your opinion of 3-piece golf balls

[ajgunn82]

I've recently switched to a 3 piece golf ball but am interested to read which ones you like best. i started with the nike ignite which is quite possibly the most affordable and had good results. then i bought sleeves of the nike one platinum and the titlesit pro v1 and really liked them both. whats your preference and why? and do you know of any cheaper alternatives?

[shortgame85]

I have used the Titleist NXT Tour, and I like it very much. I think the NXT
( non Tour ) is superb, as well. Both balls cost much less than the Pro V1, yet provide similar results. I would bet most amateur golfers would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the NXT series and the Pro V1 series. Now, I don't mean to say that low handicappers can't tell the difference; but, I bet most golfers would get essentially the same results playing the NXTs as they would playing the Pro V1s and, over the course of a few years, save enough for a new set of irons!

[warbirdlover]

I loved the Pro V1 but then tried the Callaway HX Tour. Longer and just feels better. Both are as good as it gets though. Never tried the premium Bridgestone, Srixon or Nike balls yet. Best lower priced ball is Bridgestone E5 or E6. I didn't like either NXT ball.

HX Tour is all I use now.

[bigpopper81]

My favorite is the ProV1 but I play the Strata TP because the ProV is cost prohibitive. Also, if I am not mistaken, the nxt is a 2-piece

[SuaSponteMn]

I've recently switched to a 3 piece golf ball but am interested to read which ones you like best. i started with the nike ignite which is quite possibly the most affordable and had good results. then i bought sleeves of the nike one platinum and the titlesit pro v1 and really liked them both. whats your preference and why? and do you know of any cheaper alternatives?

I'm currently torn between the Callaway HX Tour and the Taylormade TP Red. They both feel super soft off the irons, I hit the Callaway further and straighter, but the Taylormade stops dead and even backs up occasionally on shots into or around the green. Personally haven't been a big fan of Nike balls, seems like it's less ball for the same money compared to Titleist, Callaway, and even Taylormade now.

My guess is that there will be plenty of people who disagree with me on this though . IMO balls are totally personal preference and from a skills perspective, at my handicap, it should not matter if I'm hitting >$40.00 or $40.00 ball I'm hitting. That being said, we also know that this game has a rather large mental element to it, and my mental element tells me that (as an example) If I play ProV1's, they will find the water regardless of the shot I hit; and that's what they do In summary, BIG fan of the Taylormade TP Red, even BIGGER fan of the Callaway HX Tour.

[shortgame85]

My favorite is the ProV1 but I play the Strata TP because the ProV is cost prohibitive. Also, if I am not mistaken, the nxt is a 2-piece

The NXT is a two piece ball, the NXT Tour is a three piece ball.

[Rafcin]

I guess I'm repeating myself from prior posts, but IMHO the only thing that matters to me is how the ball feels on the putter blade. I honestly can't tell the difference off the driver, a bit more off the irons, but putter - I can separate 2 vs. 3 or 4-piece ball rather easy. As far as the other characteristics - distance, ball flight, side spin? can't really point out which ball is what... of course we're not talking about low-budget pinnacles or top-flights - you can hit them with a 2x4 and you'll feel the difference

[Jarno]

I used to hit what ever really didn't think it mattered. But after trying to hit the V1 and realized it helped out a lot, I spun the ball amazingly with Vokey's compared to DT so/lo or Pinnacles or whatever I found. It felt even better on the greens, so amazingly soft.

[allin]

I have played some of the high end balls and they spin to much for me. It is often windy here and being able to flight the ball lower and play a little longer bump and runs is a plus. Strata is a good ball for this. It doesn't have as good of feel as the higher priced balls, but for the money a good ball. Recntly I bought a box at golf galaxy and I got home the box contained Callaway HX tours, I have no clue what happened.

[Clubswinger21]

if you're searching for more distance, with accuracy and a relatively good amount of spin, go with the new bridgestone e5/e6 golf balls, i think they're slighty cheaper, the e5 is 2 piece. The e6 is 3piece and the longest and straightest i've played. Prov1 is a very soft ball, and depending on your swing speed you may lose distance with it, but it will spin like crazy. The Srixon series are getting more popular too. Im playing prov1 right now but i'll switch to a low compression 2 piece ball in the winter because it gets so cold in Canada and the softer balls are like trying to hitting rocks.

[NM Golf]

To pick the ball best for you, you need to take a few out to the putting green and then to the course and see which one feels better and performs best. To me I prefer the ProV1x for 3 reasons. One, it doesn't spin too much, I tend to impart a great deal of spin and a lot of balls spin way to much for me. Two, it feels soft off the putter, the Nike balls in particular feel very hard off the putter face to me. And three, they are durable, if I am going to pay premium money for a golf ball it better be good for at least 18 holes. The only other ball that performs as well as the prov1x IMHO is the Taylormade. My problem with the TM balls are they are not durable enough for me and I end up using 2 or 3 a round.
Anyway it is a personal preference, all the premium balls out there are pretty good so you really can't make a bad decision.

