Cheap Ball Conundrum

[HitAndGiggle]

The best golf think I ever played was with a Lynx Black Cat. Anybody else ever experience this kind of thing? I drove it as far as any ball I've hit and the spin entering the green was really high. I spun a few shots completely off the green. I see the top manufacturers all touting "softer" this year but I've found that these soft balls (for me anyway) don't seem to be as long off the driver, and can be a bit more wayward. I must have an unusual swing because I've never thirsted for more spin in my short game. I could hit a rock and backspin it.

So, any cheap balls out there you've enjoyed?

[Club Rat]

6 minutes ago, HitAndGiggle said:

I could hit a rock and backspin it.

I've done that out of a crappy bunker. The friggin rock was buried under the ball in the bunker and it surprised the sh** out of me.
But that baby sure did "Dance" 

There's a couple of new balls out which you may like.

Snell, Kick-X and the new OnCore - Caliber. OnCore will be announcing their new Tour Ball in January
They are available online and they usually run good deals.

Another ball which has had a ton of buzz, Costco is selling their brand "Kirkland" ball, but demand has placed many orders on hold.
They were selling online with a limit of 5 dozen and then reduced orders to max 2 dozen.

[HitAndGiggle]

Hey, thanks Rat. The description of the Snell "Get Some" looks like what I've been looking for in a ball!

[golfncowboy]

As far as cheap balls go the top flight gamer line is my go to. Dicks usually has them $30 for 2 dozen. I've played it side by side with a pro v and there is a difference but not enough of one to justify the price discrepancy. My friends give me hell about it but I usually beat them anyway 

[JxQx]

I've been playing Vice golf balls for the second half of last year and really enjoy them. They seem (to me) to play just as good as some of the more expensive balls but are half the price.

[jamo]

Top Flite Gamer. Other than that, they're all basically rocks. Pick whichever is the cheapest. 

[Kalnoky]

The Noodle is an inexpensive and totally decent ball. It was my first ball. Very forgiving I thought. I have a week off at the end of the year I'm planning to play in the cold & wet conditions... I still have a few Noodles left I'm planning to use those. 

[HitAndGiggle]

1 hour ago, jamo said:

Top Flite Gamer. Other than that, they're all basically rocks. Pick whichever is the cheapest. 

That's the conundrum. I won my Black Cat Lynx balls as a door prize at a tournament. My buddy pointed and laughed and said, "Those are rocks!" I ended up spinning them back more than any other ball. I did play a D2-Feel once and it played really well, too. Go figure. Probably matches my hack game...

[Zeph]

Play the ball that you and your wallet prefer. A cheap ball won't make you play bad golf and an expensive ball won't make you play good golf. It's about playing one you feel comfortable with and ideally score better with than other balls. You can pick up a pack of balls as a prize and play well with them, but that could also be a fluke. If a ball behaves more to your liking on spin and distance, play it if you like it. If that particular ball is too expensive, look at it's specifications and attributes and see if you can find a ball within the same ballpark (heh) at a lower cost.

More spin isn't always good though. You mention spinning the ball off the green a few times. It depends of course on the slope of the green and where it landed, but a ball that's too spinny might leave you more off the green than on. Just as a ball giving you little spin will roll over it. Once you get to a point where you can control and manipulate the spin you put on the ball, it'll become easier to play softer balls. If your standard go-to-shot from 100 yards comes back 15 yards every time and you can't control the spin, you might want a different ball.

I'm not good enough to control the spin all that much, and I prefer a ball that most of the time will stop and maybe spin back or roll out a yard or so on a flat green from 150 yards in. Makes it easier to find a good distance to hit the ball, and I can aim for the middle of the green most of the time.

[WUTiger]

On 12/15/2016 at 7:03 PM, Club Rat said:

Kick-X

The KickX golf stuff is an offshoot of Medicus golf equipment company. I had good luck with the KickX ball until I ran out. KickX checks up nicely on close-in wedge shots, and the arrow for putt alignment really fit my eye well.

On 12/16/2016 at 2:43 PM, jamo said:

Top Flite Gamer.

