Mystery Golf Ball X vs. Titleist Pro V1x - A Comparative Golf Ball Review

This is an unusual review for a few reasons.  First, the Mystery Golf Ball X is under embargo until January 22nd.  So I can't tell you exactly what the ball is other than saying it's a 4-piece ball, has a urethane cover, and is the firm compression X type of golf ball.  I don't know any of the tech details or the price point yet.

The second reason this is an unusual review is because I was so impressed with how it performed out on the course that I had to take it indoors to get performance numbers on TrackMan.  And when I compared it to a juggernaut ball in the industry, the Titleist Pro V1x - this Mystery Golf Ball X outperformed Pro V1x in areas and in ways that was pretty shocking.

So I'll tell you exactly what the Mystery Golf Ball X is on the 22nd and update this article then with the actual name and pics that don't conceal the ball.  But I can tell you all about the comparative performance data and numbers I got on Trackman.  And this review is going to brass tacks every performance category that matters in a golf ball.

We're going to cover and bottom line head-to-head performance in five areas: ball speed and distance, launch and height, spin and descent, consistency and dispersion, and feel.  In each of these areas I'll give you the numbers for driver, 6-iron, and pitching wedge performance.  Only the feel category (and conclusion) will be narrative as opposed to numbers driven.  And as a point of reference my 6-iron swing speed is about 85 mph, and my driver swing speed is about 98 mph.

BALL SPEED and DISTANCE 

Driver

Mystery Ball X driver ball speed was 2.5 mph (average) faster than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X driver carry was 6.9 yards (average) longer than Pro V1x.

Iron

Mystery Ball X 6-iron ball speed was 1.7 mph (average) faster than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X 6-iron carry was 3.5 yards (average) longer than Pro V1x.

Wedge

Mystery Ball X wedge speed was 1.5 mph (average) faster than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X wedge carry was 3.7 yards (average) longer than Pro V1x. 

LAUNCH and HEIGHT

Driver 

Mystery Ball X driver launch was 0.4 degrees (average) higher than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X driver peak height was 1.4 yards (average) higher than Pro V1x.

Iron

Mystery Ball X 6-iron launch was 0.2 degrees (average) higher than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X 6-iron peak height was 0.5 yards (average) higher than Pro V1x.

Wedge

Mystery Ball X wedge launch was 0.8 degrees (average) higher than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X wedge peak height was 0.4 yards (average) higher than Pro V1x.

SPIN and DESCENT

Driver

Mystery Ball X driver spin was 65+ RPM (average) higher than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X driver descent was 0.7 degrees (average) steeper than Pro V1x.

Iron

Mystery Ball X 6-iron spin was 275+ RPM (average) higher than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X 6-iron descent was 0.8 degrees (average) steeper than Pro V1x.

Wedge

Mystery Ball X wedge spin was 50+ RPM (average) lower than Pro V1x.  Mystery Ball X wedge descent was 1.0 degrees (average) steeper than Pro V1x.

CONSISTENCY and DISPERSION 

Mystery Ball X has better consistency in some areas (like ball speed and launch angle for example), while Pro V1x had better consistency in other areas (like spin rate for example).  Overall Mystery Ball X had better consistency in more of the data categories.

Driver

Mystery Ball X driver dispersion was 7+ yards (average) tighter landing area than Pro V1x.

Iron

Mystery Ball X 6-iron dispersion was 1.5+ yards (average) tighter landing area than Pro V1x.

Wedge

Mystery Ball X wedge dispersion was 6.0+ feet (average) tighter landing area than Pro V1x.

FEEL

There was no obvious difference in feel with driver between Mystery Ball X and Pro V1x.  Firm, fast, strong spring with both balls.  I'd say pretty much identical feel.  If I had to obsess about a feel difference I'd say Mystery Ball X feels a little more active off the face with driver.

With both 6-iron and PW feel differences between Mystery Ball X and Pro V1x were a bit more obvious.  With both balls there's a firm, dense feeling and muted click at impact.  But Mystery Ball X gave me just a little softer dense feel with 6-iron and PW.  It's almost like Mystery ball X makes a forged iron feel more forged.

And with my putter both Mystery Ball X and Pro V1x deliver a firm feeling with a crisp click at impact.  But Mystery Ball X has a tad softer feel and sound.  It's not significantly softer but it's noticeable.

CONCLUSION

As I mentioned a few days ago on X and Instagram the Mystery Ball X is shockingly good and now you know exactly why.  I experienced clear and definite advantages in greater driver ball speed and carry.  And while not as dramatic Mystery Ball X also delivered better launch and descent with both my 6-iron and PW.  And then of course there was that across the board tighter dispersion with Mystery Ball X with my driver, 6-iron, and wedge.

In many categories (from a statistically significant numerical perspective) it's nearly impossible to distinguish between Mystery Ball X and Pro V1x.  And as good a ball as Pro V1x is that speaks volumes to how good a ball Mystery Ball X is as well.  When we think of golf balls we probably go to Bridgestone, Callaway, Srixon, TaylorMade, and Titleist.  The Big 5 of golf balls.  The overall performance of Mystery Ball X however changes the landscape and really makes it now The Big 6 of golf balls.

Interestingly I told a friend of mine about how Mystery Ball X performed head-to-head against the Pro V1x.  And he told me he's definitely going to check it out... but that he will stick with his Bridgestone balls when he plays tournaments.  I asked him why?  And he said he's comfortable with Bridgestone and he knows what he's getting with that ball.

And I found his answer illuminating because that's probably going to be one of the things Mystery Ball X has to battle.  There are some players out there who are perfectly happy with their current golf balls, and in a sense don't care if there's a ball out there than can outperform the one they're playing.  It's like some of us who don't want to upgrade to new iOS systems or prefer not to replace that comfy office chair we've used for a long time.  They work for us.  And I get that.

However for players who aren't completely satisfied with their golf ball performance or those of you who like to tinker, Mystery Ball X performance is simply too good to overlook.  You can expect a lot of players and a lot of golf review sites to be telling you the exact same things this year I've shared with you in this review.  Mystery Ball X is going toe-to-toe with the best golf balls in the game.  And the leaderboard of best balls in the game just got more crowded.