Song Dog
Well-known member
Played the X today, the whole time. Distance, height, spin (on green) and spin on driver was REALLY good! We had a good amount of wind and it fought it good.
Mizuno RB Tour and RB Tour X Golf Ball Review Thread
Purchased a dozen of the RB Tour X to give a go. Key interest is seeing how the iron spin is, as well as how it compares to ProV1x. Looking for height and spin as those are my 2 biggest weaknesses and curious if these offer help.
Going to put RB Tour back in play tomorrow. I've been playing a bunch of different balls lately trying to make sure I go with the best option to start 2024.
These certainly deserve another look.
These certainly deserve another look.
noodle3872
Well-known member
Put the X in play today. It does its business in a very Pro V1x-esque way. Durability is vastly improved over the OG RB Tour X. The zx seemed to be stable in the light breeze too. Very happy all around.
Played a round with the RB X this last weekend. Really happy with it. Consistent ball. Really found myself liking the feel of it. Have some more rounds coming with it but I think itll be my ball for 2024
- Admin
- #332
I have enjoyed the RB Tour quite a bit myself.
Played today with the Tour X in a wet and brutal weather. The sand traps were in very bad shape. Hit the fairway and the ball would get so muddy so you were constantly cleaning it off.
12 holes until I put it in the water. But the ball was in great shape. The durability is so much better
12 holes until I put it in the water. But the ball was in great shape. The durability is so much better
I had a pretty interesting round today playing the RB Tour X. The greens are firm so I didn’t get to see what the ball could really do. Initial impressions are promising.
Driver distance is definitely a plus over my current gamer. I’d attribute that to less spin. Approach shots left only a few ball marks on the firm greens but when it did the ball didn’t stray as far as I would expect. I usually leave craters and my shallow ball marks tend to roll out much more. The apex looked higher and may have had something to do with sticking approaches close to my mark.
The rough at my course is penal right now, robbing loads of spin. The extra height and landing angle helped me out today when I played my approaches from the thick stuff. Short game shots rolled out more than my current gamer but it was also more predictable with no unexpected slam on the brakes type action. I think it’s a solid offering. I shot -2 net on the back 9 so I pretty much have to keep testing it out.
Driver distance is definitely a plus over my current gamer. I’d attribute that to less spin. Approach shots left only a few ball marks on the firm greens but when it did the ball didn’t stray as far as I would expect. I usually leave craters and my shallow ball marks tend to roll out much more. The apex looked higher and may have had something to do with sticking approaches close to my mark.
The rough at my course is penal right now, robbing loads of spin. The extra height and landing angle helped me out today when I played my approaches from the thick stuff. Short game shots rolled out more than my current gamer but it was also more predictable with no unexpected slam on the brakes type action. I think it’s a solid offering. I shot -2 net on the back 9 so I pretty much have to keep testing it out.
CSX is your usual ball?
Chrome Tour X now. I need to update my signature. But CSX before that, yes. I think the RB Tour X might play like the CSX for me. It kind of felt familiar. I’ll have to run it against some of my old CSX stock.
Mizuno RB Tour X: Initial Thoughts, Visuals, and Putting
Over the weekend I started using the Mizuno RB Tour X on my putting mat and over at my clubs putting green. I really like to give each aspect of the game its own time when it comes to ball testing because if I’m going to make a switch, I need to make sure it fills every part of my game individually.
I’ve been a ProV1X player for quite some time now. I’ve always gravitated towards a ball that is higher launching and provides more spin. I like to have control of my golf ball and have felt my game has suffered a little when trying some lower spin options.
What intrigued me about the RB Tour X comes right from Mizuno’s website:
“Both the RB Tour and RB Tour X feel sensationally soft at impact, as you would expect from Mizuno. Both lower spinning and efficient from the driver. With an AXIALFLOW dimple that creates a high launch from the driver (compared to other tour-type balls) and a flatter flight from the short irons (compared to other tour-type balls)”
The intriguing lines for me are:
- Sensationally soft at impact.
- Flatter flight with short irons.
