Finding Value in Golf Ball Fitting
It’s been 45 years since I first knocked a golf ball off a tee with the intention to hit it as far as I could. And I remember vividly our club pro at the Saskatoon Golf & Country Club talking about golf balls. It was simple, he said. “You gotta have the pill to play!”
(These days, unfortunately, many golfers probably think that means “Pilsner”! But, I digress...)
Pill. Ball. Rock. Egg. Sphere. Ammo. Stone. It’s the golf ball!
The evolution of the golf ball – performance features, composition, durability – has been phenomenal during the past half century. Yet I firmly believe among recreational players the golf ball is their most overlooked piece of equipment.
Whatever a player finds in the trees or scoops out of a water hazard will often stay in their golf bag and eventually, it will be put into play. The total lack of consistency should be readily apparent, I think?
Finding the golf ball that responds most favorably to your swing characteristics and your impact conditions, can certainly be a worthwhile exercise. At the very least, you can assure yourself that you are using the best available golf ball for your unique method of playing the game.
For those that fancy the techy side of the game, give the BFIT app from Bridgestone a try. I loaded the app on my Phone in about two minutes. While I have yet to use it, I am excited about the potential and certainly, the convenience. The app allows your iPhone to be used as a virtual launch monitor to help determine club head speed, ball speed, launch angle and distance.
The data is combined with the player’s own assessment of the type of ball he or she normally plays, their typical ball-flight height, shot shape and preferred performance characteristics such as distance, accuracy or spin. The information is then put through Bridgestone’s ball-fitting algorithm to determine the ideal Bridgestone ball for the player’s game. (Both Sam and I have had experience with the line of Bridgestone golf balls for many years. The local sales representatives have been valuable resources, however access to the company’s expensive launch monitor equipment is quite limited. The new BFIT app, which will soon be Android–friendly, will make for some interesting discussion.)
Fore! Glen Erickson, Assistant Golf Shop Manager
