Need help finding the right ball. Need help badly

Hi Everyone. I am lost trying to find a ball that fits my swing. I just had my driver swing speed checked and according to the monitor, it is at 90mph. I was actually suprised that it was so slow. Huge ego check. My average drive is about 250 (ranging from 230 to 280 when i hit the sweet spot). Please note that this is not on the fly (not sure if that makes a difference).

I am looking for something that will have a fairly straight flight that goes high. i tend to have a hard time getting the ball high in the air.

I have tried Prov1x's, TM red dlp's, penta's, and one B330RXS that i found. I am not sure I have the swing speed needed for these balls though. Or maybe I do but this is the best its going to get.

I know you are supposed to pick a ball starting at the green going back to the tee but my putting is decent and i cant put spin on the ball anyway so greenside spin isnt the most important thing to me right now.

Distance and accuracy off the tee right now is one of the main things that is helping me lower my scores right now.

Thanks for the help everyone.

You are not going to find a ball that replaces what a club and swing will do.

There are no balls that go straight and high.These are functions of technique.

That's not to say that there may not be some benefits to "ball fitting", but any ball will perform well if it is struck well.

All of the balls you have mentioned are fine. Better than fine, they are the best balls that money can buy.

You might have  a shaft or driver loft issue if you are not happy with the flight of your drives.

No ball will correct that, but if you are rolling it out to 250 on the courses you play, you have nothing to worry about.

B330RX would be the right ball for your swing speed. You also may want to try the E6, it's a low spin ball that will help getting airborne a little bit. However, the above post is 100% accurate

I totally understand that the swing is the most important factor when determining direction/height of a ball flight.  I have been noticing on reviews like the hot list one that they always point out spin rate and launch angle in their comparisons.  i wasnt sure if the spin rate meant back spin or just spin in general (regardless of spin direction?).  Also, if any part of the ball does play a factor in launch angle, I figured it wouldnt hurt to find one that launches high.

I am going to pick up a box of the B330RX and a box of the e6.  Hopefully I will have the swing speed to properly compress these balls as I dont think I was coming close to compressing the other balls I used in the past.

IMO, there are so many good balls on the market in the $20-30 range it is just a matter of what type you like.  I like a softer feeling ball as apposed to a "clicky" one.  TF D2 Feel, Nike PD Soft and Srixon Soft Feel are just a few I have tried and liked for 2 piece balls.  For 3 piece balls, I love the Gamer v2 and the TM Burner TP.  If you don't want/need a premium ball, there are alot of good alternatives out there.

I have to second the Gamer V2. Great ball for the price.

I started playing the e6 after finding a couple and hitting them straighter than ever.

I'd grab your driver and go to Golf Galaxy or PGA Super Store with 20 bucks and get a ball fitting done.  Based on the relevent variables (swing speed, spin rate, launch angle, etc.) they'll give you a prinout showing which balls you'll hit further and with less dispersion.

I dont think I have ever seen either of those stores out here in the Bay Area (CA).  We have GolfMarts and Golfsmiths though.  After my initial driver swing speed test at Golfmart, I am skeptical about how well their monitors work.  I know I dont have a 120mph swing but 90 seemed a little low.  Could be my ego getting in the way though. Can you even hit 250 on the fly with a 90mph swing?  I am going out tomorrow to test out the e6, 330RXS, and the TF G2.  I will let you know how it goes next week.

I'd say, try out the Srixon Soft Feel (green one) and the Srixon Distance (red one)

If the variables are in a decent range, yes you can hit it 250 off the tee with only a 90 mph swing speed.  If you don't have a PGA Super Store, you've got to have a legit outifit within 50 miles to conduct a true and real ball fitting.  I still think that's your best bet if you can find the right type of place.

But keep in mind, it's not like you're going to gain or lose 50 yards off the tee.  The idea is to find the right mix of distance, accuracy, and feel around the greens relative to your swing characteristics.

everyone seemed to forget about it but it was my starter ball, the Noodle.  Comes up high, 2-3 years ago, it was definitely the longest thing I've ever hit, and it's got a nice soft feel to it.  Also very straight.

Update:

So I played two rounds this weekend playing the e6, B330rx, TF GamerV2, and Nike crush. I have come to realize that the ball just doesnt matter to my game. I dont have any noticable differences between any of these and any of the balls I used to play with.

Maybe different balls make more of a difference if you are a low handicap player which I am not (16). Maybe they make more of a difference if you are a digger rather than a sweeper. Greenside spin amount just doesnt matter if you cant spin the ball anyway. Is greenside spin overrated? Maybe it matters to some people who would like to see the ball spin 5 feet backwards after they hit a shot to the green. Do you really even need to do that or is it just cool looking. How many times in a round do you absolutely have to be able to spin the ball back? Seems like never to me.
It seems like the ball flight/spin/putter feel is the same whether I am playing a $5 ProV1 or a $1 GamerV2.

Are the only people who are actually getting any benefit the scratch/single digit players?

I play Taylormade TP reds for the following reasons in order of importance:

1.  Feels great off the putter

2.  Not a crazy soft cover, durable, just the right amount of spin in the short game, not too much check

3.  Approach shots with irons have a very consistent two-staged flight and land softly.  It's rare my ball mark is more than 3 feet from my ball.

4.  Drivers don't balloon too much

4.  is key there.  They do balloon on me some.  I could eliminate that by getting a firmer ball, but then I would be giving up 1-3.  Which of these do you care about?  You're not going to find a ball that is clearly the best at all of the above, otherwise none of us would have different balls in our sigs.

