Seed SD-01 Golf Ball Review
Founded in 2015, Seed came to market with an overall mission to lower the price of premium equipment, helping more golfers to improve and enjoy the game. While the brand is still relatively new and not so commonly known, Seed has been working away, creating its 3rd generation of the SD-01 golf ball. The first generation of the SD-01 ball was actually named the official ball of the PGA Euro Pro Tour and this particular model has a tag line ‘The Pro One’.
Despite the Titleist Pro V1 franchise being dominant in the premium ball market the balls also come at a premium price, so one would think there is room for a more affordable alternative. Depending on the amount you are looking to purchase, the SD-01 golf balls can cost as little as £30 for a dozen. A multi-buy discount is available on its website for those who prefer to purchase in bulk or play a course with plenty of penalty areas.
Seed has opted for a simple yet eye-catching packet design. I particularly like the striking green colorway and love how each sleeve number is branded, so for those who are superstitious about what number ball you play won’t have the issue of having to open each sleeve to find the ball you are looking for. The bulls-eye style logo is prominent both on the packaging and the ball and the alignment aid is a classic black line with two dots either side. The ball felt exceptionally soft to the touch and had a nice white tone to it synonymous with the best premium golf balls.
So how did the performance fair against my current ball, the Titleist Pro V1x, widely considered one of the best golf balls around? I hit both balls on Trackman to get some data, as well as hitting each ball side-by-side on a blustery day at North Hants Golf Club to gauge feel, ball flight and short game performance.
When hitting a series of pitch shots on Trackman, I could tell the soft, three-piece, cast urethane SD-01 ball was going to have no problems when it came to short game feel or control. It felt soft off the putter face and produced spin on par with the Pro V1x straight away. The Seed ball actually produced exactly 100rpm (revolutions per minute) of spin more than the Titleist on a 50 yard shot, but that was actually something I was expecting to see due to how soft the cover on the ball felt. The real test with this ball was going to be how it performed under the speed of my driver.
My average carry number on the day with the Pro V1x was 292 yards with 2403 rpm and an average ball speed of 168 mph. If I’m honest, because of how much the SD-01 spun off the wedges, I wasn’t expecting this to be a close fought battle, yet I was pleasantly surprised to find out this wasn’t the case. Yes the ball speeds were lower than the Titleist but so was the spin, which helped the Seed to a tasty 289 yards of carry. This may well be down to a new larger high-energy transfer core in the SD-01, which has been designed to increase launch and speed throughout the bag.
Testing on the course, both balls had similar ball flights, although the Pro V1x flew a touch higher. The only times I noticed a deviation in trajectory was when playing into a cross wind with the SD-01. While it didn’t necessarily lose distance, it struggled to penetrate the wind and resulted in me having to play with the wind, rather than hold a shot up against it.
The SD-01 really is a superb premium ball offering and is available to purchase at a much lower cost than the likes of the Pro V1 and TaylorMade TP5. However, there may be a reason behind this. After using the same ball for 18 holes, the soft cover of the Seed really had taken a beating and with fears of sacrifice in performance, I wouldn’t be able to use it competitively again. The SD-01 should still be considered one of the best value golf balls as well as one of the best soft feel golf balls you can buy, but you do sacrifice durability versus the market leaders.
The Seed SD-01 golf ball is available to purchase via the Seed Golf website and will be available in Arctic White and Yellow colorways, with a dozen starting from £30.