The Quest For New Balls...HappyGilmoresBoots' style

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

I've spent the past 2-3 seasons gaming the Noodle Neon seen in my avatar - I found a hot deal on 'em from golfballs.com and bought them at somewhere around a buck a ball.  They worked good enough with my old juniors set, and worked really well with my iron-heavy Ping Zing 2 set (3-9, with 4 wedges.  However, I recently upgraded my whole golf outfit to some Srixon woods and Ping G400 irons, and all the sudden, I'm getting all sorts of weird spins on the Noodle Neons:  Most commonly, a pull slice type flight off of the driver, starting off straight then violently diving off to the right.  Though, I'll also get topspin off of the drives which makes it dive straight down, and a weird, hovery backspin (sort of like you'd see in an airsoft gun) off of my irons - stingers are cool and all, but not when you're hitting a short iron or wedge.

 

Doing a little compare and contrast, I don't get these types of unpredictable results with any other ball...Hell, I got a Pinnacle Gold to stop on a dime on the same green, using the same club and same swing that I got a stinger over with a Noodle Neon.  I get long, straight drives using nearly anything from Titleist (budget lines from the DT So/Lo on up; and 20 year old sleeves that were a door prize at a scramble 1 2 ), and I get awesome iron control using my Bridgestone e6 Speeds and Taylor Made Distance +'s.

 

What the heck would cause a ball to suddenly lose all control like this?  Does this normally happen when switching between different types of clubs?  I will concede that my ball-striking isn't totally consistent and that I need a lot more practice, but it's absolutely befuddling to me that a specific ball would suddenly cause chaos like this.

Edited September 30, 2020 by HappyGilmoresBoots

[Tanner25]

Haven't played the ball. But, it does seem odd to have a totally different reaction based on a new set of clubs. Maybe, try it a few more times. For a 2 piecer, I do like the yellow soft feels. Curious about the new gen. 

[Sean2]

Our course is littered with hazards, so I find a lot of golf balls. I have never seen the kind of thing you describe. Kinda weird. 

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

14 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

Haven't played the ball. But, it does seem odd to have a totally different reaction based on a new set of clubs. Maybe, try it a few more times. For a 2 piecer, I do like the yellow soft feels. Curious about the new gen. 

Yeah, like I mentioned, the Noodles worked great with the Zing 2's I was playing last year...that combo was the pairing that made the whole thing "click" and drove me to commit to getting back into golf this year.  I'll work through the dozen I have left (though I think I'm down to only 4 or 5) then move on.

[DavidH88]

Hi there @HappyGilmoresBoots After reading your op, Its got me thinking about my own game and I just went through this myself. for the months I have been able to play this year due to Covid-19 pandemic here in the UK, I have played with the Bridgestone Tour B XS Tiger Edition and have got real confidence in it. However Today's Golfer a UK golf magazine did a offer to try the TM TP5 pix and I got the X version.

 

It didn't matter what I tried I just could not get the ball to work with my clubs or swing. After 4 holes I changed back to the Bridgestone Tour B XS and bang 200 Yard carry drive down the middle of the fairway. So my theory is that the matte finish is interacting differently to the clubface like I found out with the Vivid ball 

 

What I would suggest is try a different ball the Callaway Supersoft Matte could be worth a shot, Matte finish and 2piece if you want to go that route. The Volvik vivid line crazy but worked well and so easy to follow in the air, Bridgestone e12 and then there is the Srixons Z-Star that do a yellow version if you want to push the boat out a little finally there is the Bridgestone Tour B line. 

 

best of luck in finding the ball that works for you ? keep us posted ?

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

2 hours ago, DavidH88 said:

Hi there @HappyGilmoresBoots After reading your op, Its got me thinking about my own game and I just went through this myself. for the months I have been able to play this year due to Covid-19 pandemic here in the UK, I have played with the Bridgestone Tour B XS Tiger Edition and have got real confidence in it. However Today's Golfer a UK golf magazine did a offer to try the TM TP5 pix and I got the X version.

 

It didn't matter what I tried I just could not get the ball to work with my clubs or swing. After 4 holes I changed back to the Bridgestone Tour B XS and bang 200 Yard carry drive down the middle of the fairway. So my theory is that the matte finish is interacting differently to the clubface like I found out with the Vivid ball 

 

What I would suggest is try a different ball the Callaway Supersoft Matte could be worth a shot, Matte finish and 2piece if you want to go that route. The Volvik vivid line crazy but worked well and so easy to follow in the air, Bridgestone e12 and then there is the Srixons Z-Star that do a yellow version if you want to push the boat out a little finally there is the Bridgestone Tour B line. 