As shorty said, the ball isn't the issue.  It's either your actually golf equipment (shaft, length if you are tall, weight, etc) or your actual swing technique.

Start with making sure your clubs properly fit "you" and after that, work on your swing.  We are all working on our swings no matter what the handicap and the people on this forum will all be here to help you!  Don't give up.

Most of the premium balls have a lower launch angle because the good players don't need help getting the ball into the air, so if you're looking for the ball to fly high I think you should stick with the mid-priced balls which have higher launch angles; unless, of course, you feel that you can generate sufficient backspin on iron shots to get the full height out of a lower launching ball. The Bridestone e5 is designed to be a higher-flying ball, and it has good greenside control. The Bridgestone e6 is designed to be a straight-flying ball, but when balls are designed like that they often do so by minimizing size-spin, and thus minimizing overall spin, limiting the ball's height of flight. So unfortunately I think you'll find that a ball designed to be both high and straight is hard to come by. (However, maybe some cheaper "long and strong" balls might do this...?) That said, performance differences in mid-priced balls is relatively minor. Finding a perfectly matching ball for your swing won't fix fundamental swing flaws, it'll only help you fine tune the benefit of the good shots you hit. One ball may add 10 yards to your drive if it suits your swing better, but I don't really see that doing much to lower your average score. [quote name="marengo" url="/forum/thread/46685/need-help-finding-the-right-ball-need-help-badly#post_608477"]

Update:

So I played two rounds this weekend playing the e6, B330rx, TF GamerV2, and Nike crush. I have come to realize that the ball just doesnt matter to my game. I dont have any noticable differences between any of these and any of the balls I used to play with.

Maybe different balls make more of a difference if you are a low handicap player which I am not (16). Maybe they make more of a difference if you are a digger rather than a sweeper. Greenside spin amount just doesnt matter if you cant spin the ball anyway. Is greenside spin overrated? Maybe it matters to some people who would like to see the ball spin 5 feet backwards after they hit a shot to the green. Do you really even need to do that or is it just cool looking. How many times in a round do you absolutely have to be able to spin the ball back? Seems like never to me.
It seems like the ball flight/spin/putter feel is the same whether I am playing a $5 ProV1 or a $1 GamerV2.

Are the only people who are actually getting any benefit the scratch/single digit players?

[/quote] When it comes to green spin, it's all about functionality. Do you [i]need[/i] to spin the ball back? Probably not. What you want is to be able to hold the green when you hit it. No one wants a 8-iron running off the back of the green when they hit the green in the middle. The more grab a ball has on the green, the farther back on the green you can aim without worrying about dumping the ball off. Personally, I'll tolerate about 4 yards of roll-out from a 9i, but no more. If I take more than 4 large steps from my ball mark to my ball off a 9i, I'm unhappy. Also, a ball with grab allows you to play short pitches to tucked pins a lot more easily, if you land near the pin you don't have a 20ft putt due to run-out. From what I've seen, all mid-priced balls will let you do that if you hit them decently. The only question is finding the ball that rolls out a couple feet less than the others. So, you're right, it doesn't really make a huge difference for us. You mainly don't want your ball to let you down on a well-struck shot. Pretty much no mid-priced ball will. However, extremely cheap "long and strong" balls are different. I've heard low HDCPs say they can still generate decent spin with them, but we higher HDCPs don't hit down well enough, so a half-decent shot for us can roll out 4 yards for a mid-priced ball or 10 yards for a cheap ball. I've had that happen to me, and I've sworn off the cheaper balls for that reason. Running a 9i from the middle of the green off the back is just unacceptable.

I am a mid-90s player trying to get better.  I found that the particular ball really doesn't matter at all.  I shot my lowest round with pro v1s (86), then the very next weekend, I shot a 120 with pro v1s. For us, from outside the green, it really doesn't matter.

However, what does matter is putting.  Different balls behave totally differently when putting, and when beginners jump around it makes it very difficult to get better at putting (you never know how hard to swing the putter to lag putt, because you are constantly changing balls that have totally different pace).  When I finally settled on Nike PD Long balls as my ball, my off-the-green game was relatively unaffected (if I hit a good shot, it was good.  If not, it wasn't), but my putting has really gotten alot better because I have a much better "memory" built up as to how hard to hit for certain distance putts because the ball is always the same.  It takes a variable out of putting.  Thats important.

So, find a ball that is relatively cheap, that maybe your local store constantly has on sale or something, but always play that.  Jumping around kills your putting.

I'll add my vote to those suggesting the Top Flite Gamer v2.

This year I tested out the Srixon Soft Feel, the Noodle Long and Soft, the Taylormade Burner Tour, the Bridgestone 330RX, and the Nike 20XI.  And the last 3 rounds I've tried the Gamer.  The gamer is far and away the best ball for me on the greens.  I just seem to have better distance control and have actually made more long (over 20 ft) putts with it that all the others combined.  And it gives me comparable distance to the Taylormade and Bridgestone balls, which had been the longest of those I tried.  The Nike gave me more spin around the green than the gamer, but was a good 15 yards shorter (which I attribute to lack of swing speed on my part).

The Gamer gives me the best combination of decent distance, decent spin around the greens, and outstanding putting feel.  And at $20 a dozen (which really isn't much of a factor for me because I don't hit it far enough to lose many balls [lost one Gamer in 3 rounds], LOL - Like Trevino says, I'm so short I can HEAR the ball land) it is a real bargain compared to some of the others.  2nd place in my testing would be the Taylormade, which I had almost settled on before I overcame my prejudice against the Top Flite name and tried the Gamer..