Best ball for mid level golfers

[North Butte]

If you’re such a bad golfer that picking one ball and sticking with it can’t do you any good, then surely you such a bad golfer that switching to a different ball can’t help you. 

[Pepperturbo]

2 hours ago, akronswitness said:

 

Its consistency as well. If I was good enough to grab my 7 iron and hit it 150-155 yards 10x in a row in the middle of the fairway--I would probably notice a difference in changing balls.

 

However, for 70% of golfers out there they are just not consistent with each and every swing to be able to gather any sort of information of what each individual ball is doing and not doing for them (like myself a 13 handicap golfer).

 

Some days I go out and smash my driver 280 consistently all day long and hit 11-12 fairways. The next week I will go out and slice every drive I hit into the rough or OB. Is it the golf ball? Or is it the fact that Im just a average golfer. I dont think there is any golf ball thats just going to forgive you from being a mid-high handicap golfer. If you have inconsistency with your swing there is no Titlist ProV1SuperXBatman ball thats going to do anything for you lol

Sorry - I guess my example wasn't properly articulated.  If you want to stick with that line of thinking, fine.  It's up to you.  But, I still disagree with it.

 

I've watched my 14 handi Banker buddy actually score better when he's playing a ProV1 as opposed to something he found in the woods or pond.  How?  He misses a lot of greens, which puts pressure on his chipping and little pitches.  SuperXBatman balls spin and stick despite his skill.  But if you don't believe that there's nothing I can say that will change that. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[akronswitness]

18 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

Sorry - I guess my example wasn't properly articulated.  If you want to stick with that line of thinking, fine.  It's up to you.  But, I still disagree with it.

 

I've watched my 14 handi Banker buddy actually score better when he's playing a ProV1 as opposed to something he found in the woods or pond.  How?  He misses a lot of greens, which puts pressure on his chipping and little pitches.  SuperXBatman balls spin and stick despite his skill.  But if you don't believe that there's nothing I can say that will change that. 

Think we are just talking about 2 different things. Your talking about getting a ball to stop and Im talking more about the ball in flight. Im just saying I havent been able to hit a consistent enough golf shot for rounds at a time to really tell if a particular ball is giving me any sort of advantage over another ball.

 

Personally I hit the ball extremely high, so getting a ball to stop on the green (if Im able to hit the green) has never been a issue which is likely why I dont pay attention to spin advertisement on golf balls.

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[moolman]

2 hours ago, akronswitness said:

 

Its consistency as well. If I was good enough to grab my 7 iron and hit it 150-155 yards 10x in a row in the middle of the fairway--I would probably notice a difference in changing balls.

 

However, for 70% of golfers out there they are just not consistent with each and every swing to be able to gather any sort of information of what each individual ball is doing and not doing for them (like myself a 13 handicap golfer).

 

Some days I go out and smash my driver 280 consistently all day long and hit 11-12 fairways. The next week I will go out and slice every drive I hit into the rough or OB. Is it the golf ball? Or is it the fact that Im just a average golfer. I dont think there is any golf ball thats just going to forgive you from being a mid-high handicap golfer. If you have inconsistency with your swing there is no Titlist ProV1SuperXBatman ball thats going to do anything for you lol

 

I sorta disagree only because I'm in the same boat as you, my handicap swings form a 12 to a 15 and back, it happened this year. So one week, I'm on fire and the next OB on a few holes. When you're on fire, you do notice the balls that drop on the green and stop. I've been experimenting with the Z-Star and Prov1x cause the both claim to have good iron spin onto the green. So far the ProV1x stop on the green, I've seen the Z-Star roll off. Of course, it's most likely my swing. 

 

I've been using Srixon because of the father's day B1G1 offer, if it comes back again, I'll stock up on more Z-Star and Q-Star Tours.

 

[North Butte]

It is actually almost impossible to get a truly certain idea of how one ball differs from another without hitting them side by side for a LOT of shots. Probably not worth it for a weekend golfer. The best you can do is make sure a certain ball doesn’t fail to perform in some major way, then choose from the ones that all seem OK and pretty similar. 
 

If you can’t tell a difference after a couple of solo practice rounds comparing two balls, heck pick the cheapest one!
 

