Piper Gold Golf Ball Review
The mid-priced golf ball sector has grown a lot over time with not only the bigger brands like Titleist (opens in new tab)Callaway, TaylorMade (opens in new tab) and Srixon offering balls between premium and value price points, but smaller brands like Sounder, OnCore, Cut and indeed Piper also make balls that can be described as mid-priced.
Founded in February of 2021 and headquartered in Atlanta, Piper Golf came to our attention recently when we tested the Blue (opens in new tab) and Black (opens in new tab) golf balls, with the latter in particular blowing away our US tester Chris Wallace (opens in new tab). Acknowledging this, we thought it right to test the top of the range Gold model.
The Gold has a four-piece construction that Piper says offers extreme distance, a higher ball flight and a high spin rate. Well it must be said our driver testing did reveal some interesting results off the back of those claims. While the spin (2445 rpm) was a little higher than the average on our best mid-price golf balls test, the ball flight was also lower (around 3 yards). So whilst the Piper Gold carried 13 yards less than the average, I would expect a good amount of roll on the ground, somewhat bridging the distance gap with some of the other models we tested alongside the Gold.
With the 7-iron, the spin I was getting was over 1000rpm higher than the average in our comprehensive test. While I think that too little spin with the mid irons is probably a bigger problem, this did seem to affect my distances. The carry was around 10 yards shorter than the average. Of course, what I should gain from this is a bit of consistency when hitting into the greens and possibly the ability to shape my iron shots a little easier.
(Image credit: Golf Monthly)
However, whilst the spin was a little high in the mid irons, it was around the greens and playing short game shots that I really enjoyed. The 50 yard wedge shots I hit averaged 7703 rpm of spin which was really impressive and as a result I felt like I had a lot of control around the greens. Frankly, chip and pitch shots were checking up exactly as I’d expect from a tour ball.
On the green the ball offered a firm feel, certainly to a greater degree when compared to the TaylorMade Tour Response (opens in new tab) or Wilson Triad (opens in new tab) models. This may well be an important factor for some golfers, but I don’t think it would put me off using the Gold, especially in those winter months when the firmness might be beneficial.
As far as durability goes, it was clear that well struck wedge shots were scuffing up the cover. Perhaps not as much as some in this sector, but we would probably recommend going for the Titleist Tour Speed (opens in new tab) if durability is a big factor for you.
For me, the Piper Gold was at its best when playing shots around the green. The high levels of spin control will be exactly what many people shopping in this category will be after, although there is a degree of compromise when it comes to the performance in the mid and long game. For $35 per dozen, this is a worthy inclusion in our best mid-priced golf balls (opens in new tab) guide, especially for those after something a little different to provide high levels of short game spin.