Soft v's hard balls

[Parmo]

Morning All,
After playing with the AD333 for a year or there abouts and last weekend trying a harder ball (Warbird) I have found from the tee that the Srixon seems to balloon and loose distance, whereas the Warbird gives a lovely flight. The problem is with harder balls is that you sacrifice the feel around the dance floor that you get with a soft ball as everyone knows, but what is your preference? Is there a ball that gives the flight off the tee of a hard ball but the feel and spin of a softer ball around the greens, but in the mid range price brand?

 

[TonyN]

You cant have your cake and eat it and I find the 333 a happy medium between distance and feel.

I play by the philosophy 'better short and in the short stuff than long and in the long stuff' A harder ball that goes further will only go further into the rough on bad shots.

My short game is where I save shots and I rely heavily on a good feeling ball to get up and down. I dont care that a harder ball may give me an extra 20 yards or so, I'll just pull out a 7 instead of a 9 for the next shot.

I hate how harder balls feel of the face of full iron shots, nothing like middling and nice shoft ball.

 

[Barney]

My apologies for this,I dont mean to hijac your thread but are those Srixon Ad333 really that good. I use pro v1 or Hogan balls as I find them very soft.But if the Srixon are just as good and are gonna save me pounds Im converting straight away !

 

[Parmo]

Try a sleve next time you are out, they are good around the greens ok for distance and good off the fairway.

I think I might try the NXT Tour as the ones I have tried I got better distance off the tee but kept the feel around the greens, I think I just answered my own question

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I prefer the NXT tour to AD333 in Winter but to be fair it is only the spin with wedges around the green that is the difference for me. Both are about the same off the tee and both feel the same with iron shots

 

[Barney]

Yeah I will do that as I have been using Pro V1 for a while but have reached the point where I think what does the ball give me that an average ball wouldnt and to be honest I cant answer it.
Yes with Pro V1 you can generate loads of spin with them but if I can get an average ball to just stop dead of the green ill be more than happy with that(and have money in my pocket!)
Cheers !

 

[Parmo]

Homer,
Do you think the NXT justifies the extra fiver per dozen over the AD333?

 

[Imurg]

I find the NXT cuts up quicker than Srixon balls. The other day I played with and NXT on odd holes and a Z-URS on the even. At the end of the round the Z-URS was almost unmarked but the NXT was scuffed up. They had similar use with the wedges and irons so it seems a reasonable comparison.

For most, the AD333 won't spin as much as a Prov-1 but in winter, with the wet greens you should get enough stopping power from an AD333. Warbirds and the like will still feel harsh on chips unless you're used to them.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

As I've only been playing for about 8mths now I'm trying as many balls as I canto find the best one for me. In my Garage I have the following:-

Hard Balls
Callaway Warbird - A very good distance ball which I kept all round last week and still looked brand new at the end. £14.99 for two dozen too!
Distance 10/10. Feel 7/10.

Srixon Distance - Again a hard ball, but scuffed and didnt perform as well as the Warbird.
Distance 8/10. Feel 5/10

Nike Juice - Only played one round with this and didnt rate it at all. Perhaps it was me on the day but didnt feel as hard as the others but feel was not good.
Distance 7/10. Feel 3/10.


Soft Balls
Callaway Hot Bite - Good distance and control, spun nicely from 60-70 out.
Distance 8/10. Feel 8/10.

Srixon Soft Feel - Really liked these, I did lose a little distance but the soft feel was brilliant, putting was really easy with these due to the feel and the arrows that they put on the ball.
Distnace 7/10. Feel 10/10.


Distance/Feel Balls
TaylorMade TP Red - Now these are my personal favourite, great distance, feel & control. Driver, Long or Short Irons, putting was all good with these. I got these for £19 ok they were last years model but these balls are just ace.
Distance 9/10 Feel 10/10.

Srixon AD333 - My mate plays with these and he loves them so I bought a dozen. Must admit they are good and I can see why people compare them to the ProV1 and Nike One Platinum, yet they are half the price! No brainer for me.
Distance 8/10 Feel 8/10.


