Balls, The softer the better for me.

[huds1475]

A soft "cheap" option which I find as soft as a baby's poo are the TaylorMade Project A.

I hope you were wearing gloves when testing!

 

[garyinderry]

whats the point of a soft ball that dosnt spin that much?

 

[Orikoru]

whats the point of a soft ball that dosnt spin that much?

I could be wrong but I thought they were aiming at higher handicappers because less spin = less slice or hook off the tee, while being softer means you can still stop them on the green (minus the spin). And nicer to putt with.

 

[Coffey]

I could be wrong but I thought they were aiming at higher handicappers because less spin = less slice or hook off the tee, while being softer means you can still stop them on the green (minus the spin). And nicer to putt with.

I think it is literally for the feel.

Being soft doesn't make it stop any quicker, it is the spin that makes it stop.

They are also a lower price point than the 3 piece balls which are soft and high spinning. At the end of the day I think they are trying to replicate the feel of a premium ball but they do not offer the spin which the premium ball offers. A lot of customers associate softness with spin, but this isn't the case.

 

[duncan mackie]

I could be wrong but I thought they were aiming at higher handicappers because less spin = less slice or hook off the tee, while being softer means you can still stop them on the green (minus the spin). And nicer to putt with.

Softness and stopping power are completely unrelated. Absolutely zero correlation.

 

[Orikoru]

I could be wrong but I thought they were aiming at higher handicappers because less spin = less slice or hook off the tee, while being softer means you can still stop them on the green (minus the spin). And nicer to putt with.

Softness and stopping power are completely unrelated. Absolutely zero correlation.

Okie doke. So I guess the softness is more for distance off the tee then? More compression adds distance for those of us with slower swings?

 

[duncan mackie]

Okie doke. So I guess the softness is more for distance off the tee then? More compression adds distance for those of us with slower swings?

Other way round.....lower compression adds distance for slower swing speeds.

However, see my earlier post for fuller explanation. Compression and soft feel aren't necessarily the same either, but there's usually a correlation.

 

[Orikoru]

Other way round.....lower compression adds distance for slower swing speeds.

However, see my earlier post for fuller explanation. Compression and soft feel aren't necessarily the same either, but there's usually a correlation.

Yeah, sorry, I meant to say lower compression not higher.. it's been a long week. I use the DX2 myself, which has the lowest compression, because I know my swing is slow.

 

[DaveTheHead00]

I think a little clarity is required here. The softer compression (how much the inner of the ball compresses at impact) balls are designed to give higher ball speed of a slower swing. This Matters more on driver and long irons.

Softer covers (the outer coloured skin of the ball) is designed to promote spin. but this can be limited by a softer core. But backspin still exists.

There are hundreds of different combinations of the core and outer

Tour balls have high compression so they deal with the high swing speeds properly. but have softer covers so the feel nice and spin more. The spin numbers stay high due to the fact the ball doesn't compress and deform as much as a soft core ball.

The ball technology exists in balls like the supersoft to cope with slow swing speeds, feel soft and develop a little bit of spin. although not as much as there tour style balls.

I was looking for balls that people play with characteristics of the supersoft so I had a choice of different balls. rather than trusting the supersoft to be the best.

 

[duncan mackie]

I think a little clarity is required here. The softer compression (how much the inner of the ball compresses at impact) balls are designed to give higher ball speed of a slower swing. This Matters more on driver and long irons.

Softer covers (the outer coloured skin of the ball) is designed to promote spin. but this can be limited by a softer core. But backspin still exists.

There are hundreds of different combinations of the core and outer

Tour balls have high compression so they deal with the high swing speeds properly. but have softer covers so the feel nice and spin more. The spin numbers stay high due to the fact the ball doesn't compress and deform as much as a soft core ball.

The ball technology exists in balls like the supersoft to cope with slow swing speeds, feel soft and develop a little bit of spin. although not as much as there tour style balls.

I was looking for balls that people play with characteristics of the supersoft so I had a choice of different balls. rather than trusting the supersoft to be the best.

Almost.

Some premium balls have multi player construction so that they can perform in a similar way over wider range of swing speeds. But that doesn't always mean that the mantels are softer than the cores!

