Do I have to have a urethane ball?

[ghoul31]

Everyone says that I have to use a urethane ball or it will kill my score.

I have no trouble holding greens

I play slow greens with not much slope so its not a problem

I am a sweeper so I don't put a lot of spin on the ball. I don't really notice any difference in spin between a urethane and a surlyn

I prefer the feel of ultra low compression balls

So why should I pay six times more for a ball when it won't make a difference to my score?

 

 

[tleader]

Play what you like. Simple.

Intend to stop the ball with trajectory, not high spin. I prefer bump and runs opposed to low checking chips. So for me, I can get away with Surlyn as well.

Just play what suits your overall game, and don’t worry about what others say.

[Egs57]

No argument from me. I’m just as bad with either kind.

[North Butte]

What you pay for a ball nowadays depends more on the brand and where you buy than on the cover material.

 

So who, specifically, told you to buy a certain expensive ball and what ball was it?

[1Mordrid1]

Typically I do not think a ball can "kill a score". But the right ball could possibly maximize your scoring, especially in the short game. You just have to figure out which is best for you and your style of play.

 

If you are a consistent striker in the short game, urethane can have huge benefits, and can allow for a wider shot selection. If you are not consistent with ball striking in the short game, then urethane can hurt your score because the ball may check when you don't want it to, leaving longer putts.

[Tanner25]

Played most of my golfing life with cheaper surlyn. I thought the ball played fine. However, after using urethane, I'd say it is fun to see it check. But, there's no noticeable difference in score. Also, if cost is your concern. There are many lower cost urethane balls. Cut, Snell and MG to name a few. Also, Dick's new Maxfli tour balls are 2 for 50 now. There are some surlyn balls out there that cost more money than that.

[theunartist]

> @ghoul31 said:

> Everyone says that I have to use a urethane ball or it will kill my score.

> I have no trouble holding greens

> I play slow greens with not much slope so its not a problem

> I am a sweeper so I don't put a lot of spin on the ball. I don't really notice any difference in spin between a urethane and a surlyn

> I prefer the feel of ultra low compression balls

> So why should I pay six times more for a ball when it won't make a difference to my score?

>

>

 

I've used both Surlyn and Urethane balls the past season. My swing launches everything relatively high, so holding full iron shots with either type ball has never been an issue. I've found the difference is when you're pitching or chipping, I could never hold a shot with a surlyn ball like I could with a urethane ball, I did not feel I could control the roll out using the surlyn ball. I've ended up using the Kirkland 3pc urethane ball, it's a very consistent and predictable ball for me. It's not the longest off the driver but irons maybe slightly longer and fly true and putts well. Plus at $23.99 for 2 dozen, it is going to be my ball this season...

[Mikey5e]

The avg golfer can't spin/check the ball, they just think they can. Even if they can, they can't control it to their advantage.

[Mcgeeno]

I am a low capper and have had success with fancy premium balls and 2 piece surlyn bargain balls.

 

I don't think anyone needs to play any type of ball.

 

I find the key is consistency and practice with it. I used an E6 for a season (I like playing yellow and orange) and it just rolled out more. It wasnt like I had to be a nuclear scientist. I figured out how much more it rolls and adjusted my game. Now that I use a urethane premium ball my wedges and chips check up more. I adjusted with some practice.

 

Its only a huge deal if you make it that way.

 

 

[North Butte]

I play often with a guy who's a way better player than me, handicap in the low single digits. But once he hit 70 he started losing height and distance on his shots and had to get used to bouncing the ball onto greens instead of being able to fly a Pro V1 just short of the hole and stop it. So now he uses a cheaper, firmer, 2pc Surlyn ball instead of the urethane ones he's used for decades.

