Need help deciding on a ball type

I was fitted for a new Ping V2 Rapture driver and a set of Ping i10's and bought the 4-SW. As part of that fitting, I was told that I should be playing a high spin tour ball. I was told to play the Callaway i(x) or Pro V1x or an equivalent. Bridgestone says E330 and Srixon says Z-Star X are their comparable models. Swing speed 108MPH with driver.

So here's the thing. With my new i10's, I am one club longer than with the old crappy knockoff irons I was playing. So, I now hit an 8 iron when I used to hit a 7 iron, etc. When I play the "tour" balls, my irons are the exact same as they were with my old set and I am not a club longer. My driver average is up to about 270 now. I can stop the ball on greens when I want to and have good feel all around playing the softer "tour ball."

With the 2 piece "distance" ball, my new irons are still one club longer and I hit the driver maybe 5 yards further. My misses are a little less drastic with all clubs because of the reduced spin. As you might guess, I can't always hold the ball on the green and I feel like I have a little less touch.

I'm well aware that I need to practice my short game more because every round I've played this year I've shot 85 or under and walked off the course looking at my stats knowing that I lost nearly 10 strokes to poor short game play and missed GIR's. This has happened regardless of which ball I play.

So what do you guys think? Is the advantage of being one club longer worth the lack of control around the greens I'd suffer with the distance ball? It is also a little more forgiving when I miss or I'm trying to work the ball and keeps my natural draw from turning into a bad hook. Or is it worth the sacrifice of distance to have the extra spin and soft feel of the tour ball?

I feel like I'm at a point where I need to choose a ball and then adjust my game to it (as well as practicing my short game more!!!!!!) in order to get myself breaking 80 regularly-which is my biggest goal for this season.

What would you do if you were me?

Firstly, I don't think you need to play a tour ball to break 80 consistently. You just need to use a ball that is predictable to you.

I use the ball that gives me enough spin for my short game chips and pitches - that is my number one priority, because that's where I need a lot of help. If your short game relies more on higher trajectory to get the ball to stop then you could probably use a lower spin distance ball. If like me however you play your touch shots lower than you will need the spin to help you stop the ball. So ask yourself which short game shots you are more comfortable hitting and work from there.

Also, there are plenty of distance balls now that feel really soft, so you don't need to compromise on feel if you want to play a distance ball.

I hope that helps.

I'm surprised you see a full club difference on full shots with irons. That hasn't been my experience.

Most people will recommend you start at the green and work back. Find a selection of balls that do what you want around the green on the touch shots, then start moving back until you find the best all around ball for you.

In your case, you've already said that the "distance" ball, even though it is longer, does not help you hit more greens in regulation. At that point, short game is king and if you have better control and feel with the "tour" ball then it's a no brainer.

I'd take short game touch and give up the club distance.

I tend to try different golf balls, including the top-o-line Titleists and Callaways. Because I'm a mid-cap senior, some days my game is good. Others it's not so good. This makes it hard to determine if one ball is really better than another. But over time, I do recognize that some balls tend to be more consistent than others FOR MY GAME. Certain balls will go farther, straighter, etc. My "go-to" ball at the moment is the Nike Vapor. Don't know why, but it just works better for me all things consisered. I'll find other favorites over time. It always happens. Just play some different balls and see if one will choose you. It may take a month of fooling around, but you'll eventually find a comfort level with one model over the others. It may be the ProV ... or it may be a Top Flite Gamer (which would be wonderful from a $ perspective)!

Thanks for the responses so far, everyone. PLEASE keep 'em coming.

[quote name='DFinch' date='18 April 2010 - 10:46 PM' timestamp='1271648793' post='2387314']
I'm surprised you see a full club difference on full shots with irons. That hasn't been my experience. [/quote]

I think it is odd, too, but I had the same experience with my old crappy knockoff irons. I was a full iron longer with those as well when I played the "distance" ball, which I realize now I forgot to post up. This "distance" ball I've been trying out is a Top Flite XL 3000 Super Soft.

Thinking back on a few of the rounds I've played this year, the ones I've played with the ProV1x have been a little windier days. Yesterday it was dead calm. I'm wondering if some of the perceived distance loss I've noticed between the ProV1x and the XL3000 isn't the wind.

