Golf balls for beginner to intermediate player

[RFG1022]

Which would be a good golf ball to use for a beginner to intermediate player? Right now I been using the Nike Mojos. 

Edited July 5, 2016 by RFG1022
Wording

[NJpatbee]

I would not spend a lot of money on golf balls, but there are some very good balls at reasonable prices.  Tell us more about your swing?  High swing speed?  Are you getting some spin on the greens?

[No Mulligans]

If you are price sensitive, I'd suggest Mojo's.  If you don't care about price, Calaway Chrome Soft.

I play mostly balls I've found on the course.  Based on my experience, the ball doesn't really make much of a difference for someone who plays at my level.

[Valleygolfer]

Long and soft Noodles would be sufficient new balls. Cheap and you won't break the bank losing them.

[stealthhwk]

If u like the double dozens I actually prefer the precept laddie x. Imho tho, as u begin to improve ur gonna require a better ball as in one with more spin so you can stop the ball closer to the hole on chips and keep it on the greens now that your hitting them. From mojos Id probably step up to nike hyperflights. 3 pc ball feels good off putter, has some approach and greenside spin and you can usually get two dozen for 40. Thats double your current price but the hyperflight is about 70% better than mojo imo. All top flite gamers are good if theres a dicks sporting goods near you. My other top recommendations would be callaway supersoft or bridgestone e6. If you have improved enough to reach bogey golf, then its time to start looking at urethane. Lots of ways to get urethane balls for cheap. ,Lostgolfballs.com, last years models or store brand urethane golf balls.

[Osnola]

Go to Walmart and see if they have any double dozen Wilson Zips...about $20 for 24 balls and a pretty good ball at that price point...

[EMC2144]

I have a similar issue.  I have a high swing speed, but a low bank account.  Most golf balls made for higher swing speeds are more expensive.  I actually found that I liked the Nike SuperFar for some reason.  Not a great ball, but it was working.  Was getting them cheap at Dick's up at school, and was playing my best golf.  But came home, couldn't find them, and tried the Nike PD Longs and PD Softs, but hated both.  Found a great deal on Slazenger Raw Distance, and got one of each pack (was 3 doz/$30), but they felt like I was hitting a marshmallow.  So I went to Golf Galaxy before I played on Sunday and asked one of the men working there and he recommended the Titleist Velocity, which I played decently with.  It felt good off all clubs, and I could even get the ball to spin back with my 7 iron occasionally, which is nice to have for me.  But I'm slightly willing to sacrifice some spin on my irons to reduce it on my driver.  When I hit a good drive, it goes forever, but my problem is that when I slice one, I SLICE it.  As in, I contemplate ignoring the ball because it's too embarrassing to be that far over.  Even the Velocity, which I believe is Titleist's cheapest ball, is pretty expensive.

I have thought about buying from lostgolfballs.com, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to buying online in case I don't like the balls.  I really just want to have a ball I can get for cheap but still actually have a quality little white ball to put in the little white cup 400 yards away.  Because for some reason I find doing something that in concept is so frustratingly stupid, so amazingly fun.  I just don't want to be upset when I put one in the water that some doofus thought would be a good addition to an already difficult sport.

[Tod]

I've been playing the Snell Get-Sum (their distance ball). A six dozen pack is $85 making the cost per ball about $1.18 which is not bad for a quality ball. It's probably comparable to the Bridgestone e6, which will run about $2/ball on special.

[EMC2144]

The e6 intrigues me, especially with the whole "straightest ball in golf" thing. But from my understanding it's for lower swing speeds. Is that so? And is that Snell similar in it's properties?

[Tod]

12 minutes ago, EMC2144 said:

The e6 intrigues me, especially with the whole "straightest ball in golf" thing. But from my understanding it's for lower swing speeds. Is that so? And is that Snell similar in it's properties?

Hmm. I wasn't aware of swing speed ratings for the e6, according to my Zepp analyser, my swing speed with driver is around 105. It may be the straightest ball in golf, but I have an occasional swing flaw that will bend it like every other ball out there. I can't say much about their properties as I tend to view a lot of it as snake oil. The two balls play similarly, the e6 may be a bit softer, but I really like the Snell. I hit it high, straight, occasionally draw or fade it (sometimes even on purpose), and it lands well on the green. 

[EMC2144]

I'll have to give them a go. I really need to fix my swing rather than a lower spin ball, because I play some heavy doglegs that require good shot shaping with irons off the tee, so getting something that would hurt me there might not be a good choice. The benefits of a higher spin ball outweigh the negatives if I can just fix my slice on my driver. It's the only club I have it. Have a nice draw naturally on everything else, and can shape every club with relative consistency.

[Patch]

25 minutes ago, EMC2144 said:

The e6 intrigues me, especially with the whole "straightest ball in golf" thing. But from my understanding it's for lower swing speeds. Is that so? And is that Snell similar in it's properties?

