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Pro V1 for a 20 handicapper?

SuperStroke
I want to bring up the fact that you can still be a high handicap doesn't necessarily need to lose a lot of balls.

Yes premium balls are likely a bit better but you need to make sure it fits with your swing (like others have said).
 
As other have stated, play the best ball you can afford to loose.
 
Pro V1 is a GREAT ball...I recently got a dozen, thank you @J.B. Cobb III . Only thing I have a problem with is durability. After 18 holes a brand new ball looks like a driving range ball.
 
WICHITAREJECT said:
Pro V1 is a GREAT ball...I recently got a dozen, thank you @J.B. Cobb III . Only thing I have a problem with is durability. After 18 holes a brand new ball looks like a driving range ball.
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I’ll stick with my Srixon Divides.
 
God yes! I'm tired of watching distance balls and super low-compression balls go bounding over greens for higher handicap golfers. I'd recommend a premium ball to any golfer.
 
Where I really like the Pro V1 is around the green. They just stop so much better on the green. That being said I’ve never noticed a big difference off the tee and I prefer putting the Trufeel to just about any ball so that’s what I play.
 
Acesteve said:
I guess my counter point would be if one is slicing a pro v into the thicket or lake on a regular basis, maybe a less expensive low spin ball would be fine. On #18 my near 75 year old father sliced two terrible tee balls into the woods and as we walked up 18 I ask him why he was playing a high compression, expensive, higher spin ball vs the low spin soft balls his son uses? He said he had no idea but simply though the pro V was better. I think many less read golfers automatically think the Pro V fixes a swing or something and it does not.

on cost, I don't think I've ever bought a pro v but I have a bucket full that I've found that I use when the greens and fairways get baked out in summer. From the locations I find them, I know many high handi's are playing them;;;; short and right.
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I have nothing against ProV1's and don't mind the cost. They are great balls when I'm playing well. However, those inevitable times I'm not swinging as well, they brutally punish me. That's why I don't normally play them. Now a friend of mine swears by them and his game is very similar to mine. I introduced him to Vice balls, which are significantly less expensive, and he says he gets the same performance from them that he gets from ProV1's. The reason he doesn't play Vice is that he's not very tech savvy and hence doesn't want to go online to buy them (as they are sold direct to consumer).

My point, as others have said, is play ProV1's if they fit your game and you don't mind the cost. There are some very close alternatives out there though.
 
Rebel4life said:
I have nothing against ProV1's and don't mind the cost. They are great balls when I'm playing well. However, those inevitable times I'm not swinging as well, they brutally punish me. That's why I don't normally play them. Now a friend of mine swears by them and his game is very similar to mine. I introduced him to Vice balls, which are significantly less expensive, and he says he gets the same performance from them that he gets from ProV1's. The reason he doesn't play Vice is that he's not very tech savvy and hence doesn't want to go online to buy them (as they are sold direct to consumer).

My point, as others have said, is play ProV1's if they fit your game and you don't mind the cost. There are some very close alternatives out there though.
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totally agree

my point was simply that some golfers don't know what fits our game so we just play the well branded expensive under the assumption that it must be the best or a great choice. I certainly was like this 10 years ago and cost was the only reason I did not play the proV.
 
I play premiums. I play less-than-premiums. I play whatever ball I grab next. I've played rounds where I've played and lost 5 different ball manufacturers, all plucked from the same ball pocket.

You play whatever feels good and makes you happy. Other peoples opinions shouldn't matter. Now, if they offer good advice such as play the ball best for your game, then, give them an ear.

Play a bunch. Test a bunch. Just as it should be a fun search for the best clubs for you, this should be a fun and interesting search as well.
 
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Sorry to open an old post back up. But I'm a 20ish handicap with an ~85mph driver swing. I've always played 2 piece balls like the TruFeel, Soft Feel, etc because that's what high handicappers are supposed to play, or at least that's what the Internet says. Early in my round today I found a ProV1 and played the rest of the round with it. I hit my 5 wood about 15 yards farther than I ever have, twice. And It felt amazing around the green, especially putting. I generally only lose 1-3 balls per round, so cost isn't a real big issue. But even better is my local course sells used ProV1s for $20/dozen and if you buy three you get one free. So for $15 a dozen, I think I'm going to make the switch.
 
