picking a new golf ball

[dbuck]

In the $20 range I also like the Titleist DT SoLo. I enjoy playing with vintage gear a lot, like the soft feel. I just picked up a dozen Wilson Duos, and they may be the equal of the Solo. I have only played about 18 with the Duo, but so far, so good. The Duo is especially soft feeling off the putter. I have tried a few of the  e series Bridgestones, and haven't found one I like any better than the Solo. Bridgestone makes the Fix around $20/doz, which is advertised as being soft, so I may try a box of those.

My premium ball usage is mainly limited to tournaments and/or shambles, but I will play casual rounds with found ones. While I prefer Titleist over Bridgestone in low-mid priced balls, I go the other way in the premium lines. I have a slight preference for the Bridgestone 330 series over Pro V's, usually going with the 330 RX when I need or want a premium ball.

Even at my level, I can tell some difference in balls, but more so around the green than from the tee and fairway.

[BrownCoast]

BrownCoast,

Look at the Wilson Elite 50... it's supposed to be a 50 compression ball and it's less than $12 per dozen... I picked up a box the other week but only putted with one once... it worked for me I guess.

Also try Snakeeyes... I picked up a box of the red and black... soft distance and soft distance extreme... they were also less than $12 per dozen.

I got all 3 boxes (Wilson and the 2 Snakeeyes) at the same time and have been gaming the Snakeeyes red for the past couple of rounds. I've only lost 1 so far and these balls seem to be a bit straighter for me than the Orlimars I had before... normally I'll play Slazenger Raw Distance or whatever's on sale but I think I'm liking the Snakeeyes.

I'll try the Wilson's when I lose the Snakeeyes then decide which of the 2 I'm going to stick with.

Thanks for the solid advice Scorpion12. I think I will try a box of the 50's first maybe buy 2 since they have a deal if you buy 2 box's. It seems like there has been some positive reviews from the supersoft and gamer soft. I will also try and pick some of those up. thanks to everyone for the helpful advice.

[nick1998bunker]

I play new prov1s in tournaments, old prov1s when practicing and bridges tones when there is a real chance I could lose one. I definantly can tell a difference in the good balls, but only that they spin a little more around the green. I think bridge stones are the best for their money but I wouldn't really reccomend anything below that because try really don't spin very much.

[BuckeyeNut]

My take on balls:

There are 3 classes of balls and I have no brand preference......

1. tour performance balls.....the pro's play these.  These are the top of the line performance balls made by all the brands we know.

2. the TWEENER.....these are models just a short step down from the tour models....they offer some performance without the $35-45/dozen price.

3. The rocks........hard cover........"go far" balls often sold in 30 packs.  LOL

These worlds are slowly merging in recent decades with the improvement of golf ball design and materials.   The lines are slowly becoming blurred...

For my money, I prefer any tour performance ball and I buy my balls from a place that sells used balls online.  They also have a local store, so I like to go in to see the selection.  Each model comes with different condition ratings, and you can pick and choose your poison.   You can buy by the dozen in brand new condition.

expect to pay $25/per dozen for ProV1s in brand new condition.  Some brands are even less..........around $16-$20 per dozen in like new condition for a top of the line ball.

If you don't mind a pen mark on the ball, the price keeps dropping......I've even bought some with 1 minor blemish or pen mark....You can get 50 tour caliber balls for $30 sorted by brand.

[Strandly]

I used the Top Flite Gamer Tour balls a bunch last year and I liked them.  I tried one box early this year and it seemed like my distance with them was below average and since the price per box went from $16 to $20 I simply quit using them and haven't bought any since.  I would recommend giving them a shot though, they did have a nice soft feel.  There is also the Top Flite D2 Soft ball which I remember trying once and I thought it was decent, and afforable too.. $12 for a 15 pack I think.

[scorpion12]

Glad to help BrownCoast but I can't take credit for finding the Snakeeyes balls... someone else on another thread posted about them being a ball that performs better than the low price would seem to allow...

