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We're having  very nice weather these days in Chiba. After typhoon number 15 cleared across Japan and swept away the humidity and moisture, days are much cooler now and great for golf.  I headed out yesterday to Nouvelle Golf Club which is a very convenient 5 minutes away.  I decided to bring 4 different golf balls with me which I would play 3 holes each with to get a bit of a head to head impression of how they play. Along with the ride came the Tourstage X-jD, New Super Newing, Mizuno MP-8 and the Kasco Kira Soft & Distant in Lime Green. Conditions were about 23C and reasonably windy with swirling winds around 4 to 5m/s.

New Super Newing

I  just made a blog post about the New Super Newing as you can see right before this post. It has a tough act to follow in replacing the Newing Brill which has been my gamer all year. I have to say distance is as good if not better and the strongest point is the ball feels fabulous off ALL clubs.  It shoots off the driver and woods and compresses nicely with irons and wedges. With the putter, dare I say its almost too soft.  The wind played a big factor today especially teeing off so the Super Newing as well as the other balls were certainly put to an aerodynamic test.  Against a very strong headwind on the first hole, I hit the driver as I always do and did not try and create a lower trajectory or de-loft the club in anyway. Even with the strong wind, carry was affected only slightly but the key here is it hit the ground running and I must have gained 20 yards of run and that's even with the wind. On the next hole the wind was behind us so I could not resist teeing it up a bit higher and launching one.

Let me say the Super Newing is a wind surfer... it knows how to ride the wind. The ball has lift and on the 2nd hole 548 par 5, I received a much needed 250+ yard drive well above my average of 225-235 and well on the way to a nice 3 on. I like this ball a lot and highly recommend it especially for those players 100 mph and under who are looking for added distance. It is average when it comes to approach spin but afterall the strength of this ball is not the rpm it can produce but the yardage it can cover.

Tourstage X-jD

I also introduced this ball earlier on the blog and described it as the distance ball for the pro and better player. For an average golfer or slower swinging player there is always a concern when playing a tour labeled ball that one cannot generate enough swing speed to properly compress the ball and take advantage of its design characteristics. Unlike many tour balls out there, the X-jD has a relatively manageable compression rating of 86.  This is actually a ball I very much look forward to playing as I loved the previous X-01 B+ which was an all around ball very much like this one.

The X-jD feels almost as good as the Super Newing. It's pretty soft and has crisp feedback off the face of woods and utilities. While distance doesn't quite match the Super Newing it is still very good with a slightly lower trajectory than the Super Newing which just climbs and keeps going. It doesn't spin quite as low it seems as the SN but where it does shine is with irons and wedges. The X-jD had noticeably better spin characteristics around the greens vs the average spin of the SN.  Stopping power is quite a bit better on full wedge shots and still better on even half and 3/4  swings. Off the putter, the X-jD is soft but not as soft as the SN which may be a good thing as there is a bit more feedback from its slightly crisper impact.  If the SN is a pure distance ball made for average golfers, the X-jD may be the balanced ball for everyone even though it is labeled a tour ball.

Mizuno MP-8

I haven't officially introduced the Mizuno MP-8 ball yet here on TSG but it was one of 10 balls I received for testing and I decided to bring this along with me yesterday based on my past experiences with the Mizuno Tour 352s ball. The new MP-8 is a premium 4 piece ball designed for mid trajectory and soft feel with both increased carry and increased spin.  Unlike many balls today which are going with larger dimples and less dimples the MP-8 features a 366 variably sized dimple pattern.  There are currently two balls in the MP lineup, this MP-8 aimed at golfers 90mph and up and the MP-8x aimed at golfers approximately 100mph and up. Mizuno is the ball brand that doesn't use the typical round or ball core. Their balls usually use a what they dub a cross core which is designed to control spin and distance.

Playing this ball in the wind at Nouvelle had its advantages as the mid trajectory provided stability and good run. The core of the MP-8 is designed for a swinger of my speeds and the ball felt soft and responsive will all clubs. It was not the longest ball (Super Newing), nor was it the best spinning (X-jD), but for the 90mph player it may have very well been the best balanced ball. Feel off the putter is soft, right in between the SN and X-jD. For average swing speed players wanting a more mid trajectory ball and with balanced performance the MP-8 is certainly worth considering.

