Winter Ball for my Game

[Jahmoo]

I think at this time of year there needs to be a trade off between short game spin and extra distance. In my opinion the best balls I've tried that give a decent amount of response around the greens without being rocks off the putter are the old favs like the AD333 (new version) the NXT and the Burner TP

Burner TP and New AD333's are on my shopping list, a sleeve each and a try on course

I will let you know my findings Wednesday, as Up North for a couple of days, with some added golf to the days away

 

[Up_Point_1]

I'm not being funny here but really what difference does it make during the winter months what ball you use?

During the "golfing" season I'll happily use a premium ball as it gives me the feel / distance / control I desire. I'm a relatively tidy golfer and I want every advantage I can get in qualifying competitions.

However during the winter months quite frankly i couldn't give a toss what ball I use. A winter round of golf is just a "walk and a talk" with friends and not to be taken too seriously.

UP1

 

[Imurg]

Jahmoo
Out of interest - how much distance do you lose TP Blacks to NXT's?

 

[Jahmoo]

Jahmoo
Out of interest - how much distance do you lose TP Blacks to NXT's?

With TMs, I was losing about 20 - 30yds with the driver. This was leaving me just a bit too much distance into the greens. With the ball being softer I would lose a little into the greens, this possibly being the wind/cold.

With the NXT's I gained the distance off the Tee, then I get a bit more off the fairway.

This being a harder ball.

 

[compton77]

This year i played Bridgestone B330RX's during the summer and have switched to E6+ for winter. The E6+'s still feel softish with a nice amount of check, especially on softer greens but help keep it straight(er) when the fairways have no run.

 

[pokerjoke]

i can safely say i have never brought a brand new ball in my golfing life all i have 2 do is dive in a hedge and i will find some or go 2 a car boot there is always a pro v 2 be found,i also find this my favourite ball around the greens and i have no doubt that chipping close is the key 2 saving shots and i find the pro v very responsive i can guarantee if you use a pro v and practice your chipping you will drop your hcp immediately

 

[Imurg]

Jahmoo
Out of interest - how much distance do you lose TP Blacks to NXT's?

With TMs, I was losing about 20 - 30yds with the driver. This was leaving me just a bit too much distance into the greens. With the ball being softer I would lose a little into the greens, this possibly being the wind/cold.

With the NXT's I gained the distance off the Tee, then I get a bit more off the fairway.

This being a harder ball.

This doesn't make much sense to me. You're not going to lose 30 yards just because the weather's changed, there must be something else.
Maybe the launch angle of the TP is higher than the NXT resulting in less roll or being affected by the wind more.
Still, if you're trying the other balls they may work for you.

 

[Barney]

Maybe keeping it Simple was not the answer, as opened myself up to silly answers like clothes restricting my swing and me being a crap 18Hcp Golfer

I hear what you are saying, but I am asking which ball is good for my game......NOT, why am I slicing the ball, or hooking it, I am happy to say I am hitting the ball consistantly Tee to Green, though am losing shots round the green.

Through the summer I found that the Taylormade's stopped better than any other ball I had used, to the point I was having to go up a club on approach shots, instead of the ball running up the green it was stopping dead. But I noticed on my Perfect Drives I was a little shorter, as I have a slow swing, I do not smash the ball, I swing easy to gain control and straight hits, same with irons. This was exaggerated in the winter, as colder. This has been proved to me already, by swapping my TM's for NXT Tours, I am hitting them longer off the Tee.

I think Barney needs to remember what it was like to be a 28Hcp, then to get down to 18Hcp, I don't think I am on my own here, as I am a better player now than I have ever been, me playing off 18Hcp

To get down to 10Hcp, I will have to put my scoring game into action for this to happen, round the greens, leave 3putts at home and chip it close.......This is why I asked the question, I am happy hitting rocks to gain distance, but it does not help me round the greens.

I will worry about my game, but only the part I think I need to, at this time its my short game, I was doing nothing different and scoring well in the summer, playing to Hcp, but now I am losing shots, so the reason I asked the question.

