Best option for launch / spin?

[Yuck]

If you are able to get ideal launch / spin numbers with either a low spin driver and high spin ball or a higher spin driver and low spin ball, which is better? Obviously if you can do it with an existing driver, that is more cost effective. Is there any difference based on how you achieve optimal launch?

 

 

 

[DLiver]

It would depend on how your choice of ball affects the rest of your game. Also a higher spin ball is going to curve more in every direction (including up) than a lower spin ball.

[granata10]

What @DLiver said about how the ball affects the rest of your game is very true! I would say the driver that offers you the ideal launch / spin conditions with the ball that fits your game the best is what you should shoot for. For example, if you play a ProV1 it makes no sense to look at launch / spin conditions of a driver with a Pinnacle golf ball. Try to use the ball or something very similar during the fitting and whenever possible try the driver on your home course.

[Stuart_G]

Yes, the ball choice is potentially going to have a much bigger effect on your iron and short game than on the driver game.

But a lower spin head can also potentially increase the horizontal gear effect and side spin as well as the back spin. Generalizations are sometimes interesting but almost never reliable indicators.

 

[Valtiel]

That second part doesn't really track though, right? Assuming neutral conditions, spin is what stabilizes the ball flight and axis tilt is what causes it to curve. A higher spin ball would actually be MORE stable under the same conditions than a lower spin ball because it would take more axis tilt (caused by either face angle or horizontal gear effects) for the ball to curve. I'm not 100% sure on that but I believe it is correct.

I definitely agree with the first part though; there are half a dozen other factors that would be just as important in regards to ball choice. But for the sake of JUST driver performance, lets break it down with four examples to see which one creates the best combination of outcomes. We'll use extreme ends of the spectrum to best illustrate the differences (Taylormade SLDR (low spin) and PING G400 MAX (higher spin)) and assume that we are striking the ball in a way that is conducive to maximizing launch conditions (high and slightly toe side). SLDR w/ low spin ball. This combination has the potential for insane, likely impractical amounts of spin reduction, but with it comes the potential for equally insane instability. Mishits, especially toe side, will be prone to severe duck hooks and the general margin for error is very slim. If you can strike it consistently, something like this would be the most effective combination in windy conditions, but the most penalizing if you can not. SLDR w/ higher spin ball. A slightly more forgiving version of the above. Spin reduction and instability would not be as extreme, but not really by much. The head has much more potential impact on spin than the ball so you wouldn't really gain much by trying to mitigate the instability with a ball that spins more. PING G400 MAX w/low spin ball. This is probably the best all around combination as you have the stability of an extremely high MOI head but are able to squeeze a little more distance out of it by knocking some spin down with the ball. You would never be able to get the insane low spin knuckleballs that you could with the SLDR, but honestly those are more impractical and dangerous for real world golf and best left in the launch monitor realm. PING G400 MAX w/high spin ball. This would be your most accurate and stable combination but at the expense of total distance. This is basically the opposite problem as the SLDR in that a perfect strike is necessary to keep your distance up, and anything outside of that will likely spin too much and cost you moderate yardage. So the punishment becomes distance instead of stability. You would also likely need to loft the driver down quite a bit (again opposite to the SLDR) to keep things in a decent window. So I think the conclusion here is that the head matters a lot more than the ball in terms of general efficiency off the tee, and the ball should be used to fine tune for both the tee and for your iron and approach performance. As an example, a low spin ball with something like the 400 MAX combined with weakening iron lofts to regain any lost spin (if applicable) could be a good formula.