7 Biggest Golf Ball Myths

  • last year
This video, in which Neil Tappin is joined by Titleist golf ball specialist Tom Hiscock, explains what these misconceptions are and will hopefully help you make a smarter choice when it comes to selecting the right ball for your game.
Transcript
00:00 Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to West Hill Golf Club.
00:03 In this video in which we're going to take a look at seven of the biggest golf ball myths.
00:08 Now we've partnered up with Tightlist for this one and I'm going to play golf with Tom Hiscock
00:13 who's a golf ball specialist at Tightlist and he's come up with a list of seven misconceptions,
00:18 I guess you'd say, about the type of golf ball that certain players should be using.
00:23 We're going to talk about what they are and hopefully debunk some of those myths
00:27 in order to help you make a better choice about what actually is the right golf ball for your game.
00:33 Right, let's head out to the golf course and get started.
00:35 Okay, so the first one on our list to talk about, and this is one I've heard a lot over the years,
00:48 is people say "I don't spin the ball" and well that's just not true, right?
00:54 Absolutely, yeah and this is the reason why we've got so many different clubs, isn't it?
00:57 The loft of the golf club helps us spin the golf ball and as soon as the golf ball's in the air
01:02 or it's left the ground, left the club face, it's spinning and it's spinning backwards.
01:06 So we're talking about backspin but we're not talking about how you might perceive backspin
01:12 like you do on the TV, you see the players hit it into the green, it's spinning backwards.
01:15 We're talking about the golf ball slowing down.
01:17 Yeah, okay.
01:18 So it's all about for us trying to find out how much spin or stopping power or roll out
01:24 the golfer's looking for.
01:26 Right, okay.
01:26 We're not talking about curvature, that's something we can come to later,
01:30 but it's more about how the golf ball's reacting when it hits the green.
01:34 So spin is backspin but it's stopping power and not seeing the ball.
01:38 Right, and so the sort of the follow-up for me then on this, Tom, is that because of the
01:43 different way that different golfers attack the ball, they will create different spin profiles.
01:50 You might think I don't spin the ball but because actually the way that the club attacks
01:53 the ball you are creating more spin than you need to in certain shots and therefore it
01:58 might be ballooning up into the air.
01:59 Am I talking nonsense?
02:00 No, not at all.
02:01 So every golf ball has a different spin profile so we have to match that in with your delivery
02:06 and how you deliver the golf club.
02:08 So like I said, every golfer that comes to see us will spin the golf ball.
02:12 It's then down to us, if they're having a track man fitting for instance, it's down to us to
02:16 guide them or recommend a golf ball based on how they deliver the golf club.
02:20 And every golf ball, because they perform differently, is really important to get the
02:24 right one.
02:25 Especially if you're chopping and changing from hole to hole or round to round, it's really
02:31 important to settle on the one that's performing best for you.
02:33 Yeah, because then you're going to understand how it's going to react when it hits the green.
02:36 You're going to know what club to hit presumably as well.
02:37 Absolutely.
02:39 Right Tom, you have, do you know what, you've got 180 in here.
02:43 180?
02:44 It's into the wind and there's just not a lot going in your favour.
02:48 I don't want to put you off before we've even got started.
02:51 But this is an opener isn't it?
02:55 This is a bit of a, it's quite daunting this isn't it?
02:57 Oh it's a bit pulley.
03:02 It's a bit pulley but do you know, it's a good flight.
03:05 It's on the green.
03:06 You've got to take that, it's fine.
03:08 Yeah it's okay isn't it?
03:09 Okay so for our next one we are going to talk about soft versus hard golf balls and
03:15 how that affects performance.
03:17 And I think the myth here, certainly the conception that a lot of people will have,
03:22 is that a softer golf ball is going to spin more and that by contrast the harder golf ball is going
03:27 to offer me less control in the short game.
03:30 Is there any truth to any of that?
03:31 Not really.
03:32 No it's a big myth and the word soft is very misunderstood.
03:38 So softer golf balls are soft through compression.
03:41 They feel soft.
03:43 Right okay.
03:44 Soft covered golf balls are typically higher in compression and firmer feeling
03:48 but offer you more spinning control.
03:50 Right okay.
03:51 But you have different compression golf balls in your range right?
03:56 Yeah absolutely.
03:57 So why do you have different compression golf balls?
03:59 So the compression is again very much a feeling thing.
04:02 So every golf ball will have a preference.
04:04 Some golfers prefer a slightly softer golf ball.
