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How do you choose your Golf Ball?

SuperStroke
v.man

v.man

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What are the most important attributes TO YOU in picking a golf ball?

- Performance
- Innovation
- Feel
- Demand
- Price
- Durability
- Other

The first (4), I’ve included because those are the attributes Golf Digest publishes ratings for on all the equipment they rate annually in their "Hot LIst", including Golf Balls. I have never put much stock in their ratings personally because, IMO, only Performance and Feel of those first (4) make any sense when trying to find the “best” ball, or any other golf equipment, but Price and Durability definitely weigh in our purchase decisions.

Price is a very significant factor, and GD stated in this year’s review that “you get what you pay for”, which is usually the case, and they rate balls in (3) categories (>$35, $26-$34, <$26). What’s interesting is that (1) ball out Category 2 made into the Gold ranks (TaylorMade Proect A) using their own ratings, and (6) out of Category 3. Also interesting is that the Number 1 rated ball using their point system with an average score of 4.875 out of 5 was the Callaway SuperSoft, out of Category 3.

If you throw out “Innovation” which is really only important if it affects “Performance”, and “Demand” which IMO has no place in any rating system, then (7) golf balls get perfect 5.0 scores on Performance and Feel—3 in the Premium category, Callaway Chrome Soft, TaylorMade TP,X, and Wilson Duo Urethane. One, TaylorMade Project A, again out of the $26-$34 Category, and (3) out of the <$25 Category—Callaway SuperSoft, Srixon Q-Star, and Wilson Duo (Original).

The most important factors to me in choosing a golf ball are Performance, Feel, and Durability, in that order. The one thing I can say about GD’s ratings this year is that I’ve played all (7) of the balls that they gave perfect 5’s in Performance and Feel and loved playing all of them. My current “ball of choice” is the Chrome Soft. My winter ball preference was the original Wilson Duo, but it looks a little “tired” after just one round (Durability), and my winter preference is now the SuperSoft. How did I arrive at these (2) out of the (7) that scored perfectly? I don’t know, these two just seem right for my game.

What affects your selection of a golf ball?
 
For me it is all about performance, being a short hitter I need as much pop as possible and still have soft feel off the putter / wedges. I normally lose them before they get too beat up anyway so durability is not a factor.
 
I've played so many different golf balls that I know which ones work for me and those that don't. Performance is key, but durability is also a big factor for me. So, for the last few years it's been all Callaway Chrome Soft and or B330's for me. Though I like the Pro V1, it's never been a durable ball, and it's usually more expensive, so those stay on the shelves.
 
Get them free from the Titleist rep. Now that we have gone away from Titleist, looks like I will be buying again.
 
For me it is predictability around the greens. If I know how far the roll out will be, the rest is easy.
 
Distance, Spin, Feel and Price.
 
I only choose a ball based on short game reaction. How does it feel off the putter and wedges? How does it react on chips and pitches.
 
For me I first look for a urethane cover ball and then I look at the compression rate. I know what my swing speed is & if a ball has too high of a compression rating I know i'll never see the benefits it's designed to offer.

after that I will play a few and settle on the one that provides me the most distance off the tee & still provides the spin I like to see with scoring irons & wedges. I also pay attention to the feel off the putter face & how durable the ball is.
 
I look for a box that says bridgestone on it then look for the dark gray one with gold striping and says b330
 
Performance #1 and I'm a bit backwards in rather than judging a ball from the green back, I place a premium in performance off the tee.

Distance is less of a concern than spin off the tee. With today's tour balls, they generally all work for me to one degree or the other from the green back. It's off the tee where they'll differ greatly.

The old Penta for example was the perfect ball for all shots except driver, too spinny. Z-Star XV, B330 and Snell MTB are the best for me wrt distance, control and spin. Could very happily play either, and do. ?

Cold weather ball is the Wilson Zip. Straightest ball for me regardless the weather, just a bit shorter in the heat. Decent spin but no back-up.
 
Ive been fit for my ball and then I will test new models against my gamer to see if they get some added playing time.
 
Performance off the tee and feel.
If I get in the fairway off the tee - Good things are going to happen. I'll give up short game spin for straight off the tee.
 
Easy, THP. Read about them here, try them and if I like them I buy more.

Would have never thought about the Wilson's duo's until this place, tried em and like em.



Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
It's all performance for me. I'm
playing the chromesoft now and it just performs well.
 
Performance, feel on the putter and price last. Don't mind paying a bit more if it performs well for me.
 
kc720 said:
I look for a box that says bridgestone on it then look for the dark gray one with gold striping and says b330
Click to expand...

Yes, you are a Bridgestone homer, Kang, but that's okay. You can't go wrong with them. I love the B330-S and was surprised that Golf Digest testing didn't yield perfect 5's in Performance and Feel for the B330 Series. They knocked it down a half point on Feel. I personally didn't see a lot of difference in Feel of it versus, say, the Chrome Soft. But, maybe that little subtle difference is why I lean toward the Chrome Soft now after playing BStone 330-S for several years.

Another little tidbit that I noticed from their rankings is that most of the balls that did garner a 5 in feel were "softer" balls.
 
v.man said:
Yes, you are a Bridgestone homer, Kang, but that's okay. You can't go wrong with them. I love the B330-S and was surprised that Golf Digest testing didn't yield perfect 5's in Performance and Feel for the B330 Series. They knocked it down a half point on Feel. I personally didn't see a lot of difference in Feel of it versus, say, the Chrome Soft. But, maybe that little subtle difference is why I lean toward the Chrome Soft now after playing BStone 330-S for several years.

Another little tidbit that I noticed from their rankings is that most of the balls that did garner a 5 in feel were "softer" balls.
Click to expand...
The b330 is definitely one of the firmer balls but just cannot deny the performance. Distance of the tee and spin into the greens.
 
I want forgiveness and predictability. I'm currently using the e6 and have been happy with it so far.
 
100% performance on the course. I was a ProV1 homer for a while but the chromesoft is really working for me right now. Love the way I have been able to play it around the course.
 
Performance
Feel off the club face
Accuracy
Looks
Affordable
 
For me, performance and feel have to go hand in hand - can't have one without the other.
 
Feel - gotta be soft.
Price - gotta be cheap.

I will pay more for a softer feel though.
 
On line fittings are the first thing I do. Then I'll make a few purchases and try them out and see if they actually do what they say. If so I'll buy a dozen or so. Right now I'm pretty locked on my Bstone e6's :D
 
Performance. Then price.
 
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