Personally I like to use a distance ball in the winter and I seem to be getting on well with the Warbird at the moment, but have got to learn to ease off with the putter! I'm flying up to 8ft past the hole in some cases!! And for the price they are brilliant. I need a distance ball in the winter as not only does the ball not fly as far in the colder weather our course is very exposed and need something to cut through the wind.

In the summer TaylorMade TP Red for me, as per the above really.

 

[bazlambo]

I use the AD333 and have been really impressed with them for both distance and feel around the greens.

Saying that recently went into AG who had the Srixon ZURC on offer at £16 for 12 and bought a box of these, used them straight away and was immediately impressed. It flew further off the tee and the spin into the green was the best I have experienced incl ProV1, the feel off the putter was also good.

At the same time the Srixon Soft feel were about £13 per dozen so bought some of these as my emergency balls when the good ones start getting lost.

Amazing start with these as I birdied the first at my club. Have a really soft feel particularly on the putter and whilst distance was slightly reduced the control I felt more than made up for this particularly on the greens.

Like others I have tried many balls over the past 12 months since I started playing again but find the Srixons the best as it seems to suit my swing speed.

 

[need_my_wedge]

I thought I posted in here earlier, but post seems to be missing

I like the Titleist NXT (tour/ extreme). They fly well and perform around the greens too. I tried the AD333 earlier in the year, but seem to lose distance over the NXT.

 

[USER1999]

ProV1s, the only real option. Everything else is a poor compromise. Too hard, too soft, to scuffable (americanisms are fine in golf speak), too spinny, too many dimples, not enough dimples (don't look round), rubbish print, too easy to lose, what ever.

ProV1s are the best, accept no substitute.

Current ball in use = Nike one platinum. Explain that?

 

[TonyN]

Love the TP reds for everythin apart from driving, for some reason they fly to high and rob me of some distance. Everythin else about it is superb.

Tried the Zurs and that was really impressive, as good as anything I have played including prov1's.

Srixons do me the as they were only 12 quid a box last time i bought them.

 

[OldWindy]

I think I might try the NXT Tour as the ones I have tried I got better distance off the tee but kept the feel around the greens, I think I just answered my own question

LOL. What the ball feels like and does for your game is so subjective that you're better off doing more or less what PeterPumpkinEater has done and for your own benefit. Just try 'em and see for yourself.

 

[medwayjon]

I use the ProV1 or the DX2 Soft.

If my game is off song then the wilsons are my choice. They are very long off the tee and very good around the greens, almost as good as the ProV.

I have never understood the fuss about the AD333, I have tried them a few times and to me they are rubbish, they dont do any particular thing well.

As for the hard balls, NO! I tried warbirds and they were god-awful things.

There is a reason that the ProV is the number one ball in golf, because it is the best. Ask yourself why so many other manufacturers staff players still play ProV's.

 

[TWM]

I gave up using the Warbird as I could not putt with it.

 

[Parmo]

Yeah I can afford £32 a dozen and on average loose between 2-3 a round so over a year (ProV1)32x12=384 AD333(15X12=180) Total dif = £204 per year!! thats a new driver my good man.

Think I will stick with the AD333, as its the best selling ball in golf 2007, 2008 and will be 2009

 

[medwayjon]

Scary when you think of it like that I suppose.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Yeah I can afford £32 a dozen and on average loose between 2-3 a round so over a year (ProV1)32x12=384 AD333(15X12=180) Total dif = £204 per year!! thats a new driver my good man.

Think I will stick with the AD333, as its the best selling ball in golf 2007, 2008 and will be 2009

Good point well made.

 

[USER1999]

Not really, as I haven't paid over £17 per dozen for the last 4 years. I also only lose/wear out about 2 per week (I play 4 rounds per week in summer), so 52 x 2 is 104 /12 is only 8 dozen (ish) which is £147. However, this doesn't include pick ups, so I probably only spend about a third of this. I haven't bought any balls since I brought 2 dozen back from Florida in April. Still got most of them too. I would be suprised if I spent more than £50 per year on balls.

Since I pick them up when I see them cheap, I think I have about 100 odd brand new balls in my cupboard, ready to go.

They are only £28 per doz in direct golf, if I ever run short.