Personally, I just can't see paying $20 or more per dozen for balls that I'm just going to lose but that's just me... and I would rather not hit something off of my club that feels like a rock which is why I normally play Slazenger... but, when looking on the web for information on Slazenger balls, it seems that Slazenger as a company, makes the balls as almost of an afterthought... unless I'm looking in the wrong area of their web site.

For me, it's going to come down to which Snakeeyes ball I like better... the red boxed one or the black boxed one... and how they compare to the Wilson 50 Elite when I put that in play.

I'd like to try the Monsta golf ball offering or 3up but... again, they're at a price point I'm not willing to pay.

[vangator]

From afar or around the greens?

From afar. I don't try to back the ball up much. I like it to stick where it lands, maybe a little roll. The NXT hit and rolled quite a bit. Also on flop shots where I'd expect the ball to land softly, the NXT didn't. You know the short pitches that you know you hit just like you envisioned and expect to be real close and they hit and roll and roll and roll. The e6 rolled even farther. I left several different balls in my car yesterday (95 degrees). After work when I got in the car, the balls were hot. Most of the covers were softened, but the cover on the e6 was by far the softest. I use the bite test. When the air cooled everything down, the e6's resumed their rock-like mantle. That's why it's best to pick a ball and stick with it. I'm in the process of trying to pick a ball. Since I want a colored (not African-American) ball, the Volvik Vista iS ad iV are entering my conscious again.

[WUTiger]

I've posted a couple of reviews on balls. I'm trying to find a soft feeling ball that will bite on the greens. You'll never be able to really score well unless the ball will bite on the green. ...

Callaway Supersoft bites on half wedges and full shots, just not on really short greenside shots. It's a trade-off.

In a couple of scrambles, I played the swag-bag distance balls for a few  holes. I would hit a high, full 9 iron into the green, see it hit and run to the back fringe. I mean, no real bite ever. Supersoft not like that - just doesn't bite much from point-blank range.

[vangator]

I have a few SuperSofts that I've found. Good condition. I'll give them a try. I have a friend that doesn't think the Supersofts bite very well. I'll find out. I think I'll cut out early from work tomorrow to catch 18 holes. Only $10 to walk after 3pm. I'm sure it will be 98 degrees with 98% humidity, but to save a few bucks, I can do that.

[Mr. Desmond]

I have a few SuperSofts that I've found. Good condition. I'll give them a try. I have a friend that doesn't think the Supersofts bite very well. I'll find out. I think I'll cut out early from work tomorrow to catch 18 holes. Only $10 to walk after 3pm. I'm sure it will be 98 degrees with 98% humidity, but to save a few bucks, I can do that.

A lot of non-urethane balls will sit on full wedges, but for those delicate/short partials around the green where you rely more on trajectory to stop, it's tough to stop a non-urethane ball consistently unless you've included rollout in the equation. On hard greens, a non-urethane will roll out. In my experience. To have any luck w stopping a non-urethane, I've got to open the face, my feet, and cut it a bit. And I'd rather set up square.

[Dave2512]

I prefer to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible around greens. Distance control is tough with partial wedge shots and a flop is a more difficult shot to execute. Most public courses are so soft a full shot damn near embeds into the green. At most I get 3-4 feet of roll after a couple hot and dry days. Doesn't really matter. If I get it close it's luck more than anything, stopping it dead usually isn't leaving many very short putts.

[Braivo]

Local golf pro suggested the Strata Tour Advanced golf ball.  Basically has become the "value" ball in the Callaway line, but is every bit as good as the NXT Tour, etc.  Got a dozen for $13.  They were buried in the back of the store as Callaway does not want them displayed with their front line balls.  I played a round with them last week and really enjoyed the feel off the driver and putter.  They didn't have a ton of bite on the greens, but played well for my bump and run style.

[BrownCoast]

Local golf pro suggested the Strata Tour Advanced golf ball.  Basically has become the "value" ball in the Callaway line, but is every bit as good as the NXT Tour, etc.  Got a dozen for $13.  They were buried in the back of the store as Callaway does not want them displayed with their front line balls.  I played a round with them last week and really enjoyed the feel off the driver and putter.  They didn't have a ton of bite on the greens, but played well for my bump and run style.

