Disadvantages of Low Compression Golf Balls

Hey guys I was reading the topics about the Callaway Supersoft and it got me wondering, is there a disadvantage to using a low compression golf balls in 70 plus weather?

I'm wondering only because after reading the topic on the Supersoft I picked up a dozen to try and was thinking if I liked it enough it my be my ball for this season.

If you hit the ball harder than its designed then I think it makes it counter productive.

I could see that. My swing speed is only around 89-92. So I can understand how a harder swing would compress the ball to much and hurt distance. I heard from a guy at the dome. That his fitter had him hit both the SS and SR1 and he had better numbers with the SS. So I figured I would give it a try. Since the price point is way more in price range.

I keep seeing guys comment about switching golf balls when it warmer out. I can see how the cold night affect the balls distance. I just can't find any data or logic on how the warmer weather would have a negative impact on a low compression ball.

Just for information, I'll point out that not one iota of physical evidence has ever been published (to my knowledge) demonstrating any loss of ball speed from high clubhead speed players using "too low compression" golf balls and "overcompressing" them.

Everyone around here seems to assume that is true but it's just an assumption that appears to "make sense" or something like that, to some people at least. It is not a known, demonstrated, measured fact by any means.

Which doesn't mean it's NOT true. Just that there's no publicly-available evidence to support the notion.

I have been playing the Duo for the last 16 months straight and have compared it on course against the ProV1x, the Bridgestone B330 and am currently testing it against the Callaway SR3. I've found absolutely no concrete evidence that I am losing one yard of distance by playing this ball - driver SS is 104-106 - and in fact I think it is still longer for me with the irons than the ProV1x was. I played the Duo through last winter / summer and this entire offseason. It has certain other differences but I have seen zero long term evidence that I am hitting the ball shorter.

I am hoping the when Bridgestone comes around in a few weeks with their launch monitor / ball fitting deal that I can get the Duo and SR3 measured against whatever it is they want to measure me against to put some quantitative driver numbers down on paper.

Thanks for the input guys! I'm still figuring out how to be a better golfer lol. (I only have one full season under my belt) and I am really looking into all aspects of my game. Not so much for distances but consistency and I know the ball is the one area that I can afford to change that up right now.

I searched high and low, and found nothing online that proves that warmer weather affects the of a low compression ball playability and distance. So I figured I would come to the source for answers and. opinions. I'm definitely glad I found this forum a while back so much informations and discussions. Thx again guys?

I have been playing the low compression Treo soft for years. My swing speed is around 100 to 105 and have not noticed any difference in distance between low compression and the other balls I put into play from time to time. Now spin numbers will differ off the irons but the only time that impacts my game is on a full chip shot versus something like a Pro V1.

The big thing with compression is "feel" (really mostly sound). A lot of that changing in cold weather is from guys who don't like the way their usual ball feels/sounds on a 40F day so they go with something a bit less clicky.

Interestingly, in another recent thread a number of GolfWRX'ers rated "feel" higher than "spin" on their list of important golf ball characteristics. Which seems kind of amazing to me but there it is.

I have a ss of 106 mph and just started trying the supersoft and duo. I love the feel of these balls at impact. They are playing the same distance on iron shots, but holding the greens alittle better. Great feel on touch shots and feel much better than any other ball at lower temperatures. The only downside is that they are 5-10 yards shorter for me off the tee when compared directly with the Hex Chrome plus I was playing last season. I haven't been able to play in 70 degree weather yet, so I can't comment, but I am enjoying them, and plan to keep playing them until I run out. I have two boxes of SR2 balls and 3 boxes of Lethals that will be put into play once the supersoft and duo run out. Great balls. Who knows, maybe I will come back to them.

I see no reason why a fast SS would not get good distance with a low compression ball. I know we are talking about 5-10 yards or so, but I suspect that that the higher SS would also compress a high compression ball well and get a few more yards - but this just my observation.

I do believe that a slower wing speed such as mine (85-90) would compress the lower compression ball better ball resulting in more distance, especially on off-center hits which as an 18 HCP I get quite a few.

