I have to admit, I was a bit worried when Srixon brought out the new AD333 because it's predecessor was great; after all, if it 'aint broke don't fix it.

What I found was a ball that delivered what it promised!

The big boast from Srixon is it's ultra thin cover so we tried the old and the new ball side-by-side to feel if there was any difference. Almost instantly I picked up on the softer feel off the putter face from the new ball, which has always been a criticism of the AD333 from some players.

Hitting shots around the green showed similar results: no, the ball does not check up and spin gracefully back towards the pin like a z-star but it did stop shorter than I expected and there was some welcome control with the more delicate chip shots.

Finally, came the driver test. Again, l gained between 5-15 yards with the driver but the most surprising thing for me was the reduced dispersion pattern. The larger core means the ball is likely to reduce side spin so any hooked or sliced shots with the driver won't be as severely penalised.

My opinion: I think this is a great ball and truly does deliver on its promises. Anyone who currently uses an AD333 won't be disappointed with the Srixon AD333 2012 Golf Ball and anyone who wants to try them should seriously consider it, and will probably save about £10 on the nearest alternative.

The perfect WINTER ball in my opinion is the Srixon AD333 in YELLOW. I am very pleased that it gives me excellent distance off the tee and feels really good for chipping and putting around the greens even in the winter with the hard greens & fairways. The easy to see striking yellow colour stands out straight away on the frost covered fairways & even if you do manage to find the rough, you can still find it. Other ball makers, make a yellow ball but for the price of a dozen at around £12-15 they are great value for winter before you possibly go back to a more summer ball in white.

The yellow really stands out which is a real plus in winter. Around the green and putting there seemed to be little difference from the Callaway Hex Tour Black that I was using before. However the Srixon did feel a bit hard off the club face with the driver. It may be that the contrast between the two balls is quite clear cut or maybe I was swinging poorly.

Still an excellent ball for the money, particularly with the fallen leaves and frozen courses.