You’ve spent a considerable amount of time testing, swinging and finding the right set of clubs. You even realize that the “smaller” things can make a difference which is why you have tried a variety of golf gloves to find the right one. Even your golf shoes haven’t gone without notable consideration like comfort and grip. Now you are ready to go scorch the course with all the equipment needed to enhance your game – and your score, right?

The picture is one every golfer knows, standing on the tee box looking down the fairway of a majestic fist hole. Every golf lover can feel this scene as the perfectly manicured green looms in the distance, the goal… that taunting flagstick, the cup. It’s time. You step up, golf club in hand and reach for a tee and your – wait, what type of golf ball are you using? Remember, even the “smaller” things can make a difference. If that small thing is a golf ball, it could be a big difference.

The Right Golf Ball

Golf balls are not created equal, in fact, there are literally hundreds of variations all designed with specific purposes aimed to help improve a golfers game.

Distance and Flight

Think dimples, all those tiny indentations you see on the ball. Those aren’t for looks, those are designed to offer more distance and create more lift.

“If the core is the engine of a golf ball, the dimples are the wings,” says Nick Nardacci, Titleist’s senior manager of product development – aerodynamics.

That seems to be a perfect analogy.

Control

How a ball spins will greatly determine how a golfer will play the shot. Golf balls are typically are considered low-spin, mid-spin or high-spin designs. A high-spin design, for example, won’t offer as much roll out on the fairway but will offer considerably greater control around the greens.

Feel

The “feel” of the ball off of the club face, scientifically speaking is due to the ball’s construction. How many layers and ball material will cause some balls to feel soft upon contact while others may feel much more solid. Realistically speaking, there is also a mental factorthat simply plays into the game and that includes our equipment. We simply develop comfort levels and attachments to certain clubs or a brand and style of ball.

This is also indicative of the other major consideration when it comes to choosing the right ball because the ball itself is only part of the equation…

Your Game

Let’s revisit that opening scene as you are standing on the tee box and it’s your shot, by now the foursome ahead of you has safely moved on. Perhaps this is one of those monster opening holes, a forever-long par 5 and it takes your best tee shot to challenge this hole. Not all of us are averaging 250-plus yard off the tee and many of us are doing well getting out to the 230 to 240-yard markers. This is where your game may suggest a ball with some extra flight and roll out.

Those big hitters might not need the extra boost but perhaps there are some seriously lacking “greens in regulation” percentages that are roughing up the scorecard. Ball control can be improved with choosing the right golf ball, especially if your game is suggesting such an issue.

Every golfer has tendencies, strengths and weaknesses and areas of their game that can be improved, regardless of your handicap. It is perhaps one of the greatest joys in the game, the chance and achievement of self-improvement. Few sports offer such experience and the right golf ball, like all of your equipment, will help you become the best golfer you can be.

A Game of One and Many

Improving your game and the work behind the game is where the input, experience and advice of others are needed. Talk to other golfers, get in touch with a professional golf shop and talk to them, become educated about golf balls. Then start practicing with different varieties and find the one that best suits your game.

The group behind us is waiting – your shot.