Higher priced balls = better results?

I suppose but (and forgive the questions and ignorance for things I though I knew better of) but aren't cheaper balls like pinnacles , dt solo, some topfliites, and others like the e-series (espec the e6) or the cal-super soft still even much softer cored than those balls?

Not necessarily.
And e6 is the only ball in the E Series that is very low compression. There are surlyn covered balls that are low compression and urethane covered balls that are low compression. Just as there are high compression in both categories too.

One could debate that getting through the layers means that a 2 piece ball could be easier to compress than a 3-4-5 piece ball, but even that is not necessarily true (e5 is firmer than say DUO Urethane or FG Tour). And even then it wouldnt necessarily have a bigger impact than compression.

Price does not dictate spin off the tee. Neither does cover for the most part.
 
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Seems like a perfect piece for "The Classroom". Good stuff in here JB!
 
Seems like a perfect piece for "The Classroom". Good stuff in here JB!

This is taken directly from the home page in the last two weeks. Just one part in a great golf ball segment. I agree the classroom will lead to an easy way for people that want the info to get it. In this case, it is in part, already there.

It was covered on THP Radio The Golf Industry Uncut with Corey Consuegra as well.

3-XL.jpg
 
I am aware. I just like the detail and comparisons to some of the other balls in the market. It would be great to have a detailed list of some of the more popular options out there.
 
Not necessarily.
And e6 is the only ball in the E Series that is low compression. There are surlyn covered balls that are low compression and urethane covered balls that are low compression. Just as there are high compression in both categories too.

One could debate that getting through the layers means that a 2 piece ball could be easier to compress than a 3-4-5 piece ball, but even that is not necessarily true (e5 is firmer than say DUO Urethane or FG Tour). And even then it wouldnt necessarily have a bigger impact than compression.

Price does not dictate spin off the tee. Neither does cover for the most part.

JB, is this something that has come to be more so in only very recent couple/few years due to some makers (like Bridgestone) pushing the issue and others began to follow suit or has this always been the case? I though in general that average amateur needed longer and straighter more so than he needed greens control in a way sort of like he also needs more forgiving clubs at the sacrifice of intentional controllability. I though in general cheaper balls are (were) usually softer cored for the most part and of course harder more durable covers and all done to basically promote less spin and greater distance and longevity.
 
JB, is this something that has come to be more so in only very recent couple/few years due to some makers (like Bridgestone) pushing the issue and others began to follow suit or has this always been the case? I though in general that average amateur needed longer and straighter more so than he needed greens control in a way sort of like he also needs more forgiving clubs at the sacrifice of intentional controllability. I though in general cheaper balls are (were) usually softer cored for the most part and of course harder more durable covers and all done to basically promote less spin and greater distance.
I thought the opposite, that cheaper balls were previously harder to compress ... think about the proverbial distance rocks. My impression - right or wrong - is that Bridgestone did change this and others have more recently followed suit.
 
JB, is this something that has come to be more so in only very recent couple/few years due to some makers (like Bridgestone) pushing the issue and others began to follow suit or has this always been the case? I though in general that average amateur needed longer and straighter more so than he needed greens control in a way sort of like he also needs more forgiving clubs at the sacrifice of intentional controllability. I though in general cheaper balls are (were) usually softer cored for the most part and of course harder more durable covers and all done to basically promote less spin and greater distance.

Im not sure what you are asking here.
All I was doing was pointing out the fact to make sure that people got the correct info.

It was posted and is assumed by many that a ball that spins more into the green means it spins more off the tee. That is just not correct. Compression can control the spin off the tee where as cover can control the spin into the green. (Obviously technique and other things are important as well).

Compression both high and low are available in both urethane and surlyn covered golf balls and have been for a number of years.
 
Im not sure what you are asking here.
All I was doing was pointing out the fact to make sure that people got the correct info.

It was posted and is assumed by many that a ball that spins more into the green means it spins more off the tee. That is just not correct. Compression can control the spin off the tee where as cover can control the spin into the green. (Obviously technique and other things are important as well).