james75 said:
Sorry to open an old post back up. But I'm a 20ish handicap with an ~85mph driver swing. I've always played 2 piece balls like the TruFeel, Soft Feel, etc because that's what high handicappers are supposed to play, or at least that's what the Internet says. Early in my round today I found a ProV1 and played the rest of the round with it. I hit my 5 wood about 15 yards farther than I ever have, twice. And It felt amazing around the green, especially putting. I generally only lose 1-3 balls per round, so cost isn't a real big issue. But even better is my local course sells used ProV1s for $20/dozen and if you buy three you get one free. So for $15 a dozen, I think I'm going to make the switch.
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A premium ball definitely makes a difference nevermind they’ll last much longer as far as getting marks and nicks that affects performance. High handicap doesn’t mean you can’t benefit. Example: I’m a 20 currently. If I’m hitting a too flite or low end ball I will tell. If I play say a Chrome Tour I’ll better distances, feel impact different, and spin it on the greens totally differently. If someone is just launching balls everywhere though every weekend it’s hard justify forking down serious coin to lose half of them on the front 9.
 
I have no business playing a low spin driver. I do just fine, and usually better on windy days, playing classic blades, and do so frequently.
Balls are a very , very big part of your equipment that can make a huge difference in your ability to score under various conditions.l Not only doesn't one ball fit all. One ball doesn't fit all conditions as well as can be either.
 
I prefer landing short of greens, bounce and roll out or at least land front of greens & want a little release. Would the proV1work for my game better than the mid-priced ‘soft’ balls I currently play?
 
*Range Rat said:
I prefer landing short of greens, bounce and roll out or at least land front of greens & want a little release. Would the proV1work for my game better than the mid-priced ‘soft’ balls I currently play?
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If you like to hit it short and roll the ball up, you should be using a 2 piece ball. The ProV1, or any three+ piece ball, is designed to have backspin and stop.
 
My DT Trusofts were great for rolling the ball onto greens. Very consistent forward roll.
Very durable covers for bouncing the ball off cart paths that would trash any premium ball.

I switched to TM premium balls and started making birdies on short Par 3s!
I was better able to spin the ball exactly how I wanted to give me a good chance at making a birdie putt!
I couldn't do that with the old DT Trusofts.

Instead of working on distance first with driver, I did it backwards.
I worked on my left/right dispersion first, so I could hit the ball down the middle of the fairway and have my miss be on either side of the fairway.
Instead of aiming toward one side of the fairway and the miss reaching the other side of the fairway.
Once I got that figured out, I could swing with better tempo and less tension for better distance than before!

I've never been mistaken for an athlete. Half the time someone else got picked last and I was the "leftover scrub."
So I'm perfectly happy playing from the forward tees and working the ball as needed to make a hard course play easier.
 
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james75 said:
Sorry to open an old post back up. But I'm a 20ish handicap with an ~85mph driver swing. I've always played 2 piece balls like the TruFeel, Soft Feel, etc because that's what high handicappers are supposed to play, or at least that's what the Internet says. Early in my round today I found a ProV1 and played the rest of the round with it. I hit my 5 wood about 15 yards farther than I ever have, twice. And It felt amazing around the green, especially putting. I generally only lose 1-3 balls per round, so cost isn't a real big issue. But even better is my local course sells used ProV1s for $20/dozen and if you buy three you get one free. So for $15 a dozen, I think I'm going to make the switch.
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I'd play whatever you have confidence in and like the feel of. I play a soft ball because I like the way it feels on the putter face which is clearly a very personal choice. I don't think anyone has said the ProV is not a good ball.
 
If you need or want spin around the greens, the ProV's are great. the V1x gives you more iron spin, which I like.
 
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pattyboy21 said:
God yes! I'm tired of watching distance balls and super low-compression balls go bounding over greens for higher handicap golfers. I'd recommend a premium ball to any golfer.
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I agree. You have much more control around the greens.
 
james75 said:
Sorry to open an old post back up. But I'm a 20ish handicap with an ~85mph driver swing. I've always played 2 piece balls like the TruFeel, Soft Feel, etc because that's what high handicappers are supposed to play, or at least that's what the Internet says. Early in my round today I found a ProV1 and played the rest of the round with it. I hit my 5 wood about 15 yards farther than I ever have, twice. And It felt amazing around the green, especially putting. I generally only lose 1-3 balls per round, so cost isn't a real big issue. But even better is my local course sells used ProV1s for $20/dozen and if you buy three you get one free. So for $15 a dozen, I think I'm going to make the switch.
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High handicappers playing cheap balls is a lot more about economics than ball performance. If somebody is losing 5-6 balls a round and playing premium balls, they're making golf a pretty expensive proposition.
 
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