Golf Ball

[MrC]

As a high handicapper I tend to go for the cheap to midrange ball. I always start the round with a new ball and as I inevitably lose the first ball at some point I generally finish with one I have found unless I am having a really good round.

Current ball is a Calloway SuperSoft link below.

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/balls...k-301788.html?dwvar_301788_variantimage=white

A couple of questions:

1. Would I see much benefit from a premium ball (say Titleist ProV1) and if so, what would it be?
2. Would I benefit from playing a premium ball in important rounds or just stick to the Calloway

thanks

 

[Hosel Fade]

As a high handicapper I tend to go for the cheap to midrange ball. I always start the round with a new ball and as I inevitably lose the first ball at some point I generally finish with one I have found unless I am having a really good round.

Current ball is a Calloway SuperSoft link below.

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/balls...k-301788.html?dwvar_301788_variantimage=white

A couple of questions:

1. Would I see much benefit from a premium ball (say Titleist ProV1) and if so, what would it be?
2. Would I benefit from playing a premium ball in important rounds or just stick to the Calloway

thanks

Depends on how many balls you typically lose a round. Don't have experience with the supersofts but generally the difference will be in increased spin levels on shorter shots compared to other budget balls eg the AD333. Would not suggest playing all your social rounds with one ball then swapping to a ProV for a knockout match. That will most likely end in getting wound up with all your chips coming up short and poor pace control on the greens as the response is different.

 

[patricks148]

As a high handicapper I tend to go for the cheap to midrange ball. I always start the round with a new ball and as I inevitably lose the first ball at some point I generally finish with one I have found unless I am having a really good round.

Current ball is a Calloway SuperSoft link below.

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/balls...k-301788.html?dwvar_301788_variantimage=white

A couple of questions:

1. Would I see much benefit from a premium ball (say Titleist ProV1) and if so, what would it be?
2. Would I benefit from playing a premium ball in important rounds or just stick to the Calloway

thanks

I suppose it depends on how you hit the ball, if you can afford to lose the prem balls and what you would gain from changing?

A Pro V1 will be double the price for a start, will spin more off the driver.

The balls you are using are pretty good i would stick with those, use those myself from time to time.

 

[chrisd]

I'm not sure that you will benefit as much playing with a premium ball as you would from just using the same make and model of ball all the time. Most balls have different characteristics and its difficult to get used to, say, chipping or putting with consistency with totally different balls from maybe one hole to another

 

[Capella]

The ProV1 spins more. Now, unless you are unusual for a high handicapper, this would probably hurt your game more than you'd benefit from it. More spin not only makes your ball stop quicker on the greens (which you probably would want), it also makes your ball spin more to the side (so makes a slice or hook worse and can cost you distance). Best way is to try it out, though. Invest in a sleeve of three ProV1s and try it out in direct comparison (maybe even hit two balls off every tee in a practice round when the course is empty and write down the results after each shot. Over 18 holes that should give you an idea which ball performs better for you.)

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

The ProV1 spins more. Now, unless you are unusual for a high handicapper, this would probably hurt your game more than you'd benefit from it. More spin not only makes your ball stop quicker on the greens (which you probably would want), it also makes your ball spin more to the side (so makes a slice or hook worse and can cost you distance). Best way is to try it out, though. Invest in a sleeve of three ProV1s and try it out in direct comparison (maybe even hit two balls off every tee in a practice round when the course is empty and write down the results after each shot. Over 18 holes that should give you an idea which ball performs better for you.)

You talk a lot of sense for a bird

 

[MrC]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful

I am typical high handicapper and as such I am very inconsistent. Although the weakest part of my game is by far the shots from just off the green to 100 yards out.

I will try a ProV1 just for the experience but given I am prone to lose a ball every round it doesn't seem like I will gain much and maybe with the more spin off the driver I could even hinder one of the strong parts of my game.

 

[Shooter McPowick]

I will have a round on my own during the week, if I'm going to loose a ball it will be a wild tee shot so here's what I do.

Play a mediocre ball off the tee that I don't care too much about then when playing into greens I swap the ball over to something like a proV1 putting the ball in the exact same place. Best of both worlds

 

[Face breaker]

I will have a round on my own during the week, if I'm going to loose a ball it will be a wild tee shot so here's what I do.

Play a mediocre ball off the tee that I don't care too much about then when playing into greens I swap the ball over to something like a proV1 putting the ball in the exact same place. Best of both worlds

Yep, I do this as well when I'm having a bad day, although I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I don't have to buy balls, I'm a Greenkeeper, plenty left lying around in the longer grass, more than enough to keep me going, especially as I seem to manage to do most rounds without losing one these days !...:thup:

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I have been hitting cheapo makes(I bought 600 balls for silly cheap money) these include dunlops, slazengers, alien, top flite, donnay and some I have never heard of. I also hit any found balls which are normally better balls and I may hit multiple shots from the same place.

TBH I am not the purest of strikers and have a high iron flight, but I have to say generally I can not feel or see much difference(whilst putting I feel none). I am still shocked by this and cant quite understand it.

For me with irons and drivers, details like distance, flight of the ball and stopping on green is normally much more related to strike on the clubface than the ball. ie. if I hit a ball low heel on my driver it will slice right on a low launch flight rising up and be short. If I hit a ball on the toe of my driver, then it tends to draw or hook back or sometimes is out right but travels a fair distance.

Wait until your strike if good in my personal opinion. Hope that helps.

 

[Lydo]

Try the Wilson staff DX2 decent cheaper option if you lose a lot of balls.

 

[jusme]

In my opinion the characteristics of cheaper balls have changed over the years. They are much better and should be played (if budget is an issue) by most players. I would have never dreamed of playing a pinnacle for example, however they now have a ball called Pinnacle Rush (replaced the gold) and I would have no problem playing this on a regular basis. The supersoft you are playing is a decent ball, as are many in that price range. No doubt these balls behave a little differently in and around the green, but how much does this matter to a mid/high cap?

Personally I would never pay over 2/3 times the price for a dozen balls to get the ball to stick faster on the green. I played a premium ball for a few years and now I don't. The premium stopped within a few feet of its pitch mark, the £12-15 a dozen ball runs out a few feet more. The difference in performance is negligible, arguably better (straighter and longer of the tee) the difference in price is significant to matter.

If your a low digit single cap then I see the reason to go premium, above that I don't get it anymore. Cheaper does not always mean poorer.

 

[Face breaker]

Didn't realise that 'Dunlop' made 'Srixon, Cleveland and XXIO' golf equipment, so what's the chances of a 'Dunlop' ball sharing the same manufacturing process as say an 'AD333/333Tour/Soft feel' for instance, pretty good I should think...