Does the Golf Ball really matters?

Hi willytan,

Very easy la, just try a few brands and see which one you like. You can always share your findings with us once you have a preference of a certain ball.

I am actually not much of a tinkerer in terms of golf equipment. Fortunately I have a few good sources for premium balls like the ProVs. 

The prices I got for them were quite affordable as compared to buying new ones, so it was a no brain er for me to use the best at a low price.

As I am not too picky in terms of the condition, I tend to get a good price when I take all that the seller has, which is about 20 to 30pcs.  If the price that day was rm3.00 that day, the 20 or 30 balls will cost a lot less than a new box!

The golf ball is the only piece of equipment that affects ALL 14 clubs in your bag. That is why pros always stick to one particular ball and never switch. Tiger uses One Tour D till today. 

So, try not to experiment too much. Find one you really like and stick to it, if you wanna improve your game.

pug wrote:

The golf ball is the only piece of equipment that affects ALL 14 clubs in your bag. That is why pros always stick to one particular ball and never switch. Tiger uses One Tour D till today. 

So, try not to experiment too much. Find one you really like and stick to it, if you wanna improve your game.

TW is using a newly designed ball by Nike now (i.e. RZN Platinum) ...  

It really matters.
Golf balls are made for different levels of play.
All golf balls comes in Low Spin and High Spin, depending on your preferences.

Generally 2 main catergories
Low Spin balls (Distance balls) - suitable for beginners, slicers and slow speed player. It is designed to have lower spin and higher compression for longer distance
High Spin balls - suitable for more advanced players, designed for control on green, usually lower compression.

Whether soft feel or not will depends on the material of the outer layer.
The dimples will determine the rate of spin for golf balls.
Usually the more the layers, the faster the swing speed is needed in order to activate the power of the inner core.

It is impossible to have the best of both worlds, hence there are so many different types of golf balls out there mixing a bit here and there of both.

Some of the golf balls which have been tested to perform well in both are ;
PROV1
PROV1x
Srixon Z-star
Srixon Z-star x
Bridgestone B330
TM Lethal
Nike RZN

Nonetheless, it still depends on your level of play and choose accordingly.

Just my own research.

Different model of balls do have different characteristics which affect the game one way or another.

TM Lethal gives me very good distance off the driver. Overall it is a very good premium ball which I think is comparable to ProV. 

TM Penta TP gives me f* type distance and I simply hate it. 

TM TP5 is in between Lethal and Penta TP. No love nor hate.

Srixon Soft Feel is very nice and a relatively inexpensive ball. Srixon AD333 is good as well but I still prefer Soft Feel.

My answer is Yes! Golf ball is one of the most important elements that determine the result of your game. In my opinion, don't use Used balls as one does not know the history of the used balls ... As to which ball is more suitable to your game, you may have to experiment it yourself. Multiple layers (3 pieces or more) ball may be suitable for some but not for others ... One needs high compression speed to optimize multiple layers golf balls.

I beg to differ on the issue of used balls.

I have used different models of used ProVs and ProV1x for years, from models as old as 2005 to as new as 2013 and my distances do not vary much. The stopping power is also still there. I would relegate balls to the chipping bag if deep gorges appear or when the dimples wear out significantly.  

In fact, if I am lucky not to lose it, a used ball can last me 4 games without any compromise in performance.

I am one of the few that don't believe that a water ball has degraded or that a used ball does not fly as far as a new one.  And I know for a fact that a few single handicapper kakis of mine play with used balls ALL the time and in their hands, such balls perform exceptionally.

Hi all,

Interesting issue of used balls. a while ago, I chance upon an article that says used balls will loose about 5 meters of distance when they did a test.

I will try and look for it again and post it here.

On the same note, it is interesting to note that there are some out there saying that used balls does not affect distance. So I will keep an open mind on used balls and perhaps get a better ball at a discounted rate.

Thanks

Hi all,

If I am beginner and lose about 9-10 balls on a bad day, 2-3 balls on a good day, am I justified in using cheap used balls? 

