Help picking a ball for slow swing speed

[HPIMG]

Looking for advice for a ball for my 10 year old. He’s getting right into his golf now and is about to start playing weekly tournaments so I want to pick him a ball that might suit him better.
I seen the Bridgestone Electron that’s a ball specific for junior golfers. My boys around 65mph the now speed am I right in thinking a ball like this low compression should actually work better than what he’s been using, I’ve just been giving him my scuffed up balls but all good balls like prov1, srixon zstar ect?
Currently in Florida and seen today they have a maxfli tour x 48 pack for quite cheap and that should do him the whole year, My boy likes the feel of the maxfli but there a tour ball so not sure if he’s just better off with the cheaper Bridgestone?

 

[rulie]

Looking for advice for a ball for my 10 year old. He’s getting right into his golf now and is about to start playing weekly tournaments so I want to pick him a ball that might suit him better.
I seen the Bridgestone Electron that’s a ball specific for junior golfers. My boys around 65mph the now speed am I right in thinking a ball like this low compression should actually work better than what he’s been using, I’ve just been giving him my scuffed up balls but all good balls like prov1, srixon zstar ect?
Currently in Florida and seen today they have a maxfli tour x 48 pack for quite cheap and that should do him the whole year, My boy likes the feel of the maxfli but there a tour ball so not sure if he’s just better off with the cheaper Bridgestone?

The Tour x is a 100 compression, four layer ball, ie, a ball meant for higher speed and stronger players. While it may "feel" good and sound good, it's not likely the best for your junior player. There are many other options available for him. My two pence worth!

 

[HPIMG]

The Tour x is a 100 compression, four layer ball, ie, a ball meant for higher speed and stronger players. While it may "feel" good and sound good, it's not likely the best for your junior player. There are many other options available for him. My two pence worth!

Yea I get that just like the prov1s and z stars he’s been using are not for him. My question is with the Bridgestone that’s designed for juniors perform better ? He consistently around 145 yards with driver with a few odd ones around 160 will the cheaper Bridgestone get him more yards if not I would rather just keep him on softer balls.

 

[rulie]

Yea I get that just like the prov1s and z stars he’s been using are not for him. My question is with the Bridgestone that’s designed for juniors perform better ? He consistently around 145 yards with driver with a few odd ones around 160 will the cheaper Bridgestone get him more yards if not I would rather just keep him on softer balls.

At that point in his development (which is similar to our grand-daughter), establishing fundamentals and technique is more important than a type of golf ball. Of course, playing a ball that they feel good about is important to them, but less so than fundamentals. They may not consider fundamentals at this particular time, but they are very important over the longer term, and are best established early.

 

[Mel Smooth]

If distance is a priority Taylor Made Speedsoft ink is the ball you want. They fire off the clubface and the colour splatter will always appeal to the young ones. Also, get him marking up his balls with a sharpie and alignment tool and drill it into him that he needs to line up his putts, and of course he can use that alignment off the tee as well. It's so important to get the mindset of trying to putt around the 30 and under number.

As Rulie has said above - the fundamentals are the most important thing to establish - my lad is now growing, he's 5' 6" at the moment and can hit it over 300 in the right conditions, he hit one 270 uphill last week. He's always had a good swing but you can't force the distance out of them and we've been patient - knowing full well as he started to grow the power and clubhead speed would increase.

Get those basics right and then you can just watch them develop - it's really fulfilling as a parent to see them improve over the years.

 

[Golf is fun]

At that age, and stage of learning I'd let him hit what he (and your wallet) likes, more than worrying too much about the performance.

My daughter is 9, and and low/mid 70s swing speed on the course, so not wildly different. We've found in the real world there isn't much difference between the balls, she's hit pro v1s, pro v1xs, -pro v1xs, TP5s and Speed softs, all with similar flights and differences. We actually ended up playing the TP5 mostly because she just said she liked it, but I think part of the reason is the short game performance.

 

[3 jabber]

At that age, and stage of learning I'd let him hit what he (and your wallet) likes, more than worrying too much about the performance.

My daughter is 9, and and low/mid 70s swing speed on the course, so not wildly different. We've found in the real world there isn't much difference between the balls, she's hit pro v1s, pro v1xs, -pro v1xs, TP5s and Speed softs, all with similar flights and differences. We actually ended up playing the TP5 mostly because she just said she liked it, but I think part of the reason is the short game performance.

