Volvik Golf Balls Reviews – I Played All Volvik Models

I admit, I'd never heard much about Volvik until Bubba started playing that pink ball. But living in Asia, Volvik golf balls are everywhere and we are the first to bring so many Volvik golf ball reviews.

In total, I've played all the Volvik golf balls available and in fact in September of 2021, I decided that the Volvik S3 and S4 are both my golf ball of choice if I am to play only one golf ball full time. I bought up as many as I could and have 20 packs in my home.

It all depends on your priority.

The urethane golf balls in the Vibe, S4 and S3 range as well as the Vivid XT Soft will suit the better golfer who wants a ball that spins more and is a multi layer golf ball.

The Volvik Vivid, Volvik Crystal and Volvik Power Soft will suit most golfers who want to maximize distance with a swing more in the moderate swing speed range. 

Volvik Vivids are long. I even noticed a couple yards increase in distance on my irons. On drives, they're very long with minimal movement. If I try hit a big Bubba slice, the Vivids just don't want to co-operate, preferring to go straight.

They're by far the easiest golf balls to see while tracking in-flight and what you'll notice is they seem to stay in the air just a second longer than other balls. I often overshoot my usual distances especially into the wind with a penetrating ball flight that rarely balloons.

You won't be ripping the ball back on approach shots with a Vivid but I found on pitching wedge shots from 135 yards, the ball consistently ends about 2-3 feet from the pitch mark. If, like me, you chip with a lot of bump and runs, the Vivid is a consistent performer and the ball I chip in with the most often. The matte-finish seems to take a bit more grip on the green than other surlyn covered balls.

The matte finish of the ball makes it feel a lot softer than it is. The ever-reliable "bite test" tells me the cover is softer than a truly hard Rock Flite golf ball but not soft enough to be a Tour level ball. It feels like a Srixon Z Star or Titleist NXT Tour. Off the putter, the ball actually feels quite soft.

Overall the Volvik Vivid is a seriously fun golf ball to play with. I love the green as well as the dark & light orange design. The little arrow on the side of the ball makes it simple to line up to the target off the tee and on the greens. For a mid-range golf ball, this is great value especially for guys swinging it below 90 mph.

I tried the Vivid XT's out for a round at Dynasty Golf Course in Bangkok and instantly I noticed they make a much more muted sound off the club face than the Vivids. The compression rating of the Volvik Vivid XT is 100. The ball flight was pretty similar to the Vivids, but the biggest difference came on shots inside 150 yards. 

The Vivid XT sat down within 3 feet on very hard greens which were not friendly in accepting my Callaway Supersofts the week before. 

Even more of a surprise was how much more bouncy off the putter face the XT's are. With the normal Vivids, it's harshly apparent when you mis-strike a putt, the XT bounces off the face more like a premium ball giving you a softer feeling feedback. 

If you look in my picture above, you'll see the yellow Vivid XT has a wrap-around arrow that circles the entire ball. This makes it extremely easy to align your ball to your putting line or line off the tee without needing to draw a jagged one on with your shaky hands. 

The ball stopped much quicker than the plain Volvik Vivid. On the par threes, I compared the performance and the Vivid XT stopped around 3 feet from the pitch mark with an 8 iron, while the Volvik Vivid were closer to 6 feet. Off the putter, I'd say the feel was more like a slightly harder Pro V1.

Overall, because I swing the club at 109 mph, I will replace the Volvik Vivid in my bag with the Volvik Vivid XT from now on. The performance was far superior with my swing speed being much higher than the recommended for normal brightly lit Vivids. 

I couldn't really tell the difference between the two. They both have extremely soft covers where the S3 feels very similar to a Pro V1 and the S4 feels even softer - almost like you'll rip the cover right off with a single hard lob wedge. Both balls also have a seam running around the middle of the ball like the Pro V1's used to - and I like that.

Performance-wise, these balls are the business. The $40+ price tag is no surprise because the White Color S3 and S4 performed exactly as a Pro V1 with long tee shots, and back spin I don't even get with Pro V1's anymore. On the 135 yard pitching wedge test, the S4 ripped back to usually around a foot behind the pitch mark while the S3 stuck exactly where it landed. 

The S4 was especially easy to check up on 30 and 50 yard pitch shots while off the putter face, the S4 felt very buttery soft while the S3 had the same click as the Pro V1. If you're a bump and run fan like me, you want to be more aggressive with these balls because their softness means they run out much less.

As with all urethane balls, the cover scuffs really easily particularly the S4. The S3 seems a bit more resilient. I play these golf balls almost exclusively now and I think they are perfect for my swing and my spin rates. 

I like this ball because it's just insanely long.

The Crystal is just so long compared to other balls in the Volvik range, that if you're a slower swinger looking for a boost in distance and accuracy it's for you. The ball doesn't shape much and prefers to go straight too - it just feels so similar to a Bridgestone E6.

But make no mistake, this ball is hard. And by hard, I mean yes, it can feel like hitting a rock. On the 135 yard pitching wedge test, the Crystal usually finishes about 8 feet from the pitch mark - I just couldn't stop it quicker. On bump and runs, you want to be a little gentler because the ball runs out a lot more than others.

