with results. So I can't argue the the ProV1X is the best overall ball on the market for everyone, but for me - it most certainly is.

                    Lots of really good balls out there, especially compared to those that were manufactured just 10-15 years ago. You can compare the most economical ball today versus the ultra high-end performer 15 years ago and the current economical ball would probably out-perform the high-end ball from back in that era.

                    There really is no one-size-fits all approach to golf ball choice. It just primarily comes down to budget, reliability, performance and how those things mesh with one's own expectations.

                    Played the Cally Supersoft yellow all week at Desert Storm, ball flies a mile and felt great. Doesn't stop like a premium ball but still was fine for me since I hit the ball high.

                    Here at home I play the Srixon Q-Star and Z-Star, work great all around.

                    Used to really like the Cally Tour is as well , but one sleeve left