But the key is to eventually settle on one and use it for 50 or 100 rounds at a stretch so that you will gradually develop some touch and feel with how it chips and putts and you will figure out how far it is likely to fly, bounce and roll under various conditions. 
 

Nobody would expect to shoot their best scores if they changed their putter, wedges or irons every two or three rounds. Yet for some reason lots of folks play a different ball every week instead of just picking one and getting used to it. 

[akronswitness]

3 minutes ago, moolman said:

 

I sorta disagree only because I'm in the same boat as you, my handicap swings form a 12 to a 15 and back, it happened this year. So one week, I'm on fire and the next OB on a few holes. When you're on fire, you do notice the balls that drop on the green and stop. I've been experimenting with the Z-Star and Prov1x cause the both claim to have good iron spin onto the green. So far the ProV1x stop on the green, I've seen the Z-Star roll off. Of course, it's most likely my swing. 

 

I've been using Srixon because of the father's day B1G1 offer, if it comes back again, I'll stock up on more Z-Star and Q-Star Tours.

 

 

Yeah I see what your saying, in my other post above I said that I have no issue getting the ball to stop since I hit everything so high which is why I never pay attention to spin rates. I hit the ball so high that no matter what ball it is never rolls more than 3 feet from where it comes down.

Im more or less looking for a ball that pushes back against fades/slices rather than a ball that stops on the green.

[platgof]

Catch Max Fli Tour on sale at Dicks or Golf Galaxy. Great golf ball for the price. 2 dozen for $55.

Edited April 14, 2021 by platgof

[BogeyParBogey]

Unless you are losing a lot of balls, buying a premium grade ball is not that much money over a year compared to greens fees.  Buy 3 Get 1 is going on now and is roughly $150, do you lose 48 golf balls a year?

 

Dave

[moolman]

16 minutes ago, BogeyParBogey said:

Unless you are losing a lot of balls, buying a premium grade ball is not that much money over a year compared to greens fees.  Buy 3 Get 1 is going on now and is roughly $150, do you lose 48 golf balls a year?

 

Dave

 

I do, cause I swear, if you play a nice ball and hit it to the wrong fairway, people steal it.

 

[moolman]

1 hour ago, akronswitness said:

 

Yeah I see what your saying, in my other post above I said that I have no issue getting the ball to stop since I hit everything so high which is why I never pay attention to spin rates. I hit the ball so high that no matter what ball it is never rolls more than 3 feet from where it comes down.

Im more or less looking for a ball that pushes back against fades/slices rather than a ball that stops on the green.

 

I'm looking for my irons to drop on the greens, working on hitting down and having shaft lean. I did get the new clubs this year, got the HMP with the Nippon 950 NEO, these are supposed to be the highest launching steel shafts. If these can't help me, nothing can.

[akronswitness]

33 minutes ago, moolman said:

 

I'm looking for my irons to drop on the greens, working on hitting down and having shaft lean. I did get the new clubs this year, got the HMP with the Nippon 950 NEO, these are supposed to be the highest launching steel shafts. If these can't help me, nothing can.

 

I wish I could get the ball down and hit irons at a proper trajectory. If this helps you any (people tell me this is why I hit so high) is 1) play everything off the inside of your front foot or at least in the font of your stance 2) pick the ball off the turf. I dont create divots but 'pick' the ball by focusing on coming down directly on the back of the ball where it meets the grass.

 

Im thinking about trying the Bridgestone e12 Speed balls. From looking online everything about them says 'straight flight' and minimizing sidespin. Might be the ball for what Im looking for that I might actually see a difference in.

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[moolman]

5 minutes ago, akronswitness said:

 

I wish I could get the ball down and hit irons at a proper trajectory. I hit my 6 iron higher than most can hit their wedges lol My issue is consistent distance and accuracy off the club face.

 

If this helps you any (people tell me this is why I hit so high) is 1) play everything off the inside of your front foot or at least in the font of your stance 2) pick the ball off the turf. I dont create divots but 'pick' the ball by focusing on coming down directly on the back of the ball where it meets the grass.

