It Takes Balls To Play!

Dogs run after cars and can chase them around for hours on end probably due to their curiosity in the revolving wheels. Men's chase after skirts and spherical objects and their pursuance for everything and anything remotely spherical is historical and has since spawned into all kinds of ball games. If it takes guts to try out games, it certainly takes balls to play them! If people with dimples are deemed to be good looking, then the humble golf ball is the prettiest and most handsome of all time for it has not one or two but hundreds of dimples. There was a time where we would have 22 players chasing after a leather soccer ball and as they say as you grow older, the balls get smaller. Life is an irony.

It Takes Balls To Play!

There was a time where any golf ball looks the same to me so why do people talk about how a golf ball feels and behaves is beyond my comprehension. Some would ask if I play the Titleist "Pro V 1" and my usual retort was that the only Pro V I have used is the Pantene hair shampoo Pro V. Talking about shampoo, we have to deal with your crowning glory. As babies, we were almost bald but the hair on your head has been so much a part of you that losing them is not an option but a sure thing. It's like an old roof where the tiles are falling. Some friends would tell me that after a bath, they found chunks of their hair in the showers. Then the wife may start matching some fallen hairs to see if they were yours. This is worrying because my preference for a golf cap is a visor. 

What will I do with all the visors if my hair were gone? A friend once told me that it is important to have money even if you have no hair as he pointed out that many like these were driving sports cars with ladies swooning around them. Even if you have some money and some hair, it is ok he assured but the worst is to have no money and no hair, he was very sure. Another friend gave advice that if you were to think too much, you would bald from the front with receding hairline and that those who bald from the back are people who are sexy. So I asked on what about those who bald from the front and the back. 

He said that these group thinks a lot that they are sexy. Well, this is better than golf, at least you know where you headed. Getting older and losing it is part and parcel of life. There was a guy who felt reassured that his 80-year-old caddie has perfect eyesight. So he hits his first tee shot deep into the rough."Did you see it?" he asked the old caddie as they walked off from the tee box."Yep!" The old caddie nicknamed Eagle Eye replies with great confidence. "Well, tell me quick where is it?" The caddie replied: "I can't remember."

Talk Balls

A Titleist Pro V 1 or its equivalent should easily cost $8 a pop. You line it up and hit it into the watery grave and you go Ouch!! But then buying a drink for or from a lady at a bar cost you much more but you didn't complain?

Pro Balls
Find out what your heroes use:

Tiger Woods - Nike One Platinum / Nike One Tour

Phil Mickelson - Callaway Tour ix

Geoff Ogilvy - Titleist Pro V1 Sergio Garcia - TaylorMade TP Red

Padraig Harrington - Titleist Pro V 1 x

Vijay Singh - Srixon Z-Star x Henrik Stenson - Srixon Z-Star x

Camilo Villegas - Titleist Pro V 1

Robert Karlsson - Titleist Pro V 1 x

Kenny Perry - Titleist Pro V 1 x

GuruGeoff - Any ball that is free.

What Ball?

Two ants were crawling up the legs of a Prince (I shall not be naming the prince to protect the innocent) and halfway up at the knees they met and ant A shouted across to ant B: "See you at the Royal Ball". When I first look at golf balls they look all the same to me. After playing for some time, they still look and felt the same to me. So, if you are a noob (newbie), not at all sure if most times you are hitting the ground or the ball and if you manage to get to the ball you are not sure where it is going - to the jungle or to the water, then you should use only one type of ball - used balls. As you make progress over time, you may wish to try out some new but cheaper balls before your profiency takes higher office and you want to go to the Royal Ball. So what is your Royal Ball? Your best or most preferred ball and what are their differences?

Types of Balls

There are basically two types of balls - two piece balls and multi-piece balls.

Two-piece balls are usually pure distance ball and over the years they have tried to make them softer as well while anything more than two-piece is considered multi-layer and usually created for better grip on greens and softer feel to the touch for putting and yes, more costly.

Increasingly, there are actually people out there who does custom-fitting to find out the best ball for your game and they can include what type of equipment you use to suit the ball. It may yet be a good and smart way to improve your game. Selecting the right one may help you increase your distance up to 10 yards. Do not use one just because Tiger does because Tiger has the natural swing speed and distance and what he wanted is more spin on the green and soft feel for putting. Spin on the green requires exactness of strike on the ball to generate backspin. Some balls are exclusively designed for Tour pros but we can still use them it is just that it may not be suitable for our game.

Material of Balls

Golf balls are made by golf manufacturers and rubber people, by that I mean the people in the rubber business. Think Bridgestone and Srixon (Sumitomo), Dunlop, etc. - largely the Japanese. Sometimes, you go to a supermarket and you find a packaging with the picture of a Japanese lady in kimono, it is better to check carefully if it is a packet of biscuits or condoms. Alright back to golf. Two types of main materials are commonly used - ionomer aka Surlyn and urethane. Urethane-made covers are softer and gives more spin and usually found in multi-piece balls. Surlyn itself is commonly used to construct ball covers but is more often found in two-piece construction as it is harder and doesn't spin as much as urethane.

What are the Latest Best Balls?

There are three categories - expensive, very expensive and extremely expensive! Please note that the most expensive does not means the best. It is just that they are more complex to manufacture and they use more types of material and more costly materials. The most costly balls may be deemed as the best only because the pros demand for them but then the pros are hitting their shot plenty long but what they really wanted are those that can spin, bite, check and stop by command. 

