Straight ball or spin ball?

I started playing golf a year ago. Right now, I slice my driver pretty bad most of the time, and my 3 wood half the time. I played top flite D2 feel, Nike Ignite, and wilson Fifty, all held the green good enough for me and putted well, however I still sliced them. I dont know which type of ball to play. Because on one hand I feel that an extra 15 yards on my drive won't do me any good, whereas a ball that stops on the green as opposed to rolling off will save me a stroke. But then again a ball that will go 240 yards straight a majority of the time might do me better than a ball that goes just over 200 yards and slices in the trees.

I cant afford anything higher than $20 a dozen, so the premium balls are out. So how much extra distance will I get out of a distance ball?

How much straighter will they go?

Should I just hang in there with "softer balls" that spin more and force myself to get better or switch to a straighter ball?

What balls do you recommend and why?

Any site that offers free specs on golf balls such as spin rate of various clubs, avg distance, etc?

I know the problem is my swing and im not expecting a miracle ball to make me hit perfect drives, but I know ball selection is important and I want to pick the right one?

Thanks alot!

I started playing golf a year ago. Right now, I slice my driver pretty bad most of the time, and my 3 wood half the time. I played top flite D2 feel, Nike Ignite, and wilson Fifty, all held the green good enough for me and putted well, however I still sliced them. I dont know which type of ball to play. Because on one hand I feel that an extra 15 yards on my drive won't do me any good, whereas a ball that stops on the green as opposed to rolling off will save me a stroke. But then again a ball that will go 240 yards straight a majority of the time might do me better than a ball that goes just over 200 yards and slices in the trees.

 

I cant afford anything higher than $20 a dozen, so the premium balls are out. So how much extra distance will I get out of a distance ball?

 

How much straighter will they go?

 

Should I just hang in there with "softer balls" that spin more and force myself to get better or switch to a straighter ball?

 

What balls do you recommend and why?

 

Any site that offers free specs on golf balls such as spin rate of various clubs, avg distance, etc?

 

I know the problem is my swing and im not expecting a miracle ball to make me hit perfect drives, but I know ball selection is important and I want to pick the right one?

 

 

Thanks alot!

Try to take a lesson. Group lessons are often pretty inexpensive. A local place has 5 one hour lessons for $99 which I may do myself.

I am sort of in the same boat as you. So far I like Top Flite's D2 Straight. Better than old Top Flites and good on drives. A little heavy off the irons, pitching okay but they will not spin like a Titleist. Putting is okay but practice on the putting green before playing a round. $15 to 16 for 15 balls. The D2 Straight is probably just like the D2 Feel except D2 Straight has a slicker cover to reduce side spin (slice).

I found a Nike Power Straight and it was pretty good. $15 a dozen.

Srixon makes a Go Straight ball in a bright orange foil box. About $15 for 16 balls. It says Go Straight but Srixon makes it. I have not tried those yet.

Wilson makes the SmartCore ball which is a bargain and is soft. Check out ratings on TGW.com web site or Golfsmith. People love it. It is cheap and light but maybe not as straight as the D2. The model designations are confusing. There is Smartcore and Smartcore straight. A very good ball at a very cheap price. The best $10 or less a dozen ball you will ever find. I got the Blue box but the Red box ones are supposedly straighter??

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Make sure you keep the left arm straight if you are a righty. Turn your grip a little more clockwise on the left hand which helps to keep the left arm straight.

Tom Watson in Golf Digest this month says righty duffers like us have a habit of getting their feet aimed too farm right of the target on their drives. Lefties too much to the left.

Maybe learn how to set up for a DRAW to help u combat your slice, which is what I sometimes do when my swing is erratic at the beginning of a round. To set up for a draw, basically, aim the clubface at the target, then align your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders right of the target line, at a point where you'd like the ball to start. Swing the club along a line parallel to where your body is aimed. I also have a slightly strong grip (thumbs are a bit on the right side of the grip) and tee the ball high (at least 1/4 to 1/2 of the ball above driver top edge) and align it to your left heel or even a bit more forward than that (if u're a righty).

Regarding balls, kinda hard to pick & choose at the stage we both find ourselves at, because I'm almost in the same boat as u. Off the tee, w/a driver, I feel that I need to use low spin balls to keep them in the fairway (my shots off the driver are fades to big fades to slices), but we all know how these balls react on the greens (end up rolling off more often than not).

I use the Precept Laddie X ($20 for 24 balls) most of the time and try to be as "gentle" on my green approaches as possible, but it still not quite effective (but, I give these balls credit, they're GREAT for distance & on line w/the driver).

Maybe try using the New TaylorMade Burner balls w/the LDP technology on it ($20 for 12 balls). I haven't tried them yet, but they're mid-spin balls & the LDP technology is supposed to on low-spin, off-center hits, help maintains lift on the ball to minimize distance loss. Don't know the effect of LDP on keeping balls straight, though.

Srixon SoftFeel is nice ball that stays straight, very underrated ball.

"Straight balls" aren't extremely noticeable to me or mos of the guys I play with as far as the reduction in their slice. Obviously companies lab results show that they do reduce side spin on the ball so there is something to them, but I've never been able to turn a slice into a fade before by switching balls only.

I've played the Nike Power Straight when I worked for Nike and it was a wonderful ball for the price. Softer cover than some very low spinning balls.

The way I learned to cure my slice was pretty simple instructions from my uncle about 8 years ago. "Set up straight and try to hook the ball."

It took one entire range session to where I could actually hook the ball on purpose!!! But once I felt the difference in a slice and a hook, it made it a whole lot easier to feel what I was doing wrong at release.

"Straight balls" aren't extremely noticeable to me or mos of the guys I play with as far as the reduction in their slice. Obviously companies lab results show that they do reduce side spin on the ball so there is something to them, but I've never been able to turn a slice into a fade before by switching balls only.

While I agree with most of your post, I have noticed that there are some balls out there that will definitely limit the severity of a sliced drive. When I was trying the Wilson Zip I hit a few drives that should have made it into the next fairway but instead started right and then levelled off. That said, I'd also echo the other comments about taking some lessons - they definitely help more than any equipment changes.