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How Uniform are Your Balls?


SethO

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I have been thinking a lot about balls lately. Specifically, I have been thinking about what makes one brand better than the other. I understand that compression, spin off various clubs, launch speeds, and etcetera make a certain ball for someone's swing better than another, but what about consistency? If I get preferable numbers with both the B330s and Pro V1, how would I make my choice (considering that one buys new and not from golfballnut or similar site)?

 

The main thing I wonder is how similar one ball from the pack is to another? What are the manufacturing tolerances for golf balls? Has this ever been tested?

Life before death

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Golf balls are manufactured so much better these days than balls from the '80s and '90s.  You should not see any difference between balls of the same brand/model.  The best ball for you will be the one that gives you the best numbers, performs the best on the course for the way you play the game, and feels the best to you.

 

According to Dean Snell, even a ball that has been played several rounds is still good to play unless it has obvious defects.  If you want to read about golf balls and their performance under different conditions, read this great thread from last year:

 

http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/13666-quo-vadis-golf-ball/page-1

 

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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Thanks for that link, KB. My question is not which ball is best for my swing, but which one is more consistent. You see XOUT balls all the time and they are not tourney legal, but the practice balls are. I am assuming XOUT balls are ones that do not meet QA requirements which leads me to wonder what is acceptable deviation.

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Just my 2 cents...

 

If wondering if the 1st ball in a sleeve has some minor microscopic imperfection as compared to the 2nd ball in a sleeve is what you are thinking about, and wondering if it's holding back your game, you've got bigger fish to fry than any difference between balls.

 

Don't worry about it, just pick your ball and go play.

Driver: :taylormade-small: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black

3w: :taylormade-small:'16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82

5w: :cleveland-small: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow

Hybrid: :cleveland-small: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black

Irons: :cleveland-small: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Wedges: :cleveland-small: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Putter: :odyssey-small: Red 7s

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I don't think any of us can tell the difference between new balls in a sleeve, or balls from different dozens for that matter.  The tolerances are really good these days.  

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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I got an email from Hank haney the other day, selling his swing dvd's......He basically said, You should spend more time with your swing than with the type of ball you play.

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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I got an email from Hank haney the other day, selling his swing dvd's......He basically said, You should spend more time with your swing than with the type of ball you play.

That makes sense, but I don't think that really answers Seth's question. He was wondering more about the manufacturing tolerances different ball companies have
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Haha. Not quite the response I envisioned. I should have stated that my game is not good enough to tell the tolerances in one golf ball vs the next in a pack.

This is a subject that I have never seen discussed and I figured MGS members would have some good opinions on the topic. This is NOT about my game. I thought this community was all about raw data and equipment performance. Perhaps I was mistaken.

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I don't think any of us can tell the difference between new balls in a sleeve, or balls from different dozens for that matter. The tolerances are really good these days.

I certainly agree. I definitely can't tell. I get my balls from Golfballnut and I buy Near Mint. I definitely don't have an issue. I am just happy when the middle of the club actually finds the ball.

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That makes sense, but I don't think that really answers Seth's question. He was wondering more about the manufacturing tolerances different ball companies have

 

 

The point is, you need to have a solid grip on your swing before you venture into balls.......I just thought Haney was trying to sell more dvd's....LOL

 

As for the tolerances in golfballs, I have opened a brand new Bridgestone B330RX sleeve and noticed tiny imperfections on the cover.  As when you roll the ball around in your hand, you feel tiny little nicks that are not supposed to be there.  The same is true for other brands as well.  When this occurs, I simply try to remove them with a file or knifeblade.  I don't think that the mfg tolerances are publicly reported.  While Titleist and Pinnacle are made on the same factory lines, they do not carry the same tolerance numbers. 

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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The point is, you need to have a solid grip on your swing before you venture into balls.......I just thought Haney was trying to sell more dvd's....LOL

 

As for the tolerances in golfballs, I have opened a brand new Bridgestone B330RX sleeve and noticed tiny imperfections on the cover. As when you roll the ball around in your hand, you feel tiny little nicks that are not supposed to be there. The same is true for other brands as well. When this occurs, I simply try to remove them with a file or knifeblade. I don't think that the mfg tolerances are publicly reported. While Titleist and Pinnacle are made on the same factory lines, they do not carry the same tolerance numbers.

Thanks for the insightful reply.

 

There is so much that goes into the manufacturing of balls. Think about it, a V1x has 4 layers and each layer has to be a uniform thickness and centered properly. They sell devices that will show you the balance point of a ball. I don't use this or ever seriously thought about buying one, but that tells me that there is something to this thought. IMO, the imperfections in the turf would have more of effect while putting. As far as surface imperfections, I would not think these would have a drastic effect on flight unless it has bad path rash.

Life before death

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Yeah, BITD we used to carry a metal plate with the center cut out.  We could then check to see if our ball was still round.

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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That's right foz. I had a washer like ring to insert the ball in and roll around. That was back in the balata days. (I'll look to see if I can find it somewhere and post a pic)

Anyway... I think most all balls are made to close tolerances these days. Even the more bargain models. As for my game? I just play a decent quality "tour" level ball. ie... Snell, etc. I don't believe anyone at any level of play could tell a difference between balls.

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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It's an intriguing question.