 

 

 

 

Yup, that's why you hit high...lol.... forward of stance to hit high, back of stance to hit low. I'm a bad golfer that hits into trees alot, not taking a mulligan, got me good at hitting low iron shots under trees, play it off my back foot.

[rondre3000]

I say this with the utmost respect, but what does mid-level golfer even mean? Is that a mid-hcp'er? Sooooo many factors go into what separates a mid-capper from a single digit guy/girl. 1 "mid level" golfer may be able to take advantage of tour level spin around the greens but want a ball w/ a firmer feel. Something like a ProV1x may fit the bill, even with moderate swing speeds. The next "mid level" golfer may list soft feel as the # 1 priority with mid levels of spin a close second so maybe a Q Star Tour shows up for them. Are you mid level because your putting is trash but your ball striking is slightly above average? What if your long game is doodoo but you can scramble and get-up and down from anywhere? See wha I mean?

 

It's impossible to lump "mid level golfers" into 1 category because there are a lot of qualities that make up this group. You'd be better off categorizing balls into price tiers and then taking the trade-offs of each (price, feel, spin) to make your decision.

[akronswitness]

14 minutes ago, rondre3000 said:

I say this with the utmost respect, but what does mid-level golfer even mean? Is that a mid-hcp'er? Sooooo many factors go into what separates a mid-capper from a single digit guy/girl. 1 "mid level" golfer may be able to take advantage of tour level spin around the greens but want a ball w/ a firmer feel. Something like a ProV1x may fit the bill, even with moderate swing speeds. The next "mid level" golfer may list soft feel as the # 1 priority with mid levels of spin a close second so maybe a Q Star Tour shows up for them. Are you mid level because your putting is trash but your ball striking is slightly above average? What if your long game is doodoo but you can scramble and get-up and down from anywhere? See wha I mean?

 

It's impossible to lump "mid level golfers" into 1 category because there are a lot of qualities that make up this group. You'd be better off categorizing balls into price tiers and then taking the trade-offs of each (price, feel, spin) to make your decision.

 

When I say mid-level or mid-handicapper I mean somebody between 10-15 handicap. Typically somebody who knows what they are doing, but are far from great or consistent. A bunch of bogeys (maybe a double or two), handful of pars and maybe 1 birdie per round. 

 

They come in all shapes and sizes as you mentioned and depends on what your looking for. Some of those with slower swing speeds might prefer softer balls with great control 150 yards and in. Myself I am looking for a ball that produces less side spin and keeps the ball straighter with a higher swing speed.

 

I have just yet to care about sticking to 1 ball long enough to really do A/B testing between a few 😄 I much prefer the enjoyment of walking into the woods trying to find my shanked drive and go 'oh look a ProV1!" and play that ball until I inevitably lose it lol

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[L29]

Another vote for Maxfli Tour. Great cast urethane ball.  Great price at 2/60 and even better with a coupon. 

[akronswitness]

9 hours ago, L29 said:

Another vote for Maxfli Tour. Great cast urethane ball.  Great price at 2/60 and even better with a coupon. 

 

Just read up on those. "Great at reducing side spin for straight ball flight" Sounds good to me! I would like to try out the Maxfli Tour vs. Bridgestone e12 Contact vs. Vice Tour and see what one can help me keep those drives from tailing off. The Vice Tour did a pretty decent job at it, now I want to try the others to see if there is any difference.

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[rondre3000]

11 hours ago, akronswitness said:

 

When I say mid-level or mid-handicapper I mean somebody between 10-15 handicap. Typically somebody who knows what they are doing, but are far from great or consistent. A bunch of bogeys (maybe a double or two), handful of pars and maybe 1 birdie per round. 

 

They come in all shapes and sizes as you mentioned and depends on what your looking for. Some of those with slower swing speeds might prefer softer balls with great control 150 yards and in. Myself I am looking for a ball that produces less side spin and keeps the ball straighter with a higher swing speed.

