Davies shops for golf balls

Look for value

When I’m shopping for golf balls (which is far too frequently if you ask my wife) there are a few factors that come into play, as I’m sure there are for everyone. I’m going to discuss one of those factors here in an attempt to help you to sort out your own ball-selection tendencies and get the discussion going on why we play the ball(s) we do.

Far and away the most important aspect of a golf ball for me is its value. By value I mean “return on investment,” or, “most bang for your buck.” I’m not a politician or investment banker, so I have to watch my dollars carefully. I can’t be spending $50 on a dozen golf balls, no matter how well they perform or how many strokes they save me. But I won’t be going with the cheapo balls, either, because I’m a decent enough golfer to recognize when the ball I’m playing is having a negative effect on my game.

This is why I look for especially good deals on the high-end balls or buy mid-range balls that outperform their price point. I don’t really care what the name stamped on it is, as long as it performs how I want it to.

The general rule is “you get what you pay for” (as it is with most things), but you don’t have to break the bank (or give up a round of golf) to buy a dozen golf balls that will perform well.

I buy reclaimed Srixon Z-Stars online, for example. They come in a plastic mesh bag instead of a fancy box with individually packaged sleeves, but they play almost like the full-priced ones you see in the proshop for $15 a sleeve, and I regularly pay $25 a dozen for them. You can do the same thing for Titleist ProV1s, widely regarded as the best ball in golf, with a retail price to match.

When I’m buying new, I look for the best ball I can get that’s in that same price range ($25 or so per dozen), because any cheaper than that and you’re doing a disservice to your game. The Bridgestone e-series is probably the best value golf ball at this price point, and they’re engineered to give you different benefits, depending on your game (I play the e5, for example, because I like the increase in trajectory I get). The best part of this series (other than their overall performance) is that you can sometimes stumble upon them at Walmart or similar places for like $16 a dozen, because they’ve overstocked them or are waiting for new ones to show up and need to clear out last year’s model or whatever.

The Bridgestone ball fitting team also circulates from course to course to help you fit a ball to your game, which is nice. I attended one of their sessions in 2013 and found out that I could improve my distance by increasing the trajectory (as mentioned above). And no, they don’t just try to sell you on the most expensive ball they offer. I was recommended the e5, despite having a clubhead speed well into the range where they could have told me about the benefits of the B3300. I also got a free hat off them for buying a dozen of the ball they recommended (probably a $30 value for buying a $26-a-dozen box of balls).

I know some golfers who swap balls in and out of their round depending on what’s going on. Although that's technically not allowed according to the official rules of golf, I don’t know many people who will take offense to this practice outside a sanctioned event.

You might, for example, have a ball you like the feel of on the green coming off your putter face, and have that one in your pocket for when you’re allowed to pick up your ball after marking it. If you’re going to use this system, it’s where you’ll practice your putting with a sleeve of ProV1s and use them for this purpose, I suppose. You’re not likely to lose them in the water or woods if you’re only putting them in play on the putting surface, after all. I used to do this with a Precept, because I just had the putting touch with it. I don’t bother anymore, though, because I don’t have a putting touch with anything, so it doesn’t matter what ball is in front of the blade.

What ball are you using, and why? Do you even think about it, or just go with whatever’s cheap when you need more? Maybe you’ve been using the same kind for years and just haven’t thought to change it. Or do you see your favourite golfer playing one, so you just play that one, too, because it’s gotta be good, right?

Let me know. Let’s hash out why we play certain balls for certain reasons so we can work out what might work better for us.