Setting Titlelist Pro V1s aside, what's the best 3-piece ball for the buck?

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Now for the last couple of months, I've been playing Pinnacle Exceptions, a 2-piece ball which has about the most feel and spin for around the greens of the ones I have played.

I also one day found a box of Hogan Apex Tours for $30 and in a somewhat impulsive buy, snagged them. Apex Tours are actually 4-piece balls if the information on the box is correct, and I will say the difference between them and the Exceptions around the greens is amazing.

I can get Apex Tours to do the hop-hop-stop move on short shots, when I get the ball with a good solid strike, and it squirts out. Get back far enough, and I can even get some wedge shots to back up a bit.

And I'm definitely getting to the point where I can make use of a ball that can spin and stop. So I'm trying to find out what 3-piece balls have good spin qualities, good feel, and won't take too much money out of my pocket.

Or has anyone found a good-priced 2-piece ball that can spin as well as a 3-piece?

[dave.]

Stick with the Hogans if they suit your game.But you could try the Bridgestone B330 (not the S) or the NXT,not the Tour,or the Srixon Z-UR.The standard Callaway HX Tour is good but durability is an issue,as it is with the Bridgestone tbh.The NXT is a great all round ball though.

But for me the Pro V1 is still the beasty

[Rockford35]

Define "bang for the buck".

If you lose 3 balls a round, don't buy 3 peice balls. If you don't, buy either Bridgestone B300s or Callaway HX.56 Tours. Best bang for your buck.....if you don't lose balls.

R35

[Pa Jayhawk]

If you lose 3 balls a round, don't buy 3 peice balls.

The 10 dozen Maxfli Tour Rev's that I picked up for $11.99 a dozen fit well within my price range and ball usage needs. Even 3 piece balls are worthy of hitting into the woods at $11.99 a dozen.

The bad part about this entire thing is that I rarely loose more than one ball on any course other than my home course. Yet my average is still over 3 a round.

[Bravo]

If you average 3 a round, I would try something like a Noodle...even the Precept MC Laddie is a good ball for the money.

I recently tried out the Bridgestone e5 recently. Since Precept discontinued the U-Tri Tour it is my guess that this ball is the replacement for it...

This is a $25 dozen ball at Dicks or Golfsmith etc. It is a good performing ball for the money. If you are playing on a course where you have good success in keeping the ball from hole to hole - you might want to try them...they perform well for the money...

[SiberianDVM]

With my game, I buy used Titleists DT SoLo on eBay for $40 a hundred. When I lose 6 a round I just laugh.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Define "bang for the buck".

If you lose 3 balls a round, don't buy 3 peice balls. If you don't, buy either Bridgestone B300s or Callaway HX.56 Tours. Best bang for your buck.....if you don't lose balls.

R35

I hardly ever lose balls anymore. Probably one of the many reasons my scores have been trending downwards.

I stopped at a Dick's on the way home. They had Maxfli Black Maxes on sale for 30 bucks, so I'm going to give them a spin. Yeah, spin, I hope they'll have some around the greens.

[15andlife]

I dont know if its a 3-Piece but I found a Nike ONE GOLD a while back and actually love it I can get it to back up quite a bit and it actually feels nice and soft putting. But at the same price as the Pro V1s there a little heavy on the wallet.

[dave.]

Blackmax is a great ball,just not very durable

[1BadHusker]

I try new balls all the time, and I just picked up some Titleist HP-Tour from my local Target (on sale for $22.96/dozen). I played a 9 hole round with them and shot a 42, which is a score I don't get to very often. My drives seemed to be consistently more accurate and found the fairway almost all the time. They are also soft enough that they have a VERY good feel with wedge shots around the green. They do not appear very durable though, as the ball I played 9 holes with does have scuff marks on it already.

I also keep coming back to Callaway HX-Hots. If I watch my local Target I can also get them for $22.96 a dozen when they are on sale. The HX-Hots are my favorite ball out of all I have played.

I am a sucker for sales, and everytime I see a ball I may want to try on sale, I buy a box. Right now I have a helluva stockpile--probably enough to last the rest of the year!!

[ualtim]

If you can still find some Stratas, you can get a good deal on a good 3-piece ball. There have been some complaints of durability issues, but I played 2 and a half rounds with the same ball the other week and only retired it due to a cart path scuff. I have not paid more than $12.95 a dozen for any of my Stratas (Pro Control and Tour Straights) and found some that were logo overruns for $4.95 a dozen. I am currently sitting on about 8 and half dozens of Stratas as I stocked up when they stopped making them. Golfsmith is marketing a Snake Eyes multi piece ball which is probably verry similar to a Strata. Their 2-piece ball is made my Top Flite and is almost identical to the old TF-2000 ball. I have not found out who makes the multi piece ball yet, but it is probably still TF and probably very similar to one of the discontinued Strata lines. Maybe in a couple of years when I run out of Stratas or if GS offers an awesome sale price I will check them out.

[warbirdlover]

The Callaway HX Hot is a three piece ball I believe and isn't too bad.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

I got 6 holes in before rain, rain, and more rain. So much for the passing showers they called for.

The Black Max spun decently, I was able to put a pretty good stop on a 5-iron from 165 yards out of light rough that with a 2-piece ball would have scooted through the green.

Didn't see any scuffing in the few shots I got with it.

Didn't seem to get as much spin as the Hogan Apex Tours. But the distance was fine, and it had some bite with irons into the greens.

[NBGolfer]

I am trying to play all year with the DT Solo, and I putt with pro V1's. Too tight to play with them all the time ha, but I really like the DT's!
I also won a sleave of Srixon's I used them for a short time and liked those as well.

[chollyred]

Got a couple of 2-ball packs of the Pinnacle Exceptions and Titleist NXTs. Like the Exceptions, but fell in love with the NXTs. Unfortunately, they're also $26/dz.

Guess what I asked for Father's Day?