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Recommendations on straight(er) flying balls?

SuperStroke
martybauer31

martybauer31

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If there is a thread that already goes into this, apologies, I searched and didn't have much luck...

I'm trying to play more golf and improve my game this year and I'm looking for thoughts on balls that help with keeping me more in bounds so happy to have suggestions on ones that aren't total bricks but might help me a bit as well. Not worries about distance, just about losing less and enjoying more.

Yes, I have taken some lessons, yes, still working on my game and my swing. ;)

Here's what I have played so far, and maybe these are what other folks are recommending already.... and FYI, I do play the yellow/orange balls as my eyesight has gotten crappier over the years and they seem to be easier to see. :)

Maxfli Straightfli Matte Orange - Just discovered these and maybe my game is actually improving but I seem to lose these less and they feel decent on the green, don't seem to scuff like other matte balls
Srixon Q-Start Tour Yellow - Haven't made my mind up, like them on the green
Bridgestone e12 Contact Yellow Matte - I like the feel and the look, they just seem to get scuffed pretty easy which I understand doesn't help with ball flight
Bridgestone e6 Yellow - Mind not made up, they feel decent, probably need to hit more of them
Volvik Vivid XT AMT Yellow - I like these, they putt reasonably well, probably need to hit some more.
Taylormade Project S Matte Yellow - Scuff super easy and they feel hard off the tee, can't say I'd play them anymore.

Appreciate any comments/recommendations on others to possibly try out, thanks so much!
 
My swing is still so inconsistent that I’m convinced it doesn’t matter what ball or club I use at this early stage. I think someone would really have to have their swing down stone cold for the ball to make a significant difference, other than softness.
 
David7 said:
My swing is still so inconsistent that I’m convinced it doesn’t matter what ball or club I use at this early stage. I think someone would really have to have their swing down stone cold for the ball to make a significant difference, other than softness.
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It's a fair statement for sure... but admittedly I've found that with a Pro V1 it doesn't stay in my bag long and when it's a crap swing/hit, it's gonna be gone. :LOL: I've been pleasantly surprised on a few occasions where I have been sure a ball I'm actively trying to test is completely OB and it's hung on for me.
 
Try the Srixon Soft Feel. Great ball at a great price and comes in yellow.
 
David7 said:
My swing is still so inconsistent that I’m convinced it doesn’t matter what ball or club I use at this early stage. I think someone would really have to have their swing down stone cold for the ball to make a significant difference, other than softness.
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While true from the standpoint of swings can be different each pass, its important to note that the softness you are feeling has a significant performance change.
Softer compression will reduce spin and firmer compression adds it.
 
During the course of my driver struggles over the past few years, I’ve found that the straighter balls are the low compression balls. Of those, I’ve tried: the W/S Duo-Urethane, Duo-Pro, Taylormade Tour Preferred, Srixon Q-Star Tour, Bridgestone Tour B RX, e6, e12 Contact.

The best for me specifically as to seemingly producing less curve is the discontinued Wilson Staff balls, the Duo-U and Duo-Pro, along with the Bridgestone e6. But with the e6 and the Duo-U there’s a pretty stark trade off wrt spin on approach shots. Mid-irons will repeatedly rollout and over some greens for me and even short irons with the Duo-U especially, will release a surprising amount. The Duo-Pro is also effected with mid irons but to a much lesser degree. I’ve found the trade off to be very acceptable as to the improvement off the tee with the long clubs for me when playing the Duo-Pro. Of the non-urethane balls though, the e6 is easily my favorite.

The rest of the balls I’d listed, I found them to all be very good but for whatever reason, I lost distance with them all, particularly with the TM Tour Preferred.

In desperation, I also tried the Maxfli Straightfli this year. Seemingly performed well as to reducing curve but I lost an easy 15+ yards with it off driver. I’m entirety willing to sacrifice distance for accuracy but not when there’s other alternatives that have proved similar for me directionally yet without such a large sacrifice in distance.

In the end, a driver switch proved more beneficial for me than any ball. When I bought a 13.5* TM 300 Mini Driver, it straightened me right out. So much so that confidence was nearly immediately restored for me to return to the Z-Star and ProV1 that I’d been playing prior to struggles.

Best of luck.
 
The Supersoft Max is the one ball I've hit that I would say is legitimately straighter than the rest. It is noticeably bigger than other golf balls and so it spins less than everything else, for the same reason a beach ball spins less than a baseball.

My driver miss is a straight slice where the ball hits its apex and then starts breaking hard right. With the Supersoft Max, it barely breaks at all. I actually hit the first "draws" of my life with it (really pulls), because I set my driver face a little closed and the Maxes just don't want to turn.

They do scuff very easily though. For the most part, I lose balls fast enough that I'm not worried about cover durability.
 
WMac19 said:
During the course of my driver struggles over the past few years, I’ve found that the straighter balls are the low compression balls. Of those, I’ve tried: the W/S Duo-Urethane, Duo-Pro, Taylormade Tour Preferred, Srixon Q-Star Tour, Bridgestone Tour B RX, e6, e12 Contact.

The best for me specifically as to seemingly producing less curve is the discontinued Wilson Staff balls, the Duo-U and Duo-Pro, along with the Bridgestone e6. But with the e6 and the Duo-U there’s a pretty stark trade off wrt spin on approach shots. Mid-irons will repeatedly rollout and over some greens for me and even short irons with the Duo-U especially, will release a surprising amount. The Duo-Pro is also effected with mid irons but to a much lesser degree. I’ve found the trade off to be very acceptable as to the improvement off the tee with the long clubs for me when playing the Duo-Pro. Of the non-urethane balls though, the e6 is easily my favorite.

