The correct ball?

[Texas solo]

I've been playing some cheap Top Flight balls. Can anyone honestly attest to the "correct" ball making a noticeable difference in their scores? Ball "fitting" hadn't been discovered back in my day, but now that I'm starting over and in my 50's, I wonder if there's really something to it, or is it just hype to sell product?
Have balls come that far? According to the Bridgestone site, I should be hitting the E6 for straighter and longer shots.

[SteveISU]

Personal preference really (soft/firm, low flight, higher flight, more spin, less spin), but it depends on your budget. Yes, there are golf balls that are aimed at slow swing speed players and those for faster swing speeds. To answer your question, yes. There are balls out there for a specific need. With that said if your just banging it around with your pals once a week then I'd go for a mid priced ball like the Bridgestone E5-E7's.

[Gordon McTavish]

Ultimately, there's no substitute for personal experience. The Bridgestone site puts me in the E6 / B330-RX realm... and I do like the RX (haven't tried the E6 though).

However, I've yet to encounter any piece of equipment that doesn't carry the same old hype concerning "longer / straigher." So I tend to try various balls to see which I prefer. Last year I settled on the Srixon AD333, but this year I'm liking the Wilson Staff DX-2 soft (first time I've tried Wilson equipement for about five years).

[golfro]

  Texas solo said:

I've been playing some cheap Top Flight balls. Can anyone honestly attest to the "correct" ball making a noticeable difference in their scores? Ball "fitting" hadn't been discovered back in my day, but now that I'm starting over and in my 50's, I wonder if there's really something to it, or is it just hype to sell product?

Short answer is no. Too many people believe that a ball will help their game. A ball isn't going to go straight just because the packaging says so. It slices and hooks because of your swing.

With that said, the long answer would be that there are balls that will reduce spin...which helps reduce a bit of side spin, which ultimately helps slices and hooks.

[sean_miller]

  Texas solo said:

I've been playing some cheap Top Flight balls. Can anyone honestly attest to the "correct" ball making a noticeable difference in their scores? Ball "fitting" hadn't been discovered back in my day, but now that I'm starting over and in my 50's, I wonder if there's really something to it, or is it just hype to sell product?

You played in the 50s or you're in your 50s?

You've never seen 2-piece or wound balls with compression ratings stamped right onto the ball? You don't remember the Top Flite, XL, Plus, and ill fated Tour? Titleist 384, DT80, 90, and 100 and the Tour 90 and 100? Seriously?

[Texas solo]

  sean_miller said:

You played in the 50s or you're in your 50s?

I said "in MY 50's" , meaning that I am 53. I haven't played in 20 years since my right leg was broken in 3 places. Now retired and somewhat healed, I'm starting over. With all the changes in equipment in the past 20 years, I'm truely starting over! Of course I remember those balls you mentioned, and I used to play the Top Flite XL. But it's a new ball game (pun) today, and balls are not marked 80,90, or 100 like they used to be.

That's why I asked if there was really anything to "ball fitting". I can understand how one ball might help over another, but I guess what I was asking was how much? From the replies, I suspect I was right...it can help, but don't expect to see a huge difference. BTW....I don't hook or slice. My drives are straight, but due to a reduced swing speed of 90, my distance is lacking.

[Crey23]

  golfro said:

Short answer is no. Too many people believe that a ball will help their game. A ball isn't going to go straight just because the packaging says so. It slices and hooks because of your swing.

I couldn't Disagree more here!!!!!

