General ball question

[garyt]

So I  got a TM M5 , but its a little too low spin for my low swing speed. I'm  wondering if there's a ball out there that's high spin to maximize carry distance that I  could try?

[DavidH88]

Hey there @garyt to answer the question there are quite a few balls that fit what you looking for, I would say possibly try the TP5x or the Bridgestone Tour B-XS (Tiger's ball) 

 

this also might help 

 or 

 

 

best of luck and let us know how you get on. 

 

Good Golf ^_^

[Z1ggy16]

Like mentioned.. BXS is good. There's also Mizuno RB Tour X which spins a ton, and I believe the Original Kirkland balls spun a lot, too. Just remember that it's likely going to spin more off every club, so your iron and wedge distances might change slightly.

[North Butte]

It is really hard to gain or lose more than a couple or three hundred rpm's off the driver by switching from one ball to another. Possible maybe but not what usually happens.

 

OTOH it's commonplace for one driver head to spin 500rpm more or less than a different model. As a general fitting rule you ought to play a driver that has very close to the correct spin and launch for your swing and then fine tune it with the ball. 

 

IMO playing a low spin driver then trying to adjust the spin back up with a ball change is like buying a muscle car with a big V8 engine and then trying to get better gas mileage by putting on a lower rolling resistance set of tires. It probably makes a difference but it's still going to guzzle gas.

Edited June 30, 2021 by North Butte

[tsecor]

The TP5X and BXS are two of the lower spinning balls off the driver.....and remember the BXS was built for TIger Woods and built for what HE wanted on the course.....how many golfers fit that profile? not that it cant work, but within the Bridgestone lineup, there are much better options for slower swing speeds. In fact their website clearly tells you the BR line is for SS below 105. 

 

It really depends on your attack angle and SS.   

 

It seems you may have a pretty nuetral attack angle if you are looking for more spin....I would look at the Chrome Soft to start. Its a nice mid range compression ball that works well for the 90mph swing speed range. 

 

And it really depends on who does the testing of these balls. For example the TXG guys tested the new TP5 balls and saw the driver spin just over 2000 for the X model and 2150 with the TP5 model.....other testers get 2700 with the driver for the X model.....

 

Prov1 spins in the 2500 range for a lot of testers as well. 

Edited June 30, 2021 by tsecor

[North Butte]

35 minutes ago, tsecor said:

The TP5X and BXS are two of the lower spinning balls off the driver.....and remember the BXS was built for TIger Woods and built for what HE wanted on the course.....how many golfers fit that profile? not that it cant work, but within the Bridgestone lineup, there are much better options for slower swing speeds. In fact their website clearly tells you the BR line is for SS below 105. 

 

It really depends on your attack angle and SS.   

 

It seems you may have a pretty nuetral attack angle if you are looking for more spin....I would look at the Chrome Soft to start. Its a nice mid range compression ball that works well for the 90mph swing speed range. 

 

And it really depends on who does the testing of these balls. For example the TXG guys tested the new TP5 balls and saw the driver spin just over 2000 for the X model and 2150 with the TP5 model.....other testers get 2700 with the driver for the X model.....

 

Prov1 spins in the 2500 range for a lot of testers as well. 

Be careful to only compare side by side A/B tests of balls.

 

For instance, I spin any ball you can name about 2,700-3,000rpm off the driver. But my driver has 12.5 degrees of loft!

[Golf64]

A ball will def. help. Maybe we need to tweak your driver loft a bit? Maybe add some loft?! More spin/higher launch?!

[Jeff58]

You may be confusing spin with launch angle. What ball are you currently using?

[MattM97]

Try a Cut Golf Blue, that thing spun more than my head after a night of cheap shooters. 

 

But seriously these spun so much they fell out of the air for me with irons. 

[garyt]

41 minutes ago, Golf64 said:

A ball will def. help. Maybe we need to tweak your driver loft a bit? Maybe add some loft?! More spin/higher launch?!

That's the thing my driver is 12* loft as it is, TM M5. I got the 12* because I've heard the M5 was low spin, especially for a slower swinger like me, but got it because it was somewhat fade biased, long story here:  Fade biased driver for average swing speed player? - Equipment - GolfWRX      

  I hate to give up on it because it's so flipping straight and forgiving . Thought a ball switch would be an easy and cheap experiment.  Next would be a shaft change. The head could be bad maybe, it feels dead when I hit it. But maybe that's just the way it is. 

