Anybody Else Not That Interested in Premium Golf Balls?

[inthehole]

I'm reasonably consistent through my bag (exception is the putter), and developing a spin game with the wedges is the farthest concern from my mind  (I prefer to play low running chip and pitch shots using 8 or 9 irons whenever possible - that is the single most discernible factor for lowering my scores last 2 seasons and getting up and down more often).   I've tried most everything out there & as long as I play a low-mid price (Maxfli, Srixon Soft Feel, Wilson Smartcore, etc) or mid priced (Srixon Q Star, Wilson Staff DUO, etc) ball that sounds and feels good off the driver, I'm happy.   I've shot some of my historically lowest scores with a nuclear orange Wilson smart core (love that ball ... discontinued, but  I have almost 2 cases of them left).

Listen, I know golfers are tinkerers by nature and I get that, but I just think mid to high hcp'rs put WAY too much emphasis on ball technology per the incessant golf ball marketing in the mags and on TV.    We all know the bargain basement rock balls are to be avoided, but a $15-20 / dozen ball should be ok for the vast majority of us IMHO.   I've used plenty of premium balls and I've yet to see any benefit on the scorecard.   The one subconscious advantage to playing a $4 ball is that you try harder NOT TO LOSE IT, which is a good thing !

I'm hoping by posting this I won't be tar and feathered by the masses, but I'm curious if anybody else feels the same way (or not) ?

Edited December 18, 2017 by inthehole

[iacas]

1 hour ago, inthehole said:

I'm reasonably consistent through my bag (exception is the putter), and developing a spin game with the wedges is the farthest concern from my mind  (I prefer to play low running chip and pitch shots using 8 or 9 irons whenever possible - that is the single most discernible factor for lowering my scores last 2 seasons and getting up and down more often).

I don't know about that. I'd imagine you're losing a lot more strokes in your full swing than you realize. You're an 11.5.

1 hour ago, inthehole said:

Listen, I know golfers are tinkerers by nature and I get that, but I just think mid to high hcp'rs put WAY too much emphasis on ball technology per the incessant golf ball marketing in the mags and on TV.    We all know the bargain basement rock balls are to be avoided, but a $15-20 / dozen ball should be ok for the vast majority of us IMHO.

Probably. No real "need" for an 11-18 to use a premium ball.

But a lot of premium balls - which give you the short game spin without costing distance off the tee or other full-swing performance - are about $25 to $30/dozen, too. Like the Snells.

[Lihu]

14 hours ago, inthehole said:

I prefer to play low running chip and pitch shots using 8 or 9 irons whenever possible - that is the single most discernible factor for lowering my scores last 2 seasons and getting up and down more often.

Not many holes where I could even think of using an 8 or 9.

Where I play, every RPM of spin helps. I’d rather buy a used premium ball than a brand new one that spins less. Up and downs are hard for me, so if a ball offers any advantage, I’ll take it.

[inthehole]

47 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Not many holes where I could even think of using an 8 or 9.

Where I play, every RPM of spin helps. I’d rather buy a used premium ball than a brand new one that spins less. Up and downs are hard for me, so if a ball offers any advantage, I’ll take it.

OK, I just want to understand ... lets say you're on the first cut, maybe 15-30 ft from the green ... I just use an 8 or 9 iron basically as a chipper and run it low up on the green (this is a very old school approach, used more by the euro pro's than American pro's).   It doesn't even require a perfect strike - even a slightly fat 8i will be within 10 ft of where you want it, same certainly can't be said for a slightly fat sand or lob wedge for the same chip shot.    It takes so much less skill than trying to hit it harder/higher and rely on spin, especially with fast greens.     For this scenario, wouldn't my technique have a higher potential for success for a mid hcp player than catching that chip dead nuts perfect & relying on technique/spin to stop it like the pro's do ?

Edited December 18, 2017 by inthehole

[Lihu]

16 minutes ago, inthehole said:

OK, I just want to understand ... lets say you're on the first cut, maybe 15-30 ft from the green ... I just use an 8 or 9 iron basically as a chipper and run it low up on the green (this is a very old school approach, used more by the euro pro's than American pro's).   It doesn't even require a perfect strike - even a slightly fat 8i will be within 10 ft of where you want it, same certainly can't be said for a slightly fat sand or lob wedge for the same chip shot.    It takes so much less skill than trying to hit it harder/higher and rely on spin, especially with fast greens.     For this scenario, wouldn't my technique have a higher potential for success for a mid hcp player than catching that chip dead nuts perfect & relying on technique/spin to stop it like the pro's do ?