 

best of luck in finding the ball that works for you ? keep us posted ?

You might be on to something here.  I found an OG Maxfli Noodle in the ol' shag bag and compared it to the matte green Noodle Neon.  The Maxfli's cover feels smooth and grippy (despite being what, 18 years old now?); sort of like a moistened finger grabbing onto a smooth surface.  The Neon has a texture to it that makes it feel like talcum powder on a pool cue; slippery and harder to hold onto.

 

The one that really threw me for a loop was that stinger that I hit with a wedge...yeah, I caught it thin, but I didn't expect the ball to hover completely over the green.  Like I said, it reminded me of the flight path of an airsoft pellet.  My usual thin hits (including a few later that same round with different balls) skitter and roll.

Yeah, I'll definitely keep the thread updated with my findings - I'm not a super consistent ball-striker, but I've played golf on and off for more than 20 years, and I'm comfortable saying that I know what a good, well-struck ball should feel like, and I wouldn't have made this thread if I wasn't getting unpredictable results from one specific ball.

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

Weirdest xxxxxx' thing...I teed up on the blue hole, and watched one of these Noodles follow the green path around the cluster of trees, and boomerang around so it was rolling back in my general direction after it landed in the rainbow fairway.  Didn't hear it brush any branches or ricochet off of the trunks of trees (no, those trees and branches really killed me 2 holes later, then 4 holes later).  If it was a ricochet, it would've been a much more abrupt change in direction.  I was expecting more of the yellow path, because that's what I've seen on several launch monitors and with the provisional ball I teed up (Bridgestone e6) immediately afterwards.  The Noodle did another inside-to-out curve around that second set of trees on my second shot...and a third time behind the green into some scrub/heather.  But hey, the ball played nicely when I chipped it up and in for par.

 

I eventually went on to lose the rest of my Noodles today, but despite that, recorded a season-best score on 9 (don't judge me too harshly...I've heard my score described as "dismal" on this very site) while using other balls like my E6's and a Callaway ERC that I found in the rough.

I'm still scratching my head at the abominable performance I got out of this specific batch of Noodle Neons...and I don't think I'm that bad of a golfer, as I get demonstrably better results out of balls that aren't these (including Noodles from the Maxfli era).  To boot, they worked wonderfully with my older Pings.  While I don't necessarily agree with Reddit Golf's hivemind opinion that "these balls are so easy to hit that it's like cheating," I can't hit the things worth a darn with my Srixon Zed driver/woods.

 

[BogeyParBogey]

Have you gotten the Zings back out to see if they are going straight?

 

Dave

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

27 minutes ago, BogeyParBogey said:

Have you gotten the Zings back out to see if they are going straight?

 

Dave

Not recently, but I did have them out with the Noodles a couple of times earlier in the season, and they still worked fine...normal amounts of slice, not this crazy knuckleball-type stuff

[Need2golfalot]

You're thinned wedge over the green probably had just the right amount of spin to give it lift.  I like the regular Noodles, don't think I have tried the neon.  Is it a different compression?  Sounds like the cover is a different composition.  For me a mid compression ball feels best.  Softfli is too soft and Pinnacle Rush, while a decent cheap ball is too hard for putting.

 

I like yellow, orange, and neon golf balls but have never been able to score as well with them as white.  Must be a psychological thing.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Need2golfalot

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

On 9/21/2020 at 6:34 AM, DavidH88 said:

Hi there @HappyGilmoresBoots After reading your op, Its got me thinking about my own game and I just went through this myself. for the months I have been able to play this year due to Covid-19 pandemic here in the UK, I have played with the Bridgestone Tour B XS Tiger Edition and have got real confidence in it. However Today's Golfer a UK golf magazine did a offer to try the TM TP5 pix and I got the X version.

