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I see huge differences in prices between balls, my question is does the ball really really matter all that much? Because I prefer just buying the cheap ones where I can get 2 dozens for 20 bucks. And if it does matter whats the difference in performance?

How good are you? Beginner, average, great? Also, how many do you lose per round?

It depends, some people cant notice a difference, some people feel a huge difference. The longer you've been playing, the more it makes a difference. For example, Charles Howell III had to play Tiger's Nike one platinum when they were playing alternate shot at the Presidents cup this year. From 190 or so Howell usually hits a 6iron (hes a monster with his irons). He did with tigers ball, and it came up 20 yards short of the pin. So obviously there is a difference there.

If you are not a single digit golfer it is best to stick with balls that spin good and help eliminate too much spin on full shots with irons or woods. I've had great success with the Distance version of the top flite D2's. I get better stopping with pro v1's but for about 1/3 of the cost I'll use the D2's most of the time. The problem you have with top line balls is if you aren't good enough then they will cost you strokes around the green. The balls when hit correctly bite and stop leaving you long putts and when you don't hit them correct they rollout leaving long putts. Those that play well can stop them by a consistent amount and know what to expect because they hit it consistently well. The best thing is to find a ball by trying many and stick with what you find gives you the most consistent results every time.

Yes there is, but as other said only as you get better and have slighter degrees of perfection.

Cold weather it also makes a differnce the 2 dozen for 20 often play better in the cold. I was playing today in 30 degree weather and hit 6 balls -- 3 pro v1s and 3 rocks (2 Cheap Nikes and a Wilson Spongebob ball). All shots were fairly the same and landed close to each other, but Spongebob went the furthest - not true for me when I did the opposite playing in warm weather. Just something else to think about that all has to do with ball compression.

I feel a difference on the green.. does that mean I feel one ball is better? no, Prov1's seem to come off the face of my putter like a soggy sponge. Other balls including cheaper one's come off like a rock..


I like the rock feeling better..


Other than that, I honestly don't notice a difference at all.. I also know some scratch golfers that don't notice anything either and some 25 handicappers that won't play golf without the most expensive ball..

Bottom line? A ball is not going to make a you a better player.

It's very possible that they could play better if they have more confidence by playing a premium ball. On the other hand, if they are a higher handicap and just want to play the best, even if their game isn't right for a ball like that, it may hurt their game more than help. You're going to get more spin on the greens, and who doesn't love that. I still remember the first time I got a ball to back up on a green. For a while, it didn't help me though, because I wasn't hitting it consistent enough for results that would repeat themselves. Another thing is you're also going to get more spin off of your driver, so that 10 yard fade with your driver may turn into a 20 yard slice (I'm not sure on specifics, just giving an example).

I really like the prov1 that I play...the feel, workability, spin and how they roll...played with a dirty rock that I found a few weeks ago (topflite 2000 or something) just for kicks as my round wasn't going that well and went even par for the last 7 holes...I hated the feel, the sound and I lost some spin...didn't hurt me a bit and if anything I played better once I started with the topflite (literally caked with dirt)...I get more enjoyment from prov1s and will continue to play them because they feel good but to be brutally honest with myself, it is the rare situation around the green where they make a standout difference...

HIgh spin/high priced balls matter if you hit the green with your approach shot. If you miss most greens, it doesn't really matter is the ball spins or not. Also helps around the greed with chips and pitchs, Again, if your short game stinks, not sure it would matter very much what ball you're playing. Off the tee, if you fight a slice, high spin balls will make it worse. If you lose a lot of balls every round, it's most likely not a good idea to buy high price balls. Balls you most likely don't have the skill to use effectively. You might want to do what I do. I play a tour ball most of the time. But I buy them on sale when the new balls come out and I can get $40 balls for $15 or $20 a box, not $40. One last factor to figure in. If you play soft greens, most any ball will stop close to where it lands. On hard greens, you'll need a tour quality ball to have any chance of holding the green, assuming you hit it in the first place. You may notice I haven't mentioned FEEL. This it because what feels good to me may feel like garbage to you. FEEL is too much a matter of FEEL or OPINION.

Thats a valid point. I think it certainly factors in - kudos to the marketing geniuses behind making one seem longer than another.

yup i would say there is a clear difference, but unless your hitting the ball properly you wont be able to tell.

I find the premium balls give me 10-15 yards extra distance on a full good swing. And the feel is much better, its feels like a hot knife through butter.

Spin, well difference is much mroe clear hear. I cheap ball on a 20 yard pitch will land, bounce once or twice then roll

Prov1 will bounce once then stop, 0 roll

This year, I missed a lot of greens and really counted on the spin of Pro V's (other premium, urethane covered balls being the same) when I short sided myself. It's really hard to get the ball close to the hole when you have 10 feet of green to work with and pitching from the thick stuff, let alone trying to do it with a ball that doesn't check up.

Feel has become better with cheap balls. Although the covers of cheaper balls are still surlyn or ionomer (firm, lively, and very elastic), the core compression has gone down from 90 or 100 to balls ranging from 50 compression to about 85. This yields a softer feel on full shots. Cover hardness still makes the cheaper balls feel a little rocky on chips and putts, where the cover provides more of the feedback.

Most beginners and 90+ shooting ametuers should probably not play premium balls for these two reasons. One, losing balls is twice (if not more) as costly. Two, the extra spin that premium balls provide equals more backspin, but also more sidespin. The extra few hundred RPM's of slice on your ball might make the difference of missing the fairway by 23 yards instead of 20. Sometimes, that makes the difference between the rough and the tree line.

For occasional 70's shooters, mostly 80's shooters (speaking for myself, here), the better ball gives a little more response when the player can actually make the ball do what they want. Hitting a draw is a little easier. Putting spin on a pitch or bunker shot is easier. Hitting a low punch that really spins is easier. More spin will be present on all shots with the more expensive ball, whether that spin helps or hurts is the real question.

I can definitely notice a difference off the putter. I did an experiment with the putter and golf balls in another thread, and since (as Straightshooter pointed out) that the putter is the club used most that might not be a bad way to choose a golf ball.

One thing that isn't mentioned here and yet very important is swing speed.
For folks like me with a moderate Driver swing speed 85-93 MPH can't hit the more expensive balls because they are of a higher compression and feel like rocks.
Luckily today the cheaper ball sunder $20/Dozen do feel softer with good distance for swing speeds like mine but of course we can't get the green side spin of the premium balls. At least the choices for moderate speeds have gotten better in recent years in the past we had balls like the old rockflights.
Maybe someday soon they will find a way to get better greenside spin in the cheaper lower compression balls. I can only hope lol...............