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Switching Balls - Help or Hurt?

Saig55

By Saig55,
in Golf Talk

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Saig55 Well Established Member

Saig55

I play a Titleist NXT Tour. But when I am on a Par 3 I switch out to a ProV1. Does it really matter if the swing remains the same as to what ball is being used? The ProV1 will stop dead in it's tracks or row about a foot past where it hits.

Does it make a difference?

Driver: 9.5 Titleist 910, Fairway Woods: G2 3 wood and 5 woods
Irons: Titleist CB712
Wedges: 52 - Vokey, 56 - Vokey Raw,
Putter: Odyssey White Hot #1
Ball: NXT Tour

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etlreams Dedicated Member

etlreams

There will be varying opinions on this, of course. But your post interested me because I am doing the same thing right now. I've been experimenting with different balls lately and have found that a low compression, 2 or 3 piece ball is giving me much better distance and accuracy off the tee and with long irons. But....of course, the softer more spinny ball is better around the greens and off short irons.

So....I've been playing the Titleist NXT off the tee and I use a ProV or Nike One Tour on par 3s and if I have to take a drop on a Par 4/5.

Is this bad to do? I don't know. Maybe. Different balls will act differently and I suppose some would argue it will be hard to judge distance, etc. if you are changing balls.... But if you know how each balls plays, then I say why not.

Or....continue searching for a "the ball" that will give you everything you want. Personally, I haven't found that ball yet.

What I Play:

Driver: R9 460
4 Wood: G15

Hy: Callaway FT 3Hy

Irons: AP1 4-PW

Wedges: Vokey 52* & 60*, Mizuno MP-T 10 58*

Putter: Newport Studio Select 2.7

Ball: Nike One Vapor

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WUTiger Incredible Member

WUTiger

Several years ago, Golf Digest put out the Total Golf instruction series for about $15 a year. You got a ring binder, and each month they's send you several glossy, full color pages with assorted playing tips.

One eight-page segment on the short game was called, Match Your Shot to Your Ball Type. It's premise: most balls can be classified as low-spin, high-spin, and mid-spin. Basically, the segment showed you different ways to play six kinds of pitch and chip shots, depending on what ball you used.

So, you need a ball which matches your swing and playing strategy.

I've been a mid-spin person for a long time. Low-spin balls are rough for me to control around the green, and I can't stop them on approach shots. High-spin balls cost too much, and cause me problems checking up tooo quickly (I play chip and run more than most people).

Mid-spin give me decent control around the green, plus a little more distance than the high-spin.

As for NXT vs. ProV1, which ball will work for you in the most situations? There's probably tradeoffs with any ball you pick.

Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking Academy: Fitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

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James_Black Great Member

James_Black

Nothing wrong with switching.

Tom watson used to do that before the "one ball" rule came in.

My Clubs
Driver - LV4 10* R flex
Wood - sam snead persimmon 2 wood (for windy days)
Hybrid burner tour launch 20* stiff flex.
Irons - Tour Mode 3i,4i stiffIrons - FP's 5-PW R-flexWedge - spin milled 54.14Wedge - spin milled 60.07Putter - Victoria Lowest round 2010: 79 (par 70)Latest rounds at...

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Where's the Cart Girl? Well Established Member

Where's the Cart Girl?

Timely thread.

Went out to play our Thursday work league last night and there was a Bridgestone "Ball challenge" tent set up outside the club house. So they happened to have two openings that my friend and I jumped on before we had to tee off.

They ask what ball you play then either gave you one of that them or let you use your own, and you hit your driver into a net in front of some simulation equipment that fed back to a laptop. There were also some prefacing questions.. "what are you most looking for in a ball.. what's your HC.. etc."

So you swing a few times, they show you the results, recommend a Bridgestone ball and you do it again.

For me they recommended the B330RX. They said that it would eliminate some of the backspin that was taking distance off my drive with the ProV1 but still had the urethane cover for feel around the greens (because that's what I told them I cared most about.)

After about 10 swings, results were nearly identical. They had me hit the e6 next, with again very similar results. Bottom line, no help for me. Just a free sleeve of balls.

My diagnosis - It's as much in the golfers head as anything. It's proven fact that different materials will produce different compression/flight characteristics in golf balls. But I say figure out which part of your game is weakest and play a ball that can enhance it. I'll never drive the ball 300 yd so I care most about what my ball does from 50 yd. in. because that's where I score. If I had a lights out short game but was erratic off the tee maybe I would play a ball that's just made to go straight.

There's nothing wrong with switching balls when you're playing for fun if one gives you a warm, fuzzy more so than another.

The bag:

Driver: Taylormade R7 Limited (10.5*)
3-wood: Taylormade R7 st (15*)
5-wood: Titleist 909 F2(18.5*)Irons: Taylormade RAC TP MB; Project-X 6.0 (3-PW)Wedges: Vokey Spin-Milled 52.08 Vokey Spin-Milled 58.12Putter: Odyssey White Hot Tour #1 (33")Ball: Titleist ProV1

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shades9323 Great Member

shades9323

I play a Titleist NXT Tour. But when I am on a Par 3 I switch out to a ProV1. Does it really matter if the swing remains the same as to what ball is being used? The ProV1 will stop dead in it's tracks or row about a foot past where it hits.