 

It didn't matter what I tried I just could not get the ball to work with my clubs or swing. After 4 holes I changed back to the Bridgestone Tour B XS and bang 200 Yard carry drive down the middle of the fairway. So my theory is that the matte finish is interacting differently to the clubface like I found out with the Vivid ball 

 

What I would suggest is try a different ball the Callaway Supersoft Matte could be worth a shot, Matte finish and 2piece if you want to go that route. The Volvik vivid line crazy but worked well and so easy to follow in the air, Bridgestone e12 and then there is the Srixons Z-Star that do a yellow version if you want to push the boat out a little finally there is the Bridgestone Tour B line. 

 

best of luck in finding the ball that works for you ? keep us posted ?

I brought some old clubs into the local golf shop, traded 'em in for some store credit, and bought some late-season gear, including 15 of these Dunlop balls: 

 

2-piece, budget ball similar in design and feel to the Noodle Neons.  Going by feel (I don't have a rangefinder or anything) they were longer than expected off of the driver, but shorter than I expected on irons.  However, more than a few iron shots dug in and spun back a few feet even on the fairways.

 

Earlier in the spring (under similar temperature and precipitation conditions), I played this same 9 holes with my old irons and Noodles...I took a few more penalty strokes in the spring due to lost balls, so I can reasonably ascertain that the DDH's are shorter by a wee bit, but more controllable.

[North Butte]

Seeing that DDH logo sent a shiver down my spine. The first couple years that I was playing golf, back in the 1990's, the cheapest balls I could easily find were Dunlop DDH II distance balls at K-Mart. If I recall correctly they were $15.99 for 18 golf balls. I tended to lose 3, 4, 5 balls a round so I had to go with cheap. 

 

OMG, those things were rocks! Admittedly I played on an under-watered public course where everything was pretty firm and fast but there was no such thing as landing a DDH II on the green and expecting it to stop without rolling halfway to the next tee box. From 150 yards I'd hit a 7-iron that would carry about 120 yards and if I was lucky it might stop before rolling off the back of the green.

 

The whole golf ball landscape has changed in the past 30 years so I'm sure the modern balls they label "DDH" are more along the lines of a Noodle or something. But you wouldn't believe the click those ancient Dunlop 2-piecers would make if it hit a cart path. Like stone-on-stone. 

 

Trip down memory lane...

[brew4eagle]

I don't think any change in balls will make that great of a change in ball flight, unless somehow the balls are way out of round and/or the core is not symmetrical.  The only time I notice crazy ball flights is when I hit a ball on the range that has a cut in it, or one that is so old it barely has visible dimples.  Maybe cut one of the Noodles and open and see if the core is way off center?

[chippa13]

The moment you doubt a ball is the moment you shouldn't play it anymore. You'll never swing freely.

[TonytheTiger]

On 9/19/2020 at 9:39 AM, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

I've spent the past 2-3 seasons gaming the Noodle Neon seen in my avatar - I found a hot deal on 'em from golfballs.com and bought them at somewhere around a buck a ball.  They worked good enough with my old juniors set, and worked really well with my iron-heavy Ping Zing 2 set (3-9, with 4 wedges.  However, I recently upgraded my whole golf outfit to some Srixon woods and Ping G400 irons, and all the sudden, I'm getting all sorts of weird spins on the Noodle Neons:  Most commonly, a pull slice type flight off of the driver, starting off straight then violently diving off to the right.  Though, I'll also get topspin off of the drives which makes it dive straight down, and a weird, hovery backspin (sort of like you'd see in an airsoft gun) off of my irons - stingers are cool and all, but not when you're hitting a short iron or wedge.

 

Doing a little compare and contrast, I don't get these types of unpredictable results with any other ball...Hell, I got a Pinnacle Gold to stop on a dime on the same green, using the same club and same swing that I got a stinger over with a Noodle Neon.  I get long, straight drives using nearly anything from Titleist (budget lines from the DT So/Lo on up; and 20 year old sleeves that were a door prize at a scramble 1 2 ), and I get awesome iron control using my Bridgestone e6 Speeds and Taylor Made Distance +'s.

 

What the heck would cause a ball to suddenly lose all control like this?  Does this normally happen when switching between different types of clubs?  I will concede that my ball-striking isn't totally consistent and that I need a lot more practice, but it's absolutely befuddling to me that a specific ball would suddenly cause chaos like this.

