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Golf Balls ----SimplifiedJul 25 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Stay away from the gimmicks, understand the composition, and find one that feels right for the way play.
Properly hitting a golf ball may be a little tricky, but the ball itself is rather simple. There are three main components of the ball, the construction, the compression, and the number of dimples. First you need to pick the construction, either two piece or three piece. A two piece ball will generally fly a little farther than a three piece ball. Think of it this way, the ball moves because the energy generated from the club swinging transfers into the ball, the less it has to move through, the cleaner the transfer, the longer the hit. The two piece will feel a little softer when hit, but a three piece ball will tend to roll a little more after it lands on the ground. You should hit a few of each to see which one works best. I prefer a two piece ball. The most important factor is the compression, it decides the spin, distance, and feel. Compressions range from 70 - 100 +, they used to be printed on the boxes, but now you have to do some digging, if you find a ball you like try to find the company website and see if they have the stats posted. The lower the compression, the softer the ball. A low compression ball will spin more, feel softer, but you lose distance. The harder you hit, the higher compression you need. Don't hit a 100 + compression unless you can drive a ball over 275 yards, it will only hinder you. You really need to strike the ball hard to play with a really high compression. An average male golfer should hit an 80 - 90 compression ball. Once you drop under 80, you get into the high spin balls, which I don't recommend. The last detail is the number of dimples on the ball, which controls the curve and flight path of the ball. Without the dimples the ball would fly as random as a knuckleball in baseball. As the ball spins it creates a difference in the air pressure in front and behind the ball. The more dimples, the greater the pressure difference, which can create a loftier shot, and help you stick the ball on the green. The high spin balls generally have more dimples than a regular ball. A normal count is around 400 +/- 20. Anything above that will start to exaggerate slices and hooks, and I think we all want to avoid that. The best way to select a ball it to hit a lot of different kinds and see how you play with them. There is not a huge difference between the top shelf balls and the not so brand name balls. Find one that works well, find the stats and fine tune from there.  |
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