The Golf Ball, How Important Is It?

Trout Bum

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I was reading another thread and a comment struck me pretty hard about accentuating your miss by not properly compressing the ball.

I had no idea that that was something that had a direct effect on my performance and it got me wondering, how important it the ball really?

Do you guys really pay attention to the facts when it comes to the ball?
 
Absolutely, feel and spin are very important in my game!!
 
The golf ball can be as important as any other piece of equipment. It's far too often overlooked, but that is partly because the average golfer (and even many core golfers) don't necessarily understand how it works. That is not completely their fault, because the marketing and content put out a lot of times, does not clearly explain it.

The difference in spin from a golf ball off the tee shot can be hugely varied based on properly compressing the golf ball. It's why a golf ball can be forgiving. However there is give and take. There can be a loss of ball speed by taking away too much. Then, the further side note is spin on approach shots and what causes it (most think its cover and that is not completely accurate).

The good news in all of this is there is a golf ball or golf ball line that can work wonders for most golfers. Finding it through trial and error and/or fitting can be a lot of fun. Or if someone wants the education on why something is happening and what makes it happen, there are places for that information as well.
 
The golf ball can be as important as any other piece of equipment. It's far too often overlooked, but that is partly because the average golfer (and even many core golfers) don't necessarily understand how it works. That is not completely their fault, because the marketing and content put out a lot of times, does not clearly explain it.

The difference in spin from a golf ball off the tee shot can be hugely varied based on properly compressing the golf ball. It's why a golf ball can be forgiving. However there is give and take. There can be a loss of ball speed by taking away too much. Then, the further side note is spin on approach shots and what causes it (most think its cover and that is not completely accurate).

The good news in all of this is there is a golf ball or golf ball line that can work wonders for most golfers. Finding it through trial and error and/or fitting can be a lot of fun. Or if someone wants the education on why something is happening and what makes it happen, there are places for that information as well.

I really never dove deep into it, I did the Bridgestone ball fitting and thought that was good enough but after digging a bit I think I need to try some on a monitor or something and fine tune it for my equipment. There's more of a relationship there than I ever considered.
 
You could have the most expensive sports car in the world... If you have crappy tires, it's not going to preform to it's potential.

Getting fit for the right ball is just as important as getting fit for the correct clubs.
 
I used to think it was not all that important until I joined THP and really started paying attention to how different balls react on different shots. I have played 2 different balls in 2017 and can really tell a difference in the 2 with my increased knowledge and awareness.
 
So all this talk about golf balls and compression got me to thinking about my youth and playing this game. Top Flights or Rock Flights we used to call them always felt so hard, yet they were designed to fly farther and straighter (at least that was my understanding). So based on what I think I know about golf balls now that doesn't make any sense to me. Why did they feel so hard?
 
So all this talk about golf balls and compression got me to thinking about my youth and playing this game. Top Flights or Rock Flights we used to call them always felt so hard, yet they were designed to fly farther and straighter (at least that was my understanding). So based on what I think I know about golf balls now that doesn't make any sense to me. Why did they feel so hard?

Because of how they were made. It's difficult to compare feel as it pertains to the wound ball vs the solid core ball.
 
Because of how they were made. It's difficult to compare feel as it pertains to the wound ball vs the solid core ball.

Gotcha, guess I'm showing my age haha
 
how important is the golf ball? when i was playing my best last year - the best i've ever played in my life - the only change to my bag was the ball. no lessons, no more or less range time, just the ball. it got me farther down the fairway, and better stopping power when i missed greens. before that i would have said the ball really wasn't a big deal. i've played a lot of different balls up to that point and never really saw a change in score from just the ball. ...until finally matching my need for spin particularly off the tee with the right ball.

so for me, the ball is exceedingly important.
 
The Golf Ball, How Important Is It?

Absolutely, feel and spin are very important in my game!!

how important is the golf ball? when i was playing my best last year - the best i've ever played in my life - the only change to my bag was the ball. no lessons, no more or less range time, just the ball. it got me farther down the fairway, and better stopping power when i missed greens. before that i would have said the ball really wasn't a big deal. i've played a lot of different balls up to that point and never really saw a change in score from just the ball. ...until finally matching my need for spin particularly off the tee with the right ball.

so for me, the ball is exceedingly important.

