Golf Ball Value - Spin Performance vs Cost

[ldehtiar]

I was looking to play a ball that held the greens better than the economy balls I had been playing, but I wanted to know what I had to spend to get the performance I was looking for.

I extracted the data from Golf Digest’s golf ball spin chart (May 2012) and added in the cost for each ball.  I know GD separated them into 3 categories, but I didn’t really agree with the way they broke them up.  Also, I wanted to get a good grasp of the value of each ball relative to its "stopping power" and cost.  Here is what I came up with:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvliI7Zi1OjYdDFoc19DWGd4bWZvU2REUzg3SFp3M1E

Now, this is in no way a scientific assessment.  I explain the calculations I made on the spreadsheet and why.  You are welcome to save a copy of the sheet for yourself and play with the numbers as you see fit.  Also keep in mind that “value” in this case is only relative to how much "stopping power" a ball has.  Distance, side spin reduction and feel do not weigh into it.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that you should use this exclusively to select which ball to play.  I was looking for a ball with more spin, so that is how the sheet is set up.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful or at least interesting to some of you.

[hkphooey00]

That's an awesome idea!  So....the higher the value, the more bang (stopping power) for the buck?

[ldehtiar]

That's the idea.  I don't know if "stopping power" is the best term, but I had to make something up.  The number in the "value" column also corresponds to the size of the circles in the chart, in case that wasn't clear.

[SAGolfLuvr]

Idehtiar, Nice spreadsheet! Thanks for sharing.

Hkphooey. I buy the used Pro V1 at Walmart for $20 - $25. They are high spinning, all around great performing, premium balls at around half the price. I've tried many different balls but haven't found any that beat the Pro V1's performance.

[hkphooey00]

Originally Posted by SAGolfLuvr

Hkphooey. I buy the used Pro V1 at Walmart for $20 - $25.

Interesting....if you insert the $25/doz into the table for the Pro V1's....it becomes the second best value ball behind the Maxfli U/2