How do you select "your" golf ball?

[Divotmaker77]

The high end balls are mostly spin balls designed for stopping on greens better.  If you spray the ball these balls will kill your round.  I am able to get away with them being a 11HC player.  I rarely lose balls now but these balls do tend to get beat up much easier than the cheaper balls.  So, I find myself replacing them more often simply because they are too beat up to play with.

Like someone else said, go buy a few different sleeve of balls. Spend some money and get a sleeve of ProV's, Penta's, High End Bridgestone's, and others.  Strictly use them around the greens for putting and chipping and figure out which one feels best to you.  I have always loved how the Penta's feel when putting, but love the ProV's better which chipping and pitching to the green.  I tend to go with the ProV's more often.

If you are a hacker or a higher HC player, go with a 2-3 piece ball until you get the mechanics worked out.  The Noodle ball is what I started out with and is a great ball.  Cheap and has quality to it. I actually have a friend who is 4 HC player who still uses it.  The Bridgestone E series are great as well and they seem to have the best fitting program going right now.

If cost is a concern, go to lostgolfballs.com.  They have excellent deals on balls that have been retrieved.

[Dave2512]

Trial and error for me, some balls just feels better to me. Fortunately it's usually the cheap stuff but never across the board. This season I've played the Q-Star, Srixon Soft Feel, Noodle Long and Soft and Softest Noodle in addition to a few high end balls I've found. I like the Noodle L&S; the best, hated the Srixon Soft Feel. Does exactly what is says for me, comes off the club soft and flies long. I like the Q-Star too but it's more money and IMO doesn't perform any better. If anything I didn't think it was as durable, my wedges shredded the cover on those.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Tests around the green and price. Bridgestone e5.

[TourSpoon]

I have been playing for a while, but when I got back into the game a few years back I found the Gamer V2 (used to play MaxFli back in the day). It is often called the poor man's Pro V. I used that ball for a while and really liked the bite until I found an outlet that sold Pro Vs. I played those for a while and loved the spin off the wedges and the feel off the putter. I did not like them in the wind as they tended to balloon a bit. I played in a tournament soon thereafter and won 2 boxes of Pro V1Xs (they were out of Pro Vs) and immediately loved them off the woods and in the wind. They are similar off the short irons and not as buttery off the putter but they worked great for my overall game. Since then I have tried the Nike 20XI X (too hard to compress, no feel off the putter) and some other balls but have not found anything to beat the Pro V1X. I know that I would probably like the B330 or the Penta, but at this point I am sold on the X. If I had to recommend a ball for a mid-capper I would point them to the Gamer V2 every time.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

I have been playing for a while, but when I got back into the game a few years back I found the Gamer V2 (used to play MaxFli back in the day). It is often called the poor man's Pro V. I used that ball for a while and really liked the bite until I found an outlet that sold Pro Vs. I played those for a while and loved the spin off the wedges and the feel off the putter. I did not like them in the wind as they tended to balloon a bit. I played in a tournament soon thereafter and won 2 boxes of Pro V1Xs (they were out of Pro Vs) and immediately loved them off the woods and in the wind. They are similar off the short irons and not as buttery off the putter but they worked great for my overall game. Since then I have tried the Nike 20XI X (too hard to compress, no feel off the putter) and some other balls but have not found anything to beat the Pro V1X. I know that I would probably like the B330 or the Penta, but at this point I am sold on the X. If I had to recommend a ball for a mid-capper I would point them to the Gamer V2 every time.

I'm still waiting to crack open a box of ProV1Xs I won last year. Since then I've used a dozen each GamerV2, TP Black, 2 dozen Penta (still have one sleeve left) and I'm on sleeve number one of a dozen B330S (whichever high compression version is the shorter one with higher spin). So far the one thing they all have in common is consistent distance. Not too may flyers, no ballooning, and consistent stopping - no surprise checking and no surprise runouts. I like them all. I play an insert putter so they feel similar (good) off the putter. I play the odd found Tour Callaway or ProV1 and they're all similar. The Callaway Tour is and B330S feel almost identical.

[AmazingWhacker]

I select my balls by finding them while looking for the one I hit.  Seriously . . I have found and played just about every brand and make of ball there is.  The bushes are full of ProV1's, B330's and everything else.

I have gravitated to the softer compression balls - like the Precept Laddie or just about any ladies ball.  I like the Nike PD7 a lot.  I do have a relatively slow swing speed - not sure exactly what it is but it has to be sub 100mph for driver.  I don't really find other balls hard to compress . .or really notice much of a difference at all ..  but something about the lower compression makes me feel like I don't need to kill it (as much).