Flatter flights with short irons (and wedges) are crucial in my eyes. Typically, those shots have a good amount of spin and a lot of control. That spin almost pulls the ball down to a lower flight and I know those shots are some of my best when I strike them right. I love the quote from Chris Voshall also on the website (shoutout Team Vosh!):
"We purposefully slanted the performance of both RB Tour models towards our younger elite players. Both models launch high off the driver - one with low spin, the other lower. Yet both balls demonstrated a flatter flight from full wedge shots. A remarkable accomplishment from the aerodynamics team in Japan."
CHRIS VOSHALL – DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT / MIZUNO USA
Finally, the AXIALFLOW dimple has me intrigued. Off centered CG individual dimples, all put in a purposeful spot to make the golf ball perform the best. Sounds wild, and hearing Vosh break it down in video is also crazy! I’m intrigued!
Visual
Going from 348 (PV1X) dimples to 272 (RBTX) is quite the visual change out of the box. It makes the dimples look a heck of a lot bigger, but there’s something I really like about it. I’m not sure if it almost makes it look a little bigger to me? But I’m a fan of the way it sits on the ground.
The running bird logo always looks so clean. And while I don’t use a line or the logo of the ball to line up my putts, it’s clean and concise and I think would work just fine for anyone who simply uses the side logo. I do like the arrows used by Titleist a little better, but again I’m not even paying attention to that in my own game.
One understated thing I really like. The blue number. Everyone uses red and black and there’s just something about the blue I LOVE. Maybe it’s my affection to the color blue, but man it’s just such a nice small touch to make it their own.
Putting
The final part of my initial review is putting. I have typically leaned towards milled blades for putters. Something about them just looks clean to my eye, gives me a true roll, and feels good in my hands. Without an insert it’s tricky to always find the responsive feel I’m looking for.
I hit my current gamer and the Mizuno back-to-back over a wide series of short and long putts and there is a significant difference in the feeling for me. I can really feel the Mizuno come off the face, whereas the Titleist, because of the firmness, would typically not give me the same feedback.
The Mizuno helped give me a little more additional feedback which dialed in my speed. As far as off the putter I have zero complaints and prefer the Mizuno after my short time with it.
Next steps are short game and into wedges. This, and full approach shots, will be where this battle is truly decided. I am going to get some launch monitor numbers at the range as well as on the course in live action to have some comparison.
Based on the putting I think I’m going to really love the feel off the face. As long as speed and spin stay consistent or better, this ball has a great chance of becoming my new gamer.
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Great write up here! Looking forward to hearing about your experience with the wedges.
Good write up here. The ProV1x and ZStar XV have been my main ball over the last 3 years. While I’m not great at describing feel and never had a chance to get numbers, just from playing these I never felt like I was giving up any performance that I got with those. I ran out of the ones I got from the VC a couple weeks ago. I have a stash of Zstar from a sale last year but once I go through those I will definitely give these another try.
That's good to know. I always have this fear instilled in the me that balls that feel softer are going to give up some speed, but it seems like this ball might fill the gap. The feel was off the charts good with the putter and I'm excited to use it around the short game area today and capture some data throughout the week.
Just went and did a bunch of chipping and pitching with current gamer (PV1X) and the RB Tour X. I will have a full write up after I capture some data with my GC3, BUT, I was thoroughly impressed and had to share.
I was able to do whatever I wanted with the golf ball. Check and roll, check check and stop, hit it high, low, everything. It was not as soft as I thought it might be after putting with it, and I mean that in a good way. It was responsive without feeling mushy. And more responsive feeling than I get out of my PV1X.
What really impressed me was the action I got on the golf ball on short chips. Ones where I'd basically have a square club face and hit a shorter mid-height bump and run style. I left the first few short before realizing it was getting a great amount of grab for being a 3-7 yard chip. I felt like I could be a tad more aggressive in my chipping in these scenarios which I really like.
Went out to about 40-50 yard pitches (max length where I could practice), and it was super solid again. A lot of action for a shorter swing and shot. Again, I really felt like I could play aggressively with this ball, and I did notice it come off just slightly lower than PV1X shots did. I think it has just a bit more of spin on it. Can't wait to check data later this week.
Overall a great short game session and I'm really happy with the ball. More to come!
I was able to do whatever I wanted with the golf ball. Check and roll, check check and stop, hit it high, low, everything. It was not as soft as I thought it might be after putting with it, and I mean that in a good way. It was responsive without feeling mushy. And more responsive feeling than I get out of my PV1X.
