How Important is your ball?

Hi All, I'm a 22 handicapper for people that haven't seen recent posts and have been playing with various balls since starting.

I started off playing with anything I could find, Top Flite, Dunlop tour, Donnay but as I got better I started to use Titleist Pro V1 lake balls and could really feel a difference.

I then bought a dozen Titleist Velocity balls for a cheap price of which I found to be very unreceptive on greens unlike the Pro V1.

After making a large purchase with american golf they chucked in a dozen Nike 20Xi balls which retail at around £29.99 a box I think.

Yesterday I lost 5 of these balls in hazards and it got me thinking, what ball would be most suitable to high handicappers? Had i paid for them balls outright I'd be pretty gutted as it would have been around an extra 12 quid down the drain.

Also how important is your ball to you and why?

My handicap is 6 and the characteristics of the ball I use are very important to my game. However, I find the Pro V1 and the Srixon Z Star to be almost indistinguishable so swap them around depending what's in my bag. I like the feel off the putter and the controllability from 100 yards in.
In winter I might use the NXT Tour S when the greens are very wet.

The Srixon AD333 (not the new Tour edition) is a really good ball for higher handicappers and is comparatively cheap; about £15 for 12.

It depends what you want. I always wanted (and still do) some control around the green even if I lost a bit of distance cf. playing partners.
What sort of feel with chips/putts do you like? I find feel important - I loath hard feeling balls for chipping and putting.
At your handicap, with all due respect, I don't think you will get anything like the worth out of the "Tour" balls i.e. Pro V1. They're expensive and you'll get too much unwanted sidespin with clubs that have straight faces i.e. driver.
Balls like the Srixon AD333 (as mentioned above) are brilliant for what they are - just don't expect them to stop on a sixpence on anything except a very soft green.

Decent surlyn/ionomer cover balls: Srixon AD333, Titleist Velocity, Bridgestone E6/E7, Wilson DX3, Taylormade SuperDeep or RocketBalz, Callaway X2 Hot.

If you want a decent priced ball with a urethane cover (more greenside spin), you could try the new Srixon AD333 Tour (just been trying it myself and it's pretty good), Wilson FG Tour (excellent ball), Bridgestone E5 (bit firm feel for me but otherwise excellent).

For me, using the same ball all the time isn't that important as, in a given bracket, they're often much of a muchness. Now, I'll happily use whatever "Tour" ball I fancy as long as it has a softer feel. In the Winter, I'll happily use any number of second tier balls, with feel again a priority, as I don't see the point in the spin levels a urethane coat offers with very, very soft greens.

The answer to "how important is your ball" is basically... how good are you?

I don't mean to sound condescending or patronising.... but if you play off 22. Then your ball will make very little difference to your score over 18 holes.
I get where you are coming from with wanting softer feel around the greens but realistically the first thing you should look for is a ball that is going to help you hit it longer,straighter & getting a more consistent shot on bad strikes ( all by reducing the spin put on it) - therefore you really could do with a harder ball.
As mentioned the AD333 is a decent priced ball for mid - high handicappers.
Unless you are hitting the ball out the middle of the club regularly and looking to shape shots/flight & impart spin then using a softer ball is not going to assist your golf in anyway.

The only ball I can't play with is a top flight. Why are they so bad?

McLaren wrote:The only ball I can't play with is a top flight.  Why are they so bad?

The Gamer (cover a bit shred-prone), Gamer v2 and the Gamer Tour (I've not been able to find the latter this side of the Pond, sadly) are all excellent and very, very good for money. In fact, Bridgestone appear to have knicked their 'dimple-in-dimple' cover design recently.

Navy

I tend to only play with balls I find so the only topflights I am aware of are XL's of the late 90's to mid 2000's. I hadn't realised top flight had a modern range.

XL's are really bad.

I play off 6 and cannot distinguish between different balls, other than the cheapest distance balls. Anything mid range (AD333) to Pro V, I genuinely don't see any difference in performance or feel. I'm sure there is a difference, but it is so minor I don't notice it.

My advice would be just around £15 a dozen and you'll be fine.

McLaren wrote:Navy

I tend to only play with balls I find so the only topflights I am aware of are XL's of the late 90's to mid 2000's.  I hadn't realised top flight had a modern range.  

XL's are really bad.

Mac, for someone so vehemently against golf ball technology, I'd have thought you might have a more up to date knowledge in regards to them.
Using a top flight is essentially the same as using a range ball, a two piece piece of crap that's sole purpose is durability.

Don't you use old mizuno's? I'd have thought that someone who's previously professed to be a good golfer could easily tell the difference between a modern ball and a jumble sale special like a 20 year old Top Flight with a soft club like that

If I recall correctly I think Top Flight was a Spalding brand which I think belongs to Callaway now.

Not sure that I would consider Mac's strategy of only playing balls he "finds" conducive to getting the most out of equipment.

Would have thought the best thing is to get advice from a pro as to the type of ball most suited to swing speed and personal goals (conditions if appropriate) and buy the type of ball recommended.
Brand somewhat less consequential than knowing that a new ball from a reputable manufacturer will be far more consistent than a Pro V1 that's been lost in a field for a couple of winters.

Not for nothing do most of the Titleist ads extol the virtues of consistently getting the optimum performance from your ball.

Thanks for the replies guys, I have to say after playing for about 2 years I found top flites unbearable but I think I may give the Srixon AD333 a go, they look like they are reasonably priced and brand new are even cheaper than some b grade pro v1 lots I've seen on eBay.

@longgame, sound advice I think and I get where you are coming from, I'm just going to focus on hitting the ball well then think about progressing as the handicap comes down (hopefully!)

Come on guys .. McLaren must be grinning his ass off that you've taken a bite at such an obvious troll post.

when deciding what ball to use, what are the most important things I should consider?

skiddy wrote:when deciding what ball to use, what are the most important things I should consider?

See above....

skiddy wrote:when deciding what ball to use, what are the most important things I should consider?

How often you lose them   

Davie

It really is tedious - as I am sure Gael will agree - to fend off your attacks after every post. It may not be to your taste but I have never bought brand new golf balls. It is easy enough to find bridgestones, pro v1's and srixons littered around the rough of most courses. Failing that I usually buy second hand balls on ebay.

When it comes to hitting a few balls around six holes or so for practice pretty much anything other than top flights will do.

So stop being such a pr1ck.

McLaren wrote:
So stop being such a pr1ck.

Miss Kettle meet Mr Grimey-Ass

Birthdays and christmas, always ask for some golf balls. very rarely have i had to buy any myself. I am in the bracket of not being good enough to worry about the ball i use. Though i did hit an old slazenger i had and it was horrible. so i dont worry much, about the ball i use.

I pretty much stick to the Pro V1x although in saying that I won a couple of dozen Taylormade Lethals on our long weekend away last week so am currently trying them out. Given their performance so far so far I'm fairly happy so may actually change when I need to replenish as the price difference is significant.

Given the amount of golf I play I probably go through about 7-8 dozen balls a year.

Exclusively play the AD333 much mentioned above - and I find them very good. I do get some spin and grip with the shorter irons and reasonable feel when chipping. They make for a very good compromise. I do find that they are really only good for a round though (it may be that I'm a bit picky/OCD about marks) as after 18 holes they are quite scuffed and a bit "hairy" if I've hit a lot of short irons hard.

I find my ball very important, almost impossible to play the game without it.