I play the e6, and sometimes the e7. I like them a lot. My swing speed is low. I know it's not as fast as it use be. As for the straightest ball in golf, I don't know about that. Any ball will go straight when impacted properly. I like the e series Bridgestone balls for the way they play in my short game. I have lots of confidence in this product. 

[roamin]

On 7/5/2016 at 3:26 PM, No Mulligans said:

Based on my experience, the ball doesn't really make much of a difference for someone who plays at my level.

My dad says this and it drives me crazy...stuff like, "I've been playing golf for 50 years and haven't ever really noticed a difference."

I've found the biggest importance is knowing the ball you're playing. You might not think it matters, but it may be the few strokes difference on the days when shots seem to be fading/drawing more or less than they normally do, or they're just not stopping on the greens like you expect them to.

It even affects putting. I used to play Titleist DT Solo, but tried Callaway X2 Hot balls for a bit before that. Around the time I made the switch I was using both on the practice green and spent 10 minutes or so hitting identical putts with both balls and was amazed that the X2's rolled an extra 1-2 feet for every 15 feet of putt. May have been in my head, but this happened every single time. This told me that, although I can play any type of ball, it's probably not a good idea to switch between two during a round unless I understand the switch I'm making. I've since switched to the ProV1/ProV1x and am in love.

IMHO, the lower spinning tee shots and higher spinning short shots that the ProV1x provides are perfect for a beginner... just costly. I get my stock from lostgolfballs.com and have truly never noticed a difference between these and new ProV1/ProV1x balls.

Before I quit losing them, DT Solo was my ball of choice and the first one I ever felt made a real difference in my game. They are easy to hit (really) high and feel really good around the green. But after trying the ProV1x and realizing I could chip from 30 yards out and land the ball 3 feet from the hole and have it stop dead, I started focusing on not losing golf balls.

On 7/5/2016 at 4:22 PM, Valleygolfer said:

Long and soft Noodles would be sufficient new balls. Cheap and you won't break the bank losing them.

I like Noodles and played them for a while when I started back. The soft ones feel great and are cheap. But I've found that the ball gets scuffed or cut a lot more than I'd like so I ended up buying them twice as much. Although, if you're losing them then this won't matter much. 

 

[roamin]

BTW, this is my favorite site for golf ball reviews: http://www.golfwrx.com/206069/review-titleist-pro-v1-and-titleist-pro-v1x-golf-balls/

I'm a numbers and data guy, and like the break down with various clubs, as well as the author's comments on feel and performance during play.

[EMC2144]

I used to believe it wouldn't make a difference. Until I started to understand touch a little better, and started to feel the ball off the club differently. Now I'll pick up lost balls, but only play something similar to mine on bad days when I've lost some good ones. I have hit Pro V1s and Pro V1Xs, but just can't justify even the $2/ball for the best quality ones on lostgolfballs.com. I have seen that comparison, and it amazed me because of the Pro V1X has less spin on the driver, and more on wedges, why does anybody play the regular Pro V1. The X literally is the ball everybody seems to want. Just for quite a price tag. I also am curious of the difference between older generations and the new. If I bought like 2014s on lostgolfballs.com, would they be worse than 2016s?

[roamin]

1 hour ago, EMC2144 said:

...why does anybody play the regular Pro V1?

Looking at the raw numbers, I've been wondering this myself. The X feels a little harder, but I've got to really be paying attention to notice. I've hit back to back tee shots with the ProV1 and the X on multiple occasions that were nearly identical, the X was a hair straighter and went maybe 2-3 more yards for me, so not a huge difference. Need to practice with them both around the green more for a comparison.

I currently have about 2 dozen used X's and a dozen new ProV1s that my Dad sent me. Have been playing the ProV1s just 'cause they're new and prettier for now. Have only lost 2 in the last 5 rounds, and they were free, so the price isn't bothering me at the moment. 

As for 2014 vs 2016, they're claim is "a little more short game spin" and a more durable cover. However, the numbers in the same guy's review actually show less spin on full wedge shots over 2014 balls (http://www.golfwrx.com/322006/review-2015-titleist-pro-v1-and-pro-v1x/).

I typically just grab 4 or 5 of the same kind and year and practice with those before the round and then make sure I play with those throughout the day.

[KarenS]

First I would look for USGA conforming balls because they are legal for tournament play. Then as a beginner, you may want to look for a two piece construction ball with a Surlyn cover. The two piece ball is made of a solid core and cover and offers better distance with a slow swing. For decades, Surlyn has been the material of choice for “distance balls”. In addition to increasing distance, Surlyn is durable, often making it the preferred choice for amateur golfers.  Two piece golf balls are generally less expensive, slightly more durable and may provide a little more distance than polyurethane models. However, they don’t have the spin necessary to stop shots quickly around the greens as do three piece golf balls. So as your skills improve, you may wish to upgrade to a three piece ball.

[RFG1022]

What name brands would be considered 3 pc golf balls that are good?