 

It took him a few months but now he's a wizard at landing that no-spin ball in exactly the right spot where it takes one bounce in the fairway, another bounce in the fringe, then rolls out 30 feet to stop more or less hole high. Hole after hole I'd hit a nice high shot that landed on the green, stopped fairly quickly and left me with a 20-30 foot putt. He'd land his shot 10 yards out in the fairway, use the green contours perfectly and got the ball inside me almost every time.

 

I'm a 17-handicap happily using a urethane ball. I wouldn't have any idea how to get it close to the hole if I couldn't fly it onto the green. He's shooting in the mid-70's using a Surlyn ball. The ball you use has nothing to do with handicap.

 

 

[Zen_Golfer]

I dont think you NEED a urethane ball. It will certainly help around the greens but if you know how to play it, you can score well with any ball. You just need to factor in a bit more runout and just play your shots a little short.

If you go on Youtube, you can find plenty of videos where people compare tour balls to cheap balls and find there to be little difference in terms of their scores.

[munichop]

I shot the lowest scores of my life with the Gamer soft- a 3 piece surlyn ball that I initially auditioned as a winter ball. After shooting these scores I asked myself why I scored better since the ball has limitations. For me it simplified shot choices around the green which made my overall strategy easier to maintain. Don't short side yourself, don't chase sucker pins. And use fewer clubs for chipping and pitching. The ball launched higher for me which helped since I hit things low typically. And it chipped and putted very consistently. The lower compression gave me good feedback on the strike of the shot and only increased my confidence with the ball. Use the ball type that lets you score best.

[Twism86]

I started a similar thread last week. My conclusion is that a urethane ball is hurting my drives more than it is helping my short game. I switched to using the Callaway SuperHot now and my drives are straighter/longer and my irons go a tad longer too. As im not a long hitter to start with, so these benefits also outweigh the advantaged of a urethane ball which I cant really take advantage of anyway!

[arbeck]

> @Twism86 said:

> I started a similar thread last week. My conclusion is that a urethane ball is hurting my drives more than it is helping my short game. I switched to using the Callaway SuperHot now and my drives are straighter/longer and my irons go a tad longer too. As im not a long hitter to start with, so these benefits also outweigh the advantaged of a urethane ball which I cant really take advantage of anyway!

 

I just don't think the spin difference between a surlyn ball and urethane ball off the driver is going to be that significant. The spin axis of your ball is created by the path of the club and the angle of the face at impact. Given the same launch conditions all balls are going to have the same spin axis. All modern balls are pretty low spin off the driver already, so at most you're probably going to drop 500 RPM of spin, which will be even less side spin.

 

In my experience going too low spin off the driver is a recipe for disaster for the amateur player with inconsistent delivery and strike patterns. For instance, I can drop a few hundred RPM's off my driver and gain 5-10 yards of total distance (a little more carry and a lot more roll). However, my miss tends to be high on the toe with a closed face to the path. So I'm hitting the ball in one of the lowest spin areas, and putting a lot of hook spin on the ball by both the strike location and my face angle. If I hit this shot with a low spin head/configuration/ball, the shot takes an abrupt left turn after about 120 yards and just falls out of the sky and by the end is rolling almost completely left. I'm missing the fairway by quite a bit to the left and am lucky if it gets past 180 yards. Adding more spin makes that miss much more functional. It's still way offline, but it's 10-20 yards closer to online and 10-20 yards further down the hole. If I hit 1000 shots on trackman, I might even find that my average distance with the lower spin is slightly longer. But I'm more than willing to give that up to minimize the really bad shot.

