Does the ball really make that much of a difference? If not on your game it definitely does on your pocket book. There is only one piece of equipment necessary for every golf shot…the ball. You can play with 14 clubs, or only 1. You can walk or ride. Carry your clubs or pull them. Have a caddie or not. But you absolutely, positively, must use a ball…and by the rules it must be the same ball from start to finish unless it is damaged or lost during the course of play. But you still have choices when it comes to that one essential piece of equipment—you can pay through the nose for them or not. You can buy them or find them. They have differing cover materials, strengths, hardness, softness, spin, dimple design, color, brand, you name it you can pretty much get it in a golf ball. I have seen them white, blue, yellow, glow-in-the-dark, even camouflage (I have a hard enough time finding my balls as it is). What ball to play is completely your choice, but I wanted to comment on the myths behind differences in 2 of the most popular or most recognized golf balls on the market—Titleist and Top-Flight balls.

There are only a handful of companies that actually manufacture golf balls world-wide. But they are marketed by many different companies under hundreds of different brands, styles, and specifications, and things can get pretty confusing if you don’t know what to look for. I am not going to bore you with spec-data on different golf ball styles, etc.; primarily because I don’t understand all the hub-bub myself. But what I am going to do is give you a hacker’s perspective of the differences I experienced playing a round of golf using 2 balls—a Titleist NXT Tour and a Top-Flight XL3000.

First a little about me: I am a 3-handicap hacker…yeah, I know, most people wouldn’t call a 3 handicap being a “hacker” but I am the type of golfer who plays most weekends, practices a little when I can (but really don’t like to), doesn’t play much competitively (mostly scramble tournaments drinking beer with my buddies), but is pretty “ate-up” with the game in general. I play on a budget, am a member of a pretty cheap local club so I can maximize my golf experiences playing whenever I want to; I prefer the high-dollar golf balls but can’t always afford them; I don’t dig through the woods looking for my ball or for lost balls like others do. Truth is, my balls don’t get lost much and I figure when they do it was time for them to go. This particular day I played my local course and played the two balls separately, alternating which tee ball I hit first so not to skew the results of this highly scientific experiment.

The Balls:

Titleist NXT Tour; the “cheapie” Titleist ball that seems to perform nearly as well as the high dollar Pro-V1 balls. On a budget, performance at $28 a dozen is better than $48. It’s like the college kid who can’t afford Bud Light, so he buys Busch light instead. This ball is pretty soft, spins good, is straight, and I like the feel of it around the greens.

Top-Flight XL3000 (now replaced by the XL5000); the run of the mill Top-Flight ball found at Wal-Mart. You can get a box of 15 for $12. This is Mad-Dog 20/20 for the college kid. This ball is harder than grandma’s fruitcake, doesn’t generate much spin, and I hate the way it sounds and feels when I hit it.

The Results:

I was on average 15 yards longer off the tee with the Titleist ball, although I did outdrive it once with the Top-Flight ball. My approach shot results were pretty similar, only because I hit the Titleist ball further with spin so it stopped quicker on the greens (I could hit hole high and have it stay there), and with the Top Flight it landed shorter but ran out further. I putted better with the Titleist ball because I like the “feel” or the sound it makes when my putter hits it. The Top-Flight ball makes a louder sounds and just doesn’t “feel” as good. The difference in balls wasn’t really reflected in the scores: Titleist ball—1 under 71. Top-Flight ball—2 over 73. Both pretty good scores.

Bottom line is that for the very low handicapper, the more expensive balls will perform better and you can tell the difference in your game. For the high handicapper, performance doesn’t matter that much. Think of it this way—the low handicapper who never loses a ball and plays a new one each round can play 12 rounds for $48. The high handicapper who loses 5 balls each round can play 12 rounds for $48. Whichever you choose, make sure you always have the balls to play!