Golf Help: Choosing a Golf Ball

[Vintage]

So... basically, all of my life, I simply chose a golf ball, played with it until I ran out, and chose another one.

How do I correctly identify a golf ball that will be better suited for me?

For the experts out there: help!

 

[Doomsday101]

So... basically, all of my life, I simply chose a golf ball, played with it until I ran out, and chose another one.

How do I correctly identify a golf ball that will be better suited for me?

For the experts out there: help!

It is harder. Growing up balls had compression rates so based on the speed of your swing it was easy to get balls better suited for each golfer. Todays ball are made so much different I think the best thing to do is just try out different balls until you find some you like. Myself I tend to play titlest, pinnacle and Nike. long distance, less spin

 

[Vintage]

Silverbear!!!!!!!!!!111 Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rampage]

 

[peplaw06]

Did you hear about the Aggie who broke his leg trying to use the ball washer? He fell off.

 

[Hostile]

Softer core balls for a slow swing. Harder core balls for a fast swing.

 

[trickblue]

It depends on your style of play...

 

[masomenos]

I play Maxfli Noodles.

 

[peplaw06]

I play with Noodles.

t.m.i.

 

[ajk23az]

So... basically, all of my life, I simply chose a golf ball, played with it until I ran out, and chose another one.

How do I correctly identify a golf ball that will be better suited for me?

For the experts out there: help!

It all depends what you are looking for? Do you want better touch around the greens (ie; spin, softness) do you want more distance, control, etc?

I use Callaway Touri golf balls. They can cut easy if you have some sharp grooves on your wedges but in my opinion they are the best ball out there followed by Pro V1s, and Nike Platinums.

 

[lane]

it doesn't matter what ball you play really.

you got to hit it for it to perform.

having said that..

i like maxfli noodles and titliest the best.

i've hit top flites 300 yards as well......16.00 dollars for 15 at your local wal mart.

 

[ajk23az]

In my opinion, the type of ball you play really doesn't matter if you are not SERIOUS about the game. If you are just a once every 2 weeks golfer or something you might as well save your money and buy some $20-25/per dozen golf balls.

Just as long as you stay with one brand of ball because each ball has its own characteristics and they WILL perform differently.

 

[lane]

In my opinion, the type of ball you play really doesn't matter if you are not SERIOUS about the game. If you are just a once every 2 weeks golfer or something you might as well save your money and buy some $20-25/per dozen golf balls.

Just as long as you stay with one brand of ball because each ball has its own characteristics and they WILL perform differently.

putting is the most important aspect of the game.

once you get the speed under control... you will shave strokes.

consistent iron play is next.

 

[ajk23az]

putting is the most important aspect of the game.

once you get the speed under control... you will shave strokes.

consistent iron play is next.

I agree with putting. Everyone knows that, but I disagree with the iron play.

2nd most important is wedge play from 50-125 yards.

 

[silverbear]

Silverbear!!!!!!!!!!111 Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, Vintage...

The first thing you need to know is none of the responses thus far is completely right... trick came closest when he said it depends on your game...

First off, we need to discuss the construction of golf balls... when I was a club pro, golf balls were made either with a solid core, generally with a Surlyn cover, or with a small core surrounded by tightly wrapped rubber, generally with a balata cover...

The solid core Surlyn balls were lower performance, but were more durable, and cheaper... so if you were a hacker who often mis-hit shots, that was the ball for you... the wound core Balata balls were for your better players, they were easier to spin, and offered better touch around the greens... they were also a lot easier to cut, and more expensive... the marquee name in solid core Surlyn balls was the Spalding TopFlite, which I laughingly referred to as the "RockFlite", it was so hard... but it was a great ball in cold weather, even for the better players...

Wound balls offered another advantage, in that there were variations in how tightly the winding was done... 80 compression balls were for ladies, basically, 90 compression balls were for most male golfers (except those who were older, and had slower swing speeds)... 100 compression balls were for big hitters, but only in hot weather; they were wound so tightly that you really couldn't compress them in cooler weather, even if you were a very big hitter...