NJpatbee,

I know that's a plausible idea but in my own experience it just doesn't happen. I've hit balls side-by-side on exactly the same shots comaparing a 100, 110, even nearly 120 compression rating ball to some other ball in the 70's or 80's. I can not find one bit of difference in distance. Even on mishits. But maybe that's just something weird about my swing...lord knows it's slow enough but maybe something else about it doesn't work like other slow swingers.

The balls that really fall out of the air on mishit iron shots for me are the high compression, hard cover "distance" balls like the Titleist Velocity. But I think that's a spin thing, when I mishit a long iron it's both lacking clubhead speed and spin so a super-low-spin ball just doesn't carry.

My ss is 105+ and i love low compression balls. I normally use Z stars. I'm now trying the wilson DX2 soft (tomorrow in fact). I beat 3 guys, all CAT 2 players with a ladies precept the other week. I didn't tell them though.

I love the soft balls. Great sound/feel when putting and can hit long irons miles into the air

Fourmyle

I now understand why people would switch balls. It has nothing to do with the distance. The cold weather makes balls like the pro V1 hit like brick. Hell you learn new things everyday.

I'm hoping to get out this weekend and play my first round of the year. So far my balls of choice in my bag is the Supersoft or the Hex Diablo.

Might try them both to see how I like them.

I never played a low compression ball in anything over 30 degrees and figured I try it out since others seem to like it. I bought a box of duo's and tested them yesterday. I normally play pro v x's, chrome +'s, B330’s and Wilson fg x.

I'm on the higher side ss wise and the right side of the course is just a rumor to me. I putted with the Duo and really loved the soft feel. Practiced chipping and no problems there. I get lots of spin and actually liked how these performed. Then I went to the first tee and hit 3. All three started down the right side and then made a hard right like I’ve never seen before. Put the same swing on a Chrome, normal draw. I didn’t mind the sound, or feel, liked both. Did mind the results. Tried the same thing a few holes later same results. It looked like a whiffle ball the way it moved. Had better results with the irons but still worse than my normal balls.

[quote name='scottaz' timestamp='1396545455' post='9012169']
I never played a low compression ball in anything over 30 degrees and figured I try it out since others seem to like it. I bought a box of duo's and tested them yesterday. I normally play pro v x's, chrome +'s, B330’s and Wilson fg x.

I'm on the higher side ss wise and the right side of the course is just a rumor to me. I putted with the Duo and really loved the soft feel. Practiced chipping and no problems there. I get lots of spin and actually liked how these performed. Then I went to the first tee and hit 3. All three started down the right side and then made a hard right like I’ve never seen before. Put the same swing on a Chrome, normal draw. I didn’t mind the sound, or feel, liked both. Did mind the results. Tried the same thing a few holes later same results. It looked like a whiffle ball the way it moved. Had better results with the irons but still worse than my normal balls.
[/quote]When the first generation of the B-330-RXS came out, I tried it for a couple rounds and saw a similar result. My shots would start fine, then seem to "knuckle" and level off very quickly. The distance loss was probably 10-15 yards as I went to a ProV1x after a few of those balls and saw that distance differential. Initially, I thought I must have just had a single 'bad' ball so i tried others and kept seeing the same thing. Last year, I got a 2-pack of the newer B-330-RXS and saw great results. The compression is about 10 points higher in that version and the cover is different. The performance is like a ProV1, but longer with a little less greenside spin, imo.

jar59,

There might also be something to that "dimple in dimple" thing with the second-gen B330 series. I personally didn't notice any difference but it may have mattered for your swing.

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1396547497' post='9012493']
jar59,

There might also be something to that "dimple in dimple" thing with the second-gen B330 series. I personally didn't notice any difference but it may have mattered for your swing.
[/quote]Yes, the dimples would be a confounding factor in the performance difference so it may be an error for me to state/imply it was based entirely on compression. I have also played the B-330 and B-330S and really like the stability and flight I get with those balls.

Seems like I remember someone suggesting that the squishier ball may deform in such a way where it was no longer as aerodynamic as it would be for someone with a slower swing speed. Could be wrong...

