Balls do make a difference

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by GolfSavage

The concept of using the same ball for consistency's sake is one reason I really don't care to go to the range for practice. Most of the ranges here have a mish-mash of ball types, in various conditions, and figuring out real club distances, swing results, etc. can be frustrating.

I'd love to find a large athletic field I could use, take my own "shag bag" full of balls I like, and be able to hit from one end, go down and gather balls, and hit back the other way, even if the longest club I could use was a 7 iron. Unfortunately, public access to such a place around here is non-existent.

Man, do I hear that!


I used to do the schoolyard thing and I was so "dialed-in" I could actually think in terms of single yards when it came to club choices. Not only that, but schoolyards / athletic fields allowed me to try a variety of shots from a variety of lies and at one schoolyard I could practice significant uphill / downhill lies too.

But ever since the soccer boom and then the lacrosse boom, it's virtually impossible to find any room to hit golf balls at a schoolyard and most don't allow it anymore anyway. A driving range is OK for working on swing mechanics, shot shapes and heights, but the big drawback is not being able to really know your true distances - especially with the scoring clubs. I used to spend hours every night after work just hitting shots and checking distances and my 150-yard-in game was top shelf.


I miss those days.



-JP

[Golfaddict]

Living in rural America still has it's little perks. I can walk a block and be at the local football field. At the begininng of every season I take my wedges to the field to get on track. I knew when I could hit my pitching wedge from endzone to endzone my swing was pretty much in tune.

[xnavyct]

I married a farm girl...my father-in-law still lives on the farm, and has a rather large field that isn't farmed like the others he has, but just has a dirt track around the perimeter for go-karts, for the grandkids...I can hit balls out there to my hearts' content.

Problem is it has really tall weeds and grass in it, so once I hit the ball, its pretty much gone...

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by Golfaddict

Living in rural America still has it's little perks. I can walk a block and be at the local football field. At the begininng of every season I take my wedges to the field to get on track. I knew when I could hit my pitching wedge from endzone to endzone my swing was pretty much in tune.

I preferred baseball fields.

I've done the football field thing too, but just from a distance point of view. I'd go goal line to goal line with a sand wedge and try not to go beyond the end line or short of the goal line. It's good practice in that regard, but the average green isn't 53 yards wide.

Baseball fields, on the other hand, make better targets for a few reasons. First, they're small so they're more demanding. Second, they make better visual aids in that the infield grass represents the green while the infield dirt represents the bunkers. Plus, if you're hitting directly towards home plate from the direction of center field, the backstop helps keep long balls from going too far.

I used to stand on the pitcher's mound and then pace off whatever distance I wanted to practice from and then I'd hit fifty balls and count how many landed on the infield grass. My personal best was 42 out of 50 with an 8-iron from 154 yards.
But any iron can be hit to a baseball field and like I said, the visuals are more realistic than just a big wide end zone.

So if you have access to a baseball field, I recommend you try it. Once you start doing it, you'll get hooked on seeing how many balls you can land on the infield grass and I guarantee you'll be far more precise with your approach shots when you're on the course.


-JP

[JungleJ]

Originally Posted by HackBlack

The HX Hot is a excellent ball for distance. It rockets off the face. But, I noticed that when chipping/pitching, my shots would go 5-6 feet farther than expected because I was used to playing the ProV. That's goes back to a previous posters reply regarding consistent ball play. That should never be under estimated.
Find the best golf ball for you | Special Feature | Golf.com

There is now the HX Hot Bite which might be a bit more friendly around the green? I haven't tried it yet so can't comment. Currently it is £5 a dozen more expensive than the HX Hot over here.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

There is now the HX Hot Bite which might be a bit more friendly around the green? I haven't tried it yet so can't comment. Currently it is £5 a dozen more expensive than the HX Hot over here.

Theoretically, yes. I've played both balls, but not side-by-side, so I can't give a detailed breakdown. The Bite is softer. I liked both balls a lot.

[bonknhead]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

There is now the HX Hot Bite which might be a bit more friendly around the green? I haven't tried it yet so can't comment. Currently it is £5 a dozen more expensive than the HX Hot over here.

I normally play Callaway's Big Bertha balls, but I played their HX Hot Bite this past weekend. They definitely have more spin around the greens, but aren't as long as the BBs.

[OnePutt]

Last week I picked up last years version of the TaylorMade TP balls for $14/95 a dozen. Got some TP Blacks as well as some TP Reds to try. Golfsmith had them on sale.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by bonknhead

I normally play Callaway's Big Bertha balls, but I played their HX Hot Bite this past weekend. They definitely have more spin around the greens, but aren't as long as the BBs.

Those things are rocks.

[jwaldrop]

I found some of the Top-Flite Gamers in a loose ball bin at our course this morning and played today's round with them...actually with the same ball the whole round. I played extremely well and found this ball to be long off the tee, accurate and spinning on full irons, and better than I expected chipping and pitching. Excellent budget ball!

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by jwaldrop

I found some of the Top-Flite Gamers in a loose ball bin at our course this morning and played today's round with them...actually with the same ball the whole round. I played extremely well and found this ball to be long off the tee, accurate and spinning on full irons, and better than I expected chipping and pitching. Excellent budget ball!

What do you normally play?

[jwaldrop]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

What do you normally play?

ProV1x, almost exclusively. Sometimes the Top-Flite D2 Feel if the ground is real wet.