Interesting article you have here. I have a collection of over 5,000+ golf balls that I have collected throughout the years from my high school and college (tournament) days and am a well-known seller in the So-Cal area. I know the ball you are talking about and have seen that behavior with some colleague's who have tested that ball flight (granted they had lower swing speeds of around 100-90 MPH with driver). I've tested over 1,000 different balls for different manufacturers and will be posting about those results in the forums when I sort through all my data. I would love to know what ball you prefer out of a list of say: Velocity, Supersoft, Hex Tour Soft, E5-E12, NXT, Tour Response, Project (a), Srixon Soft Feel, etc... in that range. The Noodle ball may just deteriorate over time or, if you have slight smudges and or imperfections in the dimples as a result of over-playing the same ball over time. This should not happen as you mentioned when "switching between different types of clubs?" That should have absolutely no effect ever. I will tell you though, I have had very anomalous events happen to me in tourney play where I will stand on a tee box with 9 iron from 160-165 to the pin to a short par 3, and for some reason there may be some sort of rock, turf, or substances that is on the ball or between the face and ball at impact that just causes the ball to SHOOT LIKE A ROCKET. I mean I've literally airmailed greens from perfect tee boxes with 9 iron 30+ yards at sea level with no wind factors. Golf is just that kind of game sometimes. I hope this helps you out in terms of conceptualizing inconsistencies, however the ball flight you're seeing should never happen if you are making solid contact with a clean ball and clean club face. 

 

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or would like to talk about golf balls, maybe there is something I could recommend you! Cheers.

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

6 hours ago, TonytheTiger said:

Interesting article you have here. I have a collection of over 5,000+ golf balls that I have collected throughout the years from my high school and college (tournament) days and am a well-known seller in the So-Cal area. I know the ball you are talking about and have seen that behavior with some colleague's who have tested that ball flight (granted they had lower swing speeds of around 100-90 MPH with driver). I've tested over 1,000 different balls for different manufacturers and will be posting about those results in the forums when I sort through all my data. I would love to know what ball you prefer out of a list of say: Velocity, Supersoft, Hex Tour Soft, E5-E12, NXT, Tour Response, Project (a), Srixon Soft Feel, etc... in that range. The Noodle ball may just deteriorate over time or, if you have slight smudges and or imperfections in the dimples as a result of over-playing the same ball over time. This should not happen as you mentioned when "switching between different types of clubs?" That should have absolutely no effect ever. I will tell you though, I have had very anomalous events happen to me in tourney play where I will stand on a tee box with 9 iron from 160-165 to the pin to a short par 3, and for some reason there may be some sort of rock, turf, or substances that is on the ball or between the face and ball at impact that just causes the ball to SHOOT LIKE A ROCKET. I mean I've literally airmailed greens from perfect tee boxes with 9 iron 30+ yards at sea level with no wind factors. Golf is just that kind of game sometimes. I hope this helps you out in terms of conceptualizing inconsistencies, however the ball flight you're seeing should never happen if you are making solid contact with a clean ball and clean club face. 

 

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or would like to talk about golf balls, maybe there is something I could recommend you! Cheers.

From your first bolded point, I've had great success with the Velocity, the Hex Soft, e6 Soft and e6 speed (better success with e6 soft, but a local discounter had e6 Speeds for $11 a dozen so I bought a ton of those), and a really good round with a Titelist Tour NXT.

 

The reason I brought up the clubs (in your second bolded point) is because that was the one variable that caused the erratic shots.  I've been playing Noodle Neons for years, and they worked well with the old Taylor Made Firesole clones I used as a junior into adulthood, and with the secondhand Ping Zing 2's that I used last season into this season.  The Noodle Neons I'd played in the past had come from the 3 for $5 bins at the counter in the pro shops, and I had such good luck with 'em that I bought a dozen from Golfballs.com last winter.  It was the dozen from Golfballs.com that started giving me issues late this season with my new G400's (purchased in August, and have gamed 'em since then).  They worked well with the Zing 2 irons in April and May, but didn't have as much distance with a Nike SuMo driver as they did with the Titelist 975D that I'd gamed earlier.

[TonytheTiger]

50 minutes ago, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

From your first bolded point, I've had great success with the Velocity, the Hex Soft, e6 Soft and e6 speed (better success with e6 soft, but a local discounter had e6 Speeds for $11 a dozen so I bought a ton of those), and a really good round with a Titelist Tour NXT.

