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Vice Golf Balls Review: Titleist Pro V1 Performance For Less Money?

Vice Golf has become one of the leading brands in the direct-to-consumer golf ball market over the past several years. Through clever branding, they have started to capture a share of a category that has seen explosive growth. I was interested to see how their golf balls performed so I purchased their variety pack recently.

In this review, I’ll give you some data I collected on my launch monitor compared to the leading ball in the industry, the Titleist Pro V1.

Vice Golf Oozes Cool

It might seem crazy for independent golf ball manufacturers to enter the market. The odds are stacked against them with companies like Titleist that have a war chest to spend on pro contracts and marketing campaigns.

However, I have to give Vice Golf credit. Their branding is top notch. I’d even go as far to say they are one of the most innovative marketing companies in golf right now.

You’ve likely seen commercials like this one on the Golf Channel:

Everything about the brand is carefully measured and it’s starting to work. They have built a large base of loyal customers and are starting to gain notoriety in the industry based on the ball’s performance (and value).

The Value Proposition

Their proposition is similar to other direct-to-consumer brands like Snell Golf. Sell directly online, don’t spend a fortune on pro contracts, and pass those savings on to the consumer. Right now they offer five different balls, which you can get help with choosing on their ball recommendation tool.

Here is an overview:

• Vice Pro Soft – 3-piece cast urethane cover, recommended for medium clubhead speed ($34.95/dozen)
• Vice Pro – 3-piece cast urethane cover, recommended for advanced players with medium to high clubhead speed ($34.95/dozen)
• Vice Pro Plus – 4-piece cast urethane cover, recommended for advanced players with medium to high clubhead speed ($34.95/dozen)
• Vice Tour – 3-piece Surlyn cover, recommended for players of all levels ($24.95/dozen)
• Vice Drive – 2-piece Surlyn cover, recommended for players with low to medium clubhead speed ($14.95/dozen)

You can get serious price breaks if you purchase in bulk quantities, bringing the cost down to as little as $24.95/dozen for the Tour-level balls and only $10.95 for the Vice Drive.

Compared with companies like Titleist that’s a steal, a dozen Pro V1 will set you back around $48. Do you really need five different kinds of golf balls? In my opinion no, but it’s a marketing technique that has worked for many other brands.

Vice Golf has even gotten praise for their accessories like golf gloves and carry bags.

Are The Balls Any Good?

The main thing I want to find out is if there is any substance to their product. It’s one thing to build a brand around a smart marketing team, but does the product match up?

I recently tested the balls that were appropriate for my swing – the Pro Soft, Pro, and Pro Plus. As a scratch golfer who has mostly played the Titleist Pro V1 my whole golfing life, I’m always on the lookout to save money for myself and the all of you.

The variety pack gives you a chance to try out all of their offerings for only $30. You get 2 of each ball in this very cool packaging:

Here is the data I collected on my launch monitor taking a full swing with my Sand Wedge:

As you can see everything is pretty close. I definitely want a little more spin with the SW so it looks like the Pro Plus was performing almost exactly the same as the Pro V1 for me. That seemed to be the right ball for me according to the data.

Now let’s take a look at the driver numbers:

Once again we have fairly consistent numbers across the board. Remember I’m not a robot, so I can’t exactly hit every shot the same, but this test will help shed some light.

I would say the Pro Plus was the winner again amongst the Vice Golf Balls for me. You can see the spin and distance numbers are almost exactly identical to the Pro V1.

Vice Golf Balls Are Legit

I know it’s hard to convince golfers that Titleist is not the end-all-be-all when it comes to golf balls. They have certainly earned their reputation as one of the leading innovators in the industry. However, times have changed.

It is now possible for smaller manufacturers to make golf balls that have similar performance for less money. I’ve seen it with several other brands and now I can definitely add Vice Golf to that list. So if you are looking to try out a new ball that will save you some money, I definitely recommend checking them out.