Pro V1's? Or any other recommendations?

[JamesBurns13]

Hi, I just bought my Skytrak but the room hasn't been built yet. I purchased a Den Caddy bag for the room and was considering filling it with Pro V1's.
But before I buy 100 of them I thought it'd be best to check that the Skytrak works well with this ball?
If anybody could let me know if it makes a difference or not , it'd be much appreciated.

If people have found problems with Pro V1's then I'd be open to other recommendations!

Thanks in advance.

[Morini]

ST reads what the ball actually does, so you get out what you put in. Just as on the course, you can go premium, two core, cheap or expensive

If you are asking whether it will read well? Yes, any white ball that has a logo will read.

Keep in mind that if you are using a screen, high spin balls have soft covers that get easily knicked. A high spin shot with a knicked ball can tear up your screen in no time. Therefore you have to take the ball out of sim play quite frequently, and that gets expensive. You can of course then use the balls on the course or as outside practice balls.

As I saw discussed elsewhere, I would love the option to normalize spin in the Golf Sim (like a spin version of boost). That way I could use a cheaper longer lasting ball, and the sim would read it as if struck on course with a premium ball. This option would save a regular sim golfer hundreds of dollars a year. It would have the added benefit of very similar ball behavior on sim and out on the course.

[bubbtubbs]

ST reads what the ball actually does, so you get out what you put in. Just as on the course, you can go premium, two core, cheap or expensive

If you are asking whether it will read well? Yes, any white ball that has a logo will read.

Keep in mind that if you are using a screen, high spin balls have soft covers that get easily knicked. A high spin shot with a knicked ball can tear up your screen in no time. Therefore you have to take the ball out of sim play quite frequently, and that gets expensive. You can of course then use the balls on the course or as outside practice balls.

As I saw discussed elsewhere, I would love the option to normalize spin in the Golf Sim (like a spin version of boost). That way I could use a cheaper longer lasting ball, and the sim would read it as if struck on course with a premium ball. This option would save a regular sim golfer hundreds of dollars a year. It would have the added benefit of very similar ball behavior on sim and out on the course.

Look at getting refinished ProV1 balls. I use them in non-tournament play and Rick Shiels did a review of them and find the only difference was they sound a bit different back to back - probably different urethane coating because Quad had virtually identical numbers and he cut them open to show they were 2017 ProV1 balls.

Just something to think about if you want a premium ball but don't want to spend that much. They're $27 CDN/doz up here.

[Morini]

Thanks for the info. My screen is going up in the next few days, so I will need something in place soon. It is a 16 foot screen, and won't be convenient to rotate, so I will be extremely vigilant about ball condition. Im in Canada too. Is this Golftown or somewhere else?

[bubbtubbs]

Canadian Tire carries them for sure. Maybe also SportChek because same parent company.

There's Reloaded, which is just a recycled ball with used standard coating for around $22/doz and Refinished, which has a brand new urethane coat for $27/doz.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/reload-refurbished-prov1-golf-balls-12-pk-0861593p.html

[Morini]

Thank you, will give that a shot.

[JamesBurns13]

ST reads what the ball actually does, so you get out what you put in. Just as on the course, you can go premium, two core, cheap or expensive

If you are asking whether it will read well? Yes, any white ball that has a logo will read.

Keep in mind that if you are using a screen, high spin balls have soft covers that get easily knicked. A high spin shot with a knicked ball can tear up your screen in no time. Therefore you have to take the ball out of sim play quite frequently, and that gets expensive. You can of course then use the balls on the course or as outside practice balls.

As I saw discussed elsewhere, I would love the option to normalize spin in the Golf Sim (like a spin version of boost). That way I could use a cheaper longer lasting ball, and the sim would read it as if struck on course with a premium ball. This option would save a regular sim golfer hundreds of dollars a year. It would have the added benefit of very similar ball behavior on sim and out on the course.

Great reply.

On the course I tend to use whatever I can find as I am prone to losing quite a few balls!

I think with the novelty of having a golf sim , I am splashing out a little by buying 100 ProV1's as this is something I would never do for real life golf. Once they all wear away a little I'm sure I will go back to whatever I can get my hands on.

The idea of manually inputing what ball you wish to see results of and seeing any old ball react like a ProV1 would be very beneficial and cool! You could test different balls against eachother all with the same ball. Great idea.

Thanks for the help.

[Morini]

In that case, enjoy your v1, great choice. I think they eventually crack, but that will take hundreds of full swings.