Currently my mindset is why should I be spending money on balls when I can put it to much better use like lessons or playing more golf? I can be losing SGD$50 per game if I am using premium balls and playing badly…...

Honestly I don't feel any difference when using different grades of ball.

Feel free to chip in comments.

When I was a beginner, I lose a lot of balls. Fortunately, I was able to buy used balls from various sources. 

If you are golfing in jb, try asking most marshals for used balls. They either have a lot of different kinds for sale or they can point you to the right person to sell you some.

The cheapest balls I have ever bought when I was a beginner was Orchard Golf and Country Club.  RM 20.00 got 50 balls! That lasted me 2 to 3 games! Haha

Thanks for sharing dude!

My take is once you have your swing fixed, the golf ball does matter. But if your swing is erratic and inconsistent, the golf ball makes less of a difference, if at all.

Great reading and statistics bro Odyssey23. You just proved my view that used ball can be just as good as new balls. The important thing to do is to improve your skill level and whatever weakness is in your game.   


MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 

Bro odyssey23,

Your article is taken from knetgolf.com which is an online store selling pre-owned golf balls. Here is the link for the benefit of the rest - 

http://www.knetgolf.com/Topic/11-About_Knetgolf.aspx

knetgolf.com is therefore naturally more biased towards pre-owned golf balls due to the obvious. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying what Tony advocated is 100% untrue. I suggest one better verify himself/herself if it is true that pre-owned (has been processed/refurbished) and/or used golf balls (unconditioned) affects performance or not. I personally experience lost of distance when I   used Used balls bought from the shelf (unconditioned) ... Besides full swing performance, I believe putting is even more critical (margin of error is slimmer) if the used ball fails to sustain a true roll ...

Hi all,

I found the article that I have mentioned earlier. But "Odyssey 23" has already posted it as above.  

thanks

To be honest, the article only used a top quality premium ball such as Titleist Pro V1 for research, so results are bias.
Unless u buy used Pro V1 from a reputable source, otherwise I still think quality of the used is still inconsistent at times (especially putting control).

Sorry, I am just helping stickman to find this article and post it. please note that we are comparing with quite good conditon used balls vs new balls. Please note that once you tee off your brand new ball, it is considered as used. So unless you hit every stroke with brand new ball which is not allowed and possible. So most of the time we are using used balls. I am not good enough to feel the difference in distance because of my skill level. But different brand and grade of golf balls do make a difference around the green and putting. If you feel a new golf ball of a certain brand can give you distance and control and you can affort it, why not? But I cant sleep if the cost of losing my golf balls in a round of game is more than the green fee. Maybe that will force me to quit this game. Merry christmas and happy new year. Wish all of you have more birdie than the number of golf balls you lose. Huat ah.

For a noob like me, the issue is pretty mental.
I like color. A yellow or pink ball somehow results in better contact.. Just tells me how much of the game is subconscious.

Here's a trivial knowledge for all:  do you know that there are only three brands of golf balls that actually have their own manufacturing plants?  It does say a lot about how important the golf balls are to them and the investment in research and quality control these brands put into their golf balls.

1. Titleist
2. Srixon
3. Bridgestone

I use Srixon Soft Feel Lady.  Srixon makes the best 2-piece balls and is the most affordable and value-for-money brand, if you ask me.

semi-pro wrote:

Here's a trivial knowledge for all:  do you know that there are only three brands of golf balls that actually have their own manufacturing plants?  It does say a lot about how important the golf balls are to them and the investment in research and quality control these brands put into their golf balls.

1. Titleist
2. Srixon
3. Bridgestone

I use Srixon Soft Feel Lady.  Srixon makes the best 2-piece balls and is the most affordable and value-for-money brand, if you ask me.

Hi semi-pro,

Thanks for the info. When you play the Srixon soft feel lady, do you get distance from this ball and does it gives you a reasonable spin on the green?

I asked because your nick is "Semi pro" and if assuming you are semi pro, why do you use srixon soft feel lady as I would think that you will use a 3 piece or 5 piece ball? Does the ball give you distance and a reasonable spin on the green?


Love to hear your feedback.

Cheers