Balls

[21degreeloft]

Hi, Can anyone recommend balls for me to try. What I'm looking for is a fairly low spin ball but not a cheap one if that makes sense. I want a ball which flys quickly off the driver fairly low and long but not with a rock hard feel to it. Around the greens my style is to roll towards the pin rather than trying to stop it but still want it to feel quite softish. I'm a 12 handicap and drive the ball 260-300 depending on weather - usually all around 275. I don't want a ball that spins a lot off the driver as occasionally will put side spin on with a lazy swing . Thanks Ps currently using prov1 x

[saevel25]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend balls for me to try. What I'm looking for is a fairly low spin ball but not a cheap one if that makes sense. I want a ball which flys quickly off the driver fairly low and long but not with a rock hard feel to it. Around the greens my style is to roll towards the pin rather than trying to stop it but still want it to feel quite softish.

I'm a 12 handicap and drive the ball 260-300 depending on weather - usually all around 275. I don't want a ball that spins a lot off the driver as occasionally will put side spin on with a lazy swing .

Thanks

Ps currently using prov1 x

Just bit of a FYI, there is no side spin. There is only one spin axis. When the ball curves more it  is because the ball tilts more left or right.

As for a low spinning golf balls off the driver. The trend is that cheaper to mid-range price golf balls are lower spinning.  The trouble with that is you are looking at non-urethane cover golf balls and you will substantially see a difference in feel and pitch shot spin rates.

Really for driver spin you are only looking at a 500-600 rpm difference between the highest and lowest golf ball. When you are talking about that type of spin reduction that is more a fine tuning element than anything. You can easily see 1000 rpm jump from just a slight mishit on the driver. Just to show you that the ball striking matters a lot more.

Golf digest puts out a graph that shows driver spin versus half wedge shot spin. I would say the ball you might want to look at is the Callaway Supersoft. It has the highest spin rate for wedge shots in the cheap range and has very low driver spin rates

[21degreeloft]

That's great advice thank you. Was actually thinking of the supersoft so thanks

[vangator]

Just bit of a FYI, there is no side spin . There is only one spin axis. When the ball curves more it  is because the ball tilts more left or right.

Not sure I agree with this. There is a reason the ball moves left or right. It's because of the spin axis. At least that what I believe. Not a spin expert.

[saevel25]

Not sure I agree with this. There is a reason the ball moves left or right. It's because of the spin axis. At least that what I believe. Not a spin expert.

It is because of spin axis tilt. You could have zero axis tilt and have full backspin.

I guess if you wanted to break it down into 3-dimensions you could mathematically can say you have this vector components in the X-Z axis, in the Y-Z axis and in the Y-X axis. You can use geometry to find out how much in each. Primarily you will see a lot in the vertical axis facing the flag, what people would call backspin. You can use geometry to find out the way the axis points and there would be one spin number for the overall total spin rate on the golf ball.

What actually happens in flight is the ball is tilted a few degrees left or right, that causes the ball to curve. The reason being that when the ball is spinning it creates a high and low pressure on the ball. That air pressure pushes the left or right.

[lumpuckeroo]

Another option might be the Wilson Duo, soft ball, low spin.

[dbuck]

Callaway is releasing a Chrome Soft any day now as well.

[dkolo]

Callaway is releasing a Chrome Soft any day now as well.

Tomorrow, actually. 1/16/15 per their facebook page. At least in the US, anyway.

[turtleback]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend balls for me to try. What I'm looking for is a fairly low spin ball but not a cheap one if that makes sense. I want a ball which flys quickly off the driver fairly low and long but not with a rock hard feel to it. Around the greens my style is to roll towards the pin rather than trying to stop it but still want it to feel quite softish.

I'm a 12 handicap and drive the ball 260-300 depending on weather - usually all around 275. I don't want a ball that spins a lot off the driver as occasionally will put side spin on with a lazy swing .

Thanks

Ps currently using prov1 x

There is the TopFlite* Gamer series, which some have compared favorably with the prov series.  They have a model with a urethane cover.  I've played with the others but not the urethane version, yet.

What has made you dissatisfied with the prov1x?

* do not be put off by the name - these are not your father's top flites.

[dkolo]

12 packs of Srixon's Z-star line of balls were being offered on clearance for $25 a dozen at Dick's online when I checked last week. If I were in the market for balls, I'd have jumped all over that ball for that price.

Taylormade's Project (a) balls are selling in the mid to high $20 range right now, and that's a pretty good intro-level urethane ball that, I believe, was designed for straighter ball flight.

[21degreeloft]

There is the TopFlite* Gamer series, which some have compared favorably with the prov series.  They have a model with a urethane cover.  I've played with the others but not the urethane version, yet. What has made you dissatisfied with the prov1x? * do not be put off by the name - these are not your father's top flites.

Too expensive! I had some top flight XL long a while back... Didn't like them one bit

[21degreeloft]

12 packs of Srixon's Z-star line of balls were being offered on clearance for $25 a dozen at Dick's online when I checked last week. If I were in the market for balls, I'd have jumped all over that ball for that price.  Taylormade's Project (a) balls are selling in the mid to high $20 range right now, and that's a pretty good intro-level urethane ball that, I believe, was designed for straighter ball flight.

Cheers

[David in FL]

12 packs of Srixon's Z-star line of balls were being offered on clearance for $25 a dozen at Dick's online when I checked last week. If I were in the market for balls, I'd have jumped all over that ball for that price.  Taylormade's Project (a) balls are selling in the mid to high $20 range right now, and that's a pretty good intro-level urethane ball that, I believe, was designed for straighter ball flight.

Z Stars are a very good ball that I began playing last year, but I wouldn't characterize them as "low spin". Much more in the ProV or B330 style. I'd try the Q Star instead....and as an added bonus, they tend to cost just a bit less.

[Tat14]

Tomorrow, actually. 1/16/15 per their facebook page. At least in the US, anyway.

Waiting for a couple of dozen to arrive. Callaway says they shipped already, perhaps those clever marketers will match store availability and porch delivery.

Kind of pricey (37.99/dz); granted I bought from their website. I'm expecting better stop control with the urethane. If not, back to the DT Solo for a much better price.

[dkolo]

Waiting for a couple of dozen to arrive. Callaway says they shipped already, perhaps those clever marketers will match store availability and porch delivery. Kind of pricey (37.99/dz); granted I bought from their website. I'm expecting better stop control with the urethane. If not, back to the DT Solo for a much better price.

Is that pricey? Their high end balls always hit the $46 price point, or thereabouts, historically. One of the biggest talking points I've heard about the Chromesoft has been the lower than expected price point, actually. Granted, it's expensive in an absolute sense, haha.

[dkolo]

Z Stars are a very good ball that I began playing last year, but I wouldn't characterize them as "low spin". Much more in the ProV or B330 style. I'd try the Q Star instead....and as an added bonus, they tend to cost just a bit less.

Isn't the Z-Star XV their low spinning counterpoint to the ProV1x?

[David in FL]

Isn't the Z-Star XV their low spinning counterpoint to the ProV1x?

The ProV1x, is a bit lower spin than the ProV1, but still not what I'd characterize as a low spin ball. The XV is similar.

[Pretzel]

The ProV1x, is a bit lower spin than the ProV1, but still not what I'd characterize as a low spin ball. The XV is similar.

Yeah, the ProV1x well still spin notably more than an NXT or NXT Tour, the same as a B330-RX spinning more than an e6, or a Nike RZN Black spinning more than a RZN Red.