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Balls, is there any difference

Kamshaft

Well-Known Member
Aug 1, 2005
3
0
Ok, so I only know from personal experience that a 100 compression ball feels different then a 90 in that it feels like a rock came off the face of a club. Im about a 16 handicap, bogey golf, and I just cant tell the difference between all of them. I usually play Titleist balls, and stay away from top flight. Anyone have any thoughts? Today I saw a volvick crystal golf ball and wonderd what the help golf companies are thinking? Is it worth the money for the Callaways phil plays with? Pro V-1's? All opinions welcomed.
 

Kilted Arab

Well-Known Member
Apr 30, 2005
1,202
4
I'm a 16 handicapper as well, and to be honest i don't think it makes a lot of difference at my level - i think my game has far more to worry about than which ball I use.. :mad: . Getting my swing right will help my game, changing balls won't.


I used to use Titleist all the time...NXT, pro v1, pro v1x etc. I think just because I liked the logo..!

Now I use Callaway warbirds. Maybe feel slightly different, but can't see any real difference in performance. I use them because they had a slogan on the box...something like.."Use these...you'll need your binoculars"! Liked the slogan, bought the balls. And 1/2 the price of the Titleist as well.

I like being consistent in the ball I use, though - a psychological thing, I guess.
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
As always, I will recommend the Pro V1x. It's the longest ball you will hit.

Unfortunately, at a 16 handicap, spin is your enemy. Odds are you either slice or hook the ball. In this case, you should use a harder ball with SOME feel around the greens. The harder ball will spin less off the clubface and hold the line a bit more.

Distance balls are good for you in this case. The Warbird KA suggested is a "hard" ball and I'm sure he's experienced better success with it.

My personal choice is the Precept "Lady" ball. It's LONG and still has some touch around the green. You just don't get that sidespin action with it.

If you are straight, i.e. can control the sidespin on your ball, and are still a 16, you are probably a short hitter. Then I would definitely suggest the Pro V1x. It'll give you added length AND spin and stop on the green.

I know a guy who is a 2 that used to only use Top Flights. He just never thought a ball would make that much of a difference. Last year he switched to the V1x, and he's still a 2. He's longer, yes. And the ball has more feel around the green, but it doesn't mean the BALL is all of a sudden going to make him a +3.

Sadly, what the ball companies DON'T want you to know, is that you are only going to play as well as your skills will let you play. The ball is kind of irrelevant for your low, mid and high cappers.

I play V1x's exclusively and am a 7 handicap. I bet I could take any rock-flite out tomorrow and shoot about the same as I would with the V1x. I'd probably have to take an extra club into each green. And I'd have to provide for more roll-out on my chips. But all-in-all, I doubt I'd shoot any worse.

My pal that is a 2 was kind of expecting big things. He's still a 2, but he shoots under par a HELL of a lot more often now than he did. Is it the ball, or another year's experience? Because he's a better player, he's more accurate with his wedge into a green than a 9 iron. The extra distance the V1x gives him allows him to hit small clubs in.

Myself, I'm no more accurate with a SW as a 7-iron. Either of those clubs can be pulled, pushed, fatted, thinned, faded or hooked on any given swing. The thing that I like about the V1x in my game, extra-distance-wise, is that when I chunk that SW, I usually only have a chip left. When I chunk a 9 iron using a less-long ball, I still have a delicate pitch. That's where playing the better ball helps me.

Realistically though, for the mid to high handicapper, the ball doesn't matter all that much. Will you make a rock-flite dance and spin back? Not a chance, but how often do you hit it past the hole anyway? Only on a skull for me. The only balls I've spun this year with the V1x have spun down slopes and off the green. Not ONCE have I ended up closer to the hole on account of how much the V1x spins.

You have to have a LOT of confidence to consistently TRY to hit the ball past the pin.

Buy what you like. If you are going to go high-end, get the V1x.
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
Supporting Member
Apr 16, 2005
7,154
32
The above post contradicts most of what I know to be true about the golf ball???

It was my understanding that the top flites went further than the ProV1 or ProV1x. I thought the main difference was that the top flights were a solid 2 piece ball with a cheap hard cover providing great distance (low spin) and little feel and the ProV's were a 3 piece with a softer eurathane cover providing a high spin rate and better feel.

I'm not sure but I thought that the difference between the X and regular ProV I thought was in the amount of spin off the clubface.
 

cyberious

Planet Love Tron
Feb 19, 2005
527
2
Here's what I can tell you as a "feel" player. As you'd expect a high compresion ball feels harder like wise a softer ball feels softer. During Iron play though with a high compression ball you either don't feel the ball when you make PERFECT contact or you feel like you just hit a brick. Softer balls feel pretty consistent all around. Generally I prefer the feel of golf balls like the ProV1 particularly when I'm chipping and more importantly putting. If you want the feel of a more expensive ball at a cheaper price you can always try some of the "ladies" balls which may not give you al of the distance but htey certainly will give you the feel.