 

I have just yet to care about sticking to 1 ball long enough to really do A/B testing between a few 😄 I much prefer the enjoyment of walking into the woods trying to find my shanked drive and go 'oh look a ProV1!" and play that ball until I inevitably lose it lol

Ahhh, now we're getting somewhere then. In my experience then you'd be looking at something in the mid-tier price level (think BRX, Q Star Tour, Tour Response) category. Mind you, these are typically softer compression balls. Maybe even the AVX if you want a lower ball flight. If you like something a little firmer you may want to check out the Snell MTB lineup.

[akronswitness]

5 minutes ago, rondre3000 said:

Ahhh, now we're getting somewhere then. In my experience then you'd be looking at something in the mid-tier price level (think BRX, Q Star Tour, Tour Response) category. Mind you, these are typically softer compression balls. Maybe even the AVX if you want a lower ball flight. If you like something a little firmer you may want to check out the Snell MTB lineup.

 

Thank you, Im doing all of the research I can online to find something. The Vice Tour felt firm, but kept things relatively straight with no major mishits. I read a lot of good things about the Bridgestone e12 Contact for straight ball flight with its crazy dimple pattern. Others on here mentioned the Maxfli Tour. All are mid-tier priced balls like you mentioned.

 

In a perfect world I would like something soft and straight. I dont really need a $45 box of premium 4-piece golf balls because their advantages dont suit what I need. They would proably make my problems even worse by putting MORE spin on the ball that I dont need. Harder to control off the tee. If anything it sounds like I need a cheaper 2-piece/3-piece ball thats made for straight accuracy. I can deal with the spin stuff around the green later. I would much rather have a ball that fought against slices and side spin than a golf ball that checked up better on pitch shots. If that makes sense.

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[North Butte]

5 minutes ago, akronswitness said:

 

Thank you, Im doing all of the research I can online to find something. The Vice Tour felt firm, but kept things relatively straight with no major mishits. I read a lot of good things about the Bridgestone e12 Contact for straight ball flight with its crazy dimple pattern. Others on here mentioned the Maxfli Tour. All are mid-tier priced balls like you mentioned.

 

In a perfect world I would like something soft and straight. I dont really need a $45 box of premium 4-piece golf balls because their advantages dont suit what I need. They would proably make my problems even worse by putting MORE spin on the ball that I dont need. Harder to control off the tee. If anything it sounds like I need a cheaper 2-piece/3-piece ball thats made for straight accuracy. I can deal with the spin stuff around the green later. I would much rather have a ball that fought against slices and side spin than a golf ball that checked up better on pitch shots. If that makes sense.

I'm telling you, if you look to a ball change to cure a hook or slice you will be sadly disappointed. But I guess everyone has to try it for themselves. 

 

Nothing wrong with playing a low-spin ball, you just need to allow for some bounce and run on mid-long approach shots. And who knows it might slice 25 yards instead of 30 yards (although I've never seen a ball change make that much difference). But if you hook or slice with a urethane ball you will absolutely hook or slice with a 2pc Surlyn ball.

[akronswitness]

5 minutes ago, North Butte said:

I'm telling you, if you look to a ball change to cure a hook or slice you will be sadly disappointed. But I guess everyone has to try it for themselves. 

 

Nothing wrong with playing a low-spin ball, you just need to allow for some bounce and run on mid-long approach shots. And who knows it might slice 25 yards instead of 30 yards (although I've never seen a ball change make that much difference). But if you hook or slice with a urethane ball you will absolutely hook or slice with a 2pc Surlyn ball.

 

Thats why I have never cared about what ball I play lol Im trying to care, but I just find it hard to believe one particular ball with help 'straight flight' and keep balls in the fairway. Im trying to give it a shot by getting the best ball for what I need, but your swing is going to do the talking, not the ball.

 

Im getting paralysis by analysis over here lol

 

Im going out later today for 9 holes, might see if they have any a sleeve of those e12 Contacts and see what happens just for closure. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by akronswitness

[Itsjustagame]

Try a few balls until you find one you like then buy them from an on-line used ball retailer for about 50-60% of new.

Buy the mint grade balls and I think you would have a hard time differentiating them from a new ball.

[nostatic]

My favs are Q Star Tour and Chromesoft (the white/red soccer balls). Mostly I'm drawn to a softer feel, and the soccer ball thing can help when I'm having trouble focusing down on the ball (and give some idea of spin around the green).

