Golfers everywhere have been debating for years which golf ball is better: Vice or Titleist Pro V? Both golf balls have their pros and cons, but it can be hard to decide which one is the best for you. In this blog post, we will compare and contrast the two golf balls and help you decide which one is right for you! In addition, we videoed our results and have actual live launch monitor data to show you which golf balls won.
Vice vs. Titleist Golf Ball Test
With all of the attention that is being paid to Vice golf balls recently, I felt like it was necessary to put these golf balls head to head on my Uneekor Golf Simulator. The launch monitor is very accurate, gives great data, and helps me decide which golf ball is best for my game.
Background Information
The Titleist Pro V1 has been a choice for my game for quite some time, but I had to give these Vice golf balls a try and see which is truly the best fit for my game. I looked at things like launch angle, ball speed, ball flight, spin, carry distance, total distance, and more.
In the end, our goal here is not to convince golfers that one golf ball is better or worse than another but to take marketing from a company into consideration and use real data to see which golf balls are good for your game.
Golf Balls Tested
- Vice Tour
- Vice Pro
- Vice Pro Soft
- Vice Pro Plus
- Vice Drive
- Titleist Pro V1
- Titleist Pro V1x
- Titleist AVX
Testing Specifics
All golf balls were hit on the same day with the same golf clubs, a driver, wedge, and 7 iron. In addition, each golf ball was hit so that there were three good swings to record for each one. When we show you the data we collected, it is an average of the better swings.
At the end of the test, I got a bit tired with the driver and having to try all of these Titleist balls and Vice golf balls, so a few of the outliers were pushed to the side. However, the difference here between the good swings is the information you are looking at.
I mixed up the order in which I would hit the Vice golf ball vs. the Titleist golf ball so that the testing was fair. My swing speed is around 110mph with the driver, keep this in mind when you consider my distances and overall spin rates for driver swing speeds, as well as irons and wedges.
The Results
Now, the information you have been waiting for. Which is better, Titleist or Vice? And maybe even more importantly, do you really save money with the Vice, or are the Titleist golf balls worth the extra money.
Since I split my testing into three separate sessions with wedges, irons, and drivers, I’ll deliver the results in this way as well. Players need to make sure that they are playing golf balls that help their driver, irons, and wedges, and not just one area of the game.
Wedge Results
The first thing to notice when it comes to the wedges is the Vice Pro and the Vice Pro Soft had the longest carry distance and total distance. For golfers who are simply looking for distance in their golf shots, this sand wedge shot will likely fly the furthest.
However, when we consider golf wedges and their importance in our game, chances are the total distance does not stand out as the major consideration. Ask yourself, does it matter if your wedge goes 103 yards or 106 yards at max distance? What does matter is how you can control the distance and where the ball ends up on the green.
The control and, most specifically, the spin is the most important characteristic of the golf ball best suited for a wedge. With a wedge in your hand, a high spin rate is the clear winner. We have tried many different golf balls through the years, but the Titleist Pro V1x still stands out as having some of the best wedge spin rates around.
The highest spinning Vice was the Vice Pro Plus, but it was pretty far behind the Titleist Pro V1x. For golfers that need a premium ball with high levels of spin around the green, the Titleist Pro V1x is the best overall choice.
Key Takeaway:
- Titleist Pro V1x and Pro V1 have the most spin
- The highest spinning Vice was the Vice Pro Plus
- Vice Pro has strong distance
- Vice Pro Soft is a low spinning golf ball with a wedge
- Vice Drive lacks some distance and ball speed at these swing speed rates
7 Iron Results
Once we finished the wedge testing, we moved to the 7 iron testing. The 7 iron is a bit different than the wedge in that we need a mix of spin, distance, and control with an iron shot. The spin difference here will be considerably less, and the difference between carry distance and total distance will be a bit wider.
