Turalyon:
... what is the best way to adjust to this new ball? Distance and spin are different and i have build up a spreadsheet with distances with the starter ball. I am especially struggling with spin on approach shots to the green, regular, flop and punch. Any advice from you which have been in this situation is appreciated.
Thanks from Holland.
When I change balls or clubs (which isn't often) I tend to start figuring out my distance in practice mode on hole 1 of Kiawah Island. Set the wind to low and keep restarting the game until you get very low wind at the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock position. Kiawah #1 is a great distance hole as the fairways and greens are pretty flat.
Once you get that game record your distance for each club at full back spin and with no back spin. I tend to hit shots but only record distance when I actually "ding" a shot. Just keep taking mulligans until you get that perfect ding.
On the driver and wood(s) I take the shot off the tee. For irons I get to a distance where they will land on the green at full power and hit the ball off the fairway. Those shots best simulate your "real world" shots as with drivers/woods you're typically shooting into the fairway and with irons you should almost always be shooting for the green.
This is the easiest part of figuring out new clubs/balls...getting their distance dialed in with no wind. That entire process may only take you 30 or 40 minutes to do.
The hard part that takes the most time is figuring out what your new clubs/balls will do in the wind as spin greatly affects that. I use a wind calculation spreadsheet that allows me to modify impact of wind from all 12 positions. I find with higher spin balls/clubs that the wind doesn't have the same yardage impact from the 12 o'clock position as opposed to the 6 o'clock position. For instance a full backspin shot may add 10 yards with a strong wind from the 6 o'clock position but it might take 13 yards off with a strong wind from the 12 o'clock position. I tend to record my results in high winds and then adjust my wind effect calculations until I'm satisfied with the result. This process may take a month or more and is tougher to calculate as wind has different effects on different courses.
I find after recording my results for a month or so and adjusting the wind calculations that I eventually get used to the new balls/clubs and no longer rely on the distance calculation spreadsheet.
Good luck with your new setup!
Brian