The Masters is one of the most exciting times of the year for golf fans. While we're all spending large sums on polos, gnomes, hats and other collectible goodies, the players in the tournament are preparing to compete. They're going through practice rounds, studying greens (especially the ones that have been redone since 2025's Masters), learning fairways, testing out the rough and giving themselves the best chance of success at August National.
I don't think I truly understood how much preparation goes into getting ready for The Masters until I sat down and chatted with Ben Griffin, the current 16th-ranked golfer on the OWGR list. While his comeback has been one for the ages, no golfer's story is complete until they play at Augusta National.
Sure, Ben Griffin and his unconventional Maxfli Tour X golf ball have picked up a few PGA Tour wins, but now comes his biggest test.
Why not use the same balls everyone else does?
There's no doubt that the most popular golf balls are the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x. TaylorMade is right behind with its TP5 and TP5x.
But that didn't mean Ben Griffin was going to go with either of those balls if the numbers weren't the best. That's where his bond with Lexi Thompson and her family led him to Maxfli. And the results speak for themselves .
"I just noticed immediately how much farther and straighter it was flying off the tee," Ben Griffin said in an interview with Tom's Guide. "Not only am I going to hit maybe one more fairway, but I'm also going to have an average of six more yards."
I just noticed immediately how much farther and straighter it was flying off the tee. Not only am I going to hit maybe one more fairway, but I'm also going to have an average of six more yards.
Ben Griffin on trying Maxfli's Tour X ball
For a PGA Tour player, reliably hitting one more fairway per round can be the difference between making the cut and not. After all, it's not just that you drive the ball farther — your next shot becomes easier. "That's the difference between a 9-iron and a pitching wedge. 8-iron and a 9-iron. Like that can make a big difference in a round."
And it's not as though Griffin didn't have reservations about using a $40 golf ball instead of $55 or $60 model like most players. As a tour pro, the price of the ball doesn't matter to him; he's not spending anything on them. But that didn't stop him from wondering, "Why are these balls as cheap as they are?"
"They aren't selling to wholesalers, pro shops, where they have to up the prices across the board," said Griffin. "What I learned is it's actually got just as much love and R&D and everything as these other brands, it's got all the tech in it."
Comeback kids
There are some obvious parallels between Maxfli's comeback story and Ben Griffin's own.
Griffin stepped away from golf to start a new career as a mortgage loan officer. "I didn't want anything to do with golf. So I tried to do something completely opposite," recounted Griffin on his time away from the game.
I was kind of giving it a run in professional golf, took a step back, and now here we are again.
Ben Griffin
But golf found a way to creep back into life, "I played one round with a realtor trying to get business."
At the same time, Maxfli has come roaring back into golf with high-end tour balls and its own set of irons. On the crossover between his return to golf and Maxfli, Griffin said, "I felt like it resonated well with my brand as well, how I was kind of giving it a run in professional golf, took a step back, and now here we are again."
"I love sharing my story about Maxfli, and it's an easy story to share, and for people to go out and buy because it's one of the most affordable golf balls," said Griffin on his choice to use Maxfli's golf balls. "I felt like for me it was a unique opportunity to kind of be the one guy on tour to help bring this back because I just brought back my career."
And now it's time for The Masters
All of that brings Ben Griffin to one of the most exciting moments for any pro golfer: their first trip to The Masters, golf's most prestigious tournament.
Just as he approaches finding the right golf ball for his game, Griffin is meticulous in his preparation, not leaving his shot at success at Augusta to chance.
"I played three rounds between this off-season and earlier this week out there. Took a ton of notes. I played 18 [holes], and then I went around and probably spent like 20 minutes per green just like mapping it out," said Griffin on how he's getting ready for the biggest tournament of his career. "You can trust your caddy with certain things, but you're hitting the putt."
You can trust your caddy with certain things, but you're hitting the putt
Ben Griffin
When I asked why he's doing the green mapping himself and not relying on his caddy, he said, "My caddy would probably do it as well, but nothing beats your own eyes when it comes down to it."
And it's not just greens, Griffin is looking over every detail, even the sometimes tricky Augusta yardage books, which he says have "about as little detail as possible." He elaborated, "They're meant for you to go out and take your own notes and figure out the course."
Maybe it's to keep some of the course's intrigue intact rather than putting every detail in a yardage book.
And playing Augusta doesn't always lead to a huge advantage. According to Griffin, the course will "regrass three greens a year, and they pick three different greens every single year. Except this past year, they did 16 again because they didn't like the brakes because they had to redesign it because the tree fell on it during that storm."
So that's three new greens, including one that was just redone last year, which will certainly impact players who've been to the Masters several times. "11, 14, and 16 are all new greens, so they're going to be a little bit firmer than the rest," noted Griffin. "It's Augusta trying to mess with you."
