Durability Issues with Higher Spinning Balls?

[vandyland]

So, admittedly this is too early to tell but I played this past weekend with a standard ProV1. I had a bunch left over from a tournament giveaway so I decided to play them. Performance was fine but what really stood out was that it had almost no visible scuff marks after 18 holes. I can't remember the last time I played 18 holes without chewing up a ball. For reference I have been playing Maxfli Tour X balls and prior to that ProV1x. It made me wonder if the thinner cover of a higher spinning ball is easier to chew up. Has anyone else noticed such a difference? Really, I am looking for a premium golf ball that doesn't scuff as easily as the Tour X and ProV1x and I may have found it in a slightly less spin, thicker cover premium ball like the ProV1. 

[The TXBexar]

7 hours ago, vandyland said:

So, admittedly this is too early to tell but I played this past weekend with a standard ProV1. I had a bunch left over from a tournament giveaway so I decided to play them. Performance was fine but what really stood out was that it had almost no visible scuff marks after 18 holes. I can't remember the last time I played 18 holes without chewing up a ball. For reference I have been playing Maxfli Tour X balls and prior to that ProV1x. It made me wonder if the thinner cover of a higher spinning ball is easier to chew up. Has anyone else noticed such a difference? Really, I am looking for a premium golf ball that doesn't scuff as easily as the Tour X and ProV1x and I may have found it in a slightly less spin, thicker cover premium ball like the ProV1. 

Typically, I've found that the Tour & -X series type balls, which are typically the ones that help grip the grooves of the club to give you more spin, are also the ones that grip the terrain harder and scuff if they hit a hard, exposed tree root or the cart path. if you are looking for a good ball to play that is more durable, then a softer-cover version of your preferred ball would be the best sugestion to try; in this case the ProV1 in-place of the ProV1x, the MaxFli Tour (or Tour-S) in-place of the MaxFli Tour-X, The Vice pro in-place of the Vice Pro Plus, etc. Pretty much that whatever ball you like to play, if you step down from the "-X" version of the ball or switch to the "-S" version of that ball, you'll get similar overall performance with more durability, but will see a decrease in spin control and/or distance as the ball will deform more on impact and reduce the effects the club imparts on the golf ball. 

From a material science side of things, it makes sense that this is the case; if the ball can grip the club face better to provide better spin control on the ball, then if the ball contacts anything else other then the club face, it'll react the same way. The grip provided by the balls is what eventually will lead to it trying to grab and hold onto another surface, resulting in it becoming scuffed when it runs across a surface that is more coarse/rougher then the smooth club face that it is intended to be hit by (even the grooves are designed to grip but not dig into the surface of the golf ball, so it's still a rather smooth surface that hits the ball). Cart paths, trees, sand, dirt, anything gritty and anything that does not feel comfortable to run your hand across/over will eventually lead to scuffing the firmer ball surfaces the more you play in/against those conditions. 

 

[Wolfstrum]

I started the year playing the Wilson Staff Triad (85) and shifted this Fall to the 2022 Wilson Staff Model (99).  

When I hit a cart path or tree, the Wilson Staff Model does scuff up easier—there are no issues from just hitting them with the clubs.  

[Rob Person]

I have hit alot of different brands.  The ones that are the most durable seem the be the lower class lines like nitros,  topflite, warbirds, and  precept laddieX. But they are cheap for a reason.

The 3 primo brands that were the most durable this year for me were the Vice, Bridgestone B RX, and the 2023 chrome softs. 

[Johnwilliam05]

22 hours ago, vandyland said:

So, admittedly this is too early to tell but I played this past weekend with a standard ProV1. I had a bunch left over from a tournament giveaway so I decided to play them. Performance was fine but what really stood out was that it had almost no visible scuff marks after 18 holes. I can't remember the last time I played 18 holes without chewing up a ball. For reference I have been playing Maxfli Tour X balls and prior to that ProV1x. It made me wonder if the thinner cover of a higher spinning ball is easier to chew up. Has anyone else noticed such a difference? Really, I am looking for a premium golf ball that doesn't scuff as easily as the Tour X and ProV1x and I may have found it in a slightly less spin, thicker cover premium ball like the ProV1. 

 

[Johnwilliam05]

Same thing has happened in my experience.  The high spin balls get scuffs and knicks quickly. I used to play Callaway Chrome Soft X. I’d change the ball every 3 holes. Ended up switching to ProV1 but switched again because it spun too much. Went to the left dash and it has got to be the longest lasting balls I’ve ever used. Just depending on how many wedge shots I have to hit a ball can last most of the round before it gets cut by a wedge. 

