Have Vice missed the mark with this golf ball? Vice Pro Golf Ball Review

Vice Golf are one of the biggest DTC golf ball manufacturers in the world, but is the Vice Pro a golf ball worth investing in?

Vice have been one of the leading names (if not the leading name) in the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) golf ball industry since they entered the marketplace back in 2012. The manufacturers of the game’s best golf balls are constantly being kept on their toes by DTC brands, like Vice, but is the Vice Pro golf ball one the big brands should be worried about?

If you typically play with a Titleist Pro V1 or any other 3-piece premium golf ball, I would say don’t bother swapping it for the Vice Pro – but for the Vice Pro Plus instead.

Having seen how this golf ball performed in our 2024 golf ball robot test and having played with it myself on the course I just don’t see why anyone would opt for the Pro over the Pro Plus or even the Vice Tour.

Being a 3-piece golf ball it’s intended direct competition is with the Titleist Pro V1 (as is every DTC brand’s 3-piece premium golf ball) because it’s the No.1 ball in golf. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy this ball because it’s 1000x worse than the Pro V1, but because it isn’t as good as Vice’s 4-piece Pro Plus golf ball and they’re the same price.

I genuinely believe that Vice have missed the mark with the Vice Pro, I don’t see them offering anything more or different to the Pro Plus. I’m going to tell you why I think this, and you might disagree.

Durability

I’ll start with durability because there isn’t much to say. The Vice Pro golf balls are durable on the course. Of the golf balls I played a full 18 holes with they did show signs of wear but not enough to make me think the urethane cover isn’t durable.

I spent some time at the short game area at my home course – Cleveland Golf Club – and the Pro golf balls did scuff in the sand but I’d say that’s to be expected. I wouldn’t play a second round of golf with a Pro golf ball but at the same time, I didn’t ever consider retiring a golf ball early because it was too battered and bruised.

Versatility

The Vice Pro is just as versatile as the Vice Pro Plus, therefore, it has to score the same. Whether you’re playing with a golf ball for beginners and high-handicappers, a golf ball for slow swing speeds, or a golf ball for mid-handicappers switching to the premium Vice Pro won’t hinder your game.

You might be thinking, surely this means it’s a good golf ball, and you’re right, the Pro is a good golf ball but like I’ve said the Pro Plus is better – just no more versatile.

Regardless of what I thought when I played with the Pro golf ball on the course, just looking at our 2024 robot test results you can clearly see that the Pro is a solid golf ball in every category, but it’s consistently outperformed by the Pro Plus (except for consistency – ironically).

Tee to Green Performance

I’m going to talk you through why I scored the Pro golf ball 3.5 out of 5 for tee to green performance. I can’t really criticize this golf ball for its distance, however, I think some of that distance has led to a sacrifice of spin and control on approach shots.

In our 2024 robot test, the Vice Pro emerged as the most consistent golf ball, but that’s in reference to how close the numbers were for every shot. That being said, after watching a couple of approach shots with a wedge roll out slightly more than expected I could trust that this would happen every time. Not ideal, but a slight plus.

I would say that the Vice Pro performed best for me off an iron – specifically longer irons because I knew my shot would carry and roll. Off the tee, there wasn’t anything special about the Pro, it launches slightly lower than the Pro Plus (which isn’t ideal for me) and it spins less in the short game.

Feel and Response

I didn’t really enjoy the feel and response of the Vice Pro, but I get that this is completely subjective! For me, there wasn’t a lot of feedback. I prefer firm golf balls because I like to know when I’ve hit the ball and if I’ve hit it well or poorly.

The Vice Pro is softer than the Pro Plus and has a closer feel to the Vice Tour – which I found to be more responsive because of the surlyn cover. My overall opinion of the feel and response of the Vice Pro is muted. Obviously, you can feel something, but personally, not enough.

The feel off the putter face is much the same but you get a true roll which is always appreciated but not always a guarantee. I think if this ball didn’t roll well it could have scored 2.5 out of 5 for feel and response. However, with feel and response being personal, you might disagree.

Below you can see how the Vice Pro performed in our 2024 robot test and read the verdict from the test before reading my final verdict.

Robot test data and verdict: Vice Pro

Driver 85mph Swing	Vice Pro
Ball speed (MPH) / Launch angle (º)	123.4 / 13.3
Backspin (RPM)	2,548
Carry (YDS)	189.4
Driver 100mph Swing
Ball speed (MPH) / Launch angle (º)	144.3 / 13.6
Backspin (RPM)	2,501
Carry (YDS)	242.5
Driver 115mph Swing
Ball speed (MPH) / Launch angle (º)	165.8 / 11.4
Backspin (RPM)	2,103
Carry (YDS)	279.5
7-Iron
Ball speed (MPH) / Launch angle (º)	107.7 / 21.1
Backspin (RPM)	5,103
Height (YDS)	31.7
Descent angle (º)	44.7
Carry (YDS)	155.2
Wedge
Backspin (RPM)	7,159
Shot area (SQ YDS)	4.7
Carry (YDS)	106.1
Average Shot Area
Averaged over driver, 7-iron and PW	21 SQ YDS

VERDICT: Vice Pro

The Pro’s 90 compression will give a slightly softer feel compared to the 100 compression of the Vice Pro Plus, but just like the Titleist Pro V1 vs Pro V1x debate, you put a lot on the line to get that feel. The Pro Plus was slightly longer at all three driver swing speeds than the Vice Pro and Titleist Pro V1, which you’d sort of expect as it’s a firmer ball. Although the Pro added 3.2 yards of 7-iron carry distance over the Titleist just remember the extra distance comes with a consequence.

The trade-off on this occasion is 491 rpm and 532 rpm of iron and wedge spin respectively. To some that won’t be a deal breaker as they’ll still feel capable of stopping approaches into a hard-baked green, they’ll likely be golfers who’ll happily accept a fraction more carry distance in return for a slight trade-off in stopping power.

Interestingly both the Vice Pro (1st) and Vice Pro Plus (3rd) ranked among our three most consistent golf balls, which says something about the brand’s reliability and predictability as both models were comfortably inside our test average for shot area too.

If I were spending my own money I’d have my head swayed by the Vice Pro Plus, that’s the model that dials spin up a fraction which will increase the playability where lots of golfers need a little extra help with iron lofts generally being so strong today.

Final Verdict

Between the Vice Pro Plus and Vice Tour, I think every golfer has a solid option without having to consider the Vice Pro. Sadly, I would say that Vice have missed the mark with their Pro golf ball.

It’s not that it’s a bad golf ball, it’s more that it’s got lost in the marketplace because of how dominant X-model golf balls are, and at two-thirds of the price you could play with the Tour golf ball – another 3-piece golf ball.

If you’re someone who’s been playing the Vice Pro for years I would strongly urge you to try the Pro Plus or the Seed SD-01 which is another DTC 3-piece golf ball. After those two then I would leave the DTC golf ball market and consider something else. I’ll leave you with a couple of (familiar) options you could also consider.

Alternative options

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Price: $32.99 / £29.99

Colors: White; Lime

Construction: 3-Piece

Cover: Urethane

Dimples: 318

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