At if we are getting even deeper into ball technology then you can't ignore the dimples - these fundamentally impact on how the spin rates interact with the air at various ball speeds to produce different trajectories and can even cause it to fly straighter (if you believe Bridgestone - and I do).

 

[DaveTheHead00]

Almost.

Some premium balls have multi player construction so that they can perform in a similar way over wider range of swing speeds. But that doesn't always mean that the mantels are softer than the cores!

At if we are getting even deeper into ball technology then you can't ignore the dimples - these fundamentally impact on how the spin rates interact with the air at various ball speeds to produce different trajectories and can even cause it to fly straighter (if you believe Bridgestone - and I do).

Yeah I know they get so complicated and I was trying to simplify what I wanted from a ball and people really came up with some great suggestions. DX2, ULTISOFT, I was also thinking about the Bridgestone E6 soft.

 

[Crow]

I play soft balls (generally Callaway Supersoft but any will do) not for any feel or distance factor but because they're likely to do less damage to old wooden heads.

 

[r0wly86]

Yeah I know they get so complicated and I was trying to simplify what I wanted from a ball and people really came up with some great suggestions. DX2, ULTISOFT, I was also thinking about the Bridgestone E6 soft.

I've just bought 2 dozen of the Wilson's after reading this thread, surprised at how cheap they were, if I don't like them they wil lbe fine as a winter ball

 

[duncan mackie]

Yeah I know they get so complicated and I was trying to simplify what I wanted from a ball and people really came up with some great suggestions. DX2, ULTISOFT, I was also thinking about the Bridgestone E6 soft.

Didn't realise that they had split the E6 into S and D variants. (I don't buy balls!)

I do find that the e6 flies noticeably straighter, and is one of my preffered balls, so an e6 S should meet your original stated spec perfectly. I look forward to finding one and trying it!

 

[DaveTheHead00]

I've just bought 2 dozen of the Wilson's after reading this thread, surprised at how cheap they were, if I don't like them they wil lbe fine as a winter ball

The price point is a plus for me. I didn't put that in the original thread post as I wanted specific opinions on the balls. yeah im thinking the same but my purchase amounts will only be half a dozen of each.

 

[DaveTheHead00]

Didn't realise that they had split the E6 into S and D variants. (I don't buy balls!)

I do find that the e6 flies noticeably straighter, and is one of my preffered balls, so an e6 S should meet your original stated spec perfectly. I look forward to finding one and trying it!

When all the dust settles I'm going to put on here a list of the balls I'm going to try. then as I use each ball im going to note down my opinions so if anybody else needs and opinion on soft balls I'm there to assist.

 

[duncan mackie]

When all the dust settles I'm going to put on here a list of the balls I'm going to try. then as I use each ball im going to note down my opinions so if anybody else needs and opinion on soft balls I'm there to assist.

Ah, but it's so subjective on the whole, and the manufacturers change their models (in some cases significantly) but retain the ball name that they have marketing costs invested it.

As an example I throw away Wilson DX2, can't stand the way they feel - but a lot of people clearly love them and I don't normally mention it (we are over 70 posts into this thread and I didn't so far! Same with the AD333, but I like the later Tour version. Neither observation really means much in relation to the balls - only me.

There are a lot of ball reviews in the reviews section, always room for more.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The trouble with many ball reviews is that they are done by pros so spin numbers etc are based on optimum strikes. I know Andy (teeuplo) is doing a whole series on ball testing which will be quite interesting. Will be keen to see how they perform with less than perfect strikes.

 

[Smiffy]

The trouble with many ball reviews is that they are done by pros so spin numbers etc are based on optimum strikes.

But isn't that the only way to test them??? An optimum strike is an optimum strike. In a test of different balls, it's the only "constant".
If I blade or fat one, the spin numbers aren't going to be any use to me at all.

 

[patricks148]

I play soft balls (generally Callaway Supersoft but any will do) not for any feel or distance factor but because they're likely to do less damage to old wooden heads.

When we played against a load of Scandinavian hickory guys, who played nothing but hickorys and were all cat1 with them, they all used a Wilson ball i'd not seen before that was mega soft. a few had gutty's, but those were something like £20 a ball