Ball tested: Maxfli U/6

Category: Tour/Advanced/Performance

Specs: Construction – Six-piece; Cover – Urethane; Core – Low compression; Dimples / Pattern – 422 in seamless design

Compression: Low

Price as tested (new): $44.99 per dozen

Ball notes: Do more layers equal a better golf ball? Maxfli thinks so.

The company touts its U/6 as “golf’s first six-piece ball,” with four “progressively dense” mantle layers between the “super low compression” core and urethane cover. Those in-between layers are designed to reduce sidespin while increasing ball speed. Voila: Better accuracy and distance.

The “tour” category U/6 stands atop the pecking order in the brand’s urethane-covered U-series, which includes the
U/2, U/3, U/4 and U/4x models. The U/6 received silver medal recognition in Golf Digest’s 2013 Hot List ratings.

We tested its mettle on the course, and here’s what we found.

Sound and feel: You’d expect a ball with six layers and a urethane cover to feel soft, and the U/6 doesn’t disappoint. It even feels “sticky” right out of the box, a clue to its cover makeup. The harder you hit the U/6, the softer it feels.

Off the tee: The mantles do their job, and do it well. The U/6 ranks up there with the straightest balls on the market, refusing to slice or hook unless you make a really off-target swipe. Shotmakers may balk at this ball, which can be difficult to bend with the driver. But few golfers will complain about hitting more fairways, or hitting it nice and deep. The Maxfli U/6 gave us similar distance to other tour models.

From the fairway / rough: For backspin and stopping strength, we’d rank the U/6 in the middle of the tour ball pack. Players who impart ample spin on their own should appreciate a ball that doesn’t suck back excessively on wedge shots; low-spin players may desire a little more help than the U/6 provides. Everyone else should find it just about right. As expected based on our driving results, this ball proved deadly accurate with the irons.

Around the green: While we’d put it a notch behind the Titleist ProV1 for greenside spin and control, the U/6 performed admirably in this area. Struck properly, the ball gave us plenty of bite on short-side pitches and bunker shots. The muted “thunk” instills confidence that the U/6 will respond, while putts track nice and true.

Bottom line: Would Maxfli’s U/6 perform differently with a mere five layers? Who knows, but we like it just fine as-is. It feels good, launches long, flies straight and provides enough action to satisfy all but the most persnickety spin-meisters. Now, let’s see how long it takes someone to build a seven-piece ball…

– Compression Video

– Spin Video

– Dimples Video

– Golf Ball Brands Video

– Titleist Video

– Understanding Spin Video