“Why are you doing this?”
That was the general response from Ben Griffin’s friends on the PGA Tour upon learning he was switching to the Maxfli Tour X golf ball in early 2024. After all, the brand had not registered a win on tour in more than two decades.
“There were a lot of questions from the other guys … the golf ball is the most important piece of equipment in your bag. You’re using it on every single shot. You’re top 60 on the FedEx Cup. This is a big risk you’re taking,” said Griffin, whose response back was always simple yet adament. “I was like, ‘Trust me, it’s a calculated risk. I’ve done my due diligence, and I know this is going to be best for my golf game.’ ”
The origins of Griffin’s relationship with Maxfli were borne out a personal relationship. At the beginning of 2024, the up-and-comer was not signed with any company to use a golf ball and was testing all the brands. His caddie, Alex Ritthamel, had a relationship with Lexi Thompson’s family—Lexi uses Maxfli—as he used to caddie for Curtis Thompson. Ritthamel reached out to them and the information and feedback piqued Griffin’s interest.
With his three victories in 2025, Ben Griffin became the first player to win a PGA Tour event using a Maxfli ball since 2003.
Jed Jacobsohn
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“I was very hesitant about Maxfli at first because it hadn’t been around tour in a long time,” Griffin said. “I didn’t have very high expectations, probably the lowest expectation out of all the brands. After testing it, I came to realize that not only was it the longest ball, but it had the most similar spin profile to what I had been playing. I played a bunch of rounds with it. I noticed immediately off the tee it was flying straighter, too.”
Griffin posted 13 top-25 finishes in 2024 and banked nearly $3.5 million in earnings on the PGA Tour with the ball before switching to the new 2025 model of the Tour X.
“I pretty much immediately switched to the 2025 model because every single part of the golf ball was pretty much the same except it was a touch longer for me,” Griffin said. “I gained an additional 0.5 to a mile per hour ball speed by switching to the new 2025 model. Once it was USGA conforming in December of 2024, I was ready for it.”
Clearly. When Griffin won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Andrew Novak, he did something no one had done in more than two decades on the PGA Tour. Griffin’s victory was the first for the brand since Fred Funk used a Maxfli A10 (a ball with windings!) in winning the 2003 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
Maxfli, now a house brand of Dick’s Sporting Goods, didn’t have to wait nearly as long to get back into the winner’s circle. Griffin won again less than a month later at the Charles Schwab Challenge then won again later in the year at the World Wide Technology Championship. The final tally for the 29-year-old still not long removed from working as a mortgage loan officer was three wins, a pair of seconds, more than $11 million in earnings, a Ryder Cup berth for Team USA and cracking the top 10 on the World Ranking.
“Why are you doing this?” It appears that question has been asked and answered.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