  In an attempt for more distance I tried hitting up on it in the middle of a round and I got even more accurate with it but no distance gains. I think I launch it pretty high now. I need to get on a launch monitor, but thought I'd try a new ball in the meantime. I've played TP5x, Prov1x,  mostly and a bunch of lower end balls as one offs. I did get one good drive with some Pinnacle I found but of course lost it on the next hole, a par 3.  I'm wondering if a pure distance ball would help.

[garyt]

16 minutes ago, Jeff58 said:

You may be confusing spin with launch angle. What ball are you currently using?

Tp5x, Snell MTBx, Prov1x are what I've mostly been using which I found to be long for me (well not the Snell) with my G400 Max but not the TM.

    You may be right about confusing spin and launch. When I first got the TM I was hitting low liners but now since hitting up on it I seem to be launching it pretty high, certainly higher than any driver before, but doesn't seem to balloon.

Edited June 30, 2021 by garyt

[Jeff58]

There tends to be a difference in appearance of launch vs spin, but it can be subtle. What I’d do is cover the spectrum of ball response and see if they do actually make enough difference to you and your driver setup. It should be cheap and informative. A sleeve of each should hopefully do it.

 

Q Star Tour - High Launch / Low Spin

Bridgestone B XS - Low launch / High Spin

TP5 (2019 version if available) - Dead in the middle for both launch and spin.

[Z1ggy16]

3 hours ago, North Butte said:

It is really hard to gain or lose more than a couple or three hundred rpm's off the driver by switching from one ball to another. Possible maybe but not what usually happens.

 

OTOH it's commonplace for one driver head to spin 500rpm more or less than a different model. As a general fitting rule you ought to play a driver that has very close to the correct spin and launch for your swing and then fine tune it with the ball. 

 

IMO playing a low spin driver then trying to adjust the spin back up with a ball change is like buying a muscle car with a big V8 engine and then trying to get better gas mileage by putting on a lower rolling resistance set of tires. It probably makes a difference but it's still going to guzzle gas.

I slightly disagree. The ball choice should be based on wedges, putter and then iron play, although I do think 300-400 rpm changes can be made via ball alone at the extreme ends (E.g. left dash vs RB Tour X). Once we decide our ball via fitting it to our wedge and iron game, we tweak our driver to work with that ball. 

 

Besides, all else equal, losing or gaining 300-400 rpm will maybe net out to a 3-5 yard total change on your drive. I'm not a fitter, but this is the common advice I see given by guys like Ian Fraser. 

[North Butte]

19 minutes ago, Z1ggy16 said:

I slightly disagree. The ball choice should be based on wedges, putter and then iron play, although I do think 300-400 rpm changes can be made via ball alone at the extreme ends (E.g. left dash vs RB Tour X). Once we decide our ball via fitting it to our wedge and iron game, we tweak our driver to work with that ball. 

 

Besides, all else equal, losing or gaining 300-400 rpm will maybe net out to a 3-5 yard total change on your drive. I'm not a fitter, but this is the common advice I see given by guys like Ian Fraser. 

I don't think we disagree at all (wait, is that a disagreement?).

[tsecor]

TBH, who cares about launch angle.....typically the launch angles are all the "same" across the spectrum...very little difference

 

If you hit your driver straight, stick with it....the ball can help for sure...

 

I am testing all the new balls right now, and I thought AVX would work for me....it didnt.....tried left dash.....great off the driver and mid irons....not good around the green....

 

today its the v1x and next week the new TP5x (hated the 2019 tp5x)

 

chromesoft worked well for me two seasons ago but stopped using it when i read about the quality issues....

 

TP5 was great too but try the bridgestone ball fitting link and see what they say...

 

so many options but the ball and shaft can definitely make a big difference

[Z1ggy16]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

I don't think we disagree at all (wait, is that a disagreement?).

I'm not sure 😄 maybe I miss-read. I guess I'll just restate, that I think picking a ball to just fit your driver is a mistake. Pick a ball based on your short game. Make whatever driver you might get work with this ball.

