Callaway SuperSofts - What part of my game is suffering from using them?

[7018]

Single digit handicapper, have played ProV1s for as long as I can remember.  Recently tried some Chromesofts and loved them.  A friend paid me back for borrowing a sleeve and accidentally got me Supersofts and I fell in love.  The feeling off the putter is what I love the most.  But as nice as they feel, I'm sure they're hurting me in other areas, right?  Less wedge spin?  More driver spin?  Less overall distance?  I havent noticed anything significant, but I also havent done any side by side comparison.  

 

Guess my overall question is, am I giving any one thing up specifically by just going with the much softer feel?

[MMB1500]

It seems like you're asking the wrong question. If you like the feel and the overall performance, what's the problem?

 

We're all guilty of grass is greener syndrome and buying into the marketing hype that we should all be playing Pro V1s (or some other tour level equivalent). Some people should, of course, but maybe this is just a better ball for your game. There's nothing wrong with that. 

 

Put another way, a Pro V might give you more spin around the green and a distance ball might give you 10 extra yards but you have to evaluate performance as an overall package, not by giving too much weight to isolated variables. 

 

 

 

[sevenfourate]

Ball snobbery (?) Many of us are guilty......

 

Play what works / you love / makes you feel good . The benefits of this are likely way more performance enhancing than 100rpm less spin or half a degree less launch 👍

 

****I recently had a good round with a ball that was the polar opposite to my normal type / perceived for my speed, ability, spin profile etc.  I suspect it wouldn’t have been too much different: even with my ‘perfect’ ball.......

 

Enjoy !!

 

 

[soregongolfer]

They are my winter ball of choice.  They're long and straight.  What you're missing is spin around the greens.  Of course, you can play around that by knowing how they react when struck around the greens.  Iron wise, you may suffer on approach shots assuming you play on  hard greens.  

[7018]

Appreciate the insights!  Feeling off the putter face has given me so much more confidence for some reason.  I have noticed a little lack of spin around the green but overall, I think I am sticking with them for now.  Thanks guys!

[Texas Golfer]

Good choice.  Confidence and feel are the attributes that you can’t get from a computer analysis.

[North Butte]

For my game, a Supersoft instead of a Pro V1 will bounce over a firm green rather than stopping maybe a couple times in a typical round. Not the end of the world, it's not guaranteed to be completely dead over the green (although often it will be). Or I could play ultra-conservative and lay up or play away from the hole when the green is firm and shallow. But on my home course there are plenty of pin placements where I don't really want to be deliberately playing short or sideways, leaving myself a 40-50-60 foot putt. Not with a 7-iron or 8-iron in my hand.

 

So I only use balls that will stop within 10-15 feet on a well-struck 7-iron even when conditions are firm and fast. Supersoft or any other 2pc Surlyn option is not that ball.

 

If you don't have that problem, then it's not a problem. Only way to know is to try them.

[Barnacle]

Anytime I've seen these hit on a monitor they seemed just dandy off the driver and long irons but the higher in loft you go the less they spin. Big jump in the wedges. For 90% of the courses most of us play (softer greens) thats probably not a huge deal but having tried them I know they have trouble checking up on firm fast greens. 

[NoTalentLefty]

On 4/26/2021 at 12:50 PM, Barnacle said:

Anytime I've seen these hit on a monitor they seemed just dandy off the driver and long irons but the higher in loft you go the less they spin. Big jump in the wedges. For 90% of the courses most of us play (softer greens) thats probably not a huge deal but having tried them I know they have trouble checking up on firm fast greens. 

Barnacle has it right. My only downside is chipping on hard greens. They are my typical game ball but want to try the e12 contact to really compare on faster firmer green. 

[lil'mike]

The only thing that might be an issue is enough spin to hold the green but depends on your game!  I played in an outing two weeks ago and kinda bladed a shot to the green but it hit, spun and stayed which I thought it might do while my buddies were saying "that's  long, that's over the green".  I was using the Chrome Soft.

 

Another guy did a similar shot a few holes later and it hit and bounced hard over the green to a back bunker!  He was using the Supersoft.  Now I am not saying it will happen but with a 2 piece ball it is more likely.

 

 

 

[junkfry]

You are giving up distance at the top of your bag compared to other balls. Spin to hold greens on pitches or holding landing spots on green-side shots/bunker shots will suffer. Besides that it works great on full iron shots throughout the bag. Only thing about putting is it does feel great but....you will get those occasional rockets off the putter face that will blow right through the break. 

[leeux]

On 4/30/2021 at 3:12 PM, junkfry said:

You are giving up distance at the top of your bag compared to other balls. Spin to hold greens on pitches or holding landing spots on green-side shots/bunker shots will suffer. Besides that it works great on full iron shots throughout the bag. Only thing about putting is it does feel great but....you will get those occasional rockets off the putter face that will blow right through the break. 