Compression both high and low are available in both urethane and surlyn covered golf balls and have been for a number of years.
JB..Cory and other OEM guys have explained compression, spin, covers...etc.

But I will say, I appreciate the way you put it in simple terms for us all to understand. With all the ball technology talk out there by a lot of the companies, and them offering several models with different layers and covers, it can be tough to keep it straight at time. But you have a way of sorting it out that helps!!
 
I thought the opposite, that cheaper balls were previously harder to compress ... think about the proverbial distance rocks. My impression - right or wrong - is that Bridgestone did change this and others have more recently followed suit.

You mean like the Pinacle rocks? Many people using prov's or whatever would often say "ah, those rocks are horrible" but in reality were much softer cored than their pro-v's.

Im not sure what you are asking here.
All I was doing was pointing out the fact to make sure that people got the correct info.

It was posted and is assumed by many that a ball that spins more into the green means it spins more off the tee. That is just not correct. Compression can control the spin off the tee where as cover can control the spin into the green. (Obviously technique and other things are important as well).

Compression both high and low are available in both urethane and surlyn covered golf balls and have been for a number of years.

I understand. Some of it goes against what I often thought to be the case. But hey that's part of why we come here and now some of my thoughts need to be re-thought for why I use the ball I do and why I see the results (good or bad) that I see.
 
I understand. Some of it goes against what I often thought to be the case. But hey that's part of why we come here and now some of my thoughts need to be re-thought for why I use the ball I do and why I see the results (good or bad) that I see.

Happy to help. Lots of this stuff can be found on the THP Home Page, THP Radio and THP TV if you have questions.
 
We had a great conversation with Frank Simonutti, the Global Director of Innovation for Wilson Staff Golf Balls, at #staffproto.
He said most amateurs would be better off playing a 2 piece ball offering more distance and forgiveness over a more premium ball. His reasoning that it is a whole lot easier to hit the greens from the fairway with good spin than to hit them from the rough with a really high spinning ball.
This is why I've gone to the Duo and Duo Spin.
 
We had a great conversation with Frank Simonutti, the Global Director of Innovation for Wilson Staff Golf Balls, at #staffproto.
He said most amateurs would be better off playing a 2 piece ball offering more distance and forgiveness over a more premium ball. His reasoning that it is a whole lot easier to hit the greens from the fairway with good spin than to hit them from the rough with a really high spinning ball.
This is why I've gone to the Duo and Duo Spin.

Well he said a bit more however. Which was that he was comparing their two piece ball (which is very low compression) to competitors premium ball which was much higher compression. Which is why they are so heavily into DUO Urethane.
 
I think there is a difference (and therefore in my game there is)... for me i can't afford to play nice shiny new premium balls (i lose them too much) so I play second hit 2nd quality premium balls and pay about .74/ball. I think once you get into a quality ball in any tier vs a garbage ball it makes a difference, and getting a ball you can compress and spin is the most important thing. A quality 2 piece can out perform a 3-5 piece high end ball depending on what the golfer's needs are.
 
Yes, I do believe that a premium ball helps to lower my score.

I definitely play smarter with a premium ball which results in a lower score. Example, If I am playing a par 5 with trouble on it and about a 230 yard or better shot to the green I will lay up more often with a premium ball, just because I don't want to lose it in the trouble area. Now, put a cheap ball in my hand and I am going for it. I will most likely lose the cheap ball in the hazard and it just cost me one penalty stroke! This could cost me 2-4 shots a round. Hope this make sense.

Also. The premium ball I play is the Titleist Pro V. The feel around the greens is unmatched with this ball and if you have ever putted one with a Scotty Cameron putter the feel is incredible. The ball is soft off the face and is long! I feel that it is worth the money. Another thing, if you take advantage of their buy 3 get 4 dozen special right now they end up only costing 36 dollars a dozen and they even come with free 3 lines of text customization.
It is a great deal!