What really impressed me was the action I got on the golf ball on short chips. Ones where I'd basically have a square club face and hit a shorter mid-height bump and run style. I left the first few short before realizing it was getting a great amount of grab for being a 3-7 yard chip. I felt like I could be a tad more aggressive in my chipping in these scenarios which I really like.
Went out to about 40-50 yard pitches (max length where I could practice), and it was super solid again. A lot of action for a shorter swing and shot. Again, I really felt like I could play aggressively with this ball, and I did notice it come off just slightly lower than PV1X shots did. I think it has just a bit more of spin on it. Can't wait to check data later this week.
Overall a great short game session and I'm really happy with the ball. More to come!
Great description - also coming from a ProV1x so really enjoying the feedback so far.
It's been a good year for non-standard "premium" ball manufacturers. I started with these this year and have gotten a few friends into them. It's a really, really good ball.
Mizuno RB Tour X vs. Titleist ProV1X – Chipping Data
After my initial review (posted above and linked in signature), and my first thoughts on chipping, I was really excited to grab some data between the RB Tour X and my current gamer the ProV1X.
For this test I hit 12 shots with each ball, alternating every 3. New balls were used for the test, and the club for all shots was my gamer Vokey SM10 60.04T. The chip was a pretty straightforward 15-yard chip, where I was trying to land it at 10 yards and let it check and roll out. It’s the most common type of chip I hit on course and felt like the most accurate to grab data on. The lie for all was a tight fairway lie, and I made the lie consistent for each shot. The ball data was captured by a Bushnell Launch Pro. I took pictures of my monitor screen after every shot and transferred the data into excel.
THE DATA
Takeaways
Mizuno RB Tour X | ||||
| Shot | Ball Speed (MPH) | Launch Angle | Spin | Carry |
1 | 21.6 | 35.7 | 2365 | 9.6 |
2 | 22.3 | 35.9 | 2438 | 10.2 |
3 | 22.3 | 36.4 | 2130 | 10.2 |
4 | 22.5 | 28.1 | 2335 | 9.2 |
5 | 21.7 | 32.3 | 2398 | 9.2 |
6 | 22.4 | 37.6 | 2062 | 10.5 |
7 | 21.8 | 35 | 2399 | 9.7 |
8 | 22 | 31.6 | 2767 | 9.4 |
9 | 20.1 | 32.4 | 2748 | 7.9 |
10 | 20.7 | 33.4 | 2631 | 8.6 |
11 | 21 | 33.5 | 2537 | 8.8 |
12 | 22 | 34.2 | 2939 | 9.7 |
AVG | 21.7 | 33.8 | 2479 | 9.4 |
STD DEV | 0.7 | 2.6 | 259 | 0.7 |
Titleist ProV1X | ||||
| Shot | Ball Speed (MPH) | Launch Angle | Spin | Carry |
1 | 21 | 35.6 | 2233 | 9 |
2 | 20.6 | 36 | 2341 | 8.7 |
3 | 22.6 | 35.3 | 2800 | 10.4 |
4 | 22.2 | 32.8 | 2788 | 9.7 |
5 | 22.1 | 35.8 | 2495 | 10 |
6 | 24.3 | 32.8 | 3007 | 11.6 |
7 | 20.6 | 37.3 | 2421 | 8.8 |
8 | 20.5 | 37.6 | 2074 | 8.8 |
9 | 19.5 | 37.8 | 2007 | 7.9 |
10 | 21 | 33.9 | 2661 | 8.8 |
11 | 20.9 | 33.9 | 3036 | 8.7 |
12 | 20.9 | 33.9 | 3036 | 8.7 |
AVG | 21.4 | 35.2 | 2575 | 9.3 |
STD DEV | 1.3 | 1.8 | 368 | 1.0 |
Takeaways
I am proud that I was able to grab some pretty consistent data. Ironically enough, both balls I had 1 total bladed chip that I did not include to not skew the data. The Mizuno had 2 hole outs and the Titleist had 1. Average proximity for both I would estimate around 3-4 feet. If I had more time, I would have measured but was a little bit on a crunch. Otherwise, all shots were included, and nothing was omitted.
