Do better balls make a difference?
Golf balls may all look the same, but the real differences lie beneath the surface.
The golf ball is the one thing we all need to play, but with all the makes and models it’s hard to say what sets one golf ball apart from another aside from the number of dimples.
Balls are made from one piece up to five layers and each company has its lower-end basic ball up to the higher-end golf ball. Each generally makes a distance ball and a spin ball. The distance ball has less spin so it will fly straighter. The spin ball has more spin for around the green, but it will also increase your hook or slice because the ball is made to spin even if it is not what you intended when you struck it.
TaylorMade and Titleist, for example, make balls with four and five layers. The ProV 1X by Titleist will fly lower and spin less with your driver and fairway woods. The Penta 5 from TaylorMade also will fly lower and spin less. With both balls, the harder you hit it the less it spins and the softer you hit it the more it spins. So with your wedges and short irons you get maximum spin and control, but with the driver, the ball gives you maximum distance.
Stop by Birchbank Golf Course and check out Christmas in July, the biggest sale of the year in the Pro shop. We are also offering a “Beat the Heat” special - $30 for golf and a power cart after 2 p.m. from Thursday to Monday.
Dennis Bradley is a CPGA Class A Professional and the club pro at the Birchbank Golf Course.