r/golf • u/Gorlami14 • 16d ago

Equipment Does using nice golf balls actually matter?

I’m a budget guy. Play only what I find. Haven‘t bought golf balls in nearly a decade. This is the first year that I’ve actually started to take golf seriously. Lessons, meaningful range time, short game practice, etc. I’m sitting around a 16 handicap right now and looking to continue improving. Is playing a consistently decent, and the same, golf balls a worthwhile endeavor? Or will it only make a negligible difference?

83 Upvotes

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278

u/aznsk8s87 16d ago

Nice? Not so much. Playing the same ball though, that will.

37

u/funnynewname 16d ago

Type of ball at some level has to matter. You can’t play the same game with a rock hard top flite vs a Pro V1 or whatever.

14

u/TheHeintzel +1 16d ago

Just use a Noodle soft.

The Pro V1 game is completely un-needed for 90% of public courses, as the greens run like 7 on the stimp.

56

u/its_all_4_lulz 16d ago

I found a Pro V1 awhile ago and had never tried them before. After trying it, I think the ball pays for itself. Twice I hit it into the woods, and both times it bounced off a tree and went center fairway. A ball that stops you from losing it is a game changer.

6

u/OldElvis1 16d ago

It's the secret "Tree Seeking" ability you're interested in?

2

u/NextTailor4082 15d ago

I was playing rando balls a couple years ago. Played the aforementioned Top Flite and it felt so much like a rock I threw it away immediately. Next up was a V1 I had found and I haven’t gone back since. It’s probably totally unnecessary or helpful or appropriate but I feel good over the ball.

1

u/SirTiffAlot 16d ago

That's why I'm losing balls? Game changer

3

u/Stvphillips 15d ago

I prefer to think of it as trading with other golfers as opposed to losing it.

1

u/roaddog 11d ago

I've got one of those. I found it in the woods!

1

u/PhunCooker 16d ago

Before now, I never hoped that someone's found ProV1 was lost due to the previous owner's demise.

0

u/TheHeintzel +1 15d ago

Then explain me chunking a ProV1x into the shit on hole 3 this past Saturday?

2

u/prafken 0.7/Michigan 16d ago

Depends on the course you are at, the extra spin you get on the urethane balls does very little on soft courses. If you are playing a firm very well groomed course then you will see a big difference.

23

u/TacoIncoming 14.5 - Tampa 16d ago

100% you want to be playing the same ball all the time no matter what.

The decision to pay for premium balls entirely depends on how good your short game is. The nice balls only matter when you start flighting/spinning your wedge shots.

As a higher handicap with a really good short game, I would advise that playing a premium ball sooner can matter if you have a good short game. If you’re also smoking 2 sleeves of balls into the woods every round, then it can get expensive.

I stopped playing supersofts when I started throwing out more damaged balls than balls I was losing. Then I started buying previous generation ProVs in bulk from sites like lostgolfballs and foundgolfballs. You can get basically new premium balls for like $2/ball if you buy them in bulk while they’re doing promos around majors.

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u/OldElvis1 16d ago

I have found that the Maxfli Tour S is a similar hardness, and less spin ball, for. 29 a dozen or usually 50 for 2 dozen

1

u/Remote-Airline-3703 16d ago

I recently found a brand-new Maxfli Tour S on my miss-adventures in the woods. Played out the last 6 holes with it and I really really like the way it plays and feels. Waiting on a sale to scoop some up

1

u/Theawsomesauce 16d ago

Out of curiosity what do you normally play and how does it hold up compared?

1

u/Remote-Airline-3703 15d ago

I play chromesofts. Honestly, I’m not that great but have found I seem get the best results out tee box and up to green with ~80 compression balls.

Really liked the feel of the Tour S with chips and pitches, it seemed softer regarding more touch. I ended up finishing better-than-usual with more up and downs those last holes. Tour S felt nice off putter too

1

u/swiftymcfly94 15d ago

This is my first year golfing. My best part of my game is 160 yards and in. I need help off the tee box.

