True or False

I was just listening to an hour long tech show on PGA Radio discussing premium tour level golf balls.

The statement they made was "lower compression non X balls spin less than higher compression x models" - I always thought it was the opposite?

That's confusing to me. Lower compression balls spin less which is why they are marketed to higher handicappers. Less sidespin equals more control. So they got that part right, but most X balls spin less except for the Pro V1 I believe.

There's a lot more substance to it than that.

Give the latest TXG a watch where they are talking about the Mizuno balls. A lot of great information and answers you seek are in there.

> @Stanks said:

> There's a lot more substance to it than that.

> Give the latest TXG a watch where they are talking about the Mizuno balls. A lot of great information and answers you seek are in there.

Agree 100%

Makes sense to me.

> @"Hat Trick" said:

> I was just listening to an hour long tech show on PGA Radio discussing premium tour level golf balls.

> The statement they made was "lower compression non X balls spin less than higher compression x models" - I always thought it was the opposite?

For which clubs? The ball characteristics that effects the spin on drivers vs irons vs wedges can differ quite a bit.

Lower compression balls spin less all things being equal. However, the cover is what generates most of your spin on iron and wedge shots (you aren't full compressing the balls below a 6i). Most X balls have a firmer cover (part of the reason they often feel clicky). The softer the cover, the more wedge spin you're going to get. So a harder cover can reduce spin.

Mizuno with their ball has the same cover and construction on both of their balls, but one is firmer so it spins less. The other companies don't necessarily make the balls the same way. They put a firmer cover on the ball and make the core firmer or they add a layer to the ball or they do something else. For instance you can make a fairly firm mantle area that is hard to compress with a wedge or short iron but will completely compress with a higher swing speed from a long iron or wood. This keeps the driver spin low, but will spin things more of short irons and wedges. It's possible (as Titleist basically has) to make your X and regular ball have basically identical spin numbers but different feels due to compression. It's also possible to make the firmer ball spin less due to a different construction (as most of the other companies do). This makes sense as on average high swing speed players want/need a firmer ball, but also generate more spin on their own than a slow swing speed player. Or you can do what Mizuno has done and flip it.

> @arbeck said:

> Lower compression balls spin less all things being equal. However, the cover is what generates most of your spin on iron and wedge shots (you aren't full compressing the balls below a 6i). Most X balls have a firmer cover (part of the reason they often feel clicky). The softer the cover, the more wedge spin you're going to get. So a harder cover can reduce spin.

>

> Mizuno with their ball has the same cover and construction on both of their balls, but one is firmer so it spins less. The other companies don't necessarily make the balls the same way. They put a firmer cover on the ball and make the core firmer or they add a layer to the ball or they do something else. For instance you can make a fairly firm mantle area that is hard to compress with a wedge or short iron but will completely compress with a higher swing speed from a long iron or wood. This keeps the driver spin low, but will spin things more of short irons and wedges. It's possible (as Titleist basically has) to make your X and regular ball have basically identical spin numbers but different feels due to compression. It's also possible to make the firmer ball spin less due to a different construction (as most of the other companies do). This makes sense as on average high swing speed players want/need a firmer ball, but also generate more spin on their own than a slow swing speed player. Or you can do what Mizuno has done and flip it.

So what you're actually saying is that the difference between the "regular" ball and the "X" ball, from company to company means nothing.

Thanks.

> @nsxguy said:

> So what you're actually saying is that the difference between the "regular" ball and the "X" ball, from company to company means nothing.

>

> Thanks.

The X ball will always be firmer. In general, a firmer ball will spin more. The Chrome Soft X spins more than the Chrome Soft. With the Taylor Made however, the main difference is a harder cover on the TP5X makes it spin less than the TP5. Srixon follows Taylor Made with the Z Star spinning more but feeling softer than the XV due to a softer cover. Mizuno is like Callaway in that the softer ball spins less. Titleist used to be like Taylor Made and Srixon, however they have changed their balls so that the spin characteristic is mostly the same between the V1 and the V1x (most people think that the V1x spins more now, but TXG didn't find this to be the case).

