Does The Golf Ball Make A Difference For A Beginner? Yes, but…

• There’s not much upside for beginners to use expensive, ‘advanced’ golf balls
• As a beginner, you will lose plenty of balls, and using expensive ones can make this cost prohibitive
• The less expensive balls are harder and travel further with slower club head speeds
• In addition, the more expensive and softer balls are prone to generating undesired sidespin
• Instead of beginners investing in expensive, top-of-the-line golf balls, invest in golf lessons!

As a beginner golfer, I made the costly mistake of investing in expensive golf balls.

I cursed every time I hit one in the lake or the woods. I quickly realized that this was not a sustainable way to play golf. I needed to find a different solution.

I would lose one or two every time I went out on the course. I quickly realized that using expensive balls was not worth it for me as a beginner.

I did some research and discovered that cheaper balls were just as good, if not better, for beginner golfers like me.

The less expensive balls are more hard and travel further with slower club head speeds.

In addition, the more expensive and softer balls are prone to generating undesired sidespin.

This can be really detrimental for beginner golfers who are still learning how to control their shots. Instead of beginners investing in expensive, top-of-the-line golf balls, invest in golf lessons!

A good coach can help you learn how to control your shots and play better golf. Lessons are a much wiser investment buying expensive golf balls.

So, does using a top-of-the-line golf ball make a difference to a beginner golfer?

It may be true that a beginner golfer could get along just fine with any old golf ball. In all likelihood, they won’t notice if they’re playing with a low-quality ball as opposed to one of the best balls on the market.

But there are many things that can change in performance characteristics when you switch to something else- especially as your game evolves as a novice.

A professional golfer, for example, can often tell an F-grade golf ball from an A+ grade model just by looking at it. When they swing, they can tell the difference in performance.

Since something a good golfer can do is probably within an amateur’s abilities, the range of what is possible improves enormously when you start using a top-level ball.

Actually, yes. A better quality golf ball can dramatically increase distance, accuracy, and consistency in your game over what would be achieved with old balls or even mid-level ones that are badly scuffed up. This can make all the difference for a player starting.

For example, a pro-level ball can be an inch in diameter or more. This may not seem like a big deal, but the larger size will cause the ball to fly through the air faster, which means further distances without sacrificing control or accuracy.

In some cases, an overall gain of ten yards for each stroke could be achieved. The beginner golfer will find this is as good as gold when getting satisfaction from their game.

It can even help them understand what facilities are available in the area and, from there, determine which courses they want to play before investing money into any particular one.

It’s also true that beginners will see their drives becoming more straight when using a high-quality ball. Many scuffed-up balls have become deformed on the course and have a much less consistent flight path.

The ball will tend to fly in a slightly upward trajectory, and drastically increased distance is unlikely. This is why the average golfer can’t seem to get anywhere on the course.

Low-quality golf balls can also be less consistent than their high-quality counterparts. The ball may bounce around on the green, not stick in the ground or take a wide path when it falls, which makes it hard for a beginner golf player to read the flight of their shot accurately enough even to attempt a putt.

A good ball will have a predictable flight path that can be controlled with the club head, allowing most players to make solid contact to hit their shot.

A decent ball will also have softer outer rubber that won’t crack on impact and deform, making it hard for the golfer to predict where their ball will go. This makes it difficult to control where the ball goes on the course, which means it’s impossible to train properly.

They may practice the correct swing repeatedly but never seem to get much better because they don’t know if they’re doing anything right or not.

Does a beginner golfer need something as good as the pros use?

No, they don’t. Many cheap and high-quality golf balls are available to players of all skill levels. No rule says a beginning golfer must use the same equipment as a professional. But there are some lessons to be learned here too.

They should ensure they have something in their bag that they’re happy with and will use regularly. They shouldn’t focus on the high-end balls but also shouldn’t settle for anything that is painfully inferior.

Whether they decide to get something a grade or two above what they can afford or not, the experienced golfer should try to buy a high-quality ball. It just may make all the difference in their game and give them more satisfaction than using low-quality models ever could.

Conclusion

Golf balls were once made out of gutta-percha, a latex-like substance that was boiled. This material could be formed into a round ball and did not need to be glued together for its ultimate hold.

As technology advanced, the gutta-percha was replaced by rubber, plastic, and eventually synthetic materials that improved performance.