 

The other thing to consider is distance control. You can get a flyer with any golf ball. However, if you drop off 500 RPM of spin off the ball with a sub 5000 RPM 7i; you're going to notice it a lot more than if you do it with a 6000+ RPM 7i. Here's another real world example to illustrate. Last weekend I was playing a par 3 that was 149 yards to the pin. The pin was on the front of the green with 18 yards of green behind it. The first person in our group teed off and hit a shot that landed just on the green and rolled out a few feet for a kick in birdie. I knew we had a tail wind but because of our position on the course and the trees around us, it was impossible to gauge. He said he played about half a club of wind. My 8i is a 145-150 carry club, so I decided to choke down just a bit and hit it smooth. I struck it pretty well, but not perfect. The ball flight looked good. It flew the green and took one hop into the penalty area behind the green. I'm guessing it carried 165+. I was playing a low spinning ball of the irons (Srixon Q-Star Tour). The other player was playing a high spin ball (Kirkland Signature 3 piece). I don't know if using a higher spin ball would have saved me, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt me!

[North Butte]

The exception to the Fulham man's reasoning would older men (or especially older women) who are so lacking in clubhead speed that they have to play everything short and let it bounce and roll. I think a lot of those folks are best just hitting a SuperSoft or whatever and letting it go. Below a certain point, you're not going to spin even a K3 enough to stop on a firm green with any club in the bag.

 

But those golfers do not generally worry about hitting it straight, in my experience.

 

[farmer]

> @Mcgeeno said:

> I am a low capper and have had success with fancy premium balls and 2 piece surlyn bargain balls.

>

> I don't think anyone needs to play any type of ball.

>

> I find the key is consistency and practice with it. I used an E6 for a season (I like playing yellow and orange) and it just rolled out more. It wasnt like I had to be a nuclear scientist. I figured out how much more it rolls and adjusted my game. Now that I use a urethane premium ball my wedges and chips check up more. I adjusted with some practice.

>

> Its only a huge deal if you make it that way.

>

>

 

This is just .. so reasonable .. that you should be ashamed.

[Twism86]

> @arbeck said:

> > @Twism86 said:

> > I started a similar thread last week. My conclusion is that a urethane ball is hurting my drives more than it is helping my short game. I switched to using the Callaway SuperHot now and my drives are straighter/longer and my irons go a tad longer too. As im not a long hitter to start with, so these benefits also outweigh the advantaged of a urethane ball which I cant really take advantage of anyway!

>

> I just don't think the spin difference between a surlyn ball and urethane ball off the driver is going to be that significant. The spin axis of your ball is created by the path of the club and the angle of the face at impact. Given the same launch conditions all balls are going to have the same spin axis. All modern balls are pretty low spin off the driver already, so at most you're probably going to drop 500 RPM of spin, which will be even less side spin.

>

> In my experience going too low spin off the driver is a recipe for disaster for the amateur player with inconsistent delivery and strike patterns. For instance, I can drop a few hundred RPM's off my driver and gain 5-10 yards of total distance (a little more carry and a lot more roll). However, my miss tends to be high on the toe with a closed face to the path. So I'm hitting the ball in one of the lowest spin areas, and putting a lot of hook spin on the ball by both the strike location and my face angle. If I hit this shot with a low spin head/configuration/ball, the shot takes an abrupt left turn after about 120 yards and just falls out of the sky and by the end is rolling almost completely left. I'm missing the fairway by quite a bit to the left and am lucky if it gets past 180 yards. Adding more spin makes that miss much more functional. It's still way offline, but it's 10-20 yards closer to online and 10-20 yards further down the hole. If I hit 1000 shots on trackman, I might even find that my average distance with the lower spin is slightly longer. But I'm more than willing to give that up to minimize the really bad shot.

>

> The other thing to consider is distance control. You can get a flyer with any golf ball. However, if you drop off 500 RPM of spin off the ball with a sub 5000 RPM 7i; you're going to notice it a lot more than if you do it with a 6000+ RPM 7i. Here's another real world example to illustrate. Last weekend I was playing a par 3 that was 149 yards to the pin. The pin was on the front of the green with 18 yards of green behind it. The first person in our group teed off and hit a shot that landed just on the green and rolled out a few feet for a kick in birdie. I knew we had a tail wind but because of our position on the course and the trees around us, it was impossible to gauge. He said he played about half a club of wind. My 8i is a 145-150 carry club, so I decided to choke down just a bit and hit it smooth. I struck it pretty well, but not perfect. The ball flight looked good. It flew the green and took one hop into the penalty area behind the green. I'm guessing it carried 165+. I was playing a low spinning ball of the irons (Srixon Q-Star Tour). The other player was playing a high spin ball (Kirkland Signature 3 piece). I don't know if using a higher spin ball would have saved me, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt me!

