Choosing a Ball

[Girevik]

So I've been playing the Kirkland ball for a bit now (4 piece when they were available, now the 3), but all this talk about them being "too spinny" is kind of concerning me since I'm not the straightest hitter on the course. But I'm also wildly inconsistent, so I've got that going for me.

 

Is there any way for me to really tell if a different ball would help me other than trying them on the course? And even then I'm not sure I can tell what is the ball and what is me. I have hit some really good shots with the Kirkland, so I know it's possible, but I wonder if I'm cutting down my margin of error.

 

My other issue is that since I am so wild and lose my share of balls (and most of your share, too), that I don't want to spend more than $20 a dozen on balls, and the $12 - $15 price point of the Kirkland really appeals to me.

[Maroon_19]

Look at the MG Golf C4. $19.99 a dozen. I'm playing at a 12 and I cannot tell a difference between them and a Pro V1x. Long off the tee. Hold the green on well struck shots. Get lost in water and woods just like those high dollar balls without the added cost.

I play the Snell MTB Black ball as well. I like it a little better than the MG. Just a little softer off the tee but goes just as far. They cost a little bit more tho.

[GSDriver]

Try a flavor of Vice Pro models, they're cheap and perform far better than price point would suggest.

[monkeyboy]

Work on your swing, don't worry so much about the ball. Save some money and use it for lessons. As you get better, you can think about the ball. At this point, if you want a goto ball vs playing with a variety of found balls - get something cheap and decent that feels good off your putter. As you get better, you can spend more for tour level balls that will +/- spin based on your game. (I play with found balls for all of the off season, then break out my normal balls when I have shaken some rust off. Shot my best round (72) with a found Slazenger)

[BeerPerHole]

Don't rule out the Snell Get Sum. Your game sounds a lot like mine...haha....

[Mahamilto]

Callaway Supersoft is by far the straightest golf ball ever. There is a huge difference between it and a tour ball on directional misses.

 

AVX is the straightest urethane ball I have hit.

 

The obvious trade off is some greenside spin. I don't play the supersoft because I can't hit precise stop and drop short game shots. The AVX is miles better than the supersoft around the green (if you play spinny shots), but its not going to hop and stop like the ProV1 or V1x.

 

Its all a trade off. If you are losing strokes off the tee... supersoft will lead to lower scores. If you need hop and stop and have control off the tee... try a tour ball. If you are in between, try the ERC soft or AVX type balls.

[Girevik]

> @monkeyboy said:

> Work on your swing, don't worry so much about the ball. Save some money and use it for lessons. As you get better, you can think about the ball. At this point, if you want a goto ball vs playing with a variety of found balls - get something cheap and decent that feels good off your putter. As you get better, you can spend more for tour level balls that will +/- spin based on your game. (I play with found balls for all of the off season, then break out my normal balls when I have shaken some rust off. Shot my best round (72) with a found Slazenger)

 

That's pretty much been my philosophy and why I've been sticking with the Kirkland for now. Seems to be a great value ball, and in my mind at least worth the little extra bit over the Slazy Raw Feels I started out playing.

 

Maybe I can make enough progress this year that I can star worrying about it before I need to stat thinking about senior flex shafts.

 

 

[Z1ggy16]

> @Girevik said:

> So I've been playing the Kirkland ball for a bit now (4 piece when they were available, now the 3), but all this talk about them being "too spinny" is kind of concerning me since I'm not the straightest hitter on the course. But I'm also wildly inconsistent, so I've got that going for me.

>

> Is there any way for me to really tell if a different ball would help me other than trying them on the course? And even then I'm not sure I can tell what is the ball and what is me. I have hit some really good shots with the Kirkland, so I know it's possible, but I wonder if I'm cutting down my margin of error.

>

> My other issue is that since I am so wild and lose my share of balls (and most of your share, too), that I don't want to spend more than $20 a dozen on balls, and the $12 - $15 price point of the Kirkland really appeals to me.

 

1) Lostgolfballs.com (high quality stuff, $10-15 a dozen for tour balls)

2) If you're chucking balls 40 yards OB, changing ball isn't going to stop that. I'd worry a lot less about what ball you are using right now, use something that feels nice off the club face and then get (or keep getting) lessons. Playing a Supersoft or similar may cut some spin down but again, it won't stop that massive 'nanner slice, if that's what is plaguing you.

[arbeck]

> @Girevik said:

> So I've been playing the Kirkland ball for a bit now (4 piece when they were available, now the 3), but all this talk about them being "too spinny" is kind of concerning me since I'm not the straightest hitter on the course. But I'm also wildly inconsistent, so I've got that going for me.

>

> Is there any way for me to really tell if a different ball would help me other than trying them on the course? And even then I'm not sure I can tell what is the ball and what is me. I have hit some really good shots with the Kirkland, so I know it's possible, but I wonder if I'm cutting down my margin of error.

>

> My other issue is that since I am so wild and lose my share of balls (and most of your share, too), that I don't want to spend more than $20 a dozen on balls, and the $12 - $15 price point of the Kirkland really appeals to me.

 

I wouldn't worry about spin and not being straight. It's not spin that causes the ball to curve, it's the spin axis. Take two driver shots with the exact same spin axis. Have one with 1800RPM of spin and one with 3000 RPM spin. The one with more spin will actually curve less, because backspin has a stabilizing effect on ball flight. It's one big reason you can't curve a seven iron as much as you can curve a driver.

 

When picking a ball the first thing you need to do is putt with it. If you don't like the way it feels/sounds off the putter, you shouldn't play it. I don't love balls like the Cut Blue, Kirkland K3, and most of the X tour balls off the putter. They sound hard and clicky, which is off putting to me.

 

The second test is to chip and hit pitch shots with it. Do you like the way it feels and sounds (the same balls that I don't like off the putter I don't like here)? If you are ok with the feel how does it react? If you're inconsistent, a tour ball might not be the best option. If you hit 10 chips and 7 roll out but 3 stop with spin using a urethane ball, but using a supersoft type ball all 10 roll out, you might be better off with the supersoft. That's really only something you can decide yourself.

 

Only after that should you hit full shots. Make sure the launch and spin off the clubs are in acceptable windows off irons. If you prefer a supersoft type ball while chipping, this might be hard to manage, because the spin is going to be low off the irons here.

 

Finally, test the driver. You're unlikely to see more than a few hundred RPM's of spin between any two balls on equivalent strikes here, so this isn't really that important.

 

The basic idea is that you start with a large set of balls you might want to play, and then you eliminate some after each test. Finally, you have the balls left at the end, pick the one that fits your budget.