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what is the difference between hard and soft golf balls

by Felix Quitzon Published 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago
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  • The softer ball flies higher in the air.
  • The hardball has a greater side-to-side spin than the softball.
  • The distance is identical in both balls.

The main difference between a soft and hardball is that the softer ball feels much better when you hit it. Back in the 20s, there were two types of golf balls, Balata and hard cover golf balls. The Balata balls were designed to promote spin, whereas the hard-cover balls were created to provide more distance.Oct 9, 2020

Full Answer

What are the softest golf balls?

Aug 15, 2021 · The terms “soft” and “hard” indicate how the golf ball feels when it hits the ground. Soft golf balls are good for golfers with slower swing rates, as they provide more range and a better path. If you perform with a fast swing speed or you are an experienced golfer, a hardball can support you with superior control. Most golfers will find that both soft and hard golf balls …

What is the best golf ball for an average player?

Jan 19, 2022 · With the driver, hard golf balls offer a higher spin rate and fly straighter than soft-cover balls. Since the spin rates and launch angle are almost the same, there’s not much difference between a soft and hard golf ball in terms of distance. However, the spin rate with the soft golf ball is much less, giving you more distance.

What is the softest golf ball?

Oct 09, 2020 · The main difference between a soft and hardball is that the softer ball feels much better when you hit it. Back in the 20s, there were two types of golf balls, Balata and hard cover golf balls. The Balata balls were designed to promote spin, whereas the hard-cover balls were created to provide more distance.

What are the best golf balls?

24 rows · Dec 27, 2020 · Hardball and softball tend to serve in two different ways. For consistent spin control and accuracy, ...

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Is it better to have a soft or hard golf ball?

In almost all cases, an average golfer will prefer a softer golf ball over a firmer ball. Softer balls normally have a lower compression rating which means it will take less club speed to properly compress the ball. This will result in straighter shots and a better feeling golf ball.

Do softer golf balls go further?

Although softer golf balls go further from the tee for lower swing speed players, the gap across the whole range of ball types is only around 5 yards, so it is more important to fit the ball to your irons and then fit your driver to your preferred ball to maximise distance.Feb 8, 2016

Should beginner golfers use soft or hard balls?

Several studies have shown that the distance difference between hard golf balls and soft golf balls is often only five yards or less. The reason most beginners should choose a soft golf ball is because of the high amount of forgiveness they offer.

What is the advantage of soft golf balls?

A low compression ball helps to reduce the amount of ball speed lost on mis-hits and provides performance through the bag to help golfers get the most out of every shot they encounter on the course. Softer golf balls also allow the golfers to hit the ball higher which is beneficial to most golfers.May 7, 2019

Are soft golf balls more forgiving?

The softer ball offers more game control on poorly centered hits and offers increased distance on low impact shots. I've ranked them a bit lower because of cost. These Titleist Tour golf balls are ideal for beginner golfers who require plenty of forgiveness on their hits. What do golfers have to say?

Which golf ball should I be playing?

Most beginner and recreational golfers use a two-piece golf ball for greater distance while minimizing spin. If you're a skilled golfer, you'll want to look for a golf ball with more layers to improve control and feel.

Do warm golf balls go further?

Generally, a warmer golf ball travels farther. The rubber materials used to make golf balls respond better if they are more resilient. Warmth enhances resiliency. A warmer ball will come off the clubface with more velocity and spin than a colder ball, encouraging loft.

Which golf ball is easiest?

Simply put, yellow golf balls are a lot easier to see. This is especially true with the fluorescent or neon yellow hue found on many balls, including the Srixon Q-Star and Q-Star Tour.Mar 9, 2021

Are Pro V1 good for high handicappers?

Should High Handicappers Use Pro V1 Balls? As a general rule, most golf coaches wouldn't recommend Pro V1 to a high handicapper. The extra cost and higher compression rating make Pro V1 suited for better players with higher swing speeds.

Do distance golf balls go further?

