Best balls for Par2Pro screen?

[p3eps]

I've been playing with Bridgestone E6's for the last couple of years. I find they are soft enough to get a good spin, and are reasonably priced.

Today I was fitting a mattress topper behind my screen to try and reduce balls rebounding back at me, and noticed some marks on my Par2Pro screen when up close. When I checked at different angles, I could see lots of faint circles in the area I hit at. When I rub them, they feel slightly rougher than the unmarked bits.

I can can only assume these softer balls are getting a bit scuffed up, and scraping the screen? I change my ball fairly regularly... especially when they start feeling a bit rough. Unfortunately my wedges and high irons tend to cut them up a bit.

I assume hard hard balls are better for the screen, but can anyone recommend any that are decent, with good durability, and relatively low cost?

[wbond]

Kirkland Signature

[goatbarn]

The softness of the ball is the problem.

If you want to play a ball that'll damage the screen the least, find the hardest ball you can. Something like a Slazenger would be good I would think.

[aeroburner]

???? Goat please explain your reasoning for that post, I have researched ball impact a bit and I do not completely agree with this thank you.

[JROOKS]

harder ball, less spin and less likely to get cut/nicks/scruffy which is what can cut up a net...

[goatbarn]

Bingo. Spin is a screen shredder, and soft balls spin more. Now, if you know of a really hard ball that somehow magically spins more, that'd be your answer. It just doesn't exist.

[aeroburner]

please explain the pro v1 then as this ball has been associated with screen damage through out the web and the forum.

[goatbarn]

Prov1 is a very soft ball.....

[mthunt]

I use prov. I just keep an eye on them and take them out of play when they get rough. I only have 3 out at a time.

[Stingreye]

E6, isn't that a lower spin ball? IRL, I played the e6 for a while before switching to a urethane ball for better spin around the green. Wouldnt the pro v and the Kirkland or any urethane cover ball will spin more than the e6 and cause more wear on the screen ?

[goatbarn]

I would think so, yes

[p3eps]

E6 is quite soft though, and tends to get cut up quite easily with my more lofted clubs. A few 70 yard shots with a MacDaddy, and the E6 feels like sandpaper!

I assume a 'distance' ball is going to be harder, and less likely to cut / spin?

Unfortunately the Kirkland Signature balls aren't available in the UK yet.

[aja]

The thing to take into account is the actual usage that the impact screen gets. All impact screens will be affected by wear at some point. "A couple of years of usage" is a very relative term and each sim owner will be hitting vastly different numbers of balls during that time.

I have the same screen as you and have yet to notice any wear. I tend to use e6 and Titiliest balls, though not the high end.

I only hit one ball at a time so it's easy to check for damage to the ball itself. As soon as I notice any damage to the ball, out it goes!

Those who have the GC2 are more concerned with their ball's performance since that is what is measured directly by the launch monitor. With a ProTee simulator the ball's spin is calculated (estimated?) so the ball is of less importance.

[p3eps]

I only play one ball at a time too, and usually feel it every few holes to make sure it's not rough.

The screen is is far from damaged. I only noticed the ball marks because I was close up and standing at an odd angle. I can't see them straight on, and they're invisible when the projector is on.
It's a shame it's not reversible!
it hasn't had a lot of use, as I've only started properly using the setup in the last few weeks.

I want to preserve it for as long as possible, but at the same time use balls that reflect my game!

[ganders75]

I have the ProTee screen rather than the Par2Pro, and it showed wear from the ball almost immediately. In the right light it now looks a bit like a cheetah - basically they're kind of little hard spots where the fabric of the screen has been compressed or damaged. Like yours from Par2Pro, you can't tell when the projector is on - it's only when you're inspecting it from an angle that they're obvious.

The Protee screen also tends to balloon over time in the spots where drives hit, and also where your "favourite" practice/warm up club(s) tend to impact. I also think that full struck wedges seem to cause big problems - it stands to reason that the spin is the culprit with the wedges at least. In the end, I blew through the first side of the screen after only about 4 or 5 months. It's double sided, so I turned it around but there is now another wear spot forming. The screen itself is great and shows a great picture, but I will be lucky if it lasts a year.

I've used a variety of balls on it. I stopped using pro-v1's on the advice of people on this forum, but only after a lot of the damage had been done to the screens first side. I now use the Titleist DT TruSoft, but i've tried various "harder" balls. With the Surlyn covers you tend to lose about 1000-1500 RPM on a mid iron (from memory, think that's what I see on my SkyTrak) - I generally find this is the difference between shots which back-up on the greens and those which hop and stop. With the firmer/faster greens on TGC, sometimes the ball will not stop and you'll roll off the back - can be frustrating, but then what in golf isn't...?

I've been on a mission to stop cutting up my screen so i've also replaced a couple of my wedges. I was using older Vokeys with the 1st generation of conforming grooves, which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, they used to literally tear shreds off softer shelled balls and at 10,000RPM this would be like holding a dremel to the screen I guess. I've swapped the worst 2 offenders out for a couple of Cleveland 588 RTX wedges (56 & 60) and it has helped.

Best advice is probably to avoid hitting full wedges - club up and hit softer.

[p3eps]

Do you have a net or anything behind the screen to help with the impact? I have a net, and now have a memory foam mattress topper behind that too. My net was causing the ball to bounce back at me - so hopefully the memory foam will absorb some of the impact, and the ball will just fall down!
My Par2Pro screen has vecro all along the top / sides for attaching my ceiling / side protection... but its only on the front.

I think staying away from the wedges is the easiest solution, as it'll save me carving the balls up. Either that, or play anything below a 9 iron with my usual balls, and play my wedges with a harder ball that won't cut up the same.

[ganders75]

Yeah, I have a net behind the screen - super tight stretched over about 14ft x 10ft. Balls do not bounce back at all - pretty much drop right down and roll to your feet. I used to attach the screen at the sides with ball bungees too, but after the first blow through I've just allowed the weight of the screen to take the wrinkles out. It's "ok" - but not brilliant. I've got a new screen to hang once I blow though this one for the final time, and I'm going to tension this one up again so it looks better. I'm going to hang it over the top of the existing one, so I'll have net, then ProTee screen, then the new one on top.

The new screen is this one:
https://www.golfswingsystems.co.uk/product/archery-netting/

It's archery netting, so i've gone into it expecting the picture to be rubbish. it was about 1/4 the price though, so thought it was worth looking into at least...

If the picture is even half decent and the screen has a bit more longevity, then I'll be happy.