golf balls??

1stuey1

couple of questions do certain makes of golf balls actually make a difference?

and do people regularly clean there golf clubs and there groves?

liam12989

yes golfballs make a huge difference to a better player looking to control the ball...softer balls more spin control..

and yes spin comes from clean groves and clean clubs in general...
and the better clubs go all sht if not cleaned regularly!

1stuey1

why i say this is i personally notice no diff with what ball i use? so i dont really understand what ball is what? wat is considered a soft/hard ball?

i have a mixed match balls in my bag from nike top flite titlst callaway donnay wilson but i dont notice anything?

and my clubs are quite dirty i think a good clean is in order and to clean the groves out. but i aint very good at getting spin on the ball anyway lol

liam12989

balls like ur prov1 and some nike and callaway balls are softer gennerally the dearer 1s!!!!usually if u bounce the balls off tiles on floor u can hear a diff sound from the balls or even jusy bounce them off ur irons!!!!ya its not easy to get spin...then 2 try and control it!!

1stuey1

liam12989 wrote: »

balls like ur prov1 and some nike and callaway balls are softer gennerally the dearer 1s!!!!usually if u bounce the balls off tiles on floor u can hear a diff sound from the balls or even jusy bounce them off ur irons!!!!ya its not easy to get spin...then 2 try and control it!!

thanks man! il start taking notice!

can anyone help with this one too, when im beside the green but wanna just chip on i generally hit the sw too far and the pw either too strong or not enough i find it hard to sometimes find that medium, is the lw or gw good for that? i dont know too much about them clubs can someone shed some light thanks

liam12989

practise mannn.......a lw really puts ball in air but to be honest its practise and dont worry about the clubs!!

1stuey1

thanks man

Running Bing

You could try a 6 iron around the greens as well.


I used to always use SW or PW around the green and noticed like you a lot of shots were either going too far or way too short. I switched to using the mid to low irons and it saved me a lot of shots.

Basically the less distance between the ball and the green and the cleaner the surface the lower the club I use so if the ball is very close to the green I'll use the 4 iron. If the ball is a bit further away or the surface between ball and green is not good Ill use a higher club like a 6 or 7 iron to get a bit of hop on the ball.

Then I literally take my putting stroke. This fills me with confidence because I know its only a putting stroke and little if anything can go wrong. Naturally the more you practice the better you'll get at it but I noticed right from the off it was way more consistent and I was getting much closer to the hole.


Also Id never go out with dirty clubs personally.Obviously when the club is clean and the grooves are clear you will get more solid contact and hit the ball more consistently. I even use a tee to clean out the grooves if I notice them getting clogged during a round.

ShriekingSheet

Babybing wrote: »

Then I literally take my putting stroke. This fills me with confidence because I know its only a putting stroke and little if anything can go wrong. Naturally the more you practice the better you'll get at it but I noticed right from the off it was way more consistent and I was getting much closer to the hole.

+1

Great advice

Mister Sifter

You should try not to play with a dirty club. Manufacturers put alot of money and time into the technology which goes into them... mud on the face or grooves isn't going to allow you to reap the benefits of that.

I generally clean every club after using it and before putting it in the bag again. Pick up a little metal brush tool from your pro shop which is great for cleaning out the grooves mid round.

Once a month or so, or before a big competition, i'll give them the full works with soapy water and a good proper clean at home.

Wobs

I find and 8 iron good for little chip and runs around the edge of the green, with your feet slightly ahead of the ball and as babybing says almost like a putting stroke.

Any further back though in the heavier rough I can be pretty hit and miss with regards my chipping.

gerry28

Hi,

Tap the golf balls lightly of your bottom teeth and you'll get to know what is hard and what is soft.
You would notice the difference most if your hitting a 7, 8, 9 iron into a dry green in the summer, even if you can't spin the ball you may notice the softer balls will hold the green alot better. Nothing worse than flying a nice iron into the heart of the green only to watch it end up 10 yards over the back.

