Do ball types make that much difference to a high handicap player?

[tiger187126]

I agree with this.  Maybe I am not good enough to tell a difference though?

I will say I hate the feel of rock hard balls with the putter though.

i dropped nike mojos for this exact reason.

[vangator]

I've got a big match on Friday and I think I'd like to try a new ball in a practice round on Thursday. Nomally I play Srixon Z-Star or Z-Star XV (a little harder). I like the optic yellow balls. I was given a sleeve of Titleist NXT Tour S yellow balls by a friend to try out. I must say i really like the feel off the driver and irons. Chipping is great and it's the best feeling ball off the putter. I teed it up on a par 5 and tried just a normal drive (not swinging for the fences) and it went 280 down the middle. No harse feel at all. The reason I mentioned this is so that you might think abot these balls. They are not too expensive and really perform well. The ball does make a difference. Give yourself every advantage. I played with a ball rep once yars ago. I hit a Pinnacle into a green and of course it bounced to the back. He told me then that I would never score consistently unless I hit a ball that could spin and stop on the green. I've been playing soft cover balls ever since. He was right. In the old days, Titleist tour quality balls were wound rubber bands with a balata cover. Balata was great for spin, but you could put a smile on those in a heartbeat. Also, you cound beat the balls out of round. They would also go dead after a while especially in the heat of a car trunk. New balls also have that problem, but to a lesser degree.

[DoubleEagle]

Callaway Super Soft...$19.99 a dozen....give 'em a try...I think you will like them.

[MConstantineJr]

Target has Noodle Long and Soft 2 15 packs for $25 These balls are long and great around the green (check up fairly decent ). IMO best bang for the buck right now.

[MConstantineJr]

To be clear that was a total of 30 balls doe $25. My pride and joy of my game is my old mizuno blades and these balls are just outstanding for feel, response and distance.

[Zeph]

I would avoid the hardest and crappiest balls, but you don't need a 5-layer expensive one. Something mid-to-low range that doesn't hurt your wallet. You could also consider getting used balls.

I do recommend playing the same ball and not just playing whatever ball you happen to pick up from a trip to the woods. Hitting a cheap Top-Flite on one hole and a ProV1 on the next isn't helping on your consistency. Find one ball you like and try getting hold of a bunch of them for a reasonable price. Keep playing just that one type of ball. It may be especially helpful on the shortgame and putting, where you can easier feel the differences from ball to ball. Again, chipping with a Top-Flite on one hole and a ProV1 on the next is not doing you any favors.

Not that the ball or clubs make a world of difference for a high handicapper, but if you are already buying bags of 10 various used balls, you might as well buy a bunch of them from Ebay and stick to one model. I bought lots of ProV1 and Bridgestone E5 some years ago from Ebay. Still got some of them left.

[tomvk77]

off course we all benefit a ball that suites our game.

[joekelly]

Zeph.  Good ideas there from you.  I'm gonna buy a box of nice round white/not balls and set all the others aside.  Have not lost a ball in 32 holes.

[NJpatbee]

I'll put it this way.

There has never been a time when after a round I thought my score would have been better if I had been using a better golf ball.

If I have a bad round it's because I hit the ball like crap and there's not a golf ball in the world that would have changed anything.

If any of us hits the ball like crap the ball is not going to make a difference.  But as a high handicapper, my norm is hitting some shots that are not right on the money and have a strong fade or draw that develops into real trouble with some of the higher spin balls.   I am usually not on the green in regulation so I need a ball that I can control on pitches and chips.  I have an 85-90 driver SS and need a ball that will travel well given my SS.

If the wheels really come off the cart I can go north of 100.  However, in many cases playing the right ball for my game can be the difference between a 92 and an 88.  It may not seem to be a big deal, but knocking a few strokes off my game is often attributed to the ball I am using.  I have experimented with a wide variety of balls from the most expensive to bargain basement and have made my choice(s) based on trial and error.

[trickeyrickey]

Does anyone play the Wilson Duo?

[WUTiger]

For high handicappers, yes. If high HDCP golfers play tour-level balls such as the Titleist ProV1, the TaylorMade Tour Preferred or the Bridgestone Tour B330, they are hurting themselves twice.

• These high-end balls often cost north of $45 a dozen.
• These are high spin balls, and people who don't always hit the ball squarely would spin them left and right into the treeline, or worse.

Many of the ball makers now make a "straight" ball which minimizes side spin. Example: the Bridgestone e6, which sells for $27 a dozen.

PGA veteran and spheroid scholar David Feherty explains:

It helps a high HDCP golfer to use regularly the same type of  ball: premium, midspin or distance.  Probably would help most on short game and putting.

[iacas]

Many of the ball makers now make a "straight" ball which minimizes side spin.

There's really no such thing. Spin is spin. If it's limited, so is "backspin."

