On Choosing A Ball Any Sticking With It A While...

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

One model of golf ball I've played quite a bit over the years is the Titleist DT Solo. Various iterations of that model have probably been used in about 300-400 rounds over the past five or six year, I'd say. About as much as any single brand/model of ball I've ever played.

 

But I've also played several other balls regularly for various periods of time, anywhere from a dozen to maybe a couple hundred rounds. And of course like a lot of us, I've played one or a few rounds with dozens of different models I've "tested" or "tried out" over the years. Very few balls work badly for my game, although there are certainly some I prefer to others it's usually a minor difference.

 

Recently I decided to quite distracting myself with always changing clubs and balls from round to round or month to month. I'd played a few rounds in September with the DT Solo so I decided that was as good as any to settle in with for the long haul. Especially seeing as how I could get yellow DT Solo X-outs for under $10/dozen at my local Edwin Watts store.

 

It took a few weeks but I think I'm starting to reap the benefit of just playing the same ball round after round, week after week. I've had several iron shots where I could not see the ball once it was on the green but when I got close enough I saw that it was either pin high or if I thought I'd maybe hit it a little long or short sure enough there it was a few yards long or short of the hole. And on well-struck chip shots, pitch shots or 3/4 wedge shots it's happening quite often that the ball lands exactly where I'd wanted to land it and then trickles forward just the exact amount I'd anticipated.

 

It's really cool feedback when you hit a shot well and you already "know" what it's going to do when it hits the green. When I was changing balls every few rounds then today it might be a urethane ball that checks up or sucks back when I figured it would release. Next week it might be a full-swing short iron that I expected to stick right by its ball mark but it released all the way to the back of the green. Or just not quite getting the exact carry I think of as "9-iron distance" even though I'm sure I struck the ball cleanly.

 

Now all this extra predictability is probably worth a stroke a round at most. Maybe not even that. But in recent years I'd forgotten how much fun it is to know what at least the good shots will do. Of course all bets are off on the 2 out of 3 shots I hit that aren't all that well or cleanly struck. And it isn't like I'm precise enough to be giving myself two-foot birdie putts from 150 yards. But at least once or twice a round one of these yellow balls does EXACTLY what I thought it was going to do. And that's more fun than constantly "testing" the Next Great Ball.

[GWD]

Couldn't agree more. Knowing the characteristics of the ball being played can be an advantage and is confidence inspiring. So, any balls I find are given to my playing partner - yes, even the ProV1s.

For several years I only played the Callaway version of Top Flite Gamer V2 (note my avatar). But then my eyesight went and I perceived a need for a yellow ball. In addition my distance has suffered with age.

Right now the Pinnacle Gold is looking good as a replacement knowing full well the stopping ability is miniscule. But my home course has very soft greens so it is not a big issue.

Trouble is I bought 10 dozen Callaway Hex Hot (yellow) thinking they would be like the Gamer V2. Not so. How long it will take to lose 10 dozen balls at my water hazard heavy home course is anybody's guess. Maybe by February.

The Hex Hots might be given clemency once they have been played for awhile. But at $2 a ball vs. $1 a ball for the Pinnacle it makes the Pinnacle more attractive.

Trouble is, settling on one ball is difficult when the manufacturers change the characteristics from year to year. Think their marketing department might know something? Oh, yeah.

[LOVE4LPGA]

I agree. I think it is all gear categories. And I am not good, but immediately feel and see when I can start "predicting" behavior better ([i]esp[/i] distances and fades on long shots, as well as stops on short irons) ... and lose that benefit once a part is in audition mode.

Change takes its toll on the pros. Think what it must do to us hackers.

[24hrclown]

I agree with this, regardless of the caliber of the ball one chooses to play. I like trying new gear including balls, but knowing how something is going to play makes a big difference. My last round, I tried a Nike 20XI*X on a par three. I was the only one on the green and had a straightforward birdie putt that I blew because the ball seemed "light" off the putter and I left it short. The next hole, I putted long in overcompensating for the lighter feel. The following hole, I was back to a ProV1 and all was good. If I'm smart, I'll "try" to keep my experimenting to rounds I'm paying alone.