 

All great information but what about for 18-20 HC players like me who simply notice my non-urethane ball flies straighter most of the time? I have never had a lesson, been fit to a club, hit with a trackman, etc. I know nothing about my swing stats. My 7i goes 150ish if I hit it really well but sometimes is only goes 140 or I nail it and goes 155 (which generally isnt a good result). My gapping isnt great because I am not that consistent, there are days my 6i goes just as far my 8i. I dont know where my misses are on my club face and even less so I dont understand how that will effect my ball flight.

 

All I know is I switched to a Callaway SuperHot Bold my last few rounds and my drives have been further and more consistent/straighter. We live in a golf age with TONS of information to players but I would say the majority dont take advantage of much of it. I want clubs that are easy to swing, balls that go straight and to enjoy some nice walks with a few pars thrown in there. I also want to be like Brooks and hammer everything and make 8 birdies a round LOL.

[arbeck]

> @Twism86 said:

> > @arbeck said:

> > > @Twism86 said:

> > > I started a similar thread last week. My conclusion is that a urethane ball is hurting my drives more than it is helping my short game. I switched to using the Callaway SuperHot now and my drives are straighter/longer and my irons go a tad longer too. As im not a long hitter to start with, so these benefits also outweigh the advantaged of a urethane ball which I cant really take advantage of anyway!

> >

> > I just don't think the spin difference between a surlyn ball and urethane ball off the driver is going to be that significant. The spin axis of your ball is created by the path of the club and the angle of the face at impact. Given the same launch conditions all balls are going to have the same spin axis. All modern balls are pretty low spin off the driver already, so at most you're probably going to drop 500 RPM of spin, which will be even less side spin.

> >

> > In my experience going too low spin off the driver is a recipe for disaster for the amateur player with inconsistent delivery and strike patterns. For instance, I can drop a few hundred RPM's off my driver and gain 5-10 yards of total distance (a little more carry and a lot more roll). However, my miss tends to be high on the toe with a closed face to the path. So I'm hitting the ball in one of the lowest spin areas, and putting a lot of hook spin on the ball by both the strike location and my face angle. If I hit this shot with a low spin head/configuration/ball, the shot takes an abrupt left turn after about 120 yards and just falls out of the sky and by the end is rolling almost completely left. I'm missing the fairway by quite a bit to the left and am lucky if it gets past 180 yards. Adding more spin makes that miss much more functional. It's still way offline, but it's 10-20 yards closer to online and 10-20 yards further down the hole. If I hit 1000 shots on trackman, I might even find that my average distance with the lower spin is slightly longer. But I'm more than willing to give that up to minimize the really bad shot.

> >

> > The other thing to consider is distance control. You can get a flyer with any golf ball. However, if you drop off 500 RPM of spin off the ball with a sub 5000 RPM 7i; you're going to notice it a lot more than if you do it with a 6000+ RPM 7i. Here's another real world example to illustrate. Last weekend I was playing a par 3 that was 149 yards to the pin. The pin was on the front of the green with 18 yards of green behind it. The first person in our group teed off and hit a shot that landed just on the green and rolled out a few feet for a kick in birdie. I knew we had a tail wind but because of our position on the course and the trees around us, it was impossible to gauge. He said he played about half a club of wind. My 8i is a 145-150 carry club, so I decided to choke down just a bit and hit it smooth. I struck it pretty well, but not perfect. The ball flight looked good. It flew the green and took one hop into the penalty area behind the green. I'm guessing it carried 165+. I was playing a low spinning ball of the irons (Srixon Q-Star Tour). The other player was playing a high spin ball (Kirkland Signature 3 piece). I don't know if using a higher spin ball would have saved me, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt me!

