Range Balls

[Big Don]

Anybody got any info on range balls? The range I go to has Top Flite balls with a red stripe. Are these balls down rated\range limited? I seem to lose 10-15 yards per club.

[trutrojan8]

Yeah, the ones at my course(s) are all downgraded from the normal balls I use. The Range Balls are used primarily for wear and tear, and are supposed to last way longer than usual balls, so the owners don't have to keep buying new ones over and over again.

[digger21]

What I understand is that with range balls they have some sorta extra coating to protect them , and theyre just the simple 2pc most of the time.

[CG031]

Anybody got any info on range balls? The range I go to has Top Flite balls with a red stripe. Are these balls down rated\range limited? I seem to lose 10-15 yards per club.

you shouldn't be losing that much? Maybe the wind was in your face because when I go with the srixon practice range balls I lose like 5 yards on my irons, and may 10 with my driver.

[c_mack9]

i have noticed what i do on the range is nothing like what i do on the course. i can work on something at the range an as soon as i get it on the course its totally different. the balls, turf everything is different. to practice i just go walk 9 holes instead of goin to the range anymore.

[iacas]

you shouldn't be losing that much? Maybe the wind was in your face because when I go with the srixon practice range balls I lose like 5 yards on my irons, and may 10 with my driver.

Some range balls are limited flight. They don't fly as far on purpose. That way you can have a range that's only 250 yards long but on which people can still hit drivers.

[lamebums]

Anybody got any info on range balls? The range I go to has Top Flite balls with a red stripe. Are these balls down rated\range limited? I seem to lose 10-15 yards per club.

The range I usually go to gets old brand-name balls, gets a red stripe put on them, and then they get pounded into submission over the course of a year. They're much better than purpose-built range balls - I won't hit balls anywhere else if I can help it. When I do go to other driving ranges, and I hit their crappy rocks, they...well, drop like rocks. I lose 30 yards with a 7 iron, and 50 with a driver. Also, they have little to none of that satisfying feel that a good ball does.

Not much else to say but, really, "Range balls suck". At my usual range, I know I'm not losing distance because it's only 270 yards to the far side, behind which there's a creek, and during a lesson with the pro he was like "That's in the creek. Can you aim that way?" pointing diagonally across the range, so I'd gotten an extra 40 yards or so of hitting room. (My next shot went right, clearing the containing fence and beaning a storage yard about 290 yards away.) The people I usually see at that range though are mostly duffers who have little to no chance of putting balls in the creek. I swear, one day, I'm going to get kicked out of a driving range for hitting the balls too far.

[jmhunter]

grass vs mats make a big difference. The club I just joined is all grass.

[irfan]

how much distance would you say they affect on 50 yard shots? when i practice half wedges to get distances down am i jsut wasting my time with range balls?

[iacas]

how much distance would you say they affect on 50 yard shots? when i practice half wedges to get distances down am i jsut wasting my time with range balls?

For that, you should always measure your distances on the course with your balls, figure out what length swing sends the ball what distance, and then work on that SWING regardless of length on the range.

Range balls, even if they did fly the same distance, would fly higher because they're much firmer. They roll up the clubface more than a softer ball (like a premium urethane ball).