Premium Ball

[One Planer]

I've been playing the Wilson Staff DX3 ball for a few months and to be honest have been pretty happy with it.

Popped down to the course tonight just to put my name down for a comp and got chatting to a friend, who plays in the Scratch Cup, on the short game practice area.

I had my wedges in the boot from yesterdays practice and he asked if I wanted to join him so thought why not. Got talking to him about ball choice and he swears by premium balls.

He has given me 2 of his practice balls. A Pro V1 and a Pro V1x. I hit a few shots to the practice green and, I must admit, I was very impressed with both balls..... TBH I couldn't tell the difference between them, but both felt great they performed very, very well indeed.

He said he went to a Titleist fitting not long back and went through a ball fitting while there. He said they fit the ball to your irons and scoring clubs, then the driver last.

He plays the Pro V1x ball as, he says, it offers less spin off the tee with woods and long irons, but all the greenside control of the Pro V1.

My question for the forum.

Are premium balls in general worth a punt for mid-level player (I.E Me )? or are they more hinderance than help?

 

[Foxholer]

Been a little while since I've hit the latest ProV1/Prov1x side by side, but there always seemed to be quite a difference. I prefer the Pro V1.

Would have been better if you'd compared your 'happy with' ball to either/both.

Premium balls certainly won't hinder your game, but may hurt your pocket. NXT, Velocity, AD333 and others (not a great deal of experience with Wilsons) may work well, if not better, and be cheaper too.

Only real way is to try them - plenty in most woods/rough these days!

 

[Iaing]

I'll probably get shot down in flames but I'll say yes, they will be a benefit to you.
The advantages they offer to the short game far outweigh any long game disadvantages ( which I've found to be minuscule anyway).

 

[Crow]

I've tried a few premium balls, Z-Star and Pro-V1, but to be honest I seem to score better with the AD333.

I think it's because I don't like a lot of check when around the green and prefer the ball to roll up to the flag.

As Foxholer said, the only real way to find out if they suit your game is to play a few rounds with them.

 

[DaveM]

Must admit I like the feel off the short irons/putting. When I find a few in the rough.(never bought any). What concerns me is most say they are for driver swing speeds over 105mph. Where mine is more like 90/95 mph. Worry I would loose distance off the tee, I need all I can get.

 

[Slicer30]

I played AD333 for over a year. Any prov1's I found never seemed to stay with me long enough as I'd usually slice it off the tee.

I play the Srixon Z-star now, which definetely feels longer off the tee and gets good spin/stop from the mid irons.

I gave one to a friend who plays a Prov1 and he stopped playing it after 3 holes as he couldnt get the same spin around the green.

I'd recommend trying a few different types see which you like.

I should add I rarely buy brand new in the box - can get a dozen z-stars in Pearl condition for about £15 on ebay

 

[Val]

1x offers less spin of the tee than the 1 but they both offer the same around the greens, great when greens are firm but when they are soft a mid ball will perform decent enough. I've been using the Velocity untill now and will go back to the 1x now our greens are a bit firmer.

 

[BTatHome]

I've been playing the Wilson Staff DX3 ball for a few months and to be honest have been pretty happy with happy with it.

He has given me 2 of his practice balls. A Pro V1 and a Pro V1x. I hit a few shots to the practice green and, I must admit, I was very impressed with both balls..... TBH I couldn't tell the difference between them, but both felt great they performed very, very well indeed.

What did they do to make you say this ?

Having played both premium and midlevel I can say there is very little between the them for my game. Both can stop perfectly well on the right greens, both give feedback to the player. Only difference I see is the durability.

For me prov1 are useless, they offer nothing beyond other models from bridgetsone/srixon, and have a dreadful dull colour to the cover that cuts up far too easily.

I don't think I've seen anybody get fitted for less than a prov1/prov1x yet

 

[patricks148]

I use the Prov 1 for normal play and if its very windy the Prov 1X.

I didn't really get the idea o using a premium ball untill i got down to single fig. I just used anything in the bag before. Them when i started hitting a few greens switched.

Around the green, chipping and putting they feel the same, but i find off the longer clubs the X i lose about 10-20yards. Titeist used to advertise that the X was for fast swing speeds 105 + as it takes more to compress.
I notice they don't say that anymore.

 

[One Planer]

What did they do to make you say this ?

Our practice green slopes from back to front and left to right (Very slightly) and at the minute is pretty firm but has a little give in the surface.

When I usually pitch a ball into the green with a 3/4 wedge the ball pitches just short, bounces on and runs to the back section of the green where the slope holds it up, unless the green is soft and can fire at the green directly. I compared the Pro V1 to the WS I usually use.

With the Pro V1 (And V1x to be fair) pitch it in roughly the same place, just off the front, but seemd to slow/stop much quicker and 90% stayed more toward the front.

I got a little steep on one and the ball literally bounced once on the green and stopped dead. Something on a semi firm green I've never managed.

 

[Monty_Brown]

I'd say it's worth having the option of a mid-range ball for winter and a premium for summer when you'll likely need more help on the firmer greens.

With soft greens in winter, I find it easy to stop pretty much any ball so go for a AD333 or DX3, as these don't hurt the pocket and given good distance off the tee.

In summer i'm trying a few other options... Titleist NXT Tours for bounce games, then Pro V1x for comps and matches. It's not a good idea to switch about loads bewtween bals, but I find the transition between the two Titleist models ok.

I'm also going to try out the Callaway Hex Chrome Tour, which they say is for slower swing speeds than the Black version. They pitch that as a premium ball for decent amateurs I suppose, so thought it might be easier to get the best out of it than the tour balls that need those 105mph+ swing speeds.

When I last went on a monitor I was at 106mph with driver so am borderline on getting the right performance out of the Pro v1x.

There is no doubt in my mind that on the short game the premium ball give a significantly better performance in feel and spin.

 

[Charlie_B1981]

there are only really 2 ways to find out if it suits your game,
1:trying them on a few rounds and seeing how you get on
2: going to a proper fitting centre.

I have a fast swing and was fitted at a local centre for a pro v1x recently- not due to drives but found somehow i was getting another 2000 rpm on pitches compared to the v1 and others but like patrick Ive found I lose 20-30 yds on driver and 3 wood- (as you say, strange how its no longer marketted to go further if you have a higher swing speed!)

price aside choice of ball comes down to:
how well you strike it
how consistent you are
do you want to spin it back on concrete or let it run out every time

personally i've found premium balls only come into their own if you strike it fairly consistently and have greens hard enough where you need to stop it dead.

the only other thing i found is to try not to change too often, i did this for a while then wondered why i was missing distances, until i realised that between different balls there was upto 15yds difference

 

[Big Blue Eagle]

I have shifted about a bit over 5 years playing. Started on Srixon AD333's and stayed with them all year round for a long time. Then went to the US and found a load of Pro V's in various lakes so started using them and generally liked them for summer play, but found they cut up too much in winter. I have never got on with Nike - just don't like the feel, but have found pick up Taylor Made pretty good. I originally didn't like Callaway, but last year won a dozen Tour iz and loved them, particularly in the warm weather which softens them a bit. So, I made the switch to is and iz balls depending on the time of year and temperature. Obviously I got better distance with the harder iz's (swing speed on driver is around 95-100) but both give very good greenside control.

Now use Chrome most of the time, and Hex Black for comps if it ever gets warm again, plus usually carry some Diablo Tours for non home courses with lots of trouble.

I would always stick to this level at least now, hitting anything else feels like a rock - found a brand new Velocity and absolutely loathed it/ Also now find that Pro V's tend to spin too much off the driver - Callaway's are much more controllable.