Best ball in windy conditions?

[bluedot]

Like so many threads here, this is primarily going to be a bunch of guys just telling the OP what ball they use; we all want to justify our choices. And the reality is that there are better and lesser players in the wind, but there really isn't any such thing as a better or worse golf ball in the wind. The parameters of what a ball will do are MUCH more narrow that what a golfer can do with the ball, and no matter what the characteristics of a particular ball are, there are trade-offs.

First of all, if you watch the Tour carefully, the one condition that even those guys can't conquer is significant wind; it is just too unpredictable. What you feel on the ground isn't what's happening up above you, what you feel on the tee isn't what's happening a few hundred yards away, and both wind speed and direction are changing all the time. So whatever ball you are using, the wind is probably going to win if you're just hoping the ball will magically "cut thru the wind". It's just a golf ball...

All of that said, good wind players have several things in common. They either do or can hit the ball relatively low. They can shape shots. And their course management skills are excellent.

None of which have any direct connection to one ball vs. another. In the most general terms, you would want a ball that launched lower, but that has a LOT more to do with the golfer's swing than the ball he is using. Good players can and do play knock downs all the time, which is why the average yardages for irons on Tour are FAR lower than what those guys can produce; they are constantly trying to control trajectory to keep the ball out of the winds above them and the trees. Spin is sort of a wash; on the one hand, if the ball is spinning more, it may well curve more, and in the wind that can take the ball WAY off line, but again, good players use spin to hold the ball against the wind or to ride the wind, and a ball that doesn't spin much makes that much more difficult.

Play the ball that you play anyway; that's your best chance to deal with the wind.

[herbert7890]

The new tour bx slighty beats the pro v1x in the wind, might want to try it before commiting.

[Double K]

TP5X seems to slice through the wind for me.

[bluedot]

I would love for somebody to explain to me what makes one ball better than another in the wind. More spin? Less spin?

I can believe that there are relatively minor differences due to launch angles, but beyond that, playing in the wind comes down to golf shots and course management, not what golf ball you are playing. And even launch angle is governed far more by the loft of the club and the swing than by the characteristics of the golf ball.

And even the spin question seems to be a trade-off; if the ball spins more, it could curve more offline with the wind, but It could also be held against the wind or ride the wind more than a ball with lesser spin And so again, it comes down to the swing and golf shots, not the golf ball.

I've played with guys who are better or worse in managing their ball in the wind, but I have never known a good player who changes balls depending on the wind on a particular day.

[BeerPerHole]

Of the balls I've played I'm thinking the AVX or MTB-Black. Tee'd an AVX up for a few holes the other day and, man, those are long.

[JDFish]

For me, this is true as well. I played AVX and switched to the Tour BX this year and we've played in several very windy days. One of my regular playing partners has commented several times that he thinks I hit the ball further into the wind than without wind (not true, but for me it does go further than the AVX did).

[rochestergolfer36]

I've been trying the new Bridgestone Tour B X and it has performed well. Switched from the ProV1x.

[flaghunting1987]

Well said, I always laugh at these posts when people ask what ball is best for certain conditions...Comes down to the player 99.9% of the time. I think if this really effected the game, we'd see tour guys all playing the ball that holds up best in the wind.

[mcc0819]

Agreed. The performance of any equipment varies between players. But the original intent of my post was to ask what works for YOU. Is it wrong to see what people has had success with? I’m a 3 handicap but I still love hearing other people’s perspectives about what equipment works best for them. If the majority of the reply’s say “ProV1x” then there’s definitely a reason for that.

[jons1]

tp5x

[bluedot]

There is nothing wrong at all with asking the question. The catch here is that guys are just going to recommend what they use, whether it's "best golf ball in the wind", or "best 3W off the deck", or "best golf shoes for walking". That's just part of the deal with golfers; we all want to justify to ourselves the decisions we've made and the money we've spent.

But I meant my question, too. I've never read anything that is research based about what golf ball performance characteristics are better or worse for playing in windy conditions. You're a 3 index, so I'm going to guess that you are only going to be interested in premium balls, and the launch angles of premium balls in independent testing are almost identical at around 13.3*. Spin rates off the driver vary a little bit more, from around 2100 rpms to around 2300 rpms, 7 iron launch angles are pretty much identical, between 27 and 28 degrees with a descent angle of just under 44*. Wedge spin is where there is the most variation, but even that is less than 10% from the ones that spin the most to the ones that spin the least. To me, that means that there just couldn't be much difference from one to another in terms of how the wind does or does not affect ball flight.

