MyGolfSpy Ball Lab is where we quantify the quality and consistency of the golf balls on the market to help you find the best ball for your money. Today, we’re taking a look at the Maxfli Tour from DICK’S Sporting Goods.  An overview of the equipment we use can be found here. 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.

I’m not sure if it qualifies as common knowledge but Maxfli now is a house brand of sporting goods giant DICK’S Sporting Goods. Sorry, folks. DICK’S doesn’t own the rights to the Noodle franchise.

DICK’S Maxfli Tour lineup consists of two models; the three-piece Maxfli Tour and the four-piece Maxfli Tour X. One of the differentiators, if not the selling-point, for the Maxfli Tour family is that the balls are CG (center of gravity) balanced at the factory. DICK’S has invested heavily in what is essentially an industrial-strength Check-Go-Pro device.  The process aligns the sidestamp with the golf balls’ center of gravity. While DICK’S stands behind the quality of its product, CG balancing is an extra strep that it believes makes its balls just a bit better than those of its competitors who compete at lower price points than the Titleists and Callaways of the world.

In this report, we take a closer look at the Maxfli Tour golf ball and let you know how it stacks up against other golf balls on the market. Finally, we’ll give you the True Price – how much it costs to get a dozen “good” golf balls.

About the Maxfli Tour

 

Data collected during our 2019 golf ball test shows the Maxfli Tour to be a mid-launch, mid-spin ball. It features the familiar 318-dimple cast-urethane cover common to numerous direct-to-consumer golf balls.

The Maxfli Tour is manufactured by Foremost in Taiwan, aamong the most reputable of the top-tier Asian factories. Notably, Foremost produces balls for Vice, OnCore and Wilson.

The stated price for the Maxfli Tour $34.99, though DICK’S offers discount pricing multiple times per year

Maxfli Tour – Compression

On our gauge, the average compression of the Maxfli Tour is 92. In what has become a familiar refrain, that’s similar (two compression points firmer) than the Titleist Pro V1. That qualifies the MaxFli as firm. With its thin cover, it should feel similar to other balls in the Tour-level urethane category.

Maxfli Tour – Weight and Diameter

All of the balls in our Maxfli Tour sample met our standard for roundness. None of the balls tested exceeded the USGA weight limit of 1.620 ounces.

Like most true Tour-level balls, the Maxfli Tour runs a bit on the small side (though none threatened to fail the USGA ball track test). As we’ve noted, a smaller ball is typically a longer ball so the diameter is appropriate for the category.

Maxfli Tour – Inspection

Centeredness and Concentricity

As with other three-piece balls, core issues typically manifest themselves as layer concentricity issues (the core pushes to one side, forcing the mantle to be thinner). Thin spots in covers can also be an issue.

In total, we flagged six percent of the balls in our Maxfli Tour sample as bad. The balls in question each had uneven mantle layers paired with uncomfortably thin spots in the cover. It’s a defect that can lead to inconsistent spin performance, particularly around the green.

In total, minor defects, which are unlikely to cause performance issues, were observable in 44 percent of the sample.

Core color consistency was generally excellent throughout the sample with nothing odd or otherwise noteworthy.

Cover

While we found the occasion pin mark (common to most balls), there were no other notable cover issues.

General Observations

The cover on the Maxfli Tour is familiar. The identical cover be found on several other Foremost balls. It’s neither the thinnest nor the softest in the category but it’s also neither thick nor firm. Greenside performance (65 yards and in) should meet expectations for the category.

Consistency

In this section, we detail the consistency of the Maxfli Tour. It’s 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

Consistency (of weight) across the Maxfli Tour sample is good. Weight variation between the heaviest and lightest ball in the sample was minimal.

Diameter Consistency

Diameter consistency relative to the other balls in our database is good (above average). Diameter consistency appears to be a strength of Foremost. Diameter consistency is high average to good for the majority of Foremost balls we’ve tested.

Compression Consistency

Compression consistency for the Maxfli Tour is in the middle of the average range. When we look at the consistency across the three points measured on each ball, the Maxfli Tour is slightly above average. With a range of nearly 11 compression points across our sample, there’s a bit more variation than we’d expect from a premium ball.

Maxfli Tour – Summary Report

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.

The Good

The Maxfli Tour stands out for its general consistency with both weight and diameter consistency qualifying as above average. Likewise, within only six percent of the balls flagged as bad and roughly 50 percent overall showing some defect, the quality of the ball appears in line with others in the value-priced/direct-to-consumer urethane category.

The Bad

We have some concerns about the range of compression across the sample. While 10 points isn’t extreme, it is a bit on the high side. Not directly related to our sample, we have found some evidence that occasionally Foremost can release a run of bad balls into the wild (often in a single box). We didn’t find that with the Maxfli Tour but it is something to be aware of.

True Price

The True Price of Maxfli Tour is $37.06 a dozen. At just a bit less than six percent above the standard retail price, it offers good value in the category.

The post Ball Lab: Maxfli Tour appeared first on MyGolfSpy.