Balls

[timd77]

I’ve been meaning to start a balls thread for a while, and so as suggested on the bargains thread, here we are.

Personally, I’ve been using the prov1x for the last year or so, mainly because a club fitter recommended it. I do like them, I like the feel, distance and the spin I get. However, I don’t like the price!

With that in mind I’ve been trying to wade through the mygolfspy ball test, and have taken a punt on srixon zstar xv. From what I can gather they give good distance and spin. £30 for a dozen on eBay, will see what happens!

Reading the bargains thread I’m kind of wishing I’d tried the Wilson triad now. Although the way I’m playing I’ll probably need to buy some more balls soon anyway!

2025 MyGolfSpy Golf Ball Test

2025 Golf Ball Test – MyGolfSpy tested 45 golf balls for distance, spin, accuracy & consistency using drivers, irons & wedges. Find the best golf ball for your swing speed

mygolfspy.com

 

[Imurg]

I let everyone else buy them.....then I pick them out of the bushes when they lose them....

 

[Neilds]

You can't feel the difference between most golf balls - you can tell they sound different but this is you sensing them through your ears and not through your hands.


I play AD 333 as I got some free with my GPS subscription and won some more on Society Days.

 

[Robster59]

Like @Imurg , I tend to play a lot of found balls. I've played so many Pro V1's in my life but have never bought one, having mainly found them, or on occassion, winning them.
I had a clearout of my bag the other week and discarded the ones that really are suitable only for practice. I had been using Honma TW-S which were great balls. I drove longer with them than with anything I had used previously. I thnk I picked them up at 2 boxes for £40 and if they were still available at sensible prices I'd have got them in a heartbeat.
I looked at all the different options for my ability and was deciding between the Srixon Q Star Tour and the Wilson Triad. After reading all the reviews, and people opinions, I've ordered 2 dozen Wilson Triad. I'll probably not use them till next year, but I've still got a lot of balls, including Kirkland Signature balls to play winter and bounce games.

 

[Orikoru]

I studied the MGS test as well. My swing speed is closest to their 'slow' testing, so I mainly look at that in the table data. I like a mid-compression ball that goes decent distance, spins a bit but not too much. The balls that fit that description were:
ProV1 - surprised at this as I always considered it a faster players' ball. Too expensive though.
AVX - have played them before and would be open to using them.
Chrome Tour & Chrome Soft - both good options but a bit expensive.
Kirkland - I'm slightly put off from this because I know they keep changing it and each version is seemingly wildly different from the last one.
PXG Xtreme Tour - Another surprising one, but maybe a bit on the firm side for me, and a bit of a niche ball that maybe not everyone sells.
Wilson Triad - This ended up being the winner for me. Comparable to the other balls, maybe a yard or two shorter, but 80 compression is nice for me, and it's the cheapest one by far. Quite happy to be playing this ball at £30 a box.

I have used the Triad on my last three rounds now, and I'm very happy with it. Seems pretty straight and long enough off the driver. Holds the greens well. Job done.


I don't disagree with those saying we can't really feel the difference between balls. But I just take comfort in studying the data and knowing I've chosen a ball that fits what I want pretty well. Then that's one thing I won't have to think about.

 

[jim8flog]

I let everyone else buy them.....then I pick them out of the bushes when they lose them....

I was talking to my of my mates yesterday and commented " if I was not fussy about what balls I used I would have stopped buying balls years ago".
At one time I reckoned I found about 100 balls a year most of which I just give away, found 8 this week alone*.

Sad bit was I found 4 around the base of one bush alone but no sign of my ProV1.

 

[jim8flog]

You can't feel the difference between most golf balls - you can tell they sound different but this is you sensing them through your ears and not through your hands.


I play AD 333 as I got some free with my GPS subscription and won some more on Society Days.

If you are comparing like for like golf balls I would tend to to agree with that but once you start comparing say an AD333 with a Zstar I statement I would never agree with.

 

[Backache]

You can't feel the difference between most golf balls - you can tell they sound different but this is you sensing them through your ears and not through your hands.


I play AD 333 as I got some free with my GPS subscription and won some more on Society Days.

Not being able to feel a difference is not the same as there being no difference.
Different amounts of spin will give different distances and trajectories including on things like pitches. Using a similar ball will enable a golfer to develop a 'feel' which is a sense of speed and shape of swing rather than sensory feedback.

 

[Neilds]

Not being able to feel a difference is not the same as there being no difference.
Different amounts of spin will give different distances and trajectories including on things like pitches. Using a similar ball will enable a golfer to develop a 'feel' which is a sense of speed and shape of swing rather than sensory feedback.

I agree that you can get a feel for a specific type of shot but this is not the same as feeling how firm a ball is.
I was specifically talking about the people who will come on here and state that they like the feel of a ball off the clubface. They will say things like "X ball feels clicky" and other rubbish. Clicky is a sound and not a feel.

