Curious if top professionals are using Vice golf balls on tour? The most direct answer is no, but that’s far from the whole story, and it has almost nothing to do with the quality of the golf ball. This article pulls back the curtain on the real reasons you won't see Vice logos on the PGA Tour, and more importantly, our coaching breakdown will help you decide which of their high-performance models is the perfect fit for your game.
Let's get right to it. You will not find a top-10 player on the PGA or LIV tours teeing up a Vice ball with its distinct logo showing during a tournament. While you might occasionally hear a rumor or see an old photo, as a rule, the elite players who are household names are not using Vice golf balls in competition.
But here’s the most important point, and it’s something I stress to every golfer I coach: This is not a reflection of the ball's performance. The decision has almost nothing to do with feel, spin, or distance. It boils down to the powerful business of professional golf endorsements, a world where equipment choices are often made at a boardroom table, not on the practice green.
Think of your favorite professional golfer as a walking, swinging corporation. Every piece of their apparel and equipment is valuable real estate. Their hat, their shirt, their shoes, their bag, and especially their clubs and golf ball are all part of multi-million dollar contracts.
The vast majority of top-tier pros have what's known as a an equipment deal. These contracts dictate exactly what they can and cannot put in their bag. When it comes to golf balls, these deals generally fall into two categories:
Legacy brands like Titleist and TaylorMade budget tens of millions of dollars each year for tour validation. Paying Tour players is their primary marketing strategy. Vice, on the other hand, was built on a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. Their strategy is to bypass the enormous costs associated with tour player endorsements and retail markups.
Instead of paying millions to a Tour pro, they invest that money into research and development while passing the savings directly on to you, the golfer. They sell online, cut out the middleman, and offer a premium product at a far more accessible price point. So, while you don’t get to see a Sunday charge from a pro playing a Vice ball, you *do* get to play a golf ball with tour-level performance without paying the tour-level price.
While the biggest tours are locked down by those massive contracts, the world of professional golf is much larger. If you look beyond the PGA and LIV Tours, you absolutely will find elite players choosing to use Vice golf balls.
On tours like the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour Americas, or various European and Asian tours, players don't have the same access to mega-deals. Many are funding their own careers and need equipment that offers the best performance without breaking the bank. For these players, the decision *is* about performance per dollar. You'll find many of these aspiring pros selecting Vice balls because they deliver the technology and feel they need to compete at the highest level, proving the balls are good enough for pros who have a choice.
If you want to see a testament to a ball's speed and durability, look no further than the world of professional long drive. This is a sport about pure power and maximizing ball speed off the tee. Many professional long drivers, whose success is measured by pure, unadulterated distance, have used and trusted Vice PRO PLUS golf balls in competition. It’s a powerful endorsement of the ball’s core engineering and its ability to handle the fastest swing speeds on the planet.
This is where we get to the heart of the matter. Forget about what the pros are paid to play for a moment and let's find the best ball for *your* game. As a coach, I see players transform their feel and confidence simply by switching to a ball that matches their swing characteristics. Vice's streamlined lineup makes this choice straightforward. Here’s how to select your new go-to ball.
Player Profile: This ball is engineered for the high-speed player. If your driver swing speed is consistently over 105 mph and you generate high ball speeds throughout your bag, the PRO PLUS is for you. It's a 4-piece ball designed for low launch and low spin off the driver to maximize distance, but its cast urethane cover provides exceptional spin and control around the greens.
Think of it like: A very close competitor to the Titleist Pro V1x or TaylorMade TP5x.
Player Profile: This is Vice's flagship model and the best fit for the widest range of serious golfers. Designed for players with driver swing speeds in the 95-110 mph range, the 3-piece Vice PRO offers a brilliant combination of distance, a penetrating mid-launch flight, and fantastic feel. The cast urethane cover gives you the bite you need for aggressive approach shots and delicate chips.
Think of it like: A direct challenger to the Titleist Pro V1 or TaylorMade TP5.
Player Profile: As the name suggests, this ball is for players who prioritize a soft, buttery feel without sacrificing premium performance. It's ideal for golfers with moderate swing speeds (under 95 mph). The lower compression of the Pro Soft allows you to compress the ball effectively, creating great distance for your swing speed while the urethane cover provides excellent control on and around the greens.
Think of it like: A fantastic alternative to the Callaway Chrome Soft or Titleist AVX.
Player Profile: The Vice TOUR is a fantastic all-around golf ball for the everyday golfer who wants reliable performance at an unbeatable price. It's a 3-piece ball, but it features a Surlyn cover instead of the softer cast urethane found on the "PRO" models. This means it's incredibly durable and long off the tee, though it offers slightly less spin on short-game shots than its premium siblings. For the mid-to-high handicap player, it is an outstanding option.
Think of it like: A superior alternative to balls like the Titleist Tour Soft or Srixon Q-Star.
So, we know the contracts and business models. But if you put a Vice PRO PLUS on a launch monitor next to a Pro V1x, what happens? Can you truly get premium performance for a non-premium price?
The answer, proven by countless independent and robotic tests over the years, is a resounding yes.
When you break down the performance data, Vice’s premium urethane models (the PRO, PRO PLUS, and PRO SOFT) are exceptionally competitive with the major brands. The key metrics that matter for a premium golf ball are all there:
The difference isn't in the technology or the performance - it's in the price tag. By changing the business model, Vice changed the game for golfers who wanted quality afor an honest price.
In short, the biggest names in professional golf don't use Vice balls primarily due to existing multi-million dollar endorsement contracts, not because of product performance. For the competitive amateur or serious golfer who isn't bound by such a deal, Vice offers a lineup of balls proven to stack up against any an of the legacy brands on the market.
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