04:07 Some people prefer a firmer feeling golf ball.
04:09 So within our performance range which encapsulates
04:12 true feel, velocity, tour soft and tour speed, all those golf balls are a different compression.
04:20 They're all two-piece golf balls right?
04:22 Tour speed's actually three-piece.
04:23 It's a three-piece, it's multi-layered.
04:25 But true feel, velocity, tour soft are two-piece golf balls and they have different compressions.
04:30 They'll feel different but with them being two-piece they're going to offer you low spin
04:35 for distance off the tee which we all want.
04:37 Yes.
04:37 But as we get closer to the green because they're two-piece golf balls
04:42 you're going to get some control and stoppability from loft.
04:46 But with them being a harder cover over a softer core
04:50 you're going to compromise a little bit when it comes to spinning control.
04:53 Right okay.
04:54 But there will be a feel difference between the three of them and therefore
04:58 there'll be an option for everybody.
05:00 Come on let's hit this one.
05:03 [Music]
05:10 Good hit.
05:11 Okay so for this one we're going to talk about golf in the winter.
05:15 And I think it feels like a fairly sensible idea to play maybe a different golf ball in the winter
05:20 when conditions underfoot are different.
05:22 It's wet here today at West Hill.
05:23 The temptation might be to use a harder golf ball.
05:26 What's the sort of tightest thinking on that front?
05:29 Yeah it's a really good question Neil.
05:31 It's a question we get asked all the time.
05:32 The consistency of playing the same golf ball from season to season
05:37 from wet conditions to drier conditions remains the same.
05:41 We would much rather the golfer change their club selection
05:46 or their technique to suit the conditions.
05:51 Because if you change the golf ball to suit the wind say for example
05:55 where the golf ball's landing
05:57 it's also going to feel very different when you're putting and chipping.
05:59 When the conditions are not going to be too different
06:03 to how they might be in summer conditions for example.
06:07 But for us the most important thing is consistency.
06:09 Play the same ball all the time.
06:11 Obviously we reference the tour players a lot
06:15 and they play at a different venue every single week.
06:18 They might go from a linked venue to an inland venue.
06:21 Do you ever get golfers on tour changing their ball?
06:24 Very very rarely.
06:25 No because you're trying to discourage them from doing it.
06:27 Yeah absolutely but they would be quite comfortable
06:31 maybe taking a long iron out and putting a hybrid in
06:33 or changing their wedge selection.
06:36 But they would never change the golf ball
06:39 because they know what that golf ball does
06:41 but also they're hitting that ball on every single shot.
06:44 Yes well so in that spirit I've changed my...
06:46 I've gone down in loft.
06:49 I'm going to try and hit it in a wee bit lower.
06:51 Great.
06:52 [Music]
06:59 Well it's quite high.
07:00 Yardage was good.
07:03 Look at that.
07:04 I'll take it.
07:05 I'll take it.
07:06 Right so the next myth we are going to cover is around swing speed.
07:12 The idea being here that a lot of golfers would say
07:14 well I have a swing speed of let's say 100 miles an hour
07:18 therefore I need to use X golf ball.
07:21 But Tom Titus would say that's not actually how golfers should be thinking about it at all.
07:26 Yeah absolutely Neil.
07:27 Our methodology is quite different.
07:31 So when we're recommending golfers we start from the green
07:33 and we work our way back to the tee
07:35 because if we think about it this way when it comes to club head speed
07:38 yes you are going to swing your driver faster than any other club in your bag
07:42 but as soon as you exit the tee and make your way towards the green
07:45 every golfer is going to slow down.
07:47 And we've got 14 clubs.
07:49 Every club is swung at a different speed.
07:50 Yeah what speed do you swing your 7-iron?
07:52 I don't know the answer to that question.
07:54 Absolutely.
07:54 Yeah and then you think about your sand wedge and you could even include your putter.
07:59 We spend loads of time on the green and the club's still moving at a speed.
08:03 So for us it's not about the speed it's more about the club conditions.
08:07 Right.
08:07 So loft, spin loft and how the golf ball reacts to the loft that we're presenting.
08:13 Right that's interesting.
08:14 So I was fitted by Tom into a golf ball last year.
08:17 Went through the whole fitting process.
08:19 I ended up with the Titus Pro 1X.
08:21 I'll put in a link below to that video if you're interested in taking a look.
08:25 And I know from that experience that you start at the green,
08:28 work your way back towards the tee
08:29 but you would fit the club to the ball once you get to the tee is that right?
