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Soft ball. Firm ball. What's the difference?

SuperStroke
Scorp

Scorp

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Another thread a THP'er mentioned that he preferred a firm golf ball.

Can someone explain like I'm 5 the difference between a firm ball and a soft ball?

Is firmness talking about compression or something completely different?
 
Its mostly about feel and trajectory. A harder ball with fly a little higher than a softer one but other than that, its mostly about feel and personal preference.
 
I like the feel of a softer ball.

So, for example, I just grabbed a Srixon Z-Star XV and a Callaway ERC Soft.

From the feel of each ball the Z-Star, to me, just feels like the cover harder and my fingers don't rub on the ball the same. When I bounce each ball against the ground the Srixon sounds much higher pitched than the Callaway ERC. Lastly, when I hit with a putter the Srixon just seems to bounce too fast for my swing vs the Callaway that I have a better judgment with on how hard I hit the putt.
 
Conventional wisdom says that a harder ball spins more.
 
Badger_Golfer said:
Its mostly about feel and trajectory. A harder ball with fly a little higher than a softer one but other than that, its mostly about feel and personal preference.
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Cool. So that sounds good to me. I'm not looking for any higher ball flight. I was just wondering...
 
fuffle master said:
I like the feel of a softer ball.

So, for example, I just grabbed a Srixon Z-Star XV and a Callaway ERC Soft.

From the feel of each ball the Z-Star, to me, just feels like the cover harder and my fingers don't rub on the ball the same. When I bounce each ball against the ground the Srixon sounds much higher pitched than the Callaway ERC. Lastly, when I hit with a putter the Srixon just seems to bounce too fast for my swing vs the Callaway that I have a better judgment with on how hard I hit the putt.
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That makes sense to me... judging putt speed.
 
Tenputt said:
Conventional wisdom says that a harder ball spins more.
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But isn't spin what everyone wants because spin provides distance?
 
Scorpion12 said:
Cool. So that sounds good to me. I'm not looking for any higher ball flight. I was just wondering...
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problem is it’s not accurate. See the response and video we just posted in the other thread 😂
 
I had a ball fitting about 18 months ago and I was fit with a lower compression ball.
the fitter gave me a bunch of balls to try and I bought a sleeve of maybe 4 different types and I ended up liking the
Srixon Q-Star tour.
I really said I didn’t want a tour ball but he told me it’s not really a tour ball just different than the regular ball.

now they are becoming harder to find. So I grabbed up 8 dozen recently. I think I have a good number of them..... espicially since we are not playing.
 
Soft vs hard to me is like hitting a rock and hitting a rubber ball. I like the feel of a soft ball off the putter. You have to find what feels better to you. A ball fitting is great, but for players like you and me (ultra high handicappers) price dictates what we play more so than ball fittings. Plus, I’d find it hard pressed to find someone within about an hours drive that could do a proper fitting.
 
You can check a wide variety here

golf-info-guide.com

Golf Ball Covers Chart

GOLF BALL COVERS CHART >> Golf Ball Covers ChartLearn the Basics of Golf Ball CoversGolf ball term "Cover": The golf ball's outer most layer. Typically made from urethane or a material called Surlyn, the cover is dimpled and has a major effect on the... – VOTED #1 GOLF SITE!
golf-info-guide.com golf-info-guide.com
 
Hardness or softness of a golf ball is determined by the cover
 
Good info here. Thanks y’all!
 
Badger_Golfer said:
A harder ball with fly a little higher than a softer one ...
Click to expand...

Really? I thought the CSx was supposed to be a little lower trajectory than the CS, but it definitely feels firmer to me. Am I just wrong?
 
OGputtnfool said:
Really? I thought the CSx was supposed to be a little lower trajectory than the CS, but it definitely feels firmer to me. Am I just wrong?
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The X was designed to launch higher and spin less than the standard. In reality, they are really only a few degrees different in launch and a few hundred rpms different in spin regardless of club in hand or club speed. Same goes for the Pro V1 and V1x. In both cases the balls are more similar than they are different.

baddog said:
You mean the core.
Click to expand...

It's both when it comes to what the player actually feels. Cover becomes more obvious on short game shots and putter. Core is more obvious on full swings.
 
The difference is feel. I've been playing almost 60 years and the best golf is deep in the rear view mirror. I now play for the pure enjoyment the game and Buddies I play with. Driver speed is 85-88 and just love the feel and performance of the Callaway SuperSoft ball. Found the Wilson Duo Soft to not compete with the SuperSoft in all respects. The ball the really surprises me is the feel, flight and distance with the Srixon Z Star. It's a premium ball and higher compression, but love all aspects of the Z Star..............except the price delta.
 
I’m going to need to clear up some space in my garage for all the golf balls I’ll be buying to test. Lol:ROFLMAO:
 
There are so many variables that it is really really hard to pigeon hole a ball. But "generally"

A soft ball is a slower ball in terms of ball speed. That does not mean it is a shorter ball. A firmer ball, is a faster ball in terms of ball speed.

Spin is largely determined by the cover and mantel layer but, typically a firmer ball will spin more. It may not equate to any real world difference though.

Generally a softer ball (with equal cover) will launch lower. Just think of Titleist offerings. AVX softest, lowest launching, Prov1 firmer and higher, Prov1X firmest and highest.

Again, this is general and will not be equal for all golfers, all swings, all conditions.

Personally, I like a firm golf ball. I need higher launch and more spin.

When you get outside of urethane covered balls much of this goes out the window.
 
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I used to look at it as a ball is a ball is a ball. This isn’t the case I know...
 
I prefer lower compression balls. For me it's a feel thing and a pro v1 feels like I am hitting rocks.
I will say chipping and putting is the only place I might prefer a harder ball but not worth it just for that.
 
See that’s what I want to avoid... hitting rocks.
 
All about feel for me. A missed putt for me is often short. I like a harder ball to hear a bit of of a click and feel like I’m getting a bit of pop on the face.
 
All else being equal for urethane, I believe:
Soft ball = lower flight, lower spin, less distance for higher speed swingers, feels like mush when putting with a putter with a soft insert
Firm ball = higher flight, more spin, slightly more distance for higher speed swingers, firmer off the putter.
I prefer the firmer ball.

For surlyn and ionomer, I think it would just come down to feel, I am not sure about spin numbers as there types of balls tend to have low spin anyway.

Just my two cents, YMMV
 
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