Do balls matter

[Chinaalan]

Try a few makes and see which one suits YOU the best. I agree with the comments that premium balls will do little for you at this stage, other than empty your wallet quicker.

Nike Distance SOFT are a great ball for beginners they are cheap and give good feel around the greens.

My advice though would be once you have found a ball that suits you stick with it. You will find as you get better that your chipping and putting in particular will be affected by not knowing how different balls play.

Continue to try out new balls on an ad hoc basis, or you could miss out on something; but steer well away from having 20 different balls in your bag, that just introduces another variable into the equation. Repeatability is the name of the game and you can't do that well if you continually change something in your game.

Have a good day

Alan

 

[need_my_wedge]

Srixon AD333 - a great ball for the average golfer. Since you're relatively new, no need to go buying new balls - you'll lose too many of them. Buy them on ebay. I know there's a fair few on here that don't like ebay, but you can pick up lots of 20 or 50 at a time, get pearl/ A grade balls where possible, and look to be paying no more than 70p a ball (cost of balls and shipping combined). I know you've been advised against lake balls too, but again, at a beginning level where you lose more than you care to, lake balls aren't going to make much difference in your standard of play, but will help your pocket. once you start playing regularly, and playing the same ball for the whole round, then look to play a better, new ball.

 

[viscount17]

is there any percentage is using a ball that feels right off your putter?

some balls, even the best, can feel hard or metallic, others (including some of the best) feel soft. It may just be me, but I find it makes a difference in how hard I'll play a putt and in the confidence I have in the result.

 

[chrisj96]

good points guys i will try and buy a varity and see what suits my game

thanks

 

[CrapHacker]

and look to be paying no more than 70p a ball (cost of balls and shipping combined).

At that sort of money I'd be tempted to pop into JJB and try either their B51 3 piece balls - £30 for 45 ( 67p each ). You don't generally get 3 piece balls at that money.

Or even the Nike SFT 2 - £18 for 24. Reasonable ball, and not embarassing to admit to in front of your playing partners, even if it is all of 75p per ball.

Neither of those are total distance balls, they both have some kind of stop and feel around the greens ( not a fantastic amount, but some ). But if you want a good solid, slash 'em about all day, kind of rock, that just won't stop, then I still don't think you can't beat Top Flite XL Distance. £5 per dozen, I think, at AG ( less than 42p each ).

 

[RGDave]

Well, I'm getting low on balls myself and am off to buy some more.
Then, I'm going to play with exactly the same ball for 2 whole games and report back.
So, what am I going for??

decisions, decisions,

Today, I shall be mostly trying Srixon.

Tri-speeds, currently "given" away at £15 a dozen.

They'd better be good, I'm playing for my club this weekend!!!

 

[Robokolo]

If your really serious about what balls will fit your game then you can always get fitted for a set or brand. Try asking a local pro to assess your swing and game to try and get the best ball for you, or you could go to a demo day and have a brand or company let you hit balls into a net and give you feedback about what ball is technically best for you ( i did this with bridgestone and was really pleased with the result)

Once you have selected your ball try buying in bulk in places like direct golf uk or american golf (there i said it!) you can usually save a couple of quid by buying several boxes rather than one.

 

[fat_crocodile]

using srixon soft feel just now, working quite well for me so far. are the srixon ad333 much better?

generally i have no problem with distance now (when i connect!) so starting to look for more feel for closer in and putting.

 

[RGDave]

I didn't get Srixon tri-speed in the end. They didn't have them. I spoke to the C/F pro who'd just done my rescue, and he recommended Callaway Diablo balls over my normal Wilson Staff Dx2 Px3.
I was not exactly "keen", but he gave me 3 to try with a putter. Seemed pretty good to me.

 

[DMC]

the srixon AD33 are a great value ball as are the nike soft,i guess its all down to personal preference,try as many as you can and pick the one you like the feel of.

 

[minty18]

Whilst I dont think brand of balls matter too much for high handicappers I do think that you should always use the same ball no matter what handicap you play off. How do you expect to play consistently if you lose a ball then replace it with one that is built for a different job to the last.

Ie. losing a soft high spin ball then pulling out a hard low spin ball.... you'll never be consistent playing like that.

 

[DAC]

I use Nike soft, they're fine for me. I hit a few stray shots into the hedges and at the price I pay I am not too concerned if I lose the ball; I actually find more than I lose, which I use to practice with around the local field.

I agree that for a high handicap player like me its continuity of using the same balls rather than quality of the ball. If you misshit a lot of balls it doesnt matter whether it was the cheapest or the most expensive, unless you lose it of course.

 

[nulassilb]

I agree with the thoughts about sticking with one ball where possible. I've got a lesson lined up for Thursday and I'm going to ask my pro to recommend a ball for me - bearing in mind my level, swing speed etc. He knows my game well enough to give me some sound advice - and then I'll start buying just one kind. At the moment my bag is full of all sorts - mainly because that's where balls I find get stored. I do stick to one type of ball when playing in competitions, however.

 

[chrisj96]

cheers guys went round sunday
balls lost: 1
balls found: 5

my game is getting better and not loosing many balls

so the balls i got both srixons and top flites.

 

[Tommo21]

Ive just changed from Donnay Titanium to the Dunlop Loco Mad balls and have to say i love them! £6 for 15 isn`t to be sniffed at either, especially when your going to lose a few like i do.

I used a LoCo last year and went round in one over par. They dont have any real feel or action, but I cant buy that round at the moment.