Great Balls of Fire!!!

[BC MIST]

Played a pile of holes today, each with 3 balls:
1. Bridgestone B 330 S
2. Titleist Pro V1 X
3. Topflite 3000 "Super Long"

While there were obvious exceptions due to quality of contact, a couple of patterns occurred:
1. Off the DRIVER - The Pro V1 X was consistently the longest, Topflite 2nd, Bridgestone 3rd
2. Off the IRONS - The Topflite was longest by 10 to 12 yards, Pro V1X 2nd and Bridgestone a close 3rd.

Does this make sense? What is there about the structure of the balls that causes the X to be long off the driver and shorter off the irons and the Topflite to be shorter off the driver and very long off the irons? It would seem that the Topflite has more spin off the driver and the ProV1 X less, but the Toplflite has less spin off the irons and the X more. But why?

[dbleber]

The Pro V1X is designed to have less spin off the driver. If you read on the Titleist site, it will explain a litlle bit about how now that they have the technology of this multi layered ball thing so checked out that the diferent covers of the different layers will react differently to the different clubs/shots you play. What does that mean, who really knows but the ball and everytime I talk to mine it just ignores me so........But to me it means that the lets say top cover is designed to react to the material and compression of the putter, the next layer maybe the irons and the core will react once it is smacked by the driver. Just my take on it.

[Big Johnny69]

TopFlite is a two piece ball built strictly for distance. Less spin on all clubs for more distance. The X is a three piece designed to be long off the driver and have less spin than the reg ProV off the irons but still have lots of control. But giving up a little distance for the performance off the irons. But I must say I am quite surprised by your results with the S. Thought that would be a dynamite ball. But maybe just not for you BC. Thanks for the experiment, good insight into performance from a quality ball striker.

[Big Johnny69]

BC, for comparisons go to www.golfballtest.com to view how balls stack up to one another.

[1972Apex]

Interesting observations BC. I haven't played the Bridgestone but I regularly use the Pro V1 and X and the various incarnations of the Top Flite XL series.
I've noticed pretty much the same thing as you. The Titleists, quite simply, spin more off the irons. I've found that they are shorter but also fly higher and land with more spin on them due to the design.
Both good balls, similar off the driver, but different off the irons. I've found you have to play a bit of a different game on your approach shots with the two. The Pro Vs are 'go at the flag' balls. They will stop where they land or even spin back a bit off the short irons. With the Top Flites you take a less club and try to land them a bit short of the pin - maybe even on the front edge with the long irons - and let them work back to the hole.

[jvincent]

Welcome to the world of "The Physics of Deformable Solids".

I remember reading a quote from the head of one of the OEM R and D departments a few years back saying that the downturn in the defence industry was going to be a big help to golf club and ball design.

Each ball has a different layer structure (number and thickness of layers) not to mention different composition. All of these interact with your clubhead to produce different ball speeds and spins.

For somebody with a different clubhead speed than yours, either lower or higher, the results would in all likelihood be different. For instance, someone with a slower driver speed might get MORE distance with a ball that spins more.

This is why ever couple of years I go through a golf ball trial to find one that fits my game and that I like the combination of distance and spin.

[BC MIST]

I appreciate the comments.

As I am unconcerned about distance I will always play a ball that gives me control around the greens and stopping power on iron shots. Began using the Bridgestone this summer and enjoyed the control which allowed me to be aggressive on wedge shots, and the incredible durability of the cover.

When the fairways are firm then any small distance loss is made up for, but in playing to firm, fast bent grass greens, I want control.

The "Super Longs" are being used now because the greens are so soft and losing a $1.50 in leaves does not bother me as much as losing a $5.00 one.

[jvincent]

I agree totally.

My current ball of choice is the Maxfli Revolution Tour. I picked up 10 dozen when they closed them out at $20 per dozen. Once those run out, I'll repeat the experiment with what ever is being closed out at the time.

That being said, the most of the recent TopFlites are actually not that bad. The entire XL3000 (haven't tried the Infinity yet but it's probably the same) line is quite good for a two piece ball and the Strata Tour Premier is almost as good as the Maxfli with a regular price of just of $20 but can usually be picked up for less than that.

[NiftyNiblick]

Having cut my teeth on the original Top Flite back in the early seventies, I find that I still enjoy firmer feeling golf balls more than the softer ones (I like a little clang).

The Callaway HX Hot is a nice, firmer feeling ball, and I like the consistent distance that it gives me off the irons. I sneak an HX Blue in there on Par 5s--longer off the fairway wood if I can get there--better spin off the wedge if I lay up or miss.

This is all relatively new, I feel. Only a few short years ago, recreational players weren't that much impacted by the ball that they used. Now, even an average club player can benefit from the technology.

[spackler]

BC, is the distance variation due to the compression profiles of each ball? The ProV1X is a hard to compress ball, and thus rewards higher swing speeds and good ball striking with more rebound/distance. The TopFlite is an easy to compress ball, and as such acts as a governor on swing speeds by not compressing any further beyond a certain medium swing speed. Once the max rebound is reached, no further reward is given for higer swing speeds.

The above is on an 'off the driver' comparison. Off an iron, the slower swing speed (than the driver) would mean you would get better distance from an easier to compress ball. Hence the better distance from the TopFlite.

[BC MIST]

BC, is the distance variation due to the compression profiles of each ball? The ProV1X is a hard to compress ball, and thus rewards higher swing speeds and good ball striking with more rebound/distance. The TopFlite is an easy to compress ball, and as such acts as a governor on swing speeds by not compressing any further beyond a certain medium swing speed. Once the max rebound is reached, no further reward is given for higer swing speeds.

The above is on an 'off the driver' comparison. Off an iron, the slower swing speed (than the driver) would mean you would get better distance from an easier to compress ball. Hence the better distance from the TopFlite.

Your compression speculation is quite possible and a factor I did not consider. Even though my SS is not high(about 100mph) I still get more out of the X than the original ProV1.

It is possible, too, that the air temperature could be a factor? It seems to me that the X loses some ooomph when it's cold out, but the Topflite does not.