In all the cases, the X ball is the firmer filling ball. So if you like a ball to feel firmer (and are likely swinging above 105 MPH) you'll probably want an X ball. Then you have to decide if you want to knock spin off or generate more spin. If you want more spin, the Chrome Soft X or Mizuno RBX is likely better. If you want less spin, the Srixon or Taylor Made is probably better. If you really want to knock off spin, going to the Q-Star Tour, Wilson Pro, AVX, or Project(A) is probably what you want. I'm excluding Bridgestone because they have basically a ball for everyone in their line.

However, I wouldn't really be buying a ball based mostly on the spin characteristics of full shots. First putt with it. For me that eliminates all the X balls except the Chrome Soft X. Once you have a ball you can putt with, hit some chips. Again to me all the X balls save the Chrome Soft X feel too clicky. Only after putting and chipping would I worry about full shots. I like the feel on irons of the Wilson Duo Pro, Project A, FG Tour, Q Star Tour, and Chrome Soft best (and in that order). The Mizuno RB Tour, Srixon Z-Star, Chrome Soft X, and Pro V1 are all acceptable. Off the driver, I can't really tell the difference. There isn't really even that much difference on flushed shots, it's mostly on mishits that the softer balls feel better. Only at this point do I look at spin. And I find that the Q-Star Tour, Duo Pro, and Project A all spin quite a bit less than the tour level balls. It's probably not enough to make a huge difference, but since I'm using lower spinning game improvement irons, I don't want to give away too much spin.

> @arbeck said:

> > @nsxguy said:

> > So what you're actually saying is that the difference between the "regular" ball and the "X" ball, from company to company means nothing.

> >

> > Thanks.

>

> The X ball will always be firmer. In general, a firmer ball will spin more. The Chrome Soft X spins more than the Chrome Soft. With the Taylor Made however, the main difference is a harder cover on the TP5X makes it spin less than the TP5. Srixon follows Taylor Made with the Z Star spinning more but feeling softer than the XV due to a softer cover. Mizuno is like Callaway in that the softer ball spins less. Titleist used to be like Taylor Made and Srixon, however they have changed their balls so that the spin characteristic is mostly the same between the V1 and the V1x (most people think that the V1x spins more now, but TXG didn't find this to be the case).

>

> In all the cases, the X ball is the firmer filling ball. So if you like a ball to feel firmer (and are likely swinging above 105 MPH) you'll probably want an X ball. Then you have to decide if you want to knock spin off or generate more spin. If you want more spin, the Chrome Soft X or Mizuno RBX is likely better. If you want less spin, the Srixon or Taylor Made is probably better. If you really want to knock off spin, going to the Q-Star Tour, Wilson Pro, AVX, or Project(A) is probably what you want. I'm excluding Bridgestone because they have basically a ball for everyone in their line.

>

> However, I wouldn't really be buying a ball based mostly on the spin characteristics of full shots. First putt with it. For me that eliminates all the X balls except the Chrome Soft X. Once you have a ball you can putt with, hit some chips. Again to me all the X balls save the Chrome Soft X feel too clicky. Only after putting and chipping would I worry about full shots. I like the feel on irons of the Wilson Duo Pro, Project A, FG Tour, Q Star Tour, and Chrome Soft best (and in that order). The Mizuno RB Tour, Srixon Z-Star, Chrome Soft X, and Pro V1 are all acceptable. Off the driver, I can't really tell the difference. There isn't really even that much difference on flushed shots, it's mostly on mishits that the softer balls feel better. Only at this point do I look at spin. And I find that the Q-Star Tour, Duo Pro, and Project A all spin quite a bit less than the tour level balls. It's probably not enough to make a huge difference, but since I'm using lower spinning game improvement irons, I don't want to give away too much spin.

>

>

Companies can't agree on anything other than what's in the Rules but they'll agree about golf ball naming (in general ?) ?

If anything, some golf companies just want to muddy the water so someone'll think their (whatever) is comparable or better than somebody else's.

Anyway, "in general", got it. Thanks.