new ball soon to hit market?

[goatster]

the other day i was at the GC and one of the owners was telling me of a new Titleist ball he picked up in Fla.

its a Titleist GZ has anyone else heard of these?

he said they will run around $24-$25.he said they have about 25 dozen coming in.

[warbirdlover]

I found this review...


I tried the Titleist GranZ today. I am currently around a 12 hcp, but I have been as low as a 7. My typical drive is 275 and my 7 iron distance is 170.

These balls are getting some buzz right now, as being lauded as the "Japanese Prov1" since these were sold overseas. I have been told that these are really the equivilent of the SoLo. They are being sold on ebay and many Golfsmith stores in their bulk "Logo Overrun" bins for $14.99.

My friends, don't be fooled, these aren't a ProV1, not even close.


Appearance:

They are one of the best looking balls out there. They have 330 dimples, much like the ProV1X which has 332. They have a gold number and on the side of the ball is a Large GZ in the same gold with tiny black letters that spell the "ran" between the "GZ". On the opposite side of the ball is a very cool alignment aid that looks like a cross with a circle. This is strategically aligned along the equator, like "ProV1-392" is along the equator of a Prov1.

Feel

They are a nice feeling ball, they feel harder than a prov1, but they are not harsh.

Distance

They were long and had a high ball flight. They definitely had lower spin and were comparably about a club length longer off the irons than most balls I have played.

Spin

Off the driver spin is low and launch is high. They are like other distance balls that they tend to not make bad shots worse shots. They reduce sidespin on mis-hits like other distance balls do which is good.

From the wedges, this was what I was afraid of. These balls have little spin on greenside and short approach shots. I am good at getting balls on shorter pitches to stop dead. These would release and run. I hit a short wedge shot hard enough to put a dime sized scuff on a brand new one and it just wouldn't stop. If you are a "bump and run" player, these ball are tremendous, but if you are a spin player who throws the ball to the hole, these are not for you.


Durability

After 7 holes of play the ball didn't appear to have been used. These balls definitely hold up the Titleist heritage of "Iron like" durability.


Putting

They putt nicely and the alignment mark is a big plus. If no one else in your group are playing these, the alignment mark is your personal identification, with no other mark needed. The "cross with circle" looks like something "King Arthur" would put on a ball, very cool.


If you are a "bump and run" player I cannot say a bad word against these balls. If you are a spin player, these are not for you, they simply will not spin. I have Vokey C2 wedges with maximum width and depth grooves and I have a steep angle of attack, and could hardly stop these. I left dime sized white marks on the face of the club and and they wouldn't stop. The only way I could stop these balls was with trajectory. I am used to playing the premium balls and as soon as I switched back to a Srixon ZURS, my greenside chips were stopping dead again.

For $14.99 they are a nice ball, but the Top Flite Strata TL-Tours being closed out at Golfsmith for $11.99 are far superior for any player who demands spin.


Thanks for reading, I just don't want my FGI friends to be sucked into the propaganda that these balls are anywhere near the premium balls out there.

[sandwedge]

WBL, thanks for finding the review. I have seen these in the logo overrun bins at the local Golfsmith but was reluctant to try.

[ezra76]

They've been found all over now, the "Gran Z". I read they are more like an NXT and a 2 piece ball. They are not new, just new to the US and Canada. Tourspecgolf has had them for a while, like a year or two, for some ridiculous price. Some kid on a another forum paid like $25 a dozen or something, thought he was getting some great deal and bought a bunch, only to be told they were pretty mediocre. He was kicking himself.

[LyleG]

I believe they are the Japanese version of the NXT tour.

I will ask the titty rep when I see him tomorrow.

[APowell1990]

yeah my dad's friend bought some when he went back home to Florida, but he said that they can't sell them over here anymore for some reason? Is that true?

[goatster]

i figured with the price range they would be about like the NXT`s.

thanks for digging up the review WBL.

id heard they were like Jap. Pro V`s.but the price range suggested NXT`s to me.the alignment mark is highly visible and looks very easy to line up.

so if i get some free i might try them but other wise i will just work on using up the 7 or 8 dz. (prov`s, nike ones,hx tours,hx tour 56`s and hx hots)i already have.

[fore142]

i played some, dont spin all that well, about like the nxt.

[cypressperch]

yet to try is what I think they are calling a Maxfli Red Hot. It is a three piece ball attempting to do what ProVl's do but at less than half the price (I have heard about $22 per dozen.). I use to love Maxfli golf balls back in the 50's and 60's. Hit one of those with a PowerBilt Citation driver and you had one of the most solid feelings imaginable. The Black Max is not a bad ball since you can find them for $25 a dozen or so. But it is hard to beat a ProV1. I got two dozen of the old ones recently for $33 per dozen. Went back to get some more, but they were all sold.

Cypressperch

[LyleG]

cypress

Have you tried the new seamless pro-v1's?

Did you like them?

I played with one yesterday and think it was a real step back from the previous model. The older prov1x is still my second favorite to the HX tour.

[SiberianDVM]

Thread hijack: I have 3 dozen of the 2006 ProV1 (brand new in box) for sale in the classified section. Going to eBay tomorrow unless somebody jumps on them.