Range balls vs "regular" golf balls

[grlichti]

Anybody know what the rule of thumb is concerning distance loss (or gain?) with the usual range ball compared to the high end "players" golf balls (B330, ProV1, etc)? I do not mean some Word not allowed range ball, but a good condition such as found in private clubs and higher end public courses. For that matter, I am assuming they have less spin, but what about any other performance characteristics that are different besides distance?

 

Thanks

[trentuindy]

Go out on the course by yourself and pay 3 different balls... i.e a pro v1, a TM Red, and a callaway i tour. And see for yourself what the distance difference s between them all. And you can distinguish for yourself the distance irregularities. Range balls are good for one thing! Hitting them at the RANGE!!!

[jay hays]

Id think the distances would be different, but by a negligible amount.

 

I go to the range to work on puring the shots, tempo, and alignment. I know my yardages.

 

I do know that my tee shots wont draw or fade as strong, nor will my irons fly as high at the range, but again, these are negligible amounts. Our club uses new/mostly-new Nike Practice balls. I see some Srixons in the bags sometimes, but they feel practically same.

[Shaftology]

We have tested probably every range ball at higher end courses using the TrackMan II ball flight monitor. We also use Pro v1's on every range to compare so we know exactly how to interpret the results. Pro v1 range balls are very similar to Pro v1's. Next best are the NXT Tours which will spin more and have about a 1 degree higher launch angle. From there you go to Callaway Range, Top Flite Range, Pinnacle Range, Srixon, etc. In general these balls will spin MORE than high end balls and carry 5-10% shorter...they are range balls after all...keep 'em in the range. The Srixon range balls were actually the worst in terms of distance loss (up to 15%) and variability in ball flight. We literally will pick through the range balls to find the very best ones to test, especially when we do driver testing. It is really wild to see the mix of range balls at a driving range, even the high end country clubs. If you are a dedicated range bunny and are trying to dial in distances, etc. you really need to sort through the range balls and pick the ones that are the cleanest and newest to do your range testing. We love working ranges early in the season and hate it at the end of the season as we spend most of our time sorting out bad range balls.

 

A very interesting ball (we were testing on a range where they hit into a lake) was the Wilson Floater. Believe it or not it had similar characteristics (launch, spin, distance) to the Pro v1's we sent into the lake???!!! Shoulda kept some those guys to play!!

[SpinMill75]

I have often wondered the same thing, so the last year or so I have conducted a little experiment of my own. I have hit balls on several resort driving ranges that are using very nice range balls. I found that in almost every situation, the range ball has significant distance loss compared to a brand new premium ball out of a sleeve. Whatever people want to believe about range balls consider the following.....Range balls often sit out on the range in all sorts of weather or sometime even in a mud puddle for who knows how long. The are hit several times with all sorts of club faces and by all sorts of players.

Just use them as they are intended...to warm up on the range.

 

Food for thought.

[yoonie]

I've been to private courses that have tp red practice balls. I've been to private courses that have yellow top spin practice balls. You're gonna have to be a LOT more specific about a lot of things, including your ballflight and swing characteristics. I personally found for some clubs I lost distance and others gained when using the white top spin/nike range balls, due to lack of spin but that's because of the specifics of my swing. My dad sees virtually no difference because of the specifics of his swing.

[Shaftology]

Unless you are using TrackMan or something even close, you are guessing at your distances and what you are REALLY getting for distance, spin, etc. There are some big differences with certain range balls as I stated above.

[jlg214]

Some ranges also use a limited flight ball that will practically drop out of the sky at 225.

[grlichti]

Just to be clear here, I am not in any way thinking of using them on the course!! Why anybody would do that is beyond me. If one is too big of a cheapskate to shoot the lock off their wallet and buy balls, they can alwasy walk a course and try and find good balls in the bushes! I asked simply to try and determine if I am getting false information at the range as compared to the balls I play.

 

I use the B330S, have a high ball flight and 165-170 for a 7 iron and the last round I played, the 4 drives I measured in the fairway averaged 287 off the tee according to the Skycaddy ball mark feature. Not sure why you wanted to know the flight characteristics, but there you go.

 

Shaftology, interesting post. That is why I started the thread...I just KNEW somebody out there had done the research! Thanks

[SaltytheSlicer]

I got fitted by the Ping van for a Driver last fall and the guy using the Trackman said range balls tend to spin more than normal balls, echoing what Shaftology said.

 

I also play a course with the limited-flight balls, and 225 would be REALLY long. They advertise 2/3 distance, but I think it's more like half with the driver. The balls are very hard (sound like hitting rocks off the driver), hollow, and have pronounced dimples sticking out instead of recessed.

[BobbieDollar]

also really have to consider the swing speed of the hitter. I think swing speeds with around 90-100mph then I can't see where there would be much difference in distance or at least there would be less of a difference than for swing speeds at 120 on Trackman, I think then the distance lost would go up considerably.