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Is a Urethane Ball Hurting Me?


Twism86

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Im a high HC and am still searching for the "right" ball. Being not that great at golf most of my bad shots are a results of an off center hit, bad swing, etc. Not the balls fault. However, could a urethane covered ball be hurting me? Particularly off the tee with my driver? My miss is right, my shots generally start slightly left and then go right. When I hit them well its predictable and when I dont its a slice. I used to be slicing my driver, a lot, so much that I hated using it. My ball was the K3 and CS. I recently switched to using the Callaway SuperHot Bold, a non-urethane cover ball and have been driving it way better than ever! Was the extra spin with a urethane ball amplifying my slice? Perhaps my swing has improved? Ive been using the driver more and more because I will never get better by not using it so either the work and practice I have been putting in is paying dividends or the ball switch has helped or a combo of both. Let me know what you think.

 

Tom

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I'm a big believer that until you can routinely break 90, you shouldn't even worry about your ball. If playing a certain ball gives you more confidence than great, or if you just want to play the cheapest out there than that is great too. But it has been my experience playing with higher HC's that the deviation between their contact far, far outweighs any deviations due to different balls.

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> @Twism86 said:

> Im a high HC and am still searching for the "right" ball. Being not that great at golf most of my bad shots are a results of an off center hit, bad swing, etc. Not the balls fault. However, could a urethane covered ball be hurting me? Particularly off the tee with my driver? My miss is right, my shots generally start slightly left and then go right. When I hit them well its predictable and when I dont its a slice. I used to be slicing my driver, a lot, so much that I hated using it. My ball was the K3 and CS. I recently switched to using the Callaway SuperHot Bold, a non-urethane cover ball and have been driving it way better than ever! Was the extra spin with a urethane ball amplifying my slice? Perhaps my swing has improved? Ive been using the driver more and more because I will never get better by not using it so either the work and practice I have been putting in is paying dividends or the ball switch has helped or a combo of both. Let me know what you think.

>

> Tom

 

Yes, high spinning ball will exaggerate sidespin and mishits, and urethane covered balls produce higher spin rates than non urethane covered balls. I was recently involved in a physics project on golf ball dimple design and spin rate and as far as the Callaway Superhot, it was found to have the lowest spin rates with the longest distances, e.g. in theory this would produce the "straightest" shots.

 

However, if your drives are starting left center and ending up right center, you are also hitting the driver club face closer to the heel than center which results in sidespin or "gear effect" but that's for another post. :-)

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> @theunartist said:

>

>

> > @Twism86 said:

> > Im a high HC and am still searching for the "right" ball. Being not that great at golf most of my bad shots are a results of an off center hit, bad swing, etc. Not the balls fault. However, could a urethane covered ball be hurting me? Particularly off the tee with my driver? My miss is right, my shots generally start slightly left and then go right. When I hit them well its predictable and when I dont its a slice. I used to be slicing my driver, a lot, so much that I hated using it. My ball was the K3 and CS. I recently switched to using the Callaway SuperHot Bold, a non-urethane cover ball and have been driving it way better than ever! Was the extra spin with a urethane ball amplifying my slice? Perhaps my swing has improved? Ive been using the driver more and more because I will never get better by not using it so either the work and practice I have been putting in is paying dividends or the ball switch has helped or a combo of both. Let me know what you think.

> >

> > Tom

>

> Yes, high spinning ball will exaggerate sidespin and mishits, and urethane covered balls produce higher spin rates than non urethane covered balls. I was recently involved in a physics project on golf ball dimple design and spin rate and as far as the Callaway Superhot, it was found to have the lowest spin rates with the longest distances, e.g. in theory this would produce the "straightest" shots.

>

> However, if your drives are starting left center and ending up right center, you are also hitting the driver club face closer to the heel than center which results in sidespin or "gear effect" but that's for another post. :-)

 

Thanks! yea lets not worry about where im hitting the ball with my driver face. Like Snooki's sexual history, its all over the place and no one needs details....