It’s rare to have a perfect scrambling lie where the ball doesn’t easily roll off somewhere bad. I stick about 7 greens a round and those are typically the large flat greens where it would be possible to do as you say, but what I leave myself scrambling is not usually good. My ball striking really sucks. Every RPM helps even if only fractionally.

[Patch]

I am of the opinion that a high percentage of amateurs do no not have the swing technique to take full advantage of the higher priced, more technological advanced balls. 

I know a lot of golfers who when they read an advertisement that this ball will spin backwards easier on the green will run out and buy a bunch, only to find the ball does not spin backwards for them. Their suspect swing, the lie of the ball, or perhaps the receptiness of the green didn't allow for enough back spin. 

I can remember when some of those 5 piece balls came out at $50 a dozen. The talk then was the amateurs didn't have the swing speed to take full adavantage of them. I was given some of those TM Pentium balls to review. It was a great ball, but it didn't lower my scores. My thought was, why pay the extra $20-$30 to shoot the same scores?

No, I am a e6, or e7  for $1.75 a ball user. Maybe a $1.25 for a really soft compression ball every so often just for the heck of it. They both fit my game much better than the more expensive ones do.

[allenc]

49 minutes ago, inthehole said:

OK, I just want to understand ... lets say you're on the first cut, maybe 15-30 ft from the green ... I just use an 8 or 9 iron basically as a chipper and run it low up on the green (this is a very old school approach, used more by the euro pro's than American pro's).   It doesn't even require a perfect strike - even a slightly fat 8i will be within 10 ft of where you want it, same certainly can't be said for a slightly fat sand or lob wedge for the same chip shot.    It takes so much less skill than trying to hit it harder/higher and rely on spin, especially with fast greens.     For this scenario, wouldn't my technique have a higher potential for success for a mid hcp player than catching that chip dead nuts perfect & relying on technique/spin to stop it like the pro's do ?

I assume you are landing a lot of those 8-9 irons on the fairway and bouncing them up to the green?  I would say the majority of shots cannot be played with an 8-9 if you are actually trying to carry the green.  So that means you need a pretty tight fairway to play it your way, in which case your's is a pretty good option.  On a lot of fairways however you will get very inconsistent results if you land your short game shots there.  Even a higher handicapper who plays on those courses will probably want to try and fly his ball all the way to the green.

That still doesn't mean you need a premium ball.  If you hit a high pitch shot (not flop, just typical high) you would just plan on an extra few feet of roll out.  That's fine I think, you'll still do pretty well.

Also, I personally find a wedge pitch shot using the bounce is about the same difficulty as a bump and run.  I can flub the latter pretty much as often as the former.

[Lihu]

9 minutes ago, allenc said:

I assume you are landing a lot of those 8-9 irons on the fairway and bouncing them up to the green?  I would say the majority of shots cannot be played with an 8-9 if you are actually trying to carry the green.  So that means you need a pretty tight fairway to play it your way, in which case your's is a pretty good option.  On a lot of fairways however you will get very inconsistent results if you land your short game shots there.  Even a higher handicapper who plays on those courses will probably want to try and fly his ball all the way to the green.

This is pretty much spot on for my situations.

 

9 minutes ago, allenc said:

That still doesn't mean you need a premium ball.  If you hit a high pitch shot (not flop, just typical high) you would just plan on an extra few feet of roll out.  That's fine I think, you'll still do pretty well.

Agree, and probably not necessary to have a high spin ball, but anything helps even if only "mental".

 

9 minutes ago, allenc said:

Also, I personally find a wedge pitch shot using the bounce is about the same difficulty as a bump and run.  I can flub the latter pretty much as often as the former.

Same here. If my putting were one of my strengths, I think I'd do the bump and run a lot more, but it currently is not.