The thing to remember is that regardless of if you are a scratch golfer or a higher handicapper, having a mix of performance from the tee, fairway, and around the green is the most important thing to look for. It’s not ok to choose a golf ball for half the price and give up half your spin rate. Golf products don’t have to be expensive to be great; they just have to fit your game.
The 7 iron results were interesting. When it comes to distance Vice Pro and Vice Tour were the best overall. However, the Vice balls were again considerably lower when it came to spin ratings. The ball that stood out here from a performance standpoint was the Titleist Pro V1.
The Pro V1 had a perfect mix of spin and distance performance. Although it was about three yards shorter in carry distance than the Vice Pro, for the average golfer, this should not be something that worries you. I’ll take control, accuracy, and consistency in my iron shots all day over something that gives me two extra yards on a good swing.
- Titleist Pro V1 had the best overall performance when you consider both spin, distance, and even launch angle
- Titleist Pro V1X has the highest spin rates
- Vice Tour and Vice Pro are good for total iron distance
- Vice golf balls, on average, fly higher, but spin less
- Vice Pro is likely the best alternative to the Titleist Pro V1
Driver Test Results
My driver’s swing speed is around 110 mph; this is a good thing to keep in mind when you look at all of the data that I’m going to provide. You may hit the same ball and have much different data because of your golf swing. However, on average, these results could be very similar for players regardless of the speeds in which they are being testing.
With the driver, the clear winner was the Titleist Pro V1. On a driver, I need a golf ball that maximizes distance and minimizes spin, and that is exactly what the Titleist Pro V1 did for me here. You have read in our Vice Golf Balls review that the more premium golf balls can offer performance all over the course, and we have truly shown that is what Titleist has been able to do.
The Vice Tour and Vice Pro are also worth mentioning as these golf balls had a very low spin off the tee, which should help with total distance and some accuracy.
The difference between the best performing golf ball from a distance perspective and the worst was about 15 yards. As you can imagine, this is 15 yards that most golfers will be very unlikely to give up. Fifteen yards of distance will be about a club and a half different into the green, and that is the distance that matters.
It’s hard to say that Titleist are better balls, even though they performed better on this particular driver test, but you can see from this data that the Titleist seems to work better for my game.
Key Takeaway:
- The longest total distance was Pro V1
- The lowest overall spin rate was the Vice Tour and Vice Pro
- Titleist Pro V1x had a bit too much spin for my game from the tee
- Titleist Pro Soft has some excellent distance capability
Overall Best Golf Ball
Wouldn’t it be great if we could choose a golf ball from the tee, switch it out in the fairway and then change it again when the wedge is in your hand? Of course, this is not the way golf works, and we have to choose just one golf ball to play with.
Prior to testing these golf balls, I had a feeling that the two balls that would stand out as the best overall would be the Titleist Pro V1x and the Vice Pro. After testing was complete, I was a little surprised to find that the Titleist Pro V1 was the best overall.
The Titleist Pro V1 gave me the longest distance from the tee with low spin. With a 7 iron, I had solid distance and great launch angle as well as higher spin. With the wedges, the spin was the highest while only losing a yard or two when compared to different balls from Titleist and Vice.
In the end, there are some other factors that need to come into play on this golf ball testing; let’s take a closer look at how you can choose one ball from another to get the perfect match for your game.
Factors That Impact Golf Ball Choice
When I tested the Vice golf balls and the Titleist golf balls, there was information on ball speed, distance, launch angle, and more. These data points are really important to consider, but golf is not all about the data. It’s hard for golfers not to get caught up in this right now with the launch monitors and stats and specifics, but golf ball choice comes down to feel, confidence, design, and more.
Data and Stats
The data and stats are the first place to look. This gives us about half the information necessary to select the best golf ball on the market. When looking at pure data and stats, you can eliminate some of the outliers that are an obvious yes or no. For instance, in my game, the lower compression balls were just not flying far enough, and I had to count them out.
