Re: How important is the ball?

I used to think that a ball was a ball was a ball - and that I wasn't good enough to warrant using new balls.

Lets see, I was wrong on both counts.

Lots of people swear by the ProV. I can't use it. The MaxFli Rev Tour works better for me.

And you just can't trust a re-used or refurbished ball. A ProV1 (new) and a ProV1 (refurbished) won't play the same. (The new one had more check, and more distance).

So, yes, buy some different balls, and see which one works better for you.

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi,
Funny thing is that I have new balls: Titleist PTS, Callaway, Penn TDT 432 and some others. I just have been saving them.

Maybe I should take the new golf balls for a spin? BUT I have to wait about a month until our golf course opens. We still have snow about half meter high, but it's warming up fast:-)

Hannu

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi Hannu,

Well I use to be like lowpost on this matter i.e. always thought a ball is a ball and expensive balls are for the pros.

This was all until I read an article last november in today's golfer magazine (it is a uk only one) where they explained about the different types of balls on the market today from cheap one to the elite and commented on their perfomance. It was a great article but the best advice it gave was from the pros who said "A ball is not just a ball but one of the most important pieces of equipment you will buy" reading a bit more "balls are another piece of equipment that will give you an outcome that will effect your game" " You should choose your balls to suit your swing, speed and most important what you feel comfortable using. Treat looking for balls like looking for a new driver and test various types until your happy with one that suits you"

After reading this I decided to try out a few myself so booked a lesson in my golf shop on the simulator and hit 5x 12 different types the outcome was not what I expected. This is what i found out about the balls which suit me. I scored them (1=not good to 5= Fantastic) on Feel, Distance, Control & Spin

Make of ball /Feel -Distance -Control -Spin= Total

Nike One /2 - 4 - 2 - 2 =10
Nike PWR /3 -3 -3 -3 =12
Srixon AD333 /2- 3- 4 -2 =11
Srixon Z-URS /4 -2 -2 -5 =13
TopFlite Long & soft /4 -1 -4- 4 =13
Maxfli Noodle /2 -2 -3 -1 =8
Maxfli Black /5 -5 -4 -2 =16
Pinnacle Gold /5 -3 -4 -2 =14
Callaway HX HOT /3 -5 -3 -1 =12
Callaway HX Tour 56 /5- 5- 4 -4 =18
Titleist NXT /5 -5 -5 -2 =17
Titleist ProV1 /3 -5 -3 -5 =16


Now these are just my judgments anyone elses thoughts could be different to mine but I was quite susprised about the nike one ball as my swing didnt like it one bit also same with the maxfli noodle. Also I learnt that the titleist proV1 was not for me but the cheaper NXT is better for me plus the callaway HX tour 56 is one that I was hitting consistency with. So I now play with Callaway HX Tour 56 for matches and comps and just general knocking about on the course the Titleist NXT.

Wish you well in finding the one you like and also hope this post helps you.

Cheers
Mark

Re: How important is the ball?

Well written, Mark.

As you can take from Mark's data - different balls go different distances. How can you expect to score well if you're switching balls every other shot (hence effectively changing your distances with every ball change)?

Find one you like, and play it. When you switch balls (like I'll have to do when the Rev Tours run out), re-validate your yardages.

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi Mark,

what would be the difference in distance when you grade "2" or "5"?
If you where shooting for something like 200 meters/yards?

So one advice is after finding a ball you like, buy them a lot? Like 30 dozen:-)

Hannu

Re: How important is the ball?

That was my personal strategy. Part of the factor was that a) The Rev Tour has been discontinued, and b) They were clearing them out for 50% off or better.

