Which Balls should I be playing, or does it matter

[SuperWade2]

I'm a high HC guy...but want to get back into playing more...... I pretty much have never been one to notice much difference with Ball selection...played various Nike, Titleist, and whatever else was found/free. As I try to get back into playing should I consider a better ball to try to help my scoring, or am I going to notice enough difference between a $1/ball vs. a $3/ball?

Wade

[LaPuzza]

Fellow high cap guy here.

I found that the consistency of always playing the same ball was a huge difference for me when I was trying to go from awful (130) to bad (105). Also, I found a ball designed to minimize spin off the driver, the Nike Ignite, which was where my drives went wrong.

As I got a little better, the fact that the Ignite didn't feel solid to me became an issue.

My new love is the Nike Mojo. It is like $20 for 2 dozen on clearence, and I'm considering buying a lifetime supply. Besides flying straight, and rolling well on putts, I've discovered that I can get balls to hold the green, something I haven't been able to do with any high cap ball, whether expensive (Nike 1 Vapor) or cheap (lots and lots of stuff).

[SuperWade2]

  LaPuzza said:

Fellow high cap guy here.

Thanks... maybe I'll look for a sleeve...

Ex-Nebraska guy...used to play Eagle Run every Saturday morning, Shoreline once a week and a few others in the area...been 10 years but I loved the Golf in Omaha.

[LaPuzza]

  SuperWade2 said:

Thanks... maybe I'll look for a sleeve...

I play Eagle Run's par 3 every Sunday!

[SuperWade2]

  LaPuzza said:

I play Eagle Run's par 3 every Sunday!

I miss that nice little course!!! still have a Eagle Run windbreaker around somewhere

[BirdIsTheWord]

Try as many as you can, try to stick to new ones. Play a couple holes with yours, then bum one off your partners, try their's. Only casual rounds tho, can't really score it, you have to use same type of ball in the same round. When you find it, you'll know it..you might luck out and find that a $1 ball is perfect.

[NotAStick]

Most high-handicappers actually do better with the cheap balls.

Cheap balls minimize spin off the clubs, which can help reduce the slice or hook.

More expensive balls are generally softer and provide more spin, which a low handicapper wants. I can keep my driver spin under 3000 RPM with just about any ball, but I want my sand wedge to hold a firm green and my flop shots around the green to have lots of 'check' to them.

Stick with what you find for free (or what's cheap) until you have had a chance to get more experience.

[fredloves2golf]

  SuperWade2 said:

I'm a high HC guy...but want to get back into playing more...... I pretty much have never been one to notice much difference with Ball selection...played various Nike, Titleist, and whatever else was found/free. As I try to get back into playing should I consider a better ball to try to help my scoring, or am I going to notice enough difference between a $1/ball vs. a $3/ball?

When I was a high handicap, and inconsistent, player... I noticed the difference in a $1 and $3 ball ONLY when I had to pay to replace the 3-4 balls I'd lose every round!

When your swing gets a little more consistent and those balls are hanging around a little longer, you can go and sample a few from all different price points and find the one that matches your game best... low driver spin, etc.

[brotekind269]

I tried/still trying all balls. Sad part is I am in love with the ProV1 and ProV1x. That seems to be the only ball right now that I can crush off the tee, and get some back spin with my sandwedge, and only my sandwedge, New Cleveland CG12.

I don't see the benefit of getting new, so I buy them used for a better price. If i keep working on the swing and get this backspin thing down then I could hopefully switch balls. Once i pulled the string for the first time, I have been trying to duplicate that every time.

[alcorn]

Wade.... This is just my $0.02 but to be honest with you dude unless you're a +3 or 4 or better in the handicap area I really don't think it makes a heck of alot of difference if you play a $20 box of noodles or warbirds or a $50 box of Pro V1s. The important thing is you try out a few different types - distance, control, etc. and find one that you get the response out of that you like. Personally, I noodle+ long and softs. This may be because my parents send them to me on holidays and over the course of the past few years thats what I've like playing. heck, I've been shooting in the mid 70s the past few weeks so they can't be too bad. The point being what matters is that you're comfortable in anticipating how the ball is going to behave. Don't buy 2nd round balls xcept for shags and don't buy topflite or pinnacles or any of the cheaper brands.. spend around 20 to 24 dollars for a dozen... Golf galaxy has noodles on special right now for 2 for 25 dollars.

[ham_man]

Playing a "cheap" ball is fine. I would suggest the Mojo (suggested above), the upper end Top Flite balls (D2), and the Wilson 50/50. I've played all of those balls over the years and they are excellent.

[GaijinGolfer]

Its depends how straight your shots are and how many balls you lose. If you are hitting pretty straight shots and you arent losing a lot of balls; you could really benefit from the spin and soft feel of a premium ball.
If you are hitting a hook or slice, you should stick to an unexpensive ball. Inexpensive balls are harder and dont spin as much, so they will limit your hook/slice and because they are inexpensive, you wont get as upset with yourself when you lose one.
When I was a 25-30 handicap and still lost balls a lot, I used to play the most inexpensive balls I could find. That way, instead of worrying about losing a lot of expensive golfballs; I would just hit my shot and if I hit a bad shot and lost a ball, it was no big deal.

[SuperWade2]

  TitleistWI said:

Its depends how straight your shots are and how many balls you lose. If you are hitting pretty straight shots and you arent losing a lot of balls; you could really benefit from the spin and soft feel of a premium ball.

I used to slice just about everything...now I still find myself every now and then cutting across my body a little bit too much and still get some roll, but the last few times I've been out, other that a few pure mis-hits (more of an issue of not many rounds recently), the ball has been pretty straight and the few I lost were hitting longer than I expected with the club in my hand and going OB or whatever, long and straight.

[TopWalker]

I have done a fair amount of ball testing this year. Half for fun and half to see if there's a ball that actually could make a difference.

And my conclusion is......it doesn't matter! Played the Bridgestone B330rx, e6, e7, Srixon Z-Star, ProV1, TaylorMade TP Red, Titleist DT Roll and DT SoLo.

I like the SoLo's soft feel for putting, but they are hard to find now that they don't make them anymore.

As for the premium balls, I could not tell any difference other than slight feels on the green when putting. Last week I compared the TP Red vs the ProV1. Pretty comparable except that the TP Red seemed a bit more durable.

I can get a few ProV1s thru work, but if I'm buying with my own dime it'll probably be the DT Roll, e7 and TP Red.

Golf is highly mental and I am at least going to play a ball I have confidence in and those three balls do a nice job while being in the range of $20-27.50 per dozen.

TW

[twinke masta]

I use the cheapest balls I can get my hands on, polly because half my shots end up in the trees

[AlCzervik]

Precept Laddie, best bang for buck.

[twinke masta]

  AlCzervik said:

Precept Laddie, best bang for buck.

YES!! That is what I bang