Welcome to TK Golf-your ultimate guide to golf improvement!
I'm Tap, a mid-handicap golfer on a mission to answer your questions on the path to better golf.
This channel is dedicated to finding the best ways to better your golf, whether through practice ideas, reviews of the latest drivers, or discovering budget-friendly golf balls. We cover all the practical questions you need answers to!
Unbiased Golf Club & Ball Reviews, Course Vlogs, Practice Ideas, and even friendly matches with fellow creators. We'll also unwind and chat at the 19th Hole!
My equipment reviews are DATA driven! Using Flightscope Mevo Plus, I provide detailed insights to help you decide if that equipment is right for YOU. The GSPro Golf Simulator Software is perfect for training and playing famous PGA and DP World Tour courses worldwide!
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What golf ball is best for me? I find so many when I play that I use them until I lose them! Or until they get beat up. I play from layouts that are about 6,000 yards and my handicap is around 12. Happy golfing! ⛳🏌
Hi Patrick! It’s all about your swing speed to be honest! What sort of speed you swinging your driver? 🤔 I think we all play with balls we’ve found to be honest 😂 just the way it is 🤷🏼♂️ but if you can stick to a certain ball when you buy, and it’s the right ball for you, you’ll sneakily lower your handicap over time 😊
You kept asking "why are the Srixon cheaper?". Maybe a better question is "why does Titleist charge so much and keep raising their prices?" I tend to feel Titleist overcharges because they can, not because it's worth it. Titleist is like Rolex. Great product, I own a few. Are they the best? Nope. Have more people just HEARD that they're the best therefore assume it's true? Definitely. I know plenty of 20 handicappers who refuse to play any other ball despite their complete inability to improve or use the features of the ball that they just paid $54.99 a dozen for. Great review.
The message of this video is so great. The point about having fun even on a bad day is really important for golf. Even tour pros hit atrocious shots from time to time. I’m quite terrible at golf but am new to the sport and have spent a lot of time dissecting my swings, so take this as it is - but when you hit that iron shot right and then the other one left, I slowed it down and I think on the first shot you opened up the club face a little by rotating your wrists when you start your backswing, and on the second shot look at your swing arc, it looks like you swung across your stance into yourself trying to compensate and push left. If you trace your swing arc I think you’ll be able to see it. Anyway, so far early in my golfing career those videos that visualize swing arcs have been very helpful to me in thinking about tracing that ideal arc when I swing. Cheers and good luck!
Thanks for the feedback! Really appreciate hearing that the message got through 😊 You’re definitely right about my swing as well… that thought idea about the swing arc sounds like it will be useful too 🤔 thank you!
You're crushing your drive almost dead straight, it just appears that (from my angle) you are actually aiming at that tree with your clubface at 2:06 right before your swing. What has helped my setup and overall score by a ton was using the putting line on your ball to point directly at where you want to aim and using that as a reference for your driver shot. Many pros do it on every hole and drive and it has saved me from the weeds many times. Keep swinging it, looks great.
On a serious note it’s nice to see a RU-vidr post some content showing them at there worst. Golf is a tough game and as we know we hardly ever to get to play it with our A game.
I’ve had similar feedback to be honest 🤔 it’s interesting that people have mentioned that, I was trying to swing the same 😂 it’s puzzling to me how my swings are different. Really strange 🤯
Q- Star Tour. The 2024 version has a compression of 74. The 2024 box is slightly different than previous boxes, it’s easy to tell the difference. I played the Z-Star for close to a decade. Loved the spin, and the cover was the most durable I’ve ever seen for a top end/Tour level spin ball. I carded 80-85 most days. But. I’m older now and about a half club to full club shorter than I used to be. I just bought a dozen Q-Star Tour. We’ll see… I like the way they feel with the putter so that’s a good start. The new, 2024 ball with the slightly harder compression might be perfect for me.
I love that Srixon have such a broad and clear selection of balls. And the price is great 😊 I feel like they put the same effort into all of their golf ball designs!
Should've done the test with the exact same shaft and grip imo. This would narrow down the test to actually just the driver face. If the shaft is the primary worse part you can get a diff shift.
