WHO ARE PEARL GOLF?
Pearl have come from absolutely nowhere in the last 18 months. They’ve spotted how more and more premium golf balls are being bought online, and they’ve got on board before the market becomes saturated. Based in Germany they’re completely dedicated to producing the finest quality balls, bags and accessories, and say by eliminating the “middle-man retailer” golfers get to buy direct for reasonable costs.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO BALLS: The firmer feeling X is slightly longer on all shots, but the standard Pro ball spins slightly more, increasing control with the irons. THE RESULTS: Back in February when we ran our “best ball for under £30 test”, the Pearl Puresoft balls performed brilliantly. The X posted both the fastest driver ball speed and highest wedge backspin numbers which is incredible, when you can buy them for just £18.99 a dozen. The Purepro and Purepro X involved in this test are brand new for 2018 and aimed directly at competing with premium tour balls, whereas the Puresoft primarily is for the emerging softer ball stage. Our numbers alone spell out how Pearl is a very strong alternative to a Pro V1. 2.5% less driver distance (and our test pro’s second longest driver ball) with a 2mph lower ball speed pale into insignificance when you see the Pearl Purepro was our highest spinning wedge ball, with 12% more backspin than Titleist’s highest spinning model. The Pearls were no slouch when it came to irons, either; 63% of the balls we tested were within two yards (carry) of each other with a 7-iron. The Purepro was within that 63%, while the Purepro X was tied longest on 186 yards with the Snell Black.
OUR VERDICT: A seriously impressive performance from both Pearl balls, and the numbers are completely backed up in terms of feel. Our test pro said there wasn’t a ball here he wouldn’t use himself… and he certainly wouldn’t have said that a few years ago. Pearl are newest to the mail order golf ball stage and they’ve got some work to do to get their name out there. But we’ve proved the performance is there.