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Does the ball you use really make a difference?

Caddy Daddy
I can switch between the ProV1 and TP5 as they perform similarly for me
 
Regardless of age, anyone can practice and get good at the short game. Tailoring your ball to how you like to play your short game, to me, is where anyone can shave strokes by having the right type of ball.
 
*Range Rat said:
Complicated answer but...
if you're not a professional or scratch level to low single digit amateur you can play any ball from the major brands in the $15 to $25 price range without worry; they are all good balls that will not hurt your game.
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Not sure if anyone has responded back so if so sorry haha.
I’d agree that you could play any and not hurt your game but if you get fit for one or play one that compliments your game then it certainly will help.
 
*Range Rat said:
Complicated answer but...
if you're not a professional or scratch level to low single digit amateur you can play any ball from the major brands in the $15 to $25 price range without worry; they are all good balls that will not hurt your game.
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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!
 
DataDude said:
To me they matter a ton. I am short and don't hit a ton of greens. How the ball performs in the short game is super important. Trying to balance that with excess spin in the long game is important too. I just think it's super important.
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This sums it up perfectly for me. In addition to that, I don't generate the most swing speed/spin. So it's nice to have balls (tp5's) that check up real quick with wedges into the green.
 
campilobaxter said:
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!
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And that just shows how different golfers are and how differently the ball can affect them. The e12 Contact is significantly longer off the driver and fairway woods for me (and much straighter).
 
*Range Rat said:
Complicated answer but...
if you're not a professional or scratch level to low single digit amateur you can play any ball from the major brands in the $15 to $25 price range without worry; they are all good balls that will not hurt your game.
Click to expand...
I strongly disagree with this statement. I agree off the tee it’s not a big deal but around the greens there is a huge difference in a urethane cover and an non urethane cover
 
I would say the first time you can semi regularly make solid contact with the ball and have some sort of control over where you want it to go. I know others have said the first day but I don't know anyone who feels the need to hit a ProV1 when they are a beginner holding the club for the first time and all balls perform the same off the hosel.
 
sposey013168 said:
I strongly disagree with this statement. I agree off the tee it’s not a big deal but around the greens there is a huge difference in a urethane cover and an non urethane cover
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I'd say that depends upon the ball, it depends upon the greens and it depends upon the player. I'm not high spin, and the greens I usually play are pretty hard and don't check worth a damn. I've gone to the practice green with ProV1s, Chrome Softs, Q Star Tours, Supersofts and the old Bridgestone e6s, spent an hour messing around with them, and couldn't tell one bit of difference in terms of how they checked up on pitches and chips.
 
How can you get fitted for a ball if you don't strike the ball consistently? There is no scientific way to make a statistical choice without every other aspect of the shot being the same. I can't see how ball selection can be that critical to a high handicap golfer. You have to hit it consistently before you can tell performance differences. To me, this means just go with what feels best to you until you become a consistent ball striker.
 
Walter Hickman said:
At what level of play does a ball make a difference and save strokes?
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I would say once you get to around a 15 handicap. The ball doesnt really matter if you are hacking it around the course in 130 strokes but when you get to where you can somewhat control your distance and direction and want the ball to stop quickly when it hits the green, the ball matters.
You could give a 30 handicap a dozen Pro V1s and its not really going to matter though.
 
gmiller598 said:
I would say the first time you can semi regularly make solid contact with the ball and have some sort of control over where you want it to go. I know others have said the first day but I don't know anyone who feels the need to hit a ProV1 when they are a beginner holding the club for the first time and all balls perform the same off the hosel.
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^ I'd agree with that. A beginner isn't going to have consistent anything, and they're not going to be hitting a lot of greens or relying on cute little touch chips. Until you can make consistent contact with the ball and have some kind of control over your short game, just pick a halfway decent ball that feels good to you and stick with it - the game becomes a lot more expensive when you're losing two sleeves of ProV1s every round!
 
After over 40 years playing golf (from rank beginner to hoping to break 90 hack to high school Team MVP to consistent mid to high 70s shooter back to 13 hdcp chop) i can honestly never remember saying after playing any of the thousands of rounds of golf i've played "If i had just used a [insert ball name here] instead of a [insert ball name here] i would've shot 79 not a 82". #WordsNeverUtteredByGolfers
 
*Range Rat said:
After over 40 years playing golf (from rank beginner to hoping to break 90 hack to high school Team MVP to consistent mid to high 70s shooter back to 13 hdcp chop) i can honestly never remember saying after playing any of the thousands of rounds of golf i've played "If i had just used a [insert ball name here] instead of a [insert ball name here] i would've shot 79 not a 82". #WordsNeverUtteredByGolfers
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Perfect. Another misnomer that we hope to continue to better educate golfers on.
 
Don't understand :confused2: Are you implying that i'm lying?
 
*Range Rat said:
Don't understand :confused2: Are you implying that i'm lying?
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Nope. Just wrong.
Like cavity backs, hybrids, graphite shafts and countless others, the golf ball and what it does and why is vastly misunderstood. Which we have shown in testing videos with data how much difference it can make.
 
Agree with those that say it matters at all levels. I consistently play with guys that don't care what kind of ball they use, and then they complain about their ball not checking up on the green like a urethane-covered ball would. Of course, it doesn't make a huge difference off the tee and with irons, but around the greens it's really noticeable. So if a premium cover ball is not out of the budget (Kirkland Signature are relatively cheap and have urethane covers) then that is what I always recommend.
 
Evolvingwildes said:
Of course, it doesn't make a huge difference off the tee and with irons, but around the greens it's really noticeable.
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a simple ball change with no other changes can be 10-12 yards of difference with an 8 iron. Can reduce spin by hundreds of rpms with driver. We have a number of videos showing this, but here is a good one with @Canadan from the tech studio.

 
I really think it does. I wish I could find a good ball fitter and figure out which one I should be using. I would have no problem committing to one for a full season if I could figure out what's best for me.
 
JB said:
a simple ball change with no other changes can be 10-12 yards of difference with an 8 iron. Can reduce spin by hundreds of rpms with driver. We have a number of videos showing this, but here is a good one with @Canadan from the tech studio.
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I should have said "it doesn't make as large of a difference off the tee or with irons as in the short game (IMO)" but also didn't realize that it could be THAT big of a difference. Thanks for linking the video, that's pretty crazy that changing the ball can be that drastic with short/mid irons.
 
So to answer the original poster, and based on the ball fitting video. I still have to say the ball doesn't make a difference until a person becomes a consistent ball striker. The proof is the video, with a consistent swing you can can see statistical differences in the ball.
 
jpotas said:
So to answer the original poster, and based on the ball fitting video. I still have to say the ball doesn't make a difference until a person becomes a consistent ball striker. The proof is the video, with a consistent swing you can can see statistical differences in the ball.
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I think it might matter more, but shouldn’t be dismissed. One that isn’t compressing the ball or having multiple impact locations with different rates of energy transfer, will find a ball easier to compress far more consistent.
 
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