a load of balls?

[nackanut]

having spent most of the winter experimenting with various new offerings from ball manufacturers i am still experiencing difficulty in coming to a decision and adopting a new ball as the standard for competition play.
if i am honest having tried the best new balls from tm callaway and titleist i am no further forward.
what are your views?
and as a 23 handicapper will a premium ball really help that much, or am i better off with cheap balls?

 

[madandra]

nackanut, I would stick with a cheaper ball until your consostency improves. Which part of your game lets you down? If it is your driver you may want to go for a low spin ball but the knock on effect to this is less feel around the greens. Keep at it.

 

[haplesshacker]

Srixon AD333 everytime. I'm sure that others will elaborate. I play off 24, and they meet the right price / quality balance considering that I still loose a few.

 

[shanker]

I think that whatever your handicap is, your game will benefit from using a good ball. Obviously, the better player will notice the difference more. So go and buy those ProVis, nackanut.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

You will find the Srixon getting the thumbs up from many on here. As a viable alternative I'd try the Titleis NXT or for a slightly cheaper alternative try the PTS solo in either longer roll or higher flight.

To be honest without being overly critical, at your current level you are not really going to get the optimum performance from a premium ball as you simply hit too many poor shots. If you use a half decent ball (please don't use rocks like a pinnacle etc) you will get spin on your irons when you hit them well (and chipping) and get the benefit of a few extra yards off the tee.

 

[TonyN]

It depends on what your prepared to pay.

Then, what you want from a ball, Distance, feel, spin ( a mixture of both)

Up untill last week i would of swore blind that lake balls where just as good as normall, but after buying a brand new box of srixon soft feels, i have changed my mind.

I like a soft ball that is equally as long so for me the ad333's are spot on.

If you tend to slice the ball with your driver then a softer ball will be more forgiving in generating back spin, too counteract side spin.

However if you are a straight driver of the ball and you like to go long, a harder ball will be the choice.

TBH if you dont know i would suggest you go with the srixon ad333's (new ones). They give you best of both worlds at an affordable price, (if you dont loose them alot)

 

[blindpete]

Playing off 22 and using Nike Ignite, decent price and longevity. Found a nearly new Pro V1 last week and used it for 9 holes, didn't really get any benefit from a ball costing nearly twice as much as what I use. I also have no shame in using Topflites!!

 

[billyg]

if i am honest having tried the best new balls from tm callaway and titleist i am no further forward.

....and as a 23 handicapper will a premium ball really help that much, or am i better off with cheap balls?

If that is the case then I suppose there's no point in sinking money into the pricey ones. I'm at about your level and I can feel the difference off the face straight away and it's easy to see where the money goes but without the accuracy in the swing to match them I can't justify the cost...yet.

Don't you at least get any extra feel off the chips and wedges? a bit more forgiveness in the arms with long irons and woods?

What premium golf balls have you tried?( there's premium and there's PREMIUM )

If you really don't feel any improvement using something like an AD333 or a Titleist over a Donnay then save your pennies for now and concentrate on the other areas such as swing mechanics IMHO

 

[OldWindy]

I went for the AD333 over NXT etc. simply on recommendation from other players. I have of course trialled a few others but for feel, distance and control (spin) I haven't personally found anything as good for the price. Also, I've been lucky enough not to have lost one for a bit and am finding they do wear very well.

There are alternatives, just the AD333 suits me. Suffice to say I'll use Pro V1 or TP red/black etc. but there are still 8 months until Xmas and it's not my birthday yet!

 

[stevo]

AD333 for me, i have used several different balls and these seem to give my everything i need,distance and control..£15 at my pro shop.

 

[MVP]

I used the Ad333s friday i immediately noticed the difference between them and NXTs in terms of softness the NXTs are just that little bit softer on the cover although the ad333 is a well good ball id like to try the 3 piece srixon!

 

[theeaglehunter]

was it the NXT tour you are comparing the Srixon to MVP? As I thoguht that the AD333 was softer than the standard NXT from last year, but agree that the tour version is perhaps that little bit softer, although I'm not sure the difference is worth the extra money.

 

[TonyN]

I think what ever ball you choose you need to play with for a while to get a feel for it, dont just dismiss it after a few holes if your not playing well.

I posted the other day saying that the srixon soft feels were no good, i take it back, they are an excellnt ball. Not as long as the 333's but still a very good ball and at the moment AG are knocking them out £24 for two dozen

 

[medwayjon]

Im sticking to my Pro V1's as have a fair stock of them at the moment.

 

[haplesshacker]

MVP. I'd love to try the Srixon Tri speed, but just a little to rich for the wife's liking. Mind you if I'm gonna spend that much I might as well try the URS / URC and Pro V1.

As for us higher h'cappers not being able to feel the difference. Twaddle, well for me anyway,I really notice and dislike the harder feeling balls. Trouble is that I have a carrier bag full of these harder balls (new and found ones), and the wife doesn't 'get' why I need to buy more!

Anyone got any experiance with the 'new' Titleist Carry and Roll balls. (No hijack intended, but might still be useful to original poster)

 

[viscount17]

I have the feeling that ball choice is as idiosyncratic as putter choice.

I was recommended the NXT's by several and was given a couple of sleeves; tried them, thought them worse than Donnay - about as sensitive as brick.

I now have a mixed bag of new balls (Warbirds, AD333 (one sleeve), Wilson Deep Reds and PX3's) going into several competitions that start on Wednesday.
I may just go for a lucky dip as this evening was fairly successful (Net 1 over par) using a mixed bag of retreads, Warbird, Nike, Titleist (could have been Pro V' as I found it in a hedge where I get all my Pro V's from)!

 

[backwoodsman]

I used to be an ardent "cheap balls" man on the basis that me & a ball don't stay close buddies for very long. But having followed the advice of the forum, I decided to go just a bit more up market - and so picked Warbirds - since they seemed to get a good recommendation from forummers. Oddly enough, they now don't seem to get a mention in the posts so far in this thread?

Anyway, whatever the ball, picking something that's not dirt cheap does seem to be paying off. Longer and straighter, and we stay friends longer (although perhaps, still not for the full 18)

 

[haplesshacker]

I used Warbirds over the winter, seemed longer than the AD333's and stayed straighter(!), however I prefer the feel of the AD333s fro 100 yards and in. Personnal choice.

 

[viscount17]

Warbirds are essentially a winter ball - lots of long, not much finesse and not much stop. Must be why I like them!

 

[Tommo21]

having spent most of the winter experimenting with various new offerings from ball manufacturers i am still experiencing difficulty in coming to a decision and adopting a new ball as the standard for competition play.
if i am honest having tried the best new balls from tm callaway and titleist i am no further forward.
what are your views?
and as a 23 handicapper will a premium ball really help that much, or am i better off with cheap balls?

Try the balls again when the ground is harder, then the choice is much more important.