The Right Ball
For about a year now I’ve been trying to figure out which ball is right for me. As a High Handicapper cost is always a concern because it’s a rare occasion when I finish a Round of Golf with the Ball I began with. On average I go through a sleeve of balls each Round I play. I try to keep the majority of Rounds I play to under $50. If the balls I’m playing are $5 each that can seriously add to the cost of a Round. The second thing I take into consideration is how easy I find a Ball to be controllable around the Greens. I don’t necessarily need the ball with the most Spin. I just need a Ball to stop where I intend it to. I don’t need the smoothest rolling Ball off the Putter. I just need a Ball that I can feel come off the Putter face, and be able to control the distance it rolls. Lastly I would like a Ball that’s long enough off the Tee, and doesn’t roll out too much on full shots 160 yards and in. Ideally I’d like to find a Ball that meets all of those criteria for less than $30/dozen.
I have tried many different balls over the last three years. The majority of them were simple 2 piece balls because of the price. It wasn’t until Nike decided to get out of the Golf equipment game that I got my first real taste of what was possible with a 3 piece ball. Stores that carried Nike Golf equipment quickly put the RZN series balls on clearance. I was able to buy four dozen Nike RZN Reds at $20/dozen. It didn’t take long before I noticed two discernable differences. My putting improved from an average of 2.4 putts per hole down to 2. That’s an average of 7 less putts per Round! Was a 3 piece ball that much easier to Putt? Actually it isn’t. The Ball felt good off the Putter but that wasn’t the reason I was sinking more Putts. The real reason was that for the first time I was able to generate enough Spin on short approach shots to hold the Greens, and leave myself a lot more Putts from within 10 feet. Now before everyone reading this rushes out to buy five boxes of 3 piece balls. Let me first say that there are some very good 2 piece balls on the market. Three of the final six balls I tested were 2 piece balls in fact. Again price plays a very important role in my selection process and most 3 piece balls just cost too much. In the end there was a clear winner, with two others that I may end up playing because of the difference in price. Before I give my opinions of the final six balls I tested, you should probably know a little bit about me. My Driver swing speed is just a little north of 90mph. I hit my 7 Iron around 140 yards with a full swing. My current handicap is 30, and the lowest it’s been is 27. All in all I tested 15 different balls, plus a few others that are no longer available. I specifically chose these six to demonstrate what works, and what doesn’t work for me. One of the balls not covered in this test that I would recommend was the Srixon Soft Feel. It is in my opinion the best Budget ball by far. I found them for as low as $1.33/ball.
3 Golf Balls that didn’t suit me
Q Star
– putts slow, medium feel
– A lot of Spin off the Wedges
– short Driver distance
– low durability
Going into this comparison test I had high hopes for the Srixon Q-Star. Although it is a 2 piece ball, it also has an additional coating they call Spin skin on the outer shell that’s designed to increase Spin. Essentially Srixon’s goal was to create a 2 piece ball for a 2 piece price that performs like a 3 piece ball. Around the Greens the Spin I was able to create with my Wedges was excellent. Even better than two of the 3 piece balls that I tested. Unfortunately the performance across the other categories was poor. Putting was a challenge because it requires more force than I’m used to to get the ball rolling. I just kept coming up short which anyone will tell you is the worst way to miss a putt. Approach shots held the Greens from about 130 yards and in which isn’t bad, but far from optimal for me. What made matters worse was Driving distance on average was the shortest of all the balls tested. Only on the shortest Par 4s would I be within 130 yards after my Tee shot.
Aeroburner Soft
– putts fast, light feel
– very little spin on half swings
– long Driver distance
The Aeroburner Soft isn’t the newest ball on the market but I’ve seen them for sale in many different locations so I figured I would give them a try. First of all everything I’ve tested from Taylormade with the Aeroburner moniker has been long on distance. The Aeroburner Soft Golf Ball is no exception. Off the Tee it was the absolute longest of all the balls I tested. It actually had decent stopping power on full swing approach shots as well. Unfortunately once you get near, or on the Green the trouble begins. This Ball practically explodes off the Wedge, or Putter face which made it extremely difficult to control for me. Any strokes gained off the Tee were quickly lost when I reached the Green. A full Round with this Ball would probably test my nerves severely.
DT Trusoft
– putts fast, medium feel
– very little spin off half swings
– medium Driver distance
You don’t see too many Golf Ball Comparisons that don’t include the Titleist Pro V1. Well at $5/ball they definitely weren’t making the cut. Instead I gave their DT Trusoft a try. The Trusoft wasn’t terribly bad at anything, but it wasn’t especially good either. I was able to get decent distance with the Driver, generate decent Spin on full shots, hit long runners with the Wedges, and control my Putts relatively well. So why didn’t it make my Top 3? The answer to that is Price. Although it’s only a 2 piece ball, it’s the same price as one of the 3 piece balls tested, and even more expensive than another. It proved to be significantly more durable than two of the balls I tested but when you rarely finish a full Round with one ball, durability is of little concern.
The 2 alternate Balls I’d play
Project A
– putts mid pace, maximum feel
– A lot of spin on full or half shots
– long Driver distance
Of the six balls I chose to test the Taylormade Project A was the clear winner overall. I’ve never played a ball that immediately made me feel like I was going to score better. I felt like I could sink every putt, smash it off the Tee, and stick it close to the Pin from anywhere. The only categories it didn’t outright win were Driving distance (Aeroburner Soft) and Price (Q Star). So why didn’t it snag the number 1 spot? Once again the mighty dollar holds me back. Of all the balls tested it was the most expensive. In fact the only time it falls within my budget is when it’s on sale. Believe me when I tell you that every time it goes on sale I’m buying a few dozen though.
Vice Tour
– putts fast, medium feel
– spins well off of the Wedges
– medium Driver distance
– low durability
Vice has been quickly establishing themselves as the tour quality Ball manufacturer, at a discount price. According to their Ball fitting online questionnaire, the Vice Tour is the Ball for me. There was a lot to like about the Vice Tour. Unfortunately it was difficult to stop on anything but full Iron shots into Greens, and like the Q-Star wasn’t very durable. The 2 piece DT Trusoft actually performed a touch better, but as long as you buy five dozen Vice Tour balls the price is hard to beat.
The Best Ball for me
Project S
– putts mid pace, medium feel
– medium Spin on full or half shots
– medium Driver distance
The Project S does everything great, just not as great as the Project A. It’s that simple. Switching from the Project A to the Project S was quite easy. All I had to do was account for a little extra roll out on Chips, and Approach shots, and be a little less aggressive on lag putts. It was only 3 yards shorter in carry distance with the Driver as well. In fact some of my closest Chips and Pitches to the Pin came with the Project S because I like a little bit of roll out. The Flop shot isn’t my preferred shot. If it’s yours I’d highly recommend the Taylormade Project A. When it comes right down to it the Project S wins because it’s on average $10/dozen less than the Project A. Simply put it’s the best ball for my budget. If you haven’t tried it yet, I suggest that you do.
Let me know which ball you play, and which of my final 6 balls tested is your favourite and you will have a chance to win a sleeve of balls.
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