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Snell Golf MTB-X Review: The Story Has Not Changed – The Same Performance for Less $$$

snell golf my tour ball review

Snell Golf launched back in 2015 offering premium golf balls at direct-to-consumer prices. At first, it seemed like a long shot business plan for Dean Snell, the man who helped develop the original Titleist Pro V1. Trying to compete for golfers’ attention in the golf ball market is very challenging. Companies like Titleist, Callaway, Bridgestone, and TaylorMade have significantly larger budgets to pay for commercials, tour sponsorships, and retail space. It’s a real David vs. Goliath battle.

Fast forward four years later, and the small golf ball manufacturer based out of Massachusetts is thriving. Thousands of golfers like myself have gotten tired of spending upwards of $50/dozen for a premium ball, and when they realized they could get the same performance for significantly less, they started to switch. The growth of the direct-to-consumer golf ball market seems to accelerate every year. You can say the cat is officially out of the bag.

A few weeks ago I was sitting in the clubhouse at my course getting ready for an early morning round. A golfer sat down next to me with a box of Snell Balls. I asked him how he heard about the brand, and he shrugged “a friend of mine was using them and told me about them.” I’ve gotten similar responses from other golfers who I’ve noticed using the balls over the last couple of years. Once golfers try them out, they usually can’t see any difference, but they like the cost savings. Unless they have true brand loyalty, the switch seems to make sense.

What’s New in 2019

I initially tried the first version of the Snell Tour ball back in 2015. After testing it on launch monitors and playing multiple rounds with it, I could not detect any significant differences between the Titleist Pro V1, or any of the other premium tour-level balls out there. Since then, I’ve been playing the ball, and I know many readers of the site have made the switch too (I often get emails thanking me for the cost savings).

Last year they refined their offerings to the original Tour Ball (MTB Black) and offered a higher-spinning model (MTB Red).

This year they are sticking with the MTB Black but made some changes from the MTB Red based on feedback they received from golfers. Many players felt that the MTB Red spun too much, causing some issues in wind conditions. There were also some comments about limiting driver distance compared to the Black model. When I initially tested the MTB Red, I found significantly more spin on wedge shots, which is why I stuck with the MTB Black model.

snell golf mtb-x review

The new model is called MTB-X. It’s a three-piece design that will still offer a little more spin than the MTB Black, but not as extreme as last year’s release. It’s comparable to models like the Titleist Pro V1x, Taylor Made TP5x, and Callaway Chrome Soft X.

snell mtb-x review

There’s now some more color in the line. The MTB Black, MTB-X, and the Get Sum models are all available in optic yellow. This is a trend occurring with many other manufacturers because some golfers seem to prefer the contrast of yellow. Snell is currently back ordered on some of the yellow models because the launch was so popular.

snell mtb-x review

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, Snell has revised its pricing structure. In the past, they only offered two tiers of pricing, which were for a dozen balls or the Value Packs (6-dozen).

MTB-X Review
Snell’s new tiered pricing structure on their MTB Balls

You’ll now see discounts starting at two dozen and the value packs are only five dozen (they range from $32.99 down to $27.99). Compared to the other premium balls out there, that equates to roughly a 30-40% savings.

Testing the New MTB-X

I wanted to see how the new MTB-X ball performed, so I put them to the test.

I took the MTB Black, MTB-X, Titleist Pro V1, and Titleist Pro V1x on my launch monitor. As usual, I’m not out to prove that one ball is necessarily better than the other. I’m looking for relative performance – I always encourage golfers to test balls before they pick one because there might be differences based on your swing characteristics.

snell mtb-x review

On the whole, I saw the most differences in my short iron performance. The Snell MTB Black and Titleist Pro V1 had very similar results, and the higher spinning models of each ball matched up reasonably well. When I got to mid-irons and even my driver, I saw almost no differences between any of the balls. I’ve done a lot of ball testing over the last few years and have seen a similar pattern occur between premium golf balls. They do an excellent job of spinning plenty when you need them to with short irons and then having a low spin on your longer clubs and driver to help with distance.

Here are some numbers from my Sand Wedge. Based on what I saw, I would say that Snell did what they said they were going to do, which was reduce the total spin on the MTB-X versus the MTB Red (when I tested last year there were more than 700 rpms of difference).

Club - SWBall Speed (mph)Total Spin (rpm)Launch Angle (degrees)Carry YardsTotal Yards
Snell MTB Black85781529.7104107
Titleist Pro V185779229.2103106
Snell MTB-X85822229.1102104
Titleist Pro V1x86805429.5103105

With the driver, I did not see any significant differences in the balls outside of minor deviations in my swing. It’s also worth noting that I saw no changes in performance with the yellow balls on any club.

Club - DriverBall Speed (mph)Total Spin (rpm)Launch Angle (degrees)Carry YardsTotal Yards
Snell MTB Black151.2202415253278
Titleist Pro V1150.7205714.8250275
Snell MTB-X151.2201915.1255281
Titleist Pro V1x151206815.2254279

This is now the third time I’ve tested a Snell release against Titleist, and once again I do not see any significant differences between the balls. However, one costs $47.99 per dozen, and you can get the other for as low as $27.99.

Similar Performance For Less Money

The story has not changed with Snell Golf. Their whole model is to offer quality golf balls at lower prices. By taking out the middle man and keeping their marketing spend lower they can do that. Every time you see a commercial with Rickie Fowler and the TaylorMade TP5 ball, or Tiger and Bryson talking about Bridgestone balls, you are indirectly paying for it by the increased cost of the ball.

