What golf ball goes the furthest.... really

[acerimusdux]

Not in the case of Bridgestone.  Ive been to a few ball fittings and they usually suggest the E6, which is far from their most expensive ball.  Even in my case, they usually suggest the E6, the E5 is the secondary recommendation and 3rd is the B330-RX.  I still game the B330-RX because I was the spin to get the ball to stop on the green on pitches and chips.

Fair enough.  But I wonder, do they ever recommend the Laddie X?  The E-6 may be better for most, but at twice the price, I think someone who is still losing more than a few balls per round might be better off with the Laddie, and putting the money saved towards lessons and driving range sessions.

One thing to consider about golf balls is that the more expensive, 3-piece balls are designed to have low spin off the driver and high spin with the wedges, so are those cheaper balls really any more accurate off the tee?  Golf Digest recently did a ball test and claimed that the difference from the cheaper balls to the tour balls was about 4 yards.  I'll gladly give up those 4 yards if it means I can get the ball to stop on the green even when Im hitting 1/2 pitch shots.  IMO, it all comes down to how much you are willing to spend.  Better performance is going to cost more.

True, I doubt too many people would score worse with higher priced balls.  As for distance, Titleist says golfers generally won't experience more than 5 yards difference across their entire range.   So yes, it's how much you are willing to spend for performance.  In 2010, when Golf Digest had low handicap golfers actually play with both $15 a dozen balls, and $30+ premium balls, they found that on average those players scored 3 shots worse in a round with the cheaper balls.  So yes, the ball is important, just saying it's not likely going to make a huge difference in your score.

And I wonder if results would have been much different with even the cheapest balls (like those $6 a dozen Wilson FLI at Walmart)?

[GaijinGolfer]

They don't make the Laddie-X anymore.

[pjchangmd]

I think the consensus from this great forum is that the distance for most average to expensive balls ( and maybe even the cheap ones ) is basically the same-  within 5-10 yards.   That is not much in the whole scheme of things.  10-20 yards would be more of a game changer.  The difference, as I have concluded then, is the spin and feel.  FYI, I use and like the Srixon Z-star.

[rkim291968]

It lists ball compression data which I think is more objective info than what's listed in the 2008 list.   Lower number means higher compression.   You can use the info + your swing speed to gauge which ball can go further for you.

[ghoul31]

Here are some numbers from another test

110 MPH Driver
The Top 5 distance balls at this speed were as follows (the data in ( ) indicates the rank vs. all 63 balls tested)

Ball Distance (yards) Deviation (yards) Pinnacle Gold FX Long312.93 (1)5.67 (16) Taylor Made TP Black311.95 (2)12.40 (62 )Callaway HX Pearl308.58 (3)12.36 (61)Srixon Z-URC307.57 (4)5.27 (10)Titleist Pro V1x307.54 (5)7.17 (33)
The average ball at this speed traveled 300.52 yards. The shortest ball went only 282.97 yards. From the longest ball to the shortest ball, the difference is nearly 30 yards! Remember, these were all hit with the exact same driver and the exact same swing every time.


100 MPH Driver
The Top 5 distance balls at this speed were as follows (the data in ( ) indicates the rank vs. all 63 balls tested)

Ball Distance (yards) Deviation (yards) Titleist Pro V1x280.51 (1)5.17 (18)Pinnacle Gold FX Long280.40 (2)4.20 (10)Callaway HX Pearl279.71 (3)8.04 (52) Taylor Made TP Black279.43 (4)8.27 (55) Nike One Black279.39 (5)6.08 (35)
The average ball at this speed traveled 273.83 yards. The shortest ball went 261.06 yards.


90 MPH Driver
The Top 5 distance balls at this speed were as follows (the data in ( ) indicates the rank vs. all 63 balls tested)

Ball Distance (yards) Deviation (yards) Callaway HX Pearl246.18 (1)8.91 (55)Bridgestone B330245.03 (2)4.84 (4)Titleist Pro V1x244.97 (3)9.38 (59)Top Flite XL 5000 Straight244.79 (4)5.96 (16)Pinnacle Gold FX Long244.26 (5)8.25 (49)
The average ball at this speed traveled 240.73 yards. The shortest ball went 230.75 yards.


80 MPH Driver
The Top 5 distance balls at this speed were as follows (the data in ( ) indicates the rank vs. all 63 balls tested)

Ball Distance (yards) Deviation (yards) Volvik Crystal Control208.48 (1)3.12 (11)Srixon Soft Feel Ladies208.29 (2)4.79 (38)Top Flite D2 Straight207.24 (3)1.90 (2)Callaway HX Pearl207.05 (4)3.53 (16)Bridgestone B330S207.00 (5)3.73 (18)
The average ball at this speed traveled 204.01 yards. The shortest ball went 194.56 yards.


70 MPH Driver
The Top 5 distance balls at this speed were as follows (the data in ( ) indicates the rank vs. all the balls tested)

Ball Distance (yards) Deviation (yards) Titleist DT Carry175.91 (1)5.02 (53)Pinnacle Platinum Feel175.36 (2)5.15 (54)Srixon AD333175.07 (3)5.80 (60)Callaway Tour i174.57 (4)3.31 (16)Bridgestone E5+174.32 (5)3.83 (30)
The average ball at this speed traveled 171.64 yards. The shortest ball went 160.98 yards.

[pjchangmd]

Thanks!  That is awesome information

[MitsuEd]

Wow! Thanks.

I wonder what the shortest 5 balls were......  and to see info for all tested balls.

[purple drank]

Wilson Ultras in my experience.

[Artimas]

While the driving distance between balls may be minimal, I find that I hit low spin balls straighter. This equates to a much longer "functional" driving distance. Slices really rob distance.

[dhtrshethetwhtr]

No one cares about this

[David in FL]

No one cares about this

You're probably right, since no one has commented on the thread in nearly 2 years. ;-) Welcome to the site. Stick around! :beer:

[dkolo]

You're probably right, since no one has commented on the thread in nearly 2 years. ;-) Welcome to the site. Stick around! :beer:

The ball that goes the farthest is whichever ball Bubba is hitting.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL

You're probably right, since no one has commented on the thread in nearly 2 years.

Welcome to the site. Stick around!

The ball that goes the farthest is whichever ball Bubba is hitting.

Nope, it's whatever Jamie Sadlowski is hitting. . .