[straightshooter]

Originally Posted by Wazmankg

This is my first ever equipment thread so be gentle guys. I always was of the opinion that the brand of ball a player of my skill uses makes very little difference. I've played mostly found balls the past few years. This year I decided to try and settle on a ball. I tried some NXTs and they were fine. Then I tried some Maxfli {i don't know what they're called but they have light gray lettering}. I really liked them, but I couldn't find them at Dick's SG when I ran out. They had these Slazenger Raw Distance titaniums on sale, 2 for 1 or something, so I picked up a couple dozen... big mistake. I played them yesterday and it literally felt like I was hitting rocks. The good news is I managed to lose 5 of them... I didn't even look for the last 2 in some deep rough. I suppose I could put the rest of them in a long sock and use it to fend off potential attackers. So I need some recommendations on a soft, decent ball that won't cost me half a C-note per dozen.

Wazman: Can we have an update? Did you settle on a ball? If so, did that improve your play? If so, what did it improve? Did you become a ProV1 fan? Or was the D2 feel just fine? Or did you choose something else?

As for me, I have played Topflite's Gamer, D2-Feel and Wilson's Zip balls and I have pretty much settled on the D2-Feel for the foreseeable future, though I still have a few rounds worth of the other types left over. I liked the Gamer and D2-Feel, pretty much equally, so I will go with the cheaper option. I couldn't find much wrong with them for any aspect of my game. I didn't hit it off with the Zip. With all the experimenting, I haven't played one ball long enough yet to notice short-game improvements, but I expect improvement once I lose the left-overs and finally settle.

[jshiver15]

Top Flite Gamers - pretty good if you don't have wedges that will tear the ball up, or if you don't hit cart paths, or too many trees. Soft feel, pretty decent distance, but not very durable.

Bridgestone E6+ - fairly soft feeling, good wind ball, durable, and decent spin rating. One of the better mid $20 balls. (IMHO)

TaylorMade BurnerTP - the best ball I've ever played for $25, period. Easily the most comparable ball to the ProV1 for under $30. Very durable, suprisingly (moreso than the TaylorMade TP red/black). Great spin around the greens. And nice, reliable launch.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by jwaldrop

Just used ones, at lostgolfballs.com

I second that, Waz, BIG TIME. You can get ProV's for half off, and if you buy the highest quality, they are like brand stinkin' new.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by jshiver15

TaylorMade BurnerTP - the best ball I've ever played for $25, period. Easily the most comparable ball to the ProV1 for under $30. Very durable, suprisingly (moreso than the TaylorMade TP red/black). Great spin around the greens. And nice, reliable launch.

I like them, too.

[Bigvivec]

Been messing around with some different balls the last couple of weeks...found that I score about the same with all of them, but some definetly perform better around the greens and feel better off the face; enhance my enjoyment in short...

Tried Wilson tx4(think that's what they were called), Wilson 50, Bridgestone b330 and b330s, and Nike black and platinum...like I said, scoring was unaffected, didn't really notice distance losses or gains, but the spin off the b330 and b330s was noticeable to the degree that I have been spinning back 7irons on down, really like the feel of those two off all the clubs, and have managed to play four rounds now with the b330s, scoring well, spinning with control and hitting a which must mean two things...


1. The golf gods are trying to tell me that I now have a new ball that I must play...

2. That because I have now acknowledged that I have hit 36 of 39 fairways over the last 4 rounds I will now be firmly punished by those same gods who will take my four rounder from me on the first tee tomorrow...

[Wazmankg]

Originally Posted by straightshooter

Wazman: Can we have an update? Did you settle on a ball? If so, did that improve your play? If so, what did it improve? Did you become a ProV1 fan? Or was the D2 feel just fine? Or did you choose something else?

As for me, I have played Topflite's Gamer, D2-Feel and Wilson's Zip balls and I have pretty much settled on the D2-Feel for the foreseeable future, though I still have a few rounds worth of the other types left over. I liked the Gamer and D2-Feel, pretty much equally, so I will go with the cheaper option. I couldn't find much wrong with them for any aspect of my game. I didn't hit it off with the Zip. With all the experimenting, I haven't played one ball long enough yet to notice short-game improvements, but I expect improvement once I lose the left-overs and finally settle.

I'm still playing a hodge-podge of found balls mostly. The good news is that my chipping and pitching have improved quite a bit after finally settling on some sound mechanics and practicing a bit and I now believe that the feel of a certain ball around the greens is a bit overrated. Sure ProV1s have a buttery soft feel but I haven't really noticed a difference in how consistent they are as opposed to anything else. The stroke is the key.

[Wazmankg]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

I second that, Waz, BIG TIME. You can get ProV's for half off, and if you buy the highest quality, they are like brand stinkin' new.

Yes, I remember your previous advice. That's what I'm going to do the next time I break down and buy some. Using one type of ball can't hurt.

[PA PLAYA]

For those looking for the best of both worlds....

I might encourage you to pick up a dozen Precept U-Tri Tours. They're $22/doz at the local Target. They're a three-piece ball. And comparing these to the more premium balls, like Cally HX Tours, ProV1's, etc... it's really tough to find $2.50 worth of difference in performance.

Suprisingly long, excellent spin on mid/short irons... I can back these balls up with a short iron no different than I can a ProV. And soft around the greens. The endurance of the ball is awesome. I have played one ball for three rounds, and there's not even the slightest hint of wear.

For less than $2/ball, you won't find a better three piece ball with similar performance qualities of the premium four-piece balls on the market.