As a side note one ball that I've noticed is a compromise between a pure distance ball and a softer one is the Pinnacle Exception. Not a bad ball for 18 USD a dozen.
 

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
5,822
15
VtDivot said:
The above post contradicts most of what I know to be true about the golf ball???

It was my understanding that the top flites went further than the ProV1 or ProV1x. I thought the main difference was that the top flights were a solid 2 piece ball with a cheap hard cover providing great distance (low spin) and little feel and the ProV's were a 3 piece with a softer eurathane cover providing a high spin rate and better feel.

I'm not sure but I thought that the difference between the X and regular ProV I thought was in the amount of spin off the clubface.

The ProV1's (in my experience) go farther than the Top-Flites. Other than that, you are right that the Pro-V1's do spin more and have better feel.

And I agree with Augster that I could pick up a Pinnacle and play to my normal handicap with it once I adjusted to the longer roll out on approach shots and chips and pitches. I think it would be harder for me to do though.

I think a high spin ball does enable you go go lower from time to time because (for example) if you are Short Sided around a green - you simply do not have room for additional roll out. In this situation, the hard ball will not permit you to have the opportunity to keep it close to the hole as you would with a high spin ball. This is why people who play golf for a living want the high spin ball. Given the multitude of potential situations you could face during any given round - a high spin ball will give you the best opportunity to get it close - and keep it close.

I played the Pro-V1's for several years and recently switched to the Precept U-Tri Tour - which is about 95% as good and much cheaper. It has identical feel as a soft ball though and I like the tactile feedback you get from a soft ball.

I would advise mid-to-high handicappers to try a reasonably priced high(er) spinning ball such as a Precept Lady or Noodle etc. The additional cost over a hard ball is fairly small but the higher spin of these balls can help in certain situations - like the one I described above.
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
You are exactly correct Bravo.

There are some situations that the premium balls absolutely WILL help you save strokes. Just as you mentioned.

The reason the average distance on the PGA tour has jumped 25 yards in the last 10 years IS the introduction of these new balls.

In the 80's and early 90's, all the pro's played balata balls. They NEED that softness around the green. They play extremely hard/firm greens and you'd NEVER get a rock-flite to stop on them. It'd be like rolling a ball across linoleum.

Ever try to hit a balata with a driver? I implore you to try and hit one 250+. It just isn't happening. It's just way too soft.

But with the introduction of, originally, the Titleist Professional, then followed a couple years later by the ProV1, the pro's now had the distance off the driver of playing a rock-flite, while also having the balata feel around the greens.

They have done some amazing things with computers in the last 10 years. Ball design has blossomed because of it.

Oh, and VT, there isn't a legal ball that I have ever hit that is longer than the ProV1x. That includes any rock-flight distance ball you'd like to try against it. If you NEED distance, say for a scramble or whatever, get yourself the cheater-ball, the V1x.
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
Supporting Member
Apr 16, 2005
7,154
32
Augster said:
Oh, and VT, .... If you NEED distance, say for a scramble or whatever, get yourself the cheater-ball, the V1x.

Call me crazy, but I like the original ProV better than the X. I'm a high spin player and technically because of this I should prefer the X, but I just find it a little too hard for my liking. I don't find I can get any more distance out of the X either (at least enough to make me notice anyways)
 

IrishGolfer

Fac ut gaudeam
Supporting Member
Sep 1, 2004
6,542
4,976
I can't believe I forget to tell Rock.

I've been playing the Callaway HX Blue for the past few rounds. Despite my slump I can't blame that on the ball, no wait, can I? Really?.....(er, change of direction)...it's a horrendous ball that will completely throw your game. Don't ever play it, despite it being soft and long and cheaper than the PV1 and HX Tour. ;)
 

Dave Ireland

I'm sizzlin tonite
Aug 31, 2004
1,388
0
I always found that if the "Big Dog" was off form, rather than putting the driver away if you play a high compression - Top Flite, Pinnacle etc that the ball wouldn't move as much in the air with less spin on it ... as you say the problem arises at the scoring end of the game, where chipping and putting are more about feel ...

I'm sold on the Srixon Hi-Brid Tour at the moment ... I don't think I've played a better ball ever ... I'm glad me Maxfli A10's can't hear that ...as they're lying in either a watery grave or Farmer John's field next to the course ..
 

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