SNAKE EYES Tour Performance II
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Amazing price/performance ratio
I stopped by GolfSmith early last week to browse the end-of-season sale items and ran across a display of GolfSmith’s Snake Eyes Tour Performance II balls. I didn’t know anything about them and the information on the box frankly wasn’t really helpful; just the usual marketing speak about a three piece ball, energy transfer, distance and spin. What got me, though, was the price: just $10 a dozen for a three piece ball. I couldn’t pass up a deal like that.
I’ve now played 36 holes with the Snake Eyes Tour Performance balls, and find I really like them. My two rounds playing them (two combined nines over two days, and a single 18) were 79 and 84. I don’t know how much I can attribute to the ball, since a lot seems to me coming together for me right now—my swing has felt really good, I’m putting like a golfing god and the conditions are hard and fast. But on the other hand, it’s cooler and breezy and balls just don’t fly as far under those conditions. So I’m going to at least give the Snake Eyes at least an assist.
The first thing I noticed is that the Snake Eyes are long. Judging from where my tee shots are landing (on a very familiar course), I find that they’re longer than any ball I’ve recently played—perhaps even longer than my beloved Callaway HX Hot. Ball flight off the tee bores nicely, and I’m not seeing the ballooning shots to which I’m prone. I’m also hitting lots of fairways and greens, so there’s not a lot of sidespin.
Around the green, they’re more than adequate for my game. I’ve never been able to get a ball to check up and spin back, so that not a standard to which I’ll hold them. They do, however, stop quickly on the green with shots off mid and short irons. I like the way they putt, too.
Feel is a bit hard to discern because of the cooler weather. They’re surely not as hard as a Pinnacle or standard Top Flite. Neither are they as soft as one of the “soft feel” balls. They’re fine in the cold, and I think they’ll be even better in warmer weather.
Durability hasn’t been an issue. I’ve actually got the balls from the first sleeve I opened and they are not inordinately scruffed.
In short, I really like them. And here’s the bottom line. I’m going back to Golfsmith to buy a hundred dollars worth of these balls. Seriously.
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I picked up a dozen today on this review. I was walking for the first full round in a while, so my swing was a little off on iron shots, for shots from the tee, I was doing pretty well. I do think that they at least challenge the HX Hot Plus in distance, but I also think the spin is better.
The temp was about 60, and it didn’t quite seem that as much distance was dropping off for the cooler day, but it is also hard to compare – Saturday, the last round was in the low 50s- the Hot Plus wasn’t going as far as the Snake Eyes were today.
I also think I will go back at lunch tomorrow and pick up a supply. Probably won’t go 10 boxes, maybe 4-5 – with an option for more later (Golfsmith is only a block from work).
The $9 price is a sale – Original price $25. Probably (at least not yet) would I not be interested in this at $20-25 – when Golfsmith regularly sells the Hot Plus for $20 in the logo bin, that is such a no-brainer for me.
I may pick up some of the Snake Eyes two piece for a cold weather ball to try out as well. Saturday and Sunday will be 65 and 70, but sooner or later the 30s and 40s will be here.
I went pack to get some more balls, and as it turns out, that $9 price is a close-out. When the current supply is gone, that’s it. According to my local store manager, there isn’t yet another 3 piece Snake Eyes ball on the horizon (2 piece, yes). He thinks they might try to concentrate on the MacGregor line, which actually is manufactured by Srixon. He couldn’t remember who made the Snake Eyes, but thought it also might be Srixon.
I still have about 5 boxes of these, having switched to yellow for most of 2011 and then to ProV1s earlier this year. I am down to a box or so ProV1s and decided to start playing through these and some other odd balls here and there.
I have been working on some stance/swing changes, and those have really started clicking lately – fairly consistent in the 80s lately. But last week I walked and 80, (first walk since March), then an 81 that was with ProV1s, I switched mid-round for the next round to the Snake Eyes, and got an 80 (riding), and today I walked a 78 playing that same Snake Eyes #4.
I am getting a significant bump in distance, I was seeing some with the ProV1s, but it has picked up another 10 yards consistently. This could be the swing change, but I think some has to do with the Snake Eyes PT2 ball too.
I will say that durability doesn’t match ProV1s. I have played a number of ProV1s lately for 54 or 72 holes, and those, after you wash will still look very good, with the labeling intact. The Snake Eyes imprinting is wearing off after 36 holes, I probably won’t play this ball for another round. But the sharpie line does stay on better than it does on a ProV1. Can’t figure that out, other than it must stick to the coating on the Golfsmith better.