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.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly, and welcome to West Hill Golf Club.
00:03In this video in which we're going to take a look at seven of the biggest golf ball myths.
00:09Now we've partnered up with Tightlist for this one, and I'm going to play golf with
00:13Tom Hiscock, who's a golf ball specialist at Tightlist, and he's come up with a list
00:16of seven misconceptions, I guess you'd say, about the type of golf ball that certain players
00:22should be using.
00:23We're going to talk about what they are and hopefully debunk some of those myths in order
00:28to help you make a better choice about what actually is the right golf ball for your game.
00:33Right, let's head out onto the golf course and get started.
00:36Okay, so the first one on our list to talk about, and this is one I've heard a lot over
00:47the years, is people say, I don't spin the ball.
00:52And well, that's just not true, right?
00:54Absolutely.
00:55And this is the reason why we've got so many different clubs, isn't it?
00:58The loft of the golf club helps us spin the golf ball, and as soon as the golf ball's
01:01in the air, or it's left the ground, left the club face, it's spinning, and it's spinning
01:06backwards.
01:07So we're talking about backspin, but we're not talking about how you might perceive backspin.
01:12Like you do on the TV, you see the players hit it into the green, it's spinning backwards.
01:15We're talking about the golf ball slowing down.
01:17Yeah, okay.
01:18So it's all about for us trying to find out how much spin, or stopping power, or roll
01:24out the golfer's looking for.
01:26Right, okay.
01:27We're not talking about curvature, that's something we can come to later, but it's more
01:31about how the golf ball's reacting when it hits the green.
01:35So spin is backspin, but it's stopping power and not seeing the golf ball in the back.
01:39Right, and so the follow-up for me then on this, Tom, is that because of the different
01:44way that different golfers attack the ball, they will create different spin profiles.
01:50You might think, I don't spin the ball, but because actually the way that the club attacks
01:54the ball, you are creating more spin than you need to in certain shots, and therefore
01:58it might be ballooning up into the air.
02:00Am I talking nonsense?
02:01No, not at all.
02:02So every golf ball has a different spin profile.
02:04So we have to match that in with your delivery, how you deliver the golf club.
02:08So like I said, every golfer that comes to see us will spin the golf ball.
02:12It's then down to us, if they're having a track man fitting, for instance, it's down
02:15to us to guide them, or recommend a golf ball based on how they deliver the golf club.
02:21And every golf ball, because they perform differently, it's really important to get
02:25the right one.
02:26Okay.
02:27Especially if you're chopping and changing from hole to hole or round to round, it's
02:31really important to settle on the one that's performing best for you.
02:33Yeah, because then you're going to understand how it's going to react when it hits the green.
02:36You're going to know what club to hit, presumably, as well.
02:38Absolutely.
02:39Yeah.
02:40Absolutely.
02:41Right, Tom.
02:42Do you know what?
02:43You've got 180 in here.
02:44180?
02:45It's into the wind.
02:46Okay.
02:47And there's just not a lot going in your favour.
02:49I don't want to put you off before we've even got started, but...
02:52This is an opener, isn't it?
02:55This is a bit of a...
02:56It's quite daunting, this, isn't it?
02:57Oh, it's a bit pulley.
02:58It's a bit pulley, but do you know...
02:59Nearly fell over.
03:00...it's a good flight.
03:01It's on the green.
03:02You've got to take that.
03:03It's fine.
03:04Yeah, it's okay, isn't it?
03:05Okay, so for our next one, we are going to talk about soft versus hard golf balls and
03:15how that affects performers.
03:17And I think the myth here, certainly the conception that a lot of people will have is that a softer
03:23golf ball is going to spin more and that, by contrast, the harder golf ball is going
03:28to offer me less control in the short game.
03:30Is there any truth to any of that?
03:32Not really.
03:33No, it's a big myth and the word soft is very misunderstood.
03:38So soft golf balls are soft through compression.
03:42They feel soft.
03:43Right, okay.
03:44Whereas the covered golf balls are typically higher in compression and firmer feeling,
03:48but offer you more spin and control.
03:51Right, okay.
03:52But you have different compression golf balls in your range, right?
03:56Yeah, absolutely.
03:57So why do you have different compression golf balls?
03:59So the compression is, again, it's very much a feeling thing.
04:03So every golf ball will have a preference.
