is this the best cheap golf ball ever?

[ericmakiman]

 

I'm in the market for $15 a dozen golf ball since I dont really care for distance......   and then I found this video ...... 

This wilson ultra looks interesting, it has 15 golf balls instead of a dozen and the distance seems a bit longer.     

Does anyone have anyexperience with Wilson ultra?   

 

 

 

 

[MattM97]

Jeeze that video is awful, dude sounds like he's talking through a sock while turning up the background music. 

[North Butte]

It doesn't mean much but I found one on a golf course down at the beach last year and played it for a hole and a half. I was not impressed. Very dead feeling and short hitting. Unusual to find a ball nowadays that you can instantly recognize as simply not going very far. Like a supposedly 110-yard PW shot flying about 90 yards on a very low flight. Or a driver shot, normally maybe 200 yards, flying low and getting on the ground within 150 yards (although it did certainly roll a long way).

 

Maybe the one I found was waterlogged or something. I even sent my friend an E-mail from right there on the course with a picture of that ULTRA ball and a suggestion, "If you ever find one of these, leave it where it lies!". Very strange.

[ericmakiman]

1 hour ago, MattM97 said:

Jeeze that video is awful, dude sounds like he's talking through a sock while turning up the background music. 

 

I kinda like this video.... it is like a music video for  a golf ball.   And much much better than other "amateur" golf review videos who just keep talking  without showing the actual testing the golf ball.     I closed those videos after 30 seconds but this specific clip lasts about 5 minutes for me....

Edited April 15, 2021 by ericmakiman

[95124hacker]

The only decent 15-ball pack ball I’ve played before is the Top Flite D2 Feel. Otherwise most 15 packs are terrible.

[North Butte]

My first year playing golf three decades ago, I bought Dunlop DDH rocks at K-Mart in boxes of 18 balls for $15.95 and those boxes would get me through maybe half a dozen rounds. I played a wide open public course built in basically a pasture. Minimal water hazards, only a few holes with OB, not much rough. It wasn’t impossible to lose a ball but it took some doing. 

[ericmakiman]

5 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

The only decent 15-ball pack ball I’ve played before is the Top Flite D2 Feel. Otherwise most 15 packs are terrible.

 

I bought this dozen once.   Do they still make it?   

[95124hacker]

1 hour ago, ericmakiman said:

 

I bought this dozen once.   Do they still make it?   

I checked Dick’s website and don’t see it. Replaced by some version of the Gamer I guess ???

[forrester_fire]

If you want a cheap, quality golf ball you should really look no further than the Costco Kirkland balls.  They're not the best, but for ~$30 you get two dozen 3-piece urethane balls.

 

I've played them for a while and have grown less fond over time (interested in the v2, however), especially since I found TP5x "Practice" balls for $20.

Edited April 16, 2021 by forrester_fire

[North Butte]

11 minutes ago, forrester_fire said:

If you want a cheap, quality golf ball you should really look no further than the Costco Kirkland balls.  They're not the best, but for ~$30 you get two dozen 3-piece urethane balls.

 

I've played them for a while and have grown less fond over time (interested in the v2, however), especially since I found TP5x "Practice" balls for $20.

Yeah, when you find a cheap deal on the Taylormade "PRACTICE" balls or the occasional Srixon Z-Star sale you're bordering on the K-Sig price bracket for balls that are good enough to be by Tour winners. Takes some patience and effort, though. If you're a Costco person it's gotta be tempting to just grab a double dozen of K-Sig and be out the door.

[forrester_fire]

3 minutes ago, North Butte said:

Yeah, when you find a cheap deal on the Taylormade "PRACTICE" balls or the occasional Srixon Z-Star sale you're bordering on the K-Sig price bracket for balls that are good enough to be by Tour winners. Takes some patience and effort, though. If you're a Costco person it's gotta be tempting to just grab a double dozen of K-Sig and be out the door.

