Choosing a Golf Ball

January 11, 2008

A dozen Titleist Pro-V1 golf balls is a safe choice.

The golf ball you use can affect both your score and your wallet. Beyond the commercials and advertisements, beyond the hype, and beyond the price tag, there are some golf balls that will benefit your game more than others. As an athlete, you should know which type of ball fits you and your game best.

The first question to ask yourself is, “Do I generate high club head speed or low club head speed?” If you don’t know, you can base this simply off of how far you hit the ball. If you hit a pitching wedge (45 to 49 degrees of loft) around 100 yards or less, you can consider yourself on the lower end of the spectrum. If you are hitting a pitching wedge 150 yards, you are: 1. swinging too hard at a pitching wedge, and 2. have tremendous club head speed. Many of us fall somewhere in between.

The golf balls that are designed for low swing velocities are, ironically, advertised as the balls that will go “miles past the competition.” I say this is ironic because golfers with lower swing speeds are not hitting it miles past anyone, regardless of what ball they are using or what planet they are on. This is not an insult; part of becoming a better golfer, for anyone, is admitting to ourselves that we are human.

These low spinning hard cover balls are considered better for the high handicapper because the high handicapper, in particular the lifetime high handicapper, is typically concerned more with jock size than with lower scores (and hence, the high handicap). These balls are cheap and durable - good qualities as far as the wallet is concerned. But, as for your golf game…that’s a different story.

Golf balls that are targeted towards low handicap high swing speed players typically spin more, are softer, and are far less durable than their hard cover counterparts. Even in this market, golf ball manufacturers target their consumers’ alpha male instincts. For example, after the success of the Pro V1, Titleist developed the Pro V1x which has a harder cover and spins less than its predecessor. Keep this in mind: golf ball manufacturers want to sell you golf balls, not lower your scores.

Golfers of all abilities are faced with the dilemma of a trade-off between distance and control. My take is, it is not much of a dilemma at all. Go for control over distance every time. Learn to play the game by getting it in the fairway. Dial in your wedges, and feel your short shorts into the bottom of the cup. Swinging for the fences usually results in hitting the ball on the wrong side of the fence. Chances are, if you can hit the fairway consistently, you are swinging somewhat down your target line, and are getting decent distance considering all the other factors involved, such as flexibility and strength.

The Titleist Pro V1 golf ball is a great ball. There isn’t anything else I can say about it. It is the most durable ball I personally have ever played. But there are other alternatives that may carry a more reasonable price tag and are a good buy for anyone who is serious about improving their golf game. The Srixon Z-URS is a comparable alternative with a similar price tag of $40 a dozen. The Nike One Platinum can be found for as low as $35 a dozen. Finally, you can pick up a dozen of TaylorMade’s TP Red golf balls for as little as $30.

My suggestion is to really analyze what you are looking for in a golf ball. Ask yourself, is what I’m looking for really going to lower my scores? That is the object of the game, after all.

Written by John at 9:48 pm. Miscellaneous