I can’t get on board with that thinking. But the biggest issue with that was that the burner head is glued to the shaft. Also, the Qi10 shaft wasn’t available back in 2007 either, so in hindsight, the video touched on gains in that department as well 😊
I’ve recently had to play my TaylorMade R9 after trading in a Callaway Rouge Max LST. I’m not hitting the R9 bad but after 2 rounds with it I’m really missing my low spin driver. I’d say it’s about a 20 yard loss in distance, possibly because it’s going 20 yards higher in the air....it’s also a 10.5 head on a “stiff” shaft.. which I grew out of a while ago…but whatever..it still works.. definitely not as fun to play with compared to brand new clubs with new tech
I think it’s the spin control and forgiveness that’s really improved with the new drivers. I think, like for like lofts and a good centred strike, there’s not a lot to pick between new and old. But across the face, that’s where newer heads have leaped forwards I think 😊
I’m a 69 year old, 18 handicapper…swing speed is 89 mph…I’ve been using Titleist Tour Speed, Tour Soft, TruFeel and the older Tour Distance…as well as the Bridgestone Tour B RXS…the RXS is the winner off the tee for distance….I don’t notice a marked difference off the Irons or Wedge….my $.02 worth
I use a burner superfast 2.0. In January, I tested it against the latest drivers. Long story short...I saved myself R10,000. Im a 4 handicap and strike the ball consistently well. The difference in distance was not worth a change in equipment.
What shaft and year did you use in the burner? I'm 290-300 with that club with a low cost but newer shaft. Nothing touches my 2016 m2 with the air speeder 40 shaft. For myself. I believe the burner will probably outlast and look better in 10 years though than the newer TaylorMade
I actually think the shaft improvements over the years have really helped regulate spin and launch which have been massive contributors to distance! The shaft in the burner is stock stiff flex shaft from 2007
That isn’t as big of a difference as I expected, very cool comparison! I recently switched from a Taylormade RBZ Tour (2012) to the Taylormade Stealth 2 Plus (2023) and I saw about a 10 yard increase in carry and about 20 yards extra rollout on trackman at my fitting. Paid $60 for my old one 10 years ago and $400 for the new one. We pay so much for that little extra boost but it feels worth it every time haha.
It literally does feel like it every time doesn’t it 😂 I was very surprised by the results as well! Unfortunately I didn’t give the Qi10 a good run in the head to head battle at the end, but I think if the Burner had a newer shaft in it, it would be even closer 👀
funny I am using that exact burner. I'm not good enough to justify the price of a top of the line driver. what shaft do you have on both of them? stiff regular
Stiff shaft in both 😊 I think newer shafts also have some advances in tech that might help keep these older heads more relevant 🤔 I’d really struggle to justify the price increase between the two as well 👀
I appreciate your effort and time in putting this test together! Subscribed. I've played all three of these balls and about a hundred others. These results fit with what I've seen - a little more distance off the tee with a firmer ball, but a lot more distance with every single other club with the softer ones. I'm in the low-mid speed - 95ish with driver, 7-iron is high 70s. I'm a 4.4 hcp (at the moment). I will say that I've never had trouble stopping the Supersoft or similar soft balls on greens - even pretty firm greens. But this may be because you were swinging at slower speeds with what I'm guessing are stiff or xstiff shafts - which would produce a pretty flat flight at low speed. I'm playing a very light, high-launching regular steel shaft. Having said all that, I've been gaming the Left Dash for a few weeks and I'm liking that ball quite a bit, too!
Thank you Daniel! Appreciate the feedback and support! I think that’s the biggest issue with this test, I use my own clubs which are stiff. Which would have an effect on the flight and numbers like you said 😊 I might repeat the test one day but with different golfers at various speeds 🤔
Hi Jeff, I’d say the radar unit is better for the range (as long as there’s enough space behind). Reason being, the radar unit is tracking the golf ball for a large portion of the flight, so carry numbers are accurate for the conditions you’re hitting in 😊
Great set of data and great approach to the test. The Q-Star Tour… is that the new ball released in spring 2024? If it’s the previous version yours is still interesting data but the 2024 version has a slightly harder compression. Still below 80 but it’s still much lower than the entire Z line and the Pro V line. Some other subtle changes to the 2024 Q-Star Tour as well but I haven’t played them yet.
Great stuff except for one thing. Urethane covers make a huge difference when chipping and putting, and with stopping short irons on the greens. I find the ionomer covers are far too hard (great for distance with driver and durability), the surlyn are softer but they dont stop or check as well as the urethane covered balls. Maybe do a similar test of urethane balls versus ionomer/surlyn balls? IMO the slower swing players like me, need high launching balls and with a urethane cover. Those who run the ball onto the greens and rarely chip, do not need Urethane balls - the rest of us do as long as they dont lose balls every round ((too expensive).
