I want to hear opinions on prov1 vs Taylor made TP5 vs Bridgestone vs Kirkland etc.
I can’t kick my Prov1 habit. They just feel amazing....when I hit my irons pure there is no better sound and feeling and ball flight than pasting a 5 iron dead straight into outer space.
Played Bridgestone but don’t get the same feel. Same with the Kirkland knock offs. TP5 is a great ball but when I hit a pure Prov it’s still different than a pure TP5....no idea why.
All in my head or what?
As a mid handicapper is there really a difference?
I agree as well, the feel is different.
Have you tried Vice? They've updated their lineup for 2020. I played their old versions and had durability issues but performance is similar to Pro V1. Would like to try the new ones.
Thanks for asking. My clubs are so old (about 15 years on average) I had to go to the garage for a look.
Driver - Cleveland Launcher 9.5 degrees, stiff shaft (remember their old gold shafts, it’s over 15 years old)
3 wood - Mizuno, stiff shaft
Taylor Made Rescue hybrid - 19 degrees, stiff shaft (over 15 years old)
Irons - Mizuno MP33 blades
Wedges - Cleveland (various vintages)
Putter - Scotty C Futura Phantom mallet (made 2005-2007)
My clubs on the coast are pretty close to duplicates except the driver is 10 degrees, the three wood is Titleist and the irons are MP32s (they play pretty much the same as the 33s)
Like I said, other than regular grip changes and replacing wedges as they wear, I don’t change clubs often.
And those Scotty C Futura Phantoms (with fat grips) are gems. You don’t them see much at all these days.
Oh, and I really don’t understand all this new adjustable technology. Unless a golfer wants to groove a defective swing, I guess.
How about you?
Wow, I use to play a similar set up. Had a Cleveland sponsorship back in the day so got a set of Clevelands a year for a few years. Loved the Launcher until the Titleist 983 series came out. Then made me realize that you should play the best club from any manufacturer. So I tend to move clubs in and out of the bag as the ebbs and flows of the game changes. Right now I have two different setups that I rely upon.
Driver is consistent. Taylormade R1, set to 10 degrees and neutral weighting. Custom steel shaft, stiff and a half. Stiff and a half achieved by tipping the shafts out and relying on the lower kick point. Same setup for all clubs with the exception of the wedges.
Putter is consistent 2005 Scotty Cameron Studio Design 2.5.
Set #2 - 2006 Mizuno MP32 2-PW. Mizuno TPX black wedges (52, 56, 60).
I supplement each set with a Ping Rapture 3 wood or a Ping G10 utility (15, 21, or 24 depending on need). It all depends what I think the course is most likely to need.
My favorite set of irons is the MP32. Just wonderful to play with exceptional feel. I have three sets of them, although one is a collector set from Japan that I have hit only once. I keep a set in my office, just in case a sudden round beckons.
I'm still a big Cleveland guy as well. I have a couple other sets of 588s from the 80s that are just fun to go out and play with. As hard to hit as the Hogan Apex and just as tiny to setup with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tron_fdc
Let’s talk about balls.
I want to hear opinions on prov1 vs Taylor made TP5 vs Bridgestone vs Kirkland etc.
I can’t kick my Prov1 habit. They just feel amazing....when I hit my irons pure there is no better sound and feeling and ball flight than pasting a 5 iron dead straight into outer space.
Played Bridgestone but don’t get the same feel. Same with the Kirkland knock offs. TP5 is a great ball but when I hit a pure Prov it’s still different than a pure TP5....no idea why.
All in my head or what?
As a mid handicapper is there really a difference?
Balls are a really cool topic and where "fitting" really helps. You should get on a launch monitor and see what your swing speed is and what type of spin you are creating with your clubs. This will help select the best ball for your game.
I think you want to break it down into what you can compress to get the most out of the ball. The more layers to the ball, the greater the swing speed required to make them perform. Most players have a slower swing speed, so they should be in three piece ball (Pro-V, ERC, Q-Star, and Kirkland Sig3 are the best IMO). Those with higher swing speeds can go to a four piece (Pro-Vx, Kirkland KSig Original, Truvis, Chromesoft) or five piece ball (TP5). You really have to have some swing speed to compress the four and five piece balls to get the most out of them.