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi Hannu,

Well the distance was the easiest to put a figure on. I currently with driving range balls hit a distance of around 250 / 260 yrds so I was using this as my mid point number 3. So based on this I was using the following

1= poor - decrease in distance of 30 + yrds
2= slightly poor - decrease in distance up to 30 yrds
3= average - normal driving distance 250 to 260 yrds
4= good - Increase in my distance of up to 30 yrds
5= fantastic - increase in distance 30 + yrds and on some nearly hitting 300 yrds

also for your info on the control I graded myself by

1=poor - 20% hit fairway but most where big slices
2=slightly poor - 40% of shots hit fairway and some were slices
3= average - 60% of shots hit fairway
4= good - 80% of shots hit fairway but some were faded unintentional
5= fantastic - 100% of shots hit fairway and were straight

for the spin then these figures were given out by the simulator
oh and also yes once you found one you like head of to your shop and buy loads thats what I did. Well it was also to do with the fact of buying loads from the USA when I was over there on hols as they are so cheaper than rip off United Kingdom

hope this answers your question but I must admit getting on the simulator was the best thing I done otherwise I would be still using the prov1 and be missing out on those extra yrds, which every golfer always needs.

Cheers
Mark

Re: How important is the ball?

Thanks Mark,

sounds impressive and 10% difference in distance is much.
I have to check our simulator. I've only used it once and we played a normal round on it. I am sure it has a program that gives plain information about the shots, too. It would be better for testing different balls.

This might be a good idea for our pro, too. I don't know that people have used the simulator for this purpose. (The fact that I don't know, does not mean that they haven't. I am new to golf.)

Hannu

Re: How important is the ball?

hi mark,
your stats make great reading!. ive settled for titliest nxt after trying many cheaper options would i be right to assume then that range balls are at the bottom of the scale? i have to really catch it sweet to hit 200yds and my normal slight fade becomes a quite nasty slice.could that be down to poor quality balls?

Re: How important is the ball?

I think another factor people are leaving out in the golf ball choice is the main course they play.

I'm still looking for a good ball for myself. Right now I tend user more of the cheep distance balls. Mostly because temperatures can still be pretty cool here and my swing isn't where it should be yet. I hate to lose all those expensive balls early in the year.

Sorry for the slight tangent. Back on topic. I live in a pretty dry region. The soil has a pretty high clay content. Which means that when the greens are watered enough to keep them healthy they are also very soft. So if you get a high spin ball, you can spin it right off the green pretty easily if the greens are mowed short for a tournament.

Here's an example. Last year before our 3 man scramble tournament I decided to buy some MaxFli Noodles that were they're extra spin models.
Our second hole of the day was a par 3 that they moved the tees up to the women's tee box. We're sitting at 100 yards, so I hit a gripped down 3/4 punch shot with my pw. Land 5 inches from the right side of the cup. My ball spun back 20 feet. I flew a lot greens the rest of the day as I was always trying to land my ball on the very back of the green to keep it close to the pin.

What I'm trying to say is, just because you might find one ball that you hit far, straight, and with a lot of spin. You may be better off finding one that isn't high in every category to fit your game and to fit your course.

Re: How important is the ball?

The May 2006 issue of Consumer Reports rates golf balls. They've got the Nike Power Distance Super Soft rated second out of 25 and a "Best Buy."

I bought some used but in nice condition NXT and NXT Tour balls from eBay and played with them today. I was pleased with the balls.

Bill

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi Slater,
Range balls do vary quite a bit in quality and also damage through every day use will effect performance. You often will find the owner of the range has different conditions to when they change their balls. Some ranges just top up on their stock with new balls but others do actually replace their stock usually on a yearly basis. The range I go to the owner does replace all his range balls on a yearly basis and the balls he gets are ones from top flite he did tell me that his stock is of 20,000 balls thats right 20,000 balls they must come in barrels.

If you know the owner well at the range just ask him about his range balls then that will give you a good idea of what your hitting with.

Cheers
Mark

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi dannyra,

That does make intresting reading I wish our greens in the UK where like that on some of them. The greens I play on sometimes you can spin the ball and sometimes it just stops dead and this all comes down to our lovely weather.

But coming back to your point your quite right finding a ball which plays well around the greens is also important.

Cheers
Mark

Re: How important is the ball?

Hi mark,
im looking for a low spin ball someone suggested titliest pts so/lo and pinnacle exception. im trying to find a ball that can cut down sidespin while im getting my swing sorted. i tend to fade/slice the ball i have been using nxt but think that ball is above my ability. i have just bought a mspeed cobra 3 wood as the demo guy said i had a medium swing speed