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I guess after a while I have to concede that millions of golfers apparently hit shots with so much sidespin that a Surlyn ball will end up between the tree lines more often than a urethane one would. I've read that on every Internet golf forum I've ever seen and it's just accepted as something obvious by a lot of people.

 

But I just don't see it with the guys I play golf with. The guys who hang the ball out to the right tend not to be slicers, they tend to hit blocks, pushes and block-fades. The cover of the ball is no use for that kind of path issues. And the guys who hook it...well, in my experience when a hooker hits a hook with the driver he might as well go ahead and tee up another one because it won't be anywhere on the property.

 

So when you hit a slice or hook with a urethane ball how much curvature are we talking about? Curve, not total offline distance. I'm struggling to think of a driver shot I've hit recently that actually *curved* more than 20-25 yards in the air. Many of them are way farther than that offline but they are ones that start as a 25-yard block that fades another 20.

 

I'd struggle to imagine a Surlyn ball cutting the curvature in half versus a urethane one. Not off the driver, for sure. If you look at the spin numbers a shot that spins 3,000rpm with a urethane ball might spin 2.400rpm with a Surlyn one off the driver.

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Agree with North here, their isnt much difference in spin with driver with modern urethane balls, not enough to warrant playing an isomer. The big difference is with irons and wedges and the extra control you get with the extra spin. Given you can get cheap urethane balls (ie costco) im not sure why anyone but a 100+ player would play anything but urethane. I see far more decent chips/iron shots roll out a ton waste shots than a slice that cuts a bit too much.

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> @"North Butte" said:

> I guess after a while I have to concede that millions of golfers apparently hit shots with so much sidespin that a Surlyn ball will end up between the tree lines more often than a urethane one would. I've read that on every Internet golf forum I've ever seen and it's just accepted as something obvious by a lot of people.

>

> But I just don't see it with the guys I play golf with. The guys who hang the ball out to the right tend not to be slicers, they tend to hit **blocks, pushes** and **block-fades**. The cover of the ball is no use for that kind of path issues. And the guys who hook it...well, in my experience when a hooker hits a hook with the driver he might as well go ahead and tee up another one because it won't be anywhere on the property.

 

Unfortunately the words in bold mean nothing to me.... if it goes right its a slice (by accident)? Fade on purpose? I apparently have a lot to learn about my swing.

 

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IMHO, playing a urethane ball isn't hurting you. A few hundred rpm isn't going to turn that 40 yard banana slice into a straight ball ;) It's also not going to turn that 220 yard high spinner you hit low on the face and in the heel into a 250 yard low spin bomb. If you changed nothing at all except for moving strike from low heel to high toe, you could probably gain 30-40 yards just from that.

 

Depending on your game and what clubs you use, lower spin surlyn balls could be hurting you actually. Despite what OEM's want you to think, spin is usually almost a good thing for you, especially now a days with these insane power lofted irons.

 

If IIRC, you live fairly close to me... I HIGHLY recommend going to Nick Bova, now at Hamilton Farm Golf Club. I've seen him 3 times, and I'm down 3 strokes on the HC and I've still got an injured ankle from a month ago. If you do want to go PM me, I can maybe hook you up with a discounted rate. Between seeing him this year plus Monte last year (and incorporating SuperSpeed Golf training here and there), I'm down about 14 strokes on my HC, so... You can 100% improve your game if you are willing to work!

 

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> @Twism86 said:

> > @"North Butte" said:

> > I guess after a while I have to concede that millions of golfers apparently hit shots with so much sidespin that a Surlyn ball will end up between the tree lines more often than a urethane one would. I've read that on every Internet golf forum I've ever seen and it's just accepted as something obvious by a lot of people.

> >

> > But I just don't see it with the guys I play golf with. The guys who hang the ball out to the right tend not to be slicers, they tend to hit **blocks, pushes** and **block-fades**. The cover of the ball is no use for that kind of path issues. And the guys who hook it...well, in my experience when a hooker hits a hook with the driver he might as well go ahead and tee up another one because it won't be anywhere on the property.

