Look, I’ll be the primary to confess that Vice Golf occupies a bizarre house in my mind.
On one hand, they make legitimately good golf balls at costs that don’t require a second mortgage. Then again, they’ve constructed their whole model id round being the golf equal of that buddy who exhibits as much as each get together sporting one thing that’s equal elements superior and ridiculous.
Working example: the brand new Vice Archive Assortment.
Ostensibly created to commemorate the one hundred and twenty fifth US Open (and practically 100 years of elite competitors at Oakmont), the Archive Assortment is Vice doing what Vice does greatest—taking one thing historically stuffy and making it cool with out utterly destroying the reverence.
What you get
The gathering facilities round Vice Professional golf balls in a yellow-to-white gradient that’s… high-quality, I suppose. I’m not usually a multi-colored ball man, and whereas the gradient design is much less aggressive than Vice’s common neon assault in your retinas, it’s nonetheless a coloured golf ball.
The efficiency specs stay unchanged from the usual Vice Professional, which implies you’re getting a respectable tour-level ball for $42.99 per dozen (with bulk reductions out there). Any efficiency variations would come right down to the paint course of.
What makes these particular isn’t simply the gradient paint job. Reverse the participant quantity, you’ll discover “1927” overlaid with “2025”. That’s a nod to Oakmont’s championship pedigree spanning practically a century. One aspect stamp options an arrow (as a result of apparently all the pieces wants an arrow today), whereas the opposite shows “VICE GOLF” in giant hole letters.
The gathering rounds out with an off-white and neon towel ($21.99) and themed tees ($8.99) that, whereas not precisely groundbreaking, full the package deal for individuals who like their golf equipment to match.
The Vice system
This isn’t Vice’s first main championship rodeo both. They pulled an analogous for the PGA Championship, and the sample is changing into clear: take a prestigious event, create one thing that acknowledges the historical past with out being treasured about it, value it moderately, and let folks determine if they need in.
The portions aren’t specified, however anybody conversant in Vice’s restricted version playbook is aware of this stuff are inclined to disappear quicker than your enjoying companion’s provide to purchase the primary spherical. They’ve created a pleasant little aspect enterprise in golf collectibles for individuals who admire good design however don’t need to pay Scotty Cameron costs.
Why the Archive Assortment works
The Archive Assortment succeeds as a result of it doesn’t utterly fail at putting a steadiness. The gradient design is eye-catching with out being utterly obnoxious. The historic references really feel much less pressured than they might have been. And the pricing stays accessible to golfers who admire the aesthetics however aren’t trying to make a big monetary dedication to their golf ball alternative.
Extra importantly, these are precise Vice Professional balls. Not some watered-down commemorative model, however the identical three-piece urethane building that’s earned the corporate respect in a class dominated by a lot bigger gamers.
The underside line
The Vice Archive Assortment isn’t revolutionary. It’s a reliable restricted version that celebrates a serious championship with out taking itself too significantly, costs itself moderately, and delivers efficiency alongside the aesthetics.
In a golf world that usually feels prefer it’s making an attempt too onerous to be both ultra-traditional or desperately hip, Vice continues to carve out house for golfers who simply need good tools that appears cool and doesn’t break the bank.
The gathering is on the market now, due to course it’s. Vice doesn’t do the entire “coming quickly” tease sport. They make one thing, they promote it, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Whether or not you’re planning to truly play the one hundred and twenty fifth US Open (spoiler: you’re in all probability not) or simply need golf balls that look totally different from everybody else’s Professional V1s, the Archive Assortment delivers precisely what it guarantees: Vice being Vice, simply with a bit extra historic gravitas than common.
The put up Vice Golf Does the US Open (and we’re right here for it) appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
