“What Golf Ball Should I Play?” & “Which Golf Ball Should I Play?”
Well that’s the easy one of course. The Right One! If you are up on the rules of golf, because rule:15 – 3 clearly states that:
‘If a competitor plays a stroke or strokes with a wrong ball, he shall incur a penalty of two strokes.’
As to “What golf ball should I play?” Now that’s quite a different subject, and one that I’d like to talk to you about.
Many of my students ask me which golf ball they should play, and many don’t come to think of it. In fact a lot of them go out and buy golf balls based on what the advertisements have told them. ‘Drive it further’, ‘Hit It Longer’. Funnily enough I have an advert in front of me that tells me that 1.5 billion golf balls will be lost this year and that they’ll all have to be replaced. True enough. But with what?
Now I could start going into lots of technical stuff here, like spin rate, compression, MOI, mantle core, etc. But really, who cares. What you care about is finding the right ball for you. So how do you do that?
Well when it comes to deciding “What golf ball should I play?” what you don’t want to do (and I’m assuming here that you are not a scratch golfer) is rush out and buy a $45 box of Titleist Pro V1‘s hoping that they are going to take your game to new levels. In fact consider this. In an article in a leading Golf Magazine this year, Rob Akins, a top 50 Golf Instructor, suggests that…
“Too many golfers are shortchanging themselves by playing the cheap ball. The balls pros play might be double or even triple what others cost, but they help average golfers score better.”
Now consider this. Two pages later, in an article about an experiment to test cheap balls vs ‘Tour’ balls, Golfers were issued with Pinnacle Dimension balls (Around $15 per dozen), for their round. Even a plus two handicapper said that the trajectory and feel were exactly the same as his usual tour ball. In fact these low handicap players averaged only three shots worse with the cheaper ball.
So….What YOU need to do is, pick up a 3 pack of Callaway Big Bertha’s, Noodle+ Easy Distance, Pinnacle Dimension, Srixon Soft Feel, Top Flite Gamer V2 (The ball I play, by the way) and maybe one Tour Ball pack, Titleist Pro V1 or Bridgestone B330, and head to your local course.
Now balls in hand (so to speak). Hit shots to THE GREEN! Because it’s shots to the green that are going to lower YOUR score. Hit chips to the green. Hit pitches to the green. Hit full wedges to the green. Only counting the shots that you hit well, the ball that stops the fastest in each scenario, is the ball for you. Really test each ball from different positions around the green. Now, if you end up with two or three balls that you can’t decide between, then move back to the Tee, or your local park, and hit drives. If one ball is giving you the more distance of the Tee as well, then this is clearly the ball for you.
Does this sound like a lot of work? Maybe! However, it’s going to save you dollars in the long run, and improve your score. Do you really want to be losing a Pro V1 on every other hole, at over $45 per dozen?
I didn’t think so. Happy Golfing!
Your Golf Buddy – Steve Snead
About the Author
Steve Snead lives in Youngstown, Ohio. A 2 Handicap himself, he teaches golf in the area, to children of all ages. Steve tests and reviews Golf Equipment, golf swing aids, golf books.
He has many articles published on the subject of the golf swing.
Follow Steve at the The Golf Swing Aid Blog
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