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I Have A Confession - Golf Balls & Putting

SuperStroke
For you guys who can't feel or hear a difference, you should look into soft-stepping or least tipping your putter shaft.
 
This isn't something I pay much attention to, so I don't think I have ever had a performance difference. I have dropped sleeves of a couple different balls on the rug and when I putted them across the room, I could tell which model it was based on the sound I heard.
 
Jeff Spicoli said:
For you guys who can't feel or hear a difference, you should look into soft-stepping or least tipping your putter shaft.
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Maybe twice...I've heard twice is better than once.
 
JB said:
Every time a new ball comes out I read about how people struggle with the different feel/performance off the putter or are looking for a certain something off the putter. As many know I am a big believer in ball fitting and/or finding the right ball for the individual and I think feel and performance should be a factor.

But clearly in the online world I am in a huge minority because I am not sure I have ever noticed a difference with balls and putting. I believe I have tested every single ball that has come to market over the last few years+ and hundreds of putters at hundreds of courses and have never noticed a single difference in putting with golf balls.

There it is...My confession.
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Admitting it is the first step Josh. I am so proud of you man :alien:

Seriously though, I can totally understand what you are saying.

For me, its around the green where I notice any differences.

JM
 
Different here. Feel off the putter face is how I pick a ball to play. Hate a ball hard as a rock. My favorite would be a Srixon soft feel or similar ball. Since a putt counts as much as any stroke I want to be as comfortable as possible. Think I can control the speed better.
 
There are only a handful of balls I have ever been able to tell the difference with -- like an old, dead, water logged ball or a balata ball. Hand me a Prov1 or a Slazenger, and I don't feel much difference.
 
pudge said:
Says the man I last saw playing an orange rock!! LOL or was that a Ram?
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Yep, orange ram after I lost the yellow pro staff. I hit them pretty well too.

I am still sticking with the sound of a cheapo ball is quite noticeable compared to something like a q star or urethane ball.
 
Maybe it's the sound that translates to feel then because I definitely notice a difference in a surlyn covered ball vs a urethane ball.
 
I can't tell a clear difference. Blindfold me, and I'd never tell, except for the old Nike 20XIs. :D
 
I could tell a slightly different sound when going back and forth between some different balls with the putter, but feel is kind of the same really. I think the ball makes the least amount of difference off the putter (as compared to driver, irons, etc) but I've been wrong before.
 
I used to play ProV's religiously. But, when I switched to an Odyssey 2-ball with that white insert, the prov felt different. I doubt that it performed differently. But, I did notice a difference in feel that I did not care for. I have since moved to a ball with a firmer feel. After the prov, I went to the Nike One Tour D. I now play the Chrome+. My putter is now a Metal-X DART. The insert in that is different than the white one in the 2-ball. I haven't tested ball performance with that putter. I just keep using the same ball that I prefer for my driver/irons, which have reduced sidespin properties.


It would be interesting, maybe a year from now, if JB posts an exact opposite opinion...just to see everyone's responses to that. :bulgy-eyes:
 
Of the balls that I've played over the last two years (Bridgestone B330-Rx, e6, Lady; Callaway Chrome +, SR2, SR3, Chrome Soft; Srixon Z-Star, Z-Star XV, and Q-Star) I can't tell a difference in sound/feel coming off the putter face between any two of them. If I pick up a Slazenger in the woods, and drop it on the green, would I notice a difference if I didn't know it was a Slazenger? Gun to my head...I doubt I could tell.
 
Feel, not really. Sound? I think so. Maybe I am a lunatic but the sound of the Srixon Z-Star is completely different then the B330. Whether that translates to feel I don't know.

Although I call poppycock on distance control. Ball rolls the same distance no matter what its made of.
 
I've always thought that I noticed a slight difference in feel where some balls feel slightly softer and some feel slightly harder or more rock like. But I have to say that I never really pay any attention to it (and it could be all in my head) because I've never noticed any actual difference in performance when putting.
 
fupresti said:
Feel, not really. Sound? I think so. Maybe I am a lunatic but the sound of the Srixon Z-Star is completely different then the B330. Whether that translates to feel I don't know.

Although I call poppycock on distance control. Ball rolls the same distance no matter what its made of.
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Put a Slazenger Raw Distance in play. It sounds different. Feels the same. But it sounds different.
 
captaincaution said:
I know for a fact that the ball sounds different off of my putter if I don't hit the sweet spot exactly. That I can notice. I'm not sure it matters what ball I use though. I don't hit the sweet spot perfectly every time to be able to tell.
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I'd argue this is what most people notice - the putter on miss hits - not the ball.
 
I don't really notice a difference in putting performance amongst different balls. I can somehow feel a difference in the ball (e.g., a Pinnacle versus a SuperSoft). But, things like distance control are not affected by the ball. At least not for me.


The putter face has a lot more of an impact, as does the overall weight of the putter. The ball really doesn't.
 
I notice a difference in sound between some balls, but not between most. I gamed the Z-Star XV for a couple years and that ball just has a higher pitch to it than many other balls when I stick handle it around the hole.
 
I think for most average golfers the difference bw most quality balls would be negligible...if you hit a couple of nice putts early after gaming a new ball, even if total coincidence, you think it's the ball, and vice versa with a couple bad early putts.

However, when I switched to the Super Softs, the sound off my club face was very different. I thought I was launching the ball bc of it.

I may have been. Or, I may just have over hit a couple of putts and assumed it was the ball.

But, there's such a huge metal aspect to the game that you can't have any doubts about your ball when you're looking at a tough putt.
 
This is an interesting topic...I can tell the difference between all sorts of balls in terms of feel at impact, and to a lesser extent, sound. Huge difference for me between pro v1 and v1x, for example. Some balls feel like balls of butter, others feel like stones.

As it relates to actual performance though, it doesn't really matter to me; I stink at putting as it is. I prefer the soft feel, so I gravitate towards that. As UglySwing puts it, "there's such a huge mental aspect to the game that you can't have any doubts about your ball when you're looking at a tough putt." I think that also plays a part.

Silly game.
 
The only thing I notice is sound/feel in say a 20xi-x vs Supersoft; enormous difference there. I have yet to find a ball that rolls differently though.
 
UglySwing said:
But, there's such a huge metal aspect to the game that you can't have any doubts about your ball when you're looking at a tough putt.
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I've been thinking about this comment. What is there about a ball when you're looking at a tough putt that would give you doubts ... over and above any doubts you might have with the same ball but with an easy putt?

For me, if the ball doesn't work for me off the tee then it's gone. By the time I'm to the green, I'm worried about dropping the putt, not the ball itself. The only thing that might give me doubt is if the ball isn't round.
 
I Have A Confession - Golf Balls & Putting

Performance? No. Feel? Yes. When I put a good roll they all go the same however the sound and feel off a putter gives me more confidence when it is the right ball putter combo.


Sent from my iPhone 6plus using Tapatalk
 
I'm with the OP. Sound may change but apart from that I have never felt a difference in balls off a putter. As a matter of fact now we are in the dead of winter I carpet putt a lot and I have three different brands and about 5 different models of balls in my carpet putting rotation. All that matters is the contact.
 
Since my brand new Metal X Milled is sitting in my living room next to the tree, I've been rolling putts in my living room all week. I have two balls on the end table. A Callaway Supersoft and a Callaway SR3. On that tricky right to left 13 footer from the coffee table through the foyer to the computer desk, I can tell no difference in feel or sound between the two balls.

I don't know what that means for on the course, but I think it's interesting.
 
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