Seems a bit silly to me. Do you hit the NXT off the tee on the other 14 holes and then drop a v1 for your approach shot?

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sacm3bill Great Member

sacm3bill

Seems a bit silly to me. Do you hit the NXT off the tee on the other 14 holes and then drop a v1 for your approach shot?

The rules don't allow that. But if they did, a lot of folks would use a distance ball off the tee and a high-spin balll for approach.

Makes sense, don't you think? What the OP is saying is, on par 3's you don't need to have a ball with any distance characteristics, so might as well use one with high spin.

Bill

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Saig55 Well Established Member

Saig55

  • Author
No, I don't mean that at all. If I tee off with an NXT, I use that for the entire hole. When I get to a par 3, I hit the ProV1 and use it only on that hole.

Driver: 9.5 Titleist 910, Fairway Woods: G2 3 wood and 5 woods
Irons: Titleist CB712
Wedges: 52 - Vokey, 56 - Vokey Raw,
Putter: Odyssey White Hot #1
Ball: NXT Tour

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pittpanther Dedicated Member

pittpanther

No, I don't mean that at all. If I tee off with an NXT, I use that for the entire hole. When I get to a par 3, I hit the ProV1 and use it only on that hole.

What you're saying is legal according to the rules of golf, and as well, lots of people do it. You should feel free to continue with this method, if you feel it helps your game.

HiBore 10.5 driver
GT-500 3- and 5-woods
Bazooka JMax 4 Iron Wood
Big Bertha 2008 irons (4 and 5 i-brids, 6i-9i,PW)
Tom Watson 56 SW Two-Ball putter

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James_Black Great Member

James_Black

What you're saying is legal according to the rules of golf, and as well, lots of people do it. You should feel free to continue with this method, if you feel it helps your game.

He's not asking if it's legal to do it.

He's wondering if it's a good idea switching golf balls.

My Clubs
Driver - LV4 10* R flex
Wood - sam snead persimmon 2 wood (for windy days)
Hybrid burner tour launch 20* stiff flex.
Irons - Tour Mode 3i,4i stiffIrons - FP's 5-PW R-flexWedge - spin milled 54.14Wedge - spin milled 60.07Putter - Victoria Lowest round 2010: 79 (par 70)Latest rounds at...

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zeg Great Member

zeg

For me personally, I think it'd be a bad idea. I don't need to be changing anything I don't have to during the round. Just thinking about it being a different ball would probably get me wanting to make an extra-special effort to get the most out of the ball instead of just swinging, and that's a sure recipe to blow it.

However, I'm also not someone who's likely to see much benefit from the difference as I don't get much spin or control with any ball...

In the bag:
FT-iQ 10° driver, FT 21° neutral 3H
T-Zoid Forged 15° 3W, MX-23 4-PW
Harmonized 52° GW, Tom Watson 56° SW, X-Forged Vintage 60° LW
White Hot XG #1 Putter, 33"

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sean_miller Incredible Member

sean_miller

Seems a bit silly to me. Do you hit the NXT off the tee on the other 14 holes and then drop a v1 for your approach shot?

Seems silly to me too. The only time to switch balls is when you have a forced carry that's a 50:50 proposition. Then I'd sneak a ball out of a playing partner's bag and give it a go.

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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Woters Well Established Member

Woters

I like this thread because I have exactly done the same thing with the same balls & maybe I'm being daft but I have seen a definate checking with the ProV1 on the Par3's. On a very quiet day at my club I play 2 different balls at each Par3 to see how well/close I hit them. I hit the NXT Tour well but as another poster said the feel of the Prov1 is noticable even to a 12 handicapper like me. Unfortunately I cant afford to play ProV1's all the time so for every dozen of those I buy, I buy maybe 2 dozen NXT Tour's.

Bet the OP is glad to know he aint the only wierd one testing balls for Par 3's!!!

What's in my Titleist RC10 Cart Bag? Driver: Nike Sasquatch Sumo Square 5900 10.5* Aldila VS Proto 65 stiff shaft
3 Wood: Nike SQ Mach Speed 15* Hybrid: Nike 5H Ignite 23*
Irons: Nike Ignite 4i-Sw Wedges: Vokey Design 252*-08 / Oil Can Spin Milled 60*-08
Putter: Odyssey White Ice 2Ball CS 34"...

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shades9323 Great Member

shades9323

Seems silly to me too. The only time to switch balls is when you have a forced carry that's a 50:50 proposition. Then I'd sneak a ball out of a playing partner's bag and give it a go.

Might as well lose thier expensive golf balls and save your inexpensive ones!

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sean_miller Incredible Member

sean_miller

Might as well lose thier expensive golf balls and save your inexpensive ones!

With the new Wilson Eco Core I can afford to spray 4 times as many balls OB than I could with the ProV1s. wink

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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