However, there are times when the stats can show that a specific golf ball or golf club is the perfect selection for your game, but you can’t stand the feel. If you don’t like the feel of a golf ball, it won’t perform well around the greens and should not be used.
Use the data and stats as your preliminary testing and then move on to other aspects.
Multi Level Performance
Golf balls need to perform from the tee, the fairway, and around the green. A golf ball that simply travels a long way off the tee is not going to be enough to become your new ball. Regardless of your handicap and ability, and even your budget, finding multi level performance is important.
In our Titleist vs. Vice golf ball test, the Titleist Pro V1 did not win every category, but in the end, it had the most consistent performance across the board and hit on the factors that I need the most in my game.
Feel
The feel is probably the most important part of golf ball selection for me. If a golf ball feels like a rock or like mush when I hit it, I just can’t put it into play. This is where it is very important to test a golf ball from the tee to the green before you decide to make a switch. This testing will help you determine the feel that is a better fit for your game.
The area of the golf course where feel seems to come into play the most is around the putting green. When you chip onto the green and then make a putt, you have to have full confidence in the feel of the golf ball and how it will react.
Each Titleist and each Vice golf ball have a different feel. The sample pack from Vice is a great tool to start working on the type of feel you like in your game. Take this sample pack to a putting green and test each one out.
Branding/Brand Loyalty
Titleist golf balls are known as being the best on the PGA Tour. If you are a little worried about switching to a golf ball that is considered to be a bit more of a value golf ball, then the Vice may not be for you.
I’m more of a golfer that would rather look at performance than consider value. If the performance of the Vice Pro Plus golf ball or the Vice Pro golf ball was better than the Titleist Pro V1, I would have no issue switching to this ball.
With golf equipment getting better through the years, try to be as open minded as you can about brand loyalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
When doing this Vice vs. Titleist golf ball test, we had a lot of questions come up that deserved some answers. Remember that my results may not be the exact same as yours, but it’s a good idea to check these newer golf ball companies out and give them a fair shot.
Which Vice ball compares to Pro V1?
The Vice ball that seemed to compare the closest to the Pro V1 was the Vice pro. When filling in the Vice golf ball quiz on their website, the Vice Pro was the golf ball that was selected for my information and details, the results were entirely accurate, and the Pro V1 turned out to be my best overall golf ball.
What ball does the Vice Tour compare to?
The Vice Tour compares to the original NXT golf ball from Titleist, which is no longer being produced. For a current version of the Titleist, you could probably compare the Tour to the Titleist Tour Speed, but it is not an exact match.
Is Vice a good golf ball?
Overall, Vice is a good ball, and it has much better pricing than other balls. The lower prices come from the direct-to-consumer model that Vice has in place to help save money. The performance is not exact with the Titleist golf ball, but in some instances, the distance from vice was actually a bit better than Titleist.
How does Vice compare to Pro V1?
Vice offers slightly less distance from the tee and lower spin rates around the green than the Pro V1. The price difference will have to be worth it for you to choose a golf ball with the best overall performance that you need. For my golf game, the extra spin and a few extra yards and control are well worth it for the Pro V1.
Why are Vice golf balls so cheap?
Vice golf balls are lower in price because they do not sell through golf ball through a distributor. If you want a good deal on Vice golf balls, you can go directly to their website deals section and purchase them at the best price. This saves quite a bit of money and will keep the price down; even though Vice is doing more and more marketing, the pricing of the ball is not going up.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you learned a bit about what the Vice Golf ball has to offer compared to other golf balls on the market. Overall the performance is quite good, but the Titleist still comes out on top. Remember that my swing speed is about 110mph, and I was the only golfer hitting these golf balls. When you try a larger sample study, the results can change a bit. If you currently have the Titleist Pro V1 in your bag, chances are you will want to keep it. For golfers playing a cheaper golf ball and want to add some near-premium performance for a fair price, order a Vice variety pack and see how you do!