From a feel and sound perspective, I would pick the Mizuno. It was just a touch softer feeling off the face and sounded just a bit more muted than the PV1X. Not saying the PV1X was clicky, but there was a difference.
I know these aren’t full short shots, but it seems that the language from Mizuno’s website backs up here:
“flatter flight from the short irons (compared to other tour-type balls)”
The RB Tour X launched 1.5 degrees lower, and even if you remove the 28.1 it’s still almost a full degree lower. I know I could come through as a variable here, but it was the same shot over and over and I thought that was interesting.
Where the Titleist stuck out to me was averaging basically 100 more RPM’s of spin. I had 3 with the PV1X get over the 3k mark, and while I had a couple pop up to 2700 and 2900 from the Mizuno, it never got above 3k. I do think if I hit another 2 batches of these, I’d probably get some, but in a small set of data having ¼ of the shots with the PV1X get 3k of spin was something that stuck out. And yes, those last 2 Titleist shots were actually 2 different shots that had the same exact data. Blame the monitor if you want but that’s the way it happened.
Conclusion
All things considered these balls were very close to identical. And I think Mizuno would take that as a win going up against the most popular golf ball line in the market. I enjoyed the feel of the Mizuno a little more than I did the Titleist, which also holds true of how I felt when putting with both.
So, through putting and chipping, yes, I would game the Mizuno full time. But full shots await around the corner! I plan on gathering more range data with both balls as well as taking my BLP out to the course and getting “live action” data.
Sound off and let me know what you think of all my data. Would love to keep the conversation going.
Mizuno RB Tour X vs Titleist ProV1X: On Course Play (Ver.1)
Last night became an unexpected and fortuitous opportunity to play golf at my club after work. I already had my clubs with me, and my Bushnell launch pro from capturing chipping data in a controlled environment on my break (scroll up for my chipping data!).
This was the perfect opportunity to play as many holes as I could while (a) using both balls side by side and (b) capturing launch data along the way. I still plan on getting iron data and driver data in a controlled setting much like my chipping write up, but wanted to share my thoughts on what I saw and what was recorded.
I put Ver.1 because I plan on having more of these types of rounds before I come to a final conclusion. This will be the heftiest of the writeups, and further ones will discuss if things stay the same or change.
My worries with the Mizuno RB Tour X from the beginning have been surrounding ball speed on full shots, and what changes in spin I would see, particularly in the irons. I am a player who presents a lot of dynamic loft at impact with a very shallow angle of attack (AoA) when it comes to irons. I never ever take divots, just not my game. That produces higher launch angles with not a ton of spin on my iron shots.
Driver
I played 14 holes where I hit the driver off the tee (driver is a weapon everyone!), and these balls both performed incredibly well and consistently. They threw punches back and forth on who wanted to have the faster ball speed. My driver swing speed is in the 107-110 range and I was always getting ball speeds in the high 150’s and low 160’s (MPH). My highest ball speed of the night came on a par 5 where the Mizuno RB Tour X hit 164.2 MPH. As far as ball speeds are concerned, these were basically the same ball. One was not consistently faster than the other.
The height and spin off driver were a little different. The Titleist PV1X averaged around 200 RPM’s less than the Mizuno RBTX. This made the Mizuno fly slightly higher, but I wouldn’t say it was a different window than I am used to. I currently play the Cobra Darkspeed LS 8 degree which is a low spin monster anyways, so this wouldn’t affect my choice at the end of the day. The carry averaged about 1 yard less with the Mizuno, but that’s not a significant data point.
From a feel perspective, I saw consistency that I’ve seen from day 1. That Mizuno just feels a touch more responsive, and off the driver made it feel like it had a little bit of jump. If you go back and read my previous reviews of this ball you know I like the feel of the Mizuno more all the way around so far.
Long, Mid, and Short Irons
Coming in, I figured this category or short game would be the make or break. We saw this ball perform well in chipping from the data and my personal feedback. I mentioned earlier because of my swing I’m not the highest spin player, and I need it as much as I can from a ball without sacrificing the distance off the tee.
Long irons, much like driver, were nearly identical. I won’t bore you with all the details, but very similar ball speeds and spin numbers. Maybe a touch more spin from the Mizuno, which I liked a lot. Both felt good off the face, and line up with what I’ve mentioned before. Mizuno feels just a bit better to me.
