Range balls - how do they compare to reall ones ?

[nomadpaul]

I've been spending some time over my local driving range and was wondering how range balls react compared to normal balls .

I'm guessing they must fly shorter but by how much and does it depend on club selection ?
Is sidespin exaggerated or lessened ?
Do bad shots get magnified by the balls or does the design of the range ball soften any poor strikes ?

Many questions......but i'd like any thoughts please

 

[benny]

Depends on the quality of the ball. My local range at Snainton only uses top Quality Srixon balls so your shots behave in practise as they would on the course - its a top quality place. www.Snaintongolf.co.uk - there pitch and putt course has USGA standard greens too!!! Like a billiard cloth!

 

[TonyN]

TBH no two range balls are the same. I hit one the other day and it was like a snooker ball it was so smooth.

All i know is that you loose roughly 10-20% distance with them. They generally dont behave well in the air either!

 

[OldWindy]

I don't think the balls are of the highest quality and I have seem mention that they are 10% shorter. At least of all the ranges I've used.

 

[forefortheday]

Personally I feel it's like the difference between driving a car and riding a bike.

I normally get 20-30 yards further with my normal balls (Nike pdl) than I do with a rangie

Whenever I get lessons there are at least two or three shots where my pro says good shot rubbish ball after it goes on some crazy flight.

Mind you he could be lying to me ha ha ha!

 

[madandra]

How do they compare???? Quite simply, they don't.

Your average range ball is designed for long life and not performance and will have been struck about 1000 times with 60% of those strikes will have come from a driver or other wood. This results in them being scuffed which leads to more wind resistance = less distance and they will have been knocked out of shape, agian at the cost of distance.

On short irons I think the difference is less, as long as you do not measue final stopped distance. When I am at the range I try to fly my short irons to an exact yardage and don't even watch to see where the ball stops as this is not a similar result to my match ball.

Use the range for improving your swing and ball striking but you can only practice scoring on your course with the ball of YOUR choice in your hand.

 

[benny]

About the best explanation yet Madandra.
But please can you explain why it says Pooh Bah near your name. Is that to do with Winnie the pooh/Pooh Bear?

 

[madandra]

I think I got it when i got to 1500 posts. I googled it and their are two definitions...

A Poobah is;

1 : a person holding many public or private offices
2 : a person in high position or of great influence

However a Poo-bah using GM spelling means;

1. A pompous ostentatious official, especially one who, holding many offices, fulfills none of them.
2. A person who holds high office.


I prefer the first description

 

[medwayjon]

Varys range to range but at the range preferred by myself & mvp they are poor. This is because the old duffers in the allotments behind the range were sick of having balls landing on their cabbage patches!

Andy is right about just using the range to brush up on tecnhique, using range balls to practice distance control is folly in my eyes.

 

[USER1999]

Yeah, just use them to hone your swing with what ever club you want to use. Distance control is rubbish.

The other thing with golf balls in general is that when you hit them with a driver, you pretty much squash them flat. Now the power the ball generates as it comes off the club is partially due to the way it recovers its' shape. When it has been squashed flat a few times, internally it will have lots of damage caused by shear, so it won't go nearly as well as when it was new. This is why if you keep the same ball for more than a couple of rounds, it is nowhere near the performance of a new one. My record is 5 rounds, and it was totally pooped.

An old range ball must be totally crackered.

 

[Parmo]

I think the range is more for working on your swing not looking where the ball goes.

 

[SammmeBee]

I think the range is more for working on your swing not looking where the ball goes.

Yes but what's the point of working on something that you can't tell where it's going - no practice is better than practicing bad habits.....

 

[Parmo]

I think the range is more for working on your swing not looking where the ball goes.

Yes but what's the point of working on something that you can't tell where it's going - no practice is better than practicing bad habits.....

Yes but you might have great straight shots with your range balls and think you are set for the course but really you have changed your swing to cope with poor balls and so on the course you are trying to recover your original technique.

For me its about working on pre shot routine, weight transfer and posture, trying to make this natural and where the ball goes doesn't bother me.

 

[haplesshacker]

Having said all that, don't we all like to be the biggest hitter at the range at that particular moment.

 

[collins]

At the range I go to, they use top flite and they are not much cop compared to pro v but something else I have found, is that when using the automatic tees that pop down and reappear with the next ball, I reckon I get alot more draw than on the course (my normal shot is a slight fade) as if the ball doesn't come off the tee as cleanly. Looking at the diameter of them I'm not suprised!

Like stated previously it's more for working and getting comfortable with your swing, and building confidence!

 

[Up_Point_1]

I can't be arsed to trawl through the replies above to see if this has already been mentioned but basically in answer to your question .........................they don't !!!!!!!

Accept range balls for what they are. They're not built for maximum distance, and they're not built for maximum spin. Don't take any notice of how far they travel as it'll only confuse you.

However for honing your swing they're fine. Despite the fact that most range balls have all the attributes of a malteser they'll still fly pretty straight if hit properly (albeit not very far).

The above isn't an indicative view of all golf ranges but certainly my view of the ones i've visited in the South West area.

DHM.

 

[Sam]

This results in them being scuffed which leads to more wind resistance = less distance

I wonder if this is right? An undimpled golf ball would only travel about 2/3rds of the distance of a regular ball given that the dimples cause turbulence and therefore reduce drag. Suspect scuffing may increase turbulence but, no doubt, someone will put me right.

 

[Page]

i'm guessing they're not called 80% balls for nothing...

 

[viscount17]

This results in them being scuffed which leads to more wind resistance = less distance

I wonder if this is right? An undimpled golf ball would only travel about 2/3rds of the distance of a regular ball given that the dimples cause turbulence and therefore reduce drag. Suspect scuffing may increase turbulence but, no doubt, someone will put me right.

the dimples are of known dimensions and of a geometric pattern. the positions and shapes are calculated so that the lift (not drag) created by each dimple in a group is additive to others in the group.

a scuff is by definition random in size, shape and position and will cause drag. if the scuff were purely (miracle) along the fore-aft axis then it would (probably) affect only distance, however the chances of that are astronomically small so whichever scuffed surface is presented will skew the ball.

at our range the balls have been reduced twice due to the property manager supposedly objecting to range balls through his office window (b****y silly place for an office!) never actually seen or heard of it being done so of course whenever you find a 'real' ball in your bucket you try to fly the fence.