These days, though, all the balls seem to come with a solid core, most of them made from a substance called Polybutadiene... so the real difference comes in the cover, and there are a myriad of different covers out there...

So it all boils down to what kind of game you have, and how much you're willing to spend on a golf ball... keep in mind that if you're a mediocre to bad player, you risk cutting the cover on a mis-hit shot, so you need a ball with a more durable cover, or you're gonna go through a lot of money on golf balls... but if you're a better player, you don't want to sacrifice the spin or the touch around the green that a top-line ball provides...

Now, if you're asking what my personal preference is, I play the Titleist Pro V1... to my mind, it is the finest ball on the market today, but it's also quite pricey-- a dozen of them goes for 46 bucks over on the Edwin Watts website, nearly 4 bucks a ball... if you just don't like Titleist, a comparable ball would be the Nike One... both have a urethane cover, which is softer...

OTOH, if you want to save a little money, and still get a very playable ball (a kind of compromise for the average player, it offers some spin and touch, but a bit more durable cover and a more affordable price), you might want to try the Wilson Staff TX4 ball... it also has a softer urethane cover, but the core is a type of rubber, which makes it cheaper to produce... you can get a dozen of them for 30 bucks...

Again, though, let me know what kind of game you're working with these days, and I might be able to offer you a better take... what's your average distance off the tee, what kind of handicap are you playing to, what club would you use on a calm day from 150 yards out?? Do you have a problem with cutting the cover of your ball?? Do you rely heavily on your short game to keep your score down, or are you like me, not particularly good in close??

Answer those questions, and I might be able to find a specific ball to recommend for you... I just personally like the Pro V1, because I'm a snob when it comes to my equipment, and I demand the finest...

One funny note here-- I had to insert the hyphen in "mis-hit", or the cuss filter bleeped out the last four letters... LOL...

 

[ajk23az]

So it all boils down to what kind of game you have, and how much you're willing to spend on a golf ball... keep in mind that if you're a mediocre to bad player, you risk cutting the cover on a mis-hit shot, so you need a ball with a more durable cover, or you're gonna go through a lot of money on golf balls... but if you're a better player, you don't want to sacrifice the spin or the touch around the green that a top-line ball provides...

Every time you hit a golf ball, you risk cutting the cover. It doesn't matter if you are a high handicapper or a low handicapper. I played to a scratch before my knee surgery (last year) and still play to a 4-5 and I cut more golf balls up than my friends who play to 10-20 handicaps. Good and bad players are at the same risk of cutting their golf balls.

if you just don't like Titleist, a comparable ball would be the Nike One... both have a urethane cover, which is softer...

Agreed, Callaway, Titleist, & Nike are the best balls out there.

 

[Signals]

The Golf ball Guide.

 

[silverbear]

Every time you hit a golf ball, you risk cutting the cover. It doesn't matter if you are a high handicapper or a low handicapper. I played to a scratch before my knee surgery (last year) and still play to a 4-5 and I cut more golf balls up than my friends who play to 10-20 handicaps. Good and bad players are at the same risk of cutting their golf balls.

Actually, I almost never cut a ball...

For the average golfers out there, I can let you in on an interesting little tidbit regarding golf balls-- tour pros only play a ball for 3 holes, then they retire it to the practice bag... the reason?? Golf balls get minutely out of round each and every time you strike them with a full swing... I repeat, minutely...

I could never afford to do that, but I did replace one every six holes in tournament play...

 

[silverbear]

The Golf ball Guide.

That guide did a better job of explaining the types of balls than I did...

 

[peplaw06]

Actually, I almost never cut a ball...

For the average golfers out there, I can let you in on an interesting little tidbit regarding golf balls-- tour pros only play a ball for 3 holes, then they retire it to the practice bag... the reason?? Golf balls get minutely out of round each and every time you strike them with a full swing... I repeat, minutely...

I could never afford to do that, but I did replace one every six holes in tournament play...

I guess that's assuming they don't Tin Cup it on the 18th??? :