what factors affect your ball choice?

[niblick]

Shindig asked me this question in the Goals for 2007 thread:

Why? I find every 12 holes or so, I've cut my ball to the point where I don't think it'll fly well anymore (the other reason it doesn't fly well is because it's me hitting it). I put it away and put it in the shag bag when I get back to the car. Maybe you play with balls stronger than mine (Strata)? Or am I being wasteful by putting it away?

It got me thinking, what's the life expectancy for a ball after you put it in play? Does your choice of ball determine the lifespan, or the other way around?

I'm playing Titleist NXT Tour balls right now. For me, I want the right amount of spin, and price and durability are secondary concerns. If I get 18 holes out of a ball I feel I've gotten my money's worth. My new irons seem to trash the cover if I'm hitting it solidly.

[flap]

I choose a ball based on the following factors.

#1 putting feel-must have a little click off the putter
#2 spin around the greens-must hold without spinning off the green
#3 distance off driver-I rate this 3rd because all premium balls are about equal.
#4 durability-if ball is good in all other areas I dont care how long it lasts.

[Maverick]

I like soft..PV1's are good.

[Shindig]

Shindig asked me this question in the Goals for 2007 thread:

I'm glad I inspired it :) My primary consideration is cost at the moment. I'll admit to buying used golf balls, for the most part, until I'm consistent enough that I might be able to distinguish balls. I've taken a liking to TopFlite Stratas, of various types, but I don't know the characteristics of this ball. I also tried a Titleist NXT (was gifted a few) for a while, but my mishits hurt more than with the Strata. Or maybe I was imaginging it.

[niblick]

I'm glad I inspired it :)

As I've improved I've tried some urethane balls (Pro V1, B330S), and I can't control the spin. This weekend was a good example. I hit a Bridgestone with my gap wedge from 90 yards, and landed it on the green pin high right. It took one bounce and shot back 20 feet. I ended up with a chip from the rough. I know how to hit a 90 yard shot, I just don't know how to hit those urethane balls 90 yards and make them stop where they land. Hence the NXT Tour - still spins, but not as much.

[chingali]

The main factor that influences me is being able to buy the best ball for me that I can afford. The best ball for me irrespective of cost is the ProV1, but having a mortgage, three kids and a wife means that something has to give. I play 2 or 3 times a week and use a couple of balls for each round so if you add it up over the year buying new ProV1's is an expensive proposition. Even if I buy them used off ebay they cost me about $4AUD a ball in good condition, if I buy them new it's more like $80AUD.

So about 2 years ago I started using Precept U-Tri Tours that I buy used (brand new condition) off ebay. The last lot I bought about 3 months cost me $1.50 because I bought 300 of them. Buying the U-Tri's like this means I save a minimum of $15 to $20 a week on golf balls, and at the end of the day my scoring remains exactly the same. I slightly prefer the control, feel and spin of the ProV1's and the distance is marginally better but it makes no difference to the final result and I have some money left over for a few beers when I have finished my round.

The U-tri's have been discontinued as far as I can tell, but every now and then I see them on sale in golf shops for about $30AUD a dozen brand new so I'll grab a few dozen or so when I see them.

I still use ProV1's at a few courses I play at regularly, one in particular has very hard very fast greens and I find the ProV1 works much better for me when I play there. In the middle of winter when our courses are a bit soft I'll often use an old Precept Laddie as the added distance is useful and the lack of spin is negated by the softness of the greens. I bought 12 dozen laddies a while ago off ebay for about a $1 a ball so I have many years supply of them.

[mnel]

Being a high handicapper, I buy what suits my game, primary concern being to reduce spin on approach shots. I can't control the spin on PV1's or the like. Lately I've been alternating between Callaway Big Bertha Red and the Nike MoJo's. Nice soft feel to the ball, but not as much spin off the wedges. The BB Red lasts a bit longer than the MoJo's though, not as easily scuffed, but my driver is a bit longer with the MoJo's.

[royalwulff]

I like to try different balls and I have found that my game benifts from the Bridgestone E5'5. My next favorite is the Nike Mojo's. I have a sleeve of Taylormade TP Reds in my bag waiting for the snow to melt. I like the Pro v1's and the HX tours but the cost is somewhat prohibitive on them though.( a girl in college will do that...LOL)

[p_funk]

At my current level of play, it is whatever is the cheapest or on sale at the time. LOL!!!!!!!! Right now it is Wilson Prostaff 360.