 

I usually try to pick up 5+ dozen when I find the Tour quality "Practice" balls at that price, and play the Kirkland the rest of the time.  As a 12, I'm not a consistent enough ball striker to discern a difference in ball performance.  I have decent speed (~108), so I'm probably giving up a handful of yards with them, but I'm not hurting for distance on a 6500 yard course.  Still haven't tried the 3pc V2...

Edited April 16, 2021 by forrester_fire

[HyzerFlipDG]

14 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

The only decent 15-ball pack ball I’ve played before is the Top Flite D2 Feel. Otherwise most 15 packs are terrible.

Have you tried the new version of this: the Top Flite Hammer Control?  IMO the sleeper ball of 2020. 

[ericmakiman]

 

how about those pinnacle balls?   I remember bought a box with 15 golf balls..... but I dont remember the specific model.... 

[rumstove]

53 minutes ago, ericmakiman said:

 

how about those pinnacle balls?   I remember bought a box with 15 golf balls..... but I dont remember the specific model.... 

 

As I was reading the thread I was thinking Pinnacle Soft isn't too bad for a cheaper ball and comes in a box of 15. Never tried the Pinnacle Rush, which is the other model Pinnacle currently makes. 

[sevenfourate]

Ultra 500 ? 

 

***Collect round stones from the beach. They'll have more feel........

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

The Ultra 500 is pretty decent, IMO/IME.

 

I posted in the unpopular opinion thread about "not being good enough for quality gear," but there's a slight difference here:  I know I can play a Pro V1 better than a V1X; I know and have played several balls in that $40 and up per dozen range.  But, I don't want to be putting $4 on the line for any errant shot.  That's where balls in the range of $15 for 15 come in for me - your Kirklands, your Ultra 500's, your Top Flite Gamers, your Dunlop DDH's (don't shake a stick at the newish generation ones, they're miles better than the ones from the 90's).

 

Losing distance?  Maybe, but I don't really think it had any appreciable impact on my game.  The Ultra 500's (and the DDH's, for that matter) would go within 5-10 yards of whatever Bridgestone e6 variant I was playing at the time.  The thing that hurt me was dispersion, but that's an issue with me, not the ball.

 

Greenside or approach feel?  That's severely dampened (when compared with a well-designed and engineered 3 or 4 piece ball), but that's a consistent trait across the spectrum of most 2-piece balls.  I can't exactly quantify this in an Ultra 500 versus any other ball...except for the Noodle Neons that caused me to swear off Noodle Neons forever after having incredibly erratic behavior out of them.  But, I haven't yet sworn off Noodle Neons.

 

With that being said - Which balls won't I play?  Which balls won't I pick up even if I find them in the s***?

-Top Flite XL and other variants (these are actively bad and inhibit my golfing)

-Pinnacle Gold and variants (true neutral, and golf ball tech has come a LONG way, so there's no need to play these)

-Noodle Neons (after a box of blems from golfballs.com, I had incredibly erratic ball flight with these)

[Maroon_19]

If you want cheap but still playable, get a dozen MG golf C4 balls for $19.99.  3 piece urethane balls that actually play very well. 

[Tanner25]

20 hours ago, HyzerFlipDG said:

Have you tried the new version of this: the Top Flite Hammer Control?  IMO the sleeper ball of 2020. 

 

I am starting to like these in the warmer weather. They are very soft and did not feel well in colder weather. IMO D2 Feel was a better ball. 

[jomatty]

I don’t know anything about that ball, but if you are willing to spend $20 dozen the Taylor made tp5 practice balls are a lot of bang for the buck.  I believe the only differences are cosmetic, based on what I’ve read and my experience. Really good balls for the money imho.

[North Butte]

42 minutes ago, jomatty said:

I don’t know anything about that ball, but if you are willing to spend $20 dozen the Taylor made tp5 practice balls are a lot of bang for the buck.  I believe the only differences are cosmetic, based on what I’ve read and my experience. Really good balls for the money imho.

I know I seconded the TP5 Practice recommendation already but I'll second it again (third it?). 

