Fast Golf MTB-X Review: the story has not changed – the same performance for less $$$
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Snell Golf was launched in 2015 and offers premium golf balls at direct-to-consumer prices. At first it seemed like a business plan for everyone to help Dean Snell, the man who developed the original Titleist Pro V1. Trying to compete for the attention of golfers in the golf ball market is quite a challenge. Companies such as Titleist, Callaway, Bridgestone and TaylorMade have considerably more budgets to pay for commercials, tour sponsorship and retail space. It is a real battle between David and Goliath.
Four years later, fast forward, and the small manufacturer of golf balls from the American Massachusetts flourishes. Thousands of golfers like myself have grown tired of spending more than $ 50 / dozen on a premium ball, and when they realized that they could get the same performance for considerably less, they started switching. The growth of the direct-to-consumer golf market appears to be accelerating every year. You can say that the cat is officially out of the bag.
A few weeks ago I was in the clubhouse to get ready for an early morning round. A golfer sat down next to me with a box of Snell Balls. I asked him how he heard about the brand, and he shrugged, "a friend of mine used them and told me about them." I have received similar reactions from other golfers, of which I have noticed that I have used the balls in the last few years. As soon as golfers try them out, they usually see no difference, but they love the cost savings. Unless they have true brand loyalty, the switch seems useful.
What is new in 2019
I initially tried the first version of the Snell Tour ball in 2015. After testing it on the launch of monitors and playing multiple rounds with it, I couldn't find significant differences between the Titleist Pro V1 or one of detect the other premium. tour-level balls that are there. Since then I have been playing the ball, and I know that many site readers have made the switch (I often receive emails thanking me for the cost savings).
Last year, they refined their offer to the original Tour Ball (MTB Black) and offered a higher revolving model (MTB Red).
This year they are holding onto the MTB Black, but they have made some changes to the MTB Red based on the feedback they have received from golfers. Many players felt that the MTB Red was spinning too much, causing problems in wind conditions. There were also some comments about limiting the distance of the driver from the Black model. When I initially tested the MTB Red, I found significantly more spin on wigshots, so I followed the MTB Black model.
The new model is called MTB-X. It is a three-part design that will still offer a little more rotation than the MTB Black, but not as extreme as last year's release. It is comparable with models such as the Titleist Pro V1x, Taylor Made TP5x and Callaway Chrome Soft X.
There is now more color in the line. The MTB Black, MTB-X and the Get Sum models are all available in optical yellow. This is a trend that occurs with many other manufacturers because some golfers seem to prefer the contrast of yellow. Snell is currently ordered back with some of the yellow models, because the launch was so popular
Finally, and possibly more importantly, Snell has revised its price structure. In the past they only offered two price levels, which were for a dozen balls or the Value Packs (six dozen).
Fast & # 39; s new layered price structure on their MTB balls
You now see discounts from two dozen and the value packages are only five dozen (they range from $ 32.99 to $ 27.99). Compared to the other premium balls that are available, that means a saving of around 30-40%.
Testing the new MTB-X
I wanted to see how the new MTB-X ball performed, so I test it.
I took the MTB Black, MTB-X, Titleist Pro V1 and Titleist Pro V1x on my launch monitor. As always, I am not going to prove that one ball is necessarily better than the other. I'm looking for relative performance – I always encourage golfers to test balls before choosing one, because there might be differences based on your swing characteristics.
In general, I saw the most differences in my short iron performance. The Snell MTB Black and Titleist Pro V1 had very similar results and the higher spinning models of each ball matched fairly well. When I got in the middle of the irons and even my driver, I saw almost no differences between the balls. I have done many ball tests in recent years and have seen a similar pattern occur between premium golf balls. They do an excellent job by turning enough when you need them with short irons and then having a low spin on your longer clubs and the driver to help with distance.
Here are some songs from my Sand Wedge. Based on what I saw, I would say that Snell did what they said they were going to do, which reduced the overall spin on the MTB-X compared to the MTB Red (when I tested last year there were more than 700 rpm difference) .
Club – SWBall Speed (mph) Total Spin (rpm) Starting angle (degrees) Carry YardsTotal Yards
Fast MTB Black85781529.7104107
Titleist Pro V185779229.2103106
Fast MTB-X85822229.1102104
Titleist Pro V1x86805429.5103105
I did not see any significant differences in the balls with the driver other than the small deviations in my swing. It is also worth noting that I did not see any changes in performance with the yellow balls at a club.
Club – DriverBall Speed (mph) Total Spin (rpm) Starting angle (degrees) Carry YardsTotal Yards
Fast MTB Black151.2202415253278
Titleist Pro V1150.7205714.8250275
Fast MTB-X151.2201915.1255281
Titleist Pro V1x151206815.2254279
This is now the third time I have tested a Snell release against Titleist, and again I see no significant differences between the balls. However, one costs $ 47.99 per dozen, and you can get the other for as low as $ 27.99.
Similar achievements for less money
The story has not changed with Snell Golf. Their entire model is to offer high-quality golf balls at lower prices. By removing the middle man and keeping his marketing expenses lower, they can do that. Every time you see a commercial with Rickie Fowler and the TaylorMade TP5 ball, or Tiger and Bryson talk about Bridgestone balls, you pay indirectly for the higher cost of the ball.
I have tested many products since I started this site. Sometimes you have to pay more to get better quality, but not in this case. I am confident that if you tried one of their balls, you would not find any major changes in performance compared to more expensive brands. I am happy to help you all save money, because golf balls are a recurring issue that we cannot avoid.
If you are interested in trying out the balls, they do offer an MTB test package that can help you decide whether the MTB Black or the MTB-X is more suitable for your game. They also have their Get Sum ball still as low as $ 14.99 per dozen, if the budget is more of a problem.
You can find out more about Snell Golf on their website.
