Forgeway Golf Balls: Hope Or Hype?
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2026-08-21
By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf
OK, I’ll admit it: I am getting older and, as such, my golf game is suffering. Suffering first and foremost from a lack of distance. Secondly, from a lack of good putting. But, in my case, it’s a matter of first things first.
It’s not like I formerly hit the ball far. Given my slow driver swing speed — somewhere in the low 80s — I am usually playing par-4 holes as a one-putt effort to break even. I am running at a Handicap Index of 16.8 (up from my low of 13.6), so bogey golf has basically become the norm.
Being an intrepid golf journalist who was surfing the web the other day seeking game improvement without working on my game, I came across a Facebook ad for a golf ball that promised all kinds of good things. Things like, and I quote here from their website, “More distance. Soft centre rebounds faster,” and “Straighter Flight. Firm outer core resists twisting on mishits,” and so on.
Looking for technology to help my game rather than good instruction from a certified pro, I signed up for a dozen. Part of the reason for taking this online swing was the claim, and again, I quote, and this was all in caps, “PLAY A ROUND. IF YOU DON’T LOVE IT, WE’LL REFUND EVERY PENNY.” Okay, I can live with that promise. After all, this was a work assignment/experiment to see if these missiles perform as promised. And, it’s a tax write-off for me if I keep them because remember, I am a certified golf journalist.
After receiving the balls, I grabbed three other varieties of projectiles: a Callaway SuperSoft (which I normally use), a TaylorMade Distance, and a Pro V1 (which I never buy and only have because they’re given to me). With those in my pocket along with a driver and a 7-iron, I was off to put the Forgeway ball and their claims to the test. For this, I measured swing speed, carry distance, and total distance. Since I can proudly proclaim I rarely slice or hook a shot, I was concerned only with the company’s added distance claims.
I went first to a simulation using TrackMan. What I found was disappointing, to say the least. I realized that there would be variables with this kind of in-person testing as swing speeds decrease when you’re banging out shot after shot after shot.
The Forgeway (interestingly enough, my spellcheck kept changing that name to Forgery) balls were nothing short of, well, short. The most distance I got with this new and improved rocket was 193.7 yards with a carry of 158.0 yards. The Callaway ball, which wasn’t new like the others used, came out on top, travelling 206.4 yards with a carry of 173.1 yards. The swing speed for the Forgeway was 2 mph slower than that of the Callaway. That speed difference works out to roughly 4 to 5 yards, meaning that the Forgeway still didn’t measure up to claims made.
Being the fair-minded person that I am, I figured I’d give these wonder balls a second chance. So it was off to the course on a wind-free day with the Callaway and Forgeway and, again, the name-brand out-performed the new-to-market sphere regularly.
I won’t bore you with all the numbers, but the Forgeway did not stack up well at all. As stated, I am not a machine like Iron Byron, so swings and results varied, but the miracle distance ball simply did not measure up.
As mentioned, the company promises a money-back guarantee, but when I figured out how much it would cost to send them back (they won’t pay return shipping), it turns out that I was better off giving them to my great-nephews who are just learning to golf.
Overall, Forgeway was a huge disappointment and, if you want my honest opinion, their website ads are nothing but hype about a product that doesn’t deliver. For me, they were a tax write-off. For others, this is likely just another golf product with claims that can’t be substantiated by normal golfers.