To me, the most important thing is the cover. I want a ball that is going to react when I hit the green, so a soft cover is a must. To find that cover I take two balls out of a sleeve and rub them against each other. If they bite against each other, that is indicative of a nice soft cover which will really bite the club and the green. They generate the most spin as well, so if you have a shot bias you may take that into consideration. They can also be a bear to play in the wind. More wind, less spin is desirable. Also take temperature into consideration. Cooler temperatures mean you want a softer ball. So keep a sleeve or two of those in your bag too.
Personally I use the Kirkland KSig Original and Pro-V1x as my go to balls. When it gets colder or windy out I go to the Pro-V. When its frosty, I pull out the Flying Lady (no joke) and play those. They are a really great ball when it is really cold out and when your buddies are dropping distance with their Pro-Vs you'll be hitting that little pick nugget well past them. Just like your clubs, there is the right ball for the right conditions.
Hope this is helpful.
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Wow, I use to play a similar set up. Had a Cleveland sponsorship back in the day so got a set of Clevelands a year for a few years. Loved the Launcher until the Titleist 983 series came out. Then made me realize that you should play the best club from any manufacturer. So I tend to move clubs in and out of the bag as the ebbs and flows of the game changes. Right now I have two different setups that I rely upon.
Driver is consistent. Taylormade R1, set to 10 degrees and neutral weighting. Custom steel shaft, stiff and a half. Stiff and a half achieved by tipping the shafts out and relying on the lower kick point. Same setup for all clubs with the exception of the wedges.
Putter is consistent 2005 Scotty Cameron Studio Design 2.5.
Set #2 - 2006 Mizuno MP32 2-PW. Mizuno TPX black wedges (52, 56, 60).
I supplement each set with a Ping Rapture 3 wood or a Ping G10 utility (15, 21, or 24 depending on need). It all depends what I think the course is most likely to need.
My favorite set of irons is the MP32. Just wonderful to play with exceptional feel. I have three sets of them, although one is a collector set from Japan that I have hit only once. I keep a set in my office, just in case a sudden round beckons.
I'm still a big Cleveland guy as well. I have a couple other sets of 588s from the 80s that are just fun to go out and play with. As hard to hit as the Hogan Apex and just as tiny to setup with.
Balls are a really cool topic and where "fitting" really helps. You should get on a launch monitor and see what your swing speed is and what type of spin you are creating with your clubs. This will help select the best ball for your game.
I think you want to break it down into what you can compress to get the most out of the ball. The more layers to the ball, the greater the swing speed required to make them perform. Most players have a slower swing speed, so they should be in three piece ball (Pro-V, ERC, Q-Star, and Kirkland Sig3 are the best IMO). Those with higher swing speeds can go to a four piece (Pro-Vx, Kirkland KSig Original, Truvis, Chromesoft) or five piece ball (TP5). You really have to have some swing speed to compress the four and five piece balls to get the most out of them.
To me, the most important thing is the cover. I want a ball that is going to react when I hit the green, so a soft cover is a must. To find that cover I take two balls out of a sleeve and rub them against each other. If they bite against each other, that is indicative of a nice soft cover which will really bite the club and the green. They generate the most spin as well, so if you have a shot bias you may take that into consideration. They can also be a bear to play in the wind. More wind, less spin is desirable. Also take temperature into consideration. Cooler temperatures mean you want a softer ball. So keep a sleeve or two of those in your bag too.
Personally I use the Kirkland KSig Original and Pro-V1x as my go to balls. When it gets colder or windy out I go to the Pro-V. When its frosty, I pull out the Flying Lady (no joke) and play those. They are a really great ball when it is really cold out and when your buddies are dropping distance with their Pro-Vs you'll be hitting that little pick nugget well past them. Just like your clubs, there is the right ball for the right conditions.
Hope this is helpful.
