When it comes to choosing your golf ball brand, GlobalGolf’s USelect™ for golf balls will help you make the best choice for your game by answering a couple easy questions. Everyone needs Pro Tip #100 in their lives -- find the best golf gear for your game with GlobalGolf’s USelect™ .
Learn which golf ball you should use in a stress-free way. One piece of equipment that you use on every shot is the golf ball -- GlobalGolf is here to make sure you have the right golf ball for you.
So, how do you choose your golf ball ? Do you care more about distance or spin? Do you hit it high or low? What sort of feel do you want coming off the putter? There are an overwhelming number of factors to consider, which is why the pros at GlobalGolf are excited to share USelect™ with you to make the process as simple as possible.
If you’ve been playing the same ball for years and don’t know why, or you just play whatever you find in the woods, USelect™ is definitely for you. Even if you love your current golf ball, it doesn’t hurt to check in with our golf ball recommender to ensure it’s the right golf ball for your game.
The process of finding the proper golf ball used to be fraught with trial and error. But finding the best golf ball shouldn’t be complicated, nor should it only be solved by playing a different ball every round.
That’s why GlobalGolf developed a quick and easy process called USelect™. Simply put, it takes in a few pieces of information about your game and provides recommendations from our PGA professionals.
How does GlobalGolf’s USelect™ for Golf Balls work?
GlobalGolf’s USelect™ is a fun golf ball recommendation engine that takes less than 30 seconds to complete but consists of key questions such as:
What is your average score on 18 holes?
What club do you hit from 150 yards?
How many greens do you hit in regulation?
Which best describes your ball flight with a driver?
Which best describes what is more important to you in golf ball performance?
Through this series of questions, GlobalGolf assesses your skill level, swing speed, accuracy, spin/launch conditions and your personal preference for feel. All answers are multiple choice and represent ranges, so you don’t need to know you have a 74.3 scoring average.
Once you complete the golf ball quiz, you are given top recommendations and a few other similar options. Now, you can buy the best golf balls for you.
Golf Balls 101
Below, we will dive into a few basics about today’s golf balls. For the last 20-odd years, all ‘modern’ golf balls have been what are called solid core golf balls. The prior generation’s best golf balls were wound golf balls, meaning they were constructed much like a baseball; rubber string wound tightly around an often liquid-filled core. These balls were then covered with various thicknesses of polymers -- most notably balata. Balata balls were notorious for having incredible spin and feel but would also produce wicked duck hooks and slices.
The most notable solid core golf ball was and is the Titleist Pro V1 . The Titleist Pro V1 is what the golf world still considers the gold standard of modern golf balls. They command a premium price but also provide consistent and top-tier performance.
Why do golf balls have dimples? How many dimples do I need on my golf ball?
Simply put, dimples are what make the golf ball fly the way it does. Each golf ball manufacturer has many proprietary factors, and one of the main points of innovation are dimple patterns.
The pattern and number of dimples, their depth and size -- everything is tested in order to perfect the way the golf ball flies and responds to every shot in your bag. Today, most golf balls have a dimple pattern that includes somewhere between 300-400 dimples.
How many layers should my golf ball have?
Multi-piece golf balls now come in two, three, four and even 5 layers, the most common being three or four layers. However, a premium golf ball like the TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x are 5-layer balls, hence the ‘5’ in its name.
As you go through USelect™ for golf balls, you may notice price differences based on the golf ball’s number of layers. In general, the more layers, the higher the cost, mostly due to the technology and more complicated manufacturing process of multi-layer golf balls.
Two-piece golf balls are usually the cheapest and also usually fall into a high-handicapper or beginner category. They offer low spin and maximum distance. Plus, at sometimes half the price of premium golf balls, these golf balls are more easily replaced. Years ago, these firmer golf balls were often referred to as ‘rocks’ due to how hard they felt coming off the face of golf clubs. Today, they feel better and are still nearly indestructible.
The jump from two- to three-piece golf balls is where the line between economy and premium starts to form. Three-piece golf balls have a core of various compression, an outer mantle layer and then a very thin layer of either Surlyn (cheaper) or Urethane (more expensive).
When you go through USelect™ for golf balls, you will see a three-piece ball as an option. They are common, come at various price points and offer great performance. Three-piece balls are played by every type of golfer from mid-handicappers all the way to professionals. They are truly that versatile.
Four- and five-piece balls are typically played by lower-handicap players with higher swing speeds because they can compress a golf ball sufficiently to gain maximum distance and spin. The most popular four-piece ball is the Titleist Pro V1x which, while played by a myriad of golfers regardless of skill level, are designed with better players in mind.
And finally, TaylorMade’s TP5 golf balls take the multilayer ball to its current extreme with five layers. With even more materials and layers, you can expect more spin differentiation than from 3- and 4-piece variants and higher performance benefits.
What Are the Major Golf Ball Brands?
Titleist Golf Balls
Titleist has been making golf balls for decades and proudly proclaim to be ‘The #1 Ball in Golf.’ Most professional golfers play Titleist golf balls because they are the gold standard from a manufacturing, performance and quality standpoint. When you play a Pro V1, AVX, Velocity or any other Titleist ball, you can be assured it’s a great ball -- you just have to find which type is the best fit for your game.
Callaway Golf Balls
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When Callaway introduced its ChromeSoft golf ball , they began to redefine the gold standard by making you wonder, “What golf ball should I use?” It is less expensive than the Pro V1 and offers very similar performance for a wide array of handicaps. Its newest iteration brings even more updates and upgrades that promise more speed off the tee, longer distance off of every club in the bag and great touch on and around the greens.
TaylorMade Golf Balls
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The aforementioned TP5 and TP5x golf balls are TaylorMade’s flagship offerings, but there are many more options to choose from. The TP5(x) golf balls consist of four increasingly stiff layers to produce more ball speed. The result is more carry distance off the tee, more control in the wind and more spin around the greens. This ball is used by many of the big-name TaylorMade tour staffers, notably Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa.
Srixon Golf Balls
One of the more underrated golf ball brands on the market is Srixon . They are one of the few who manufactures their own golf balls instead of outsourcing them to a third party. Srixon golf balls offer excellent performance at price points for everyday golfers, though they are popular on Tour as well. Their top-of-the-line model Z*Star stacks up with the best of the best on the market.
Bridgestone Golf Balls
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Bridgestone golf balls , now played by Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau, have always been a solid golf ball brand. The newest B-series is their flagship model, but they truly offer a golf ball for every handicap.
Wilson Golf Balls
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One of the most under-the-radar major golf ball brands is Wilson . The massive sporting goods manufacturer makes all kinds of balls for basically every sport, so why would golf be any different? Notably, the Wilson Staff Duo Pro golf ball is a sneaky good option for many golfers looking for a great golf ball that doesn’t break the bank.
GlobalGolf’s USelect™ will help you find the right ball for you, no matter your level of play. With just a few clicks, you no longer have to guess which golf ball you should be playing and can comfortably level up your game without making any swing changes.
FIND THE BEST GOLF BALL FOR YOU