Analyzing the individual ball statistics we can see that the Titleist Pro V1x averaged the farthest distance as well at 266.7 yards. Meanwhile, the Callaway Chrome Soft X averaged the shortest distance at only 259.3 yards. This results in a difference between the average maximum and minimum of only 7.4 yards.Jun 27, 2019

Do expensive golf balls make a difference?

The average golfer won't get enough benefit to justify paying the higher price and would be better off using that money to work on their swing. The only benefit to an expensive golf ball would be the increased spin around the green and the nice soft feel at impact.

Is it worth buying premium golf balls?

Yes. Premium multilayer balls with urethane covers generally are superior because they perform well throughout the bag. On wedge shots, for example, they spin more because of the soft urethane cover, and off the tee they have the same distance-producing characteristics as firmer Surlyn balls.May 3, 2015

What golf ball should I use?

As a beginner, this is a relatively common and popular question. Although most of the quality golf balls that you would find in the market fall in the category of softball, a hardball, in some instances, can also be a worthy choice. Here are some of the facts to consider before deciding.

Golf ball compression chart

In case you are thinking about choosing a golf ball depending on the ball's compression, here is a comparison chart that will cover some of the most renowned golf balls compression.

What is my strategy?

It is true that golf balls are getting softer day by day, but that should not mean hard golf balls are getting extinct. All the golfing manufacturers are trying to put both the features of a softball and a hardball in a single item, making the ball more durable, accurate.

Historical Differences Between Hard and Soft Golf Balls

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, there were two types of golf balls. Balata golf balls were made with a soft cover designed to promote spin, especially on short iron and pitch shots. Hard-cover balls were designed almost solely for distance and provided very little spin on shots around the green.

Innovation Reaches the Golf Ball

Around the turn of the 21st century, golf ball manufacturers began experimenting with materials to combine the spin properties of balata balls with the distance characteristics of hard-cover balls.

Current Differences Between Hard and Soft Balls

With the growth in technological innovation within the golf ball industry, hard-cover golf balls are relatively nonexistent today. Instead, the difference between cheap and expensive golf balls results from the cost of materials in the core and the mantle, the area between the core and cover.

How to Find the Right Ball

Finding the right golf ball for your game should depend on your goals and how much money you are willing to spend. Rob Akins, a PGA professional and “Golf Digest” contributor, suggests finding out how the ball reacts around the green to find the ball that will work best for you.

What is a soft golf ball?

By Bill Herrfeldt. Softer golf balls are ideal for shots around the green. If you have a high golf handicap, the ball you choose to hit makes little difference. If you like a particular brand of golf ball or prefer one type of ball over another, you should use it regularly. But as your game improves, the ball you use can make a difference in ...

Do golf balls fly longer?

Some golf balls fly a longer distance and some allow the player to have more “feel” of the shot, while others make it easier to impart more backspin. It all depends on the importance you place on each.

Do dimples affect golf balls?

Dimples. Contrary to popular belief, dimples do not affect the amount of backspin you can impart on a golf ball. However, dimples do affect how long a golf ball stays in flight and, therefore, how long you can hit the ball.

Who is Bill Herrfeldt?

Bill Herrfeldt specializes in finance, sports and the needs of retiring people, and has been published in the national edition of "Erickson Tribune," the "Washington Post" and the "Arizona Republic.". He graduated from the University of Louisville.

Why do golf balls have multiple layers?

This is because it provides the players with a complete package. The multiple layers function well with one another to provide optimum spin, feel, and distance. Each layer gets activated depending on your swing speed and the club you are using.

What is the compression rating of a golf ball?

On average, most of the golf balls' compression rating lies between 50 and 100.

What is high spin golf ball?

High Spin Golf Balls: High spinning balls are mainly designed to enhance the ball's spin-off in the air. When you hit a golf ball, it’s released into the air with a sufficient degree of backspin. This ball can further increase this backspin, thereby creating a longer carrying distance.

What is mid spin golf?

The mid-spinning models lie in between the lower spins and the high spin options and bridge the gap between them. This makes it suitable for golfers who have average swing speed and control.