I’ve tested a lot of products since I started this site. Sometimes you have to pay more to get better quality, but in this instance, you don’t. I’m confident that if you tried any of their balls, you wouldn’t find any major changes in performance versus more expensive brands. I’m happy to help you all save money because golf balls are one recurring expense that we can’t avoid.

If you’re interested in testing out the balls, they do offer an MTB test pack, which can help you decide if the MTB Black or the MTB-X is more appropriate for your game. Also, they still have their Get Sum ball for as low as $14.99 per dozen if budget is more of an issue.

You can learn more about Snell Golf on their website.

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About the Author

Jon Sherman is the owner of Practical Golf, a website dedicated to being an honest resource for the everyday golfer who is looking to enjoy the game more, as well as improve. He is the author of the bestselling book 101 Mistakes All Golfers Make (and how to fix them). You can find him on Twitter here - @practicalgolf, where he is happy to chat about golf with anyone.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. FgoTim says

    April 24, 2019 at 11:43 pm

    Would have been interesting to test the Get Sum ball against the others as well.

    Reply
    • BeerPerHole says

      March 7, 2020 at 7:22 pm

      The Get Sum is really an excellent ball. Currently in my bag I have ProV, Snell MTB-X and a couple Get Sums. I never hesitate to tee up the Get Sum. I think it’s the sleeper in the industry.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Arbuckle says

    April 24, 2019 at 11:44 pm

    I found a new Snell black tour ball and played it for 2 rounds. Usually play pro V’s. After 40 holes I’m convinced. The ball had almost no wear, and played great. Shot 75. Best score in months!!!

    Reply
  3. FgoTim says

    April 24, 2019 at 11:45 pm

    I do love Snell balls and made the switch a couple years ago. Same thing…word of mouth.

    Reply
  4. Don says

    April 25, 2019 at 12:57 am

    Many at my club now play Snell hold balls for the simple reason. The cost. It does impact their game any different than the other more costly brands.

    Reply
  5. Christian says

    April 25, 2019 at 11:03 am

    Would love to give them a try, unfortunately I haven’t seen snell balls in South Africa. If it’s possible that you can mail me private it would be appreciated.

    Reply
  6. Jonathan Compton says

    May 18, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    I just purchased the MTB-X and tried it with my putter. I found contact to be crisp; not like a harder tour ball. The line was good and distance seemed consistent. I’m looking forward to seeing its performance at the tea in on the fairways. Side note: my snail delivery box included and invoice sheet with a personal handwritten note from Dean Snell thanking me for my purchase. Impressive.

    Reply
    • Jon says

      May 18, 2019 at 4:10 pm

      I have to do a better job of editing my posts. Tee instead of Tea and Snell, not 🐌

      Reply
  7. Okie says

    June 5, 2019 at 1:42 am

    Have you tested the Vice products?

    Reply
  8. Justin says

    June 14, 2019 at 2:13 pm

    I have never used one ball exclusively. I love ProV’s obviously, but they are just too expensive to trot out when I’m having a bad round and in danger of losing multiple balls. After using Snell’s for about a year, I am finally cleaning out my bag of all other balls. I have never been more consistent than over the past year. Driver, irons, chipping, putting……everything is more consistent. I hardly practice, so I have to give the credit to the ball, haha. $140 for 5 dozen is remarkable for this level of quality golf ball.

    Reply
    • Richard Lovell says

      July 5, 2019 at 11:17 pm

      Get fitted for your clubs if you want to have an even more dramatic improvement to your game. I was an 11-12 about 3 months ago and got fitted in May. I am now an 8.5 and I credit this primarily to tighter dispersion, distance off the tee and consistent irons, not to mention a putter for for me and yes, I play the Snell X.

      Reply
  9. Ray M says

    July 1, 2019 at 8:31 pm

    I recently purchased the text pack and fell in love with the MTB X. It performs way better than the ball I was playing(Tour Soft). I always stayed away from the premium balls due to price and being told about “compression”. The stopping power on the green is what amazed me about playing a tour level ball. Great article and site.

    Reply
  10. jesus martinez says

    July 29, 2020 at 3:12 am

    I live in Iowa and i would like to know if there is a retailer near me, live in muscatine.

    Reply
  11. nfgolf says

    October 8, 2020 at 4:55 am

    I started playing MTB-X Optic yellow a year ago. I love the feel when putting, distance is as good as any premium ball and the spin on mid and short iron approach shots is spot on. My only negative critique is durability. I find that the ball scuffs much easier than the ProV1. Not sure if this is an issue with the white MTB-X, but I definitely notice a difference compared ProV1 and other premium balls. I’d love to hear if anyone else feels the same.

    Reply
  12. Jeff N says

    August 29, 2021 at 11:44 pm

    Fast forward 2021. I have done a dozen demo of each and agree the ball is every bit the premium ball for less though the discount has shrunk versus the premium ball. I will say there is one issue that I have had and that is the print of the putting line is not consistently in the center of the seam. I have pointed out to the company and they have not responded. At this price point, they should get this consistently correct.

    Reply
  13. Alan says

    September 28, 2021 at 2:37 am

    Which Snell balls match up with which PROVI, PROVIX?
    I’d like to try the Snell balls and play PROVIX currently. Make sense?

    Reply

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