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Balls and their added distance

• GreyMack 60 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 5:40 AM

  Thanks toYankeeJim i'm currently using a ball which gives a bit of extra distance but i'm finding it very difficult to gauge how far i'm going to hit.

  If you take the Callaway Tour I(s) ball it has 3 spots of extra distance, does anyone know what each spot stands for in terms of distance, is it for example 5 yards a spot?

  Then even if it was 5 yards a spot that would perhaps be using a driver at 260 yards i'm assuming the difference with a 77 yard wedge is far more subtle?

  Any tips on judging the extra distance you get from the balls would be most appreciated.

• ryan4spurs 828 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 6:48 AM

  I think for yourself playing from the Master tees, any of the Callaway balls would obviously help with everything, but they do have weaknesses. Playing shots with a lot of backspin can be dangerous. If you use a lot of backspin and miss the ding, you will lose a lot of yards on your shots. I used the Tour I(s) balls for a bit when they first came out, and found them way to spiny for me. The Tour I(z) balls are a better all around ball I think, which is probably why they are 50cr more for a sleeve.

  Any new ball/club combo will take a number of rounds to get used to in every part of the game. Callaway balls have more feel than your GI-SD balls, so the meter will be even slower again. The GI-SD balls are still rather good balls I think, especially for the Master tier when extra distance probably isn't hugely needed. GI-SD balls should still enable you to progress through the levels and tiers nicely and at a much less amount of credits spent on balls.

  I'd stick with them at first to see how you feel about them with any potential new clubs that you purchase. If you find that you can't control the swing meter, then maybe move onto Callaway balls :)

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 8:05 AM

  GM-LOL, hooked ya! Happy to see you're into learning about this stuff but I caution you, and Ryan alluded to it, the pricier, longer balls will frustrate you more than help you. IMO the ball is overkill at TM level and below. You don't need that kind of ball to score well. What you really need to do is find a combination of club//ball that you like and then learn your clubs inside and out with the same ball.

  The SD series balls give you plenty of spin capability on the greens you face from TM greens down. The Legend approaches need it because of the longer shot and slippery greens but any other level you can do just fine with the cheaper ones. I still use the Tour-SD. The biggest thing the distance help will give you is not necessarily the actual distance itself but is actually what it does to your club performances. Top spin and back spin predictably affect each club's attributes and it's easy to learn this without having to worry about excessive deviation on missed hits. Don't get hung up on spin, it can get you in trouble. 

  You should be seeing a difference in the way your ball now doesn't roll way past the pin on shots you nail. This is what you're after-ball control-and that comes from you knowing your clubs, not the ball. GL

   

   

• GreyMack 60 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 9:46 AM

  I appreciate all that guys and forgetting the actually type of ball for the minute what i'm really wondering is about the extra yardage you gain.

  For example 100 yards to the pin 4 mph win against, roughly my 105 yard pw should be perfect for that shot but of course that doesn't take into account the extra yardage you gain from the better ball.

  So on a 100 yard shot what's it giving you...one or 2 yards?

• zagraniczniak 1,984 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 10:23 AM

  On the normal ground strokes, mid-irons and such, not to mention wedges, I don't see much difference in the distance (playing 2 dots of added distance), and I play those shots at the rated distance for the club, except that I can play full backspin without losing yardage. In other words, the roll-out portion of the shot can be eliminated.

  Otherwise, the main place the extra distance shows up is on drives, where I usually get 10-20 yards longer than the stated distance of the driver with minimal wind.

• GreyMack 60 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 10:58 AM

  Thanks thats what i was after :)

  One last balls question if you'll pardon the expression :)

  Is there a way to tell which ball slows down the meter the most, is this the 'feel' description?

• ryan4spurs 828 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 11:01 AM

  The more dot's of feel, the slower the meter :)

• GreyMack 60 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 12:10 PM

  brilliant thanks

• chrisironsbones 3,524 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 12:56 PM

  The distance always varies for me, some holes i get the extra yardage, sometimes i dont.

  Here's a rough guide of how i think they are aprox with callaway (z) standard (4dotsd).no wind

                       Normal                       With Callaway (Z)

    I15       3 Wood  (237)   =  250

  G10's.  210 yard iron      = 225 (sometimes) other times 220

                200 yard iron      = 212+

                 190 "                    = 198/200, but sometimes i get 192, very inconsitant

                 175 "                    =  178/180

      7i          160 "                  =   164

      8i           145 "                 =   148

      9i            130 "                =    132/134

       PW         115 "               =     117/118

                       105 " wedge =  107/108

                          75 " yard "            =     77

                           50 " wedge (TM 64 degree) =  52

  All these are without backspin, if i use backspin for say my 75 wedge i have to start calculation from 72 yards not 75(true yardage) or 77(extra).

  Does anyone else agrre with these rough yardage's..would like to know how accurate they are..

• MBaggese 15,367 Posts

  Thu, Mar 24 2011 1:43 PM

  I might be able to shed some light.

   

  I use the BES balls, same distance as starter/unlimited balls.

  My buddy (who I play with a lot) uses the Callaway iz balls

   

  He uses the Rapture driver (I believe rated at 252 yards?)

  I use he G10 rated at 270 yards.

   

  We reguraly play practice rounds from my tees (he's a TP)

  He is always within 2-3 yards of my drives...if I hit 280, he's 278, etc, etc.

   

  I'm not sure how performance is versus our irons though, I rarely know which iron he's hitting.