Today I start a path of cold mornings, freezing temperatures, and hot chocolate as I conduct my winter golf ball testing. How much does temperature affect the numbers? I start out by going outside on a brisk 32 degree morning with ice still on the ground. Will the Wilson Duo Soft be a good choice for a winter ball, or will it be stopped cold in its tracks?
We test the pitching spin, the full wedge shots, the full 7 iron distance and spin rates, and full analysis off the tee to find out how much the ball differs in different temperatures.
Original Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRuHaIoVHA
Golf Ball Addict: https://linktr.ee/golfballaddict
00:00 Intro
02:52 50 yard Pitch
03:53 Pitching Wedge Results
05:37 7 Iron Results
07:30 Dispersion Results
08:06 Driver Results
09:44 Conclusion
37 Comments
Golf Ball Addict: https://linktr.ee/golfballaddict
I use Cut Red when it’s below 45
Another great video, NIck! 👍
When I saw cold weather in Tampa, I thought you were going to say 50.
I hope you did at least a dozen balls in the testing in cold weather to find the best ball. I never really thought about spin being an issue in the winter because in the Northwest the greens are wet and soft due to rain but I do seem to get more curvature on my driver with the Taylormade speed soft in the cold.
I played a few times around that temp this year. I didn't play very well each time. But I use high compression balls. I wonder if that had anything to do with my game. Or I just sucked.
Commenting to boost the algorithm
That hat gave me flashbacks from college. 🤢🤮😂
TP5 has been my best winter ball so far. Played 15 different models this offseason. More accurate in the cooler weather, so maybe the spin (and sidespin) is down for me. It may be worth a test if not too firm for you.
I play Golf every Winter at 35 degrees with Srixon , ProV1 , Wilson , Pinnacle or TopFlite. I loses distance with wedges 10-20 yards, with irons 20 yards and Driver 20 yards , instad of Summer with 70 degrees. On winterdays i preferred the soft golfballs
Great video, it's incredible to see the differences. I didn't think they would be so big.
I was a little disappointed with the video at first: even though the title says it's about the Wilson Duo Soft, I thought you would be testing several golf balls in winter in the video. A soft one, a medium one and a firm one, to show the differences between winter and summer.
But I assume this won't be the last video on the subject.
PS: What I enjoyed most about the video was the beanie that matched the Cabot logo in colour.
PPS: A few days ago, I trained here in the morning at -8° C / 17° F. After the sun came out, it didn't feel that cold anymore.
I just had an idea: with a kettle, a water thermometer, a rubber hot water bottle and a cool bag, you can bring a few golf balls to the desired temperature (or ensure that they don't cool down in cold weather). This allows you to directly compare golf balls at different temperatures.
Maybe you can use this idea during the test series.
Very interesting backspin difference, could they have change the cover. You can keep a few balls in a thermos full of hot water.
10% loss at that temperature isnt bad. I use the free supersofts I find when its below 50. Low 40's to high 30's usually is extra layers of clothes so not stinging is all the performance I want. December-Feb is pure bonus golf in the midwest.
You shouldn't get too many days that cold so it's gonna be hard to compare balls. I also wonder if launch monitor measures rhe same at low temps??
I used the MG Senior this week in the Mid Atlantic it still goes man! I hit one of the longest drives. I’ve ever hit on the first hole at this local course. I think I had 66 to the flag in the back of this 340 yd hole. Good review Nick
Solid review. Having lived entirely in Iowa (58 years), where it can be 20-30s golf weather (coldest I ever played was 22 degrees and felt 16) and 115-110 in summer. Due to cold we follow a couple ideas. 60-75 more normal. Below 60 to 45 is easily a club. <40 is usually two. The bounce on the ground or greens is what is really unpredictable. These temps we are just thrilled to play. Play a ball based on feel. I like Tru-feel or soft-fli myself. Courses opened when 50 earlier this week but its 10 and feels -4 now. Worse coming.
I'm in Washington state. Its 29 degrees and im getting ready to go practice approach shots at the local elementary school soccer field. I only do this on the weekends now because some Karen got mad because I bladed one into the soccer game and her kid rides the short bus now. "Dangerous blah blah now he wears a helmet yadda yadda" 🙄
Cold air is more dense than warm and hot air. I would think more dense air would add to ballooning. Cold air is good for adding lift, but bad for moving through with speed.
