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...
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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.
Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly across the whole spectrum from courses and Rules to equipment and instruction. He also edits The Golf Club Secretary Newsletter, a highly regarded trade publication for golf club secretaries and managers, and has authored or co-authored three books and written for a number of national papers including The Telegraph and The Independent. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played well over 950 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, right across the spectrum from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts, but put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)
Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response
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