Balls which are similar or even rebrands of previous models

I've been buying and playing PTS Solo lakeballs a lot lately.  I like them.  Obviously they have been discontinued.

My internet trawling for similar products raised some interesting questions.  Sometimes old balls are just rebranded as a sister brand (eg Titleist/Pinnacle).  In other cases, ball manufacturers are using the same technology and so make virtually identical products.

I just wonder whether there really is a difference between the Pro V1 at the top end and its competitors (eg Srixon Z Star), for club golfers I mean, and ditto down through the market. 

Would any of us really be able to differentiate a Taylormade Burner TP from a Titleist NXT Tour? 

And whatever the answer, what are the main ball 'groupings', do you think?  I'd suggest, for example, that there are two types of tour ball on sale out there.

I can certainly tell the difference as soon as I hit one Martin.  I hate using hard balls, so I find I cannot use any Nike or Callaway ball as they feel like bricks.  You may be aware that Achusnet (Titleist's parent company) have just been hammered for infringement on a patent owned by Bridgestone/Callaway on the Pro V1.  I guess there will only be a certain number of ways to make a golf ball as good as possible and eventually there will be cross over. 

I think regarding groupings, there are three; 2 piece, 3 piece, 4 piece.  2 piece are the cheaper 'distance' ball aimed at higher handicappers.  3 piece are aimed at the mid-handicap club golfer and are a compromise on feel and distance (NXT, AD333, etc).  4 piece are the top end spin profile ball aimed at low handicappers (Pro V1, Z-Star, etc)

I was using Pro V1x (preferred Pro V1 but found I was straighter and longer with the V1x for a slight compromise on feel) but I'm now using Wilson Staff Dx2 Soft after finding one on the course, using it as a provisional and really liking it.  I have tried the Wilson Px3 and Tx4 and couldn't find a discernable difference so why pay the extra.  Out of interest, I found out Dx2 = Distance 2 piece, Px3 = Pro 3 peice, Tx4 = Tour 4 piece.  For those of you who have hit the 50 compression Dx2, I'm sure you'll agree it doesn't feel like a distance ball and has been mis-marketed! 

Try the Wilson Dx2 soft if you want long, straight and good feel around the green Martin.  After trying all sorts of balls, including Pro V1, I'm well happy with these (especially as they're only £15 a dozen!). 

I used to use the NXT and they're a pretty good ball, but you don't get the stopping ability you do with the Pro V1.  The NXT Tour will give you a little more spin though.  I personally didn't like the AD333, but I can't put my finger on why.  Nothing specific, just.....something. 

What I will say is that sticking with one ball is important to get the feel you need on and around the green.  Changing form a distance to a feel ball may see you coming up short on chips and putts. 

 I find this subject fascinating too and have recently gone off top flites and favour Srixon, Bridgstone and Pro VI. As mentioned before, the overiding factor is the puttability (if that the right word or even is it a word) ie if I feel I can control the speed then I'll go for it. I always have a chuckle when I read about the marketing hype about dimple formation and the 'anti slice proprties' what b*llocks. If you hit two balls the same then there's not going to be that much in it and at our level not enough to make a difference as our striking is not consistent enough so lets stop kidding ourselves.

 PS My usual consideration for using a ball (before the putting test) is to drop a ball from chest height on the patio and see how high it bounces back....what a philistine.

As some people are aware I've done quite a bit of research on ball hardness, I won't bore everyone again with the details but basically it's more of a can of worms than most realise.  A lot of the stuff that manufacturers come out with is pure bull, primarily that the number, shape and depth of dimples has a significant effect on the ball flight.  It is true that there needs to be a minimum number of dimples to create the aerodynamic boundary layer necessary to create lift, but thats anywhere between 250 to 400.  The flight is governed only by the quality of the strike.

The hardness is also a bit more difficult define. Generally only the compression is given (slightly misleading as there is no standard measure for this value), but what I found was that there are many more factors that need to be considered. There are seperate compression, hardness, elasticity, rebound and kinetic energy retention values for the skin and inner cores (1 or 2) to consider.  The tests I did comparing a Pro V1 and Dunlop DDH showed that the skin hardness was remarkably similar on both.  The Pro V1 had marginally better compression characteristics (softer) than the DDH but had about 4 times the rebound, so much springier.  In fact the Pro V1 should be able to compress about 6mm out of round with a decent strike, and it would therefore seem sensible to assume that a lot of the spin comes from the ball trying to return to it's original spherical shape and inducing out of balance forces that increase the spin rate (think ice skaters spinning faster and faster by changing their arm positions).

Anyway, I use AD333's 'cos I like the feel and got a job lot cheap.  

 I would add that I think it's a great benefit to stick with one type of ball and Wayne's procedure of using a new ball every round is good too. It ensures you practise with the same ball too.

 By the way, although I mentioned there's not a lot in it if you use two different balls: this does not count for driving range balls. The majority of these ranges have bloody awfull balls and I'd suggest are at least 50yds out if your using a driver.

 Come to think of it don't use driving ranges at all if you're comparing or trying to establish how far you hit a particular club.