I think junkfry is pretty spot on, drives will be shorter, chips will not check up but it feels nice off the putter. I played my 2 best rounds in recent years with the SuperSofts as my winter ball. They are very forgiving and hold distance and line quite well on slightly mishit iron shots. As I hit very high shots, less spin is not much of an issue for me.

 

Of course most of us are very much in love with driver distance so usually I also play ProV Ix to hit longer drives. Perhaps I should reconsider though and just play the SuperSofts all year long.

[munichop]

Years ago I would switch from urethane to surlyn in the winter.  Once I started using the gamer soft and shot a bogey free 64 the first round with it I was hooked. When summer came I decided to keep it in the bag and played the ball until they stopped making it. Now I still play lower compression surlyn currently the e12.  I just shoot lower scores with them. 
to answer your question you always lose green side spin with surlyn and sometimes enough full shot spin that the ball will release more than you would like on firmer greens. That is the trade off. I am used to the limitations and now urethane feels alien to me. If the super soft helps you score better and you like the feel keep it. 

[North Butte]

2 hours ago, munichop said:

Years ago I would switch from urethane to surlyn in the winter.  Once I started using the gamer soft and shot a bogey free 64 the first round with it I was hooked. When summer came I decided to keep it in the bag and played the ball until they stopped making it. Now I still play lower compression surlyn currently the e12.  I just shoot lower scores with them. 
to answer your question you always lose green side spin with surlyn and sometimes enough full shot spin that the ball will release more than you would like on firmer greens. That is the trade off. I am used to the limitations and now urethane feels alien to me. If the super soft helps you score better and you like the feel keep it. 

So the downside is less greenside spin and a tendency to release rather than hold on firm greens. What is the upside to Surlyn balls that offers enough benefit to offset those shortcomings?

 

[sittingbull]

I just changed to the supersofts this year ..was playing avx..

And to be honest they are a little shorter then the avx but they feel awesome especially around the green and putting 

[SUITS]

I could never get my distance control from 135 and in dialed with the SS. 
I have hit lots of wedges that flew almost a whole club longer. They feel like they are exploding off the face though. 

[munichop]

@North Butte

For me the upside of the lower compression surlyn balls has been lower scores.

I have gotten those I believe because surlyn balls in general launch higher for me ( I am a low trajectory player, the last urethane ball I could get in the air the way I liked was the e5 which is no longer made), fly straighter, especially in the wind, and if I find the right one like the gamer soft or current e12 roll more on the ground when I hit them well with my driver.

They simplify the game for me and tactics associated with a golf course because I know they do not spin as much as urethane.  So I tend to short side myself less.  I don't chase pins requiring me to shape the ball a lot.  I remind myself to stay below the hole as often as possible even if it means being short of the green sometimes.  

I only chip and pitch with 2 clubs around the green- my 52 deg wedge and my sand wedge which is 57 deg. If I have to stop a ball more quickly I do it with height not spin.  I like the feedback the lower compression balls give me. I trust the ball won't spin too much on bump and runs which used to happen to me with urethane. The last urethane ball I used was the 330 rx.  It was a good all around ball for my swing speed but the gamer soft was much longer on irons and driver and flew higher. Almost all my personal bests have been with surlyn balls including one year when I averaged 1.66 bogeys per round.  

My driver speed is down to mid 90's now which is 15 mph less than when I was in my 30's when I first got measured.  Most plus handicaps I play with still use balls designed for tour pros.  That is what they like and are used to playing.  I am a plus 2 hdcp and believe the surlyn balls work best for me.  I switched full time in 2015 and have been satisfied with the results. 

[Dash Boogie]

I’ve found a good compromise to be Wilson Duo Pros. 60 compression with a urethane cover.

[philly2kuk]

Every ball suits one golfer or other, so you may not be leaving anything out there. Hell, one season my old man (in his late fifties at that time) got down to mid single figures playing.....a callaway warbird. Played it all season. 
 

I don’t know how he did it as I couldn’t get it to work for me at all, but goes to show that you may not be leaving anything out there. You’d just have to adjust your game to something that spins less or more.

[me05501]

I used to play Maxfli Softfeel a lot. They can be had at Dick's for $8/dozen from time to time and I liked them a lot! 

 

Honestly I think ball choice can have positive or negative effects on our confidence, and our confidence is a huge part of our success on the course. 

Some guys get that confidence from playing pro-style balls. Others feel more confident swinging their swing when they aren't concerned with losing a $4 ball on an errant swing. 