This has been my fall-back ball for about five years. I'll try something else for awhile, and then come back to Gamer.

The Callaway SuperSoft is good also, the one I'm playing right now.

[HitAndGiggle]

I've got a dozen Snell Get Sum on the way...

[Denny Bang Bang]

I would second the Snell Get Sum, and Kirkland Signature.   They are both good balls at a cheaper price point (I've played a couple sleeves of them both).

Personally, my game ball is the Snell MTB (not cheap, but great performance at a sub-$30 price point).

Hope the Get Sum wind up working for you

 

[HitAndGiggle]

Thanks. They were delivered yesterday. They sure put nicely. Will put them on the course in the next week or two.

Played yesterday morning. Started w the Taylormade burner pro. A little slicy on the driver. Switched to a Titleist distance ball which played very nice. I really spin my iron shots. Swing has recently been changed so I'm working thru that. 

[David L Yskes]

i think this is the question that keeps us golfer's puzzled..   

i usually switch between the Maxfli SoftFli - D2 Feel and Maxfli U6LC...   

The SoftFli, i usually play when my swing isnt the best... but it works well, and on the greens i can usually get it for a 1 hop n stop or maybe a lil bit of back up.   

The D2 Feel, i havent played a lot with, but it's similar to the softfli, but maybe a bit shorter in distance..

the U6LC, for distance is probably the same as the softfli or a bit longer, but around the greens and with the irons is where this ball is the cat's ass...  with my irons, i can get this ball to spin like crazy ( sometimes too much ) ... i've gotten this ball to back up a good 20+ feet on muni greens on wedge shots.. i've had this ball back up on mid iron shots....   

 

 

 

 

[saevel25]

On 12/15/2016 at 7:40 PM, HitAndGiggle said:

I've found that these soft balls (for me anyway) don't seem to be as long off the driver, and can be a bit more wayward. I must have an unusual swing because I've never thirsted for more spin in my short game. I could hit a rock and backspin it.

So, any cheap balls out there you've enjoyed?

It depends on the fit. Most golf balls today are low spinning off the driver. Golf Digest did a chart for the 2014 year showing the wedge and driver spin rates. If you take the average of the cheap golf balls versus the expensive ones you'll see only about 300-400 more rpm off the driver. That isn't enough to cause a premium golf ball to be more wayward. 

Also, full swing iron spin rates would not be drastic either. They are still a full swing. The biggest difference is half wedge to pitch shots. This is where premium golf balls will out spin a cheaper golf ball by a few thousand rpm. 

I haven't play a cheap ball in a long time. I would probably try to find the cheapest ball that has 3 layers and is softer in feel. If I had to pick a 2016 model, probably the Top-Flight Gamer Tour. 

[HitAndGiggle]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

It depends on the fit. Most golf balls today are low spinning off the driver. Golf Digest did a chart for the 2014 year showing the wedge and driver spin rates. If you take the average of the cheap golf balls versus the expensive ones you'll see only about 300-400 more rpm off the driver. That isn't enough to cause a premium golf ball to be more wayward. 

Also, full swing iron spin rates would not be drastic either. They are still a full swing. The biggest difference is half wedge to pitch shots. This is where premium golf balls will out spin a cheaper golf ball by a few thousand rpm. 

I haven't play a cheap ball in a long time. I would probably try to find the cheapest ball that has 3 layers and is softer in feel. If I had to pick a 2016 model, probably the Top-Flight Gamer Tour. 

Thanks for that input. I think I saw that chart.

[Denny Bang Bang]

On 12/31/2016 at 4:44 PM, HitAndGiggle said:

Thanks. They were delivered yesterday. They sure put nicely. Will put them on the course in the next week or two.

Played yesterday morning. Started w the Taylormade burner pro. A little slicy on the driver. Switched to a Titleist distance ball which played very nice. I really spin my iron shots. Swing has recently been changed so I'm working thru that. 

Have you had the chance to play the Get Sum balls yet?

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, Denny Bang Bang said:

Have you had the chance to play the Get Sum balls yet?

Try them out: https://www.snellgolf.com/products/get-sum/ .