How Accurate Are Foam Practice Balls?

[Uncle Peter]

I just picked up a pack of foam practice balls. Apart from being fun to practice with, I was wondering if they are accurate in showing you your ball flight.

[AggieGolfer13]

IMO I think they are pretty accurate. They also fly pretty far too. I lost a ton of practice balls the first time I bought them because they went about 4x further than expected. They slice, hook, fade, draw, and go straight. So I think they are good.

[Uncle Peter]

Yeah, I just hit a few now and noticed that they're great for iron and wedge practice.

[GaijinGolfer]

Theyre OK but not an honest reflection of your swing because theyre so soft that you will get more spin with them, so your slice/hook looks worse than it really is.  Even still, any practice is better than none at all.

[broomhandle]

I've noticed that the foam balls have a very low launch angle relative to golf and wiffle balls.

I think the plastic balls that look like a golf ball(not a wiffle ball) are best but I haven't seen any lately.

With any of them it doesn't take much wind to overwhelm the shot's 'deserved' curve.

[Uncle Peter]

Yes, I have noticed that I have been able to curve the foam ball a lot easier than a normal golf ball. Now that I'm using them, I think they could be used just to keep your swing in check and in-line too.

Broomhandle, I used to have some of those plastic balls, but I couldn't find a place that sold them. That's why I bought the foam ones.

[AggieGolfer13]

I've noticed that the foam balls have a very low launch angle relative to golf and wiffle balls. I think the plastic balls that look like a golf ball(not a wiffle ball) are best but I haven't seen any lately. With any of them it doesn't take much wind to overwhelm the shot's 'deserved' curve.

I saw some of the plastic golf balls you are talking about at academy today. I tend to break plastic balls pretty quickly so I don't get them anymore.

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by Uncle Peter

Yes, I have noticed that I have been able to curve the foam ball a lot easier than a normal golf ball. Now that I'm using them, I think they could be used just to keep your swing in check and in-line too.

Broomhandle, I used to have some of those plastic balls, but I couldn't find a place that sold them. That's why I bought the foam ones.

Theyre fine if you only have a small area to practice in.  I used to practice with them in a small park near my home and theyre definetly better than nothing.  They used to drive me crazy though because it made me think I was fighting a hook but then when Id get on the course with real golf balls it would only be a slight draw.

After a while with them I forgot about ballflight and only focused on making solid contact.

[LuciusWooding]

Pros: You can hit foam balls into almost anything at full power without breaking things. They tell you when you hit them in the center of the face, and launch at the angle the face is pointed. You can also hit them with driver off a tee if you just want to determine contact and launch angle. They're certainly better than nothing.

Cons: They don't show your ball flight that well because they deform and fly crooked quickly, and have no dimples so they don't curve the same as a ball naturally unless they're knocked out of round. They also fail for chipping and pitching practice because they don't roll properly, though that's not hard to practice using real balls.

[AggieGolfer13]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

Pros: You can hit foam balls into almost anything at full power without breaking things. They tell you when you hit them in the center of the face, and launch at the angle the face is pointed. You can also hit them with driver off a tee if you just want to determine contact and launch angle. They're certainly better than nothing.

Cons: They don't show your ball flight that well because they deform and fly crooked quickly, and have no dimples so they don't curve the same as a ball naturally unless they're knocked out of round. They also fail for chipping and pitching practice because they don't roll properly, though that's not hard to practice using real balls.

The foam balls I use have dimples. You should try those.

[ApocG10]

Originally Posted by AggieGolfer13 

The foam balls I use have dimples. You should try those.

M

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Theyre fine if you only have a small area to practice in.  I used to practice with them in a small park near my home and theyre definetly better than nothing.  They used to drive me crazy though because it made me think I was fighting a hook but then when Id get on the course with real golf balls it would only be a slight draw.

After a while with them I forgot about ballflight and only focused on making solid contact.

Thanks for the heads up. I was wondering why I had a large slice when I hit them. (I normally have a moderate pull-slice ball path, but not a severe slice.)

But the ones I bought don't have dimples.

[LuciusWooding]

You might want to consider Birdieballs, I like them for showing ballflight, though spinning them will launch super high. They work best off of really tight lies though, so consider getting the mat that comes with a set. Hitting them off the rough, especially uneven lies, can result in wonky flights. Also you can't really hit driver with them, and I've broken them with low lofted clubs on uneven lies. You can't hit them anywhere but really low and get a playable flight, whereas with a real ball it's totally round and you can hit them solid closer to the equator. Plus they die in the wind. But they feel great for practice balls and fly around 40 yards max.

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

You might want to consider Birdieballs, I like them for showing ballflight, though spinning them will launch super high. They work best off of really tight lies though, so consider getting the mat that comes with a set. Hitting them off the rough, especially uneven lies, can result in wonky flights. Also you can't really hit driver with them, and I've broken them with low lofted clubs on uneven lies. You can't hit them anywhere but really low and get a playable flight, whereas with a real ball it's totally round and you can hit them solid closer to the equator. Plus they die in the wind. But they feel great for practice balls and fly around 40 yards max.

I just looked them up. They certainly look different, but I like them, and I can see how they can be useful for ball flight. I'll have to see if my local golf store has a pack. Thanks for mentioning them!

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Uncle Peter

I just looked them up. They certainly look different, but I like them, and I can see how they can be useful for ball flight. I'll have to see if my local golf store has a pack. Thanks for mentioning them!

They also make a really cool sound when you hit them solid. I don't know how many stores would have them but they're on Amazon, pretty fun way to practice.

[WillieT]

This thread interests me as I spend a fair amount of time making practice shots in the back yard.  I can easily go 30 - 40 yards and if I include my neighbors hard (which has a large oak at the 60 yard mark) I can get some decent swings in. Of course I have several styles of practice balls to choose from - the foam dimpled balls that will carry roughly 60 yards with tail wind and driver.  I also use wiffle balls the standard white ones along with some black/yellow ones that really show the spin.  The latter are super soft and are great for tee shots against the barn with the driver.  For all other practice, I have the real ones I can chip/pitch with in a controlled manner. Also the grandson (who is three) loves it when we can hit with hard golf balls in the back yard.  Soon, though, he will be able to carry well enough that the only time hard golf balls will be used will be a the course/range.  All that to say, the foam/wiffle balls are great for working out technique in limited space.    

[Buckeyebowman]

On 8/6/2012 at 10:38 AM, GaijinGolfer said:

Theyre fine if you only have a small area to practice in.  I used to practice with them in a small park near my home and theyre definetly better than nothing.  They used to drive me crazy though because it made me think I was fighting a hook but then when Id get on the course with real golf balls it would only be a slight draw.

After a while with them I forgot about ballflight and only focused on making solid contact.

Couldn't you learn to translate from the foam to the real?

[Piz]

Hmmm...I might have to initiate a foam ball par 3 challenge at my local.  Who can get down in the fewest strokes with a foam ball?  Do you take a driver off the tee?  Might be fun.