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How much difference do you really think anyone sees on the course? We all hit the ball so inconsistently anyway.

 

[Orikoru]

Any ball that's very soft and cheap would do at that age surely? Srixon Soft Feel? Wilson Duo? Callaway Supersoft? Maybe even go Pinnacle Soft.

 

[HPIMG]

This

How much difference do you really think anyone sees on the course? We all hit the ball so inconsistently anyway.

Well that’s what I’m thinking, surely this junior specific golf ball is just marketing. I don’t imagine it will show any gains and it feels quite hard it’s a ball I wouldn’t want to play with myself. Reason I asked on forum was because guy in shop was really trying to sell it, saying it’s designed to go higher and further for juniors but my boy gets plenty hight on his shots for his age and size.

 

[Golf is fun]

Well that’s what I’m thinking, surely this junior specific golf ball is just marketing. I don’t imagine it will show any gains and it feels quite hard it’s a ball I wouldn’t want to play with myself. Reason I asked on forum was because guy in shop was really trying to sell it, saying it’s designed to go higher and further for juniors but my boy gets plenty hight on his shots for his age and size.

I'd say it's almost certainly marketing.
If performance is the concern, at the higher level events most of the kids are playing the same premium balls that adults would use.

Out of interest, what tournaments will your son be playing in?

 

[patricks148]

im a fan of a soft compression ball myself

 

[HPIMG]

I'd say it's almost certainly marketing.
If performance is the concern, at the higher level events most of the kids are playing the same premium balls that adults would use.

Out of interest, what tournaments will your son be playing in?

Scott galacher foundation, my boy has the same coach as Scott so that’s how we found out about them.

 

[JayB]

Got to agree with the others, any ball at this age will be fine.

My lad would just play anything and everything he found on the course, when a little older he started to like Titleist TruFeel so primarily used them in comps to have some sort of consistency. He still uses them in winter but unfortunatley for my wallet, has now moved onto Pro V1's.

When growing up, they develop and change so quickly, I wouldn't expect any real benefit from a certain ball.

 

[HPIMG]

I picked up the srixon divide yellow and red I remember getting a box when they first came out seemed decent and he likes the half and half colours. So probably keep him on them all year.

 

[bruno987]

Has he tried the Callaway Supersoft or Wilson Duo Soft+? Both are low compression and really forgiving, a lot of junior players and slower swingers seem to do well with them

 

[Daff]

I can add a little to this. My daughter is just 13 and has been competing at various Junior events since she was 9.

At this swingspeed (daughter is now up to about 90mph with the driver) she found that the Bridgestone E12's were a brilliant ball - we still have them in the practice bag for warming up on the range, etc.

They are a 3 piece ball but with an ionomer cover. The key we found with this ball is that it was much easier to get a good, high launch which wasn't possible with the proV, TPs, etc plus still get a good amount of control around the green. They're nice and soft and don't feel like hitting a brick and they come in some other colours than white which helps when looking for balls (a common passtime ).

Bridgestone make a good ball so I'm sure that any of their softer offerings would be OK, but we found that this one gave the best of everything for my daughter (obviously not the same for every Junior).

She tried the Supersofts, the Wilson Duo, the Speedsofts but found that they just lacked control around the greens and were a bit like "powerballs" off wedges, etc

If your son doesn't mind harder golf balls, she now plays Callaway Chrome Tour X - they help with the launch and give her a bit more spin to keep it in the air.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It is hard as the courses firm up. I do think (at least in my mind) its best to do as Titleist recommend and work back from the green so find a ball that works well for chipping and putting. As a younger player I think the loss of distance is not as big a factor especially with the roll at the moment

 

[Bobthesock]

Just give him all the rubbish ones you find.
I can barely tell the difference between balls so some kid won't have a clue. You would like to think he's just happy to be out playing.

 

[Neilds]

Just give him all the rubbish ones you find.
I can barely tell the difference between balls so some kid won't have a clue. You would like to think he's just happy to be out playing.

This - and it won't be long before he is saying he wants to play the same ball as his mates/Rory/Scottie/Bryson/Whoever and be trotting out a whole load of rubbish learned from the internet (or worse still, on here ) about why you need to spend £4-5 a ball on something that makes no difference to his game

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We have a lot of juniors (which is good) and there is a box where you could put balls that were still usable for them to play with for nothing. It use to have an array of brands they would happily play with. Now unless its a Pro V, top of the range Cally or TM they won't touch them