[munichop]

With the cooler weather here I tried the supersoft yesterday in my last mens club tourney of the year. I haven’t tried them in the last few years because the earlier versions felt too springy for me around the greens and I couldn’t control pitches well. The current version fixed that and I birdied the final two holes to win by one shot.  The higher launch helped my driver carry distance and stopping irons on what were relatively firm greens.  I used pro shop credit to get a dozen of them after the round.  Good cold weather ball.  A big improvement from earlier versions for me.

[aquapig]

I've tried everything out there and keep going back to the SS.

 

Yesterday I saw the TM Soft Response and decided I'd try them. For me, I never have an issue holding greens with the SS. And my club just re-did greens on the South course. Sure a PROv1 will give me more spin, at times too much, but the SS usually stops right by it's ball mark. However, that Soft Response was constantly rolling over greens. 

 

Back to old reliable SS today. 

 

Best ball for the money 

[munichop]

Played this ball yesterday again and was very happy with it.  The 50 yard shot with this ball was surprisingly consistent for me the last 2 rounds which is one area the 2 piece balls sometimes suffer. Will hopefully settle on an iron set soon. This version of the ss is much improved over the early ones I played with a few years back.

[NoTalentLefty]

On 4/25/2021 at 2:25 PM, 7018 said:

Single digit handicapper, have played ProV1s for as long as I can remember.  Recently tried some Chromesofts and loved them.  A friend paid me back for borrowing a sleeve and accidentally got me Supersofts and I fell in love.  The feeling off the putter is what I love the most.  But as nice as they feel, I'm sure they're hurting me in other areas, right?  Less wedge spin?  More driver spin?  Less overall distance?  I havent noticed anything significant, but I also havent done any side by side comparison.  

 

Guess my overall question is, am I giving any one thing up specifically by just going with the much softer feel?

If you want something similar to a Pro V1 you might try the MaxFli Tour. 

[munichop]

The supersoft has been a pleasant surprise for me. I tied my course record on Saturday with this ball on a 6400 yd par 72, 70.5 rated course with a 62 which I first shot in 2015 with the gamer soft.  I hit 15 gir, 24 putts and holed a putt from off the green and chipped in for eagle.  The ball has been consistent for me on and around the green with a little more pop off the driver than other low compression balls.  This version is a big improvement over the earlier versions.

[rondre3000]

As much as I had bagged on this ball earlier, I have shot my 2 lowest rounds in the last 6 months (76, 79) with this ball. Go figure. Normally I play a TP5.

 

I can not get these balls to check like the TP5, and they roll out MUCH farther on approach shots but dammit if they are not "forgiving". What I mean is when I have adjusted for the extended roll out, I've been able to put myself in easy 2-putt territory. I run into issues when I have a forced carry to a pin cut on the front of the green. With my low-spin play, I just can't get them close.

[starrman77]

It sounds like the OP is trying to talk himself into a problem that doesn't exist. It's OK to play them even if you're good.

[Jim E]

My slower swing speed fits well with the SS but it almost too soft. Hard to tell if I miss hit it. Maybe that’s a good thing?🤔

[rondre3000]

9 hours ago, Jim E said:

My slower swing speed fits well with the SS but it almost too soft. Hard to tell if I miss hit it. Maybe that’s a good thing?🤔

Can't you tell by ball flight? If you're mishitting and the results are good that DOES sound like a good thing!

Edited February 6, 2022 by rondre3000

[mantan]

I'm in a similar boat with this ball. I found a Callaway Supersoft Max that I'd just tossed in the bag. I'd accidentally pulled it out of on the first tee a couple of months ago. I played a few holes with it. It was very straight and longer than expected (flew a couple of greens).  Pulled my regular ball out and played a bad middle stretch. Pulled the Supersoft Max out to close out the round.

 

I didn't like the larger size or the unexpected distance, but I was intrigued by 2-piece balls. I bought a dozen Srixon Soft Feels and had a few decent rounds. I bought a dozen regular Supersofts this week. I played really well on a tough course yesterday and shot my best round of the year today.  It just works for me. It's straight off the tee and seems to keep the occasional wayward tee shot more online. It's great off the irons. DFW is in a drought. The courses are pretty dry, but not crazy firm greens.  I'm a high ball hitter and have no issues getting any iron to stick. I don't rely on a lot of spin on my short game, so it's been fine there too.  It's fantastic to putt with...probably my favorite part of it.  Used the ball for 17 holes today before losing it. It was absolute money.

 

I'm just an average golfer. I think like a lot of us, I buy into the hype that playing 'better' stuff will help my game. But I'm also pragmatic. The scorecard doesn't take into account what ball you play. If this is a better ball for my game, I'll stick with it for the full season.

 

Two piece balls have evolved a ton.  They are no longer hard rocks (Pinnacles) or have a rubber superball quality to them (Srixon AD333).