Imagine how bad it is when ICE is IN your house instead of just outside…..
Watch out for the "falling Iguanas" Nick! 😃 As you know I'm a Chicago native and after a lot of cold springs and freezing fall temps I've gone to the Precept Laddie as my go to "winter conditions" ball. It seems to check all the boxes for my conditions. It compresses well (enough) and maintains a lot of greenside feel especially for a 2 piece ball in the cold! I've test driven a few Bridgestone E6 that I found (we call them OPBs Other People's Balls) 😉 but the Laddie still feels and performs better. I'd be interested on your take if you try the Laddie in this experiment. FYI: If you need ice instruction I can show you how to skip it on a frozen pond and onto the green if you think that's a skill set worth acquiring! 🤣Love this
I live in northern Nevada and besides the air temperature being in the 30’s, the ground is frozen. We use a cordless drill to get a tee in the ground. I don’t change balls during the winter, but my course management changes drastically. I can see why your loss of distance is concerning in Tampa, but here the ball is going to roll a mile. Landing a ball on the green is like landing it on your kitchen table. If people using the Wilson ball are playing in my course conditions, maybe the spin is helping them stay in the fairway and not go off the back of the green.
Just out of curiosity were your golf balls left out where they would have reached the outside temperature before you started your assessment? Do think it was more the ball or the air conditions @ 32 degrees? The spin increase was very interesting to me also. Good video.
Global Warming
Interesting. I think the increase in spin is due to the "increase" in compression, if the ball is firmer, it could launch higher and spin more. We see that in normal temperature testing between S and X models.
Makes me question using the same ball in the early season. Perhaps I could go softer and gradually warm up to the X balls. I wonder if the X balls spin even extra in the cold? That would destroy the distance advantages X balls get if they spin up too much.
Great stuff, thanks for the test!
Couple of things:
1). As a winter golfer in St. Louis, I switch balls every shot. I keep several in my pocket with my hand warmer to keep the ball closer to the compression of its design.
2). One major factor in real life winter golf, is air is much denser when it's cold, which will make a ball spin more as the density of the air relating to the dimples of the ball changes the aerodynamics. Something to consider and maybe warrants a real life on-course test.
I'm guessing your launch monitor isn't factoring in for the air temp/density, so the spin may be even MORE different when you get on a golf course, hitting in dense air and watching real life ball flight.
3). Since you massively over compress this particular ball in warm weather, I'm not surprised you over compress it less off the driver.
This is maybe where an on-course test would be helpful? And maybe would provide an opportunity to show the difference between a ball played at low temperature versus switching out every shot with a ball that's been in your pocket.
Thanks, as always!
Would the true feel be a good winter ball due to its low compression
Hand warmers and a couple extra balls in your pocket and swap them out regularly… warm balls.
As a senior golfer (63 years) with graphite senior shafts, I find this ball works for me in the 40 to 50 degree weather. Driver goes 210 to 220 and I find the fairway about 60% of the time. Seven iron goes about 135 to 140. Pitching wedge goes about 90 to 100. This ball really jumps off the putter and runs on the firm winter greens. These numbers go up slightly in warmer weather using the Wilson Zip or Profile ball. Just my thoughts from north Florida.
This video actually got me to test out golf balls for myself! I’ve found the callaway super fast to be quite good in the cold and the nitro ultimate distance (i was surprised by the nitro!)
Cut Red 13$ for 24 at WM today!!!
Fun to watch for us relegated to simulators this time year. 🤙
If you put yourself up as some kind of commentator, please learn how to speak correctly first. All I hear is motor mouth rubbish.
I’d like to see the winter numbers on the Trifli. After 5 holes on a 37 degree day, I swapped from the MF Tour. The Tour wasn’t flying like normal, but the Trifli was great.
2026 model golf balls are coming out this should be a good season
Hello. Would you consider doing tests of some of the most commonly used range balls? I think that info would be pretty cool to see and compare with our regular gamers and maybe see if range results are worth agonizing over .
Do you plan on testing the new maxfli revolution?
hey nick, im a 20 HCP golfer, can be a 15 on a good day but the last couple of months have been real bad so more in the 20+ range, about 95-100 driver, based on your per handicap recommendation video, should i go with a Distance+ for $20 or should i bump up to a legato for $6 more, is the performance worth the extra $6 or does it not matte for me