Discover The Best Golf Ball for Your Game

We have a wide variety of choices when choosing golf balls today.

So, when we are ready to purchase golf balls, do we do so based on what we can afford, what’s newly launched, or an old favourite, or do we put more thought into our selection and go with the ball that best matches our particular golf games?

Golf ball selection can follow a similar process to the custom fitting of our golf clubs. We understand that by working with a fitter, we can obtain the ideal specifications in our golf clubs to help our golf game and do the same with golf balls.

This article’s focus will help you understand the process that lies behind choosing the best golf ball for your game. In making the correct choice, we’ll help you understand:

• What Types of Golf Balls Are Available
• Where My Golf Game Comes Into The Equation
• How Golf Ball Technology Suits My Golf Game
• The Human Element of Choosing The Right Golf Ball

What Types of Golf Balls Are Available

The first area we need to consider is the fact that golf balls can be constructed with a different number of layers, and this is where we can start to distinguish what the golf ball is intended to do and what type of player the golf ball is suited to.

Most golf balls we are likely to come across have a minimum of two layers (two-piece) - the ball's core and a cover. At the opposite end of the scale, golf balls like the TaylorMade TP5/TP 5X have five layers (five-piece).

If we dive deeper into this layering concept, adding more layers brings more to the golf ball’s performance and versatility.

Many golf balls today also feature markings on them that can help with the alignment of tee shots and putts. If we are also bored of traditional white, many golf balls can now be optioned in different colours to jazz things up a little more.

Different colours and alignment visuals are shared between premium and cheaper golf balls, so it’s a good time to think about the next step of the process - what is your golfing skill level, and how much do you want to spend on golf balls?

Where My Golf Game Comes Into The Equation

Let’s start from the perspective of a high-handicap golfer, who is likely to have a different set of needs regarding the correct choice of golf balls compared to an elite amateur or professional player.

One of the main focus areas for a high-handicap golfer or beginner is hitting the golf ball further. To that extent, the golf balls available on the market to help them achieve more distance are models like the Titleist Velocity, TaylorMade Distance+, or Callaway Warbird.

Distance golf balls also tend to be very durable, meaning they can withstand a less-than-perfect strike or contact with a tree getting in the road of the intended ball flight and still be perfectly playable.

As well as being focused on distance, these golf balls come in at a reasonable price point, which can also be high on the list of priorities for high handicap or beginner golfers, with these three models averaging in the £20 to £25 price range ($25 - $31).

At the other end of the spectrum, elite players seek higher control and optimal spin rates. These attributes are essential to better golfers because they can already hit the golf ball a fair distance, but in order to score well, they need stopping power on the greens from their approach shots, spin control from the golf driver and golf wedges when it comes to pitching and chipping.

Better players understand the spin levels they generate through sessions on launch monitors as they dial in the rest of their equipment. This knowledge helps them decide if they need a ball that will reduce spin to give a more penetrating trajectory or more spin to help achieve their optimal launch spin rates.

Manufacturers have options available for golfers in this situation. If you want less spin, balls like the Titleist Pro V1, TaylorMade TP5, or Callaway Chrome Soft LS are good options.

Do you want a ball that creates a little more spin? Look for models like the Titleist Pro V1X or TaylorMade TP5X.

Premium golf balls tend to come in at premium prices, with a dozen Titleist Pro V1/1X retailing around £50 ($63) for a dozen balls. But there are alternative premium balls that are a little easier on the finances, such as the Srixon Z-Star range priced at £40 ($50) for a dozen.

Alternatively, at Nine by Nine Golf, we also have the TaylorMade TP5/TP5X golf balls available at £33.33 ($42).

How Golf Ball Technology Suits My Golf Game

It might not look much to the naked eye, but golf balls today represent a mix of high-grade materials and technology, allowing them to deliver on the promises the manufacturers make regarding the ball’s performance.

There are four crucial elements to the golf ball where this mix of technology and materials combine, which are:

• Core
• Layers
• Cover materials
• Dimple patterns

Core

Stripping a golf ball back to its basics, we will see each ball has a solid core at its centre. The core is often thought of as the engine of the golf ball as the core will compress to varying degrees at impact, helping to give the ball its accelerative speed away from the ball.