That’s a very interesting insight 🤔 I figured the type of cover would matter more around the green, never considered that it could effect distance etc 🤔
@@TKGolfYT Yes indeed it does - I have tried nearly every urethane ball on the market (retired). With my swing speed 92-96 mph the softer urethane ones spin way too much with the driver, but are great with the 7-PW. Whereas the harder/pro urethane ones are great with the driver, but I lose 10-14 years with the 7-PW. The Pro/hard ones chip best - they stop so quickly so you can throw it right up to the pin.
Z star divide is a pretty good ball. Has a lot of spin compared to others I’ve played. Xxio is better. TaylorMade your soft, response and distance all also very good.
I learned the game as a teen and learned the differance between balls/brands as my supply of balls came from hunting for lost balls of the country club i caddied at. When i began buying golf balls (around 1989), i quickly stopped using Titleist balls due to cost. Maxfli was the brand for a long time. Then Strata came out and changed everything. my point is there are many options to find an equivalent ball for less. Srixon has been my current ball of choice. Thanks for your work and information.
My friend and I both drive the ball 240 yd, 250 yd and are the same size. He plays a Callaway, tried my Ping and hit 180 yd low knuckle balls. We were both shocked.
😂😂😂 think you need to re-watch what I said… If you know how far you usually hit the ball, and you’ve got a line on where you hit it… the app tells you how far you are away from your last shot, therefore you have a much better idea of where the ball is
Amazing video than you mate! Just a quick question, looking at that chart I have a compression of Low 70's (72/73 ish) but a swing speed of around 90/91 mph ... would you buy based on the swing speed on that chart or compression, as there is no range that fits both there.
Thank you mate 😊 So, something in the range of a Srixon Q-Star would be decent. Great price and deals for them as well. If your budget is a little higher, a Chrome Soft would be great or Titleist AVX if you wanted to be a bit rogue and go for an over looked ball 💪🏻😊
As a rule of thumb, they correlate 😊 so the slower the swing speed, the lower compression needed 😊 for a 90mph driver swing, you should aim for a ball between 75-85 compression for the best results. There’s a lot more to it than that as well though. Like; budget, how the ball feels to you, green side control etc. But I’ve got a feeling you’ll get on well with one of those 3 balls 💪🏻
63 years old but not feeling it here.. using the yellow q star tour and killing it...scoring lower. amazing trajectory and distance off the tee great with mid irons approach shots and greenside manners are executed without one iota of fear... so nice just picked up 5 dozen.. no biggie I'm all in... its my ball
Compression is very much a guideline 😊 if you find a ball that works for you… stick with it 💪🏻 Srixon make a lot of great golf balls and the price of them is unreal!! I play the Z-Star XV as a rule 🏌️♂️
I've been using the XVs for the past 3 years. Can't beat the 2 for 1 Father's Day deals on this premium ball. Good to see it holds up. It would have been nice to see the standard deviations. Titleist tote themselves as being the most consistent performing ball.
I think that’s one start I should have included to be honest. I’ll try to include it going forward 😊 I do find that the XV does always test well but also performs well on the course 😊
You’re not alone! So many don’t even know about it! To be fair, half of the dashboard is in beta, so you’ll see a lot of changes if you use it regularly. A little clunky to use sometimes… but some great info on there above and beyond the app! 😊🏌️♂️
Yeah you’re not wrong! Know how far you hit the ball and how far you have to your target shaves strokes so quickly! 🙌🏻 I was really surprised about how useful the rest of the features in the app were as well 😊
@@TKGolfYT got an email about a free trial and skillest lesson free (was junk literally 2 mins value of £100) they are very similar but arccos is a better desgoned app
Very useful data but hows about the best ball for seniors who can’t swing driver at 104mph, my swing speed is a miserable 82 but at 76yrs young it ain’t gonna increase. Laying up on par fours is normal for us oldies so we tend to be useful with a wedge, therefore stopping power is a major concern. Our idea ball would be long off the tee but high spinning around the greens.
I uploaded a video to my channel after this one discussing golf ball compression which covers this point 😊 very similar test with various balls at various speeds 😊
Nice review, I'm not good enough for a handicap yet, only been playing a few months, but im trying to practice more regularly. This would definitely help me and my mates!
Great review, I was also a little disappointed to see how easy the ball went through the net. Hopefully that is something they can fix by using heavier netting. 12 handicap and I practice once a week or so.