 

[Neilds]

If you are comparing like for like golf balls I would tend to to agree with that but once you start comparing say an AD333 with a Zstar I statement I would never agree with.

If you disagree, are you confident you could tell what sort of ball you hit when you have ear defenders on? And by this I mean a 333 v Z Star type test, not a top level ball v dunlop brick.

 

[Slab]

Use a range of balls, depends what I can get my hands on/on offer. Mostly;

TM soft response
Callaway supersoft
Taylormade soft Ink
Srixon softfeel
Wilson duo soft

Basically as long as its soft & fairly inexpensive. That means topping out at £25 a doz, anymore than that and I’m liable to get a bit of throw-up in my mouth.
Quite partial to a jazzed-up effort too, the stripes, ink, splatter, football designs, greens/yellow even a nice matt finish

I wish I had a swing speed that meant I could get more out of the undoubted tech in the diff ball construction but it’s just not gonna happen

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Have had two ball fittings

One with Callaway and used the one that performed the best for me but in the end wasn’t a fan of the Hex look

Had an independent one about 18 months ago

And the one that performed the best was a left dash 1x

It gave me less spin and also helped give me a higher ball flight , overall increasing distance

It does feel a touch firmer which took a little getting used to

 

[jim8flog]

If you disagree, are you confident you could tell what sort of ball you hit when you have ear defenders on? And by this I mean a 333 v Z Star type test, not a top level ball v dunlop brick.

I have had this argument many a time.

Never bothered to do such a test. I am happy with the fact that I can feel the difference having done loads of ball tests through my years. the feel of a ball off the face of an iron is something which is a very large factor in my choice of ball.

As well as feeling the difference with clubs I currently use the difference with some clubs can be even greater with some of the clubs I have tried. This could be put down to the club rather than the ball. However noticing the difference in balls I find most noticeable using forged irons and using moderns style 'spring face' irons reduces this a lot.

 

[Orikoru]

Use a range of balls, depends what I can get my hands on/on offer. Mostly;

I misread this as you saying you use range balls for a second.

 

[VVega]

Played most at the top end from Left Dash to TP5, lots of "just below" e.g. PXG, new Mizuno etc.. Find it difficult to find any measurable performance difference (on the launch monitor or course). My understanding is that the premium balls have better quality control (Titleist goes on about X-raying all Pro V ones), so happy to pay for that when I can afford it .

Decathlon's Inesis 500 must be the cheapest mid level ball at £15 a dozen.

 

[IanM]

Two years ago, our pro did a 4 for 3 deal on ProV1s that was too good to miss. They are still in the cupboard. Amazon did a deal 3 for 2 doz this summer on TP5s that was too cheap to leave, they are still in the cupboard. Our Seniors do ProV1s as prizes in the roll ups and I often come home with a sleeve or two.

I also seem to find more that I lose. There's a dustbin in the garage nearly full of golf balls. I give them away from time to time.

If I find a really good ball, it stays in the bag, if it's "good" it goes in the dustbin, if it isn't, it gets left where it was!

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Love a good ball debate and I’ve said it many times I believe the large majority of club players play the wrong ball or use a premium ball because of effectively golf snobbery wanting to seem to use the best or buying into marketing hype instead of what actually suits them. A lot won’t even generate enough clubhead speed to compress a 5 piece ball enough to see any significant benefits.

At the moment I’ve got Callaway Chromesofts in the bag and like the sound and feel of them, plus had some vouchers to use. But I only bought them as the ball I normally use the Bridgestone RXS, I left at home and needed some for rounds whilst I’m at work during the week.

I won’t need any balls for a while as what I have will last me through to Mid November when my clubs go away until end of April due to going away for work and where I’m going there’s Zero chance of any golfing.

But I will be looking at reviews and MyGolfSpys mid price range ball recommendations for when I get back. I’m really tempted to try the Wilson Triad and the other Bridgestone and Callaway options.

One thing for certain it won’t be any Titleist or TM ball as I’ve tried many over the years and I just don’t like any of them.

 

[Golf is fun]

If you disagree, are you confident you could tell what sort of ball you hit when you have ear defenders on? And by this I mean a 333 v Z Star type test, not a top level ball v dunlop brick.

I don't know any people who play with ear defenders on though, so what is the point of this test when the sound matters when actually playing golf?

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

I don't know any people who play with ear defenders on though, so what is the point of this test when the sound matters when actually playing golf?

I would imagine the point is sensory deprivation, that way you take away the false feeling of a ball being clicky. After all clicky isn’t something you feel but rather hear. Would mean people actually have to feel for feedback than relying on sound and assuming the sound is the feel of the ball.

Be the same if people blind tested balls I’d argue if you gave a number of people a ball to play with no name on the majority couldn’t discern the difference between a premium and mid range at club level.

 

[Mandofred]

I've been using q-stars for a year or so now. When I run out in a couple of months I'll like give the Wilson Triads a try. 40+£ a box isn't happening.