Ball Fitting - Where did they come from, where did they go?

[stratgolf]

Might be a bit of a silly question, but does anybody find it odd that ball fittings aren't advertised more?

You're always hitting the same ball regardless of club, could argue its the single most important piece of equipment you own.

 

Is the general idea that when you get fitted for clubs your fitter should give you some guidance on clubs or?

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

Don’t assume everyone is hitting the same ball on every shot. You will read many posts about people having multiple different balls they play in a round. You will also read about people playing found balls, refurbished balls, buying balls from places like lostgolfballs.

Some golfers buy whatever’s on sale or prefer to not pay for tour level balls. They don’t think the ball is that important, you can read posts on here about members not seeing a difference between balls.

As for the ball fittings my guess is that they weren’t very popular and other than titleist the oems have moved away from doing ball specific fittings.

 

[PhilM75072]

I know that Callaway, Bridgestone, Titleist and Srixon offer ball fitting online, at least helping to determine which of their balls is best for you. Ping, since they do not offer their own ball, has  "Ballnamic" which offers ball fitting that is brand independent. 

[stratgolf]

10 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Don’t assume everyone is hitting the same ball on every shot. You will read many posts about people having multiple different balls they play in a round. You will also read about people playing found balls, refurbished balls, buying balls from places like lostgolfballs.

Some golfers buy whatever’s on sale or prefer to not pay for tour level balls. They don’t think the ball is that important, you can read posts on here about members not seeing a difference between balls.

As for the ball fittings my guess is that they weren’t very popular and other than titleist the oems have moved away from doing ball specific fittings.

 

Certainly don't assume that - but I'd guess that most members on this site would be interested in testing lots of balls to find the one that suits their equipment. Funny that we as golfers turn our nose up at $85 AUD balls but are happy to shell out $1000 AUD plus for a driver.

10 hours ago, PhilM75072 said:

I know that Callaway, Bridgestone, Titleist and Srixon offer ball fitting online, at least helping to determine which of their balls is best for you. Ping, since they do not offer their own ball, has  "Ballnamic" which offers ball fitting that is brand independent. 

Yes they certainly do - good tools, but I'd love to go hit some.

[cnosil]

17 hours ago, stratgolf said:

Might be a bit of a silly question, but does anybody find it odd that ball fittings aren't advertised more?

You're always hitting the same ball regardless of club, could argue its the single most important piece of equipment you own.

 

Is the general idea that when you get fitted for clubs your fitter should give you some guidance on clubs or?

 

 

Not a silly question.   I think your answer will depend on the knowledge level of the golfer.   The overwhelming majority of golfers walk into a store and buy off the rack or what is hot on the PGA tour (re:  Odyssey Versa putter).  Ball is primarily going to be Prov1 or Callaway for this golfer or the cheapest they can find (since they lose a lot).     

If you follow the forum you will see that there are knowledgeable golfers that play 2 piece distance balls because through experimentation they feel they work best.   I have experimented with balls and based on my club assessments know that I generally need a higher spinning ball.  I can leverage the MGS ball test to find balls that match what I am looking for.   

The question is what is a "good" ball fitting, how does it work, and where can it be done in a way that is accessible to many.  I have done some of the online fittings, I did the bridgestone fittings where you hit clubs and they tell you what works, and I have heard about the Titleist ball fitting process focused around short game needs.   

[Thin2win]

I love me a good ball fitting.  But the main blog really did such great job with their semi annual ball test that you can basically use it to find a ball with the launch / spin you want: https://mygolfspy.com/buyers-guides/golf-balls/best-golf-balls-2021/

[stratgolf]

18 minutes ago, Thin2win said:

I love me a good ball fitting.  But the main blog really did such great job with their semi annual ball test that you can basically use it to find a ball with the launch / spin you want: https://mygolfspy.com/buyers-guides/golf-balls/best-golf-balls-2021/

Holding out for the ball article dropping soon!

 

53 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 

Not a silly question.   I think your answer will depend on the knowledge level of the golfer.   The overwhelming majority of golfers walk into a store and buy off the rack or what is hot on the PGA tour (re:  Odyssey Versa putter).  Ball is primarily going to be Prov1 or Callaway for this golfer or the cheapest they can find (since they lose a lot).     

If you follow the forum you will see that there are knowledgeable golfers that play 2 piece distance balls because through experimentation they feel they work best.   I have experimented with balls and based on my club assessments know that I generally need a higher spinning ball.  I can leverage the MGS ball test to find balls that match what I am looking for.   

The question is what is a "good" ball fitting, how does it work, and where can it be done in a way that is accessible to many.  I have done some of the online fittings, I did the bridgestone fittings where you hit clubs and they tell you what works, and I have heard about the Titleist ball fitting process focused around short game needs.   

Interesting - thanks for your thoughts.

[TylorJudd]

I would agree with @cnosil, the balls fit into the off the rack purchase and retailers love uninformed consumers. Club fittings are still not widespread across the industry, and surely the ball will follow slowly behind clubs.

[revkev]

Perhaps its because I live in Florida where OEM reps love to roam in the later winter/early spring but there are ball fittings galore here.  What is very difficult to find is an agnostic ball fitting - one where the fitter will try and find the best ball for a players game.

Also there is a lot of argument about what's most important in a ball.  I'd say the most important thing is to pick one and play that one exclusively.  You can adapt the shots that you hit to the ball that you are playing so long as it's consistent.  It's even better if the ball fits your game but if you are at least using the same ball all the time you will be better off in the long run.