>

> Unfortunately the words in bold mean nothing to me.... if it goes right its a slice (by accident)? Fade on purpose? I apparently have a lot to learn about my swing.

>

 

A block or push is a straight ball that goes straight right (for a righty golfer). There are many ways for it to occur but the classic example (I do this far too often) is to swing way far from the inside while failing to release the club. So the path is maybe 5-6 degrees in-to-out but the clubface is also 5-6 degrees open to the target line. The result is a high, straight, very solid shot that goes as far as a perfect strike except it's on a line that carries it into the trees instead of fairway.

 

If you hit shots that start where you're aiming, then curve right so much that they end up 40 yards offline that's a slice. If you hit shots that never curve but still end up 40 yards to the right, that's a block or push. Or maybe it's an in-between that starts out as if it's going to be 20 yards right then curves another 20 yards. that's a block-fade.

 

There's also the opposite problem where you come over the top but have the clubface closed to the target line. That's a pull and again, they can be absolutely straight but go straight into the woods 40 yards left of where you tried to aim.

 

The relative spin of different balls ONLY affect curvature. Not pushes or pulls. So that's why I asked about curvature. When you hit a ball that ends up 40 yards offline, does it curve at all while in the air? Does it curve enough to cause the 40-yard miss (uncommon in my experience) or does it start out offline from the very beginning and then curve some more on top of that?

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> @"North Butte" said:

> > @Twism86 said:

> > > @"North Butte" said:

> > > I guess after a while I have to concede that millions of golfers apparently hit shots with so much sidespin that a Surlyn ball will end up between the tree lines more often than a urethane one would. I've read that on every Internet golf forum I've ever seen and it's just accepted as something obvious by a lot of people.

> > >

> > > But I just don't see it with the guys I play golf with. The guys who hang the ball out to the right tend not to be slicers, they tend to hit **blocks, pushes** and **block-fades**. The cover of the ball is no use for that kind of path issues. And the guys who hook it...well, in my experience when a hooker hits a hook with the driver he might as well go ahead and tee up another one because it won't be anywhere on the property.

> >

> > Unfortunately the words in bold mean nothing to me.... if it goes right its a slice (by accident)? Fade on purpose? I apparently have a lot to learn about my swing.

> >

>

> A block or push is a straight ball that goes straight right (for a righty golfer). There are many ways for it to occur but the classic example (I do this far too often) is to swing way far from the inside while failing to release the club. So the path is maybe 5-6 degrees in-to-out but the clubface is also 5-6 degrees open to the target line. The result is a high, straight, very solid shot that goes as far as a perfect strike except it's on a line that carries it into the trees instead of fairway.

>

> If you hit shots that start where you're aiming, then curve right so much that they end up 40 yards offline that's a slice. If you hit shots that never curve but still end up 40 yards to the right, that's a block or push. Or maybe it's an in-between that starts out as if it's going to be 20 yards right then curves another 20 yards. that's a block-fade.

>

> There's also the opposite problem where you come over the top but have the clubface closed to the target line. That's a pull and again, they can be absolutely straight but go straight into the woods 40 yards left of where you tried to aim.

>

> The relative spin of different balls ONLY affect curvature. Not pushes or pulls. So that's why I asked about curvature. When you hit a ball that ends up 40 yards offline, does it curve at all while in the air? Does it curve enough to cause the 40-yard miss (uncommon in my experience) or does it start out offline from the very beginning and then curve some more on top of that?

 

Thanks! I would say my misses sound more like blocks or pushes most of the time with some slicing thrown in there. I also have no clue the angle of my club face on my impacts or misses.

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I'm a high capper also and every time I play a tour Callaway ball my game enters the twilight zone. The Kirkland ball is no good either. For players like us with this type of issue (slice,fade etc), the wrong spin is very debilitating.

 

For the past few years, I've been playing the NXT Tour S which I found to be very consistent with minimal curvature off the tee. But I've recently switched to the Pro V1x ball - this ball is even straighter off the tee and even better on approach shots.