[sirish19]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum. I discussed a little about this in an earlier post as I was exploring options for club fitting and ball fitting with the SkyTrak.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/skytrak/173457-club-fitting-mode-for-skytrak

You can use either the skills assessment or club comparison to generate the data and compare different balls. I basically hit different balls with each club, 5 times. Then I set the data that was most important for me with each club (e.g., longest carry, lowest spin, smallest dispersion, etc. for the driver, highest spin, lowest dispersion for wedges, etc. and I would rank each ball on each criteria. I think I had 5 balls so ranked each 1-5 and then totaled up all of the scores and the ball with the lowest score (i.e., the best score), won. I also did a put tough and feel test and gave that a score as well.

In the end, ProV1, ProV1x and Callaway Chromesoft came out with the best scores and I ended up going with ProV1. Now, I will only use ProV1 (on the sim or course) since that is what I use on the simulator and I want to make sure that I know all of my stats and I can get consistency out of my play.

One of the great things about the launch monitor is that you can really see the numbers and see the differences. One of the things that really struck me with the ball comparison came out with the wedges. Comparing the ProV1's to some other balls that were listed as "distance" or "trajectory", I found the total distance to be about the same with my 60 degree wedge. However, I realized that while the PV1 was hitting about in the middle of my net (I use the Net Returns), these other balls were flying so high that they almost flew over the net. I was really surprised. Again, total distances were about the same but there were huge differences in launch angle and spin rates. When on the course, you have other variables such as wind, lie, slope, etc. so it is better to know what your ball is going to do generally.

As others have said, the softer balls do tend to scuff more quickly and potentially damage your impact screen/net so I would rotate the balls out when they start to show signs of wear and then use them on the course. I generally lose balls on the course fairly frequently but if I can get 5-10 rounds on the sim with a single ball, I feel like the cost/performance is worth it. I now find that even when I come across a patch of lost balls on the course, unless it is a ProV1, I won't even touch it, haha.

I also bought around 100 of the refurbished balls for playing on the sim. They seem to work great and were very cheap.

[JamesBurns13]

Thanks so much for the reply.

I feel I may also be converted to a strict Pro V1er once I use them in sim. I will do a few ball tests , like yourself, and see which one comes out on top for me. I struggle to generate much spin on anything less than a full swing so hopefully the ProV1's can help me. I have used Pro V1's plenty on Trackman in a local McGuirks store but have never compared ball data or even thought of a ball fitting.

I'm about 4/5 weeks out on my sim room being built and I can't wait!

[AnthonyZ]

I used my SkyTrak outdoors hitting into a 10' x 10' x 10' golf cage, so I don't have concerns with scuffed balls. This evening I pulled out a brand new sleeve of Pro V1x and Bridgestone e6-Soft to see how each of the balls would perform with Driver, 7-iron, 52-degree and 58-degree wedges. I must have smacked the Pro V1x and e6 Softs over 50+ times. No visible wear to the Pro V1x's. I have older Pro V1s that I use with my SkyTrak that have been used a lot, and no visible scuff marks.

The Pro V1x's were sure pounded with my PING Glide 2.0 58-degree wedge (which has a fairly rough face) to see how high I could get them to spin. As an aside, I was impressed with SkyTrak on 30, 50 and 60-yard greens and few misreads with my 58-degree wedge. The Pro V1x is an awesome green-side ball, the spin was phenomenal relative to the Bridgestone e6-Soft (duh no surprise there). So much fun spinning the ball back 2-3 yards on green impact with the Pro V1x's on 50 and 60 yard shots- sweet ball).

[JamesBurns13]

Thanks very much for the reply. Good to see that the ProV1x and normal ProV1 have the reputation for a reason and not just good marketing! I will definitely go ahead with buying the 100 ProV1's and hopefully be as happy with my spin numbers as you, it's something I struggle with!

Once they're scuffed and damaged I'll take them out of rotation in the sim and probably lose them within 2-3 holes on the course

[sirish19]

If you are looking for good spin numbers, you will like the ProV1's although you really do need to take a pretty full swing to get really good spin because you need to generate that spin. I have really worked on my spin and that is one of the great things about the LM, you can see a real difference in the numbers. My lob wedge is a 60 degree and I worked to get a consistent spin of 10,000 rpm or more from the 60-70 range. It pays off when you are on the course and you can impress your friends with pretty significant backspin when you hit the green from that range.

[JamesBurns13]

It'll be great practise, I have only been playing for 10 months so I am sure I will see my spin gradually go up overtime as my ball striking gets better. Backspin isn't a thing I have in the locker just yet, hopefully the sim can help with that!

Out of curiosity, are you based in Ireland?

[AnthonyZ]

JamesBurns13
Generating high spin on 50-90 yard approach shots is something I have always struggled with (let alone not chunking and taking up a foot of beaver pelt). Years ago, I was taught to place the ball in the back of my stance and hit down hard - result - very inconsistent distance and spin control.