08:33 Absolutely.
08:33 Yeah so yeah you're absolutely spot on Neil.
08:35 So we fit the golf ball to the wedges and the irons.
08:38 We fit the driver to the golf ball.
08:39 There's far more we can change from the driver setting
08:43 whether that's loft or centre of gravity or head design
08:46 to influence spin and distance from the tee.
08:48 So we focus primarily on the shorter shots.
08:52 Given that we spend more time there
08:55 all of our golf balls are designed to be low in spin from the tee
08:58 to give you optimal distance
09:00 and then we focus primarily on the shorter shots.
09:04 Right okay.
09:05 So there will be balls in the range that are lower in spin
09:08 but they'll be lower in spin around the greens as well?
09:11 Absolutely.
09:12 Yeah when we're talking about lower spin golf balls
09:14 it's more with irons and wedges.
09:16 So we're talking about stopping power as opposed to distance from the tee.
09:21 Right then let's have a hit.
09:22 Give it a whirl.
09:23 Oh come back.
09:30 Oh it's at the post on the left.
09:33 Get out.
09:34 Good bounce.
09:34 I squeaked out you know.
09:36 An under bounce.
09:37 Bit heavy.
09:44 Ah it just skipped over the ground.
09:47 Fine.
09:47 Okay Tom so for the next one I wanted to ask you was about female golfers.
09:54 And the idea the myth here being that female golfers
09:58 should use a golf ball that's designed specifically for women.
10:01 I know that's not a kind of a school of thought that tightless buy into.
10:06 Why not and how should female golfers be thinking about their golf ball choice?
10:10 It's a really it's a really good one Neil
10:12 and again it's one we tackle every day.
10:14 I always say the golf ball doesn't know who's hitting it.
10:19 So the golf ball doesn't know whether you're male or female,
10:21 whether you're old or younger and vice versa.
10:24 So for us it's more a case of what's the golf looking for regardless of their gender.
10:30 How do they want the golf ball to perform?
10:33 What are their preferences when it comes to golf balls?
10:35 But typically women's golf balls are softer for slower clubhead speeds.
10:40 But again from our methodology working from green to tee,
10:45 for us speed doesn't come into it because from here
10:47 every golfer is going to swing the club slowly and we spend more time around the green.
10:51 So it's more about our approach from fitting green to tee.
10:57 The long clubs everybody wants the same thing.
10:59 So all the golf balls are going to be distance orientated from the tee.
11:02 But then it depends on what the female or male golfer wants from here
11:07 and how they want to see the golf ball perform.
11:08 It's not about speed.
11:10 Soft is a big word when it comes to women's golf balls.
11:12 And for us soft is more of a feeling thing.
11:15 It's not performance based.
11:16 And all those differences between the golf balls that you've spoken about,
11:19 they're going to be noticed by whoever's hitting them,
11:22 whether they're male, female, older, younger, etc as you mentioned.
11:26 Absolutely and you can't link a clubhead speed with a gender
11:29 because there will be some females that swing it faster than some males and vice versa.
11:33 So it's more about what the golfer is looking for and not gender.
11:38 Yeah. Okay. Right. I'm going to have a go at this.
11:40 This is not my forte, this particular shot, Tom, but...
11:45 I've got faith in you, Neil.
11:47 You've actually got a long putt. You're in three-putt territory there.
11:49 Oh, what a little kick forward.
11:56 Hit the collar of the thing. I'll take it. It's fine.
11:58 Great.
12:01 [Music]
12:12 That's beautiful. Great shot, Tom.
12:14 So Tom, next one I wanted to ask you was about coloured golf balls.
12:19 Now, I don't want to offend anybody who uses a coloured golf ball that watches this video,
12:24 but I have heard people say from time to time things like,
12:26 "Oh, serious golfers don't tend to play coloured balls," but that's a myth, isn't it?
12:32 Yeah. Again, it's a big myth, isn't it?
12:34 There are coloured golf balls being used on tour now.
12:38 So some of the senior players, it might be more of a visual thing,
12:41 but to be honest, for us, it's more preference.
12:43 We always talk about when we're fitting and recommending golf balls,
12:47 we're talking about performance primarily if the golfer is looking for that,
12:51 but it's really important to find out what the preferences are.
12:55 I remember fitting a gentleman who was struggling to hit the white golf ball.
13:00 As soon as I put an orange golf ball down,
13:02 he could make really good contact and it completely revolutionised his game.