 

I also recently switched out my driver to the Ping G LST which is long and straighter - if I curve it off the tee, I now know what adjustment that I have to make on the next tee because this driver is a spin reducer.

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> @Twism86 said:

> > @"North Butte" said:

> > > @Twism86 said:

> > > > @"North Butte" said:

> > > > I guess after a while I have to concede that millions of golfers apparently hit shots with so much sidespin that a Surlyn ball will end up between the tree lines more often than a urethane one would. I've read that on every Internet golf forum I've ever seen and it's just accepted as something obvious by a lot of people.

> > > >

> > > > But I just don't see it with the guys I play golf with. The guys who hang the ball out to the right tend not to be slicers, they tend to hit **blocks, pushes** and **block-fades**. The cover of the ball is no use for that kind of path issues. And the guys who hook it...well, in my experience when a hooker hits a hook with the driver he might as well go ahead and tee up another one because it won't be anywhere on the property.

> > >

> > > Unfortunately the words in bold mean nothing to me.... if it goes right its a slice (by accident)? Fade on purpose? I apparently have a lot to learn about my swing.

> > >

> >

> > A block or push is a straight ball that goes straight right (for a righty golfer). There are many ways for it to occur but the classic example (I do this far too often) is to swing way far from the inside while failing to release the club. So the path is maybe 5-6 degrees in-to-out but the clubface is also 5-6 degrees open to the target line. The result is a high, straight, very solid shot that goes as far as a perfect strike except it's on a line that carries it into the trees instead of fairway.

> >

> > If you hit shots that start where you're aiming, then curve right so much that they end up 40 yards offline that's a slice. If you hit shots that never curve but still end up 40 yards to the right, that's a block or push. Or maybe it's an in-between that starts out as if it's going to be 20 yards right then curves another 20 yards. that's a block-fade.

> >

> > There's also the opposite problem where you come over the top but have the clubface closed to the target line. That's a pull and again, they can be absolutely straight but go straight into the woods 40 yards left of where you tried to aim.

> >

> > The relative spin of different balls ONLY affect curvature. Not pushes or pulls. So that's why I asked about curvature. When you hit a ball that ends up 40 yards offline, does it curve at all while in the air? Does it curve enough to cause the 40-yard miss (uncommon in my experience) or does it start out offline from the very beginning and then curve some more on top of that?

>

> Thanks! I would say my misses sound more like blocks or pushes most of the time with some slicing thrown in there. I also have no clue the angle of my club face on my impacts or misses.

 

Here is some insight to help:

 

The ball's initial starting direction is a reflection of the direction of the face at impact (about 85% of starting direction is based on face direction).

 

The direction the ball curves is based on the difference between the clubhead path and face direction. A face pointing right of the path will curve to the right. A face that is pointing to the left of the path will curve left.

 

So every time you hit observe the starting direction as that is your face direction. Then watch the curvature to determine path direction.

 

Also, a block-fade is also known as a blice.

 

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> @Krt22 said:

> Agree with North here, their isnt much difference in spin with driver with modern urethane balls, not enough to warrant playing an isomer. The big difference is with irons and wedges and the extra control you get with the extra spin. Given you can get cheap urethane balls (ie costco) im not sure why anyone but a 100+ player would play anything but urethane. I see far more decent chips/iron shots roll out a ton waste shots than a slice that cuts a bit too much.

I'd agree that the modern premium/urethane balls are not that different off the driver, which is a big change from many years ago.

 

On other things, I'd offer a slightly different perspective. I usually play a ball like the Callaway SuperSoft or Srixon Soft Feel, which would probably be considered pretty low end or a two-piece flying rock by many relative to my ability (most rounds somewhere in the 80s with some in the 70s/90s). Why? I think part of this is habit, as I always favored something that spun less off the tee (even if it doesn't matter much with today's balls). Additionally, I've never seemed to actually play any better with the premium balls.