The new balls do make a difference... if this was not true everyone would be playing $12 Noodles or $8 Wilson Hypers something or the other.... I was told many times by my plying buddies that ball selection did nothing for my game....granted at the time I had just started to play golf. I started playing Slazenger raw distance (I Think), ad I really sucked...slices, short distances....etc. I played all 3 dozen then " I switched" .... litteraly I went with Srizon Tri-Speed What an incredible ball....My slices, While still present, were noticably less out of control. I could get to ball better up in the air, and putted much better with them. Short game was not great, but much improved over the Slazengers. I then tried (a gift) a box of Pro V1, while they are supper nice 100 yards-in, at my stage of the game, notvery good of the driver. I have also tried AD333 and nice for distance, but short game is not there for me. Finally I tried the Gamers and this is really a perfect fit for me. I can can hit long and straight drom the driver through my wedges. Short game these balls are great a a hop or two, and then settles down. putting is great...great feel and feedback. It really is a matter of personal preference, maybe getting fitted wil help you decide, but the bottom line is that there is enough technology going into balls these days that they do make a difference. The Gamer may not suit your game and your ability as it has done for me, but may it will...maybe you will rock the slazengers..... The point is to hit a few and see what fits. Check out sites like lostgolfballs.com for excellent prices on used balls. Their AAA and AAAA ratings are great and at very reasonable prices. I hope this helps a bit, and good luck!!!!!

[golfro]

  Crey23 said:

I couldn't Disagree more here!!!!!

I'll play the old Noodles all day long. I've personally never seen my score suffer because of the ball I've used. Minimal loss in distance or spin maybe but I personally feel the whole "find the right ball" idea is misleading and one that a lot of amateurs attribute their game on.

like i said, sure the right ball made to reduce spin or the right ball with a softer compression core, etc might help with reducing slices and hooks and/or improve distance but it isn't to the degree that'll suddenly improve your score. there's so much discussion about this and it's bafflign to me how much emphasis people put on a ball. "I dropped 5 strokes just by switching the ball!" is absurd.

[sean_miller]

  Crey23 said:

I couldn't Disagree more here!!!!!

And they'd probably shoot the same average scores. A lot of people are suckers - it's true. You've done your homework and determined the right ball for you - that's not the norm. If I painted "Pro V1" on a laquered mushroom some guys would swear by it.

[shades9323]

I have played several different balls from $15 Top Flight D2's to $27 Bridgestone E6+ to $40 Nike One Tours. My scores have been pretty constant throughout. The ball doesn't help or hurt. It is all in the golfer. You might prefer the "feel" of a golf ball, however.

[Crey23]

  sean_miller said:

And they'd probably shoot the same average scores. A lot of people are suckers - it's true. You've done your homework and determined the right ball for you - that's not the norm. If I painted "Pro V1" on a laquered mushroom some guys would swear by it.

LOL!!!!!

so what you are saying is that the softness of the mushroom will help on my short game right? Where can I find one of these???

  shades9323 said:

I have played several different balls from $15 Top Flight D2's to $27 Bridgestone E6+ to $40 Nike One Tours. My scores have been pretty constant throughout. The ball doesn't help or hurt. It is all in the golfer. You might prefer the "feel" of a golf ball, however.

While I will conceed that the ball will not make you drop 5 strokes, i will certainly help you stay in play better. For a mid to high handicrapper a ball may have an impact on one's game. Once you start getting under 10 HC, you have enough form, swing consistency, tempo, swing path under control that you could hit arock and still get a good shot to the hole. But when you suffer from slices, hooks, low or high trajectories, a ball can make a difference. Some balls don't spin as much (side spin) ging the high HC a better chance to:

A) reduce slices and/hooks B) not loose the ball (eliminate penalites and save strokes). C) gain confidence (most important) The firs time I played a Srixon Tri-Speed, I played the same ball for 14 holes....It was the firs time I had done that!!! Prior to that I was using 1 bal per 3 holes more or less... Yes it is not that significant for a low HC, but for high HC, balls do have a role. It does not amke me a sucker for trying different balls. I would make me a sucker if with a 26+ Hc a go and buy $50 Pentas because they " will improve my game" that is bs....but between a wilson hyper to a srixon soft feel or Bridgestone e6, the diffrence is huge!!!

[nlowplacez]

  Crey23 said:

LOL!!!!!

i sort of feel the opposite of this. i think the ball you play becomes more important the lower you HC gets. if you have little or no consistency the ball really doesn't matter, cuz its never gonna be hit the same way anyway. but when you get lower the softness and spin rate becomes extremely important for holding greens, shaping shots the way you want, etc. thats why tour pros and + HC amateurs put so much effort into fitting their ball to their game. hell look at my whats in the bag thing. i can play with any clubs, but notice that the proV is a must for me in competition. i think its the most important thing i have in my bag

[RandomRaiderTTU]

While I wouldn't say that simply changing the ball will help you drop X number of shots, I will contend that there are balls that match your style and it is advantageous to seek those out.

