Seed SD-X1 The Pro X1 Golf Ball Review
The Seed SD-X1 golf ball promises tour-calibre performance at nearly half the price, but how does it perform? We put it to the test...
Good all-round performance for stronger swingers, delivering a stable, penetrating ball flight. Wouldn’t rank among the very softest-feeling balls for work on and around the greens.
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Performs well in the wind with a stable ball flight
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Good-value alternative for those unable or unwilling to pay premium brand prices
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Feel may be a little too firm for some on and around the greens
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Seed SD-X1 The Pro X1 Golf Ball Review
Seed will be a ball brand unfamiliar to many golfers, but it is an Irish-based company founded in 2015 out of one man’s desire to bring high-performing golf balls to a lower price point than the best golf balls on the market from the top brands. “I wanted to fundamentally change the way people buy golf equipment and build a brand around great products at affordable prices,” founder Dean Klatt has said. “And I wanted to make golf more fun - that underpins everything we do.
Looking down at address with a wedge
In recent years we have seen a number of new balls seeking to bring the promise of tour-level performance to a more affordable price than the long-established best premium golf balls, among them the Kirkland Signature ball from Costco, the Inesis Tour 900 from Decathlon and the Snell MTB-X. Seed’s SD-X1 The Pro X1 model on test here is another in this mould, a three-piece, urethane-covered ball engineered for stronger swingers seeking a penetrating flight and optimum driver distance. So, how did it perform?
For a start, it looks the part. For those most concerned about its softness (or otherwise), it passes the fingernail test on the cover with flying colours, while its distinctive black and green logo looks suitably classy
Stability off the tee was noticeable in very windy conditions
Out on the course, it was really put through its paces on a cold and very windy day on the clifftops at Bridport Golf Club in Dorset and the first thing you notice is that the ball feels and sounds good off the driver face and lies somewhere between firm and soft on full irons shots. It is engineered for a lower, more penetrating flight and that is noticeable, so perhaps a great option for really chasing it down firmer fairways come the summer.
Seed claims the ball possesses good stability in the wind and we would go along with that. On a day when such attributes were tested to the full, the ball didn’t veer offline as much as we felt it might into the wind given how certain swings sometimes felt.
A slightly firmer feel than some premium balls on and around the greens
This is a firm compression golf ball and that does translate into a slight firmer feel off the blade on and around the greens, so that is something to be aware of if you rely on the softest of feels to make or save your score greenside. Overall, the performance on offer here is good. Factor in the price compared to premium models (£30 a dozen, reducing on a sliding scale to £25 a dozen for five dozen) and some golfers will feel that is a saving well worth making.