>

> All great information but what about for 18-20 HC players like me who simply notice my non-urethane ball flies straighter most of the time? I have never had a lesson, been fit to a club, hit with a trackman, etc. I know nothing about my swing stats. My 7i goes 150ish if I hit it really well but sometimes is only goes 140 or I nail it and goes 155 (which generally isnt a good result). My gapping isnt great because I am not that consistent, there are days my 6i goes just as far my 8i. I dont know where my misses are on my club face and even less so I dont understand how that will effect my ball flight.

>

> All I know is I switched to a Callaway SuperHot Bold my last few rounds and my drives have been further and more consistent/straighter. We live in a golf age with TONS of information to players but I would say the majority dont take advantage of much of it. I want clubs that are easy to swing, balls that go straight and to enjoy some nice walks with a few pars thrown in there. I also want to be like Brooks and hammer everything and make 8 birdies a round LOL.

 

I'd say you didn't hit enough drives to make a definitive statement. To say one ball is longer than another with any degree of confidence and without a launch monitor, you'd need to hit hundreds of drives. The same to say one ball is straighter. There's no legal ball that will really fly straighter. The best you can hope for is a ball that does the same thing every time when you put an identical swing on it.

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Twism86 said:

> > @arbeck said:

> > > @Twism86 said:

> > > I started a similar thread last week. My conclusion is that a urethane ball is hurting my drives more than it is helping my short game. I switched to using the Callaway SuperHot now and my drives are straighter/longer and my irons go a tad longer too. As im not a long hitter to start with, so these benefits also outweigh the advantaged of a urethane ball which I cant really take advantage of anyway!

> >

> > I just don't think the spin difference between a surlyn ball and urethane ball off the driver is going to be that significant. The spin axis of your ball is created by the path of the club and the angle of the face at impact. Given the same launch conditions all balls are going to have the same spin axis. All modern balls are pretty low spin off the driver already, so at most you're probably going to drop 500 RPM of spin, which will be even less side spin.

> >

> > In my experience going too low spin off the driver is a recipe for disaster for the amateur player with inconsistent delivery and strike patterns. For instance, I can drop a few hundred RPM's off my driver and gain 5-10 yards of total distance (a little more carry and a lot more roll). However, my miss tends to be high on the toe with a closed face to the path. So I'm hitting the ball in one of the lowest spin areas, and putting a lot of hook spin on the ball by both the strike location and my face angle. If I hit this shot with a low spin head/configuration/ball, the shot takes an abrupt left turn after about 120 yards and just falls out of the sky and by the end is rolling almost completely left. I'm missing the fairway by quite a bit to the left and am lucky if it gets past 180 yards. Adding more spin makes that miss much more functional. It's still way offline, but it's 10-20 yards closer to online and 10-20 yards further down the hole. If I hit 1000 shots on trackman, I might even find that my average distance with the lower spin is slightly longer. But I'm more than willing to give that up to minimize the really bad shot.

> >

> > The other thing to consider is distance control. You can get a flyer with any golf ball. However, if you drop off 500 RPM of spin off the ball with a sub 5000 RPM 7i; you're going to notice it a lot more than if you do it with a 6000+ RPM 7i. Here's another real world example to illustrate. Last weekend I was playing a par 3 that was 149 yards to the pin. The pin was on the front of the green with 18 yards of green behind it. The first person in our group teed off and hit a shot that landed just on the green and rolled out a few feet for a kick in birdie. I knew we had a tail wind but because of our position on the course and the trees around us, it was impossible to gauge. He said he played about half a club of wind. My 8i is a 145-150 carry club, so I decided to choke down just a bit and hit it smooth. I struck it pretty well, but not perfect. The ball flight looked good. It flew the green and took one hop into the penalty area behind the green. I'm guessing it carried 165+. I was playing a low spinning ball of the irons (Srixon Q-Star Tour). The other player was playing a high spin ball (Kirkland Signature 3 piece). I don't know if using a higher spin ball would have saved me, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt me!

