Top-Flite Gamer V2 Golf Balls Review: A Lot of Bang for the Buck

Distance is usually the only thing you get from the balls in this price range, but the Top-Flite Gamer V2 is different. At $20 per dozen (MSRP, street price is often lower), you get a lot of bang for your buck. A lot of people think these golf balls play like $30-35 balls, not a lowly $20. I hate to admit it so early in this review, but I have to agree. In fact, these golf balls are one of my favorites, regardless of the price.

Here's why.

To begin with, Top-Flite golf balls have always been known for their affordability, and the Top-Flite Gamer V2 carries on that tradition in fine style. But instead of being just the typical affordable "distance" ball, these babies do almost everything you would want. The performance that these balls give you for their price is really quite remarkable. These are good golf balls, and they're a great value.

Top-Flite Gamer V2 golf balls do it all. They're not the best at anything, but they're long, soft and durable. These 3-piece balls can even give you above-average short-game spin. They use Top-Flite's award-winning "Dimple in Dimple® Aerodynamics" in a seamless 332-dimple pattern. Inside the thin, soft but durable ionomer cover is a DuPontTM HPFTM mantle layer and then a soft, resilient polybutadiene core. Apparently these components work well together, because the result - in my experience, anyway - is a combination of distance, durability, feel, and short-game spin and control that appears to be unmatched by any ball in this price class.

I got good distance off my driver. The ball's mantle layer is designed to increase ball speed and reduce driver sidespin for additional distance and accuracy, and I really striped my balls down the fairway. It was a little harder to work than I like, probably because of that reduced sidespin. The ball flight was slightly higher than the trajectory of some other balls, but there was still a nice amount of roll. Feel on impact was softer than most inexpensive balls, although I wouldn't call it buttery. To me, it was comparable to the feel of the Titleist NXT Tour. That's not a bad thing.

The results were about the same when I was hitting woods and longer irons. I got a penetrating, straight, mid-to-high trajectory and carry that was probably a couple of yards longer than normal. When I hit a long shot onto the green (on a par four, for example), the ball stopped rolling fairly quickly - a lot quicker than I would expect from such an inexpensive ball.

With short irons and wedges, these particular golf balls did have some bite, although they won't back up on the green. In my experience, they have more short-game "stopping power" than other balls in their price range. Feel was good because of the resilient core and the soft ionomer cover, but it's not as nice as you'd have with a tour-caliber ball with a urethane cover. Of course, in addition to being softer and giving you more short-game spin, those types of balls also cost more than twice as much as Top-Flite Gamer V2 golf balls. I did discover that the Gamer V2 is a great ball for one of my favorite shots - the almost-forgotten art of the bump-and-run. It releases almost perfectly for that type of shot.

The Top-Flite Gamer V2 didn't feel hard or "clicky" off my putter, which admittedly has a fairly soft face insert. It rolled straight and true.

I was also impressed with the ball's durability. I used a single Top-Flite Gamer V2 golf ball for my entire round, and I only saw two small scuffs when I plucked it out of the hole on No. 18.

The Bottom Line: Top-Flite Gamer V2 golf balls are very good, especially for their price. Instead of playing like $20 distance balls, they play like a solid, intermediate-range ball that costs $10 or $15 more per dozen. Distance is excellent, accuracy is good, and they're quite durable. Naturally, the spin off a wedge isn't as good as a tour ball, but it's better than any other ball I've played in this price range. As Top-Flite likes to say, you may have just found your go-to, "gamer" ball. The Top-Flite Gamer V2 is not a cheap distance ball. It's an inexpensive performance ball, and it's a good one.

From Top-Flite Gamer V2 to other Top-Flite golf ball reviews.