 

With regards to hitting shots, I also don't believe it really matters much with full iron shots. Unless you are playing extremely firm/tour level greens, a pure struck iron shot seems to stop within a few feet for me with just about any ball (of course, the amount of run-out is impacted by shots into/downwind). I'd argue that most people not shooting in 70s consistently can't control their strike / distances precisely enough to tell the difference in even up to 10 feet of run-out anyways. I do believe the ball changes how partial wedge shots react when they hit the green quite a bit. How much this matters for any individual is probably course dependent (how firm/fast the greens are and what type of greenside/partial wedge shots someone is usually left with). Every now and then there are some shots I can't really hit close but most of the time as long as you know what the ball is going to do when it hits the green you will be fine.

 

Of course, if you don't want to play something that runs out more when perfectly struck, that's fine too. But it's unclear to me how much this (ball characteristics) actually matters for a lot of the golfing population.

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In my opinion, it's fun to see a ball spin on the green on a chip. For a few extra bucks, why not? There are many balls available online that are not much higher than a name brand surlyn premium ball. I used to think the ball checked up soon. With some experience, it's not an issue at all. Also, urethane balls tend to feel better, too.

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> @Twism86 said:

> Thanks! I would say my misses sound more like blocks or pushes most of the time with some slicing thrown in there. I also have no clue the angle of my club face on my impacts or misses.

 

The blocks and pushes (which are my bad miss too by the way!) aren't going to be helped or hurt by choice of ball. To use Tiger's old phrase, "It is what it is". But the ones that have some slice in addition to the push may be slightly less slicing with a low-spin ball. Maybe.

 

In any case, niether type of ball is going to be a total game-changer for a bogey golfer with an erratic swing. If you don't mind the extra bounce on roll on approach shots there are good Surlyn balls on the market nowadays. Not the horrible distance rocks from back when I started playing. But the urethane ball isn't going to put you any much farther into the woods on bad swings either.

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The thing I noticed about using a urethane ball vs. a non-urethane ball is with approach shots. Lets use a gap wedge for example. With the non ball it hits and usually rolls out a bit. With the urethane it stops and sometimes backs up. This could become a difference of up to 10 yards. So the thing for me is to sometimes grap one more wedge higher and try to amke up the difference that way.

 


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> @zebra2955 said:

> The thing I noticed about using a urethane ball vs. a non-urethane ball is with approach shots. Lets use a gap wedge for example. With the non ball it hits and usually rolls out a bit. With the urethane it stops and sometimes backs up. This could become a difference of up to 10 yards.

Are you talking a full swing GW? If so, 10 yards seems extremely high to me.

 

No doubt I've had some situations where a non-urethane ball releases 10 yards but this is downwind to a baked out green. A urethane wasn't backing up there either.

 

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A lot depends on whether you play Bermuda grass or Bent grass greens. During the summer most places I've played on Bent greens (in USA) water the heck out of them to keep them alive. I don't think anyone is going to see their full-swing wedge shot release no matter what ball they use when every shot to the green creates a wet crater of a ball mark.

 

Modern ultradwarf Bermuda greens, especially if the thatch is managed and they are frequently verticut and topdressed, can be kept dry and as firm as you like. On my club's greens right now approach shots literally bounce a foot or more in the air and you can hear the thump from 120 yards out in the fairway. The amount of spin on the ball makes a difference with every club in the bag.

 

My last round I played 18 holes, hit 6/18 greens (and played full shots into some of the greens I didn't reach in regulation). I made one ball mark of my own and fixed one other than someone else had left. The other shots left no visible sign at all when they landed. If you can't make a dent in a green with a high 8-iron shot then urethane is your friend!

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Cheap balls are fine with that kind of game. No worries. I like to play a cheap ball once in a while, or a non-urethane ball. I'm a 15 index so it doesn't matter a whole bunch for me. I hit many good shots per round, though, and a handful of doosies that keep my index up. Even when playing well, I've had great results from the Velocity, Project S, etc. Played some of the best golf of my life with a Lynx Black Cat (if I'm remembering that name correctly). That ball was great for me. I think it wasn't ever legal...

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Until I felt I could somewhat control the ball, I played the softest feeling cheap ball I could find.

That was back in the late 80's/Early 90's. I played Top Flight Magna, Maxfli XS and Titlest DT wound, If I remeber correctly.