Kasco Kira Soft and Distant

I've always loved Kasco balls especially their colored ones. Come to think of it, I've never ever played a white Kasco ball though white Kasco models certainly exist. Kasco golf balls afterall are best know for color first followed by performance. That is not to say that performance is sub par, its just that everyone seems to notice the color first and foremost. The Kira Soft & Distant is a  very soft, 3 piece, high launch max carry type ball that produces average spin around the greens. It's aimed at the average golfer with a swing speed between 80 to 100mph.

The term "kira kira" in Japanese means shiny or glittery and that is how the Kira line has always been thanks to a special fluorescent coating used in their balls that diffuses light when reacting to ultraviolet rays of the sun. Kira balls also possess some of the unique technologies used in Kasco's balls. Kasco has worked on implementing nano technology in their balls and in the case of the Kira a unique silicone molecule which provides a high degree of flex and rebound all this while providing a soft feel that Kasco is known for. This is what also produces great distance off the tee. The Kira S&D has very good feel, it is indeed very soft and it launches high and carries far and you can clearly see doing so. Like the ruby red Klenot I reviewed before, when you launch a Kira into the sky its hard to lose sight of it as it glows in the sunlight.  I've never thought much about its spin around the greens (which means its probably pretty average) however I enjoy playing it as it feels good and is rather long off the tee and easy to find if you aren't hitting it straight on certain days.  One cool thing is that Kasco is currently raising funds for the earthquake victims in Japan with their special "Smile for Japan" Kira edition. It's a sleeve of 3 +1, so 4 balls in all 4 colors, yellow, pink, orange and my favorite and easiest to see in my opinion lime.  For every sleeve purchased, Kasco makes a donation.

As always there are many great balls to choose from in Japan. The pros are that they are for the most part very high quality and high performing usually with very good feel. The cons are that they are not cheap to buy and even worse, shipping them overseas makes them more expensive than they already are. If you want high performance, great feel and a something unique plus you don't lose balls regularly, any of these four JDM balls above will make many a golfer happy. The X-jD is already in the pro shop, looks soon for the New Super Newing, Mizuno MP-8 and MP-8x and Kira Smile for Japan sleeves to be added.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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TourStage is releasing a new ball designed for the average golfer who is in pursuit of longer distance and a good feeling cover.  X-JD stands for  " Tee up the Joker for immeasurable Distance"

The X-jD focuses on three major elements that determine distance for the optimal angular spin tempo.  The inner cover is produced with a new RC ( Reverse Control) highly resilient ionomer material which resists the natural back spin of the ball to lower the spin rate  for a straighter and more powerful launching trajectory.

This inner cover is 30% thinner compared to the X-01 Mild.  They also increased the size of the NeoG core.  It's 326 dimple seamless design and outer durable urethane cover produces a high rebound shot that feels powerful at impact.  It's compression is 86 and it's produced 100% in Japan.  Available in White, Yellow, and Orange. Scheduled to release at the End of April.  Keep a look out for it in the TourSpecGolf ProShop.

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Today while at Katsuura Golf Resort in Chiba, they had the new Kasco Klenot golf balls for testing. Kasco is one of Japan's unheralded brands especially when it comes to balls. The thing is they make very good golf balls for all types of players. They have especially excelled in color golf balls where their Kira line of balls has been touted as having better visibility than any other color balls on the golf course. The term "kira kira" in Japanese means shiny or glittery and that is how the Kira line has always been thanks to a special fluorescent coating used in their balls that diffuses light when reacting to ultraviolet rays of the sun. Besides looking radiant on the golf cours, Kira balls also possess some of the unique technologies used in Kasco's balls. Kasco has worked on implementing nano technology in their balls and in the case of the Kira a unique silicone molecule which provides a high degree of flex and rebound all this while providing a soft feel that Kasco is known for.

