How do you pick your golf balls?

How do you pick your golf balls?

  • I play the same kind each time because they work

    Votes: 18 48.6%
  • I buy whatever is on sale

    Votes: 3 8.1%
  • I like to tinker so I try different things all the time

    Votes: 15 40.5%
  • A forum told me to only buy Titleist so I stick with that

    Votes: 1 2.7%

  • Total voters
    37

JB

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Since every club manufacturer says they are the best club out there, us players usually try clubs and go with what works best. With golf balls, marketing is obviously king. Titleist pays more than twice as many players to use their balls than any other company out there. And of course they made some great balls such as the ProV1 and ProV1x. They should be great, they stole patents to do it. (lol) But other than some marketing, most amateurs would never know that ball A has more spin than ball B. We are told that a 3 piece ball is spinnier than a two piece. But enough rambling. I want to know how and why you choose your golf balls.
 
I'd be happy to play a ProV1 but no golf ball is worth their recommended retail price (in my view). I play the Bridgestone 330s for basically 3 reasons (1) I've done my homework on the ball & they're every bit as good as the ProV (2) it was recommended by my teaching pro & trusted staff at my local pro shop (3) it performs sensationally for me.

Here's a link to the 2008 Hotlist reviews of golf balls & you'll see where the 330s was ranked. http://www.golfdigest.com/equipment/ratings/balls/2008/hotlist_balls

I also really like the Wilson Staff Zip ball. Very good performer, great value.
 
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Isnt the Bridgestone B330 Line the same price as the ProV1
 
TM Blacks for the last couple months, but had been using ProV1's for months before that. i try different balls, but in long cycles.
 
80% of the summer I played Nike One Platinums. I do and will keep on trying others. The TP red was getting some play late in the summer.
Now (snow today) and lately it has been Laddie Extreme.
 
Pro V1 for a while here although I tried Bridgestone E6 low spin ball recently. It was okay but I think I'll try the 330's next.
 
Isnt the Bridgestone B330 Line the same price as the ProV1

The guys at the pro shop of my home course look after me price wise with these. So I'd be crazy not to play them.
 
Isnt the Bridgestone B330 Line the same price as the ProV1

they're only a couple of bucks apart, both great balls

I'm always mixing it up, whatever is on sale. I am always finding Callaway HX Tours for 29.99 or something crazy like that.

On a completely random note, a friend gave me a sleeve of Top Flight D2 Feels. I have to say that is a great ball! If you can past the name on the ball you'd be surprised how they actually perform, and for 15.99 you can't beat it.
 
I play the TM Blacks. Mostly due to price...

I can get X outs for cheaper than any other premium ball out there. With as many as I put in the woods or the lake, or drive down the cartpath, I can't see the sense in spending $40 per doz.

I do like the way that they play though. They have good manners, fly pretty well, and stop on greens.
 
gummi, I picked up 4 dozen of TM Black X outs at my local Dick's for 14.99 a dozen... couldn't resist at that price
 
Yup. Edwin Watts a couple blocks from the house has them all the time for that price. Exactly why I play them. :D
 
I switch balls every couple of months, usually because somebody gives me a sleeve and I play well with them. Right now im playing the e6, which I like. Ive also found that you tend to find better deals on Bridgestones.
 
I don't notice a difference in balls...if I play poorly I usually attribute it to how I'm swinging or how I'm playing, I haven't gotten to blaming the ball yet. I think for me the psychology is a reverse sort of one...it's hard to get me to part with my cash as it is, so if I spend money on something, it needs to be much better and obviously so. I just get disappointed with those high expectations, I suppose.

Besides, you just hit cheap yellow range balls practicing, so why the need to change it all up so much at gametime? A football player plays and practices with a standard ball, an ice skater doesn't get new skates before the big show.
 
actually i think range balls are designed to have a limited flight. i often drop a few "real" golf balls(ones that i've found that i throw in my bag) at the driving range, and do you ever see a difference.
 
actually i think range balls are designed to have a limited flight. i often drop a few "real" golf balls(ones that i've found that i throw in my bag) at the driving range, and do you ever see a difference.

Depends where you are NVM. Many places use limited range balls, while others use the equivelant of X-outs from places like TopFlite and Pinnacle.
 
yah, i just know the two ranges near me use commercial grade balls. i just get real warmed up with their balls, and then whack a few of mine, and whoa, does it fly.
 
Limited Flight Balls

Limited Flight Balls

My range recently switched from full distance balls to limited flight balls, and I definitely notice a difference, particularly with the driver.