[Pablo68]

I just got back into golf after a several year hiatus and after getting back into the groove, switched from the Titleist DTs I'd got on Ebay to ProV1s. Night and day difference IMO. I havenlt really noticed any loss of distance and being able to stop the ball on the greens regardless of the club is a plus. Much softer feel putting and chipping.

You can get AAAA/Mint condition ones on Ebay for a little over $1.00 a ball.

[Dscroggs4]

Noodle + Long and Soft....    15.99 for a 15 pack... can't beat them best value for a high handicapper or a mid handicapper who wants to save money on balls and lose just a bit of feel around the greens..

[TTH83]

I employ a highly rigorous testing regime for balls. It's a little complicated, but it's led to always having the right ball for my game at each step of my development. Here's how it goes.

1.) Get out on the course.

2.) Tee your current ball up and send it screaming into the woods or weeds.

3.) Curse your lousy driver, your playing partner who was talking during your swing, that old football injury, God, and whoever introduced you to this stupid game.

4.) Sigh and head back to your cart.

5.) Take a long sip of beer.

6.) Ahh, that was nice . . . repeat step five.

7.) Drive out to where your ball went into the spinach.

8.) Hack about a bit and retrieve as many balls as you can, bonus points if you find your own.

9.) Stop hacking in time to get to the provisional you played without holding up your group.

With this advanced ball-fitting method, you will play a variety of balls, each with its own unique characteristics that best suit it for different situations. Crafting your game to hitting a different ball every other hole will ensure you stay adaptable to varying conditions and not become too dependent on a specific ball technology. This way, after the zombie apocalypse shuts down the Titleist/Bridgestone/. . . plant, you will not suffer a significant drop in play due to your accustomed ball no longer being available.

Good luck, and watch for those zombies. Unlike other obstructions, you don't get a one club-length drop.

[lumpuckeroo]

Originally Posted by formula428

So the bottom line question is, how do YOU select a golf ball?

So, bottom line, how did I choose a golf ball.  I bought a couple of sleeves of balls I wanted to try.  First I spent time on the putting green, if they don't feel right when I'm putting then I really don't want to play them.  Then I spent a little time chipping and pitching with them, I prefer a ball that spins, I like to carry the ball to the hole and have it stop, I don't like to have to try and figure out how much it might roll.  Lastly I took them to the course and played with them, I tend to hit the driver pretty high so I don't want a ball that spins a lot off of the driver.  With all that said, I settled on the Taylormade Penta (now TP5), I've been able to buy them for a greatly reduced price also.

[Pablo68]

Funny stuff TTH83!

[B-Con]

First, I set my price range. Then, I read reviews and tests on the various balls in that price range to see which were regarded as having the best spin. Then I started buying a dozen of each of those balls. I've found a few favorites. My most favorite keeps getting discontinued, so I'll probably pick a new favorite.

[BuckeyeNut]

I lump golf balls into 3 buckets:

1. cheap rocks

2. mid-level balls

3. tour level balls

1. If you are a beginner or more than 18HC.......stick to #1.

You won't benefit from the spin performance of better balls anyway.  In fact...it'll be more of a negative than a positive. Stick to the budget balls....

2-3 blend together.....several mid-level balls offer decent performers at a modest price.  They don't offer tour level performance, but many do offer some real performance. I bought these many years and they perform well for the price.  If you don't want to spend $40/dozen for ProV1's......IE.....NXT Tour is a decent ball too.  It'll give you some feel and control without the big price.

For the past 2 years, a golf partner of mine turned me onto option 4::::

Tour balls, at a discount price online.   I buy used balls online that are nearly perfect for a fraction of the price.  IE.....50 ProV1's for $50...50 Nike Tour Ones for $30.....stuff like that.  They may not be perfect and sport a pen marking or something.....or they may have a minor blemish.

I can deal with a minor blemish because I deface my golf balls with red ink anyway.....LOL

For me, I prefer to buy tour caliber golf balls online at a huge discount. My game is good enough to benefit from the good balls, but I don't want to pay $40/dozen either if I don't have to.  I'll probably never buy brand new balls again unless caught in a pinch......

PS......don't confuse the many brands.  Narrow the choice to one of 3 buckets.......and they all putt straight these days!!  Splitting hairs between a top flite or pinnacle........or Callaway HEX or PROV1 is crazy......they offer the same performance within the class they represent.   If you want to choose between one or the other, buy the one that is on sale!!!!!

....stepping off the soap box