I can't agree with these two gentleman more. I saw it first hand in the Bridgestone Ball Fitting. I was using a very soft Low Compression ball and compared to the ball I was fitted to, I saw more distance, less driver sidespin and straighter ball. Why, because I was fit to a ball that I can properly compress.

And I how do I know that, Because of THP and education/information that is available.
 
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It's important and I have found a few that really work well for my game and buy them when they are on sale. When I stray to another ball for whatever reason during a round I don't trust it as much and might lay up instead of carry the hazard or my chips end up well past or well short of the hole. It can easily add 5 strokes over 18 holes.
 
Last year I played regularly with a guy who was a 3 handicap. He had no loyalty and would play balls he found on the course. Guy had all sorts of money invested in his clubs but couldn't have cared less what ball he was playing. I cringe when I see this happening. My advice, get fitted for the correct ball and if possible try to stay with that ball only. When playing the same ball you will become accustomed to how a ball reacts/rolls out on chips around the green and approach shots instead of guessing because you play different balls. Also, getting fit (my fitter charged $30) will help know which ball is giving you the best flight characteristics off the driver thus maximizing your carry/rollout.
 
This guys knows a thing or two...

tiger-banner-ball.jpg
 
I wish there was a way to get fit for a ball that was not "Manufacture" sponsored.
Be nice to get an unbiased ball fitting.
 
I think it would be extremely interesting to have a ball fitting and actually compare the numbers between the different types of golf balls and if the differences are big enough to justify a higher cost for the average hacker. If gains or losses are minimal, I'll buy the cheaper option, especially if I lose a lot of balls anyways.
 
The golf ball is pretty key. I will use whatever is in the bag or found in the woods sometimes for fun but on special days and nice courses I want to use what's best for my game.

I'm more interested in accuracy but there's times when there's no fairway roll and you have to hit long irons and hybrids with the accuracy of a 7 iron when there's lots of roll off your drive. There are so many variables.
 
Something that can be frustrating during this endeavor is that there are changes made to many of the balls by manufacturers on a regular basis. They either change the makeup of the ball every two years or they make a ball for a while then completely discontinue it. It can make 'ball fitting' sort of a never ending process.
 
We know this older man that has a 80 mph driver speed. He always played the balls rated for 100+ mph swing speeds.
We finally got him to try some Wilson Duo, Staff 50, and a Mojo.
He said they felt ok, and his drives went from 185????? To about 200????
 
I can play the ProV1X, Chrome Soft, Z-Star XV and B330 pretty interchangeably and by happy. The only ball fitting I have ever done is the online Bridgestone fitting so I do wonder what a full proper fitting would reveal.
 
I can't agree with these two gentleman. I saw it first hand in the Bridgestone Ball Fitting. I was using a very soft Low Compression ball and compared to the ball I was fitted to, I saw more distance, less driver spin and straighter ball. Why, because I was fit to a ball that I can properly compress.

And I how do I know that, Because of THP and education/information that is available.

I understand your comment but everyone is not always looking for lower spin!
 
I understand your comment but everyone is not always looking for lower spin!

It lowered my Sidespin. Corrected my original post.
 
I can't agree with these two gentleman. I saw it first hand in the Bridgestone Ball Fitting. I was using a very soft Low Compression ball and compared to the ball I was fitted to, I saw more distance, less driver spin and straighter ball. Why, because I was fit to a ball that I can properly compress.

And I how do I know that, Because of THP and education/information that is available.

i'm confused, are you saying you do or don't agree with both us who are saying the ball is very important to our games? i think you're saying you do agree, but not sure.
 
i'm confused, are you saying you do or don't agree with both us who are saying the ball is very important to our games? i think you're saying you do agree, but not sure.

Sorry for the confusion. I agree with both of your statements that the ball is very important to anyone's game.
 
It's more the player than the ball. Just like the clubs.


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