Ball Lab: Maxfli Tour (2023)

MyGolfSpy Ball Lab is where we quantify the quality and consistency of golf balls. Today, we’re reviewing the 2023 Maxfli Tour. To learn more about our test process, click here.

About the Maxfli Tour

The Maxfli Tour now is one of three urethane-covered golf balls in the DICK’s Sporting Goods house brand Maxfli lineup. You could say it between the softer Tour S and the firmer four-piece Tour X.

In recent years, it’s become a popular choice among value-conscious golfers who aren’t willing to sacrifice performance. With a retail price of $39.99, it’s not quite the value it once was but it’s worth pointing out that DICK’S (and Golf Galaxy) frequently run specials and bulk promotions.

Maxfli Tour Construction

With the 2023 version, the Maxfli Tour remains a three-piece ball with a 318-dimple urethane cover. It’s the same dimple pattern found on many golf balls produced in Taiwan by Foremost.

Compression

On our gauge, the Maxfli Tour has an average compression of 85. That’s effectively the same as the previous version and about seven points softer than the 2019 model. Balls with similar compression include the Bridgestone Tour B XS and the Wilson Triad.

Relative to the market as a whole, it’s a firm ball though, for balls with legitimate Tour specs, it favors the softer side.

Compression Comparison Chart

We’ve had requests for a standalone compression comparison tool. As it turns out, that tool exists. We created it as part of our Golf Ball Compression FAQ page. At some point, we may merge the two charts but, for now, the plan is to include this chart in future Ball Labs.

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Diameter and Weight

All of the balls in our 2023 Maxfli Tour sample conformed to USGA rules for both diameter and weight.

Likewise, all of the balls in the sample met our standard for roundness.

Inspection

Centeredness and Concentricity

We’ve found few problems with the Maxfli Tour over the years and that continues to be the trend. While we noted some slight concentricity offsets in a couple of balls, across the entire sample, nothing was significant enough for any balls to be flagged as bad.

Core Consistency

Core color was generally consistent. While we noted a couple of instances where there were small bits of non-standard material in the core, we found no major red flags.

Cover

No notable cover defects were identified.

Maxfli Tour – Consistency

In this section, we detail the consistency of the 2023 Maxfli Tour. Our consistency metrics provide a measure of how similar the balls in our sample were to one another relative to all of the models we’ve tested to date.

Weight Consistency

Weight consistency falls within the Average range. While consistent on its own, Box 1 was a bit lighter than the others.

Diameter Consistency

Diameter consistency falls in the Good range. Box 1 was slightly smaller on average.

Compression Consistency

Compression consistency falls within the Average range. While Box 1 was slightly firmer, the compression delta across the entire sample was only 8.2 points with more than a point better than the database average.

Summary

To learn more about our test process, how we define “Bad” balls and our True Price metric, check out our About MyGolfSpy Ball Lab page.

Maxfli Tour (2023) Golf Ball Quality Summary

As we’ve come to expect from Maxfli’s urethane offerings, the 2023 Maxfli Tour offers above-average quality and no areas of concern.

The Good

Above-average diameter consistency Average quality for other metrics No bad balls in the sample Good value

The Bad

Box 1 stands out as slightly different than Boxes 2 and 3 and the only reason why the overall score doesn’t exceed 90.

The Score

The True Price for the Maxfli Tour $39.99.  That’s the same as the retail price.

At the time of testing, the 2023 Maxfli Tour receives a Ball Lab score of 82. That’s nine points better than the current database average of 73.

The takeaway is that the 2023 Maxfli Tour offers above-average quality at a below-average price.

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