What actually changed in the protocol
Today's Golfer says it updated its three driver swing speeds to better mirror real-world averages, aligned its 7-iron speed to the average driver speed for internal consistency, and switched the wedge shot from a full pitching wedge in 2025 to a partial 56-degree shot replicating 40 yards. The selection was narrowed from a shortlist of 80 to 64, with two models unavailable — one delayed launch, one withdrawn — leaving 62 tested.
That is a meaningful change rather than housekeeping. A full pitching wedge and a 40-yard partial 56 load the cover and mantle differently, and a ball that ranks well on one shot does not automatically rank well on the other. Today's Golfer also retested the 17 carry-over models under identical conditions and states plainly that data from different years should not be compared directly — a caveat worth respecting when you see a ball's improvement quoted year on year.
Verified Data
Source: Today's Golfer.
Consistency reads differently to peak numbers
The published category pages show why one ranking never tells the whole story. The Titleist Pro V1 finishes first overall while sitting 16th for speed, second for launch and first for spin and compression — a profile that wins on breadth, not on any single column.
Further down the price ladder, Today's Golfer records the two-piece Titleist Tour Soft as the only two-piece model to exceed 6,000rpm on the wedge test, at 6,075rpm and sixth overall, while giving up under a yard off the tee at every swing speed. At the premium end, the Srixon Z-Star Diamond is listed second for descent angle at 45.3 degrees and third for backspin at 5,149rpm, one of only three balls above 5,000rpm. Different balls, different jobs.
What this means if you are choosing a ball
Two things follow, and neither favours a brand. First, ask what shot a test measured before you act on it: a 40-yard partial wedge result is not a full-wedge result, and neither is a proxy for the 100-yard shot you actually face most often. Second, a robot swinging at a fixed speed is a clean way to separate balls, but it is not you.
That is the whole basis of BallFIT, which is free and sells no golf balls. We use independent data like this as evidence of how covers and constructions behave, then match it to your speed, launch and short-game priorities — because the ball that ranks first overall in a test is only the right ball if the shots it wins are the shots you hit.