Tiger's Nike balls are long but they are among the shortest in comparison when tested but for us to use Tiger's ball (no pun intended) is like paying for twice the green fee of most prestigious courses. Some of us go for the mid range that can supposedly go far and yet have some bite. Others may need pure distance balls because you don't hit that long but they are also now claiming that such distance balls can now be had with soft feel too. As I write, TaylorMade is about to launch a new ball - the TaylorMade Penta TP, the world's first five-piece ball. These should go into direct competition with the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x.

Do note the following categories :

Cat One - Among the least costly, these are possibly the best value/performance:

a) Srixon Soft Feel - this is a two-piece ball that comes with 328 dimples that would go high when hit but with low spin generated so it could go further but made to feel soft for your landing and putt. Value for money. b) Top-Flite Gamer - a three-piece ball with multilayer and a thinner cover for better feel. Lots of people said they don't like Top-Flite but when I told them Top-Flite is wholly owned by Callaway Golf they begin to think differently. The Gamer is one of the best due to this special 3-piece construction. Dollar-to-performance, this could possibly be the best. c) TaylorMade Burner - it is designed for less spin rates and to have more carry distance. d) Titleist DT Carry - this one has 252 dimples built with a low density core and top with a soft surlyn cover. Design with added spin and to launch it high.

Cat Two - Almost like pro ball but at nearly half the price.

a) Nike One Vapour - 3-piece construction designed to minimize spin and better ball speed and feel. b) Bridgestone E5+ - a 2-piece with soft compression. Golfers with slow swing would like this. Replaces the previous E5. Note: Bridgestone also has the E6+ and E7+. c) Callaway HX Hot Bite - 3-piece designed to increase ball speed with a soft core. Has Callaway's hexagonal dimples built to reduce drag for stability and greater distance.
d) TaylorMade Burner TP - a 3-piece that married hard with soft so as to enhance durability and feel. Fast swingers and better players would love these.
e) Bridgestone E6+ - the latest replacing the previous E6 is a 3-piece designed to reduce spin with low compression. Dimples are more seamless for consistent flight.

Cat Three - The Royal Ball, pros use them. You can too if you have deep pockets, big heads or high proficiency. There are many others, I'll just name two.

a) Titleist: (i) Pro V 1 & Pro V 1 x - these are a 3-piece and 4-piece respectively both of which use a urethane elastomer cover for the softest feel. You will know what I mean when you putt with one. The Pro V 1 has 392 dimples to help increase distance while the dual core Pro V 1 x helps in reducing driver spin to increase distance. The other Titleist are different. Purists would insist on the Pro V 1 or Pro V 1 x.
b) Nike One - there are two models. One is a 4-piece and the other a 3-piece. It has very soft feel and unless you are Tiger, you are unlikely to get the distance.

Who Should Play What?

As earlier mentioned, you either have greater need for distance or control. Amateurs and short-hitters would love distance but pros and better players craves for control. Surlyn cover two-piece balls offers distance but lesser spin and greenside control while multi-piece balls made with the softer urethane will offer you more backspin for bounce, check and stop action. Good players can still play with a two-piece especially if your approach shots onto the green are often chip-and-run but there is no denying that the best feeling ball during a putt is the one with an urethane cover with multi-piece construction. You will know what I mean once you putt with a Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V 1x or a Nike One Platinum just to name a few. It is very sweet to the feel.

If you handicap is a steady and strong 18 and below and is serious about improving your game further, you may wish to consider premium balls as your side kick. If you are discerning enough, you could detect distinct differences in characteristics of those cheaper distance balls and the premium-priced control balls but if you can't keep your shots in the fairways, then there is no further discussions. End of the conversation.

Golf Ball Compression

What is golf ball compression and how does the shots look like on impact in slomo? Thanks to Anxhelo25 & BiomechanismMMu who gave us the videos. Watch from these links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y57pw_iWlk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dG9hb3_blo&NR=1

Ball Fitting

You may not believe this, today ball-fitting is going to be more common. It is not a fitting for size meaning that if you are a hotshot CEO, you get bigger balls nor is tied to your myopia. They would collect data if your game patterns like your handicap, distances, etc. They would record your other tests of distance, lie angle, spin rate, swing speed and ball speed in order to finally recommend the ball that fits you best. You may be playing with a Titleist Pro V1 and can well afford it but if this is not the right ball for you, it is not going to be helpful. In fact, it could be a hindrance to your progress. 

When a driver, fairway wood, hybrid or long iron struck a ball, the ball is actually compressed or deformed. Such compressions differ for each golfer. SHorter clubs do not deformed the ball as much and such compressions are also dependent on the material used so a soft compound like urethane would generate more spin from shorter clubs. If they were to record all data and analysis on a computer and show you the full works and comparisons, it will assure you and you will see light at the end of the tunnel. 

Let's just hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train. You can arun but cannot hide, technology is here to stay and there are only really two constants in life - death and taxes. Everything else is changing unceasingly and that includes technology. Harnessing these advances from research os the way to go. So better to embrace them then to be embarassed by them. Play around with your balls and find out which is best suited to your all round game. Tell me what type of balls you love.

Golf as in life, play as it lies!