Which balls have you used and not liked?

[ChrisWev]

I think unless you're somebody who is going to be troubling the green in regulation often, a top spec ball just is not worth it unless you have more money than sense. The money saved on a dozen balls can pay for a lesson or towards club fitting/ more hybrids etc.

Unless money is no object (obviously take HCP with a pinch of salt):

18 HCP+:

Don't buy top market balls unless they're super cheap or a lake ball variant that's not deteriorated. It's likely the extra distance and cheap cost will help, should also leave extra cash for lessons which are likely way more valuable than a 28 capper playing with Pro V 1's.

9-18 HCP:

A decent mid market ball that will hold the green "if" you hit it

Pro-9 HCP:

Decent balls

If you're loosing balls often or playing a course with a ton of water I personally would stay well away from a top market ball then also.

Personally I now play with a Srixon Z-Star or Project (a), but buy premium grade lakeballs. I get the spin, but don't get the cost and if I loose a ball I'm not bothered as it's only costing £1 ($1.50) instead of £3. If I couldn't get the lakeballs I would probably use a Bridgestone e5 or e6.

[bm85]

Bought a bundle of Nike RZN White from lostgolfballs.com to try out. Was a good deal, and they are decent balls but I found them a bit high launching and bad in wind, and bit of a bad feel on my putter.

[mailman]

If you're loosing balls often or playing a course with a ton of water I personally would stay well away from a top market ball then also.

We spend £500 on irons, £300 on drivers, £60 an hour on lessons yet the moment you lose a 2p tee it's the end of the world! To be fair, if a person can afford to lose £3 premium balls and they prefer to play them then more power to them...plus there is eBay ready to satisfy your every golfing need on the cheap! :) Mailman

[ChrisWev]

Haha, yeah it's annoying when you loose your favorite tee, or smash it to pieces. I'm nowhere near as protective of my golf balls.

There's not a chance in hell I would ever pay £300 for a driver, £150 max and it would need significant improvement over what I already have or whatever last years model you can get for half price. For my next set of irons (only switching as I want them fitted) I'm only going 5i-PW, so should only be about £400. Should leave some extra cash for a 4 hybrid which should be very handy for me. I've got the money but for me it's a bit of a false economy with new golf equipment as there's not an awful lot left for the manufacturers to change/ improve (and stay in the rules).

[Gunther]

I found a Bridgestone Lady the other day and played a few holes with it. I could not believe how soft it felt. I didn't appear to lose or gain distance but the feel of it off all clubs was amazing. So, I went ahead and bought a dozen, at $20 they're quite a bargain compared to what I normally pay/play. Used it in a round Saturday. Feel is exceptional. I'm still not sure about distance. Hit a 320 yard drive downhill, downwind but may have done that or better with the B330. Also crunched a 147-yd 9-iron off a tee which is 10 yards longer than normal but it was downhill also (no wind) and I pured it. Other than those 2 exceptional shots, I didn't really notice any measurable change in distance. One thing I did have to adjust for, it rockets off the putter head, which after getting used to, I really enjoyed. Lost 1 so I have 11 left. I'm gonna play em out and make a decision on em after a few rounds. Curious if anyone has ever tried them? If they're good enough for Paula Creamer, guess they're good enough for me, although I still swing a little faster than she does.

[9wood]

Just used a sleeve of Bridgestone E6's and must say, for the price of them, I wasn't satisfied with how they performed.

[Pendragon]

Well ... I am sure I am in the minority, but I give away all the Pro V1s I find ... I just prefer a softer ball ... plus I tend to be cheap on certain items, and I hate losing a $4 ball. So for my playing level, I do not like Pro V1's ... there I said it.:-P

I'm not a Pro V1 fan, either, but I've never heard anyone sat they were too hard. They're one of the softer balls out there (Pro V1x's are a bit harder). 

[Jeremie Boop]

I may start getting e6s. Earlier in the year I noticed they had a better *straighter* flight with good distance but I was not able to stop them well on approach shots. More recently, as I've been able to reduce my flip and get a better strike on the ball I've see a lot more instances of the ball being within a few feet or less of the pitch mark. Depending on the price I am able to get them at it may well be worth using them. While I really like how the hex chrome + balls feel and react the cover tends to get torn up pretty quickly and they are not very easy to find. Or I may watch for bulk sales of the Snell My Tours throughout the winter and just stock up on those.