The equation is simple: the better the core can compress, the faster the ball will likely be off the clubface. But the core can also play a part in the spin characteristics of the golf ball, so getting this area of the golf ball correct is vital.

Cores can come in different sizes depending on the type of golf ball that is being produced. A two-piece ball will have a core that is effectively the same size as the golf ball since the ball is comprised of its core and cover.

Layered balls will have differing core sizes, with some layers working in unison, with the core aiding the golf ball's compression. Manufacturers will refer to this as the core is the softest element while getting harder towards the outer layer.

Most cores are made from polybutadiene rubber with additional materials added to affect the core’s compression. The final element added to the core is a dye trace, which helps identify which type of ball the core is going into.

Layers

Golf balls can have different layers that work in unison with the core, amplifying the effect of the core’s compression or helping to add more spin or stability below the ball’s cover.

Layers will be made from high-performance resins or ionomers. These layers are stiffer as they move out to the ball’s cover and help create more compression or spin, depending on the number of layers.

Cover Material

The cover of the golf ball is made from one of two materials. Surlyn covers are a little thicker, which helps with the ball’s principal properties - distance and durability. Urethane is a softer rubber preferred for premium golf balls, offering a combination of performance and feel thanks to the cover being thinner than its surlyn counterpart.

Dimple Pattern

Dimple patterns on golf balls are designed on the computer and the wind tunnel. Manufacturers will spend hundreds of hours perfecting dimple patterns that help the golf ball:

• Fly straighter
• Perform better in windy conditions
• Provide a higher or lower ball flight

To understand how a golf ball’s characteristics can be altered through dimple design, pattern, and even the shape of the dimple, we can look at the 2024 Titleist AVX golf ball.

Entering its fourth generation, the AVX differentiates itself from its Pro V1/Pro V1X cousins by being a lower-spinning, lower-flying golf ball.

To achieve this, Titleist employs its “quadrilateral dipyramid catenary” dimple design, which is different from the dimple design and pattern seen on the Pro V1/Pro V1X golf balls.

In plain English, when you look at the dimple pattern of the AVX ball, there are smaller hexagonal-shaped dimples mixed in with normal round dimples.

The Human Element of Choosing The Right Golf Ball

We’ve looked at the different types of balls available and the science behind golf ball construction, and we’ve touched on why certain golf balls are best suited for certain golfers.

But there is one final component that can help us decide on what golf ball to use: the human element - how does the golf ball feel and sound when you hit shots with it?

We may not notice how a ball feels or sounds when we hit longer shots, and maybe we don’t care too much as long as we get the right results. But, when it comes to chipping and putting, our senses are heightened, and this is where we can start to form opinions.

From an acoustics perspective, golf balls like the Titleist Pro V1X or TaylorMade TP5X have a distinctive “click” when struck with the putter. To some, this might be a little off-putting. These golf balls might also feel a little hard off the clubface when playing a feel chip shot, which some golfers might not like.

We can also see how a ball reacts when it lands on the putting surface with chipping and pitching. Golf balls that check up too quickly or don’t check quickly enough can throw our confidence and judgement of where to land the ball to get it close to the hole.

If you want to try a new golf ball, take the time to have a few practice putts and chip shots to get a sense of how the ball sounds and how it feels off the clubface.

If we want to think about switching golf balls or trying to ascertain which golf ball is best suited to our game, it’s important not to focus solely on whether the ball will give you more distance or stopping power.

While we are learning more about the benefits of custom-fitting, golfers are leaving additional advantages behind when they don’t use the correct ball for their game.

It’s no coincidence that when you look at the best players in the world, whether in the professional or amateur ranks, each one of them will be using the correct golf ball for their particular characteristics.

Amateur golfers of all levels can learn what golf ball can work best for them, and it starts with thinking about where you are in the game and what your golfing ambitions are.

At Nine by Nine Golf, we help golfers of all abilities make the right decisions on what clubs will work best for their game via custom-fitting. But we can also help you decide on the golf ball most suited to your game going forward. If you are looking to make changes, get in contact with us to organise a fitting session.

You can also look at the golf balls we have available and order directly from our website if you already know which ball is best suited to your game