We’ve all been there, standing in the golf ball aisle at your local golf shop, trying our best to navigate between marketing lingo, clever packaging and of course, cost.
It can be rather intimidating, especially for the average golfer who may be unaware of the differences between Pro V1, Tour Response, and Supersoft, etc.
I’ve seen players select a ball by doing a bounce test right on the retail floor and simply choosing the one that bounced the highest. While being fun to witness and even participate in, it’s an inadequate way to select the best one for you.
Now don’t get me wrong, hitting some different balls into a simulator to see how far you can hit it is fun, but it can also lead to a one-way ticket off the back of the green at your local muni.
To make the right decision for your game, you should have a basic understanding of what makes the golf ball tick and some key differences.
What are the different golf balls today?
All your golf balls today consist of various layers and materials that manipulate performance and feel, which is a deciding factor that is mostly overlooked. When you look at your top-shelf products, they all consist of a 4 to 5 multi-layer construction that benefits faster players off the tee, along with helping produce more spin for those ever-so-crucial approach shots.
This is where golf balls in the “distance” category that most likely consist of 2 layers may be easier to compress to help maximize distance, but there can be some sacrifice with those shorter approach shots and overall control.
Then you have your 3-piece golf balls that can help gain some distance but may have some added benefits that help give the player a little more control than your 2-piece products.
All of these will also consist of different cover materials and dimple patterns that can manipulate ball flight and performance around the greens, but we’ll leave that for the R&D guys to explain.
How to decide what you need in a golf ball
For me, the first step every player needs to take is deciding what’s most important to them and their game, and if need be, what they’re willing to sacrifice. Some may place a larger value on feel and performance around the green when chipping and putting, while others may want to reduce spin and gain some ball speed for more optimal distance gapping.
Now, of course, the masterminds designing these have found various ways to give us both, but understanding your wants and needs ahead of time can ultimately help you make the right decision.
This is where having conversations with your fitter can be extremely beneficial, as they understand your game, the numbers behind it, and of course how to manipulate those numbers to your benefit.
How you can pick the right golf ball with a fitter
A trusted fitter can identify the areas of opportunity and help make educated, data-driven decisions to not only fit you for the best clubs, but also for the best golf ball.
If you’re a player who naturally creates more spin but doesn’t want to play a club that has strong lofts or too much offset, finding the right golf ball can help reduce that extra spin and produce more optimal data.
Then on the flip side, if you need to gain spin or height to help increase your stopping power, the right golf ball can help with that too.
I see it all the time where a player chooses a low-spinning golf ball that they can’t compress and struggle to get the ball airborne, just to maybe gain a few yards off the tee. This can work fine until we’re faced with a short-sided pin and some trouble off the back, wondering why our shot didn’t check up and rolled off the back of the green.
Final step: Real life testing
This is where my most important step comes in, which is live testing on the course and/or practice facility.
So many times, I see players decide on a ball before even seeing how it performs for them around the green. For me this is where most of the time should be spent as we’re deciding between a few different options, ensuring that the golf ball is reacting as you intend it to.
You should spend some time with the putter, making sure you prefer the feeling coming off the face and your ability to control the speed around the greens.
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Then you should go back 50-60 yards and hit some wedge shots while asking yourself if the ball is reacting appropriately, as these are all steps I would want my players to take when making their decision.
Proper technique of course allows players to have more control of the ball and what it does, but just like we need the right bounce and grind for hitting various wedge shots, having the right ball plays just as big a role.
Just as much as loft and weighting can manipulate launch and spin with your driver, the right golf ball is more than likely the missing piece. Head into your local True Spec Golf to figure out which golf balls are right for you and make the crucial decision for yourself.
