If by "a lot of play" your mean the set loosely swivels around it's shaft (e.g. holding it upright the set easily falls to one side), then yes that's normal.
Imagine that the socket is about 1/16" larger than the ball. Feels like you could make a mess in a hurry. I bought this for a backup for my standard mushroom but this will be a set of last resort. Haven't used it yet may change my mind after that. Thx all for the comments.