Anyone have any thoughts on what the higher spin rates do to a ball in a headwind? I've always thought that higher spin in a cross wind helped hold the ball from moving too much left to right. Does a high spin rate make the ball die easier when facing a head wind when compared to a lower spinning ball when facing a headwind?

I really do love the feel of the softer ball around the greens. Yesterday, playing the XL3000 I had several chips that rolled way further past the hole than I like and I also felt like I had zero touch on my putts from a distance standpoint. I'm aware that these are the chief complaints of the "distance" ball, so it wasn't surprising. But, I'd be willing to adjust my short game to fit that if people felt strongly enough that I should play the distance ball.

I guess the whole reason this is in my mind was that one of the reasons I upgraded my irons was to increase my ability to hit "short irons" from longer distances. For example, I generally hit an 8-iron 150 yards with a ProV1x and a 6-iron is probably in the 170-175 range. With the XL3000, I can hit that 6 more like 185. That distance did not change when I upgrade to my i10's. One of the major motivators for my upgrade was to be able to hit a 6-iron 180-185 rather than a 5. Mostly basing this on the thought that a 6 is easier to control than a 5, thus making me more accurate and getting my GIR a boost.

Maybe I need someone to tell me I'm a headcase and to just shut up and play. My only reply to that is that I'm feeling right now like I've wasted my money on a new set of irons that (at least at the moment) I do not feel like have improved my game a single bit.

Don't get me wrong-they feel great and I love them. I just haven't seen any performance difference. Maybe I just need to hit them a little more and get used to them and then I'll see my distances increase some?

I've hit balls geared for distance, cheaper 2-piece ones, and typically play "tour" balls (V1x,iX,i(z), and Z*) and have never found them to lack distance where I picked up spin - not a full club worth anyway.

Play something you are comfortable with that may have both attributes.

BStone E5 comes to mind. Nike Tour D. Cally iX for sure too.

I understand your theory that hitting one less club in can help you hit greens, but you said in your first post that you don't hit more greens with the distance ball.

Even if you do hit a few more greens, if it's making it harder to get up and down on the greens you don't hit, it's costing you strokes.

Looking at my best scores this year:

72 (8 greens, 6 up and downs, , 4 birdies)
69 (16 greens, 1 up and down, 2 birdies, 1 eagle)
73 (10 greens, 4 up and downs, 3 birdies)
73 (9 greens, 5 up and downs, 1 birdie, 1 eagle)
75 (7 greens, 5 up and downs, 3 birdies) 72.6 rating

Compare stats to my not as good rounds:

78 (9 greens, 1 up and down, 1 birdie, 1 eagle) This is the same course as the 72 above. I hit one more green, I shot 6 shots worse.
79 (5 greens, 6 up and downs) This is the same course as the 69 above. Short game could not recover for my poor approach shots.
80 (9 greens, 1 up and down, 1 birdie) This is the same course as the first 73 above. One less green, 7 shots worse.
81 (8 greens, 0 up and downs, 2 birdies) This is also the same course as the first 73 above. 2 less greens, not a single up and down, 8 shots worse.
78 (12 greens, 1 up and down, 1 birdie) This is also the same course as the first 73 above. 2 MORE greens, 5 shots worse.


With the exception of the "lights out" 16 green round, the difference between a "best round" and "worst" round is short game, short game, short game. I'd rather have a 9 green 73 than a 12 green 78.

What about a 3 piece semi-distance ball with medium spin like a Nike One Vapor or a Titleist NXT Tour? I recently switched to the Vapor which fits into that category, but unlike you I can use the extra distance.

[b]DFinch[/b], you're selling me on this theory. I've played several rounds where I shot a low score without much GIR based on that "short game, short game, short game" way of playing. I guess I'm just disappointed that new irons have not correlated to an improvement in GIR.

With my knockoff irons, I could pure an iron shot from a perfect lie in the fairway and still not have the ball fly the expected distance, then it would do it 2 holes later. I will say that I have not yet noticed that having happened one time with my i10's. Maybe I should be focusing on the fact that the i10's are much more consistent and forgiving than the knockoffs were.

[b]RJRJRJ[/b], my ball of choice before all of this was the NXT Tour. Interesting that you recommend it. Perhaps I'll see how they do with these new irons. Anyone think the NXT Tour will spin too much off the new driver and give me too much balloon action?