On Friday of the recent PGA championship in Wentworth I was lucky enough to be picked at random from Team Titleist members to have a "once in a lifetime" experience of the ultimate golf ball fitting. I thought it would be a good opportunity to let you guys know about it and thank Titleist for treating us so well on that day!
It all started with a briefing from Jonathan about the Titleist philosophy when it came to their balls, interestingly for me was that they all go about as far and the real difference was in spin and feel, so really what that meant for me was you aren't losing distance by picking a "feel" ball, I think that is information many players, especially shorter hitters and higher handicappers would benefit from, I won't lie as a single figure golfer (have been for over 10 years) I always pick a "performance" ball as distance isn't what I was ever looking for, just consistency and feel around the greens. We then had a chance to see some numbers, Titleist really is the number 1 ball in golf at all levels. Also we heard the philosophy of their ball fitting was nothing to do with swing speeds, this made sense to me, the ball has to work at all swing speeds, you don't hit a driver and a wedge with the same swing speed, neither does Adam Scott and he doesn't use a different ball for the 2 shots! Also they make their own balls in their factories and do not sell their ball to be rebranded by others.... I had heard rumors of this before if I'm honest and I'm glad that the myth was dispelled. Also we buy the same ball that the players on tour use, some other manufacturers who shall remain nameless (swoosh!) don't sell their tailor made ball for certain pros, you therefore aren't using "a tour validated product".
We were really lucky to be joined by Simon Holmes (off the TV) who is a very funny guy and gave us some great stories and insights through the day. Goody bags were distributed and we got on with the business of the day, the ball testing and fitting. I won't lie, all of us present (3 TT members and 3 from Golf Monthly) were like kids on their way to Disneyland, I've never seen so many grown men grin so widely that early in the morning! The best golfing part of the day followed, we got to hit shots from 3 different short game distances, chip, 50 yards, 75 yards, with all of the Titleist range, from ProV1 and X, NXT tour and S, SoLo and Velocity. It was a really unique way of comparing the balls because really how often do you get that chance to hit ball after ball being able to compare the fell directly. I will confess I have used a Titleist ball for most of the 16 years I've played golf, since the demise of the Professional 90 I have used (in order) ProV1, cally HX tour, cally HX tour 56 then I was thrown a ProV1x by my assistant pro mate who thought it would fit my game and I've never looked back, it is the only ball I buy, I will use a found ball in practice if I've only got new ones but that is rare..... So obviously my preference was for the ProV1x, I like how it feels and sounds around the green and how I can get the spin I like to play with. However, I did feel like the new ProV1 itself was a bit firmer than before, I could play with it if that was the one I found in my bag that day after losing a couple of my X's (or if my foursomes partner really insisted)! Also, and really surprisingly for me was the NXT Tour S, that my friends is a great mid range price ball, felt very nice. I found the SoLo way too soft for me and the Velocity too firm, although if you did "dunch" it, it ran up to the hole! So during this session Simon had a look at us all and gave us some tips, I have a terrible tendency of ballooning pitch shots, he gave me some very simple things to work on and funnily enough I saw immediate results.
Next was a recap and the fitting itself, where we talked to the fitters in pairs about what we liked feel wise and how we liked the ball to react, I was given a couple of my favourite ProV1x's and NXT tours to compare on the course with a scorecard. I'll come back to that later.... But getting to compare each ball side by side was the best way to decide all of this.
After the fitting we had a short game clinic with Simon, he had Jack one of the fitters hit different shots, high, low, checking, to show how to attack pins, that is what having a consistent reaction from a ball lets you do. Now to me I know how much the ball affects my game, ask any of my foursome partners who play another brand..... I will always try and play and practice with the same ball, I actually have a practice bag full of my old worn out ProV1x's and some I bought specifically for practice so that when I do go to the chipping green I am re-creating what happens on the course. I was surprised that others don't practice and use the same ball in competitions, to me if I practice with an NXT, I'd play that in competition as I know what the ball is going to do, otherwise, why practice? I've taken it a bit far with my chipping bag full of ProV1x's I admit but it has helped..... I digress, we got shown bunker shots and then all go to try out the "low double checker" to get the ball to the back pin, all with hints and tips from Simon, this I think was the highlight of our day. A word now for the wedges we used, mine are back home in Wales so I didn't have my clubs with me so I got to use the new SM5's with the different grinds, I will be getting fitted for these at the end of the season, they are truly a step up (ok mine are about 4 years old and are behind the times). The grinds and the bounce options really are impressive and at least 3 of us fell in love with the 60-11-L it was an unbelievable wedge. Back to the matter in hand though, the ball. Simon hit the same shots with each of the different balls and you could see them all react differently, he plays the ProV1 and that grip is how he plays the chip shot. So the ball is what lets you play the type of shot you want to, keep that in mind!
After all that fun we got to spend the afternoon in BMW hospitality overlooking the 18th green at Wentworth, needless to say it was brilliant! I have decided it may be the only way to watch golf, especially when the rain is coming down.
After recovering from the hangover, I went to try out my 2 different balls at home and unsurprisingly for me I got the performance I wanted from the ProV1x, a part of the prize was a year's supply of balls, which are sat at home - I think my Dad has already slipped a few in his bag....
What I took from all of this is that essentially I have been doing it right, play the same ball all the time, get fitted for your wedges, and use the ball you like the best feel wise not what your friend likes or for distance or swing speed. High swing speed players still hit the ball on shorter shots with a lower swing speed so the ball will work at all of them! I also saw that I was getting the performance with the ProV1x that was the best for me, so thank goodness I've been using the right ball the last few years!
So my advice, get fitted, try a few different balls side by side and play the same ball all the time, if you want to make a change commit to it for a while!
All that's left to say is thank you to Titleist and the guys who looked after us that day, it was a great experience! I was a very lucky boy!
Dan