The other question, of course, would be how a cheaper ball that spins less would behave in the wind vs. a premium ball, and I could argue that either way, I suppose. Again, a ball that spins more is going to curve more, so bad swings might be made even worse. But, on the other hand, a good swing will let the player flight the ball down, hold the ball into the wind or ride the wind. And since I've never seen a good player switch to a cheaper, lower spin ball on a windy day (or, for that matter, a bad player switch to a premium ball to play in the wind!) I'm going to ignore that whole issue as too individual to be quantified; a case study is NOT research.

So it all comes down to the golfer and his ability to play in the wind, not the golf ball. Beyond the basic parameters of launch angle and spin rates, the ball will only do what I can make it do, whether the wind is blowing or not. There are golfers who are better or worse in the wind, but not golf balls.

[caniac6]

Played Monday in a steady wind, and used a Snell MBTX, and it was as good as anything I've used.

[scott_Donald]

Bridgestone BX.

Perfect for Scotland and Texas.

Only use the Bridgestone BX and Pro V1X.

[mcc0819]

Sure, people are definitely going to recommend what they use. But again, i'm sure those people have gone through a few different balls and found out what works for them.

I'm glad you brought up those numbers. I was fortunate enough to get a full bag fitting at True Spec Golf recently and the numbers were very interesting. My fitter had his next appointment canceled so we had a little extra time after my fitting to test various golf balls. Columbus, Ohio can be a bit windy this time of year so it was the perfect time to test some on Trackman outdoors. With the driver I was fitted for, launch angles were anywhere between 14.7 and 16.3 (i'm a high ball hitter) depending on the golf ball and similar strikes. Again on similar strikes, spin rates were between 1900 and 2400 depending on the ball. We went on to test with a 7 iron. Depending on the ball, I was launching between 19 and 22 degrees. I was spinning the ball between 6800 and 7300 depending on the ball. That difference of 500 rpm's could realistically affect your ball on a windy day especially for a high ball player. We didn't have time for full shot wedges but I was able to a hit a few balls with partial or knockdown type wedge shots. Launch angles varied about 2 degrees depending on the ball but spin was huge between the lowest spinning ball and the highest between 7800 rpm's to 9200 rpm's on similarly struck shots. The balls I ended up testing were the 2020 Bridgestone X, ProV1x, TP5x, Callaway Chrome Soft x, Snell MTB black, and Srixon XV. For me, the Bridgestone X performed best overall with the ProV1x and Snell a close 2nd. Next tier was TP5x with the Srixon and Chrome soft performing the worst for me.

[herbert7890]

I think based on the responses most of the X balls since to do best in the wind, specifically these 3: New Bridgestone Tour BX, Pro V1x and TP5x

[bluedot]

If you read the independent testing data, and I've tried to read as much as I could possibly find, the real stars among the current crop are the X balls, especially the TP5-X, the ProV1x, and the MTB-X. From what I've read, the Bridgestone and Srixon spin a little more, with a little bit of driver distance as the trade-off, but both are still very good. I'm not at all surprised that Chrome Soft performed poorly for you; in the testing, it's short, crooked, and doesn't spin much; other than that, it's a great ball!

[Bloom]

This is where I'm lost and maybe some one can help me.

Thinking lower spinning, lower flying ball may be good for windy conditions PROV1X is Titleist's high spinning ball and high flying ball. TP5X is their low spin, low flight ball.What am I missing in that many people are recommending PROV1X for windy conditions...or recommending both PROV1X and TP5X in the same sentence?

 

What do I have wrong?

[mcc0819]

I don't think you have anything wrong. Like stated earlier, ball performance varies between players. For example, most can agree that Rory and DJ are high speed/swing/launch players. Yet, Rory plays the TP5 and DJ plays the TP5X. Why is that? Unless we can see numbers, we won't know or they just prefer how that ball performs into the wind or not.

On paper, the ProV1 should perform better in the wind being a lower launching and lower spinning ball. For me that is not the case. I like to shape shots and control trajectory, so the extra spin in the ProV1x helps do that.

[scott_Donald]

I thought wind has a lot to do with the aerodynamic package of the ball.

[Popeye64]

Titleist AVX in my experience is a true standout in wind performace. TP5X is my second choice, but the AVX was really good.