04:05Some golfers prefer a slightly softer golf ball.
04:07Some people prefer a firmer feeling golf ball.
04:10So within our performance range, which encapsulates true feel, velocity, tour soft and tour speed,
04:18all those golf balls are different compressions.
04:21They're all two-piece golf balls, right?
04:23Tour speed's actually three-piece.
04:24Tour speed's three-piece.
04:25It's a three-piece.
04:26It's multi-layered.
04:27But true feel, velocity, tour soft are two-piece golf balls and they have different compressions.
04:30They'll feel different.
04:32But with them being two-piece, they're going to offer you low spin for distance off the
04:36tee, which we all want.
04:38Yes.
04:39So if you're a bit closer to the green, because they're two-piece golf balls, you're going
04:42to get some control and stoppability from loft, but with them being a harder cover over
04:49a softer core, you're going to compromise a little bit when it comes to spin and control.
04:54But there will be a feel difference between the three of them and therefore there'll be
04:59an option for everybody.
05:00Come on.
05:01Let's hit this one.
05:02Good hit.
05:03Okay.
05:04So for this one, we're going to talk about golf in the winter.
05:16And I think it feels like a fairly sensible idea to play maybe a different golf ball in
05:20the winter when conditions underfoot are different.
05:22It's wet here today at West Hill.
05:25The temptation might be to use a harder golf ball.
05:27What's the sort of tightest thinking on that front?
05:29Yeah.
05:30It's a really good question, Neil.
05:32It's a question we get asked all the time.
05:34The consistency of playing the same golf ball from season to season, from wet conditions
05:39to dry conditions, remains the same.
05:43We would much rather the golfer change their club selection or their technique to suit
05:50the conditions.
05:52Because if you change the golf ball to suit the wind, say, for example, or where the golf
05:56ball's landing, it's also going to feel very different when you're putting and chipping.
06:00The conditions are not going to be too different to how they might be in summer conditions,
06:06for example.
06:07But for us, the most important thing is consistency.
06:09Play the same ball all the time.
06:13Obviously we reference the tour players a lot, and they play at a different venue every
06:17single week.
06:18They might go from a linked venue to an inland venue.
06:21Do you ever get golfers on tour changing their ball?
06:24Very, very rarely.
06:25Do you ever?
06:26No, because you're trying to discourage them from doing it.
06:28Yeah, absolutely.
06:29They would be quite comfortable maybe taking a long iron out and putting a hybrid in or
06:34changing their wedge selection, but they would never change the golf ball because they know
06:40what that golf ball does, but also they're hitting that ball on every single shot.
06:45Yes.
06:46Well, so in that spirit, I've gone down in loft, I'm going to try and hit it in a wee
06:51bit lower.
06:52Great.
06:59Well, it's quite high.
07:03Yardage was good.
07:04Look at that.
07:05I'll take it.
07:06Perfect.
07:07I'll take it.
07:08Right, so the next myth we are going to cover is around swing speed.
07:12The idea being here that a lot of golfers would say, well, I have a swing speed of,
07:16let's say, 100 miles an hour, therefore I need to use X golf ball.
07:22But Tom, Titus would say that's not actually how golfers should be thinking about it at
07:26all.
07:27Yeah, absolutely Neil.
07:28Our methodology is quite different.
07:31So when we're recommending golfers, we start from the green and we work our way back to
07:35the tee.
07:36Because if we think about it this way, when it comes to club head speed, yes, you are
07:40going to swing your driver faster than any other club in your bag.
07:43But as soon as you exit the tee and make your way towards the green, every golfer is going
07:47to slow down.
07:48And we've got 14 clubs.
07:49Every club is swung at a different speed.
07:51Yeah, what speed do you swing your 7-iron?
07:52I don't know the answer to that question.
07:54Absolutely.
07:55Yeah, and then you think about your sand wedge.
07:58You could even include your putter.
08:00We spend loads of time on the green and the club's still moving at a speed.
08:03So for us, it's not about the speed, it's more about the club conditions.
08:08So loft, spin loft, and how the golf ball reacts to the loft that we're presenting.
08:14Right, that's interesting.
08:15So I was fitted by Tom into a golf ball last year, went through the whole fitting process.
08:20I ended up with the Titus Prova 1X.
08:21I'll put in a link below to that video if you're interested in taking a look.