[J.P.]

Well, I have used Titleist ProV1x and thought it too hard off the driver for me and perhaps just not quite enough spin on the greens.

The ProV1 was softer but more side spin on the driver - although very nice on the greens.

I tried the HX Tour and liked it very much. Not too much side spin driving and still very good spin on the greens.

The HX Tour56 has sensational spin on the greens, but again, I when I hit a drive with a little too much fade or draw, it becomes a slice or a hook.

I have settled on the HX Tour.

After Erik's review of the Taylormade balls, I will be trying a box of the Red & Black with my next ball budget money.

In the premium ball market, differences can be subtle and very personal regarding what you want a ball to help you accomplish in your game.

[wingman]

I don't know if I'm really good enough to tell the difference, but I think I can in terms of wedge/low iron and putter feel. I don't buy top-of-the-line balls like the pro-v1 because I think 40 clams or more is ridiculous for a dozen balls, but that said, I've settled on a couple of three-piece balls for my game. Bridgestone e6 has great distance, good feel, and is needle-straight. Hogan "hawk" is a 3-piece with urethane cover that's not quite as long, I've found, but has just the right feel off of every club, and they last forever. both are around 25 bucks maximum.

I don't like the top rocks because I feel like I'm hurting my hands and my irons whenever I hit them, and the noodle-style soft two-piece balls just don't feel right to me, either.

I don't need to think about what balls to buy anymore. I just pick whichever one of the two is on sale that week.

[BobUSMC]

I am a retired 63 year young avid golfer who forever used two piece balls, a different brand every year for last several years but the same brand the entire year.  Callaway, Nike, and Titleist all made decent balls with my best success with the Nike's.  This year I decided to try a three piece Callaway, the HX Hot Bite. This balls greatly increased ball spin....amazingly. Normally I drive the ball 220 to 240 with a two piece ball but at the start of the year I also got a lot more side spin so fades approached slicing and draws were near hooks. I seemed to lose 10-15 yards consistently off my driver. With a 10 dozen ball purchase....I play a lot of golf...I couldn't and wouldn't give up.  My iron play immediately got an incredible increase in performance. I also switched form Adams irons 5 through GW to Golfsmith Snake Eyes but feel the ball had much more to do with the better performance. I kept my Idea 3, 4 and 5 hybrids and noticed improvement on these older clubs with the HX.  I consistently hit them higher, further and when they hit bit like a snake. Full swings on the Snake Eyes from 5 to GW were even a better performance upgrade.  All of them stopped and popped. Our course has hard greens and is noted for shots that don't take spin.  These HX's cured that, I was able to measure yardage then grab a corresponding iron and hunt flags.  I have never hit as many shots within 15 feet in my dozen or so years at this course.  While never having to fear pulling a ball back off a green, many shots stopped virtually dead or pulled back 2 to 4 feet. I only carry Driver, 3-Metal for woods eliminating my 5-metal because of the hybrid distance increases. I am coping with the extra spin on these longer clubs and not hitting the bad cuts and ducks like earlier in the year and the last month shot a round in the 60s followed by an 81 then 7 straight rounds 72-76 which I can state without exception never happened to me before even when I was a 7-9 handicap at a different tougher club. I would love to find a three piece spin ball that would serve me better off the tee but not lose the green bite that these HX's give.

[SVTGolfer]

Srixon tri-speed TOUR!!! It was the best 3 piece ball for me and my game. Ive since switched to a tour caliber "spin" ball, but if im having a bad couple rounds I will still pull a tri-speed tour out and play it to cut down on my spin and gain some distance and control.

The tri-speed tour gives you tour quality performance at a fair price with distance, durability and spin. It doesn't spin as much as the Srixon Z-star, but it is close. I thought it was much much better than the NXT TOUR also.

[stogiesnbogies]

I play Pro V1X  and really like the overall feel in all aspects of my game-especially 100 yards in and putting.

I may lose a handful of yards off the tee but its well worth it since I'm not a big hitter off the tee anyway and rely completely on my shortgame...

[Michael Garrard]

Try the Callaway Diablo Tour. It's a 3 piece ball that has the distance of the XH Hot Plus with the spin of the HX Hot Bite. Wished I'd have known at begining of summer.

[lumpuckeroo]

I know this is a little off the topic, but if you are looking for a good deal on a premium ball, TGW has TaylorMade Penta buy 2 get 1 free and they have reduced the price to $40 a dozen.  I am fortunate that my brother likes in Wichita and has some $10 off coupons, so with tax I am getting 3 dozen Penta balls for $75 w/tax.

So I have been/will be playing the Penta for some time, I have tried all of the 3 piece balls and premium balls.  I feel like the Pro V1 spins the best of any ball on the market, but I really have no issues with the Penta and find them to play as well, if not better, than any other ball I have tried.