This is why the ball test on the course is so important

In this week’s pod, I delve into my ball testing on the course with Callaway Golf’s Daniel Bladen. I learned a lot, shared a lot, and somehow left with more questions than I came in with. But first, let’s review my interview with Johnny Wunder.

First, let’s start with a little backstory, as I mentioned in the podcast. I was a big fan of the Wilson Staff Model X (2024) golf ball. I played it from the end of 2024 until the beginning of 2026, when I started testing the 2026 version. With the new model, I’m told they’ve reduced the spin a bit at the bottom of the bag while maintaining the 8-iron-and-down performance I love – especially on the greens. On paper, and in indoor simulator testing, it sounded perfect. It would make my driver spin from about 2600 rpms to 2300 rpms and reduce the 5 iron a bit – great in theory. Until it wasn’t.

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This is where my testing time with Daniel really changed things for me – and my golf bag.

It started late last year when we visited Callaway Golf to check out their new gear, including the 2026 Chrome Tour family of golf balls. Another stop was Omni La Costa, where we did a course test with the Callaway team, including Daniel. What we saw surprised me. At the time, I didn’t know Wilson was going to release a 2026 ball, so I still compared everything to my 2024 Model X. The ball speeds were the same, the flight windows looked the same, and the overall performance was solid. We didn’t spend enough time with each other to adjust to the switch, but it caught my attention.

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Fast forward a few weeks. After a tough match at Battle at the Beach, I was frustrated and looking for answers. A few shots really stuck with me – in a bad way. Fortunately, a few days later, I had the opportunity to work with Daniel at The Yards during the Callaway Golf Ambassador shoot. This time, I brought in a Wilson Staff Model X (2026) to compare the head to the original head.

What we found came down to three key moments.

1.) Shaking

We started by hitting hybrids and 5-woods—two trusty clubs in my bag. When I test variables, I want to remove as much uncertainty as possible. At first, everything seemed to be going well. Bearing distances were the same between the Chrome Tour X (2026) [CTX] and Wilson Staff Model X (2026) [WSX]but Wilson was clearly putting out more, with a noticeable drop in spin on the Foresight GC Quad.

Nothing scary yet.

We then moved on to the final hole at The Yards to hit the driver. Very open (hard to lose the ball) which was perfect considering my insecurities. The first few curves did not show much difference. Ball speeds and launches are about the same, and Wilson has a little more spin.

Then about the third WSX shot, we saw it.

A little “wiggle” at high altitude.

Daniel saw it first, and once you saw it, you couldn’t let it go. We hit five more balls each, and while the launch monitor numbers remained close, the ball flights started to look very different. We hit the driver on a few other holes and saw the same thing. That little movement makes the rear part of the flight – especially the descent – unpredictable.

Which led us to the next moment.

2.) 8-instrument prediction

There is a par-3 at The Yards with a bunker in the middle of the green. That day, it played 167 yards. Perfect stock 8-iron for me. We had about 10 mph of wind in our faces, but both balls are built to handle that well. Slow down again, which helped.

We wanted to see two things: would the wiggle appear on the 8 iron, and where would the balls sit relative to perfection?

Sure enough, there it is again. The Wilson rose to a high pitch, gave a slight shimmy, and descended. All of the guns landed in the air, which proved a strong wind effect, but all three of Wilson’s guns ended up in the cellar, about six yards long. It’s wrong.

The Chrome Tour X shots went about 3 yards but finished about a yard short of the flag. No shaking, just a clean, stable plane that held its line. That’s when the discussion turned to spin degradation during flight, but first, one shot and we were off.

3.) The 5-wood tells all

My 5-wood is one of my favorite clubs right now. It’s reliable off the tee and into long par 5s, basically my safety blanket. It was also one of the few clubs that didn’t disappoint me at Battle at the Beach.

Apart from the tee, nothing seems off. But we finished the test by hitting it down – 245 yards in a strong wind from left to right.

I hit three shots per ball, alternating. The first two look almost identical at first in flight, both slightly pushed to the right, and the wind reduces my normal drawing. But at the height, Wilson wobbled and fell hard to the right. The Callaway reached its peak, met the wind, and went straight down.

I adjusted my aim and left and hit both again. Same story. Same launch, same speed, but Wilson drifted to the right and came in hotter. Callaway held its structure and fell straight again.

When we got to the green, the difference was obvious. Wilson had actually passed the flag, but ended up behind the green, about 40 feet. About 10–12 yards out. Callaway carried over the bunker and stopped about two yards short of the pin, maybe six yards out.

That’s when Daniel really broke it down.

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Spin damage during golf ball flight

An important concept that Daniel explains is that the golf ball loses spin and speed during its flight, especially in the first half as it goes up. There is about an eight-yard window at the top of the plane that determines how the ball ends up.

For me, the low top spin of the new Wilson was a problem. I wasn’t launching it with enough spin, so by the time it reached maximum height, it wasn’t actually backspin. That is what caused the visible “movement”. That’s why the ball was not green.

Hitting a 5-wood from 245 yards is one thing, but an 8-iron from 167 in the air? That is a problem.

It also described two disturbing images from Battle at the Beach.

Twice, I had 115 yards in the wind, a comfortable, stress-free 56-degree field. I hit the shot a thousand times. Both times, low wind, both guns shorted. I was angry, and so was my friend.

Turns out the ball wasn’t spinning enough. The wind would pass over it and push it down, instead of the ball having enough spin for the wind to work under it. Same reason those 8 bells ended up in the basement.

So, is Wilson’s football bad? No. Not at all. It’s just not right for me.

Since this test, I’ve gone back and retested everything – Wilson, Callaway, and others. I even revisited the Wilson Staff Model X (2024). That ball didn’t show the same problems. In fact, it performed almost identically on the Chrome Tour X (2026), which explains why I wasn’t initially sold on the switch to La Costa.

Unfortunately, the revised spin and aerodynamics of the 2026 Model X took away what worked for me. I’m already sitting on the edge of low-spin, so I need as much spin and height as I can get. This is where I feel comfortable. When I lose spin, things change quickly. I’m actually Tiger Woods in that sense.

I would still absolutely recommend checking out the Wilson Staff Model and Model X. For Mid-spin players looking to add a little short game spin while maintaining speed and flight from the top end, it’s a great, long lasting golf ball.

To me? Search is open. Right now, the Chrome Tour X (2026) is leading the clubhouse, but it has a real fight on its hands.

To hear the whole story and listen to Johnny and we talk about AI installations, listen to the full podcast on Spotify, or watch below.

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