What Are The Best Golf Balls To Use For High Handicappers?
“How can you use those balls? Don’t you cringe every time you hit it?” That was the question being asked of me by my brother in law, James one day in Spring when he found out I was using some balls from Donnay. My response - “I’m not good enough to know the difference between this ball and any other I use.”
He would also balk at the fact that whenever I found a golf ball, no matter what the brand or type, it would go into my bag and be used at some point.
Now - this probably does sound like a lot of beginners out there. When you first start, you feel like you are losing so many balls, what’s the point in investing in expensive balls when you feel like you are lucky to keep a ball for a few holes, let alone a round.
However, having tried what feels like every ball in the market over the past year, there is definitely some merit to finding a golf ball that works and sticking with it.
It’s worth noting as well that this doesn’t necessarily mean breaking the bank. There are a few factors to consider when looking for a new ball:
1. Spin rate
2. Distance Control
3. Feel
A lot of new golfers will struggle with swing speed and accuracy, so require their ball to help with distance and forgiveness in the air. Once you develop to the point of being consistent with your striking, spin control becomes important, because you need that to stop approach shots dead and do those amazing bump and stop chips you see the pros doing.
There are happy mediums though. For me, the balls that have a soft feel seem to be the best of both worlds. They have decent spin rates and tend to be made to help those with slower swing speeds (like me) get a bit more distance.
Here is a list of a few of the balls I’ve tried, and my results with them:
The king of golf balls. Any golfer worth their salt has these in their bag right? Well yes, but also way too many people that struggle to get the ball in the air, let alone stop the ball on a 6 pence buy them.
As mentioned in previous posts, I have a natural draw, which often turns into a slice. When using the Pro V1’s I noticed that I missed a lot more fairways than with other balls. Now this isn’t always a bad thing - hitting the fairway isn’t necessarily always going to result in a better next shot, but it does at least give you a chance. The extra spin rate seems to accentuate a slice, making it worse.
Having said that, if you are playing a course without a lot of hazards and kind rough, the control you get on approach is phenomenal. For me though, with the courses I play, the trade off at the moment is not worth it.
A favourite beginners ball, this ball claims to give you extra distance due to the extra large, high energy core.
Having used a fair few of these, you definitely get a decent ball flight and they seem to roll forever! However, you definitely don’t get as much control around the green.
I also find that these feel like you are hitting a stone. This is especially apparent on those occasions when you catch the ball on the heel or toe and you get that “feedback” down the shaft…
These claim to have better distance and better performance in the wind due to the “338 Speed Dimple Pattern”.
Overall, these feel great to hit and you get great control with these around the greens. As they are a soft ball, they feel lovely to hit and personally I prefer to putt with a ball like this.
Pricing is on a par with the others on test (except the Pro V1).
These are Bridgestone’s soft feel ball that has a softer, larger core for faster compression and therefore more distance.
Like the Srixons, these feel great to hit and have a decent control around the green.
These are my goto ball at the moment. Specifically, I like the matt coloured balls.
I have noticeably better days on the course when using these balls. They seem to have the right balance between spin and distance and I can control these significantly more than any other ball I use.
They come in white and yellow, as with most balls, but Callaway also do a matt version which feels slightly different to the touch and are available in a variety of neon colours.
The best colours seem to be Green and Pink (my personal fave), with a higher visibility than the others on the grass.
The cover of the ball was changed in 2021 to a hybrid PARALOID Impact Modifier cover, which essentially enables better flight and low spin for your longer clubs and better control around the greens with your shorter ones.
Conclusion
Choosing the right golf ball is definitely a matter of trial, but when you find one that works for you, stick with it. If you are literally just picking up clubs for the first time, I would still recommend utilising anything you find - but keep a note of the way the different balls you find/buy work out for you.
How did they feel when you hit it? What was the result? How much of the result was down to the execution? Sometimes, you can feel like you hit a great shot but it doesn’t go as far as you think it should have or maybe too far!
For me, the Supersofts from Callaway are by far and away my favourites. I seem to be able to get them in the air easier, and I love hitting them irrespective of the club I’m using, right from my Driver to Putter.
For £20 ish a box, they are great value too, so aren’t breaking the bank even on my bad days.