[Big C]

1 hour ago, inthehole said:

OK, I just want to understand ... lets say you're on the first cut, maybe 15-30 ft from the green ... I just use an 8 or 9 iron basically as a chipper and run it low up on the green (this is a very old school approach, used more by the euro pro's than American pro's).   It doesn't even require a perfect strike - even a slightly fat 8i will be within 10 ft of where you want it, same certainly can't be said for a slightly fat sand or lob wedge for the same chip shot.    It takes so much less skill than trying to hit it harder/higher and rely on spin, especially with fast greens.     For this scenario, wouldn't my technique have a higher potential for success for a mid hcp player than catching that chip dead nuts perfect & relying on technique/spin to stop it like the pro's do ?

Your approach to a shot like this totally depends on the type of course you are playing. Here in Southern California, a lot of our grass is kikiyu, which is not nearly as friendly to "bump and run" type plays as the harder links style courses in Europe. The grass is softer, hairier and has a greater tendency to "grab" or kick balls off line. Most of the time, I'll play my pitches or chips to land on the green, even if I have to flight the ball a bit higher. Which of course, works better with a premium ball.

That being said, I do agree with your general premise. The impact of the ball on most amateurs' final scores is minimal at best. A good ball striking day with a Pinnacle is going to be much better than a mediocre day with a Pro-V. I really don't think the ROI is there for amateur golfers to spend $40+ on a dozen golf balls, but hey, who am I to tell people how to spend their money? 

[iacas]

46 minutes ago, Patch said:

I am of the opinion that a high percentage of amateurs do no not have the swing technique to take full advantage of the higher priced, more technological advanced balls.

Like what?

Faster balls rebound with higher ball speeds than softer balls. So it's not really about that, or the old idea that you get a bonus if you can "compress the core" or whatever.

I don't think what you've said is all that accurate. Do they have the short game technique, or even the inside-125-yards technique, to get the ball to spin like a higher player? No. But they'll still spin it more than a lower priced ball.

47 minutes ago, Patch said:

I can remember when some of those 5 piece balls came out at $50 a dozen. The talk then was the amateurs didn't have the swing speed to take full adavantage of them.

What "full advantage" are they missing out on, again? Like what?

They get a bit less spin on shorter shots… but they still get more spin than they would with cheaper balls.

My argument is more of a financial one: poorer players lose more balls, so they can save quite a bit of money by opting for slightly cheaper balls.

[NM Golf]

If you can afford them, and depending on your handicap deal with losing a few, then you should use a premium ball. The flat out perform better for most golfers, even those with a higher handicap. As Erik said the argument is financial, if you lose three balls a round using ProV1s would become an expensive habit.

[tristanhilton85]

I'm of the opinion that you should play the best ball you can afford. While I may not be gaining much at my handicap by playing a premium ball, I am gaining something. And at around $30/dozen or less (which the Snells are) I'm happy.

[chilepepper]

Love a premium ball from 140 and in. Don’t love the price though. 

[JxQx]

After playing cheaper golf balls (like Vice), I don't see myself buying or playing any $4 golf balls anymore. I personally don't see enough difference in performance to justify the extra money.

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, JxQx said:

After playing cheaper golf balls (like Vice), I don't see myself buying or playing any $4 golf balls anymore. I personally don't see enough difference in performance to justify the extra money.

Vice and Snell are both premium balls.

[JxQx]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Vice and Snell are both premium balls.

OP/others mentioned $4 golf balls and I tend to agree they are a waste of money.

[mchepp]

I came to this thread because, yes, I am not all that into Premium balls. I have tried Snell, Costco's, you name it I have probably tried it. The conclusion is now all these balls are pretty close. Like drivers all the tech in this stuff is really good. 

What I have found myself doing is using premium balls like the TP5 for 36 holes (or until I dump it in a lake or knock it OB). This way a dozen balls goes from $45 to 24.50, bam, I just got them at a discount!

[Denny Bang Bang]

Regardless of skill level, a premium ball will perform better.  I used to play the Nike PD Soft, and then the NXT Tour.  Then the HEX Black, Pro V1x, Snell MTB... I wouldn’t go back to a non-premium ball (unless prices got stupid), they just don’t perform as well.  That’s not to say one can’t be happy with a non-premium ball, they just have to accept it won’t perform as well.

PS - bump and run doesn’t generally work with a sand trap, or thick rough, in your path... at least it never has for me haha