Oldman

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Jul 17, 2018
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Location
North Central Kansas
Handicap
30.3 InfoT
Hi THP,

Yesterday, I decided to put some newer balls in my bag for a round of golf.

I dropped each ball from my hand onto concrete and it bounced up to my chest.

I bounced several Callaway's, a Titlest with black numbers, and last an optic yellow Wilson Staff that I found on the course some days ago.

All bounced to the center of my chest except the Wilson Staff and it had a dull thud sound and failed to bounce or respond as much as the others.

I played 9 holes and shot a 40. (Par was 35) On the last hole, #9 is a shot over a fairly large creek. My Callaway made it over with no problem with a drive of around 220 yards.

I pulled out the Wilson Staff ball that I found and proceeded to hit it just to see what it would do.

It turned out to be my best drive of the day and went about 250 yards to 260 yards.

For whatever reason, it all came together into a beautiful drive.

Now the dilemma. Do I start playing with this old Wilson Staff ball or do I stick with my Callaway's and Ttilest's? (Or do you think this was a fluke and I just happen to have a lucky drive?)

Your thoughts, please.

I am 71 years old and went back to playing last December after quitting back in 1975. My home course is a "Sand Green" short course and as long as you hit the ball straight, you have a big advantage. I also play from the Gold markers as I am a senior citizen.

But I digress. Is the ball bounce test legitimate? (The Wilson Staff seems to be a harder ball.)

Oldman
 
I would suggest you try the test again on the course. You can't make an accurate assessment based on one drive.
 
The Wilson should be a softer ball, which is why it probably went further for you
 
71 years old and hitting it past 200 let alone 250. You’re my hero.

I’m 42 and my longest drive on Arccos yesterday was 272. And that is a rarity for me.

As for ball selection there is no magic. All are produced with the usga limit in mind. So differences will be minimal between them.

My guess is you put a good swing on the willson and hit the sweet spot of the club face.
 
Pretty hard to say anything definitive based on that. I'm also unsure what Callaway and Titleist ball you were using. That said the Wilson ball very well could be the best choice for you, especially if it was one of their lower compression balls. I'd definitely try to find a sleeve of their low compression balls and play a round with them if I were you.

Nice poke BTW!
 
The Low compression Wilson Might just fit your swing speed better. But 1 swing isn't going to tell you that.

I gained 10 yards going to a lower compression ball since they were going straighter off the Tee.

goodluck
 
Thank you everyone for your input.

I should be going back out for another round this afternoon and will start with the Wilson Staff ball.

Will post later tonight or in the next day or so and let everyone know.

The Callaway's always felt good to me but I may change to the low compression Wilson. I started using Callaway's because they were cheap on Amazon.

Now, in retrospect, I need to find a dependable ball that will play well for me as several of my golfing buddies have been encouraging me to get in some tournaments.

If I can brag a little, I did win the Monday Night Men's play with a 3 under par. My partner hits it long but I can chip and putt. However, in full disclosure, there were some really good players absent.

Oldman
 
I have played several rounds of golf since my original post.

I seem to hit the Wilson Staff the farthest and it performed well until hole #4 where I hit it in the left side of the rough and lost the ball. (Bummer)

It was good for a longer driver but the control on the green seemed less.

The next day I played with a good freind who is a +10 handicap golfer and we played on Grass Greens at Fort Hays Golf Course at Hays, Kansas.

It has a 69.3/117 rating. The grass on the fairways is like thick carpet and if you get on the edge of the fairway or the rough, it really is brutal.

After the 1st hole, which I bogeyed, he gave me 3 new Titlest Pro V balls to use. I wasn't impressed by the drive but I was impressed of the performance of chipping and putting.

So, I may start playing a better quality ball.

I said all of this to say, the ball helps my game as long as I play well. When I play crummy, the ball makes no difference.

If I hit it well, I play better. (Well, duh.)

If I play with a better golfer, which is not hard to do, I seem to play better.

Back to the ball......I started playing back in December of 2017 after being away since 1972. (Now you know why my screen name is "Oldman.")

I play on a 9 hole, sand green course, where the rough and fairway are very similar. It is a short course with a par of 35. On a good day, I can shoot 40 to 45. So, I got the "Big Head", thinking my normal game had returned, like I was playing in 1975 when I quit. (This course is not USGA rated and the club gave me a handicap of +8.5 which is unofficial.)


So, I joined "Infotalk Golf" and started entering my scores on courses around me that were rated. I have a handicap of 30.3.

I may join Fort Hays or Ellis Golf Club and get my GHIN number but in all honesty, I am planning on moving to La Junta, Colorado and may wait until then.

In other words,,,,,,,,play with a ball you like and play to have fun.

Oldman
 
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