13:06 That's very interesting.
13:07 What I found, Tom, is that I've used a yellow golf ball in not dissimilar sunlight to today,
13:15 so like dappled sun where it's quite bright, but then there's shady areas
13:20 and it can be quite hard to see.
13:22 And I feel like I can see a yellow golf ball maybe a little bit better in that scenario.
13:27 Yeah, I mean, the good thing from our side of things is that the coloured golf balls,
13:31 whether it's yellow or some of our matte finished golf balls,
13:35 they all perform the same as the white golf ball.
13:37 So it's not a performance thing, it's just a preference.
13:40 And yeah, in winter conditions, for example, like you just referenced,
13:44 or if the light's changing,
13:47 then some of the other golf balls might be a bit easier to pick up in flight.
13:51 Yeah, and you not just launched a blue golf ball?
13:54 We have, yeah.
13:55 Yeah, so in our velocity range, we have white, obviously,
13:58 and then we have orange, green and blue.
14:00 Yeah.
14:00 So it's not for everybody, but there will be...
14:02 Do you know, there'll be a lot of people out there that are excited by that proposition.
14:06 Yeah.
14:06 And I always worry with blue, for instance, that it's going to be a bit dark
14:10 and I might not see it as it goes into the shade.
14:12 Yeah.
14:13 But I take it they've worked on that to make sure that you can.
14:15 Anything we do is researched before we launch any product.
14:20 So there's been some great research behind the colour schemes
14:24 and the options that are available.
14:26 Yeah.
14:27 And it's, from a visual perspective, it's great for some golfers and not for others.
14:33 So it's going to be a very individual thing, but yeah, we'll see how it goes.
14:39 Yeah.
14:39 Quick question. Do you use a coloured golf ball?
14:41 If so, which colour do you use?
14:43 Why do you use it?
14:44 I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.
14:46 Right, go on Tom.
14:50 OK, so this myth is I'm not good enough to play a premium golf ball.
14:56 And I suspect there's people watching this video that probably will feel a little bit like that.
15:00 And my theory on this, Tom, is that it stems a bit from tour
15:03 because you're watching tour players using premium golf balls
15:07 and your equipment setup is quite different to a tour player's setup.
15:10 So people might automatically think,
15:11 well, my golf ball setup needs to be quite different to a tour player's setup.
15:15 What are your thoughts on that one?
15:17 Yeah, again, it's a big myth.
15:19 It's a misconception.
15:20 You know, those golfers are the best golfers in the world
15:23 and they're looking to optimise their performance.
15:25 If they're looking to optimise their performance, then we should as well,
15:29 especially given the fact that most of us are striving to be as good as we can be.
15:33 And typically, when it comes to handicap and ability,
15:37 a lot of golfers don't think they're good enough
15:39 because potentially they just feel like they're losing too many.
15:41 So it might be more of a cost thing.
15:43 Right, OK.
15:44 But actually, from a performance standpoint,
15:46 if the golfer is looking to improve and develop as a player
15:50 and get as good as they can get,
15:52 when you're hitting shorter shots into the green,
15:54 you could argue that higher handicappers miss more greens.
15:57 So therefore, having a product that a premium golf ball,
16:01 which gives them more spin and more control, makes their target bigger.
16:05 So it actually makes the game easier.
16:07 They're more forgiving golf balls with the shorter shots.
16:09 Right.
16:10 So it gives the golfer the best opportunity
16:13 to get the golf ball as close as they can to the hole,
16:16 have shorter parts and shoot lower scores.
16:18 So it is a big myth,
16:21 but I can kind of understand potentially from a cost effectiveness point of view.
16:26 Yeah.
16:26 Right.
16:27 We've been looking at this shot for a time now.
16:29 Yeah.
16:29 I should know the read by now.
16:33 I should know.
16:34 Oh, I hate to say it, you missed on the amateur side there.
16:42 I did.
16:43 Low side.
16:44 Not good.
16:44 So there you have it.
16:47 That's our look at golf ball myths.
16:49 Hopefully you found that useful.
16:51 Hopefully there's been some guidance in there about
16:53 some of the things that you might be thinking were true about selecting a golf ball
16:57 that actually either aren't true or actually really aren't that important
17:00 when it comes to finding exactly the right golf ball for you.
17:04 If you do have any questions, please post them below.
17:06 We'd love to hear what you think.
17:07 But for now from West Hill, it's goodbye.
17:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]