How to choose the right golf ball
Choosing the correct ball is essential to reduce your golf handicap. A ball impacts your game almost as much as your clubs, so choosing a ball that’s right for you is important. Below is a six-step process for selecting the right golf ball, a process I often go over in my golf lessons and tips. It is a relatively new selection approach. But first, let’s review the standard historical approach to choosing a golf ball.
Standard selection approach
With this approach, you think of a golf ball going from the tee forward. In other words, he hit balls off the tee and watched their performance characteristics. You based your decisions primarily on control and distance, depending on his preference.
This approach was appropriate when ball manufacturing technology was simpler. Here were his options.
1. If you wanted the ultimate in control, you chose a three-piece suit with a balata cover. It offered high turning speeds, smooth feel, and good maneuverability, but lacked durability. I used to recommend this ball in my golf lessons and golf tips for golfers with low golf handicaps who are expert shots.
2. If he wanted the ultimate in distance, he chose a two-piece ball with a Surlyn cover. This ball would travel far and last a long time. Unfortunately, its lack of spin greatly reduced control, especially around the greens. He used to recommend this ball for players with higher handicaps who needed more distance than control.
3. If you wanted something in between, you chose a Surlyn sleeved three-piece ball. With this ball, you sacrificed a bit of control for more distance and durability. This ball performed relatively well.
This process worked well for a long time. But it is less appropriate for evaluating today’s golf balls, which incorporate the latest technological advances.
advances in technology
Ball-making technology underwent several advances in the 1990s and beyond, complicating the selection. Multi-layer balls such as the Top-Flite Strata, which provides less spin for more distance and a softer cover for better control around the greens, hit the market in 1996, followed by the Titleist Pro V1, a solid core distance. in 2000. Nike’s One and Titleist’s Next have also debuted in the last 10 years.
While all of these balls represented technological advances, they challenged the standard selection of approach balls. Basically, you keep picking a ball off the tee forward based on distance and control.
A new selection approach
Today, there is another approach to choosing a ball. This approach is based on going from the green backwards. It’s proving to be more appropriate for today’s game. Below is a six-step methodology for choosing a ball based on this new approach.
Step 1: Define your needs.
First, you must (1) assess your game, (2) define your needs, and (3) decide what you want and don’t want from a ball. Defining your needs is crucial to choosing the right ball. Remember that not everyone with the same hitting ability, golf handicap and/or swing speed will play the same ball. Ask yourself questions like “Do I need more distance?”, “Do I need more control with my irons?”
Step 2: Test Stuff Balls
Select several balls that you want to try. Base your decision on your defined needs. Try selecting balls from each category (multi-layer, two-piece, and super-soft, low-compression) to see how they perform. Remember that not every manufacturer’s model of the same type of ball will react exactly the same.
Step 3: Test from the Edge
Take test balls to the edge of the green. Take a few chip shots and throw shots, and watch the results. See which balls hit the green and “control” and which balls hit the green and release. Then hit some sand putts and shots. See performance. In general, multi-ply balls will feel softer, fly a bit lower, and stop or block more on the green than their two-piece counterparts. Super soft balls will roll the farthest with the least amount of spin after hitting the ground.
Step 4 – Test from 100 Yards
Take the balls and move down the fairway to the 100 yard marker. Test each ball from that spot and note the control and release characteristics of each ball after hitting the green.
Step 5 – Test Balls from 150 Yards
Now take your balls to the 150-yard marker and hit from there. Observe the results. Use the same criteria to evaluate each ball.
Step 6: Taste the balls off the tee
Go to the tee and hit the balls with your driver. Look for units that reach their apex or highest point quickly and then level off and drift much lower. What you don’t want to see are units that start out low and then shoot up like a jet taking off. Such shots indicate that the driver has added too much spin to the ball, resulting in shorter drives that hook or slice more.
Now obviously you can’t necessarily go out in the field to do all these tests. Your local shooting range or practice area will work just fine. Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to choose. Base your decision on the most significant combination of performance qualities that is meaningful to you. For example, golfers who base their iron game on shots that hit and bite close to where they land will likely prefer a multilayered ball, even if it means sacrificing a bit of trajectory and distance.
Remember that a golf ball affects your game almost as much as your clubs. If the ball you choose doesn’t feel right after you select it, try another one. Give each ball a fair trail.
Choosing a ball that’s right for you, as I say in my golf lessons and golf tips, takes some work, but it’s worth the effort. Having the right ball is crucial to improving your game and lowering your golf handicap. It also helps develop self-confidence. Choose wisely.