I can play a ProV1x and ProV1 just fine. My issue is that with a full 9-iron, PW, GW, and SW, I spin it WAAAYYYY too much for my liking. I like them to take one hop and sit down. With my Taylormade TP Reds, I can walk up there and see my pitch mark and my ball within a foot of each other. With the ProVs, I'll spin it back anywhere from 5 to 12 feet.

On half and 3/4 wedges, my TP Red will take one hop and roll about 2-3 feet. Other balls that I've tried such as Callaway Warbird, Titleist NXT, Srixon Tri-speed, Z-start, and others roll out more than I prefer.

I like to hit to a distance and expect my ball to sit at that distance or pretty close to it. For that reason, the TP Red fits my game. I've also found that the TP Red is pretty straight off of my driver. Hooks or slices seem to be lessened a bit (not the quantity, but the severity).

Either way, play what you have confidence in. If you feel a ball is best, go for it. If you feel you can play with anything that is round and dimpled, that's fine too.

[golfro]

  nlowplacez said:

i sort of feel the opposite of this. i think the ball you play becomes more important the lower you HC gets. if you have little or no consistency the ball really doesn't matter, cuz its never gonna be hit the same way anyway. but when you get lower the softness and spin rate becomes extremely important for holding greens, shaping shots the way you want, etc. thats why tour pros and + HC amateurs put so much effort into fitting their ball to their game. hell look at my whats in the bag thing. i can play with any clubs, but notice that the proV is a must for me in competition. i think its the most important thing i have in my bag

Agreed.

the choice in ball is more important once you want to really work and shape your shots. Sure a low h'cap can take a ball from a driving range and play with it but workability suffers at that point. For a low h'capper, the very minimal difference in amount of spin in a ball can be very important. For a high h'capper however, inconsistency comes from the swing not the ball. The benefits of a premium ball with optimal spin rate, etc comes in when you can consistently hit the ball and at a certain point, may want to shape shots and play a tighter short game. Point being - you're not getting the full benefit of a specific ball unless you know how to use it to your advantage. It may be that a low h'capper and high h[capper have different mindsets when it comes to choosing balls. A low h'capper might be looking for advantages in the ball that they can utilize to further improve their game by workability and such...while a high h'capper might be looking for a ball that wll help reduce the effects of whatever flaws they have in their swing.

[nlowplacez]

they did actually make a ball that virtually eliminated slices and hooks. it had not dimples. haha. think they still make it but distance sucks i imagine. and its legal

[Crey23]

  golfro said:

Agreed.

I think you are spot on that statement....low HC seek the control that a high-end ball will provide, while HC seek anything to hang on to their games.

And in a way, is what I meant with the stament that high HC seek for game improvement balls.....they need to aid or lessen the damage caused by their crappy swing weather it is side spin or what have you.....but a low HC, can get away using a wilson hyper or no name balls and still play a good round....you may have dificulty sticking greens, but you can somewhat adjust to it...and of ocurse I am not talking in competition.

[SteveISU]

Try a bunch and if all else fails and you can't tell the difference just look for deals. I found Nike power distance soft for $9.99 a dozen. To me that ball is one of the sweeter non- premium balls.

[Shindig]

Shortly after I broke 100 for the first time, I went to a Bridgestone fitting, and was told that the e6 would give me an extra 10 yards off the tee and more fairways over the DT So/Los I was playing. I was skeptical, but I gave the free sleeve a try, and it worked as promised. I went out and bought some, and when the e6+ came out, I switched to those. I tried a few other balls along the way, but kept coming back.

After another fitting, about two years after the first, I was given the RX as my suggestion, and I've been using these since.

The right ball is a function of the spin you want and the compression you want. Using a ball that spins too much or too little can be problematic at all levels; similarly with bad compression numbers.