The effect of ball design on tee shots

I'm interested in the difference in ball flight off the tee, between a 3-piece ball like the Titlest Pro V1 or a Callaway Tour 56, and the next tier down balls (NXT Tour & Callaway HX Hot).

I usually play the medium priced 2 piece balls, when I occassionally take out a 3-piece ball, it works great for me off the tee of a 3-par, plays beautifully on approach, pitch and chip shots, and it putts fine. Then, on the next tee - a par 4 where I use my 3-wood or Driver, I hit it out of bounds with what seems a more pronounced slice or hook than I "normally" hit.

So my question is, does the spin on high end balls that is so useful around the greens translate into more spin on drives creating therefore more side movement? Thanks.

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My Bag:
Cleveland Hi-Bore Driver
MacGregor Mactech NVG 3W & 7W
Callaway X 4Hybrid
Callaway X-20 Irons 5-P
Taylor Made RAC 52º GW (bent to 50º)
Titleist Volkey Spin Milled 56º SW & 60º LW
Odyssey White Hot XG #9 Putter

Short answer yes.

Some modern golf balls are designed to give low back spin off the driver when hit hard, coupled with a high launch angle they give good distance.

The problem is that any side spin created is amplified as it does not get negated by backspin, therefore slices and hooks are worse. They do create good back spin on softer hit shots though.

I'm going to go out on a limb here.

Unless you are capable of extreme clubhead speed and supercrisp contact like the pros are, you won't experience any difference between the V1 (or V1x) and the NXT Tour, except in your wallet of course.

This article and chart shows why.

Basically, the compression of the core and the hardness of the cover are very similar, making the balls act very much alike except in extremes.

If you find the V1 in the chart (Ball #33) and look at what is close, you'll find balls like the NXT Tour, the XL3000SoftSpin and the Callaway CB1 Blue.

For a player like me - mid handicap hacker who still throws away a few balls now and then, these "discount V1s" are pure gold. Affordable balls with brilliant characteristics.

Scratch players or Pros might notice a different from the top balls. The rest of us ... not likely.

That said - not everybody will benefit from a ball with the characteristics of a V1. Another good reason to get your local pro to check your swing on a launch monitor and give you some tips.

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//Mox
2008 bag:
Mizuno MX-500 460cc 10.5* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff. (about to be replaced by MP-600 10,5* UST Proforce V2 stiff)
Mizuno F-50 3w 15* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff.
Wilson Deep Red 5w 18* Graphalloy Fatshaft stiff
Cleveland HALO 3i hybrid 22* graphite regular
Mizuno MP-60e forged 5i-PW True Temper Dynamic gold R300 steel
Mizuno MP Black OX raw haze 50/6 GW, 54/9 SW, 58/10 LW
Heavy Putter B3-M
Titleist NXT Extreme

Good article Mox. You are correct that for most club players it does not make much difference, I have a colleague who plays of a handicap of 3 and always uses yellow Donay balls. I guess sometimes it's a bit of a panacea, if someone is confident with what they are using then it may help.

I have used Pinnacle Exception balls for some time now, I find they produce good distance, have a nice feel in the short game and do not damage my pocket much. I sometimes give in and pick up a box of ProV1 but I am sure that if the logo's were removed I would not know what I was hitting. I have picked up some of Pinnacle's new CLR balls when in the States, don't see them here but they are very nice.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

While I agree that for many people premium balls like the ProV1 aren't a cure-all for keeping the ball on the fairway, there is a definite difference in how stable the balls are when driven, especially into the wind as good premium balls do not spin any more than distance balls when hit with the driver.

The HX Tour and HX Tour 56 are probably the most spectacular examples of this as they are incredibly stable and difficult to hook or slice unless you put a really bad swing on them. My guess is that when you stand on the tee box about to hit a driver, the thoughts in your head are "This is an expensive ball, I hope I don't hit it into the trees/woods/lake/members carpark" and, of course, the ball follows your thoughts straight into the hazard!.

What the graphic in the article does not tell you is the effect a thin cover has on the spin characterists. This means that striking the ball with little shear force (like a drive) produces little spin but striking the ball with a load of shear force (like a wedge shot) produces a lot as the grooves bit into the soft cover. This is how you get the low driver spin/high wedge spin of modern balls without losing distance like the old balata balls. This means that when driving, modern premium balls are much straighter than previous generations of balls as there is little spin for such a soft feeling ball. The downside to this is that modern balls cut up very easily. I don't often lose balls during a round but I do scuff or shred about 3 balls a round if I am using ProV1x or Nike Ones as they aren't very durable.

In the past I've shot rounds in the 80's with a Hippo Dual Titanium (I bought a truck-load when I first started but eventually stopped used them when I realised that it was like hitting a marble!) but I've shot my best rounds with better balls. I'm surpised that your friend has shot low rounds with balls like the Donnay as the lack of spin makes chips and pitches very difficult to judge and putting a nightmare.

As to the difference between the top tier balls and the next tier; if you can't feel a difference then there isn't one so you are better off spending your money on a ball that suits your game. While I've never liked the NXT balls (no idea why, I just don't), balls like them, the Srixon AD333, Cally Hot and Big Bertha and Nike Power Soft are quality balls that offer a great mixture of distance and feel.

This article, http://www.informit.com/articles/art...?p=102619&rl=1, gives a nice insight into the differences between balls although I'd read it with a pinch of salt as it's mostly written by the ball manafacturers. There's also a really good article in the Feb edition of Todays Golfer if you can find a copy.

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Cleveland Launcher 460 - Aldila NV 65 x-stiff
Callaway Big Bertha 3W - Aldila NV 75 x-stiff
TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP (16°, 19°) stiff
Mizuno MP-32 2-PW Rifle Flighted 6.0
Titleist Vokey Wedges 52°, 56°, 60°
Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 35/330