Hello Golf Friends,
The Age old (well since 1990's) question is... What type of ball should I play? We all want and desire the optimal combination of control plus distance. We analyze launch angles, angle of Attack, spin rates. We're looking for the "magic egg" in the basket. Over the past 10 years I've played over 20 different kinds of balls.
You know what? I fail to find any noticeable difference between any of the "Tour" balls out there. TaylorMade, Titleist, Snell, Vice, Callaway, Srixon, Bridgestone and so on. To me, an experienced instructor and competitive player, I could take any of the "Tour" balls out of the Bag and play it. I can barely see a performance difference even between the harder (x) and softer versions of Tour balls. But yes, there is a slight difference in spin and feel between the two. I prefer the firmer feel versions.
So then, what's the big difference? PRICE! If I can take any tour ball out of the bag, why pay almost $50.00/ dozen? Nope, not me! I look for specials at Dicks, Golfsmith and online. I order Snell's MTB for $31.99/ dozen. I have friends that play Vice Pro Plus for similar price. I love peeling out a brand new pellet. But I hate that missed shot that costs me a penalty and $4.50!
So, I encourage you to get past the ego of $50.00 dozen golf ball and find a cheaper golf ball. That will allow you to spend more money on golf, lessons, and after round refreshments!
The next question is... Should I play a Tour Ball? If your swing driver speed isn't 95mph+, the simple answer is NO! You will not get the desired performance you are looking for. You are wasting money and performance. My brother asked me what type of ball he should play. His Driver speed is about 85-90. Well, since I don't play a ball in that range I did some research. I googled "What type of ball for driver speed less than 90mph?" The article stated "Compression is your friend". Meaning... find a ball that maximizes your feel and distance. Some recommendations were: Titleist NXT, Titleist Velocity, Taylormade (a) , Callaway HX, Snell-GetSum, The laddie, and Bridgestone B 330 RX. And most of those are less than $25.00/ dozen. So do your wallet and game a favor- Get the right ball!
Til next blog,
Paul Meyer The Complete Golfer Academy
Tampa, Florida