That was really helpful. Especially the part about the ball construction v swing speed. I found a TP5 optic the other day and the feel was quite a bit different off my club face compared to my usual Snell Black.
I actually think a fitting for golf balls makes sense. Is there any data on club head speed or ball speed vs ball construction out there, or a rule of thumb?
Courses can really help pace of play with how they set their tee times. 10 minute intervals seems about right to me, 8 minutes is just to close and it seems those are the courses that are always backed up when I play.
Regarding balls, I spend way too much time looking for ones I lose (example, yesterday I lost 8 off the tee). I should say I am looking for a lost ball a lot, I won’t spend a lot of time actually looking though, just a quick search and then carry on. But I do tend to find a lot of balls which I then end up playing. Anecdotally this year my bag has slowly filled with Taylormade, I seem to be finding way more of them this year.
Courses can really help pace of play with how they set their tee times. 10 minute intervals seems about right to me, 8 minutes is just to close and it seems those are the courses that are always backed up when I play.
Regarding balls, I spend way too much time looking for ones I lose (example, yesterday I lost 8 off the tee). I should say I am looking for a lost ball a lot, I won’t spend a lot of time actually looking though, just a quick search and then carry on. But I do tend to find a lot of balls which I then end up playing. Anecdotally this year my bag has slowly filled with Taylormade, I seem to be finding way more of them this year.
I'm wild off the tee too, and can have 10+ penalty shots a game (its gotten better). I figure I'm just going to spend money on lessons and training aids till I get consistent, then I'll have that swing for life...giving me more time to drink with my friends instead of hitting provisionals / punching out.
That was really helpful. Especially the part about the ball construction v swing speed. I found a TP5 optic the other day and the feel was quite a bit different off my club face compared to my usual Snell Black.
I actually think a fitting for golf balls makes sense. Is there any data on club head speed or ball speed vs ball construction out there, or a rule of thumb?
Here's two sites that break balls out based on their brand and spin rate.
Here's the thing that is going to bend your mind. Faster club head speed means less spin rate. Slower swing rate generates more spin. You also have to take into consideration launch angle. All of this can be measured on a launch meter, so figuring out which ball to use is easier after you get all this information from that session. So for players with slower swings should want a low spin ball to prevent your miss hits from turning into crazy slices or hooks. Players with high swing speeds can play high spin balls as the energy will keep the ball straighter (watch out for that wind with the high spin ball). Hope this helps.
Here's the thing that is going to bend your mind. Faster club head speed means less spin rate. Slower swing rate generates more spin. You also have to take into consideration launch angle. All of this can be measured on a launch meter, so figuring out which ball to use is easier after you get all this information from that session. So for players with slower swings should want a low spin ball to prevent your miss hits from turning into crazy slices or hooks. Players with high swing speeds can play high spin balls as the energy will keep the ball straighter (watch out for that wind with the high spin ball). Hope this helps.
That actually is a mind blower. I know that the high swing speed guys can hit the power fade, now this makes more sense why the losses are less at higher swing speeds.
Also interesting that I've been learning a 3/4 punch shot for the wind, and one of the aspects is to slow the swing speed as well. I might have to take a look at the ball I play as well as technique.
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
I'm up to 73 rounds so far this summer and my body is starting to feel it. My arms and shoulders from swinging the club to my legs for all the walking I do on the course.
Even though the weather is nice I find myself taking more days off due to the soreness.
Being sore has caused me to develop some bad habits that i'm now recognizing with my swing. My mental aspect of the game has fallen off also.
I'm up to 73 rounds so far this summer and my body is starting to feel it. My arms and shoulders from swinging the club to my legs for all the walking I do on the course.
Even though the weather is nice I find myself taking more days off due to the soreness.
Being sore has caused me to develop some bad habits that i'm now recognizing with my swing. My mental aspect of the game has fallen off also.
I’m with you on this. My shoulder was getting sore and I found out that I developed a rotator cuff injury. So now I’ve been out for 3 weeks. Been doing Physio, treatments and taking anti-inflamatories. Hoping to be back in a few...
In reality though, I just hope I can back on the course before the end of the season.
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