You’re either just starting out playing golf, have been on a few courses, or want to help find a ball that will influence your gameplay and lower your score.
The best golf ball for a high handicap
First and foremost, welcome to the world of golf! it’s a great game for socialising, having fun, keeping fit, and perfect for improving your mental health. Golf is an amazing journey, it can be frustrating at times but understanding yourself, your swing and your equipment is vital in getting those all-important gains and lowering your score.
Without any doubt, this is a FACT! you are going to lose a lot and we do mean a lot of balls, when you first start playing golf.
The biggest piece of advice is to buy second-hand balls, either from Facebook, your local car boot, or buy lake balls from the clubhouse. DO NOT buy a brand new box of balls or spend any serious money.
On average you should be able to pick up about 50 used balls (grades B to C) for around £20 – £25 quid, which in comparison is the starting cost for a decent low handicap cost of 12 balls.
Even though you will buy second hand balls there will be a mix of both old and new balls so you will still need to sort these out to match your current handicap.
Key sorting tips
– Put away any balls that highlight or suggest ‘distance’ as these tend to be harder and less forgiving balls so if you slice or hook your ball, it will only exaggerate your swing and it will just go further into the rough.
– Any smooth or worn dimple balls will be harder to strike and control so use these purely for practising putting in the back garden or on the practice green.
– Any brand balls such as Titleist, Callaway, Vice etc clean them and store them away until you are a mid-handicapper (The you in a few years will thank you for this!).
– Brands to use straight away would be Pinnacle, Slazenger, Dunlop, Top Flight, these are great entry-level balls and won’t bust the bank or end in tears if you lose one per hole across an 18 hole course.
You can’t swap balls mid-game but you can swap balls from hole to hole, so if you do want to use a better quality ‘branded’ ball, then we would suggest that you use the lower-graded brand balls on the long par’s where you’re hitting the big dog on the tee, but when you are going for the green on a Par 3 and using an iron, pull out the Callaway (just in case you hit that legendary hole in one).
You’ll be spending a fair bit of time in the rough but will also be finding a lot of lost balls, keep the decent ones in a separate golf pocket, and if you are playing with other golfers, trade the decent balls you find for the lower branded ones. One clean Titleist Pro V1 or Callaway super soft is worth at least 2 Pinnacle or Dunlop balls.
Plus what you will find is that if you do play with low or mid handicappers they will end up giving you loads of balls that they find across the course, as they will by then have a specific type of ball that they will only use.
Best golf ball for a mid handicap
So you’ve got your equipment sorted, your swing is looking good and you are seeing your score lowering. It’s now the time where you need to focus either on a brand or type of ball to get those extra milestones towards a low handicap.
All three of our choices are mid compression balls, which are still forgiving but will hopefully give you more control over the ball whilst giving you far more distance.
Our choice for the top mid handicap golf balls are…
1. Vice Golf Pro Air
With a mid to high ball compression this vice golf ball gives both distance and feel without compromise.
It’s aimed for golfers with a slow to mid swing speed which provides excellent distance whilst giving the feeling of full control – there’s no need to go full power to gain those extra yards! If you’ve already tried the Vice Pro ball, the team over at Vice have made this Air version even softer than it’s family,
The Golf pro air is a 3 piece ball, the Cover is cast with Urethane for maximum control and short spin game, The Mantle is Zinc ionomer thermoplastic DuPontTM Surlyn® grade for minimized wood and long iron spin and for maximum distance. The Core is Size-optimized High Energy Speed Core (HESC) with a lower compression to improve feel at slow swing speeds and efficiently convert swing speed into distance.
Vice says that it’s cast Urethane is one of the best covers currently on the market and aside of the technical aspect of the construction, the ball comes in five colour variations including Drip patterns making this one of the best looking and high quality balls about today.
2. Callaway SuperSoft
The Callaway Supersoft golf ball is renowned for its long, straight distance and, most importantly, its exceptionally soft feel, making it one of the most popular balls in golf.
The SuperSoft features a 2-piece construction with a Hybrid Cover, enabling Callaway to create a versatile, multi-material design. This combination maximizes distance through high launch and low spin, while also providing a soft feel and enhanced durability.
Ball Technology Brakedown
The HyperElastic SoftFast Core boosts ball speed, especially with the driver, while providing a soft feel with your irons and improved softness around the greens.
The Dynamic Hybrid Cover The multi-material construction and dynamic hybrid cover enhance long-distance performance, exceptional spin, outstanding feel, and short game control.
The Softer Cover System Featuring a new, softer cover system designed for increased greenside spin, this ball is now even better throughout the bag, earning the love of players everywhere.
3. Srixon Soft Feel
This ball is now in it’s 10th Generation, and Srixon suggestions that this new series provides even better feel across all shots, better greenside spin and even more distance on fairways.
The primary goal in developing the new Soft Feel 10 golf ball was to achieve a softer feel while maintaining top-tier performance. With a new 60 compression, the Soft Feel is 12 points softer than the previous generation, enhancing the softness on all full shots.
The feel is further improved by the new thinner, softer ionomer cover, which is 3 points softer in hardness than its predecessor.
Key benefits of the new Soft Feel construction include:
- The thinner cover enables a larger core, maintaining high ball speed despite the lower compression, resulting in incredible distance with an even softer feel from tee to green.
- A softer cover enhances greenside spin, providing better control around the green.
The ball is a 2 piece construction and whilst other brands offer lower compression, however Srixon’s test data confirms that these balls do not deliver the same level of overall performance from tee to green. The advantage of the Soft Feel 10 lies in its ability to feel softer while offering an optimal blend of distance, accuracy, and spin, catering to a wide range of golfers.
