RZN Distance Golf Ball

If the RZN name rings a bell to you, yes it IS that RZN. After producing Nike’s golf balls for five years and winning a whole bunch of big tournaments, RZN decided to take over the golf ball business and continue to bring their designs to the market following Nike’s departure from the golf equipment business. The RZN Distance golf ball discussed in this review is a three-piece ball with a special resin core and ionomer cover geared toward achieving maximum distance.

How Does it Feel?

While the RZN Distance golf ball certainly feels firm, it doesn’t feel the least bit clicky or hard. When you see the $19.99 price tag, that becomes even more impressive. Given the lower price tag and the firm feel off the tee, surely there must be a catch, right? I expected the feel to be a little too hard from the second shot on in, but was pleasantly surprised with how good it felt moving into the green. Admittedly, yes, the RZN Distance does feel on the more resilient side, but that’s not uncommon for a distance ball design. Around and on the greens, the ball had a nice medium feel to it which is what I prefer. Enough to actually feel the ball, but not so much it’s harsh on your hands.

Off the Tee

To steal from my RZN MS-Tour review, if you look close in the photo above, you can see “Micro Dimples” within the dimples. This is designed to reduce air drag for better aerodynamics. Now, in the other review, I noted it was difficult for me to realize this impact as a result of the softer ball, however, I believe it was noticeable in the RZN Distance. Testing this ball second, I will admit to preconceived assumptions based on my control issue with the MS-Tour. From the first tee shot with the Distance, I noticed a huge difference. The ball was long and flew true off the tee. I had a much easier time controlling the ball and never felt like I was fighting to keep the ball in play. I would go so far as to say I even found this ball very impressive off the tee.

On the Approach

Now, it’s not uncommon for distance balls, especially “more affordable” distance balls, to be a little “pellety” on approach shots. To my pleasant surprise, the RZN Distance was perfectly fine. Like I mentioned in the feel section, there was just enough firmness to feel the ball but it was soft enough to still compress it. While it does firm up on faster swings (think long irons), I was still able to spin it on greens. In fact, I hit a sick 205-yard 5 iron on a par 3 that hit and zipped backwards. Not only was I very pleased to do this with a 5 iron (pretty uncommon for me), but my critical playing partner even expressed being wowed by my talents.

Around the Green

RZN Golf used, as they say, a more resilient ionomer cover on the Distance ball so one might expect it to be a little hard around the green. In my experience, yes, it was a little firmer, but by no means clicky. Wedges will bite and check just fine if that’s your game, and will feel good unless you prefer marshmallow balls. Putting I’d say is about 65% on the firmness scale. I personally liked how the ball felt off of the putter.

As seen in the picture above, RZN put a larger alignment line on the ball. With so many golfers relying on lines and arrows these days, RZN took care of it for you. Sure, the marking typically comes down to preference, however the bigger and bolder line should make alignment easier. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found the thinner outer lines to be a nice touch as well.

Final Thoughts – RZN Distance Golf Ball

As mentioned in the other review, I don’t have much experience with the original RZN Nike balls. Therefore, I can’t really give an accurate RZN comparison for all you loyalists from back in the day. (I read the golf forums, I’m well aware of how many of you loved those golf balls.) What I can say is that for $20, the RZN Distance is a solid golf ball that performs pretty well in every aspect. For that price, it’s worth it for the tee game alone! Nike golf ball fans, try it out and let me know how it stacks up. I would love to hear what you think following my testing experience.

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