Nah. No more than say.. which twin you sleep with. Same same. All good.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
I believe you should play a ball you can afford to lose
What he said.I am a high handicapper that does not hit the ball very far. The one thing I value in a ball is consistency. That said I have found several balls within my budget that perform similarly and I know what to expect from them. The ball you play DOES make a difference. However I am sure it is more important for better players who shape shots and can control spin on the green. I just need to be confident that the ball will consistently hit my distances and feel "right" coming off the clubhead.
It's not so much the particular ball as the sticking with one for more than a round or two that breeds confidence. For me at least.I thought about it a bit more this weekend while playing one of the better, if not best, rounds of my short golf tenure. I think there's also something to be said for a ball that inspires confidence. There's a purely mental aspect that translates to the swing when you worry too much about the ball at your feet. I've 100% been guilty of changing out balls to a spare when faced with water, or a narrow fairway with unrecoverable terrain and it's gotten in my head. By the same measure I've been conscious of playing a shiny new ProV1 expecting it to perform a certain way and then flubbing fundamental mechanics. There needs to be a balance, and acceptance from the player.
I played a course with a surprising amount of water this weekend and after the first few swings didn't even think about the ball I played. Just pulled one of the two out of my pocket and worried more about playing smart golf than what/how the ball would perform. It worked really well and I didn't really notice whether I was playing a Kirkland or a Chrome Soft X until I was lining up my putts.
So while I'm all for a quality budget ball, it has to be something you're comfortable with. If you think you went too cheap and you're playing a piece of cr*p, it may affect your game. By the same measure if you're a less consistent golfer and are playing with balls at $50/box and having to scramble to the pro-shop at the turn to buy more, you may want to rethink.
At what level of play does a ball make a difference and save strokes?
It's not so much the particular ball as the sticking with one for more than a round or two that breeds confidence. For me at least.
When the new Titleist balls came out, for some reason I first tried the Pro V1 even though I'd always preferred the Pro V1x. Probably as much by luck as anything, I happened to have an amazingly good stretch of holes in the middle of that first round with the new ball. Like a 10-hole stretch of four over par (which for a 17 handicap feels like the Bishop's round in Caddyshack!). So I stuck with it for 4-5 more rounds and probably averaged a couple strokes better than usual. Again, pretty sure it was just a couple weeks where I was playing well but IT'S GOTTA BE THE BALL, MAN.
So I'm still playing Pro V1. And that confidence thing is starting to build. Every time I hit a short iron close to the hole I remember a couple other short irons I've hit close since I switched balls. Or I hole a couple long putts and think back, "Hey, I made a couple long putts last weekend too".
Of course the real test comes when I have a bad stretch of play and can't do anything right. But honestly, at this point I've built up enough good vibrations with this ball that I'll be able to wait out the bad spells. I hope so, anyway.
I found the same thing with a Cut ball that some of us received through the forum a couple of years ago. It definitely was not as long off the driver and I believe that it was due to excessive spin. I could never have sacrificed the 15 to 20 yards that I lost on a regular basis.I would have agreed up until several weeks ago. I put the new Bridgestone Contact up against other similar balls as part of the THP/Bridgestone testing and the Contact was 20 yards short off the driver for me. I can't afford to give up 20 yards on my drives!
If you play golf, it matters.At what level of play does a ball make a difference and save strokes?
Totally agree that most of what manufacturers say is BS! With one exception for me... Bridgestone. Specifically Tour BXS which I game. It’s genuinely long off the tee with lower spin, high spinning with the shorter irons, checks nicely when chipped and pitched, feels good off the club face and the putter. Most manufacturers claim their ball “has it all” but many fall short in at least some area. For me, Bridgestone balls really do have it all.I have tried to play the ProV1 (I find tons of them!) but they just do not work for me. My preferred ball is the Bridgestone Tour BRX. It is longer than the ProV1 and putts better and chips better for me. I tend not to lose balls so one will last me an entire round of 76 strokes. Callaway is a lousy choice for me as it just feels off. I have tried nearly every kind of ball in my 67 years of playing this game and most of what manufacturers tout is just plain BS and hype!
Totally agree that most of what manufacturers say is BS! With one exception for me... Bridgestone. Specifically Tour BXS which I game. It’s genuinely long off the tee with lower spin, high spinning with the shorter irons, checks nicely when chipped and pitched, feels good off the club face and the putter. Most manufacturers claim their ball “has it all” but many fall short in at least some area. For me, Bridgestone balls really do have it all.
Agree I was thinking about same thing, but I switched to softer balls and seen improvements in distance with irons.For years I thought no. That's why I always played TopFlite Gamer. But over the last 5 years I'd have to say yes. The ball matters a lot. Around the green and off the tee especially.