Using Titliest Pro V1x balls and SkyTrak was so much fun trying the techniques taught in the following two YouTube videos and having immediate success spinning the ball. (As an aside, the Bridgestone e6 Soft spun ~1,000 to 2,000 rpm less, still a very good Driver low-spin/distance mid-priced ball).

Low Flight - High Spin Chip Shot Technique - Andrew Rice (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg8zIaah05I

• Ball placement – line-up with your right ear (back in stance)/positive shaft lean to lead leg thigh
• Very shallow swing (brush the turf – no divot)
• Club face square to target
• Set-up for a draw shot (shoulders facing right of target)
• 1,000 rpm back spin per 10-yards of carry distance (is achievable)
• e.g. 50-yard chip – Launch Angle less than 30 degrees, Spin Axis slightly negative (draw)
• Maintain shaft lean through impact (positive angle of attack)
• Follow through – face of club facing the sky

This is a terrific shot to add to your on course arsenal!!

Higher Flight High Spin- Rick Shiels (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9HZ79OLx7E&t=392s

• Ball at centre or slightly front of centre/weight on left foot (lead foot)
• Shaft vertical in line with sternum at address
• Shallow swing (no divot) brush the turf
• Shaft vertical at contact
• Strike with speed low on club face
• Face of club facing upwards after strike
• My result - PING Glide 2.0 - 58 degree - Pro V1x e.g. 60 yard shot ~8,500 to ~10,000 rpm of spin

This shot is a lot fun from 50 or 60 yards out with the ball stopping on the dime or spinning back a few feet.

[JamesBurns13]

AnthonyZ, great bit of advice and also very good of you to include the links to the video's. I will watch the video's and then come back to this post once I have my sim built (hopefully a month from now) and I will let you know how I get on.

I also struggle to not duff my chip shots , especially with a 6 degree bounce 58 degree wedge. If conditions are wet, it goes into the ground like a hot knife into butter. I hope ST and sim golf can help me get better all round but I would love to see wedge striking and spin rate increase the most.

[skytrakali]

One thing that ST can inform you about is the large spin difference between different balls. With a full SW shot the backspin difference between say a Callaway Supersoft and a ChromeSoft can be 1000s of RPM. I regularly get 6,000 RPM with SSoft but 9,000 with ChrmSoft

[JamesBurns13]

I will definitely be doing a few ball tests once I get the sim set up. I tend to use whatever lake golf balls the guy I buy them off has. Typically Srixon, Nike and Titliest Velocity's or DT solo. Will do a good test on all of these and I can pick which ball to play on course, based on conditions.

[Dan King]

I find the Pro V1s work really well on the ST.

[JamesBurns13]

Perfect, all seems like good feedback on the Pro V1 so far, Will definitely go ahead with buying them.

[skytrakali]

One other thing: whatever balls you get - eventually they will crack. This rarely happens on the course as most golfers lose their ball before it cracks. If you ever suddenly start to get much reduced yardages then throw that ball away immediately - you don't want it breaking and jagged bits of ball hitting your projection screen at large speeds.

[JamesBurns13]

Will do! Would hate to damage the screen, thanks very much for the tip

[sirish19]

This is very good advice. Not only high speeds do you need to worry about, but also high spins. Imagine how much friction and heat a pristine ball can cause when it hits a screen or net at thousands of rpm's, but then a damaged ball can cause so much more damage.

[keither5150]

You might find that a Taylormade TP5 is far more durable than a ProV1. It is also quite good for spin. I find that the ProV1's scuff and get cut up easier than the Taylormades.

[AnthonyZ]

I just ordered a dozen Snell MTB-X balls. They get great reviews and perform very close to Titliest ProV1/ProV1x balls. Here in Canada Snell MTB-X balls sell for $44.95/dozen vs. $64.99/dozen for Titliest ProV1/ProV1x balls. When I get them I will do a test and report back.

[sirish19]

So I was shopping in Costco in Japan today and I noticed that they the Kirkland Signature balls in stock. I have heard a lot of people talking about them online but I have never seen them here in Japan. So, of course, I had to buy a box and give them a try. 24 balls for about $30. I took a new (refurbished) ProV1 that I bought from Lost Golf Balls.com and made a quick comparison by hitting 5 shots each with my driver, 7 iron, 50-degree wedge and 60-degree wedge. Results were fairly similar although I seemed to get more spin with the Kirkland balls than I did with the PV1's. That was including with the driver, unfortunately. I normally get low to mid-2000 rpm range on my driver but I also played an 18 hole round on the sim and was getting high 2,000- low-3000 range with the Kirkland.

I did find that the PV1 was more scuffed after 50 shots or so than the Kirkland was after about 120 shots. I don't know if that had to do with the PV1 being a refurbished ball or not though, but I must say, I was impressed with the Kirland ball. These are not bad and quite affordable for sim play.