[flaghunting1987]

I understand what your intent was, but my argument is that I would shoot about the same score (I'm a 1 handicap) with my gamer ball TP5X than I would with V1 / X , Callaway, Srixon etc. If it's really windy, only my swing adjustments will dictate a lower ball flight...not what ball I'm teeing off with.

[Jack Pearsall]

Bridgestone tour b rx.

 

[bluedot]

Food for thought:

Among premium balls, there is almost no difference in robot testing when it comes to launch angle off a driver; they all launch at 14* or a tenth or two more in the 100 mph testing. At 85 mph, they all launch around 17*, and at 115 mph, they all launch at around 13.3* or so. The obvious reason is that the manufacturers have spent a LOT of money to figure out how to get the most distance. But the idea of a higher or lower launching ball, at least among the premium balls is just a myth. It's the swing, not the ball, that launches it higher or lower.Spin rates off a driver for premium balls vary only around 5% off the driver. Same reason; more spin and the ball balloons, less spin and it falls out of the sky.Spin rates vary more from ball to ball as the clubs get shorter; the wedge differences are more on the order of 10%.The message in this is that if you want a ball that is good in the wind, buy a good ball and then learn to play in the wind. Learn to control your trajectory. Learn how to hold the ball into the wind or ride the wind. Learn how much extra or how much less club to use. Learn good course management so that you can miss in places where you can get up and down. But all of that is about your swing, not the ball. The reality is that there is no such thing as a better or worse ball in the wind; just better and worse players in the wind.

EDIT: I realize that we are not robots, and I don't mean to say that our swings are that consistent or uniform. I also believe that for an individual player with an individual swing, the relatively slight differences in launch angles and spin rates of premium golf balls MIGHT matter at least a little bit. But I don't know, or know of, ANY good golfer who changes balls when it's windy. They hit different shots, and they allow for the wind, but they don't pull a "wind ball" out of their bag. I think the general rule that good players use the same ball ALL THE TIME is what matters most in the wind.

[rodinho]

Agree with the above post. You don't ever see guys changing balls when they come across to the UK to play the open.

I often find when people are talking about wind they are only thinking of into or cross winds. If you're down wind the last thing you want is a ball which knuckle balls with no spin.

Find a ball that works in normal conditions and learn how to flight it, then play it all the time.

For me that's Pro V1x.

[Moby]

AVX

[mcc0819]

Thanks for the suggestion. I ended up going with the Tour B X. It's the best ball i've played in a few years.

[BeerPerHole]

Yeah, I mainly game this ball. And recently I played a links course in the afternoon where we dealt with an afternoon breeze that was up around 15-20 knots. Off the long clubs the MTB-X was unaffected. It cost me because I'd pound a driver out there and hang it over some trouble expecting the wind to bring it back and it didn't - haha!

[Want2GetGood]

I play on a links course with extreme wind in the uk next to the sea on top of the cliffs, one day I can take a 9 iron into the 11th, the next day, I'm struggling to get there with a 5 iron. 

Last week a guy off 3 shot an 88 during a windy comp, a week later, he shot a 70.  Trust me, its hard.  This was a first team player 3 years ago.  He can play.  And he's a green keeper there.

Here are some observations.

1) Golf ball isn't really going to help.

2) Teeing the driver a bit lower and hitting it less hard into the wind will.  

3) Figure out quickly how many clubs of wind it is, so if you're normally taking an 8 iron into a 150-160 yd green, try a 80% 6 iron or a 90% 7 iron. You can't play the same as you do on a nice day.  The club lofts won't get there because the wind will pick it and kill your distance, and amplify any tilt axis you have which means the ball stalls in the air and gets carried off line and into trouble,
 
4) Remember that everyone that day is going to be struggling so don't think you NEED or HAVE to play to your handicap, its probably not going to happen for anyone bar a handful of really good players, or high handicap sharks.

5) Identify what holes a bad shot could lead to more bad shots and be SMART.  Maybe you just play for the bogey, and if anything better happens great, at the every least, you're not walking off a hole where others are walking off with a triple and a bad head.

 

[Drewhill44]

For me the 2020 Bridgestone Tour Bx or the Bxs perform best in the wind.  

[scott406]

I found the AVX to be a low flying ball so that flies well in the wind

For my game the Snell Black and the Srixon Z Star work the best for me in windy conditions

I played the Bridgestone RX last year and don't really remember having any problems on windy days

I switched to the Snell black only because of cost.

 

In my experience the Chrome soft and the OnCor Elixr are terrible in the wind.