Forum > General golf topics

Martin Ellingham

Short time lurker, first time poster so go easy on me!

I got into golf about 6 weeks ago and have played around 15 rounds of golf and hit plenty of range balls so far. My first lesson is coming up this week as I think I've hit a brick wall with the self/friends-taught approach.

Whilst I am still accumulating technique, course management, golf gear, etc, I have a quandry about the balls I should be using.

Almost all balls aimed at beginners seem hard as nails and are distance over feel/control. Is it assumed that all beginners have difficulty with distance primarily?

I'm finding that distance isn't a problem as I primarily play a short course yardage wise and can hit fairly far I think. I am only using irons and occasionally a 3-hybrid, I typically hit my 5 iron around 175 yards (ish) and the 3-hybrid around 210 on a good day. I know swing-speed is key, but I am yet to measure this.

My main problem is control around the greens (probably technique rather than ball, lets be honest) and putting.

Typically I am told that I would be wasting money if I went for a high end ball, but I don't understand that as I don't typically lose many balls. I know there is nothing stopping me going for a more expensive ball, but is there an argument for beginner balls that are not distance focussed? Any recommendations based on what I have said above?

Thanks

Alan Essam

my thoughts would yo be to ask the pro after your lesson as he'll be in a better place after seeing your swing to see wot your need

Patric Fairbanks

I can only speak from personal experience, and claim no expertise as like yourself I've only really taken up what I'd call proper golf in the last 8 weeks.

I too have found lots of recommendation for novices to go for distance balls however the way I figure it, 10 yards difference on a drive (assuming I can find the damn thing :-) ) isn't going to make a blind bit of difference to my game at the novice level.

Being able to control the ball around the green when pitching is.

I was using the Titliest NXT and it's a nice ball but today I tried out a recommendation of the Srixon Green Soft Feel ball.. and I like it.  Much more feel to it and I actually felt like I had some measure of control over what the ball would do when it hit the green.

Dave Patrick

Martin, If you mean you litteraly use range balls then DON'T. If you mean you just use any old ball you pick up then DON'T. Pick a ball and stick to it, it doesnt have to be a high end prov1 or callaway black as these in my opinion ( so its true ) are more suseptable to wind and spin. I play off 15 and use a Donnay titanium  yellow ball. Nothing to do with cost. I just think if I hit it straight it will go straight, I also get pretty good distance and that cant be a bad thing. Prov1 are a nice ball to chip and putt with though. Donnay a little harder but still ok. Try a few different balls, see what you like the feel of and stick to it for a while. Get down to low teens then re-avaluate.

Best of luck Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Chris Perry

Martin,

I suggest you try the Wilson Dx2.  Reasonably priced at about £16 per dozen, these are a soft ball that gives good feel around the green.  I was using these until earlier this year and there are others on here that use them too

Lewis Gladstone-buchanan

I'm new to this sport too (10 months) and I found that just sticking to a single ball model will do no end of good for your game after the 'learning' period with it. You will find you start to get a good feel for what it will (and will not !) do.

I second the wilson Dx2 as this is what I use. It is nice around the green and comes off the putter face with a muted click. It also wears very well and I've got one that is two rounds old and it has only minor marks on it

Peter Moore

Richard Lane-blackwell

Hi Martin,

I use the Srixon AD333 which seems to be a good all round ball.  I have no problem with distance and you still get a nice feel around the greens.  I bought my last batch off ebay for around £16 for two dozen (A grade used balls).  I agree with Lewis that using the same ball can really help your game.  You get used to how the ball will react during the short game and especially when putting.

Richard

Martin Ellingham

Allan - good point, I'll be sure to bring it up

Patric - I'm glad I'm not the only beginner with this way of thinking!

David - sorry I didn't mean I use range balls on the course. I meant that I've hit plenty of range balls, at the range - even I'm not that tight!

Chris/Lewis - I'll take a look at the Dx2, thanks for the recommendation

Peter - my thinking is that I have no hope of knowing whether the ball is part of the problem unless I keep it consistent, hence trying to go for a single make and model and sticking with it

Richard - I've putted with the AD333 a few times on the practice ground and they seemed better than the cheap stuff I have been hitting, maybe I'll take a look see what offers I can find!

Many thanks for all the comments, glad to know I'm not over thinking this element of the game. I don't like to blame equipment, but this game is a minefield if you go off down the wrong path it seems. 

Wayne Santorini

Matt Culling

I too use Srixon AD333 which I buy as lake balls after following advice on here to use the same ball and not just any old ball thats in my bag and although I couldn't honestly say that the improvement in my putting is down to the ball I'm sure its helped.

Wayne - not sure why you feel that lakeballs would not perform as well just because they are priced differently. If I was too buy a 2nd hand pair of Nike running shoes that had been tried on but never raced in, I wouldn't pay the same price as new, but this wouldn't mean their performance would be any lesser that a new pair in the box. The balls I buy are pearl grade and look like they have never been hit (yes I know they will have been). If someone has used a new ball and lost it in the first couple of holes of using it then their is plenty of life left in them. As a high handicapper I rarely have the same ball for an entire round so pearl grade are normally in pretty good nick by the time I put them somewhere never to be seen by me again

Loud Mouth b.a.

http://www.performanceindicator.com/golf/PI_techoverview.pdf

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&n
bsp;            "For a two-piece ball, being in the water typically makes the ball harder in terms of compression, and it also slows down the coefficient of restitution [the ability of the ball to regain its roundness after impact], and that makes it fly shorter. For the two-piece ball, the carry and roll after eight days in the water was 244.9 yards compared with 250.7 yards for the new two-piece balls [a loss of 5.8 yards in distance after only 8 days.]”

Wayne Santorini

There you go Matt.

I don't think in fairness you can compare a pair of shoes in the same way as a ball, but I won't deny that many players (yourself included) will use a ball according to budget and I'm fine with that as long as they realise they will not get the feel they are looking for.

Loud Mouth b.a.

Wayne,

It's an easy wrong presumption to make as it's hard to imagine a golf ball not being waterproof. They certainly appear to be at first glance.

You may have won this round, but I'm sure that Matt will get you back!    (Better watch your spelling).        

Adam Smith

Martin,

If you get the latest edition of Today's Golfer there is a golf ball guide you find useful.

Adam

Genius Zeng

Darren Ward

i have been playing on and off for 16 years and untill the past 2 years have been using what i find or hand me downs from my dad.

i am now trying the callaway diablo ( moving from nike karma and srixon ad333) and after 1 round i am impressed. the ball guide in the latest todays golfer has played a part in this choice. i feel lakeballs are a good cheap way to find the right ball if you are prone to losing 1 or 2 a round (nothing worse than losing a new ball early in a round) but you can't really beat a new ball.

Scott Dench-smith

As a high handicapper I have also have never thought that my choice of ball would make that much difference but I have recently bought one make of ball (some cheap dunlops) and after reading the comments above I will stick to using the same brand of ball and see how I get on. I always used to buy Lake balls but after recently reading some of the science stuff on this thread, I won't in future and will have a prolonged try out with different brands (3 or 4 rounds with each brand thats if don't  lose them all beforehand.) 

Thanks for info guys

SDS