Quality Practice Ball vs Premium Ball?

[Albatross Dreamer]

Looking through many threads it's apparent regular range balls suck (duh). I'm wondering what sort of differences there are between the quality practice balls and premium gamer balls (i.e. proV1). Been doing driver testing using some extra of the Callaway "practice" balls that way they're all the same. They seem to be higher quality then the ones you use at the local muni, but any estimates on what distance and dispersion differences might look like for these?

 

As an additional question, some were outside from end of season to last month. How much can things change from freezing weather, snow, etc?

 

Basically I'm trying to get a rough guesstimate how different the numbers might be.

[LoopySwing13]

Personally I don’t worry about range distances unless they are prov/nxt or some other mid+ tier option. Just worry about direction and quality of strike. 
 

 

[Albatross Dreamer]

16 minutes ago, LoopySwing13 said:

Personally I don’t worry about range distances unless they are prov/nxt or some other mid+ tier option. Just worry about direction and quality of strike. 
 

 

Basically you're saying it's a crapshoot so no reason to even try guessing? For reference they're like the ones below, but are on the new side.

 

[LoopySwing13]

Well range balls are already going to be lower spin than you probably play, add in wear and tear, scuffs, etc and it’s even worse. It can give you some idea.. but I wouldn’t rely on it. 
 

If you are talking practice only, I refer back to my stance on “just watch direction and strike.” If this is more result based/fitting I would encourage a fitting studio that uses at least some kind of decent ball. Not ideal but still would rather as close to real numbers as possible. The ones you showed look very suspect for reliable data. One range by me has something similar and I have 6 irons that go 165 or 190 😂.

[Albatross Dreamer]

To clarify that wasn't an actual picture of the balls, just the type. The ones I have are newer with no scuffs or anything.

 

That makes perfect sense though, as the manufacturing quality and consistency is lower. There's been some drivers I thought I hit really well only to see them be far shorter then expected. Add on top of that most were in the frozen ground for a few months. Will just use them for reps now and not really worry about numbers!

[nitram]

For clarification purposes, are you saying you're wanting to use a Callaway Chrome Soft Practice (labeled) ball in lieu of a regular (one of three in a sleeve) Chrome Soft?

 

The ones pictured are regular 2-piece range balls. If you go with the ones pictured, there will be a noticeable difference vs. the premium ball, in most parameters.

 

The simplest solution (to me) is to buy a few dozen of your favorite balls from a used ball seller and practice with them.

Edited March 3, 2023 by nitram

[jomatty]

I don’t know exactly what ball is pictured there but if you get the Callaway chrome soft or chrome soft x practice balls they are basically identical to the chrome soft and chrome soft x.  They are balls that failed for some aesthetic reason.  I got 6 dz to practice with and have not been able to find a flaw in the majority of them.  I found the same thing with the tp5 practice balls.  They are nice and performance is right there with the normal balls.

if your talking about Callaway balls that were made to be range balls I have no idea.

Edited March 3, 2023 by jomatty

[Albatross Dreamer]

13 minutes ago, nitram said:

For clarification purposes, are you saying you're wanting to use a Callaway Chrome Soft Practice (labeled) ball in lieu of a regular (one of three in a sleeve) Chrome Soft?

 

The ones pictured are regular 2-piece range balls. If you go with the ones pictured, there will be a noticeable difference vs. the premium ball, in most parameters.

I don't plan on gaming them at the moment. Since it's slow season here I've been able to test different shafts on the actual course instead of the range (I just park at a flat hole and hit a bunch) and been using these rather than my gamer balls in case I miss some after hitting 20-40 shots. Am wondering what parameters would be most affected. A pic below better shows the shape they're in (ignore any little marks, I simply picked up the first one I had- more showing overall newness).

Edited March 3, 2023 by Albatross Dreamer

[Albatross Dreamer]

6 minutes ago, jomatty said:

I don’t know exactly what ball is pictured there but if you get the Callaway chrome soft or chrome soft x practice balls they are basically identical to the chrome soft and chrome soft x.  They are balls that failed for some aesthetic reason.  I got 6 dz to practice with and have not been able to find a flaw in the majority of them.  I found the same thing with the tp5 practice balls.  They are nice and performance is right there with the normal balls.

Thanks! That's what I was wondering, how accurate my results would really be. 

[Abh159]

1 minute ago, Albatross Dreamer said:

I don't plan on gaming them at the moment. Since it's slow season here I've been able to test different shafts on the actual course instead of the range (I just park at a flat hole and hit a bunch) and been using these rather than my gamer balls in case I miss some after hitting 20-40 shots. Am wondering what parameters would be most affected. A pic below better shows the shape they're in.

 

Even though they are Callaway branded, those are straight up range balls.  I wouldn't use them to "test" anything aside from making solid contact.

 

Distance, launch, spin, etc. are all going to be considerably different compared to high quality balls.

[nitram]

29 minutes ago, Albatross Dreamer said:

Thanks! That's what I was wondering, how accurate my results would really be. 

Not very, especially with short game.

[LoopySwing13]

As others said, buy “practice” tour balls or used balls. I have had great successes with lost golf balls 4A. They replace golf balls if they aren’t reasonable quality. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by LoopySwing13

[cgasucks]

6 hours ago, LoopySwing13 said:

Personally I don’t worry about range distances unless they are prov/nxt or some other mid+ tier option. Just worry about direction and quality of strike. 
 

 

 

I agree.  The driving range I go to has the lowest cost per ball in a bucket but the balls are so worn that there's hardly any dimples so most will drop out of the sky within 150 yards.  For me when I practice with balls like that, I just focus on solidity of strikes and direction.

[cardigan]

I've been tempted at times to try out the KSig practice balls that seem to be ever present on ebay at around $30 for 4 dozen but haven't pulled the trigger.  Probably much better than range balls but may not be helpful if you aren't used to the spin.  Most of the public courses near me typically have standard range balls but every now and then when I go, a couple of them will have a bunch of practice Z-Stars mixed in and I'll save them until the end of the range session or take them to the chipping area.

 

Also, it seems tour practice (not used) balls have been very difficult to find for sale lately (besides the Chrome Soft practice balls).  Anyone seen ProV1 practice balls for sale to the general public anywhere in the last year or so?  Also, the prices for tour practice balls when you do see them have gone up so much that I'd say DTC balls are likely a better option unless you are just practicing your short game and can retrieve the balls after hitting them.

Edited March 4, 2023 by cardigan