08:25And I know from that experience that you start at the green, work your way back towards
08:29the tee, but you would fit the club to the ball once you get to the tee, is that right?
08:34Absolutely.
08:35Yeah, you're absolutely spot on Neil.
08:36So we fit the golf ball to the wedges and the irons, we fit the driver to the golf ball.
08:40There's far more we can change from the driver setting, whether that's loft or centre of
08:45gravity or head design, to influence spin and distance from the tee.
08:50So we focus primarily on the shorter shots, given that we spend more time there.
08:55All of our golf balls are designed to be low in spin from the tee, to give you optimal
09:00distance.
09:02And then we focus primarily on the shorter shots.
09:04Right, okay.
09:06So there will be balls in the range that are lower in spin, but they'll be lower in spin
09:10around the greens as well.
09:11Absolutely.
09:12Yeah, when we're talking about lower spin golf balls, it's more with irons and wedges.
09:17So we're talking about stopping power as opposed to distance from the tee.
09:21Right then, let's have a hit.
09:23Give it a whirl.
09:26Oh, come back.
09:28Oh, it's at the post on the left.
09:30Get out.
09:31Good bounce.
09:32I squeaked out, you know.
09:33And then just bounce.
09:34A bit heavy.
09:39Ah, it just skipped over the ground.
09:42It's fine.
09:43Okay, Tom.
09:44So for the next one, I wanted to ask you, was about female golfers.
09:49Okay, Tom.
09:50So for the next one, I wanted to ask you, was about female golfers.
09:55The idea, the myth here being that female golfers should use a golf ball that's designed
10:00specifically for women.
10:02I know that's not a kind of a school of thought that Titleist buy into.
10:06Why not?
10:07And how should female golfers be thinking about their golf ball choice?
10:12It's a really good one, Neil.
10:13And again, it's one we tackle every day.
10:16I always say the golf ball doesn't know who's hitting it.
10:20So the golf ball doesn't know whether you're male or female, whether you're older or younger,
10:23and vice versa.
10:24So for us, it's more a case of what's the golfer looking for, regardless of their gender.
10:30How do they want the golf ball to perform?
10:33What are their preferences when it comes to golf balls?
10:35But typically, women's golf balls are softer for slower club head speeds.
10:41But again, from our methodology, working from green to tee, for us, speed doesn't come into
10:46it, because from here, every golfer is going to swing the club slowly, and we spend more
10:51time around the green.
10:53So it's more about our approach from fitting, green to tee, the long clubs, everybody wants
10:59the same thing.
11:00So all the golf balls are going to be distance orientated from the tee.
11:03But then it depends on what the female or male golfer wants from here, and how they
11:08want to see the golf ball perform.
11:09It's not about speed.
11:10Soft is a big word when it comes to women's golf balls.
11:13And for us, soft is more of a feeling thing.
11:16It's not performance based.
11:17And all those differences between the golf balls that you've spoken about, they're going
11:21to be noticed by whoever's hitting them, whether they're male, female, older, younger, etc,
11:25as you mentioned.
11:26Absolutely.
11:27And you can't link a club head speed with a gender, because there will be some females
11:31that swing it faster than some males, and vice versa.
11:33So it's more about what the golfer is looking for, and not gender.
11:38Yeah.
11:39Okay, right, I'm going to have a go at this.
11:40This is not my forte, this particular shot, Tom.
11:46I've got faith in you, Neil.
11:48You've actually got a long putt.
11:49You're in three-putt territory there, so I feel fine.
11:55Oh, what a little kick forward.
11:57Hitting the collar of the thing.
11:58I'll take it, it's fine.
12:00Great.
12:13That's beautiful.
12:14Great shot, Tom.
12:16So, Tom, the next one I wanted to ask you was about coloured golf balls.
12:20Now, I don't want to offend anybody who uses a coloured golf ball that watches this video,
12:24but I have heard people say from time to time things like, oh, serious golfers don't tend
12:29to play coloured balls, but that's a myth, isn't it?
12:33Yeah, again, it's a big myth, isn't it?
12:36There are coloured golf balls being used on tour now, so some of the senior players, it
12:40might be more of a visual thing, but to be honest, for us, it's more preference.
12:44We always talk about, when we're fitting and recommending golf balls, we're talking about
12:49performance primarily, if the golfer's looking for that, but it's really important to find
12:53out what the preferences are.
