Balls...

Andy, a very observant chap on the GM forum asked me 'what in the name of chuck dicken's I was doing playing premium balls'. A fair comment given that my profile suggested I was playing brand spanking new Z-Stars and ProV1s. I've actually been playing ProV lake balls waiting for the time my game was solid enough to benefit from premium balls.

I have been toying with what should be my ball of choice when I start playing regularly. I was all set to buy Srixon AD333 when Spinn77 suggested I get Titleist NXT Tour. Now I'm not sure. I don't want to faff about trying a sleeve of each but should I? Or do you recommend one or t'other or knowing what you are like something completely different? ;)

Comments:

Homer
Ball choice is very much a preferred taste and so at your early stage of your golfing career I'd be trying as many as I could. I think if you want a "best of both" ball in terms of distance and spin it is a pretty straight fight between the NXT tour and the AD333. I don't like lake balls as they've been immersed in water and so it will inevitably have some impact on performance depending on how long they were lost before being reclaimed. In my experience you can have two lake balls of the same make and both will perform differently.

FourPutt
Tiger, like you I am new to the game and have gone through this very dilemma. Due to the amount of trees round my place I’m still losing a few balls most rounds and Z Stars started to get expensive. At the moment I’m using Srixon Distance balls, which I can usually get online for about 8 quid a dozen. They might not be fantastic balls spin wise, but I have found that I am not that good that I really notice the difference!

A fat is a fat and a thin is a thin…. the balls don’t make much difference to me at this stage. Maybe you should just be hitting cheapos at the moment too. One guy at my club always says he’ll play with anything, as long as it doesn’t cost him more than £1 per ball.

Tiger
The thing is I don’t really care about distance. What I do care about is performance around the green. Problem is I might have to sell a kidney if I’m losing loads of premium balls in the bushes. I’m going to play a Z-Star on Sunday and if I still have it at the end of the round, I’ll carry on using them. To be honest I’d be disappointed if I did lose it as I’m not wielding any woods and they seem to be the biggest ball losing culprit!

Simon Hutton
I’m using slazenger balls at the moment – pretty cheap really. Do you think around the green it really makes a difference for complete beginners like me?

Like the blog, enjoying the updates!

Tiger
I have noticed a big improvement on my control when I’ve practiced with the three piece and chipped/pitched well. However I’m not consistent or good enough a ball striker to get the most out if a premium ball. I won’t compress it enough either to get extra distance. However, I think you would definitely benefit from playing something like an AD333. The balance is finding a ball that gives you the best performance for your game at an affordable price. I would dearly love to play premiums as when I’m striking the ball well around the green I get a lot of benefit but if I snap hooking into gorse or slicing out of bounds it could get really, really expensive. I’d take homers advice if I were you and try a few sleeves in practice or your local p&p and see what performance you get round the greens. However, the best thing I did for my short game was investing in three lessons to cover putting, chipping and pitching

Simon Hutton
Good advice Tiger, perhaps I’ll stick with my slazengers until they’ve all been lost in bushes and lakes, and then invest in some decent ones after a short game lesson or two with the pro. Cheers!