Volvik Vivid Review

The Vivid sells on one idea and it is a genuinely good idea. A matte cover in red, orange, green or purple is far easier to follow in flight and far easier to find in rough than a white ball, and for golfers who lose sight of a drive at the apex that is worth real strokes. The coating on the current version holds up better than the early ones did, resisting the scuffing that used to turn a bright ball dingy inside two rounds, and durability is a legitimate strength rather than a marketing line.

Performance is where the argument gets harder. The core is larger and the compression sits in the mid eighties, which gives reasonable ball speed for a moderate swing, but long game spin is low, the flight is flat, and the ionomer cover simply does not generate the greenside spin that even a mid price urethane ball manages. Pitches release.

Chips run. Feel divides people, soft off the putter and noticeably firmer off a wedge, with the matte coating damping the sound in a way some golfers find dead. At thirty dollars a dozen it costs more than the plain distance balls that match it on performance, and the premium is for the paint. Buy it because you want to see it, not because it is better.