1stuey1

gerry28 wrote: »

Hi,

Tap the golf balls lightly of your bottom teeth and you'll get to know what is hard and what is soft.
You would notice the difference most if your hitting a 7, 8, 9 iron into a dry green in the summer, even if you can't spin the ball you may notice the softer balls will hold the green alot better. Nothing worse than flying a nice iron into the heart of the green only to watch it end up 10 yards over the back.

exactly! and its happening all to often. im driving 250+ and stepping up with irons, hitting them perfectly and i can see it landing on the green only to walk up and notice its rolled straight off. noting as annoying. going to take all this advise (clean clubs alot more becasue i really didnt think it made a huge diff!) and try to chip ons with my 6 7 8 irons rather than over hit the sw and pw. im finding judging my sw is harder than i thought.

ShriekingSheet

I've always been of the opinion that if you don't notice the difference from one ball to another then you should use whatever ball is cheap and durable. At the price they are, unless you believe a particular (usually more expensive) ball is helping you take less shots, you gotta ask yourself could you be spending your hard earned in a more effective way? For example, for less than the price of a dozen ProVs you could instead get a short-game lesson and use the box of Ultras your auntie/mother-in-law bought you for christmas...
There's loads of different ways to spend money on golf. For me, when deciding on what to spend my money on I try to stick to one question: how am I gonna take less shots?

And sure people might argue "but if it stops on the green I'll take less shots... duh!". This puzzles me because how many shots do you actually hit that end up through the green?
I don't think anyone can argue that the huge majority of shots from handicap golfers that miss the green are short, right or left - probably in that order too. It's a minority of shots that bounce through a green and many of them do so because the player has hit them thin - no ball is gonna stop those shots. We're even talking about only a small window in the irish golfing calender too, because (unless you play links) the truth is for the majority of the year the Irish greens are very soft.

Another aspect of the design of the softer golf balls is often ignored, despite it being hugely relevent. The ProVs & co stop with iron shots and check on little chips (mostly) due to the fact that they spin more. Now if you are going to play with a ball that spins more, it's going to do so on every shot - not just the ones you want it to. So when you hit a slice or hook with the driver and send the ball off spinning sideways (that's what a hook/slice is - side spin) you're accepting that the ball you chose is going to spin more and therefore slice or hook more.

Lastly, softer balls are also (funnily enough) soft! Meaning they they don't last as long - often less than 9 holes, espcially if you play with newer clubs and extra-especially if you used something like spin-milled wedges.

There's lots of advantages to using ProVs. I do. Don't let anyone tell you unless you're below X handicap you shouldn't use them because that's not exactly true but I just wanted to give a bit of insight above, stuff that the manufacturers don't exactly shout about, that might help people out before they go forking out their hard-earned.

Unfortunately, like many things in golf, a lot of guys use pro golf balls to give the impression to others that they are good.

liam12989

da 6,7,8 iron sot is a hangdy one but it only gets u so far......what happens when u have to chip over bunker ull **** ur self esp if ur playn well....get a lesson and practise using sw...its ur method dat the sw isnt goin corect ditance not club!!

Mister Sifter

The most important thing i think with playing a certain type of ball is that you play it all the time. I reckon i could play just as well with any type of ball, if i have practiced with it and know how it's going to react.

I use the ProV1 myself. Main reasons are that i like the feel from them on shots from 100-yards and in and especially with putting. If i happen to take a harder ball out the bag and try play with it, i generally struggle, but that is mainly because it reacts differently when i try to play shots i'm used to playing with a soft ball.

1stuey1

Hmmm that would make sense as i had a range of balls in my bag callaway provs nike top flite and pinnacle. i lost all my callaways straight away haha but i never lost a topflite! and ur right about the spin thing if you prepare to use a ball lik that accept if you hook/slice it it will slice/hook more. i think topflite could be my ball to use lol

gerry28

Alot of good points there shrieking sheet, particularly relating to leaving the ball short. I think its kinda pointless a high handicapper or an inconsistant ball striker getting too concerned about using a pro v1 etc.
But for consistant strikers then a softer ball is a very good idea.

One other problem using soft balls is checking chips, you'd want to be fairly good around the greens to control the check well.

joanmul

The Pro VI's are great for consistent putting. I'm a good putter but an even better one with a Pro V. It holds the line and rolls beautifully. It goes without saying the line you decide on has to be the right one. If not you can hardly blame the ball for missing the hole.

