Is it the ball or me???

[stealthhwk]

Hey guys, this might be better off in the equipment sec but its about the game in general a bit to so here goes. Im very inconsistent, one week ill shoot 16 over and the next 31 over. My biggest goal this year is to take the 15-16 shot swing and make it a 5-10 shot swing. One of my biggest problems is holding greens. Ill hit my approaches in very close or right where i want them and theyll roll or bounce off the greens. I dont play tour balls cus their too expensive and all high compression. I like soft golf balls with high trajectory but man im gettin golf mad at the strokes im leaving on the course. Is it me or the ball? Any tips, ideas, recommendations?

[SavvySwede]

It takes a really good strike to get the ball to check up. You're probably not hitting the ball quite as cleanly as it may appear to you. Out of the rough it is often not possible except with a wedge. A tour ball can help but you may find it tougher to hit fairways because they tend to curve more on less than great shots.

[stealthhwk]

Guess only way to know is to try a tour ball and see if it helps. Are there any tour balls that are lower than 90 compression tho. Dad gum tour balls feel pretty firm to me. Normally play pd soft or callaway ss. Anything with that a high of a trajectory and feel thats a tour ball?

[SavvySwede]

Guess only way to know is to try a tour ball and see if it helps. Are there any tour balls that are lower than 90 compression tho. Dad gum tour balls feel pretty firm to me. Normally play pd soft or callaway ss. Anything with that a high of a trajectory and feel thats a tour ball?

and are softer balls with higher spinning urethane covers

[stealthhwk]

Ok. Thanks. Ill look into those

[jcjim]

Golf balls are a complicated matters when applying to ones game..16 stroke swings in ones score can't be just the ball. There.s  probably many players playing with the ball you're now playing in single digits/ scratch golf..

Often in the past I played with a single digit player and his idea about balls was that they don't matter if you can hit the ball properly..He played Top Flites at that time they were $8.00 for 15 balls...He thought anyone that paid $50 a dozen was nuts...

Playing a $50 doz. ball doesn't guarantee you will hold greens...and I'd bet it won't reduce you score by 16 strokes immediately..

Better strategies how to play the holes on your course would be key in lowering your score....Or looking at the courses you play and the courses you could play could help....I played a new course some time back that almost every green was crowned and on a windy day no one could hold most of the greens no matter what you did...I don't play that course now...

Lastly buy a dozen of the $40 balls and see...any of these price balls should help hold greens if that's what you want...When you change to a ball that bites you'll have to work on your short game because the ball will change the way you chip/ pitch and putt...

[stealthhwk]

Jcjim, thanks for your post. I know im not gonna clean up that many strokes with a ball change. Just wanna pick one and stick with it to help with consistency. Your comment about golf course has just blown my mind. I live in tx, it never rains and the ground even when watered is usually pretty hard which makes it tough but ive def noticed it seems to happen more at certain courses. Now that u mention it, that might be a big part of my problem. This almost never happens at my home courses, unless i play stuart peninsula then it happens cus the greens are way too small. Thanks again,

[shanksalot]

A couple of things come to mind. First off does your course have hard fast greens or are they soft and moderately slow. Second do you hit your irons high, medium or low? Several suggestions have already been made that are excellent. If you have elephants buried in the greens, large mounds, you need to see where the pins is in relation to those mounds. If the greens are very firm and fast and you hit the ball low or even medium high your chances of getting the ball close is going to be difficult. How large are your greens? if they are very large you can learn to hit the ball short of the hole or off to one side or the other. If you don't have bunkers in front of the greens you can hit short of them and run the ball onto the green. There are so many things that create your problem it is hard to pinpoint what you could do to help get the ball on the green and be able to make more pars.

Edit: I guess I should have read all the posts first. Sorry.

[NJpatbee]

i do not know what ball you are playing, but a ball like the Gamer Tour is a 3 piece urethene covered ball and may give you an idea if a somewhat higher spin ball helps you hold the green at a reasonable price.  If you need a higher spin ball you may want try the MG offering or Project (a).

[stealthhwk]

Shanksalot all good. U mentioned landing the ball just short and letting it bounce on i have thought of that but didnt know if the startegy was sound or not. Another tactic ill try

[stealthhwk]

Great ball recommendations. Forgot about the project a. Thats a tour ball with much lower compression. 86 if memory serves. Might grab a box of em if i give up on my faves. Love the pd soft and the cally supersoft

[Patch]

The ball does what the clubhead makes it do, and the clubhead does what the golfer makes it do. In other words the golfer is always responsible for the the shot they hit, unless there is an equipment failure of some sort.

Making the ball check up on the green is more than just the amature golfer hitting it correctly. It helps to have  a divot friendly, decent lie to hit the ball off of, and the chosen landing area on the green has to be receptive to the backspin on the ball.

I can't spin a ball back regardless of the type of ball I use. I just don't have that precise of swing, and impact. What I do have is high enough approach shot, with enough backspin, that most of the time the ball just drops, rolls a few feet, and stops. The softer the green, the less the roll. Then again I play a different game than most other golfers because I rely (too much) on chips, pitches, and one putt pars for a lower score.

As for the ball brand, I would recommend to anyone that they try the Bridgestone line of balls. If the Volvik brand is available try those too. I have tried all the high, middle, and low priced balls. Those two brands I mentioned are the ones I keep coming back to. Of course I have to say it's more of mental thing with me using those two brands, because in reality, I would probably play the same regardless of the brand I used.

[stealthhwk]

Another reason i posted the tooic. The pd soft and cally ss have pretty good action on and around the greens when hit well. Just weighing options and bouncin ideas around to see what if anything i havnt thought of and so far lots of good stuff.

[shanksalot]

The importance of getting on the green in regulation is tantamount on most courses. If you have few bunkers on the course around the green it is less of a problem. I would suggest practice on your short game around the greens regardless of how you approach getting on them from the fairway. I have played with guys who have excellent short games and if and when they miss the green they get it up and in a lot. It can make the difference between shooting a good round and having a bad one. It will help keep those doubles and triples off the card.

[stealthhwk]

Patch i hope its legal to ask another question on the same thread but ur post reminded me of a ? I have so here goes. How important is high launch and i know what makes a ball spin but what characteristics are most important for stopping power? Number of pieces, trajectory, cover?

[stealthhwk]

Shanksalot thats great advice!!! Ive already taken it. My short game is actually getting AWESOME! Problem seems to be my luck more than anything, seems when i roll or bounce off the green it lands on a steep slope or theres deep woods or weeds past or on that side of the green or worse yet water behind the green causing me to incur penalty strokes. Hence the main reason im trying to get it fixed. But great stuff keep it coming

[Dave2512]

It's a quality of contact issue and my guess is you lack trajectory height, most amateurs do.

[stealthhwk]

Ok Dave, thats great news. Been trying to decide on nike pd soft or callaway supersoft and been having fits cus i love both balls. BUT i noticed i always hit the supersoft higher. Maybe its more about trajectory then spin for me. Im gonna stick to the callaway supersoft and on the courses with harder greens try to land a little short and let it bounce onto the green.