Feel and Compression

Just to bring everyone up to speed here; soft feel is primarily the result of low compression. Compression is a measure of how much a ball deforms under load. The harder the ball, the less it deforms.

Simplifying Soft

That’s not entirely cool so I’m going to take a shot at putting all of this soft stuff in context for you.

PGA TOUR Soft Golf Balls

Let’s start with the top of the food chain – the urethane-covered tour ball. And by “tour ball,” I mean golf balls that are legitimately played on the PGA TOUR – or at least meet the criteria.

Non-Tour Urethane Soft Golf Balls

I was tempted to call this category Value Urethane but with AVX, Chrome Soft and RX/RXS in the mix, a good bit of the category matches the tour stuff dollar for dollar. If price isn’t the differentiator, what is? Very often it’s, you guessed it, feel.

Premium Ionomer Soft Golf Balls

At the risk of digression, for my two cents, Premium Ionomer is an oxymoron. In the ball world, premium and ionomer/Surlyn are diametrically opposed. As soon as you choose one, you can’t have the other. And yet, somehow, here we are…again.

Cheap Ionomer Soft Golf Balls

Cheap isn’t necessarily reflective of quality here but it also isn’t not reflective of quality.

Really Soft Feel Costs Less

We’re not having a performance discussion today so there are only two correlations I want you to think about right now.

4 Tips For Choosing The Right Golf Ball

We don’t have hundreds of best friend, do we? It’s best to stick with a golf ball that you have tried and tested.

Expensive vs Less Expensive Golf Balls

We have heard many say that the price doesn’t matter when choosing a golf ball. But do you really think premium balls would perform the same as less expensive ones?

Golf Balls Categorized By Construction

One-piece golf balls are primarily for recreational golfers. Beginners can also start with these.

Balls From The Perspective Of Spin

Basically, there are 3 types of golf balls. You can either choose low spin, mid spin or high spin golf balls.

Choosing Balls According to Outer Cover Preference

For this, you need to decide what is your style of play and what skills you have.

Ball Preference According To Compression

Compression is the unique feature of a golf ball that tells you if a ball has a hard or soft feeling.

Frequently Asked Golf Ball Questions

Sure you can. There is law in golf that says you can’t have different balls for different shots.

What is Compression?

Compression is a measurement of the deformation of the golf ball under a static load. As the deformation of the ball increases, the compression value decreases.

Summary

Testing of a significant number of golfers indicates that low compression/soft feel golf balls are preferred by a majority of players regardless of handicap. With the correct design, low compression golf balls can be produced that have distance performance that is as long or longer than higher compression golf balls.

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Historical Differences Between Hard and Soft Golf Balls

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Throughout the second half of the 20th century, there were two types of golf balls. Balata golf balls were made with a soft cover designed to promote spin, especially on short iron and pitch shots. Hard-cover balls were designed almost solely for distance and provided very little spin on shots around the green. The overwhelmin…
See more on sportsrec.com

Innovation Reaches The Golf Ball

  • Around the turn of the 21st century, golf ball manufacturers began experimenting with materials to combine the spin properties of balata balls with the distance characteristics of hard-cover balls. Researchers found that adding layers to the ball combined the properties of hard-cover and soft-cover balls, depending on the velocity of the golfer's swing.
See more on sportsrec.com

Current Differences Between Hard and Soft Balls

  • With the growth in technological innovation within the golf ball industry, hard-cover golf balls are relatively nonexistent today. Instead, the difference between cheap and expensive golf balls results from the cost of materials in the core and the mantle, the area between the core and cover. More expensive balls are multilayered, offering a different feel for different types of shots. For e…
See more on sportsrec.com

How to Find The Right Ball

  • Finding the right golf ball for your game should depend on your goals and how much money you are willing to spend. Rob Akins, a PGA professional and “Golf Digest” contributor, suggests finding out how the ball reacts around the green to find the ball that will work best for you. He also states that the ball that stops quickest on the green is the one you should get, even if that means sacrif…
See more on sportsrec.com

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