Then moved to Tour Balatas and the game changing Maxfli Revolution Multi layer.

Until you can exercise some control over your ball flight, urethane "tour" type balls aren't bringing you any real benefit.

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Seeing a well struck 7-iron land in the middle of a firm green and NOT roll to the back fringe or beyond is a degree of "control" that anyone able to cleanly strike a 7-iron once in a while will appreciate.

 

This isn't the 90's, we're not comparing a Tour Balata to a distance rock. There's no downside to a urethane ball nowadays other than cost and if you're willing to shop around the cost isn't even a big deal. Even if you only hit 2-3 shots a round where holding a green or controlling a short-game shot will let a urethane ball's quality shine through, why not give yourself those 3-2-3 shots a round?

 

I also played golf in the 90's. Used Dunlop DDH balls which were cheap at K-Mart (remember K-Mart?). Played at a cheap local goat ranch course with tiny little push-up greens that were rock hard. I remember having to land even simple, short pitch shots 20 feet short of the green and judge the bounce just to be able to putt on my next shot. I don't miss those days at all. The balls that were controllable for better players were virtually unplayable for a double-digit handicap hack.

 

Thankfully, those days are gone. The industry figured out how to make balls that the best players in the world can win tournaments with that also perform better for a 30-hcp duffer than anything on the market 25 yards ago. That's progress.

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> @"North Butte" said:

> A lot depends on whether you play Bermuda grass or Bent grass greens. During the summer most places I've played on Bent greens (in USA) water the heck out of them to keep them alive. I don't think anyone is going to see their full-swing wedge shot release no matter what ball they use when every shot to the green creates a wet crater of a ball mark.

>

> Modern ultradwarf Bermuda greens, especially if the thatch is managed and they are frequently verticut and topdressed, can be kept dry and as firm as you like. On my club's greens right now approach shots literally bounce a foot or more in the air and you can hear the thump from 120 yards out in the fairway. The amount of spin on the ball makes a difference with every club in the bag.

>

I play on Bermuda greens and just don't see this much of a difference. A well struck 5-iron still stops in less than 10 yards for me with a 2-piece ball (probably half of that on average assuming little to no wind and not uphill or downhill). I'm not saying there's no difference between the balls but a wedge backing up vs rolling out 30 feet seems like a very big difference in green conditions and strike quality (i.e. comparing outcomes of shots hit on different days).

 

Want to play a urethane ball? Sounds fine to me. I just think it matters a lot less than people make it out to be. Especially for your everyday average golfer.

 

 

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It will if you stand in front of it while someone else hits it.

Driver #1: Callaway Epic Max LS, 9°

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> @"North Butte" said:

> A lot depends on whether you play Bermuda grass or Bent grass greens. During the summer most places I've played on Bent greens (in USA) water the heck out of them to keep them alive. I don't think anyone is going to see their full-swing wedge shot release no matter what ball they use when every shot to the green creates a wet crater of a ball mark.

 

 

Im in NJ and we have had so much rain over the last year that any shot to a green from over 80yds leave the crater sized ball mark you describe! At least on the courses I play (public).

 

 

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Hi Tom,

 

Simply put it, a high performance car probably will not improve a novice driver's on track record.

For the novice could not maximize the benefit of all the features the better vehicle could provide.

I remembered using mostly the two piece golf balls from the bargain bin instead of using the wound Balata golf balls when I started playing this game.

Tools are only good in the hands which know how to use them.

The Urethane covered golf ball probably will not hurt your game, not much anyway, considering your handicap index is high.

The factor to pay attention to is, consistency, with whatever type of golf balls you'll be using. I know a guy whom had collected lost golf balls from the golf courses and he just put them in a garbage bin, all mixed all together. I told him to sort out the golf balls and at least try to play just one type of golf balls at a stretch of games.

Playing a mixture of premium golf balls with all other types of distance , low compression....... golf balls will be tough to reach consistency, which is what golfers are trying to achieve for a better golf game. Unless, one is an achieved golfer and knows the game well to be able to score well using different tyoes of golf balls will be tough for distance and greenside control.