[Tyler Sain]

I feel like the Callaway balls in general aren’t very durable.  Like another person mentioned, seems like every 2-3-4 holes you feel like you need to switch.  The prov’s and the prov1x’s are more durable in my opinion.  I bought some maxfli tours this weekend and weren’t to happy with their durability either.

[ZackS]

22 hours ago, vandyland said:

So, admittedly this is too early to tell but I played this past weekend with a standard ProV1. I had a bunch left over from a tournament giveaway so I decided to play them. Performance was fine but what really stood out was that it had almost no visible scuff marks after 18 holes. I can't remember the last time I played 18 holes without chewing up a ball. For reference I have been playing Maxfli Tour X balls and prior to that ProV1x. It made me wonder if the thinner cover of a higher spinning ball is easier to chew up. Has anyone else noticed such a difference? Really, I am looking for a premium golf ball that doesn't scuff as easily as the Tour X and ProV1x and I may have found it in a slightly less spin, thicker cover premium ball like the ProV1. 

I would suggest looking at the Srixon Z Star Diamond. Its is one of the highest spinning balls and the Srixon line is the most durable urethane ball I have played. 

[Jro94]

I have been playing the Srixon Z-starXV Divide for the past couple of years and they are durable. There have been plenty of times hitting a tree or a rock and couldn't find a scuff mark, hitting an asphalt cartpath will definitely leave a mark. This Fall I tried the Wilson Triad, the ball performs but scuffs quickly. I will be going back to the Srixon.

[Willie T]

Great discussion folks.  I’ve been disappointed at the quick scuffing on some of the premium balls I’ve played - the worst was the prior generation Snell MTB’s along with MaxFli Tours in Yellow.  A solid durable ball of late has been the QStar Tour - they seem to reject scuffing.  One question I regularly ponder is, How scuffed is too scuffed for the average recreational player?” 

[The TXBexar]

8 minutes ago, Willie T said:

Great discussion folks.  I’ve been disappointed at the quick scuffing on some of the premium balls I’ve played - the worst was the prior generation Snell MTB’s along with MaxFli Tours in Yellow.  A solid durable ball of late has been the QStar Tour - they seem to reject scuffing.  One question I regularly ponder is, How scuffed is too scuffed for the average recreational player?” 

For the Average player, the answer is most likely "beyond the point at which it starts to affect your game." 

The surface of the ball is the primary contributor in how & where the ball flies, so any scuff is too much if you're trying to achieve the best possible shot you can ever time you hit the ball. But ,with the price of golf balls now-a-days, you can't blame someone for trying to play a ball until it breaks or you lose it, and I'm sure most rec. players probably think "it can't hurt me anymore then my swing does."

[Willie T]

11 minutes ago, The TXBexar said:

But ,with the price of golf balls now-a-days, you can't blame someone for trying to play a ball until it breaks or you lose it, and I'm sure most rec. players probably think "it can't hurt me anymore then my swing does."

Very true - I have a number of “beater” balls that look like somebody sanded the dimples.  They are purely for yard practice….for me - run in with trees and paved cart paths are the major contributors to ball retirement.  So it really comes down to how cost effective is a premium ball over a less premium ball - how much is a urethane cover really worth to the recreational golfer’s game?  Many of the guys I play with are severely anti-premium and they will say their game does not warrant such - losing a $1 Wilson / Precept / Noodle is far less stressful than a $5 Pro-V / Z Star / Chrome Tour….

[The TXBexar]

1 minute ago, Willie T said:

So it really comes down to how cost effective is a premium ball over a less premium ball - how much is a urethane cover really worth to the recreational golfer’s game?  Many of the guys I play with are severely anti-premium and they will say their game does not warrant such - losing a $1 Wilson / Precept / Noodle is far less stressful than a $5 Pro-V / Z Star / Chrome Tour….

Yeah that's understandable, but there is a middle ground where you can get a better ball that will make a difference to your game.

Pro V's and Tours are designed for people with particular swing styles, but there's plenty of good Urethane 3-layer balls that will help parts of a persons game, while still being soft enough to add forgiveness to hook & slice prone swings, without costing ya $5/ball.

If they'd ever try it, I bet they'd be amazed at how nice a shot they make with something like a Vice Pro Air, Callaway Chrome Soft, Bridgestone B SX, etc.