What's the Best Golf ball for me?

This is a question I get asked day in day out. Amateur golfers automatically believe that the most expensive golf balls are the best ones to use and often get a Pro V1 or Srixon out on competition day. There are a few problems with this!! The main one, is that you may not have the feel for that particular ball. If you choose to use any old ball when practising or playing for fun, you won't obtain the necessary feel required on competition day. My advice would be to ALWAYS USE THE SAME BALL. It doesn't matter if you use a £1Top Flite ball or a £3.50 Pro V1, the important thing, is that you use the same one all the time. This will help you to achieve a much better feel around and on the putting green, which is where most of the scoring is done. For the higher handicappers I would always recommend using a harder golf ball like a Titleist Pts or Pinnacle. What you have to take into account is that although it's nice to hit a soft / spin ball into a green to help it to stop, the golf ball (as well as having more backspin available) will also have more side spin. So if you slice or hook a ball, you are going to see a worse effect from a spin ball, and can increase the possibility of even more wayward shots. Hope this answers some questions. Please check back next week for more hints and tips to lower your scores.   Justin Sandler (Pga Golf Professional)

BALANCE

May 2009

Finding your own personal balance point is a very important part of the initial setup. Without being Balanced and very solid at address, the golf swing will be out of sync and you’ll find that achieving a consistent ball strike is very difficult. We all have different balance points depending on our height, weight, age and hearing levels. 

The most important part of balance, is achieving the feel that you cannot be pushed back onto your heals at setup.

Set up with your weight set towards the balls of your feet. Make sure you’re standing tall to achieve a straight back – this is how: Initially stand straight and then stick your bum out making sure your legs stay straight.  Keep your legs straight then adjust your weight so it moves onto the balls of your feet. From there just soften your knees, don't bend them too much or you’ll catch yourself sitting back on your heels.  At this point you should feel like you can’t be pushed back onto your heels.
If you achieve this feel at set up and maintain the posture through your own personal swing, you will find ball striking far more consistent.

Check back every week for new updates pictures and new tips.

Happy golfing

Justin