Is my golf ball important?
This is a question I get asked a lot when coaching or custom fitting. My answer is always yes! It’s the one piece of equipment we use for every shot and if you have invested money in lessons or new golf equipment to improve your ball flight and spin control, why wouldn’t you invest in a golf ball that matches your needs.
Do different golf balls perform differently?
Yes, in several ways:
- Spin
- Flight - low, mid, high
- Feel – Hard, soft, very soft
- Preferences
There are number of things to consider when looking at what golf ball you should be playing.
- Spin
Depending on your club delivery and clubhead speed, the amount of spin we put on the golf ball can vary a lot. If you are a high spinning player, you wouldn’t want to be using a high spinning golf ball. With regards to spin it also is important to think about how you like to see your short shots react around the green. How the ball reacts and spins with a short pitch/chip can vary so much from ball to ball. Pitch shots from 50 yards can vary in spin rates (RPM) of 3,000rpm, which is a BIG difference.
- Flight
The flight of the golf ball is controlled with the dimple pattern on the golf ball. If you’ve never noticed, hold different balls together and look at the different dimple patterns. These affect the aerodynamics of the golf ball and therefore how the balls flies through the air.
Below I’ve used the Titleist premium balls as an example:
Pro V 1 X High launch, high spin
Pro V 1 Left Dash High launch, low spin
Pro V 1 Mid launch, high spin
AVX Low launch, low spin
If you have just bought a new driver, with a low launching head and shaft but are using the pro V 1 X ball, your golf ball is working against your ball flight needs, and this can be frustrating when it comes to performance.
- Feel
This is very important and a preference we will all have, even if we aren’t aware of it. To explain this a little more I will use the Titliest Premium ball as an example again:
Pro V 1 X Firm
Pro V 1 Left Dash Very Firm
Pro V 1 Soft
AVX Very Soft
If you’re not sure what your preference is with feel, a great exercise is to hit putts with the different balls, chips and pitches and within 20 minutes you’ll know pretty quickly where your preference is. With this exercise you’ll feel the difference between hard and soft balls and also the difference in sound off the clubface.
Feel is very important, typically the harder ball, the higher the ball flight with more spin. Sometimes it can be a decision on performance, preference or performance and preference as to which ball you choose.
- Preference
As discussed earlier in ‘Feel’ Golfers have preferences, these could also include colour, price, sound, and markings (lines/number/Pixs etc).
If you’re all about performance then preferences won’t matter too much to you. However if you have preferences, you should consider these as well as performance.
Example of the how the different Titliest balls fligh & spin
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Higher |
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Velocity |
Left Dash |
Pro V 1 X |
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Height |
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Pro V 1 |
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TourSoft |
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AVX |
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Lower |
TruFeel |
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Less |
Spin |
Greater |
Conclusion
Next time your looking to buy golf balls you should think about the areas discussed above or seek advice from your local PGA professional. Most Pro shops will offer a golf ball fitting service, I recommend you go through this process.
To book your ball fitting click the link below:
https://www.stuartrunciegolfshop.co.uk/Booking/Consumer?f=true