 

Like a couple of longer in the tooth guys on here I well recall when it did matter.  You needed to check the balls that you were going to play before the round because you were bound to have a defective one or two out of a dozen.

 

I can't recall the last time that I took a ball from a sleeve and felt that I had an issue with it because it was defective.  But I don't know that I have seen a test to verify that observation.  Sorry about that.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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It's an intriguing question.

 

I can't recall the last time that I took a ball from a sleeve and felt that I had an issue with it because it was defective. But I don't know that I have seen a test to verify that observation. Sorry about that.

This right here! I was hoping someone would know, but it seems a thing we all take for granted. I suppose, as has been pointed out, that tolerances are so good these days that getting 12 exact duplicate balls is not a real issue, but who has tested it?

Life before death

Strength before weakness

Journey before destination

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This right here! I was hoping someone would know, but it seems a thing we all take for granted. I suppose, as has been pointed out, that tolerances are so good these days that getting 12 exact duplicate balls is not a real issue, but who has tested it?

Didn't entirely mean to be contrite with my last post, I just think it's a non-issue.

 

I will say you've definitely made me think about it.  If the tolerance on balls were anything like the tolerances on club lofts/lie's I just think we would have heard about it by now.  I know I'm making a big assumption when it comes to the golf ball (and we all know what means) but if it was an issue I feel like it would have been brought up by now.

 

Anyway it's an interesting question, I just don't think the answer will make much difference for me.

Driver: :taylormade-small: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black

3w: :taylormade-small:'16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82

5w: :cleveland-small: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow

Hybrid: :cleveland-small: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black

Irons: :cleveland-small: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Wedges: :cleveland-small: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Putter: :odyssey-small: Red 7s

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In regards to the actual question...you'll have to ask my wife!  :lol:  :blink:

In the bag:
Driver: :titelist-small: TSR2 Project X HZRDUS Black 5.5
Fairway: :callaway-small: Apex UW 19° & 21° Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 5.5

Irons: :mizuno-small: JPX 923 HMP 5-PW UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Wedges: :mizuno-small: T-22 Denim Copper 48°, 52° & 56° UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Putter :Sub70: Sycamore 005 Wide Blade
Bag: 
:Ogio: Alpha Convoy 514
Balls: :callaway-small: Chrome Soft X

Cart: :CaddyTek: CaddyLite ONE Ver. 8


God Bless America🇺🇸, God save the King🇬🇧, God defend New Zealand🇳🇿 and thank Christ for Australia🇦🇺!

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In regards to the actual question...you'll have to ask my wife!  :lol:  :blink:

We Aussies must think the same, can't help ourselves.

 

As for the OP, I've never noticed any inconsistency between balls from the same box. I have noticed a slight difference moving from last years model to the current one, but probably because of different packaging, rather than performance differences.

:Sub70:  849 Pro Evenflow Riptide 6.0
:cobra-small: F8 3 & 5 Woods Project X Evenflow Blue 6.0

:titelist-small: TS2 7 Wood Project X Evenflow Blue 6.0
:mizuno-small:  MP18 MMC - Project X LZ 5.5
:cleveland-small: Zipcore Wedges 50,54,58 - Project X LZ 5.5
MLA Tour Mallet 33"
:srixon-small:  Z Star
:ping-small: Pioneer bag
:Clicgear: buggy

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Didn't entirely mean to be contrite with my last post, I just think it's a non-issue.

 

I will say you've definitely made me think about it. If the tolerance on balls were anything like the tolerances on club lofts/lie's I just think we would have heard about it by now. I know I'm making a big assumption when it comes to the golf ball (and we all know what means) but if it was an issue I feel like it would have been brought up by now.

 

Anyway it's an interesting question, I just don't think the answer will make much difference for me.

I didn't take your last post as contrite. What I was thinking is if there was truly a "Best Ball In Golf." If one was to take a cross section of balls from the top 5 ball manufacturers and do an autopsy, which brand would be the most consistent. Like you said, it would not likely matter much if at all, but it is interesting to think aboot.

Life before death

Strength before weakness

Journey before destination

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That's right foz. I had a washer like ring to insert the ball in and roll around. That was back in the balata days. (I'll look to see if I can find it somewhere and post a pic)

Anyway... I think most all balls are made to close tolerances these days. Even the more bargain models. As for my game? I just play a decent quality "tour" level ball. ie... Snell, etc. I don't believe anyone at any level of play could tell a difference between balls.

I remember those but had completely forgotten about them. Obviously goes to show how far the balls have come.

 

My balls are generally in play for 9 holes or until I lose one. After that I don't like the scuffs and they get relegated to the shag bag.

:titelist-small: 913 D2 9.5° Diamana BlueBoard S+ 62g

:callaway-small: Diablo Octane Tour 15° Fujikura Motore F3 S-60

  :callaway-small: Big Bertha Hawk Eye VFT 5W Callaway RCH-96

:mizuno-small: MP-22 HMB 19° N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120

:mizuno-small:  MP-55 4-PW N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 

:cleveland-small:  RTX-3 RAW 54.8 DGS400

:cleveland-small:  RTX-3 RAW 60.6 DGS400

:cameron-small:  Studio Style Newport 2.5

:titelist-small:  ProV1

 

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