Any ball will have un-squished itself (and oscillated back and forth between squished and unsquished a couple times) by the time it has flown less than a fott from the clubface. From then on it's as round as it's ever going to be. It's a very well-damped, high-frequency "squish", as it were.

P.S. If I recall my club/ball impact physics aright the period (1/frequency) of that compress-rebound cycle is on the order of a millisecond or so. Or about 1/1,000 of a second. So even at 250fps ball speed it rebounds in about a quarter of a foot or three inches.

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1396548759' post='9012673']
Any ball will have un-squished itself (and oscillated back and forth between squished and unsquished a couple times) by the time it has flown a few feet from the clubface. From then on it's as round as it's ever going to be. It's a very well-damped, high-frequency "squish", as it were.
[/quote]

Yeah, that sounds right. Just kind of goes to show it doesn't really matter.

Sorry, I edited my post while you were replying. I think initially I was thinking the ball traveled farther than it does during the rebound.

I think all you can do is hit different balls and see for yourself. I remember in 2012 testing on flat ground all kinds of different brands of golf balls before narrowing down the Pro-V1 and Pro-V1X before finally settling down with the V1 only to have the new 2013 balls come out to make the test pointless.

Any rate I know [b]for me [/b]the Callaway Supersoft without a doubt outperforms the V1 and V1X in cold weather in terms of distance. I guess I will have to find out if the same is true in warm weather. BTW I'm a high ball hitter with 100-105 mph driver speed.

There must a reason why a lot of pros use older softer balls?

There is a reason that the orginal Precept Lady golf ball was so popular with men (even the better players). I think there was a very detailed and long thread on here about the Lady before it was remade into the Laddie and ruined.

[quote name='scottaz' timestamp='1396545455' post='9012169']
I never played a low compression ball in anything over 30 degrees and figured I try it out since others seem to like it. I bought a box of duo's and tested them yesterday. I normally play pro v x's, chrome +'s, B330’s and Wilson fg x.

I'm on the higher side ss wise and the right side of the course is just a rumor to me. I putted with the Duo and really loved the soft feel. Practiced chipping and no problems there. I get lots of spin and actually liked how these performed. Then I went to the first tee and hit 3. All three started down the right side and then made a hard right like I’ve never seen before. Put the same swing on a Chrome, normal draw. I didn’t mind the sound, or feel, liked both. Did mind the results. Tried the same thing a few holes later same results. It looked like a whiffle ball the way it moved. Had better results with the irons but still worse than my normal balls.
[/quote]
I have found something similar when I have used low compression balls. For whatever reason I just get a better ball flight with top end balls. I probably don't lose any distance off the tee with softer balls, but I don't get that consistent ball flght I get with premium balls. I also like the better greenside performance of my chrome+ ove a 2 piece ball.

Glad I did it, I was wondering for a long time but this is why we need to try different things. See what fits and eliminate what doesn't. Balls are easy enough to tinker with.

I never notice much difference in the balls I do play. Especially when it comes to distance.

I had a feel thing going where it [u]seemed[/u] like the ball was sticking to the driver longer and, in my mind anyway, this created a funky side spin. But the strange thing was, it didn't go haywire until it was pretty far out there.

I too like softer compression balls. Softer the better. Presently using my wife's DT Solo left overs. She has switched to Bridgestone Lady. Might even try the 2014 model once these are gone. Love the NXT Tour S, but not at $40/dz.

Used the wilson DX2 soft today. Great ball. Once i run out of z stars i'll be playing this ball. It sounds so quiet and soft. Great on putting. Could spin the crap out of it with wedges and it's £12.95 a dozen. What's not to like...

did the bridgestone ball fitting yesterday. and they pushed me away from the softer RX due to my swing speed. said it was too much of a lower compression ball for my swing speed (114) pushed me towards the 330s
I normally play the Zstar XV because it feels softer than the 330 but spins more for me on the irons

goes to show that I have no idea what I am doing. And honestly, with my issues on the course (12-14 handicap) it doesnt really matter... I might as well play my sons JrStar Srixons...
lol

There is no disadvantage. Higher swing speed = longer flight.