I gave a sleeve of these to my playing partner, Dietmar who plays off an 8 handicap and plays any golf ball, as long as it's free! Dietmar isn't long off the tee (230 yards) and likes a firm golf ball for more rollout to reach the greens easier. He shot a 78 with the Crystals so it just goes to show that hard balls can also produce good results, depending on your priorities.

A couple points he noted were that the ball felt like a Top Flite Infinity but he noticed more carry with the Crystals and hit more hybrids instead of fairway woods into the greens. Off his Odyssey Rossie putter insert, he liked the firm click of the ball. It took him some time to adjust to the chipping though because these balls run run run.

The VIBE has been produced to compete in the low compression market and is often compared with the Chrome Soft. Volvik have put a urethane cover on the low compression VIBE though and this gives it a much softer feeling around the greens with way more bite than any Surlyn covered ball. 

There's something about this ultra low compression trend that is a bit maddening so it's nice to see Volvik responding with a more moderate 65 compression instead of the sub 40 and even zero compression balls you see released lately.

With that low compression, you get the lower spin off the longer shots which means higher distance numbers. But couple that with the urethane cover, and you're able to stop the ball quicker and get more control in the short game than most other low compression distance-oriented balls.

It's very easy to gauge the roll out of the ball almost immediately and this makes playing bump and runs and pitch shots much simpler. The feel off the putter is marshmallowy and while a turn-off for me, it does feel great off a steel faced putter.

On the 135 yard pitching wedge test, the VIBE stops almost on the the pitch mark and overall gives me similar performance to a Chrome Soft I prefer the VIBE mainly because I love Volvik. 

I played this golf ball with Pro Mo at Lam Lukka Golf Club..

I swing well over 110 mph with the driver and yet this ball still reacted well. It's officially for swings under 95 mph, but just check out the final tee shot in this video. I outdrove Mo (a professional) with my 3 wood and he hit a driver. 

The ball sits down big time, and you can see that on the final hole in this video too where I stopped a iron from 200+ and holed out for eagle. Brilliant golf ball.

This is a value ball for high handicappers who need some high visibility and distance. 

The price is low enough that losing a few is fine without much dread and pain. It's a two piece ball so the cover is made of ionomer and not urethane. That's where the distance comes from and with that, there is less spin on the ball for approaches and chips.

It's a good ball for you if you're looking for distance at slower swing speeds and higher handicaps. If you need performance on the greens like a lower handicapper, this ball is not for you.

Volvik's T2 was designed for straight distance with little spin left and right so it's a great ball for hitting long, and less offline.

With a compression of 77, the ball is made for the average swing speed with the focus on increasing distance. It's a two-piece so it's a firm ball to help generate some more carry and roll out off the driver face.

If you have an average swing speed and you want some more boom boom, the DS77 is for you. While they do promise extra control and soft feel around the green, to be honest, it's not going to give you some kind of crazy touch around the greens. This a pure, hard distance golf ball with a very durable cover - the feeling would be similar to a Titleist Velocity or a Srixon AD333. 

If you're looking for some extra distance and swing below 95 mph, this is a nice option. My swing is a bit fast to take advantage of the benefits of the ball. The pitching wedge from 135 yards usually resulted in the DS77 finishing about 8 feet from the pitch mark and on bump and runs, the ball runs out very long but very consistently.

This ball ticks all the boxes of a distance golf ball and if that's your priority, don't get too hung up in the marketing and sales talk about this ball feeling soft and unique. It's a nice colorful distance golf ball plain and simple.

I hear this phrase every time I bomb one down the middle. According to federal law, Volviks are not illegal and you won't be put behind bars for owning them or even selling them. It should be illegal to have them though, because they're as addictive to hit as taking a hit of other illegal things.

In terms of the USGA rules though, all Volvik's balls do confirm to the required standards for tournament play. Only the Volvik Magma doesn't meet the USGA regulations on golf balls and can't be used in tournament play. Like all things in golf, during social rounds, if your friends don't mind, anything's worth a try.

Volvik golf balls do go further. In my experience, the S3 and S4 are the longest golf balls I have hit with my irons. The Volvik Crystal has produced some of the longest drives I have ever hit in my life. Try a few of them out and compare them to your current golf balls.

Some of the golf balls in the Volvik range are matte colors. This means they are not the normal shiny covered golf balls. The matte finish makes them feel stickier off the club face and seem to produce more spin. The matte finish also covers scrapes and the balls do not flake as much after hard sand wedge shots.

The Volvik matte golf balls are:

1. Volvik Vivid golf balls
2. Volvik XT golf balls
3. Volvik XT Soft golf balls
4. Volvik T2 golf balls

Your priority will determine what type of ball you use whether it's for Tour performance for advanced players or just some extra yards off the tee with less errant shots as a higher handicapper. Volvik might be new kids on the block but they've got a range of balls to fit everyone and it you love colored golf balls, there just isn't a better option for high visibility.