Flooder's ball fitting experience

[Flooder]

So I got to go through the Bridgestone Ball Fitting yesterday and thanks to luck there was no one waiting to go next so I spent nearly 30 minutes with the guys. They were fantastic to talk with. I thought I knew enough about golf balls having read so much here, but I still learned more yesterday.

As you know, they start with, "What ball are you playing now?" which is a terrible question for me as I have been playing a little bit of everything. Recently I had a couple good rounds with ProV1x so that's what I used as my baseline ball. Of course the ProV1x has a compression of like 95 which is WAY TOO HIGH for most of us (certainly for me) as I learned yesterday.

Luckily for me, without much/any warmup I was swinging pretty well. Over the course of 20 balls I had 2 or 3 not so good, but they tossed those out. After the ProV1x they had me hit the Tour B330-RX (of course). So here are the results (from memory so a little fuzzy)...

Club speed - 104-106
Ball speed - 130ish with V1x, 140ish with the RX (not sure if I'm remembering this right)
Launch angle - 6-10 with V1x, 11.7-12.6 with the RX (12.0 was optimum for my swing speed, so right on the money!)
Backspin - forgot the number but LOW with the V1x - 2800 avg. with the RX (a little high)
Side spin - interestingly/strangely I was hitting a baby draw with the V1x and a baby fade with the RX (side spin was around 600 each way)
Distance - 210-220 with the ProV1x and 240-250 with the RX (seems like it should still be more, but not bad)

I hate that the RX fades even a little as a slice is my miss with the driver, but you can't argue with the rest of the numbers. I tried the RXS, but the spin is too high for me. They gave me some of both to try out. I asked about the Qstar out of curiosity, but they didn't have any of them yet.

We then discussed my wife's game at length and they gave me 2 packs of IQ+, 2 of the e6 AND 2 of the new Bridgestone Fixx ball for her to try. The fix is a low compression with a softer cover as I understood it, and is only $19/dozen.

Here are some tibbits I learned/was reminded of; maybe they'll be helpful to someone else.

- Compressing the ball is mandatory to get the proper distance out of it. Low compression has some to do with side spin, but...
- Cover is more key. Softer the cover the more likely to impart side-spin with the driver.
- The ProV1 is the highest compression AND softest cover ball in golf. In other words, wrong for most players. According to the Bstone guys don't listen to the adds, the pros are NOT playing the ProV1 you buy in the store. They are playing custom balls printed "ProV1" or 2007 versions of the ProV1 which was apparently a fantastic ball.
- Optimum launch angle varies with swing speed (I don't know why, but I always forget this)


Frankly after what I saw yesterday, we all need to be thinking carefully about the fitting process. What I mean is, if you go to be fit for clubs, make sure you are hitting a ball that fits you during the process. Otherwise, you are not really getting the right information.

 

[KellyBo]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am really finding out how important finding the right compression is to my game after testing the Precept iQ+. I am hitting the ball so much better and further because I am compressing it so much better.

 

[jdtox]

Very interesting. I am hoping to do a live fitting with these guys at a local course in september.

 

[hartattack52]

Nice write up. I would like to do one at some point.

 

[jeremyheslop]

Good info about compression. I was going to start a new thread, but you pretty much summed up what I have been reading on the net. However I read that compression matters less than it used to. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

[DawgDaddy]

Good info about compression. I was going to start a new thread, but you pretty much summed up what I have been reading on the net. However I read that compression matters less than it used to. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

I would think compression would matter very much, if you cannot compress the ball how can you get optimal distance from it?

 

[Damaikis]

Yeah I had one of these done too and it was fantastic! It really helped my game a ton!


---
- I wish golf was as easy as Tapatalk.

 

[Hawk]

Iirc, compression used to be talked about more (and was marked on the ball) because some saw it as an indicator of the quality of the ball. This was in the days of wound balls. It is still very important in achieving optimal results off the tee.

 

[jeremyheslop]

How important is compression?

Ball compression should not be a factor in determining the best ball for you. In fact, no single element of design can be used by itself to predict performance or best fit a golfer. The Titleist golf ball line has a range of compressions and all are long at all swing speeds. Finding the best ball for you should be results focused - helping you shoot your lowest scores.

Interesting thoughts from Titleist: http://www.titleist.com/golf-ball-fitting/

Might be FUDD but interesting either way. I agree a ball should be hit and tested not just blindly used based on spec's But you would think as DD said above if you can't compress the ball then you'll loose distance.

 

[JR]

Interesting stuff Flooder. I don't think the Pro V is the Highest compression out there, but it is still pretty stout.

 

[McRock]

Sounds like a great ball fitting experience. I tried out the Bridgestone 330-s, but was not that happy about it. It was fine off the irons and around the green, but terrible off the driver. It had a small ballooning effect.

As long as were talking about compression, I can remember when 100 lb balls were black logo black number, and 90 lb balls were black logo red number. As Hawk said, this was particularly true back in the days of wound balls, and lasted until sometime after 2000.

I assume that now, the color of the logos and the color of the numbers has nothing to do with compression rating. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Flooder]

Interesting stuff Flooder. I don't think the Pro V is the Highest compression out there, but it is still pretty stout.

You are correct, not sure why I said that. It is the highest spin and one of the higher compression but not the highest. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to the guy that I had tried the Callaway Tour iz and HATED IT, and he said, "Good, you should. That's the highest compression ball in golf". Not sure if that's true, but I thought it was amusing the way he said it.

 

[nickpergande]

Im hoping to attend a fitting to get a feel for more brands without having to purchase them and get the one that fits my game the best

 

[tgtt]

You are correct, not sure why I said that. It is the highest spin and one of the higher compression but not the highest. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to the guy that I had tried the Callaway Tour iz and HATED IT, and he said, "Good, you should. That's the highest compression ball in golf". Not sure if that's true, but I thought it was amusing the way he said it.

I'm soooo in love with the I(z)!!

 

[Flooder]

I'm soooo in love with the I(z)!!

Glad you like it. It was weird but every time I chipped with it I would get a "click" sound - drove me nuts, but mainly it was totally wrong for me with the driver cause I can't compress it enough. You must have one hell of a swing speed. From what I understand you would need to be north of 115 with the driver to get optimal results from that ball.