I test all the golf balls that I write about on the golf course. As great as launch monitors can be for gathering data, what really matters to me is how the ball plays on the golf course.
The day I tested the Vice Tour golf ball, I had my 6 year old daughter out on the course with me. After playing with it for a hole or two, she turned to me and said, “why does that thing click so much when you hit it?”
I had to laugh because I didn’t think she was paying all that much attention to the golf ball testing, but boy was I wrong.
The Vice Tour sits in the middle of the pack as far as the lineup of Vice golf balls are concerned. Aside from the “click”, I’ll fill you in on all the other things you should know about the Vice Tour.
Vice Tour Features
The Vice Tour is advertised as being a “reliable ball from tee to green for all players”. I think this description felt vague at first, but after a few rounds, I can see where they’re coming from. Here are the features you can expect with the Vice Tour.
3 Piece Golf Ball
The Vice Tour is a 3 piece golf ball designed to give players a little bit of performance off the tee while also providing some benefit on the greens. The compression of the Vice golf balls is not always advertised, so if I had to guess, the Vice Tour would be around an 80 compression ball.
The Tour features an Energy Speed Core, a middle layer, and then the Surlyn DuPont cover.
DuPont Surlyn Cover
The three cover materials you see most often in golf balls include the Surlyn, Urethane, and the Ionomer. The Surlyn is built to last. It’s a stronger and more durable cover material, and it will provide players with high swing speeds and some protection against cutting and scuffing.
With a Surlyn Cover, you typically don’t get a feel that is quite as soft.
Alignment on the Green
The Tour golf balls from Vice have a line that helps you set your ball down on the tee or the putting green. The thick black line makes it completely unnecessary to draw your own line on a golf ball to help with alignment.
Use this to for more accuracy around the greens.
Size Optimized Energy Speed Core
The Energy Speed Core is probably one of the most important features of the Vice Tour golf ball. With this feeling like a “middle-of-the-pack” golf ball for Vice, distance is a key feature.
The Energy Speed Core is designed to help golfers get a powerful yet penetrating flight with optimal distance. Ball speeds off the tee with the Vice Tour are quite high.
In addition, another feature that Vice names with the Tour ball is that there’s very little deviation in the ball flight. In other words, you can keep the ball on a straight path, cut it through the air, and ensure that you are getting the most out of each shot.
Vice Tour Performance
I try to be as honest as possible about the performance of each golf ball I test. In addition, I’ll give you my opinion but also tell you who this golf ball could be good for. The Vice Tour is not my favorite in the Vice lineup – it’s just too “average” in every category of performance.
Let’s dive in to what I mean…
Feel and Sound
The Vice Tour is a clicky-sounding golf ball with a slightly harder feel. Vice says the golf ball gives you “feedback” and I would agree with that. The problem, however, is that it just doesn’t feel as pure as some of the other golf balls on the market.
I don’t love a super soft golf ball because it can feel like you are leaving distance on the table.
However, the overall click when you hit the Vice Tour is just not something I enjoy.
Spin
Spin from the Vice Tour was good.
You can expect that the spin is a little lower from the tee, and you do get some roll when the ball lands. In addition, the ball flight on this one is kind of a penetrating ball flight, so you will see a few extra yards of roll.
Spin on the approach shots to the green was also quite good. The Surlyn cover doesn’t grip the turf quite as well as some of the cast urethane, but the ball is still able to stop when you hit it with some good club head speed.
Greenside Control
Around the greens, I thought I would be disappointed in the performance of the Vice Tour, but it’s not bad. If you have a little bit of room between you and the pin, and you can get the ball high enough, you can expect it to stop.
The problem really comes down to the harder feel. Make sure you adjust your golf swing and your connection with the ball in order to control the way the ball responds on the greens.
Greenside control from a 3-piece ball with a Surlyn cover is different from greenside control from a 3-piece ball with a urethane cover. Spin with the Tour is not overly impressive, but the ball is controllable around the greens.
Distance
I like the distance from the Vice Tour. In fact, for the approach shots to the green, I thought it was one of the better Vice golf balls when it comes to iron distance. It’s probably that slightly harder feel and high-energy core that causes the extra jump.
The only thing to be aware of here from a distance perspective is the concept of distance control.
With a harder-feeling golf ball like this, you may struggle with distance control in the short game (i.e. from 75 yards and in).
Price
The price of the Vice Tour is good – it’s a little higher than the Vice Drive but less than the more premium Vice golf balls. I think for the quality and the value of what the Vice has to offer, it’s a fair price.
You will find that as a general theme with most Vice golf balls. After they took the middleman out of the equation and started selling directly to consumers, the pricing became more fair.
What I Like About The Vice Tour
The Vice Tour is not my favorite golf ball from Vice, simply because none of its features really stand out. I think when you play with a distance golf ball that’s not great around the greens, we can at least give it some credit for the distance.
However, when you play with a golf ball like the Vice Tour that has a few good features but nothing great, it’s hard to find the exact player that will really benefit from this technology.
That being said, let’s go over the highlights of this ball.
Distance
I was impressed with the overall distance capabilities of the Vice Tour. From the tee box and on the approach shots on the green, I never had a problem getting the distance I wanted with this golf ball in play.
Spin On Approach to The Green
Despite being a little harder, and having the Surlyn cover for the shots in that 80-120 yard range, I still got plenty of spin. Of course, as the ball moved closer to the hole, it was harder to get the spin I wanted.
What I Don’t Like About The Vice Tour
If you have been around the game of golf for quite some time, you may remember the Titleist NXT golf balls. The NXT always fell between the premium Pro V1 and then the softer balls at the time called the DT Solo.
The ball was there to fit the golfers who wanted the middle of the road technology and to save a few dollars. However, when pricing on the NXT started getting closer to the Pro V1, they struggled, and I think that’s what you find here with the Vice Tour.
Most golfers will pay a few more dollars to get better technology from Vice Pro or skip some of the greenside benefits and just go with the Vice Drive.
Sound
The Vice Tour is just too clicky for my liking. I like a more buttery sound, which is a little softer and quieter than what the Tour has to offer.
Feel
Overall, the feeling is just too hard for me. I think golfers with slower swing speeds would probably feel even more strongly about this.
Overall Performance is Average
Nothing stands out as being overly great about the Tour. Vice wanted a golf ball that could sit right in the middle of their lineup, and they certainly created it, but it just doesn’t have enough to call it a great golf ball.
Overall Rating and Thoughts
If you don’t want to pay a few dollars more for the Vice Pro golf balls, I can see the Vice Tour being an alternative. However, I would rather see you look at something that brings just a little more performance to the table.
If you don’t like that clicky feel at impact, this one isn’t your best choice.
Overall Score: 7.8/10
Brittany Olizarowicz
Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1