Earlier this week, we tackled the problem of people not having enough fun due to high scores caused by excessively long golf courses for their abilities. The answer: make the course shorter by moving up a set of tees, and encouraging your local course (and any you might play on a golf vacation) to refine its forward tees.
Another way to make the course shorter and lower your scores? Hit the ball farther and straighter with every club and spin it more on those critical around-the-green shots.
Easier said than done? Only by golfers who are playing the wrong ball. I'll explain...
I see it all the time: golfers who use a Tour-level golf ball to hit decidedly amateur-level golf shots.
The truth is this: if you don't break 40 for nine holes regularly, you don't need to pay $40 or more for a dozen golf balls.
More truth: if your swing speed isn't comfortably above 100 mph with your driver, you aren't able to compress the golf ball enough to get the full benefit from a Tour-level ball.
Instead, you should look for a simply-constructed, well-engineered ball that provides the best combination of distance off the tee and feel and spin around the greens for you.
In other words, you should try the new Srixon Soft Feel (MSRP: $19.99).
The Soft Feel is designed with the recreational golfer in mind. With a soft, super-thin cover layer with 324 dimples and a generous, similarly soft core, it's a phenomenal offering by a company whose products have always struck me as being severely underrated.
And especially if your swing speed is in that 80 to 95 miles-per-hour range (which describes the vast majority of golfers), you will get the optimal combination of distance off the tee and spin around the greens.
(And, they're available not just in "Soft White" but "Tour Yellow" as well.)
To illustrate that one-two punch, here's a little chart (yes, provided by Srixon, so take it with a grain of salt if you'd like) showing distance (hit by a robot with an 89 mph swing speed with the same driver) and wedge spin (all hit by a robot at 22 mph with the same wedge) of a number of golf balls in the same category as the Soft Feel:
Yes, you can hit an ever-so-slightly "spinnier" ball in this category (the Bridgestone Extra Soft), but not a longer one. The Srixon Soft Feel's compression rating - a measure of its soft feel - is 60, meaning you will feel it jump off the face of your woods and irons. And that feeling won't let you down: you should pick up a few extra yards if you give up the "wrong" ball to play this one.
If all that sounds like fun to you (and it should), click here for more information and to try out the new Srixon Soft Feel.