I've played Kira balls in the past and liked them a lot though last year I primarily gamed the Gran Z Premium Blue and Super Newing Brill. However today when I saw the new ruby red Kasco Klenot ball I just had to give it a shot out on the browned and worn winter fairways (I usually play color balls this time of year and have JDM TM XD Yellow in the bag now). I have never seen a ball this red, and all the other players walking by also gasped at its sight. I The new Klenot features similar technologies as the Kira for its outer color cover but inside its entirely new. The premium 4 piece Klenot is BOTH a distance ball and a spin ball.  It achieves this by utilizing two cores that activate depending on how the ball is struck and how energy is transferred through its two outer cores. Because of Klenot's low spin off the driver and high spin during approach, it is made for all swing speeds from ladies all the way up to 115mph. Kasco rates it as a high trajectory, soft feel ball, which feels great off any club, whether it be woods, irons, wedges or the putter.

The color of the Klenot, especially the ruby red really blew me away. I tried to capture pictures of how fiery red the ball is but it was so bright the only way I could do so was to turn the exposure way down as you can see in the image at the top of this post. I have to admit when I first received two sleeves, the Ruby color and the Opal color which is a bluish white, I had no ideas about any of the specs or that it was a 4 piece ball. I just got the balls and went out and played.  Off the tee the ball was superb, as long and as low spin as the Brill which is probably the leading distance ball in Japan. It did not balloon and carried well with very good run. Best of all it was impossible to lose sight of the ball in flight no matter what direction the sun was in.  It was like a little fireball in the sky which you could easily follow and easily spot after landing and stopping.  My playing partners were very freaked out by the color and I have to say it was quite fun. The distance off the tee was an added bonus. (^_^) One thing players may not like is that this ball can be distracting. At address its like burning in your eyes, which can also be a good thing as you can certainly see it clearly when you are trying to strike it.

With irons and wedges the ball still remained soft but spun well especially compared to my TM XD's which are a pure distance ball (and only 2 piece).  Off the putter the Klenot is very soft. In my bag pocket and indoors where there is no ultraviolet interaction with the ball, it looks simply like a shiny red ball. Outdoors is where it glows and where the name ruby becomes appropriate. See again I am talking about its looks. I never really reviewed a ball before but the looks of this one just blew me away. I got home and immediately contacted our Kasco rep as I wanted to check on cost and availability. The Klenot launches on the 13th of this month but because Kasco has been doing promotions all around Japan for the ball, demand is already through the roof. I'll find out in the next few days if we can get some boxes to add to the TSG pro shop.

Pros: Color, soft feel, low spin off the tee, high spin approach shots, did not scuff (but I did only play it for a round so durability is still questionable).

Cons: Color, price (as with any Japanese market premium ball) 95.00 per box of 12 balls

EDIT: Feb 7th, I just got an email from blog reader Brono from Slovakia that the word "klenot" in Slovakian means jewel or gem. Makes sense doesn't it! Thanks Brono!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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We all care so much about the clubs that hit that little white ball into a cup on a green all the way down at the end of each hole. Sometimes that little white ball gets neglected. Obviously playing the right golf ball is important but how important is it? Some times I hear players say they get whatever balls are on sale, or they picked up a bunch of lost balls over the years and play those, but how do those balls fit the player? Balls to some extent are like clubs and designed for certain levels and styles of players. We carry a lot of different Japanese spec balls here at Tourspecgolf.com and many times players just don't know what to choose.

Golf Today recently released a survey they did on amateur golfers and their choice of golf balls. They headed over and spent a day interview golfers at Accordia Golf Garden here in Chiba and got data from 100 amateur golfers about their golf ball preferences. They also had several amateurs take part in some ball tests with launch monitors and several of the newest models in Japan. The test is rather extensive with lots of data so I'll try and share what I found to be the most interesting information.

This time around I won't make fancy charts like I did with the driver white paper as I'm a bit short on time. They first asked the 100 golfers about their level of play.