 

And then with that said, right or wrong, just to answer OP, yes there are a few balls that spin a good deal more than others.

[tsecor]

You want more spin, find a soft layer cover over a harder inner core. Want less spin, put a harder layer over a soft one

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, Z1ggy16 said:

I'm not sure 😄 maybe I miss-read. I guess I'll just restate, that I think picking a ball to just fit your driver is a mistake. Pick a ball based on your short game. Make whatever driver you might get work with this ball.

 

And then with that said, right or wrong, just to answer OP, yes there are a few balls that spin a good deal more than others.

Well I guess I took him at his word that he was more concerned with the driver so I was sticking to that. But I do agree there are more important issues in golf ball choice!

 

I personally have never played or not played a ball for any length of time based on what happens with the driver. But for me even in the short game there's not tons of difference in various models of urethane balls. Most of my selection is based on stopping irons on firm greens.

 

One thing a lot of people prioritize is putting. I've personally never found the slightest improvement in putting for one ball compared to another. Once I'm used to how clicky or not it sounds, they all seem to roll real good if I put a good stroke on them. 

[Z1ggy16]

1 hour ago, North Butte said:

Well I guess I took him at his word that he was more concerned with the driver so I was sticking to that. But I do agree there are more important issues in golf ball choice!

 

I personally have never played or not played a ball for any length of time based on what happens with the driver. But for me even in the short game there's not tons of difference in various models of urethane balls. Most of my selection is based on stopping irons on firm greens.

 

One thing a lot of people prioritize is putting. I've personally never found the slightest improvement in putting for one ball compared to another. Once I'm used to how clicky or not it sounds, they all seem to roll real good if I put a good stroke on them. 

I find for putting, really soft cover balls require me to hit the ball firmer to get it the same distance compared to more firm balls. Whether that's a real thing or what I perceive, I'm not totally sure. Putting with a really soft face plus a soft ball is very hard for me. 

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, Z1ggy16 said:

I find for putting, really soft cover balls require me to hit the ball firmer to get it the same distance compared to more firm balls. Whether that's a real thing or what I perceive, I'm not totally sure. Putting with a really soft face plus a soft ball is very hard for me. 

I think it probably does mean having to hit it a bit harder. But it's something I seem to adjust to in just a few putts.

 

That might be because for 99% of my golfing life I've used putters with no inserts. Something like a Supersoft or Duo that's ultra low compression, with a White Hot type insert practically doesn't make any sound at all on a 20-foot putt. That weirds me out 🥴

[Z1ggy16]

46 minutes ago, North Butte said:

I think it probably does mean having to hit it a bit harder. But it's something I seem to adjust to in just a few putts.

 

That might be because for 99% of my golfing life I've used putters with no inserts. Something like a Supersoft or Duo that's ultra low compression, with a White Hot type insert practically doesn't make any sound at all on a 20-foot putt. That weirds me out 🥴

I have a white hot OG and I don't think I could use it even with a Tour BXS. My Scotty is fairly firm off the face and even that I feel like I prefer a firmer ball like ProV, etc. 

 

Never affected me off a driver though...

[Golf64]

garyt, you need to find a good fitter and tell him what you want. As a past fitter, head first, then shaft to fine tune your clubs. Ball should be fit green to tee. If you want/need control around the greens, urethane. If not, surlyn. The pre-fitting interview is so important to find out what the golfers wants/needs. I'm here if you have any other concerns/questions. 

[phizzy30]

BXS spins the most out of any tour ball out there hands down.  My cousin games it and he gave me a sleeve to try.  Way too spinny for me.  Balls would float on me off the tee and would suck back like crazy on the greens.  Z-Star also gets a lot of spin as well. 

[nsxguy]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:22 AM, garyt said:

That's the thing my driver is 12* loft as it is, TM M5. I got the 12* because I've heard the M5 was low spin, especially for a slower swinger like me, but got it because it was somewhat fade biased, long story here:  Fade biased driver for average swing speed player? - Equipment - GolfWRX      

  I hate to give up on it because it's so flipping straight and forgiving . Thought a ball switch would be an easy and cheap experiment.  Next would be a shaft change. The head could be bad maybe, it feels dead when I hit it. But maybe that's just the way it is. 