 

IMO the only better deal out there on golf balls is the KIRKLAND 3pc ball (if you're a Costco person). And even that is a close call, for just a tiny bit more money you're getting a superior overall ball with the TP5. 

 

I'd say anyone who loses so many balls they can't afford $20/dozen should probably just buy from the online used-balls dealers. There's no reason to pay $1/ball for a very rudimentary, low performance ball like an ULTRA 500 when for $1.50/ball you can get a model that has won major championships and has the best technology and performance allowed by the Rules of Golf. 

 

Sure, maybe you can't tell the difference in a high performance ball and a clunker. But the performance is there whether you can notice it or not. And for $20/dozen (even less for the Costco option) price really isn't an obstacle any more.

 

I seriously wonder why there are so many 2pc Surlyn covered balls still flooding the market when the price for entry to high performance urethane is so reasonable nowadays.

[HyzerFlipDG]

3 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

 

I am starting to like these in the warmer weather. They are very soft and did not feel well in colder weather. IMO D2 Feel was a better ball. 

I still have a few boxes of both left,but I like the TFHC better. The cover seems softer which is all I wanted upgraded from the d2+F.  

They are both great for what they are though!

[jordan2240]

Try the Oncore Avant55.  As a weekend hacker, it's the ball I have the most trouble losing.

[Flip4000]

Cheap is relative,  but I thought the old top flight gamer was a steller cheap ball. 

[wantacigar]

On 4/16/2021 at 9:07 AM, forrester_fire said:

 

I usually try to pick up 5+ dozen when I find the Tour quality "Practice" balls at that price, and play the Kirkland the rest of the time.  As a 12, I'm not a consistent enough ball striker to discern a difference in ball performance.  I have decent speed (~108), so I'm probably giving up a handful of yards with them, but I'm not hurting for distance on a 6500 yard course.  Still haven't tried the 3pc V2...

I've been playing the Ksig 3.2 (V2) for about 3 full consecutive rounds.  I am really liking this ball.  I see no distance loss, feel is great, greenside spin is great.  

[dlygrisse]

Ksig, great price with greenside spin.  I've been given bunches of sleeves of cheap balls like these over the years and I have piles in my garage, I usually give them to friends who are just picking up the game.  

[PhilsFanDrew]

Those Wilson Ultra 500's are for raw beginners, people that maybe play once a year in a work/charity scramble, or people that aren't really golfers that just want to occasionally smash a driver in a big open field.  There are much better feeling and performing balls out there for around $15-20/dozen.  

[North Butte]

There's "cheap" as in finding a way not to spend a bunch of money on golf balls. And then there's "cheap" as a synonym for "crummy". Some of these threads I suspect are aimed more at deliberately playing an awful golf ball just to prove a point. Or as a kind of self-abuse.

 

Getting good balls "cheaply" has never been easier, assuming you're willing to do a certain amount of shopping around and you're willing to stock up on several dozen when you find a good deal. I'd say 25 years ago if you wanted to not spend much money on golf balls you were stuck on using some pretty crummy ones, fortunately things are a lot better today.

[forrester_fire]

4 hours ago, wantacigar said:

I've been playing the Ksig 3.2 (V2) for about 3 full consecutive rounds.  I am really liking this ball.  I see no distance loss, feel is great, greenside spin is great.  

 

Did you play the original 3-piece also?

[wantacigar]

6 hours ago, forrester_fire said:

 

Did you play the original 3-piece also?

Yes.  I still have one dozen left.  I liked the V1.  I really didn't notice the distance loss off the drive like everyone said there was.  If I did lose any it may have been 5 -7 yds.  Unless I'm doing a side by side comparison I couldn't tell if I hit a 240 yd drive or a 245 yd drive and if I did notice how could I be sure it was the ball?  I've never hit consistently 245 yards on every drive of every round.  My driver averages 230-250 yds  depending on strike, temperature, swing variation, etc...  Maybe Rick Shiels can tell that he's losing 7 yds but I sure can't

[deepred]

Wilson 50 Elite

Way better than its low price would indicate.