Fitting Golf ball to Swing Speed?

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By Goldpanner

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  • 16 Replies
  1. Goldpanner

    Goldpanner
    Trail, BC

    Lots of confusion on matching driver swing speed to golf balls. I chatted with an assistant professional at a course yesterday who was adamant that if your swing speed is slower than 100mph then you should not be playing a ProV1 or ProV1x and you should opt for a softer golf ball.

    This did not make that much sense, because you only hit your driver a maximum 14 times per round and I know my wedges are not hit at 100mph....lol.

    What are everybody's thoughts on this? TEAM TITLEIST, would you be able to shed more light on this?

  2. Eric C

    Eric C
    DALLAS CENTER, IA

    Confusion is everywhere it seems. My driver swing speed is between 90-95 mph on a good day and I've used a Pro V1x mostly since 2014. I've tried other balls and the Titleist is just as long for me. The big difference for me is the predictability all around but especially the approach shots, well worth it. When I first started golfing I bought rock hard balls to save money, the Pro V1 and Pro V1x are soft. Everyone has an opinion, this is mine.
  3. Bomber3

    Bomber3
    Lake St Louis, MO

    Military
    We all have multiple swing speeds, with driver speed being the fastest and wedge speed being the lowest. My driver swing speed is 95 +/- 3mph and at every fitting I've gone through my fitter tells me to stick with the Pro V1x, although lately I've been playing the Pro V1. So the bottom line is that you need to be the just of what works best for you.
  4. Darryl M

    Darryl M
    Wichita, KS

    Depends on what you want off the tee, but the scoring shots are what's important and those shots are done at a slower than 100 mph swing so the ball has to react accordingly to that swing speed as well.

    My swing speed is 86-90 ball speed is around 133 launch angle is 12.5-14 degrees & spin is around 2600. I play Pro V1's I drive around 220-230 occasionally I can get to 250 with the right launch and draw but not on every drive.

    Truthfully it can come down to feel for a golfer as most Titleist balls off the tee are close in yardage give or take 5-6 yards.

    I play them for the scoring shots & I like the lower ball flight off the tee in the Kansas wind I get to play in.

    Hope this helps, but I don't agree with his comment about slow swing speeds not able to play a higher quality golf ball. The Pros hit several shots under 100 mph and the ball performs very well for them.. Just saying..

    DM
  5. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    Sounds like he might always end up as an "assistant". I know for a fact, and we proved it in Trackman data and watching the actual comparisons, that the harder ProV1x spins more and is beneficial to my slower swing speed. Did the ball fitting during the TT Short Game Experience at Pinehurst back in the spring. Not just an advantage with the driver. It also gave me more spin (height and stopping power) with my slow swinging wedge game.
  6. John G

    John G
    Napa, CA

    I played ProV1’s until a few months ago until I started playing NXT Tour Softs that were in my garage. I played really well with them especially with the feel shots and don’t feel like I lost much of anything off the tee. Now playing the Tour Softs. I don’t need Trackman to tell me what to play.
  7. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    There is the NBC commentator that has shilled "to bomb the ball you need to boom the ball" indicating that balls designed for slower driver speeds make a distance. Titleist has posted over time pictures that a Pro V1 hit at over 100 mph and at 90 mph has the same deflection.
    There is an added response at higher speeds but that is also a factor of the face deflection. JT deflects his TS-3 more than I do my TS-1. More trampoline effect.
    The advice was definitely the truth when the Titleist Professional had 100 and 90 compression balls. Titleist makes no recommendation on driver speed for ball selection. As Dale says, it came down to how each ball responds to his swing but not the speed across driver to irons. The balls from a tire company have a different opinion. The rest of us score better on performance around the green, not on 5-8 yards more off of driver, if that much.
  8. Jim S

    Jim S
    East Point, GA

    A lot of it is what your game is like. What I mean can you give up a few yards on tee shots to get more control around the greens? Sometimes the attack angle and spin effect what ball you play.
  9. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    Tried several different Titleist models and Pro V1 is just as long off the tee for me and my 85 mph swing speed, with better spin and feel around the green. I'll stick with Pro V1.
  10. gary h

    gary h
    Torrance, CA

    Just as others have shared, the right ball for you is how the ball react to your swing. You may try the Titleist ball fitting events if available. You may also buy a sleeve of Pro V 1, Pro V 1x, and the AVX and alternate these balls on your next round of golf :) Enjoy!
  11. Too many variables to say speed is most important. Temperature , wind , ball flight , etc. I switch balls to adjust to temp. , And flight. I use ProV1 and ProVX on warmer days and fast greens. I use NXT Tour for fall and spring , and in the northeast winter I use NXT soft or SOLOs. Changing Titleist balls to help my game is a easy way to adapt my game to conditions
  12. The "confusion" is completely created (in my opinion) by certain golf ball manufacturers who have built advertising campaigns around convincing people that they should buy a specific ball to "fit" a specific (driver) clubhead speed.

    Their theory seems to be that you might be able to buy an extra five or six yards with your driver if you focus entirely on "fitting" balls to your driver swing. You've got to decide if the possibility of a couple extra yards on 14 or so tee shots outweighs what happens with the other 60, 70, 80 shots during your round.

    To me Titleist's long-standing fitting approach of finding the ball that best suits your entire game, working from the green backwards to the tee shot, is totally realistic and reflects the way a serious fitting must take place if it's going to end up with the best ball for you.

    It's completely up to you whether to buy into the "confusion" or whether you'd rather stick to the time-tested approach of evaluating a ball's performance on every shot in the bag.

    For my part, if all I cared about was every last yard of driver distance I'd be playing the AVX. There's hardly any difference between AVX and Pro V1x but I'm pretty sure the AVX averages maybe 3-5 yards longer off the tee for me. But Pro V1x works a lot better with irons, wedges and short game while still being almost as long with the driver.
  13. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    It seems we're all wrapped up in numbers. Don't get me wrong; I think knowledge is power. The more info trackman can provide in terms of ball speed, trajectory , spin rate etc., the better. That said,along with how a ball responds in a given situation, how about how a ball actually feels? Don O referenced Titleist Professional 90 and 100 compression balls. I played both, and both played differently. The 90 felt a little"mushy" to me. I preferred the 100.

    I'm not saying ignore the data, but sound and feel should be a consideration as well.
  14. My swing speed is slower because on my age of 79 . I hit ball fairly straight, but not long
  15. I enjoy the feel of a pro V .but the lower quality balls also feel good , the nex soft is what I buy and like yellow balls .


  16. Eric H

    Eric H
    Ridgway, PA

    That theory is flawed to me for all the reasons you TT members have already said. You only hit your driver 1 time per hole, so why base your ball on the "max" swing speed. You need a ball that performs close to the hole as well as off the tee! boy those 100 mph swing speed chips must work out great!
  17. Although this is an old thread, from my experience, it depends on how far off the tee you plan/able to hit off the tee. Your drive should give you a good approach to the green but the key is being accurate throughout the hole. No ball will give you that.

    Having a driver speed of 100mph, your carry off the tee will be similar with any ball you use but the bounce and roll will differ slightly. The ball i choose to use is the one that gives me the best control at 150-180 yards and subsequently feels good off my putter.

    If youre getting fit at a big box retailer, save yourself some time and dont even bother. These guys are weak and have no skills over than trying to talk you into buying a certain club/ball/shaft etc...

    Spend some cash and get a true fitting experience that results with a full rundown of what numbers you can actually obtain. If they dont print you your stats, then dont give them your time.

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