>

> All great information but what about for 18-20 HC players like me who simply notice my non-urethane ball flies straighter most of the time? I have never had a lesson, been fit to a club, hit with a trackman, etc. I know nothing about my swing stats. My 7i goes 150ish if I hit it really well but sometimes is only goes 140 or I nail it and goes 155 (which generally isnt a good result). My gapping isnt great because I am not that consistent, there are days my 6i goes just as far my 8i. I dont know where my misses are on my club face and even less so I dont understand how that will effect my ball flight.

>

> All I know is I switched to a Callaway SuperHot Bold my last few rounds and my drives have been further and more consistent/straighter. We live in a golf age with TONS of information to players but I would say the majority dont take advantage of much of it. I want clubs that are easy to swing, balls that go straight and to enjoy some nice walks with a few pars thrown in there. I also want to be like Brooks and hammer everything and make 8 birdies a round LOL.

I commented in your other thread. I'm currently around half the HC Index level you referenced and I don't think I need a urethane ball. I prefer the slightly lower spinning ball for tee shots (even if it's not that much lower anymore). I also find that a slightly lower spinning ball can be more stable in the wind as well, and I don't have issues stopping solidly struck iron shots in normal conditions (i.e. not extremely uphill or straight downwind).

 

To me, the difference on full shots just isn't a lot either way though. Maybe this means you should actually play the urethane ball, as it does have more options around the green or on partial wedge shots.

 

But let's be honest. Handicap golfers get up and down less than half the time. For bogey golfers, it's substantially less. And I doubt the choice of a ball is going to move anyone's up and down stat more than 10 percentage points. Getting up and down a lot is about a) leaving your misses in reasonable spots that don't require overly difficult shots and b) being able to make the clean, consistent contact with the ball on these partial shots. Both of these are more golf skill related than golf ball selection skill. Of course every now and then when you are in a tough spot a urethane ball will allow you to do something that you couldn't do with a surlyn ball. But the frequency that a handicap golfer is in these spots and can actually pull it off is not all that often.

 

It's a minority view but I'd have no problem playing the ball you mentioned. If others think a urethane ball allows them to play their best that's fine too. If you've tried both options, just make whatever choice you feel comfortable with.

[rstlne]

This is WRX so I hate to admit it, but, for helping other hacks like me, play the ball that fits your style. I'll categorize myself as your typical average bogey golfer, 80s here and there but typically floating (maybe a little too comfortably) in the 90s. I slot into a lot of the average bogey golfer criteria stats; 220-230 yrd drives, 145-150 7 iron, 100 yard 50 degree gap wedge. As MCgeeno said above, you don't HVE to play a certain ball. I play a urethane ball because I'm a pitch/ flop open the face flat short game player. To my eyes and my swing, it feels and looks better that way. I prefer a urethane ball for a bit less roll, little more controllable for me.

 

There's a guy I play with every couple of months or so whenever we run into each other at the golf course. He doesn't keep an official handicap but he's usually in the mid to high 70s. He gives me crap all the time saying he's kicking my a** with a Pinnacle ball. He plays pro v1/x also, but only in tournaments. I've played with him in a few tournaments too, just as consistent with any ball you put in his hands. So with all that said, probably doesn't matter. If it works, stick with it for as long as you can. You don't want to go through the ball-ho wormhole anyways, it's the minor leagues before becoming a club-ho. It's all about confidence and consistency.

[sdandrea]

Apparently you don't have to have one. You don't have to play blades either. I'd worry more about solid contact, trajectory and distance WAY before I'd stress over ball material. ;)