  In an attempt for more distance I tried hitting up on it in the middle of a round and I got even more accurate with it but no distance gains. I think I launch it pretty high now. I need to get on a launch monitor, but thought I'd try a new ball in the meantime. I've played TP5x, Prov1x,  mostly and a bunch of lower end balls as one offs. I did get one good drive with some Pinnacle I found but of course lost it on the next hole, a par 3.  I'm wondering if a pure distance ball would help.

 

So I see in the other thread you swing ~90mph.

 

FWIW, that is NOT "slow". Iirc it's right around average.

 

But yes, you do need to get on a launch monitor and get proper numbers.

 

The formula for max distance off the driver is HIGH launch and LOW spin, NOT high spin.

 

Here, mess around with flightscope for a bit. 

[rwbloom93]

On 6/30/2021 at 1:51 PM, tsecor said:

You want more spin, find a soft layer cover over a harder inner core. Want less spin, put a harder layer over a soft one

This 100%.

 

Game improvement balls exist just like game improvement clubs.  Lower compression golf balls have a higher MOI (harder and higher SG materials towards the perimeter, softer at the core) which resist spin and tilt (imho) from an off center strike. Tour balls are made to spin and be workable by skilled players and thus are designed with lower MOI's.  

 

Since the OP is already playing a low MOI ball (V1x), and his driver loft is at 12*, it's hard to to see an easy answer here.

 

Regards 

[Jeff58]

1 hour ago, rwbloom93 said:

This 100%.

 

Game improvement balls exist just like game improvement clubs.  Lower compression golf balls have a higher MOI (harder and higher SG materials towards the perimeter, softer at the core) which resist spin and tilt (imho) from an off center strike. Tour balls are made to spin and be workable by skilled players and thus are designed with lower MOI's.  

 

Since the OP is already playing a low MOI ball (V1x), and his driver loft is at 12*, it's hard to to see an easy answer here.

 

Regards 

Sorry, but that’s incorrect.

 

First though, you are correct that a sphere has an MOI, as i=mr^2. You are also correct that the distribution of mass is significant.

You are not correct though, that the distribution of mass in a high compression ball is in the center relative to a lower compression version. All the major manufacturer’s models have low compression cores, with the higher compression models having denser material towards the cover. If your argument were valid, the lower compression ball would *always* spin more, which is far from the actual result. Both TM and Titleist have an explanation on their sites if interested.

The difference in spin and launch angle is almost entirely determined by dwell time, or the impact duration that the ball remains in contact with the club face, and the degree of slippage during that time.

[North Butte]

10 hours ago, rwbloom93 said:

This 100%.

 

Game improvement balls exist just like game improvement clubs.  Lower compression golf balls have a higher MOI (harder and higher SG materials towards the perimeter, softer at the core) which resist spin and tilt (imho) from an off center strike. Tour balls are made to spin and be workable by skilled players and thus are designed with lower MOI's.  

 

Since the OP is already playing a low MOI ball (V1x), and his driver loft is at 12*, it's hard to to see an easy answer here.

 

Regards 

You're repeating a rather self-serving marketing meme that various manufacturers are trying to spread at the moment. Now that the old meme about low clubhead speed players losing distance because they "can't compress" a firm ball has been totally discredited they are casting about for some other made-up, technical sounding rationalization for low compression balls.

 

[sabram]

On 6/29/2021 at 10:39 PM, garyt said:

So I  got a TM M5 , but its a little too low spin for my low swing speed. I'm  wondering if there's a ball out there that's high spin to maximize carry distance that I  could try?

Have you tried the Left Dash Pro V1X?  I just switched to it. It is a high launch ball with low spin off the driver. I'm a slow swinger, but the high launch and low spin  have helped to provide higher, longer drives that are equally straight as compared to my prior ball (Srixon Q Star), but much better stopping on approaches and wedges.  It may be what you are looking for rather than a high spin ball. Off the wedges and mid irons it has less spin than other "tour" balls, but more than non tour balls.  It feels much harder and provides a loud "thwack" sound off the driver, which takes some getting used to. It's a lot more expensive than the Q star tour (approx $135 for 3 doz as compared to $70 for three doz when the QTs are buy 2 get 3).