I would find a budget golf ball for a high handicaper until a premium golf ball would make a difference in their scoring.

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> @Twism86 said:

> > @"North Butte" said:

> > A lot depends on whether you play Bermuda grass or Bent grass greens. During the summer most places I've played on Bent greens (in USA) water the heck out of them to keep them alive. I don't think anyone is going to see their full-swing wedge shot release no matter what ball they use when every shot to the green creates a wet crater of a ball mark.

>

>

> Im in NJ and we have had so much rain over the last year that any shot to a green from over 80yds leave the crater sized ball mark you describe! At least on the courses I play (public).

 

I remember the first time I went up north and played some decent but inexpensive public courses. I was like, "Man, what's wrong with these greens? They're squishy. But man that Bent grass putts good!".

 

Of course back then I was playing a $15/round cow pasture course that had the same grass on tees, fairways, greens, everywhere (including growing in some of the supposed bunkers). It was a grass called Common Bermuda with really coarse blades that grows as fast as a weed. Greens hard as a rock and "rolling" about 3 on the Stimpmeter. If you played in the afternoon this time of year you practically had to chip the ball to get it rolling on a 30-foot putt. I didn't know what hit me that first time playing on Bent grass, felt like I needed to leave the headcover on putt.

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Here are a few articles that show the difference in spin rates for various balls across driver, mid-iron, and wedges.

 

-As largely agreed, there isn't a huge difference off the driver for any of the balls.

 

-For the mid-irons, there isn't that big of a difference in the urethane balls and the surlyn balls. Even if you want to look at the larger differences of 1,000 rpms with some of the "max distance balls," this is the difference in what, 1 to 2 clubs? I.e. you would need to say that you can stop your 7 iron with a urethane but have no hope with your 5/6 iron? Seems a bit crazy.

 

-There is a substantial difference for wedge shots (54 and 60 degree wedges in the articles). Further, the difference expands quite a bit with the "max distance balls." If you look at the softer surlyn balls (like the DT Solo in the 2014 article), you're looking at 2,000-3,000 RPMs. Substantial if you are trying to back-up your wedge shots. But again, I don't think this means your shots with the urethane and a 9-iron are bouncing over the green. Pretty sure most people would say their 8/9 iron shots with the urethane ball are holding just fine.

 

-There was no data for partial wedge shots.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/206831/review-titleist-velocity-and-dt-solo-golf-balls/

 

https://www.tgw.com/golf-guide/top-ten-golf-ball-comparison-2019/

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So let's say I can stop my 7-iron in an acceptable distance with a urethane ball but a 6-iron rolls out too far.

 

And let's say with a Surlyn ball the 8-iron stops OK but the 7-iron rolls out too far.

 

Why the heck would I want to play the Surlyn ball and let my 7-iron release to the back of the green? I usually hit 2 or 3 7-iron approach shots a round. Being able to club for the middle of the green instead of aiming short and trying to just the rollout is just plain better.

 

That's what I don't get about this discussion. There's only a slight advantage in certain situations for a high handicapper to use a urethane ball instead of Surlyn. I'll agree with that. But why not have that slight advantage in certain situations? If I can get the best possible ball performance for $20-$25/dozen why would I want to pay nearly that much for a ball that doesn't perform

 

It's only if you believe a Surlyn ball will straighten out your driver slices and hooks (which is nigh impossible given that driver spin rates on modern urethane balls are as low as Surlyn) that there's any advantage. I'll take stopping those 7-irons 20 feet closer to the hole twice a round over maybe kinda sorta reducing a 35-yard sliced drive to a 32-yard sliced drive.

 

I carry a lob wedge in my bag (one of my 13 clubs) that in many rounds never gets pulled out. It's basically for when I short-side myself in a bunker or maybe for hacking out of the thickest, most brutal kinds of rough. Probably average one hit per round and I could get by with my sand wedge if I had to. But it's the same thing, why not carry that club that works beautifully in certain situations?

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