Equipment
Why you should always use the same ball
When it comes to testing equipment and playing golf, there is one piece of absolutely essential gear—the golf ball.
You use it on every shot, and it has the ability to change how the rest of your equipment performs and feels. As far as testing is concerned, the ball is one of the easiest things to experiment with, but it also leaves many golfers often switching back and forth between brands and models, which is never a good thing for consistency. This is why regardless of the brand or the style of ball you choose to play, you should use the same one every time for the best opportunity to shoot your lowest scores.
Eliminating variables
Even though most manufacturers have lines of golf balls that closely mirror performance characteristics, there are going to be one or two options within the spectrum that will perform their best for you. Kind of in the way shoe manufacturers all reference the same sizes but how they fit depending you your feet can be vary greatly.
Beyond just the performance, because of the nature of golf ball design and materials used, there will also be a substantial acoustic difference, which depending on the golfer, will have a big impact especially in the short game, which is where more than 75 percent or your shots are taken.
The factors a ball will affect the most
- Short game feel
- Spin in all facets of your game
- Carry distance
- The amount of check and releasing on chips and pitches
- Directional misses right and left caused by increasing or reducing spin on full swing shots
How to decide
There are a lot of factors when it comes to choosing the right ball for you, and most golfers would see the biggest improvement in their game if they started by comparing short game performance and then slowly evaluating shots further away from the green.
Most golf balls are going to show similar numbers with the driver unless you are looking to optimize a particular ball flight. For example, in the Titleist line, there is a noticeable difference between the apexes of the Pro V1x, Pro V1, and the newest AVX ball, which launches and spins the lowest of the three.
A premium urethane cover ball is always going to offer the greatest amount of control, but depending on the factors most important to you as an individual golfer, you might find the greatest success in a different category. If you prefer to see short game shots roll out more to your target instead of stopping quickly, an ionomer or surlyn cover ball could be the best choice.
Regardless of the ball you choose to use, sticking with the same one over time is going to help provide greater consistency to your game. I’ve heard too many stories of golfers used to using a two-piece switch to a premium urethane ball for a “big event” or important round and suddenly struggle with distance control on putts and short games shots because of the softer feel and increased spin—resulting in approaches coming up well short of the target.
This is just one example of why, regardless of your preference, you should find one that’s comfortable for you and stick with it.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Alfredo
Sep 6, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Great article and I could not agree more. I have been playing Bridgestone/Precept for over 25 years and just can not find a better ball. I have tried numerous ‘other balls’ but they just don’t cut the mustard. Recently it has been revealed that the Nike ball Tiger was playing was a Precept/Bridgestone ball, oh my!
Rich
Sep 6, 2020 at 12:45 am
Don’t scrimp on the ball. Even if you lose a sleeve per round, you only save a few bucks by purchasing bargain golf balls, and you sacrifice a tremendous amount of performance.
These days, the top quality balls travel just as far as “distance” balls. The only differences are the cost (minor) and their performance around the greens (major).
But if you must save money, buy a tour ball from a company like Snell, who can give you tour performance at a much lower price–about the same as you’d pay for other companies’ 2nd-tier balls.
I play the Snell. If I thought for a moment that the full-priced ProV1 provided even a slim advantage over the Snell, I’d gladly pay the premium. Again, if you lose a sleeve per round, it only comes to about 7 bucks difference. Given all the other costs of playing golf, it is a small difference. (And no, I don’t lose 3 balls per round!)
Speedy
Sep 4, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Ball sense and otherwise.
Unless you’re a pro, world-class amateur, or other choosing to partake of official butt-tightening competition.
1. Play good condition balls you find, not caring about their normal price categories.
2. When buying new, low-price or mid-price on sale. Never premium, unless they’re 2fers.
3. Switch whenever you want.
4. Have fun in all climates.
Fredo
Sep 4, 2020 at 7:58 pm
Get your scratched up Nxt tour, velocity ole hex diablo found in the rough. Cheap self.
“This volik sure is pretty bright doesn’t stick on chip shots but it sure is pretty bright”
Ole this top flight gamer v2 is pretty solid ole pinnacle goes a mile cause it’s hard as rocks miejer clearance section opinion outta here