Titleist RCT Golf Balls - Our First Impressions
As personal launch monitors have become more accessible, portable, and affordable, golfers all over are looking for ways to take their game to the next level. With the opportunity to practice from home in all four seasons, everyone interested in an at home launch monitor and golf simulator is trying to figure out the right setup for their space and needs. Today, we're going to take a look at one of the less discussed dimensions of an at home setup, but certainly one that's worth considering. Do Titleist RCT golf balls actually live up to the hype and will they help you optimize your at home practice and simulator sessions. Let's start with the basics.
What are RCT Golf Balls?
RCT stands for "Radar Capture Technology". The golf balls have an embedded reflective marker that helps compatible indoor launch monitors more accurately measure (rather than estimate) the spin and launch of the ball in indoor settings. With limited space in an indoor setup, the ability to collect accurate and consistent data is largely predicated on the ability of the launch monitor to pick up the characteristics of the ball flight over the course of a few feet rather than yards.
What Launch Monitors are RCT balls compatible with?
At the time of this writing, Titleist states that they have been tested and work with the up-to-date versions of the following devices:
TrackMan 4
Garmin Approach R10
Full Swing KIT
FlightScope X3
FlightScope Mevo+
Does anyone else make RCT golf balls besides Titleist?
There's no direct competition in the market yet unless you consider the use of metallic dots to our knowledge.
How do they compare to using metallic dots?
Metallic dots can work in many scenarios. The biggest challenge we've faced is they can fall off and require you to align the golf ball per best practices. This can increase the wear on the ball itself and is just a little tedious for our tastes. With the embedded nature of the marker with RCT balls, neither are an issue.
What is a Pro V1 RCT golf ball?
They are engineered with the same design, materials, and construction as regular Titleist Pro V1s, with one exception. They have an embedded radar reflective marker and are designed specifically for use with indoor launch monitors. Titleist also offers RCT options for the Pro V1x, -Pro V1x, and AVX balls so you can compare performance and choose the ball that best suits your game.
Where can I buy Titleist RCT golf balls?
Most retailers carry them (at least for online order) or you can order them directly from the Titleist website.
Our Test
We decided to put the RCT balls to the test in our at home setup with our Garmin R10. We settled on our favorite practice shot, the 3/4 wedge with our 56 degree. It’s a shot we typically try to carry about 75 yards. As you can see in the data, the R10 specifically notes that it measured vs estimated the spin of the ball. With that said, the average measured spin with the RCT balls was about 15% higher than the estimated spin on the unmarked balls, this significant gap caught us by surprise. As we expected though, the variance in spin rate between shots was considerably lower (ie: more consistent) with the RCT balls.
Looking at the overall data, the average launch angle and apex height were virtually identical between the unmarked and RCT balls. However, with the increased spin, the average carry distance was 1.2 yards less with the RCT balls and the average total distance was 2.4 yards less than we found with the unmarked balls. Obviously, there's a significant human performance factor involved that merits more testing but the consistency and presumed accuracy of the spin rate are too important to ignore.
Conclusion
We plan to conduct additional tests with a variety of shots before declaring that they are officially "worth it." The early returns are promising though and we're excited to continue analyzing our game with Titleist RCT golf balls. For anyone serious about improving their game at home and getting the most out of their launch monitor setup, we'd certainly encourage you to pick up a box and compare the results for yourself. As with so many things in golf, YMMV.
