Finding the right ball....

[hokiebound]

Hey guys, I'm trying to find the right golf ball to use, and I think I need some help. These golf ball commercials always claim their ball creates more distance, spin, and speed, and its just really confusing. I've been using the nike one ball, and its nice but I really don't know what I should be looking for. I guess the one ball to use is the pro v's, but then you could turn back to the nike one, or any other ball. Then I was looking into some other ball nike makes, the nike karma? I really don't know how important using any individual ball is, or if it even makes a difference. I shoot in the 100-105 range, and I'm ready to break 100, and it's been very frustrating. I'm 16, and I drive the ball 230-240, I push it to the right usually, and I've always had a nice short game. It's the consistancy of hitting good drives, or with my irons, has really killed me on strokes. What do you guys suggest?

[PiKapp23]

For more consistent drives give up the premium balls. Those balls are good for short game, but for a higher handicap golfer they can cause a driver that is not hit on the sweet spot with a square clubface to get away very quickly because they are designed to spin. Extra spin is not a good thing for imperfect shots because that also means more side-spin which leads to hooks and slices pretty quickly. If you were to try something with a little lower compression and a little firmer cover (i.e., not urethane) you might see an improvement in driving accuracy (and thus distance). Something along the lines of the Callaway Hot, Titleist NXT, TaylorMade Tour Burner, Bridgestone e6+, TopFlite Game, etc. might be a better fit for you. Most of us think we need to be playing the premium balls (Nike One, Titleist Pro-V1, Callaway Tour, etc.) because the pros do, whereas in reality these balls can often lead to lost strokes (not to mention lost money) because they are more difficult to control. A firmer covered ball is designed to have less side-spin and will almost always be longer for most golfers.

[DogbertBH]

Don't bother with guessing would be my advice.

I got fitted for clubs last year and part of the process was a ball fitting. That was one of the first things we did.

[hokiebound]

For more consistent drives give up the premium balls. Those balls are good for short game, but for a higher handicap golfer they can cause a driver that is not hit on the sweet spot with a square clubface to get away very quickly because they are designed to spin. Extra spin is not a good thing for imperfect shots because that also means more side-spin which leads to hooks and slices pretty quickly. If you were to try something with a little lower compression and a little firmer cover (i.e., not urethane) you might see an improvement in driving accuracy (and thus distance). Something along the lines of the Callaway Hot, Titleist NXT, TaylorMade Tour Burner, Bridgestone e6+, TopFlite Game, etc. might be a better fit for you. Most of us think we need to be playing the premium balls (Nike One, Titleist Pro-V1, Callaway Tour, etc.) because the pros do, whereas in reality these balls can often lead to lost strokes (not to mention lost money) because they are more difficult to control. A firmer covered ball is designed to have less side-spin and will almost always be longer for most golfers.

Thanks for the reply. I'll be sure to check a couple of those you mentioned.