Illegal for a Man to Play With a Ladies Golf Ball?

[MS256 145]

Do any of you know anything about Calloway Solaire golf balls? I think they are ladies balls but I'm not sure.

Today after work my boss and I played a quick nine just to warm up for the game tomorrow. I had been removing willow trees from around a pond all day and found one of those that looked new so that's what I played with.

Could have been because I had moved so many trees and was tired but all of my solid drives were about 10 yards shorter than normal with that ball. I also couldn't get the ball to stop very well on the greens with less than full shots when I felt like I hit a very good shot.

Good thing it was only a practice round. Don't think I'll be using that ball tomorrow.

[dennyjones 825]

I believe Eric said it best.   The lower compression ball works best in colder weather, it is easier to compress.

[c peterich 4]

I used lady maxfly's for one round this year. Played very very well..worked great on putting

[mcanadiens 454]

Actually my club does something called a Pink Ball challenge.

It's a scramble format where each player has to hit a pink ball from one tee. The good is you play it from the ladies tees. The bad is that the group is stuck with your shot no matter where you hit it.

And I think it was a Ladies Precept ball they used.

Edited January 8 by mcanadiens

[p1n9183 167]

When i was around 13 years old i played with half of my moms set of clubs. She was the same heigth as me so they fit quite well.  

[Casualgolfer 13]

For me I notice no distance loss between any brand name ball regardless of compression. I have a fast swing speed though so it may not matter. In fact I tend to play low compression balls as they tend to stay a bit straighter imo.

[DaveP043 2,110]

I posted a link on another thread, @mvmac and @iacas shot an alternate shot 69 or something like that at Moon Valley after the 2015 Newport Cup.  Using purple ladies Topflite.  The ball didn't seem to hurt their play too badly.

 

[David in FL 2,420]

This is a very old thread.

Having said that, it’s reasonable to review the question to see if anything has changed under the new, modernized rules...

...the answer remains the same as it was previously.  Use of any ball designed for, or marketed to ladies, results in a 2 month suspension of your man-card.  If the ball is pink, the suspension is extended to 3 months.   

[DaveP043 2,110]

Just now, David in FL said:

This is a very old thread.

Having said that, it’s reasonable to review the question to see if anything has changed under the new, modernized rules...

...the answer remains the same as it was previously.  Use of any ball designed for, or marketed to ladies, results in a 2 month suspension of your man-card.  If the ball is pink, the suspension is extended to 3 months.   

What about purple?

[David in FL 2,420]

Just now, DaveP043 said:

What about purple?

The rules are clear.  Only pink adds the extension.  Purple is only 2 months.   

[IowaGreg 75]

43 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Use of any ball designed for, or marketed to ladies, results in a 2 month suspension of your man-card.  If the ball is pink, the suspension is extended to 3 months.   

Yeah, but do I get to hit from the "ladies" tees? 

[chilepepper 153]

On 10/18/2013 at 5:31 AM, colin007 said:

the real question is, Is it illegal for a man to play with a lady designed for golf?

 

wait...that makes no sense....

  Depends of what they identify as

[trombettista_vecchio 7]

Even a skirt is OK if you have the legs for it.

[ncates00 198]

Softer balls are also slower golf balls, regardless of how fast the club hitting the ball is.  In other words, I see no reason to play a soft, slow ball.  You're just giving up performance for some perception of "comfort" or "feel" of a softer ball.  Buy a premium-ish ball and you get good speed and "feel." 

To me, the senior/lady ball market is just some ploy to get that market to buy their golf balls because the target audience may not otherwise buy their premium ball.  I don't have any data in front of me to back up my claim, but I don't think there are any performance benefits for the target audience of such a ball.

[Carl3 74]

I think the converse of that question is more interesting.

[Casualgolfer 13]

3 hours ago, ncates00 said:

Softer balls are also slower golf balls, regardless of how fast the club hitting the ball is.  In other words, I see no reason to play a soft, slow ball.  You're just giving up performance for some perception of "comfort" or "feel" of a softer ball.  Buy a premium-ish ball and you get good speed and "feel." 

To me, the senior/lady ball market is just some ploy to get that market to buy their golf balls because the target audience may not otherwise buy their premium ball.  I don't have any data in front of me to back up my claim, but I don't think there are any performance benefits for the target audience 

Some of my longest drives have been with wilson duo softs or Callaway supersofts. Swing speeds dipping into the low 130's. I don't notice much of anything different when I hit pro V's or tp5's for example.

[Buckeyebowman 442]

On 4/1/2011 at 8:55 PM, tristanhilton85 said:

Nothing against it.  In fact, the Precept Lady was a pretty popular ball, especially for older men with slower swings but many didn't like hitting a ladies ball so they came out with the Precept Laddie... pretty much the same ball.

Exactly! Some guys got onto the ball early. When asked if the ball said "Lady" on it, the guy would say, "Oh no! It says Laddie!" Next thing I know, Precept comes out with the Laddie ball. I figured they were a company that really listened to their customers. I liked them especially in early season, cooler weather. Nowadays, there are so many low compression balls out there, you can take your pick. I stick with the Laddies since I know what I'll get. Plus, I can get a "Double Dozen" at Wally World for about 20 bucks!

[ncates00 198]

20 hours ago, Casualgolfer said:

Some of my longest drives have been with wilson duo softs or Callaway supersofts. Swing speeds dipping into the low 130's. I don't notice much of anything different when I hit pro V's or tp5's for example.

You're not getting the point.  Swing speed is irrelevant.  Softer balls have less compression and therefore less ball speed.  It's really not hard to grasp.  A firmer golf ball has better smash factor, leading to more ball speed.  You will also see better spin with wedges (a golfer's ability notwithstanding), too.

Now, a cheap ball v. a premium ball will not be gigantic, but the premium balls will have more ball speed and better overall performance.  Your anecdote about your longest drives doesn't really fit; there are other variables at play, i.e., strike, face to path, angle of attack, backspin, wind, course conditions, etc., etc.  Nonetheless, as stated, when you isolate merely the performance of the ball, the premium ball is superior to the cheaper ball.