If you can help cheers

I think Barney needs to remember what it was like to be a 28Hcp, then to get down to 18Hcp, I don't think I am on my own here, as I am a better player now than I have ever been, me playing off 18Hcp

I didnt mean to sound rude and listen you wouldnt have too many free shots on me if we did play !!

All Im saying is what is so wrong in you clubbing up around the green or having a few yards lost on a STRAIGHT drive.
I simply think golf is a lot to do with mental thoughts.
Its a hard enough game, with you having a million and one things to worry about without negative thoughts about if the ball is right for you or not flying around your head.
Just play any ball you like, as long as you stick with it and get used to it and if your having to club up so what, thats why you have more than one stick and as long as your drives are straight so what if you lose a few yards.
I dont see you have a problem !
I stick to what I said early and that is some people seem to complicate things for themselves ! ( Reverts back to old story about having a friend who plays off single figures and prehistoric equipment but worries not about his equipment and only his game !)

 

[Snelly]

I completely agree with Barney. If you are a high handicap player the ball you play is just about academic.

I regularly play with a friend of mine who is a +3 player. We play of level but have a few silly rules to even things up. One of them is that I get to pick the ball he plays with as long as it is in good nick and not a joke ball etc. One evening last summer, I gave him a shiny new Wilson Staff Dx2 that I had been given at a corporate day. He'd never played one before and normally uses a ProV1. He was 3 under for 9 holes with it!

I appreciate that this is a slightly different sort of example but I think it reinforces the view that it isn't about the ball, it is about the player. I think this is true for all levels of player to be honest.

 

[viscount17]

sorry, as an HH I don't agree. there are balls out there that don't deserve the name - real bricks. I don't like the Distance version of anything I've found to date, and don't much like anything by Callaway.

I much prefer to use something with a little give - currently DX2, AD333 or Srixon Soft Feel. I'll even use Pinnacle Gold Soft in winter.

Not stupid enough to buy the luxury end of the market yet, though I do have two pristine boxes of Pro-V's waiting for my game to catch up (but I didn't buy those). I like to use them when I find them though, - lose a few more Z-Stars please.

 

[Snelly]

We'll agree to disagree then. As a further example, I was a high handicapper when I started playing and was off 28 as a lad. I came down to 22 reasonably quickly then started to improve at a faster rate moving from 22 to 12 in months. This was in the 80's and equipment was vastly different to today obviously. I know it was a while ago but I remember well enough that I never really cared about what ball I played. It was whatever I found that week usually. Pinnacles, Golden Rams, Top Flites, Molitors, Tour Edition, Dunlop 65i or B51XD all stick in the memory as my balls of choice and they were all rocks! In fact I still have a B51XD in a desk drawer from 1985 as it was the ball I used to shoot my first sub-80 round. The ball I used had very little to do with the improvements in my scoring.

Anyway, the point I am making is not that you shouldn't use the ball that you prefer - it would be daft to suggest otherwise and you should certainly take advantage of modern equipment to give you every advantage.

What I am saying is that it isn't going to be a significant factor in getting your handicap down. The only thing that will do that is hitting more fairways and greens and improving your short game. With a high handicap, what ball you do that with is almost an irrelevance. (within reason of course e.g. a Top Flite or similar.) Hope this doesn't sound patronising.. just my view based on my experience.

 

[JustOne]

I agree with Snelly, it doesn't matter what ball you play with as long as you don't hit it in the trees. I shot a naff 8 over today using a Srixon soft-feel for the first time, it felt like a decent enough ball to make me add it to the list of balls I don't mind playing, and it putted really well. The poor scoring was down to my swing (as usual). I must admit that I'd RATHER avoid anything that says Topflite or Pinnacle on it but if that's all I had then I'd play it without worry.

 

[USER1999]

You've not played a Pinnacle exception then, because they are ok. Except for one small niggle. I played with one, split the fairway right down the middle (unusual I know), and when we got up to it, one of my playing partners picked it up and threw it in the woods. Oy, that was my ball. Nope, just some crappy Pinnacle.