Which Golf Ball
is Best?
There are no bad golf balls. However, there
will be a ball that is best for you.
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IN SHORT
Find a make and model of golf ball that suits your game and then stick to it throughout your round. |
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Same Make |
Same Make and Model
When choosing a ball, it is not so much which ball you play, but the importance of playing the same make and model throughout the round.
Dave Stockton, renowned for his excellent putting on Tour, recommends that you stick to playing and practising with the same make and model of ball. This he points out will help you to develop a consistent feel.
A while ago I conducted a survey among golfers as to which ball they played. The answers varied from "don't know" to "whatever ball found on the course," or to "won as a prize."
Some golfers were even happy to play with X-out balls, presumably chosen entirely on the basis of price.
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Two Piece - Harder |
Stay with Your Choice
Using a different ball from one round to the next, or worse still, changing the make and model of ball during the round can hurt your putting. Each ball has a distinct feel and comes off the putter blade at a different pace.
To see this for yourself, take two makes of ball and drop them from shoulder height on to a flat concrete surface. Observe how high they bounce. One will usually bounce higher than the other. The harder the ball, the higher the bounce.
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Four Piece - Softer |
If you are looking to reduce the number of putts during a round find a ball that suits your game and then stick to it. If you place a premium on distance, yet want a softer feel off the putterface, you can always consider using a putter with an insert.
A past Golf Channel poll indicated that the choice of a hard or a soft putterface was about even. Golfers preferring a soft face polled at 52% while those preferring a hard face polled at 48%.
Golf Ball v. Distance Control
One of the greatest difficulties in putting, once you have learned how to make a good stroke, is how hard to stroke the ball for a given distance.
You need to compute not only the slope of the green, but also how fast or slow the green is running. This is a problem not only for the amateur, but also for the professional golfer.
Every putt is essentially a speed putt since the amount of break is determined by how fast the ball is rolling. Every time you use a ball that comes off the putter differently, you confuse your brain.
By sticking with the same make and model you reduce the number of variables.
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