I'll have to look into those as well? are they a softer ball? low compression?

[Braivo]

Local golf pro suggested the Strata Tour Advanced golf ball.  Basically has become the "value" ball in the Callaway line, but is every bit as good as the NXT Tour, etc.  Got a dozen for $13.  They were buried in the back of the store as Callaway does not want them displayed with their front line balls.  I played a round with them last week and really enjoyed the feel off the driver and putter.  They didn't have a ton of bite on the greens, but played well for my bump and run style.

I'll have to look into those as well? are they a softer ball? low compression?

Honestly, I don't know enough about golf balls to answer this accurately.  The golf pro described them as the same ball the Tour pros played back in the 90's when they were called Top Flite Strata.  They felt soft to me, but had good distance off the driver.  Didn't feel as nice as the Maxfli U3s I was playing, but much better price.

[vangator]

I used to play the Strata Tour Ace. I liked the 4 playing card symbols. They were a tour ball and had plenty of bite. They would need t0 come in a different color than white.

[tefunk]

so i have been using the rocketballz urethane cause i got them for a great price. on sale $15 a dozen. truth is i dont swing my driver very fast and i dont shape shots. all in all its probably out of my league and would like to save the remaining balls for when my game picks up a bit. im looking for a new golf ball something with softer feel something straight and something cheap. i used to play the e6 but i still lost golf balls and it hurts less when its $15-$20 a dozen compared to $30+ per dozen. ive heard some people say they like pro v1's its the greatest ball and yes ive played that ball too. but im not looking for a tour ball im looking for a quality ball with soft feel, low compression, and possibly fly a touch straighter then balls known for having higher spin rates.  if anyone knows of some balls in this category and have played with them id love to know what ball you use and why. so far ive been looking at callaway supersoft, wilson duo, 50 elite and zip, top flight gamer soft and slazenger raw straight. i'm still open to any suggestions and any advice would be great.

Didn't read all the posts, so not sure if someone already mentioned them... check out the Nike PD Soft. I played them for several years... very soft, inexpensive.

[saevel25]

so i have been using the rocketballz urethane cause i got them for a great price. on sale $15 a dozen. truth is i dont swing my driver very fast and i dont shape shots. all in all its probably out of my league and would like to save the remaining balls for when my game picks up a bit. im looking for a new golf ball something with softer feel something straight and something cheap. i used to play the e6 but i still lost golf balls and it hurts less when its $15-$20 a dozen compared to $30+ per dozen.

ive heard some people say they like pro v1's its the greatest ball and yes ive played that ball too. but im not looking for a tour ball im looking for a quality ball with soft feel, low compression, and possibly fly a touch straighter then balls known for having higher spin rates.

if anyone knows of some balls in this category and have played with them id love to know what ball you use and why. so far ive been looking at callaway supersoft, wilson duo, 50 elite and zip, top flight gamer soft and slazenger raw straight. i'm still open to any suggestions and any advice would be great.

Basically there are two categories of golf balls. Those with Urethane or some sort of of Urethane blend cover, and those with another polymer cover.

The reason Urethane is so popular is that it is soft. The downfall is that it can get scuffed much easier. Basically you will see a BIG drop off in spin rate off of wedge shots from a non-urethane covered golf ball.

Distance, you wont see much of an advantage between the two, just because the driver interacts with the core of the ball than the cover.

If you are looking for a cheap ball, I would say try the Callaway Supersoft, or the Top Flight Gamer Soft. ($20 and under).

[dfreuter415]

Didn't read all the posts, so not sure if someone already mentioned them... check out the Nike PD Soft. I played them for several years... very soft, inexpensive.

I agree, the Nike PD balls, have a great bang for the buck. (And, as a general rule, I don't really like Nike balls.) There are three varieties, PD Long, PD Soft, and PD Women. All come in at $16 per dozen.

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/golf-balls-gear/bqtZahaZbi4