Golf Balls - Does cold weather matter when chosing your ball?

[longballguy]

Found 2 different Golfwrx interviews that contradict

OK, I was reading 2 different Golfwrx interviews. One with Taylor Made and the other with Bridgestone. The reps being interviewed gave COMPLETELY different answers when it comes to cold weather and the type of ball you should choose. I've highlighted the important stuff in RED. Any thoughts?

Below is excerpts from both interviews:

TaylorMade
GolfWRX: Can you tell us the compression numbers of the TP Red and TP Black?

Dean Snell: I can. I’d like to give one comment to some people - I think this is an interesting discussion. For me, compression is probably the most overrated discussion in golf. I’ve done presentations in front of PGA Professionals and a lot of technical presentations with media. One of the things I’ve offered is a box of balls or a case of balls to anyone who can tell me what compression is. I have yet to have someone even tell me what the units are. It’s an old measurement that was used a long time ago that true 90 and 100 compression balls used to be 2-piece golf balls. But you don’t see compression ranting on any golf balls anymore. The reason for it is that probably 70% of the golf balls sold today are 80 or less. Back then if you were to put 80 on a ball, it would have been considered a women’s ball. So the compression number kind of disappeared from packaging because nobody wanted to write 80 and then not be able to sell golf balls. It’s truly a designers tool. We use it in R&D to control sound, to control spin rates, to help obviously with the COR and velocity of the ball. Really, I’ll give you an example. Everybody remembers the old Tour Balata wound golf ball and everybody remembers the old DT which is a hard Surlyn ball. Both of those golf balls had a 75 compression. If you had any player hit them of any caliber, the feel of those golf balls was completely different. So feel is not compression of ball. It’s part of it but it’s not compression. Those two balls have the same compression number but feel completely different. I think today when you look at it, the Tour Balata used to be in the 60’s and 70’s. The Professional came out in the 90’s. The HX Tour golf balls, B330 today are closer to 100, maybe over 100. So the compression of golf balls today is between 80 and 100. The new TP Red is in the low 80’s probably 82 or 83 and the TP Black is in the mid 90’s 96 or 97. Falls similar to the Pro V1 which is also in the 84 - 85 range while the Pro V1 X is in the mid 90’s as well. So the balls are separating themselves out today more than they used to but compression is not all feel. The construction, the layers, the material, the sound, that’s a bigger part of feel than compression. So for players that are choosing balls according to when it’s warm out I’ve got to use 100’s when it’s cold out I’ve got use 90’s - that old story is long gone and not really true any more.

Bridgestone



16:13 – GolfWRX: Excellent, now the weather is getting a lot colder around the country, I know a lot of people have a trend to go to softer compression golf balls because they feel that it gives them more distance. How should golfers use compression numbers to help them decide what golf ball to play? Is compression still important today for golf balls?

16:32 – Brandon Sowell: Certainly, compression definitely is important among all golf balls. As you mentioned as the temperatures start to get colder, the compression of a ball in its natural state tends to rise so using a softer ball in the colder season months definitely would be a benefit for a lot of players, but beyond that, you know whether it’s through a ball fitting exercise or just getting someone’s swing analyzed at their local course, or off-course specialty shop. We think that it’s important for the recreational or amateur player to understand their swing speed and to get that evaluated, and that will help them in determining what type of compression golf ball that they should be using, whether it’s a lower compression or medium or firmer compression. Slower swingers should definitely look towards softer golf balls, while a faster swing speed player should look towards firmer balls. Basically the difference being the player with the faster swing speed is going to be able to deform a golf ball at impact, versus a slower swing speed who tees up a firm golf ball are not going to be able to deform the golf ball. If you’re not able to deform the golf ball an adequate amount you’re not really igniting the engine of the golf ball which is the core so you need to be able to kind of penetrate to the engine - down to the core of the golf ball, and again if you’re a slow swinger trying a firm golf ball you aren’t able to do that. So that is why a slow to moderate swing speed should gravitate more towards a lower compression golf ball.

[buttuh]

I think the difference(s) in their answers come from the fact that 2 different questions were asked. The Taylormade guy was answering a question about compression number vs. feel. The Bridgestone guy actually went on to say that using a softer compression ball during colder weather is more advantageous as well as using a lower compression ball for players with slow to moderate swing speed.

[GaijinGolfer]

Id agree with what Bridgestone said and say that Taylormade gave a long-winded answer that didnt really answer the question. Colder temps will make a ball seem harder simply because the rubber wont be as pliable, so to get the same feel you would need to use a softer ball in colder temps.

[2overpar]

the comparison betweeen the Tour balata and DT also is skewed because a surlyn vs. balata cover will also change the feel considerably. The balata cover was MUCH more pliable and easier to deform, especially against early formulas of surlyn, which were primarily designed for durability.

[Simp]

To answer your question: No. I don't change balls as the temperature starts dropping. B330 for me whether it's 40 or 90.