[tiger187126]

Does anyone play the Wilson Duo?

I have some. They're nice, soft, and didn't notice really much distance difference.

There's really no such thing. Spin is spin. If it's limited, so is "backspin."

i've tried these anti-spin balls extensively and here's my take:

if you slice/block/pull/duck/etc. you're probably going to lose the ball. if you hit an overdone cut/draw maybe this will keep you in the rough instead of the woods, but they aren't miracle balls.

they do make miracle balls, but they're banned.

[1badbadger]

Hi I'm relatively new to the game. Been playing for just under a year. Normally I use used balls as have a tendancy to lose a couple or three a round lol. I am taking lessons and think my game has improved a lot lately especially since I got fitted for a new set of callaway X2 hots which I love and trust!! Basically would it help to improve my game if I used a specific type of ball?

Thanks in advanceI

The ball makes a difference for all players.  Yes, there are those that switch around, or just pull "whatever" ball out of their bag, but imagine doing that with a driver.  Would anyone feel comfortable just grabbing a random driver out of a pile on the 1st tee box to use that day?  Or playing a different set of irons every time they go to the course?  One day it might be blades and the next it could be super game improvement clubs. It would it be very difficult to be consistent and play your best that way.  You mentioned that you were fit for new clubs and as a result you love and trust them, which is huge...I'm sure it gives you a lot of confidence and it definitely sounds like you noticed a difference from your previous set.  Getting fit for a golf ball will have the same benefits.  On-course testing and trial-and-error are part of the process, but a professional fitting with a tech is really informative and it eliminates a lot of the guesswork.  Some players will have more dramatic results than others, but in addition to improving your ball flight it creates that trust like you have with your irons.  At the very least, you'll know more about golf balls and what is important for an efficient trajectory than you did before!

[saevel25]

One of the few things I like from Golf Digest is their Golf Ball chart. Plotting of 95 mph driver versus half wedge shots. They plot the spin rates. Given I would like them to maybe plot 3 different levels of speed. Maybe 90, 100, and 110. Still, it does show some trends.

For middle of the road swing speed, at least I think 95 is pretty close to Amateur average. You can see that all premium golf balls sit in the far right for wedge spin. This is mostly due to the Urethane cover they use, or some blend with Urethane. Which makes sense, a half wedge strike isn't going to get enough energy into the golf ball to interact with a lot of layers, so the cover is the primary factor.

As for driver spin, they are all pretty similar. The range is 2200 to 2900. 700 rpm is not that big of a deal. You can gain 700 rpm just by missing the ball half an inch lower on the club face. It does look like non-Urethane cover golf balls tend to spin lower on drivers. I do believe that harder golf balls launch higher though because they are not gripped by the club (friction, spin) as much so they slide up the face more and launch higher. Though this would be more prevalent in irons and wedge shots which have grooves.

Yea, if an amateur is looking for a golf ball. Unless they want softer feel off the short game shots and putting. Any low to mid range price ball would work really well. They probably wouldn't see any performance difference. So in the end it would be personal preference and how the ball feels off the club face.

[inthehole]

When I started, I kept buying the Wilson balls in the red mesh bag at Walmart - beginners tend to lose alot of balls, and these are just fine (heck, I went back to them last fall when I got sick of losing better balls in the leaves & they play better than I expected).

[Jakester23]

[URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/102179/] [/URL] One of the few things I like from Golf Digest is their Golf Ball chart. Plotting of 95 mph driver versus half wedge shots. They plot the spin rates. Given I would like them to maybe plot 3 different levels of speed. Maybe 90, 100, and 110. Still, it does show some trends.  For middle of the road swing speed, at least I think 95 is pretty close to Amateur average. You can see that all premium golf balls sit in the far right for wedge spin. This is mostly due to the Urethane cover they use, or some blend with Urethane. Which makes sense, a half wedge strike isn't going to get enough energy into the golf ball to interact with a lot of layers, so the cover is the primary factor.  As for driver spin, they are all pretty similar. The range is 2200 to 2900. 700 rpm is not that big of a deal. You can gain 700 rpm just by missing the ball half an inch lower on the club face. It does look like non-Urethane cover golf balls tend to spin lower on drivers. I do believe that harder golf balls launch higher though because they are not gripped by the club (friction, spin) as much so they slide up the face more and launch higher. Though this would be more prevalent in irons and wedge shots which have grooves.  Yea, if an amateur is looking for a golf ball. Unless they want softer feel off the short game shots and putting. Any low to mid range price ball would work really well. They probably wouldn't see any performance difference. So in the end it would be personal preference and how the ball feels off the club face.

Great post. Im on my phone so u can't see your profile. What do you play?

[saevel25]

Great post. Im on my phone so u can't see your profile. What do you play?

Bridgestone B330 the 2011 model