Golfer background and experience

How long have you been playing golf?
Less than a year: 4%
1 - 5 years: 20%
5 - 10 years: 26%
10 - 20 years: 34%
20-30 years: 10%
More than 30 years: 6%

What is your average score?
79 or better: 4%
89 and below: 45%
99 and below: 29%
109 and below: 9%
119 and below: 7%
120 or higher: 6%

The largest segment of golfers have been playing 10-20 years at 34% and if you add in 5-20 years the total would be 60% or 60 people since there were 100 players surveyed. As for average score 78% or 78 players all averaged under 99 with the majority falling very close into the average golfer and mid capper/improving golfer segment.

Golfer buying patterns...

Is there a specific model of golf ball you buy?
Yes: 74%
No: 26%

This I think was very reflective of the Japanese golfing market. Japanese golfers will be very loyal to a certain brand and model, many times regardless of cost and sometimes even if its not the right ball. 26% said no and would buy any ball.

What is the basic reason for buying the ball you use?
Feels soft at impact: 28%
Iron and approach spin: 26%
Driver Distance: 17%
Brand reputation: 12%
Control and stability: 5%
Price: 5%
Favorite Pro is using the ball: 4%
Other: 3%

Interestingly, driver distance is only the 3rd ranking reason for choosing a certain golf ball. The feel and spin of the ball  are more important meaning these golfers probably have a good understanding that the short game, approaches and touch around the green are of most important. Plus everyone seems to love that soft feel. Another interesting note is that price, which is usually a big factor for clubs only came out at 5% or 5 golfers. This is a bit surprising considering the high costs of Japanese market golf balls; some of those premium balls can cost well over 100.00 a case of 12 balls! The next question relates to price (I have converted the yen values to USD).

How much do you usually spend on a case of 12 balls?
$24.00: 6%
$36.00: 4%
$48.00: 16%
$60.00: 30%
$72.00: 28%
$84.00: 8%
$96.00 or more: 8%

74% typically spend $48.00 to $72.00 for 12 golf balls.  That's 4.00 to $6.00 for each ball lost in the lake or woods but players are willing to pay for performance?

Can Amateur Golfers tell  the difference?

The asked 5 golfers that day to take part in a little test to see if amateur golfers could in fact tell the difference between many of the balls available today. All 5 of these golfers play the Titleist Pro V1 as their regular ball. Golf Today got 5 different model balls together and covered the brand and model of the balls.

Blue: Titleist Pro V1
Black: XXIO Super XD.
Pink: Titleist Pro V1x
Orange: Taylormade Five TP
Yellow: Srixon Z-Star X

The 5 players spent time hitting all 5 balls off the tee with their driver followed by approach shots around the greens. they were then asked to choose which ball was the Titleist Pro V1. Just a note about these 5 golfers. They ranged from one scratch golfer to one with an average score of 90. Player experience ranged from 4 to 15 years.

The results showed that players could distinguish a ball through feel and spin performance as 3 of the testers chose Blue which was in fact the Pro V1. The other 2 chose Pink which was the Pro V1x. I thought that was pretty good. So it seems like players can tell the difference after all.

On a side note, data was also provided for the respective tours:

US PGA Men's Tour:
Pro V1/V1x: 63.4%
Other: 36.7%

Japan PGA Mens Tour:
Pro V1/V1x: 38.9%
Other: 61.1%

Average Golfer + Pro Model Ball = ?

For the next test they took 4 players who were considered average golfers with average swing speeds and had them hit the XXIO Super .XD which is a distance ball vs the Srixon Z-Star XV which is pro model ball with a focus on spin control. Below are the average results of the test using their own drivers.

AVERAGE OF 4 PLAYERS:

Distance
Z-Star XV: 235.2 yards
Super XD: 238.3 yards

Back Spin
Z-Star XV: 3648 rpm
Super XD: 3109 rpm

Launch Angle
Z-Star XV: 15.8*
Super XD: 16.8*

Ball Speeds
Z-Star XV: 136.68 mph
Super XD: 138.25 mph

Average swing speed:
Z-Star XV: 95.96 mph
Super XD: 95.30 mph

As you can see from the above results, even though the average swing speed was lower, the 4 amateur/average golfers had better results with the distance ball. To give a reference point on how the balls should actually perform, Golf Today also used a robot hitting machine which of course would always strike the ball dead center on the sweet spot to see what the optimal performance of each ball should be. I was actually surprised though that they set the robot swing speed at 40m/s or 89.5mph which gives a distinct advantage to the XXIO ball which is optimized for slower swing speeds. The design of the XV benefits the faster swing speeds ie over 10omph which bring out the best in that ball. Nevertheless, as you can see from the numbers below, when optimally struck right in the sweet spot like most pros would, the Pro Model Z-Star XV outperforms the distance ball and this is especially thanks to the higher ball speeds:

AVERAGE OF HITTING ROBOT:

Distance
Z-Star XV: 213.5 yards
Super XD: 210.0 yards

Back Spin
Z-Star XV: 3191 rpm
Super XD: 2861 rpm

Launch Angle
Z-Star XV: 12.9*
Super XD: 13.4*

Ball Speeds
Z-Star XV: 132.88mph
Super XD: 131.31 mph

Average swing speed:
Z-Star XV: 89.5 mph
Super XD: 89.5 mph

A lot of talk and emphasis is always placed on low spin but what it comes down to is optimal spin. You need that right amount of spin from a ball to get proper lift and carry but also run. At the same time you don't want a ball that spins too high and balloons or worsens your bad shot off the tee. The concept for many of these average golfer distance balls are that they will spin low enough to help distance but also that the target audience can't necessarily create enough spin with irons and approach shots any way so these distance balls naturally spin less around the greens. Is there such thing as a perfect ball or the longest ball or the best spinning ball? Probably not. So many factors come into play including the clubs used the players swing style and speed and even the conditions on a course. These tests are just to give a general idea of some of the trends and differences when it comes to golf balls. And yes there are definitely differences.

In part 2, I'll look more at wedge and iron spin and performance around the greens and also look at an interesting test comparing new model balls to previous year model balls to see if there truly is a benefit with design changes and new technology.

In the meantime, what do you guys think of golf balls and what are your purchase trends? Take these Golf to Impress polls to find out.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Recent reports show Japanese golf superstar Ryo Ishikawa using a new ball set to release from Srixon Golf in just several weeks The Z-STAR XV. Ryo is not sponsored by Srixon and was able to choose from virtually any ball in the world from U.S domestic balls like the Titleist Pro V1 to high end Japanese balls from brands like TourStage and XXIO.

Ryo Ishikawa was seen using 4 different types of balls including the prototype version of the Z-Star XV, The TourStage  B+ series, Titleist ProV1X and the Callaway Tour IX however the winning ball was the Z-Star XV.

The new XV features slightly larger dimples and a thin 0.3mm cover which is usually reserved for fast swingers with a quick tempo. In March the Z-Star will complete its retail R&A registration and become available shortly after.

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( New Callaway 2010 Ball ) 

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Titleist Chritmas Ball Campaign

Titleist is offering a new incentive to purchase their golf balls over the Holiday season this year.  It's the Titleist golf ball christmas campaign,  Titleist is offering customers the free Christmas box. I'm  not sure how many of you will get excited over the box your golf balls come in having a festive design on it but Titleist is marketing it as a free benifit to the consumer.  Starting in December you can also get FREE your name printed on the golf ball.

The personalisation can be anything from an individual's initials, a nickname or even a special Christmas message*. The personalisation is printed single-pole on three lines with a maximum of 17 characters per line and is available in a choice of four colour inks - Black, Blue, Red or Green. In addition to the free personalisation, Titleist will also include a complimentary Titleist ball marker with every pack. Furthermore, each order will also be packaged in a specially designed Christmas wrap to give it that added festive touch.

In the Japanese market Titleist Japan will be creating a limited edition special bag the Titleist "Kawaii" ( cute )  Bag. No Pic's yet but the word cute has got me a bit scared.

The balls that are a part of the promotional event are the Pro V1 series (Pro V1, V1x),  Gran Z Series (Premium White, Premium Gold Pearl, Blue Pearl Premium),  NXT series (NXT Tour, NXT Extreme),  DT Carry,  HVC Series ( Soft Feel HVC, HVC Soft Distance).