[Everardo]

#1 putting feel-must have a little click off the putter

Yup - but I'll add

#5 Affordability. If I take some balls to the putting/chipping greens or use them on course and cannot tell a huge difference then I'll go with the most cost effective ball #6 Brand. With golf balls I'm not loyal to one brand however I like playing a brand that ISNT popular. This way in events or other rounds it's easy to identify my ball and I don't have to sharpie up my ball.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

It got me thinking, what's the life expectancy for a ball after you put it in play? Does your choice of ball determine the lifespan, or the other way around?

For me the life expectancy for a ball after I put it in play depends primarily on what brand/model ball it is. With a Callaway HX Tour T56, the ball starts getting a lot of wear from the grooves in my irons, and I probably a ready to get rid of it after 9-holes. But, with a Titleist DT So/Lo, I can easily get 18 holes, and sometimes more. The life expectancy will vay significantly from brand/model to brand/model depending on whether or not it's a "durable" ball.

Many years ago, in the era of balata balls, I put two smiles in a ball with one swing. Brand new ball never hit before, hitting to a par-3, I topped (I hate when that happens) the ball. It was a smile from the iron topping it and a smile from the ball being compressed into the tee. I'm talking about smiles where you could see the wound rubber interior -- that ball lasted me for one sorry shot.

[Fourputt]

I used to be quite picky about the ball I used, and while my current preference is for a Pro V1 around the green, the rest of my game isn't suited to it. I've never had problems with too much spin, generally even the Pro V only snaps back 4 or 5 feet. And the harder balls only roll up 5 to 10 feet depending on the club used. But the Pro V's aren't very friendly to my current rather questionable driver swing, so a lower spinning ball is my current preference. I can hit range balls reasonably straight all day long, but get on the tee with a Pro V and everyone better duck...

I've been playing cheaper balls while trying to get my game back into some sort of recognizable form. Walmart has 15-packs of Maxfli Noodles for $18, so I picked up a box of them to start the season with as soon as the snow melts. At $1.20 a ball, I can afford to leave them all over the course.

[GolfnGriff]

I kinda have the theory that life is too short to play a cheap ball so I play the ProV when I get a chance or until the stash runs out. For Xmas I tell my family not to get me anything but ProV's. That being said... I have played some excellent rounds with the NXT and SoLo. In fact last summer I had the best 9 holes of my life with a SoLo... 7 birdies and 2 bogeys. I can usually get 1 maybe 2 rounds with a ProV while the harder cover balls last 2 to 3 rounds. If I can keep from losing them off the tee...

[NM Golf]

I look for two things specifically. First I look for a soft ball. I do not like the feel of a click off the putter face. Mid range balls and premium balls like Nikes and Bridgestones do not go in my bag for this reason, they are just too hard. Next, I need to be able to control the spin. I tend to put a great deal of spin on the ball and if I have too spinny a ball I cannot keep them on the greens. Callaways, Nike platinum, and proV1 all spin too much for me. So it is the ProV1x for me, it is the best of both worlds, soft and low spin.

[icourtnage]

Feel is the biggest thing, by far. If a ball feels like crap, then I don't even consider using it. The ProV1x, as NM Golf said, is the perfect mix of softness, and not too much spin. I'll be interested to see how the new ProV1's feel.....

[bjw181]

Im sure they will feel about the same...it's essentially the same ball. I couldn't really find anything innovative about the new V1's on the titleist website. Just another reason to charge an extra 12 bucks if you ask me.

[icourtnage]

I'm guessing that is a price difference in MSRP, and we won't see much of an increase in prices at the counter. If they charge another $12, I'm guessing some people will start moving over to alternatives in a hurry! I love the ball, but I have a REALLY hard time forking over $40 for a dozen. I don't lose many balls, but after using a Pro V1 for a round, its pretty scuffed up. I'm hoping Titleist does realize that there is some price sensitivity, and that there are substitutues.
Maybe I need to go back to college - I got those suckers for free.

[Shindig]

Maybe I need to go back to college - I got those suckers for free.

Did you play in college, or is it like some other things where there are just bowls of them at various spots of campus? Because I'm still in college, and if there are free balls (other than occasionally finding scuffed ones in a certain field on campus), I'd love to know, because I've spent $50 or so in the last year on balls. Plus, I'd like to fill the shag bag for when I use the school's pitching/chipping zone.