January 21 /08

Click on any of the following Newsletter topics or just scroll down the page:

Your Golfing Goals for 2008
The Best Ball for Your Game --Distance or Backspin
A Fun Game to Play -- Defender
Vacation Tournaments -- Are you going south?
Launch Monitor -- Optimize Your Shots
Playing Different Altitudes -- How Much Less Club?

The Best Ball for Your Game -- Distance or Backspin

    I was watching the Bob Hope Classic on the weekend and saw an TV Ad about taking the "Bridgestone Golf Challenge Ball Fitting." Four of the Bridgestone balls (including the new e5+ and e6+) were tested for distance and backspin in the 2007 Golf Ball Test talked about below.

    The February issue of GOLF Magazine highlights the testing of 54 different golf balls. They commissioned Golf Labs, an independent test facility in San Diego, CA, to run extensive robot tests using a driver, 8-iron and sand wedge. A state-of-the-art launch monitor, Trackman, was used to measure total distance, spin rate, ball speed and launch angle. Overall, I think the report is excellent except that the graphs are a little mis-leading. This newsletter will focus on

    The authors make the classic mistake of making differences in distances look significantly different by using inappropriate scales on the graphs. As an example, they plot bar graphs of the driver distances with 5 Titleist balls: (1) NXT Extreme, (2) NXT Tour, (3) ProV1x, (4) DT SOLO and (5) ProV1 using a graph similar to this graph:

Note that the vertical scale starts at 244 yards and goes up to 260 yards. A difference of even less than a yard is quite noticeable. The difference between Ball 1 and Ball 2 is only about 3 yards, yet it looks huge.

Now, look at the same data in the chart below, except that the vertical scale starts at 0 yards.

The difference in distances between the different balls does not appear that great. GOLF Magazine does mention that the difference in distance between the various balls tested is not that great, "The top 10 balls are separated by 3.7 yards, while the top 20 have a 5.4 yards difference."

There are a few mathematical and scientific reasons for discounting the differences between the balls all together, which would mean that there is no significant difference in distance. The reasons are:

1. There is measuring error in all of the measurements. To measure accurately to the nearest 0.1 yard on a distance of 250 yards requires an extremely accurate measuring tool .

2. Statistically speaking, a difference of 5 yards might not be at all significant because of the fact that the balls tested were only samples. If you were to measure 500 Pro V1 balls, you would find that they all travel different distances. The average distance would be pretty well in the middle of the shortest and longest ball tested. The longest ball might travel over 5 yards farther than the shortest ball. It might be in in comparing different brand balls, you happen to have some of the longest of Brand A and some of the shortest of Brand B. Thus, you would find a difference in their distances, where as on average, they're about the same.

3. Because of varying environmental conditions such as air temperature and wind, golf balls that would travel the same distance under the same environmental conditions would be recorded as travelling different distances.

4. The balls were hit off the "sweet spot" of the club face each time. The average golfer might hit 10 - 20% of shots off the "sweet spot." The difference in distances of each brand of golf ball might be larger or smaller when mis hit (not off the "sweet spot.")

5. Total distance hit with a Driver includes carry and roll. The amount of roll depends on the ground firmness and grass density. A difference of a few yards could easily be due to one ball getting a little extra roll, even though it my have carried the same distance.

 Click on the logo to the left for a great selection of balls with great prices.

So, one needs to analyze the distances using statistical tools to determine if any differences in distances are indeed significant, which would mean the Brand A on average flies farther than Brand B. In the past, I have analyzed such data of golf ball distances statistically, first in 1998, then 2003, then 2005 and now in 2007 (although we are now into 2008, the measurements were made in 2007).

My analysis of the GOLF Magazine Study does conclude 3 of the balls to be significantly longer than the others and 1 of the top line balls to be significantly shorter. You can find out what those balls are by purchasing the entire report. Buy Now for $14.99. In the report, you'll be provided with the following::

	Learn which golf balls on the market today are the longest and the shortest. Over 50 of the game's most popular balls were tested in 2007.
	Learn about the differences between such balls as Titleist Pro V1, Nike One, Callaway Tour i, Srixon Pro, Top-Flight XL 5000, Pinnacle Platinum, and Noodle + to name a few.
	Learn if there's actually a golf ball that's long and also has high spin.
	Learn about the different TYPES of golf ball construction.
	Learn which type of golf ball is BEST for your game.
	Learn how dimples are important to a golf ball. Is there a number of dimples that optimizes distance?
	Learn about golf ball compression. Does it really matter?
	Learn how temperature and humidity affect distance off the tee.
	Learn about used golf balls. Should you play golf balls that you find? Is distance related to the age of the golf ball?
	Learn a process to follow to determine the BEST ball for your game.
	Learn about golfers' obsession with distance. Do golfers actually hit the ball further today? What changes have occurred in golf ball and club construction?

The other stat that is analyzed in my report is the backspin rate of the balls when it by a Driver, 8-iron and Wedge. Backspin plays a huge roll in short game shots from 100 yards and in. In many cases, the balls that tend to go a little farther have less backspin with the wedge, thus, sacrificing stopping ability around the green.

But, because of new golf ball construction technology, there are balls that don't sacrifice distance and still get great backspin. Their durable and not necessarily expensive.

Find out what balls give the most spin!! Buy Now for $14.99

I'll have more on backspin in my next newsletter.

Launch Monitor -- Optimize Your Shots