Mizuno RB Tour 2022 Golf Ball Review

Mizuno RB Tour 2022 Golf Ball Review

With three years of R&D and 99 different prototypes under Mizuno's belt, there was indeed plenty of excitement when the brand finally launched the 2022 version of its RB Tour ball. The 2020 version was one of the best mid-price golf balls of the year, and I was keen to see what improvements the brand had been able to make on this golf ball after so much time in between iterations. 

The new RB Tour features a soft urethane cover, a high-speed ionomer mantle layer, and a high-energy softcore to provide a ball that should have low launching, and low spinning characteristics in the long game with high greenside spin. Mizuno was also keenly aware of how quickly the old ball scuffed up, so I was interested to see how they'd improved on durability - more on that later. 

Much like how Titleist ProV1 is to ProV1x, the RB Tour is the lower launching and lower spinning of the two new Mizuno models. Interestingly, the spin profile of both new Mizuno balls was very similar and the real difference was found in how the RB Tour launched. Indeed, the RB Tour created a significantly lower ball flight than the RB Tour X. In fact, with an average peak height with a driver of 89ft, it shot through the air with a peak height 14ft lower than that of the RB Tour X. The same was seen in mid-iron and wedge shots, with the RB Tour living up to the billing by launching lower in thelong game. On the course, this translates a powerful, penetrating ball flight when you need it the most. 

As for the short game, greenside spin was solid although it was quite a bit less than the RB Tour X, which was strange. With some short pitch shots with a 54° wedge, the RB Tour offered 6454 revolutions of backspin on average. Versus some of its main competitors, it's a little down and it should have been spinning more than the RB Tour X.

One of the biggest concerns with the 2020 ball was how quickly it scuffed up. One trip to a particularly coarse bunker or one thwack off the middle of a tree and the 2020 balls has some significant scuff marks across the cover. Mizuno has clearly worked hard on resolving these issues and there is a marked improvement in how the 2020 version scuffed up. For my liking though, it still started to show wear too quickly. There's no doubt that these balls scuff up more than its direct competitors like the Wilson Triad, Titleist Tour Speed, and TaylorMade Tour Response.  

Overall, the 2022 Mizuno RB Tour golf ball is a great performer in the long game, with low spin and launch allowing the ball to travel with a punchy flight. While the short game spin was a little disappointing versus competitors, there's no doubt that Mizuno has made positive strides in a golf ball that offers great value for money in the mid-priced golf ball space.