Joe
 
We had a great conversation with Frank Simonutti, the Global Director of Innovation for Wilson Staff Golf Balls, at #staffproto.
He said most amateurs would be better off playing a 2 piece ball offering more distance and forgiveness over a more premium ball. His reasoning that it is a whole lot easier to hit the greens from the fairway with good spin than to hit them from the rough with a really high spinning ball.
This is why I've gone to the Duo and Duo Spin.

Is the premise of this that off the tee you will hit more fairways with the 2 piece ball than a higher compression premium ball?
 
I play the Pro-V1X so I can't use the ball as an excuse :)
 
I play the Pro-V1X so I can't use the ball as an excuse :)

Sure you can. A higher compression golf ball that spins more of the tee than that of others can easily be used as an excuse. Its the great part of golf, you can blame the equipment and it still be factual.
 
It all comes down if ball is fit for you but I have had my lowest scores with top end golf balls but have had other good rounds with cheap balls. For instance on soaking wet course the ball is hitting the green and staying putt so I don't need the spin of a top dollar ball.
 
I'll just add this about spin of the high dollar ball. In earlier example when I told the guy I was playing with who was a former D1 player and Head Pro, that while I said I liked the the feel and spin I got from the Pro V, I realized it was counterproductive in many cases, as how often do higher handicaps hit beyond the hole. In most cases we are coming up short of the flag, so any spinning back of the shot, while looking cool, actually is probably making our putt longer.

So in that case, it could be argued that the higher dollar (higher spinning ball in this case) hurts my game. But to me it just still comes down the confidence in the ball knowing it's going to stop or check up on those shots, when hit properly.
 
Is the premise of this that off the tee you will hit more fairways with the 2 piece ball than a higher compression premium ball?

I guess so, along with the increased distance.
 
Sure you can. A higher compression golf ball that spins more of the tee than that of others can easily be used as an excuse. Its the great part of golf, you can blame the equipment and it still be factual.

Question then, a lot of what I have read seems to suggest that there is far less difference in spin off the tee between golf balls than there is in the short game. How much more spin would you see on a higher compression ball off the tee?
 
Question then, a lot of what I have read seems to suggest that there is far less difference in spin off the tee between golf balls than there is in the short game. How much more spin would you see on a higher compression ball off the tee?

You have read incorrectly. In fact there is not a ton of difference around the green in a LOT of premium balls. If people prefer not to believe me, they can check out the Golf Digest spin chart they do each year and see how close most premium balls are in short game.
 
For me, year after year, I always try to make the move to a Pro V1 and end up going back to my Taylor Made balls. For some reason, I carve up Pro Vs with my wedges and the Taylormades seem to hold up better. Feel wise, the TMs feel about the same. Whether it is the old TP5, Lethals, or Tour Preferred, they have been fine by me. I have tried Srixon, Bridgestones ,etc. None have been my cup of tea...
 
You have read incorrectly. In fact there is not a ton of difference around the green in a LOT of premium balls. If people prefer not to believe me, they can check out the Golf Digest spin chart they do each year and see how close most premium balls are in short game.
JB..I know you have done some testing on the LM with short game shots (I believe) so you no doubt have the numbers to compare. But would you say this sttement from Titleist's website is accurate? Also is 1500 rmp on short game shots a lot. It seems they think it is.

Every shot imparts spin

On longer shots golfers want lower spin as it contributes to longer, straighter shots. Off the tee, all Titleist golf balls offer low spin, and when tested with a driver there is less than a 500 RPM difference among all models.
On the scoring shots, golfers need more spin for stopping power and control. A ball with more short game spin allows you to hit shots closer, leading to lower scores. The difference in spin rate among models is significant and game-changing. On short shots, the difference in spin rate can be greater than 1500 RPMs between models, with Pro V1 and Pro V1x providing the best spin on the scoring shots for all golfers.
 
Easy to test for anybody and those numbers are not only not accurate to our testing (or many others) (and it's not brand specific), anybody can test for themselves and find out.
 
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