 

The reason I brought up the clubs (in your second bolded point) is because that was the one variable that caused the erratic shots.  I've been playing Noodle Neons for years, and they worked well with the old Taylor Made Firesole clones I used as a junior into adulthood, and with the secondhand Ping Zing 2's that I used last season into this season.  The Noodle Neons I'd played in the past had come from the 3 for $5 bins at the counter in the pro shops, and I had such good luck with 'em that I bought a dozen from Golfballs.com last winter.  It was the dozen from Golfballs.com that started giving me issues late this season with my new G400's (purchased in August, and have gamed 'em since then).  They worked well with the Zing 2 irons in April and May, but didn't have as much distance with a Nike SuMo driver as they did with the Titelist 975D that I'd gamed earlier.

There is a small chance that those balls purchased from that site were fished out of ponds and had been water-logged for months-years and the water may have possible seeped through the initial layer. This is only an unlikely hypothesis. Where do you golf most of the time, So-Cal, colder areas, humid areas, dry areas?

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

8 hours ago, TonytheTiger said:

There is a small chance that those balls purchased from that site were fished out of ponds and had been water-logged for months-years and the water may have possible seeped through the initial layer. This is only an unlikely hypothesis. Where do you golf most of the time, So-Cal, colder areas, humid areas, dry areas?

They were sold as new logo overruns, though none of them actually had logos on them.  I play in Michigan, usually not too hot or too cold.  The backwards slice above was a day that started out cool, but warmed up very quickly.  The day with the backspin/Airsoft ball was a day in the mid 70's.

[TonytheTiger]

8 hours ago, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

They were sold as new logo overruns, though none of them actually had logos on them.  I play in Michigan, usually not too hot or too cold.  The backwards slice above was a day that started out cool, but warmed up very quickly.  The day with the backspin/Airsoft ball was a day in the mid 70's.

I have my suspicions, but I have tested Refurbished and Refinished balls from Callaway, Taylormade, and Titleist and I have only seen the knuckleball and floater ball with those types of balls. It's very odd but I suspect the balls lose their integrity which leads to these erratic and unpredictable UFO flights ....👽🚀

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

5 hours ago, TonytheTiger said:

I have my suspicions, but I have tested Refurbished and Refinished balls from Callaway, Taylormade, and Titleist and I have only seen the knuckleball and floater ball with those types of balls. It's very odd but I suspect the balls lose their integrity which leads to these erratic and unpredictable UFO flights ....👽🚀

I gotta wonder if the misprints and overruns had some kind of surface prep done to them then.  I noted above, compared with a normal white Noodle, the Neons felt powdery and hard to hold on to - sorta like when you rub chalk on your hand to make a pool cue slide better.  Live and learn, I guess.

 

I'll keep updating this thread as I go along.  Thus far, I'm digging:

e6 Speeds

e6 Softs

Titelist NXT Tour

Titleist TruFeel

Titleist ProV1 (though this is another ball that reacted differently across the different club sets I've used)

Dunlop DDH (pictured upthread)

Callaway Hex Diablo

Wilson Ultra 500

Taylor Made Distance+

 

Balls I haven't enjoyed:

Nearly anything Vice

Taylor Made Noodle Neon

Callaway ERC

[TonytheTiger]

2 hours ago, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

I gotta wonder if the misprints and overruns had some kind of surface prep done to them then.  I noted above, compared with a normal white Noodle, the Neons felt powdery and hard to hold on to - sorta like when you rub chalk on your hand to make a pool cue slide better.  Live and learn, I guess.

 

I'll keep updating this thread as I go along.  Thus far, I'm digging:

e6 Speeds

e6 Softs

Titelist NXT Tour

Titleist TruFeel

Titleist ProV1 (though this is another ball that reacted differently across the different club sets I've used)

Dunlop DDH (pictured upthread)

Callaway Hex Diablo

Wilson Ultra 500

Taylor Made Distance+

 

Balls I haven't enjoyed:

Nearly anything Vice

Taylor Made Noodle Neon

Callaway ERC

Solid list. I can see why you do not like the balls listed! If you ever need some good deals on the balls listed, I can hook you up, just pm me whenever. Enjoy your ball endeavors! 

[lefthack]

My old irons were Ping Zing 2's I've had since about '97? When I decided to take my game seriously last summer (played maybe once a year, if that since then), I got a set of Nike Vapor Pro Combos. I'm in love with these irons.