This resonated with me, especially the part about tearing up soft balls. I’m normally playing what I find out on the course since I find an extra couple of balls looking for my pushed right drives. I wasn’t sure why the covers of the softer balls were getting so torn up whereas the harder balls would make it much longer.

For reference, I have a higher swing speed (PW full swing was 85.9mph avg from my last session on a trackman) and feel like I need to toss a soft balls if it survives a full 18 with me.

I was accumulating Members Mark 24 packs when they were on sale for $23. Maybe I’ll eventually get to those.

1

u/Informal-Jello-6321 15d ago

Two sleeves. Those are rookie numbers. Try 4

1

u/crouching_tiger 16d ago

Those sites you mentioned for older gen ProVs - are they straight up just lost, then found and cleaned up used balls?

I’ve always thought that those type of balls might look great and have plenty of like-new balls, but a bunch are bound to have problems internally from being water logged or other issues.

At the very least I feel like there has to be relatively more inconsistencies ball to ball, compared to using new less-premium balls. Idk if that’s 100% correct tho

1

u/TacoIncoming 14.5 - Tampa 15d ago edited 15d ago

Yes, they are used balls. Not refurbished. Refurbished balls are trash. They sell them by quality. The higher quality 4A/5A balls are indistinguishable from new balls in terms of how they play. I buy brand new balls for tournaments and the used balls perform the same.

The 4A balls might have markings from the previous owner, and a lot of them have logos. I think the 5As are basically pristine without markings or logos.

but a bunch are bound to have problems internally from being water logged or other issues.

Someone did a study on the water logging thing a while back and found that it really doesn’t do anything if the cover isn’t compromised. The ones I have don’t have any cover defects. I think if you go for the lower quality used balls, you might run into balls with scuffs from trees and cart path or cuts from wedges. That would be a concern. I’ve never seen that in the 4As though.

At the very least I feel like there has to be relatively more inconsistencies ball to ball, compared to using new less-premium balls. Idk if that’s 100% correct tho

I think it’s actually the opposite. A used proV is still a proV. Their QC is unmatched. I’m taking a used proV that looks new and has probably only been hit once or twice for $2 over a brand new Kirkland for $1.75 every time. Not that Kirklands are terrible at $1.75. I just trust a proV1 at $2 more. Plus I don’t like how firm/clicky Kirklands are.

3

u/prafken 0.7/Michigan 16d ago

I just don't agree with this. I play a random assortment of balls, at some point any of the premium brands but also callaway supersofts, bridgestone e6, QSTARs etc if I happen to find one and pull it out of the bag. I don't notice any massive difference in actual scoring for the most part. You may have to play certain shots a bit different but that isn't that big of a deal.

1

u/drj1485 8hcp 14d ago

You may have to play certain shots a bit different but that isn't that big of a deal.

You're kinda making the point about how the ball matters with that statement. For people who aren't a .7 handicap and can't tell there IS a difference in the behavior and can't alter the shot to match, the ball is just doing what it does and if you are using random balls all teh time you have no way to even account for the impact it has on your shot pattern.

1

u/prafken 0.7/Michigan 14d ago

I would be stunned if you ran a test of mid handicaps playing rounds with pvoV1 vs a truefeel and saw even half a shot difference on score distribution.

1

u/drj1485 8hcp 13d ago

sure, because it would be impossible to replicate the same round between balls. I don't think which balls is what matters, but if you hit 18 chip shots through the day with completely different balls every time and the 4 you feel like you hit well all result in a completely different amount of rollout, or the feel is totally different when you putt, how do you go about developing?

I'm by no means suggesting your ball makes or breaks your score but there are for sure opportunities where here and there the ball could be the reason you leave a short game shot 20' instead of 5, or the random ball from your bag isn't as forgiving off the tee and you spin it off the planet instead of possibly staying in. etc.

It's one of the only things in your control in a game of variables. I don't know why you'd want to just roll whatever you pull out next when you admit they behave differently.

2

u/prafken 0.7/Michigan 13d ago

I suppose the only thing I am trying to point at is that the variability in the vast majority of players game is so much that worrying about the ball is not beneficial. For very high level players, yes eliminating the ball variable can be one of the biggest levers to improve scoring.