When they switched, I spent a fair amount of time looking into the issue, because switching facilities was not an option for me. What I found was that, generally speaking (anecdotal evidence only), balls labeled "Practice" are limited distance balls, while those labeled "Range" are full flight (albeit rock hard) balls.

The most common limited flight ball seems to be the Top-Flite "Range Limited Flight" which looks like this:

Topflightlimitedrangeballs-1.jpg


(Top Flite's other range balls (pictures and descriptions) can be found here:
http://topflite.com/balls/range/ )

My range clearly used the Top-Flite Range Limited Flight ball, but I couldn't find any specific description of what "limited flight" meant (including any explanation from anyone who worked at the range), so I emailed Top-Flite with questions about what made the balls limited flight, and what the exact effect would be on my ball flight. The next day, I received a response with a phone number to call.

When I called, I was told that the only difference between the Limited Flight balls and the full flight balls was the dimple pattern. The dimples were designed to result in a 25% shorter distance throughout all clubs. I was also told that the trajectory, including hooks/slices/etc was not affected. In other words, ball flight should be the same, except for distance. My own personal use (again anecdotal), however, seems to indicate that the persentage distance lost increases proportionally with the length of the club. That is, a driver loses a greater percentage of distance than a wedge.

I also took a few of the limited flight balls to a lesson with my pro (I returned the borrowed balls) and had him (+3 index) hit them to make sure the claims about trajectory were correct. My pro worked a few of the balls and concluded that the limited flight balls did indeed have an accurate ball flight.

EDIT: Here's a link to a USGA article on limited flight balls:
http://www.usga.org/turf/green_section_record/2002/sept_oct/limited-flight.html
 
Well, that saves me from telling Mike that Harry would happily give him a disquisition on limited flight balls.

I'm not good enough for balls to make enough of a difference, at least compared to lessons and practice. And I'm really not good enough to bother with three piece balls. I play Pinnacles because they're cheap.
 
I usually buy whatever is on sale, as many as I lose there isn't any point in paying a lot for balls. Weird thing is if I find a ProV, it never leaves the course with me. Usually finds a watery grave.
 
I use to just buy the sale "golf ball". I tried several different ones and after recieving a free dozen Nike One Platinums I was hooked, been using them for about 2 years.
 
Cost is a big consideration. Some balls are expensive! Lately I have been using Top Flite Straight balls, but earlier in the year I was using Tommy Armour Silver Scot balls (coincidentally, I was shooting lower scores then!). Suppose that's telling me something?
 
Cost is a big consideration. Some balls are expensive! Lately I have been using Top Flite Straight balls, but earlier in the year I was using Tommy Armour Silver Scot balls (coincidentally, I was shooting lower scores then!). Suppose that's telling me something?

For that price range, I think you could probably get a better ball if you wanted to. Look for the Nike Power Distance Soft on sale.

293900_im_____0_gsi
 
They were the XL's, not the D2's. I got em for 10 bucks a 15 pack. The Tommy Armours were 8 bucks a dozen. Harry, which of the two were you refering to?
 
They were the XL's, not the D2's. I got em for 10 bucks a 15 pack. The Tommy Armours were 8 bucks a dozen. Harry, which of the two were you refering to?

Ah. Well, you won't be able to get the Nikes for that. They will run you $12-$15 per dozen.
 
When I called, I was told that the only difference between the Limited Flight balls and the full flight balls was the dimple pattern. The dimples were designed to result in a 25% shorter distance throughout all clubs. I was also told that the trajectory, including hooks/slices/etc was not affected. In other words, ball flight should be the same, except for distance. My own personal use (again anecdotal), however, seems to indicate that the persentage distance lost increases proportionally with the length of the club. That is, a driver loses a greater percentage of distance than a wedge.

I also took a few of the limited flight balls to a lesson with my pro (I returned the borrowed balls) and had him (+3 index) hit them to make sure the claims about trajectory were correct. My pro worked a few of the balls and concluded that the limited flight balls did indeed have an accurate ball flight.

Not looking to spark a debate or disprove you on this, but....Personally I don't see how a limited range would be 100% accurate in it's flight shape. A Limited Range ball would spin less to achieve a shorter distance, thus the sidespin(hooks or slices) would be limited as well. I also don't see how the trajectory would be the same with a ball that is spinning less, due to the fact that the dimples/spin are what create lift. But I could be missing something here though, just my thoughts.
 
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