Distance & Spin

[tubbyrob]

So i was wondering what is the diffrence bettween all the balls out there. Does a certain brand make lighter ball for longer drives and other balls made to have more spin. Does a practice ball or range ball have a diffrent flight path than other balls. It might be a dumb question and if so im sorry but im new to the products of golf and the many brands that make golf equipment.

Thank You

[Power_fade]

A range ball won't have as much distance as a normal ball, simply because it has been used so much. Balls that say "long" will have less spin, which makes them longer off the tee, but they don't perform well in the short game. The balls that cost $45 a dozen are longer off the tee, and have a ton of spin around the greens, which means they improve both your long and short game. I'd say for you to go to wal-mart and get some Titleist x-outs, which are misprint logos that cost $9 a dozen, or get some top flites or bridgestones in the same price bracket that claim to be "longer."

[DaveLeeNC]

There is no limitation on how little a golf ball can weigh. A golf ball must not weigh MORE than 1.62 ounces. If lighter balls were 'better' they would be on the market. The only lighter balls that you are likely to run into are those occasional ranges where you hit balls into a lake and the balls float. These balls carry a good bit less than normal golf balls.

There certainly are differences in the way different golf balls spin. High end balls (Pro V1, etc) are designed with 3 or more layers with the design intent of generating higher spin with the impact conditions that you see around the greens and with higher lofted clubs and lower spin off the driver, etc.

Most cheaper balls generate spins (and distances) similar to the high end balls, at least for swing speeds generated by most amateurs. In fact you might well find that you can hit (for example) a Pinnacle SuperWowDistanceMaster ball (costing $16/dozen) further than a $40+/dozen high end ball.

What you will have trouble finding is a cheap ball that will give you good spin on a 50 yard LW and good driver distance as well. The major factors here are two layer balls (cheaper) vs. 3 (or more layer balls) and different cover materials (surlyn being the least expensive and generally judged as 'OK but inferior to the higher end options).

dave

[tubbyrob]

o i see thats alot of good info thanks to both of you for your inputs i appreciate it.