I’m a disgrace to MyGolfSpy. For years, I’ve been what I would call a golf ball skeptic. I can’t be the only golfer who’s wondered if the golf ball really makes a difference.
That line of thinking continued until last summer when I accompanied the MGS team to Phoenix to watch robots hit golf balls for a week straight. It was then, and only then, that I started to really see and understand the difference that a golf ball makes.
When you go out to shag balls at the end of the range and one brand has a tight grouping near the back and another is 15 yards shorter and sprayed every which way, it’s much easier to quantify and qualify the impact that the golf ball has.
Fast-forward to now. Armed with my newfound knowledge that the golf ball does indeed matter, I set out to find which golf ball is right for me. I grabbed my clubs and headed to the local Golf Galaxy for a golf ball fitting.
Here are a few things I learned along the way.
1. Try everything
Why is a golf ball fitting so effective? Where else can you try dozens of golf balls at one time? It’s much more economical and feasible to go through an actual golf ball fitting rather than buy a sleeve each of 15 different balls and do it yourself.
Because this was my first experience in this type of setting, I made sure to ask a lot of questions and laid out my expectations up front. I wanted to try everything. My fitter graciously allowed me to hit nearly every ball they had, even if he knew it wouldn’t fit my game.
The process of trying every ball was eye-opening to me because it really highlighted the differences between those that fit my game and those that were an obvious “no.” Being able to see, in real time, a golf ball that’s “good” for you and one that’s “bad” for you was very helpful for a golf ball skeptic like me.
I suppose that’s the advantage of testing head to head and doing it back to back.
When you try everything, you can easily see the differences. They’re accentuated and easy to understand.
2. Know your game
If you’re preparing for a golf ball fitting, you should have a good idea of your game. What’s your typical ball flight? Do you tend to bring your wedges in low or high? What kind of ball speed do you expect off of your driver?
The fitter can only do so much. Understanding your game and communicating that (along with your preferences) to your fitter takes a lot of the guesswork away.
You no doubt hit the golf ball very differently than I do. So the numbers you’d expect to see with your 7-iron are vastly different than mine. But as long as you know your game, the fitter can find the golf ball that highlights your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses.
For example, the thing I learned early on is that I struggle to get my 7-iron up in the air. My landing (or decent) angle is much too shallow with the typical Pro V1 that I hit here at MGS HQ. Through the golf ball fitting process, I was able to find two golf balls that gave me a very manageable decent angle, a little more backspin without sacrificing distance (a priority for me).
Now, I can hold a green from 180 yards out, rather than having to pray for a miracle.
3. Don’t be a snob
Do I have to say it? Don’t be a brand snob. Just because your buddy plays a Titleist or your co-worker raves non-stop about Left Dash doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
Part of any good fitting is being open to the brands you may not have considered before. Honestly, I went into my fitting figuring I’d be fitted into something from the big three: Titleist, TaylorMade or Callaway.
That brings us to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. What was I actually fitted into?
My fit
My top three golf balls were the Bridgestone TOUR BX, Srixon Z-Star and Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. Armed with this knowledge (and my Trackman data), I took these balls to MGS HQ to conduct further testing of my own on the Foresight GC4.
And, of course, I took all three balls to the course to see how they react in the real world.
After ample testing (I’ll spare you the data, and instead share a few nuggets), I’ve narrowed my golf ball down to either the TOUR BX or Srixon Z-Star. Real world testing showed the the Left Dash just didn’t spin enough for my needs.
So why did the TOUR BX and Z-Star fit my game so well? There were three things that stood out.
- Greenside spin. I’ve had trouble getting balls to stop on the green and both of these golf balls provided ample stop-and-drop spin.
- Landing angles. As mentioned, one of my problems is balls coming in too low. Both the TOUR BX and Z-Star provided solid landing angles for my long irons (although the Z-Star was a few yards longer)
- Ball speed. For my driver, I was looking for fast ball speeds. The TOUR BX and Z-Star were both fast off the face. TOUR BX was blazin’!
Who’s the winner?
That’s where I’m unsure. Both balls seem to be a really good fit for me. If you tied my arms behind my back and made me choose, I’d probably err on the side of driver distance/ball speed and go with TOUR BX. But I’m happy with the performance of either golf ball.
TOUR BX DATA
