Is there a real difference between golf balls?

[JayDoubleYou]

The definitive answer is:
-Yes there is A difference
-If you have unwanted spin( most likely a slice) use a cheaper ball(doesn't have to mean top flite could be NXT or precept laddie or whatever) they spin less
-Don't use wound balls they are considerably shorter than 2 or 3 piece balls(wound is obsolete)
-pro v's are probably the best and the first soft multipiece to break out on tour(very long but soft cover). I use HX tours which are comparable, i just prefer them
-Don't use the pink ones

[stinkypete]

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the better players notice it in the less than full swing range(80 yards and in)

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the difference between a good ball (prov1, hx tour) and a rock (top flite, etc) is huge for short-mid iron shots even with a full swing. the decent balls will stop nicely where they land because of the spin, while the crappy ones will bounce right through the green.

anyone who can't see that there's a significant difference really really sucks at golf.

[TobDog]

I can stop a Pinnacle Gold with 7 iron pretty much the sme as a ProV1/x, I generate quite a bit of spin on my mid irons, but in the mid iron range there is little difference(should be), if someone wants to argue with you on it, though, the more expensive balls that spin slightly more will actually help the higher handicap player in getting the ball in the air, thats not from me, one of the R&D Titleist ball guys said that at a recent seminar I was at.

[stinkypete]

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I can stop a Pinnacle Gold with 7 iron pretty much the sme as a ProV1/x

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the pro v1x is not a high spin ball.

if you're stopping a pinnacle gold with a 7 iron, you're spinning back a pro v1. but that would explain why you play the pro v1x and not the pro v1.

[RacersEdge]

I spun back a Pro V1 off the green into a lake one time. One stroke penalty was worth the coolness effect.

Seriously, I hate the sound a hard cover ball like Top Flite makes coming off a putter.

[TobDog]

Until end of last year, I played the V1X because I spun the V1 too much, I liked it, but later learned that the V1x actually spins more off the short irons, it also flattens out your long iron trajectory too. I noticed a minimal reduction of spin from the regular V1.

tobdog

[morphball]

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I seem to remember reading a Wall Street Journal article about the insane amount of money spent on golf ball marketing. The point of the article was basically all balls are created equal, but marketing budgets are not.

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the wall street journal is dumb.

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Yeah it is. I QFT you for that truth. However, the good golf balls can be used effectively by like 1% of the golf population, if that, and I bet a large percentage of that 1% don't pay for golf balls. So their marketing is for suckers for whom all golf balls really are the same, same as the marketing for fancy skis, fancy tennis rackets, fancy WTF ever...

[GTL]

this is a little off topic. but on the pro tour, do golfers use the same ball all the time? are they allowed to switch balls for drives/chips/puts.

[CrazyEyez]

You have to use not only the same type of ball, but the exact same ball for the duration of a hole. After the hole, you can switch to a new ball, but I don't know whether it has to be the same type or not.

[guids]

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You have to use not only the same type of ball, but the exact same ball for the duration of a hole. After the hole, you can switch to a new ball, but I don't know whether it has to be the same type or not.

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Whats the penalty for switching balls? Is it a storke or is the round forfeited? I know there would be no reson, just curious.