 

I'm still testing balls, my current stock is:

Titleist NXT Tour 

Taylormade Project A 

Srixon Soft Feel and Q Stars 

Bridgestone E6 

Then I have a stash of red and orange Nittro's.

 

I generally play with a Nitro and 2 others and play 3 balls a shot. I haven't been able to tell a noticable difference yet, but I will hit 100 rounds this year, so that might change.

Edited January 6, 2021 by lefthack

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

I've no idea what happened, but my swing this season has gone to crap.  Every round I play, I seem to score worse.  The e6 Speeds that I bought a ton of last year (NOS, of course, since they hadn't made e6 Speeds proper since 2019 or thereabouts) finally ran out.  I tremendously enjoyed the Top Flite Gamers that I bought, though even for my weak-a** swing, the durability was suspect - I got about 3 holes out of one before the cover began to split.  But, they felt awesome, went exactly where I aimed them (I can't aim 😞 ), and gained about 10 yards over the e6 Speeds on my irons.

 

I moved on to Kirkland SIgnatures, as I got 4 dozen for gifts, and while I can appreciate the quality there, they aren't "my" ball.

 

Anyway, off to practice more...I made a little discovery about my left shoulder yesterday, and I want to see if I can mess around with that a little more and get more consistent contact and flight path.  I know that my swing is inconsistent, but if I can eliminate one variable (in this case, the ball), I hope to learn and improve.

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

2022 bump (pics here).  Fresh outta some lessons last fall, I'm equipped with more knowledge of how to more consistently operate my swing, and some notes on how to implement those changes myself (from the guy I took lessons from).  I want to try another round of lessons to see about next-levelling my game, breaking 100 for sure and possibly 90.

 

As the 2021 season wore on and I tried more and more balls, I found that the cost of a single lesson had a substantially more positive impact on my game than the #69 (nice) Pro V1s that I bought (with store credit - I didn't actually pay the whole amount out of pocket).

 

The title of this thread is currently a misnomer, I guess.  I'm not actually trying to find my ball anymore, I'm trying to get to a point where I can play consistently enough to enjoy the game.

[Stanks]

13 minutes ago, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

2022 bump (pics here).  Fresh outta some lessons last fall, I'm equipped with more knowledge of how to more consistently operate my swing, and some notes on how to implement those changes myself (from the guy I took lessons from).  I want to try another round of lessons to see about next-levelling my game, breaking 100 for sure and possibly 90.

 

As the 2021 season wore on and I tried more and more balls, I found that the cost of a single lesson had a substantially more positive impact on my game than the #69 (nice) Pro V1s that I bought (with store credit - I didn't actually pay the whole amount out of pocket).

 

The title of this thread is currently a misnomer, I guess.  I'm not actually trying to find my ball anymore, I'm trying to get to a point where I can play consistently enough to enjoy the game.

Consistency is the grand venture in the world of golf. I, like you, figured I'd just cut the crap with anomalies and bought a bulk supply of Practice balls from a good cheap site (TP5X). I stopped guessing yardages, check on wedge shots, etc. etc. It does help. 

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

On 3/15/2022 at 6:59 PM, HappyGilmoresBoots said:

2022 bump (pics here).  Fresh outta some lessons last fall, I'm equipped with more knowledge of how to more consistently operate my swing, and some notes on how to implement those changes myself (from the guy I took lessons from).  I want to try another round of lessons to see about next-levelling my game, breaking 100 for sure and possibly 90.

 

As the 2021 season wore on and I tried more and more balls, I found that the cost of a single lesson had a substantially more positive impact on my game than the #69 (nice) Pro V1s that I bought (with store credit - I didn't actually pay the whole amount out of pocket).

 

The title of this thread is currently a misnomer, I guess.  I'm not actually trying to find my ball anymore, I'm trying to get to a point where I can play consistently enough to enjoy the game.

Thus far, this season...I've played 9 hole rounds with Titleist NXT's, Maxfli Straight Fli, and the Cut Greys linked above.  The NXTs have been decent - a pretty generic, "good enough" ball for me.  Nothing really excited me about them.  The Straight Fli's actually did demonstrate a little bit of self-correcting in the air for me; a nice little feature for when I slice.  But, jury's still out...I want to get a few more holes under these to see how they really do.  The Cut Greys felt great with irons and wedges, but not necessarily for my driver or putter...though, today's round showed me that I need to work on my putting a little more.