I’m going to group mid and short irons together. For the sake of argument let’s call this 6 iron and down. This is where my AoA will start getting a little more steeper, and hopefully produce some more spin. This is where this golf ball won me over.
The ball speeds stayed consistent all day throughout every club, BUT, I saw an increase consistently with spin on every shot with the Mizuno when it came to the mid and short irons. At a minimum it was 300 RPM’s, which was a big deal for me. This backs the claim we’ve mentioned before from Mizuno’s website:
“Both the RB Tour and RB Tour X feel sensationally soft at impact, as you would expect from Mizuno. Both lower spinning and efficient from the driver. With an AXIALFLOW dimple that creates a high launch from the driver (compared to other tour-type balls) and a flatter flight from the short irons (compared to other tour-type balls)”
I could notice this in action all round, and it gave me some more control on where to land my golf ball and have the confidence I could stop it quicker. I loved it when it came to my knockdown shot where I got more action coming back rather than just a stop.
Conclusion
I was skeptical as heck when I started this review. I never saw myself straying away from the “big dogs” of the golf ball industry. But the changes from the last version to this version of the RB Tour X have certainly shown their true colors. This ball has earned its way into my bag for my upcoming tournament, which takes a whole heck of a lot of trust from me. And will allow me to fully put it through it’s paces next week. Click my road to victory cup thread in my signature to follow along.
The PV1X is a good golf ball, I’m not taking away from that. But if you’re playing or looking for a tour level ball and you haven’t given Mizuno a try, you’re missing out and you could find some added benefits for your game. I know I did.
More data to come, but this was an eye-opening round yesterday.
Man you are killing these reviews. It's really cool seeing how the numbers compare and that the Mizuno is right there (if not better) with the ProV1x. I never had the data but from my experience I would not hesitate to play it in a tournament over one of the other big name balls.
I'm excited to put it through a full 2 day tournament! It surprised me for sure. And it's (so far) a better fit for my game and I'm always in pursuit of what's best for me
Mizuno RB Tour X: On Course Play (Ver.2)
I mentioned in my previous on course review that I was going to put this ball in play for my 2-day tournament. I wanted to report back now that this ball has gone through its paces in tournament play.
Throughout my initial reviews and testing, I was really impressed with this golf ball. I had mentioned I was skeptical of it keeping up with my ProV1X, but time and time again this Mizuno ball proved that it was a worth competitor. Enough so, that I trusted it under tournament conditions.
I did get a few looks and comments when I identified my ball on the first tee as “Mizuno 1, green dot each side”. But I think that’s par for the course for any ball in these kind of tournaments other than Titleist, Callaway or the occasional TaylorMade. My partner was playing a Bridgestone, so we definitely won most unique twosome for ball choice.
This ball continued to perform extremely well for me. I putted lights out and I attribute that to the more responsive feel I’ve gotten from this ball. I felt like I could make a more confident stroke while keeping speed under control.
I also was on fire chipping and pitching the ball. I had more than a handful of chips that I hit inside 3 feet and easily got up and down. Again’ the way this ball comes off the wedge felt wonderful, and I had so much confidence knowing it would do exactly what I wanted.
I hit iron shots crisply and had great distance control both days. I noticed my shorter irons have that penetrating flight that I could stop on a dime and really keep close to the hole. This ball really shined with approaches both days. Again, not to sound like a broken record, but the responsive feeling gave me so much confidence.
I did not drive the ball particularly well, but I won’t blame the ball for that. If I had been hitting it straight but shorter, then yes, I would put some of that on the ball. But I was hitting it all over the map and that was not due to the ball at all. The few good drives I hit were right where I would expect them to be.
If you want to read my full hole by hole breakdowns of the rounds and see how this ball shined, then click the link in my signature to follow my Road to the Victory Cup.
At the end of the day, trying a Mizuno ball is a must for all golfers. I know it’s not the first choice in every pro shop, or the most marketed ball out there. But let me tell you, it’s just as good as any other ball. Is it going to fit every golfer or be the best choice? No. But you’re missing out on the potential best ball for you if you do not try it. I have found my new gamer ball, and won’t be looking back for my PV1X anytime soon.