As regards the chipping - Dr Bob Rotella said in his book 'the 15th Club', that pitches around the green are now more important than chipping. His theory is that most greens are very well manicured now and also are more likely to be guarded by bunkers. There are also more raised greens than there used to be.

Off the fringe I use the putter and I used to be a chip and run person but have now decided to practice the pitches to get them up close.

arg

Great info in this thread. Have been using top flite seconds for the last while. As my striking has improved over the last couple of months I might upgrade and see how a "better ball" impacts my short game (really going to spend a lot of time on this from now on).

Any opinions on the refinished balls that can be found on ebay?

1stuey1

im liking this forum too but whats quite apparent is there is so many diff styles and opinions to playing do what you feel is best thats my motto!
going to use alot of the info iv recieved in my next game

kingshankly

arg wrote: »

Great info in this thread. Have been using top flite seconds for the last while. As my striking has improved over the last couple of months I might upgrade and see how a "better ball" impacts my short game (really going to spend a lot of time on this from now on).

Any opinions on the refinished balls that can be found on ebay?

hi arg id be a bit wary of refinished balls because you dont know what is under the new coating and what condition the ball had been in better of with seconds of a pearl or A quality, i have bought these on the net and found them as good as new

Myksyk

With regard to controlling distances with wedges I find that taking your hands out of the equation (ie keeping them pretty dead) allows you to concentrate on the length of the backswing as the major determiner of distance. Get to know the distances delivered by different length backswings. If everything else is solid in your swing this offers consistent and reliable control of distance from full wedges to mid-range pitches and around-the-green chips.

pickles_17

i do

soundsham

if you dont know what the difference between different ball types chances are it will not matter what your using

generally the more expensive balls react better off the shorter irons and wedges i.e. they check up quickier than your top flight or pinnacle types
this helps when going after a difficult pin like one tucked up close to a front bunker... all this stuff is a lot more important for summer golf when you "hopefully" have harder greens and aprons

got given a bit of advice from a very talented golfer friend a few years ago he said try to use the same ball all year round if possible as this will really help you around the greens as you will have a better feel for the short shots and chips when you understand how the ball is reacting and it should be easier to see the shot in your head before you play it....

worked for me have to say.......cost a few quid but most lessons do... lol

PhilipMarlowe

I would agree with that. Find a ball you like and then practice with that type only.
I sometimes have crappy titanium hard cheap balls in a bag for hitting on a practice area but I will only practice from 100 yards and in with the ball-type I always use in a competitive round.

JONATHANM

1stuey1 wrote: »

couple of questions do certain makes of golf balls actually make a difference?

and do people regularly clean there golf clubs and there groves?

Harder golf balls have less spin because they dont grip the cllubface as well as softer balls.In the case of a higher handicapper I would recomend these.Less spin = less movement while in flight.Less margin for error (slicing/hooking).As you get better, your going to want the "feel" and control that a softer ball provides.You will also want to be able to "flight" and "work" the ball when you get better.This also is an advantage to using a softer ball.Youll know when you get to that point.

As for the clean grooves.I'm in the golf business so its habit to keep my grooves spotless.Aside from the clubs looking good for the ladies as the sit on the rack at the bag drop,keeping grooves clean helps the contact between ball and clubface.Promoting better feel and control.ALWAYS keep them clean.Mine are cleaned after every shot.Sounds like a pain to clean everytime you hit a shot,but eventually it will just turn to habit.Your equipment will thank you and will be better for it.

Stay cool/Play well,
Jonathan

billy3sheets

In season (April-Oct), I use mostly Pro-V1s. I also like Srixon Ad333. I find the softer ball stops better on the greens and would tend to play more wedge shots where I get ball-before-ground to make use of this. It helps if the ground is hard to get the pinch on the ball.
Out of season, I tend to play with any old ball. The balls and ground are cold & wet & react differently. I play different type of shots - more scoopy pitch and run type as I find these easier to get away with if you don't connect perfectly.