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can you compete w/ plain balls?

• 8buster8 649 Posts

  Fri, Nov 26 2010 6:43 AM

  i played with starter plus clubs and starter putter for a really long time, upgraded everything before making master (had to re-learn everything for a bit which was actually really fun).  Along the way I have rarely purchased balls.  First sleeve was gifted to me, took a "practice" shot off into the woods and learned that "last ball" is for real (lol).  Then I realized I damage these suckers more than I lose a ball in real life; gave up on balls to bank credits for clubs.

  so now my bag is complete, how much performance am i missing w/ plain balls and can you still compete with them? 

  tia

• x1524807 776 Posts

  Fri, Nov 26 2010 7:47 AM

  can you compete w/ plain balls?

  sure can

• hbthree 478 Posts

  Fri, Nov 26 2010 8:15 AM

  Absolutely, have two friends who are tour masters and they both play the "plain" balls very well...

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Fri, Nov 26 2010 8:17 AM

  8buster8:

  so now my bag is complete, how much performance am i missing w/ plain balls and can you still compete with them? 

  Yes you can compete quite nicely, buster, you just have to play a little different. The various balls give you a measure of control over spin and a small increase in distance. A lot of players use them to slow the meter down; others like the ability to stop the ball on the green easier. It depends on you and your game.

  Since you've learned your clubs you might appreciate what a little "extra" can do now more than before. Those G10s don't need a lot of spin to stick so the only place you'd really notice a big difference would be with those Satin wedges and their increased spin capability. Obviously the meter speed doesn't bother you so if you're so inclined try the Tour-SD ball (on me :-)). It will lengthen your clubs a bit and the spin is fun to mess around with in your approach plus they are the cheapest high performance balls @65 per sleeve. GL.

• 8buster8 649 Posts

  Sun, Nov 28 2010 6:02 PM

  Wow thanks yankee, just got em and will try to put them to good ab-use

• philspace 65 Posts

  Mon, Nov 29 2010 3:13 AM

  I agree it's possible to compete with the starter balls.

  Usually I play the SD ball as it complements the G10 irons well. The most noticable advantage is that it will bring the meter speed down, plus a bit more spin and a bit more distance.

  However, just now I played a weekly 9-hole unlimited round at Kiawah. After the tee shot at #11 my supply of SD balls was used up so I had to complete the round using starter balls. The higher meter speed is a bit tricky first, but it turned out to be a good round at -5.

  I may stick to the started balls for a while and see whether I can sustain my overall performance. That would certainly save a lot of money!

  I wonder whether the combination of starter balls with the G10s is similar to SD balls with the i15s (in terms of meter speed)...

• RUSTY40 255 Posts

  Mon, Nov 29 2010 9:06 AM

  The starter balls really helped me develop a decent short game. GIR'S were few and far between at the beginning causing me to learn how to chip/pitch/flop. Also, you really learn how to run up shots to compensate for the lack of distance.

  As far as the meter speed is concerned -it's certainly not the easiest, but even with a slower meter anything can happen. I seem to get less glitches when the meter is fast and doesn't have the time to stick. If the distance was the same I'd probably use the free balls. But from the tees I usually play from I can't afford the loss of distance.  

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, Nov 29 2010 10:41 AM

  RUSTY40:

  I seem to get less glitches when the meter is fast and doesn't have the time to stick.

  This is exactly why I use the i15s with the Tour SD ball. It started with the Tri driver being faster than the G10s I was using-I kept hitting the irons early. Switching to the i15s made the meter speed the same and has made a huge diff in the ding rate. I believe the low incidence of meter jerks is because of the fast meter. 

  Heh-it does get ugly when the meter does catch up to you though.  :-)

• 8buster8 649 Posts

  Tue, Nov 30 2010 7:52 AM

  so i played 18 hole tournament @ Kiawa w/ the nice balls this morning; birdie 1 & 2, miss a bird on 3 by a centimeter.  Get a satin wedge shot to actually draw back; get 5 more birdies.  However, I wiped em all out by dropping one in the weeds on 4 and water on 17!!!  So the devastation of hitting a rotten shot was compounded by the lost ball,  I love hitting them but the loss may be too close to real golf... I had to yell at my stupid thumb a lot, all my fault, not the ball, not the meter,.... but rats!

   

   

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Tue, Nov 30 2010 7:56 AM

  8buster8:

  so now my bag is complete, how much performance am i missing w/ plain balls and can you still compete with them? 

  And the answer is..................?  :-)