New Victory Tour Golf Balls Review by Links Nation
Chicago-based Zero Friction is known for its high-quality universal (one-size-fits-all) compression golf gloves, and this spring, they will launch a premium tour 3-piece golf ball that offers performance comparable to those used on the world’s professional tours, but cost nearly half the price – The Victory golf ball features a thin urethane cover for tour-like spin and distance that rivals several of the industry leading models.
John Iacono, Zero Friction’s Founder and CEO, is pretty excited about his latest product launch and is really proud of the pricepoint – $29.99. He’s aware that the market is very competitive, but knows there’s a specific demographic that this offering will resonate with. Along with other direct-to-consumer brands like Snell, and Vice, the Victory will begin as an online entity, but Iacono will likely gauge demand and look towards a gateway into retail shops in the near future, alongside the popular ZF compression fit golf gloves.
FEATURES:
3- piece construction
Thin urethane cover
Ionomer Mantle
85 compression
$29.99 dozen
Direct to Consumer vs Big OEM brands:
OEMs like Titleist, Callaway, Bridgestone, and Taylor Made have invested tens of millions of dollars to create their own ball factories to ensure precise quality control – from that expense, player endorsements, marketing campaigns, and a profit margin built in, you get a $55 per dozen price point. Without these burdens, DTC companies can offer comparable products without passing on the cost of all the heavy lifting. It’s less known what the quality and consistency of production are for these direct-to-consumer golf balls, but I’d venture to guess that, for most looking for a reasonable cost alternative, risking the occasional dimple imperfection for what is essentially a BOGO transaction, is a no-brainer.
Of the 27 Victory balls that we have to test, none showed a cover blemish of any kind…
Testing:
We began with shortgame, because if the ball doesn’t respond well around the greens and off the putter, there’s zero chance it’ll ever be gamed by me (or anyone else who’s a ball snob), and there’s a legit point that these DTC models may not be for ball snobs. I’d like to think even ball snobs don’t wanna fork over $60 for a dozen urethane-covered orbs.
Pitches, chips, and shots from the bunker feel as close to a balata as anything I’ve tested in the solid core era… in a good way (if you were born after 1980, that one just flew over your head). There is no greenside shot that this ball can’t handle with flying colors. On the greens, the ball melts into the putter face, no firm clicky sound or jumpy trampoline launch that’s tough to gauge the roll out. Some will love that; for those who play a flatstick with an insert, you may not prefer something so buttery soft.
Ok, so it’s fantastic around the greens, but is it so soft that it lacks the distance off the tee of other premium tour offerings? At 85 compression, the ZF Victory sits in the mid/soft range. For example, the 2023 Pro V1 was 87 compression, while the 2024 TP5 was 88. Balls like Pro V1x and TP5x are in the firm range, well over 90 compression. The Titleist AVX, which has a cult following for its super-soft feel, sits between 77-80, so Victory sits right between AVX and Pro V1.
While testing the new PING G440 K driver, we played all 3 balls, TP5, Pro V1, and the Victory. Throughout the day, the Victory held its own with the Pro V1 and was about 3-5 yards longer off the tee than the TP5. The Victory tended to be slightly longer than both with the mid-irons, and about the same distance off the wedges.
Summary:
Two big impressions here. First is low hanging fruit – value.
The typical consumer wanting to play a premium 3-piece ball can’t afford or justify dropping nearly $60 for a dozen. ZF Victory costs $30.
Ok, so what exactly can you expect for your thirty bucks? Performance
- Although it comes in at 85 compression, not crazy low, Victory has a significantly softer feel than just about every premium urethane cover 3-piece ball that we’ve tested.
- Every bit as long off the tee as the Titleist flagship for medium to low spin players who swing at or below 100 mph with the driver.
- On approach shots, Victory also held its own with comparable spin characteristics inside of 100 yards.
- A buttery sensation off the putter, nothing on the market feels quite like this on the greens.
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