12:55I remember fitting a gentleman who was struggling to hit the white golf ball.
13:01As soon as I put an orange golf ball down, he could make really good contact and it completely
13:05revolutionised his game.
13:07That's very interesting.
13:09What I've found, Tom, is that I've used a yellow golf ball in not dissimilar sunlight
13:15to today, so like dappled sun where it's quite bright, but then there's shady areas and it
13:21can be quite hard to see.
13:23I feel like I can see a yellow golf ball maybe a little bit better in that scenario.
13:27Yeah, I mean, the good thing from our side of things is that the coloured golf balls,
13:32whether it's yellow or some of our matte-finished golf balls, they all perform the same as the
13:37white golf ball, so it's not a performance thing, it's just a preference.
13:42In winter conditions, for example, like you just referenced, or if the light's changing,
13:47then some of the other golf balls might be a bit easier to pick up in flight.
13:51Yeah.
13:52Have you not just launched a blue golf ball?
13:54We have, yeah.
13:55Yeah?
13:56Yeah, so in our velocity range, we have white, obviously, and then we have orange, green
13:59and blue.
14:00Yeah?
14:01So it's not for everybody, but there will be...
14:03Do you know, there'll be a lot of people out there that are excited by that proposition.
14:07I always worry with blue, for instance, that it's going to be a bit dark and I might not
14:11see it as it goes into the shade, but I take it they've worked on that to make sure that
14:15you can.
14:16Yeah, I mean, anything we do is researched before we launch any product, so there's been
14:22some great research behind the colour schemes and the options that are available.
14:28And from a visual perspective, it's great for some golfers and not for others, so it's
14:34going to be a very individual thing, but yeah, we'll see how it goes.
14:39Yeah.
14:40Quick question.
14:41Do you use a coloured golf ball?
14:42If so, which colour do you use?
14:44Why do you use it?
14:45Be interested to hear what you have to say.
14:46Right.
14:47Go on, Tom.
14:48Go.
14:49OK, so this myth is I'm not good enough to play a premium golf ball, and I suspect there's
14:57people watching this video that probably will feel a little bit like that.
15:01My theory on this, Tom, is that it stems a bit from tour because you're watching tour
15:05players using premium golf balls and your equipment setup is quite different to a tour
15:10player's setup.
15:11So people might automatically think, well, my golf ball setup needs to be quite different
15:14to a tour player's setup.
15:16What are your thoughts on that one?
15:17Yeah, again, it's a big myth.
15:19It's a misconception.
15:20You know, those golfers are the best golfers in the world and they're looking to optimise
15:25their performance.
15:26If they're looking to optimise their performance, then we should as well, especially given the
15:30fact that most of us are striving to be as good as we can be.
15:34And typically, when it comes to handicap and ability, a lot of golfers don't think they're
15:39good enough because potentially they just feel like they're losing too many.
15:42So it might be more of a cost thing.
15:43Right, OK.
15:44But actually, from a performance standpoint, if the golfer is looking to improve and develop
15:50as a player and get as good as they can get, when you're hitting shorter shots into the
15:54green, you could argue that higher handicappers miss more greens.
15:58So therefore, having a product, a premium golf ball, which gives them more spin and
16:03more control, makes their target bigger.
16:05So it actually makes the game easier.
16:07They're more forgiving golf balls with the shorter shots.
16:11So it gives the golfer the best opportunity to get the golf ball as close as they can
16:15to the hole, have shorter putts and shoot lower scores.
16:18So it is a big myth.
16:21But I can kind of understand potentially from a cost-effectiveness point of view.
16:27Right, we've been looking at this shot for a time now.
16:30Yeah.
16:31So it's time to lock it in.
16:33I should know the read by now, I should know.
16:40Oh, I hate to say it, you missed on the amateur side there.
16:43I did, low side, not good.
16:47So there you have it.
16:48That's our look at golf ball myths.
16:50Hopefully you found that useful.
16:51Hopefully there's been some guidance in there about some of the things that you might be
16:55thinking were true about selecting a golf ball that actually either aren't true or actually
16:59really aren't that important when it comes to finding exactly the right golf ball for you.
17:05If you do have any questions, please post them below.
17:07We'd love to hear what you think.
17:08But for now, from West Hill, it's goodbye.