 

Still have fond memories of balata...

Edited April 14, 2021 by nostatic

[Pepperturbo]

15 hours ago, akronswitness said:

Think we are just talking about 2 different things. Your talking about getting a ball to stop and Im talking more about the ball in flight. Im just saying I havent been able to hit a consistent enough golf shot for rounds at a time to really tell if a particular ball is giving me any sort of advantage over another ball.

 

Personally I hit the ball extremely high, so getting a ball to stop on the green (if Im able to hit the green) has never been a issue which is likely why I dont pay attention to spin advertisement on golf balls.

Seems your index is around +/- 13?  If so, my buddy is similar.  In other words he hits the green as often as you do, has a high trajectory too and seldom see's his shot.  High trajectory doesn't stop the ball from running out and off the green, either.  We see that on tour.  We're talking about the same topic.  But I will leave it there. 

[Twism86]

I (mostly) play a Callaway Superhot Bold in red. If color isnt your thing you can get them in white as well. I knows its not a urethane ball but it does have 3 layers and I like the distance I get with it. Ive played this ball for almost two years now and Im sure im losing some performance with the surlyn cover but I know the distances I hit it and feel it works for the rest of my game.  

[ltom]

Ok so far I tried the following. Keep in mind everything is wet and slow in the northeast currently.  

Super hot 70s were very playable, durable and felt ok.  Titleist tour speeds were really nice. Stopped well and felt great around green. Unfortunately too expensive (40 beans/dozen) for a mid level ball that isn't cast urethane. TM tour response is my fav right now. Great all around ball that's super durable.  Cast urethane++. Distance is hard to say, too cold and wet this time of year.  Not thrilled about 35/dozen.  I've tried Q star tours in the past and really like them.  Will prob try some divides when they come out. Waiting for the kirkland v2s to be delivered.  Keeping an open mind even tho Shiels says too much driver spin. BS RX/RXS are nice but way too expensive.

Edited April 15, 2021 by ltom

[ltom]

Continue to be impressed and surprised by TM tour response. Shot 43 in very wet/cold conditions yesterday. The ball was great in those conditions. Used one ball for all 9 holes, rare for me. Cleaned the #0 ball I used and looked brand new. I may have found my ball. Now TM seems to change things like underwear, so who knows if this ball will survive.

[North Butte]

16 minutes ago, ltom said:

Continue to be impressed and surprised by TM tour response. Shot 43 in very wet/cold conditions yesterday. The ball was great in those conditions. Used one ball for all 9 holes, rare for me. Cleaned the #0 ball I used and looked brand new. I may have found my ball. Now TM seems to change things like underwear, so who knows if this ball will survive.

Good news is they sell a zillion of whatever ball they make, even if it only stays around two years. So when it goes away there will be plenty of chances to stock on up on them used!

[kthomas]

Try some Snell's.

[rkillian]

I'd agree with what most have said so far in that you'll want a urethane cover. I'll add to a the recommendations of Maxfli tours for a mid-priced ball. I played those and liked them. I'll get them again if they are on sale when I need some. I did play a Q-Star Tour for a little bit but to me it felt too soft and I didn't notice that I had more spin on partial wedge shots than some other cheaper balls. I liked the Z-Star better which I played until trying out Bridgestone Tour BX. I liked the BX but not as much as when I can get what I tend to play now.

 

Right now I am playing ProV1x Practice balls. As long as you don't mind that they say practice, there is nothing wrong with them outside of maybe some cosmetic issues with labeling. They aren't always in stock at my local Golf Galaxy but when they are they stick around a little while. I think most people don't know what they are. 

 

As an even cheaper ball, I was using a Titleist TruFeel that I had found for a round. I thought it performed as well as anything I've played until I got to partial wedge shots. One local course I play tends to have slow to very slow greens though and I wouldn't hesitate to play it there to compensate for that. 

[munichop]

I have played the e12 contact for a month now.  More than a few windy rounds too.  It is a very good wind ball.  And I am putting well with it. It has replaced the tru feel as my starter.  For me it is longer off the tee mostly due to rollout.  It is a little shorter on full short iron shots.  Consistent around the greens.