The rest of the balls I’d listed, I found them to all be very good but for whatever reason, I lost distance with them all, particularly with the TM Tour Preferred.

In desperation, I also tried the Maxfli Straightfli this year. Seemingly performed well as to reducing curve but I lost an easy 15+ yards with it off driver. I’m entirety willing to sacrifice distance for accuracy but not when there’s other alternatives that have proved similar for me directionally yet without such a large sacrifice in distance.

In the end, a driver switch proved more beneficial for me than any ball. When I bought a 13.5* TM 300 Mini Driver, it straightened me right out. So much so that confidence was nearly immediately restored for me to return to the Z-Star and ProV1 that I’d been playing prior to struggles.

Best of luck.
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Interesting on the Straightfli loss of distance! I played them exclusively the last couple of rounds and found they played about the same distance for me. Admittedly right now I don't trust my driver and have been teeing of with my 4 or 5 hybrids so maybe it's a driver thing?

I'll take a look at the duo-pro, thanks again for your post!
 
I can only speak on 3 model brands of balls

Nitros, which are bricks, but around $0.75 per ball. I use these balls to practice with.

Bridgestone e6, any model which is about $2.00 per ball. These are my main gamers.

Callaway Super Soft, which is also around $2.00 per ball. I use this ball when the e6 is not available.

Except for my own poor swings, and off center contacts, all three of these balls fly the same distance, and straight on my chosen flight line.

I can say after trying other brands/models, they all pretty much play the same for me. This would include the PV-1s

Also, my swing tempo is on the slow side, which I assume means I can't take advantage of some of the higher end balls, and their technology.
 
martybauer31 said:
Interesting on the Straightfli loss of distance! I played them exclusively the last couple of rounds and found they played about the same distance for me. Admittedly right now I don't trust my driver and have been teeing of with my 4 or 5 hybrids so maybe it's a driver thing?

I'll take a look at the duo-pro, thanks again for your post!
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Yeah... a loss of 15+ yards would be a huge issue. The review by Rick Shiels made it look pretty good.
 
martybauer31 said:
Interesting on the Straightfli loss of distance! I played them exclusively the last couple of rounds and found they played about the same distance for me. Admittedly right now I don't trust my driver and have been teeing of with my 4 or 5 hybrids so maybe it's a driver thing?

I'll take a look at the duo-pro, thanks again for your post!
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I can only attribute it to spin because contact would feel great, flight would appear to be fine, yet when I'd get to the ball it would be woefully short of expectations. And I had 2 drivers in the bag and hit with each with similar results (G425 Max and PXG 0211). Was only maybe a 1/2 club shorter for me off irons but driver was startling. Brand new balls, bought from Dick's. I did score pretty well with the Straighfli though, so no issues there through 3 or 4 rounds.

I've always had a bit of a negative angle of attack with driver so that probably had something to do with exacerbating the bad fit for me with that particular ball.

Interestingly enough to me, although I stated in my first post that "I lost distance with them all," that was specific to tee shots with driver, and any loss with the Duo-Pro has been very modest (relative to Z-Star or ProV1) While I'll generally find myself in slightly longer positions off the tee with the Z-Star, the Duo-Pro isn't really far off. I only notice when I'm specifically conscious of it. But possibly due to less spin, the Duo-Pro is longer for me off mid to short irons and wedges. Zero doubt there as I have to be very aware of it when deciding what to hit.
 
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Stay with the StaightFli on sale for 2 for 35.
Its a decent ball that will spin a little. I played the SoftFli today for kicks and the StraightFli does roll out less.
 
If my experiment with the 5W continues I'll continue with the Q-Star Tour. I'm working on hitting 3W now. If that works out I'll stick with what I've got.

If I throw caution to the wind and go back to hitting driver, I'm going to buy Kirkland. They're about $1 a ball and if I lose them I won't care so much.
 
I’ve been playing the Maxfli Straightfli in white and didn’t notice any loss of distance for any club. I think they actually do fly straighter than other balls.
 
Velocity are so straight. But, white only. You could get a prior gen in matte green.
 
PatsFan said:
Stay with the StaightFli on sale for 2 for 35.
Its a decent ball that will spin a little. I played the SoftFli today for kicks and the StraightFli does roll out less.
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Yeah, it is a great deal, I may have to load up...
 
That is the best feature of the Srixon Z-Star XV. If I cut or draw a shot a bit too much, it tends to straighten out and fall straight. It's most notable on approach shots; if I hit a shot that would normally miss the green with other balls, the Srixon ball will find the green or fringe on that same shot.
 
Calloway SuperSoft impressed me in the wind last night.
 
pattyboy21 said:
That is the best feature of the Srixon Z-Star XV. If I cut or draw a shot a bit too much, it tends to straighten out and fall straight. It's most notable on approach shots; if I hit a shot that would normally miss the green with other balls, the Srixon ball will find the green or fringe on that same shot.
Click to expand...

Holy crap, they don't give them away, do they? :LOL: I'll check them out though, thanks!
 
What works for one player does not always work for the next... but, the best ball I’ve used over the last while is the TaylorMade Tour Response. I’m loving the feel and distance of it.
 
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