EQUIPMENT: Ball Fitting With The PGA TOUR Superstore

What golf ball do you play? Are you a ProV guy because that’s what most pros use? Maybe you prefer a budget ball from one of those direct to consumer brands. Maybe you just use whatever you find in the woods or what’s on sale. Whatever ball you use for your round it can impact your score positively or negatively.
 

Playing the right ball for you is as simple as holding a green in regulation or bouncing off the back into a bunker. I had “fit” myself to the Chromesoft Truvis ball because I had the most success with that ball, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t leaving something on the table. That’s why I reached out to my local PGA TOUR Superstore and setup a ball fitting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What To Expect 

Just like getting fit for Drivers, irons, wedges or putters, the technology exists now to fit each golfer to the best ball for them. What works best for Dustin Johnson may not work best for you.  When you do a ball fitting with the PGA TOUR Superstore you aren’t just piping a few drivers into the screen and going with the longest off the tee. It’s a process that works backwards from the green to the tee.
 

You will focus on feel off the putter face and end with distance/accuracy off the tee with your driver. Before you begin your ball test, the fitter will ask you a series of questions so they can get an idea of what you like and what you’re looking to accomplish.
 

These questions include what ball you use, why you use it, what you want to achieve in your fitting and price range you want to stay in. Your answers will guide the fitter into what options to show you. If you don’t care about the price, the fitter will move right into the premium balls because like anything, the more it costs the better it is (usually). 

Complete Ball Fitting At The PGA Tour Superstore

This is the best ball fitting video you can find! I went to the PGA Superstore and found out what goes into a ball fitting. I will get answers to common questions and show you all 4 phases of an indoor ball fitting.

Putter Test

The putter test kicks off your personal ball fitting journey. Why? Because the green is where you will hit 1/3 of your shots. The fitter will set you up about 10 feet away from the hole. Your job is to focus on the feel of the ball while you putt. It doesn’t matter if you make the putt or not. It’s all about feel.
 

They will set each ball down in front of you with the label down. You won’t know what brand you’re hitting. This way there are no brand bias expectations and you end up selecting what you prefer based on feel. Whatever ball you currently play with will be added into this part of the test but that doesn’t mean it will stay in the competition. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wedge Test (50-Yard Pitch Shot)

At this point you have eliminated a decent amount of balls and you’re ready to take your test into the simulator. The idea behind this part of the ball fitting test is that you missed your approach into the green. You’re hitting a 50-yard pitch shot at the flag. You want that ball to stop where it lands. That way you can start firing at pins and leave yourself with shorter putts.
 

The more spin you generate, the less roll out you will get. The data will be captured by the simulators software so the fitter will know exactly what each ball is doing for you and the clubs you are using. Just like the putter test, the fitter will set the balls down in front of you with the label down. You won’t know what ball you’re hitting; you will only see the results. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Approach Shot (7 iron or 150-160 Yards)

Moving forward into the ball test we move further away from the green. Now you will hit a 7 iron into the green. The fitter will ask you how far you hit your 7 iron and adjust the distance from there. The idea behind this part of the test is to see if you can hold a green from further out. If one ball doesn’t generate enough spin to stay on the green and another does then you would want to go with that option.
 

It’s important to keep in mind that you are not club testing here. It’s not about speed or distances it’s about hitting greens so you can start finding more birdies. Don’t worry if you hit a bad shot or two. The fitter will remove those from the equation. Trust me, I hit plenty of bad ones during my test. If you haven’t guessed it by now, you still won’t know what ball you’re hitting but the fitter will. Just enjoy the process and let the data speak for itself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Driver

By this point you are nice and loose so it’s time to take this test to the tee and start pounding driver. If the balls you’re left with preform on the green, spin great with pitch shots and hold greens with your 7 iron it’s now time to see if they preform off the tee. Try your best to make solid contact here. As tempting as it may be to go full send, you want to get good data so you can make an informed decision at the end of the test.
 

To be honest I did try to crush a few at the end just to see how far I could hit it. The fitter is going to look at the spin rates off the tee when you’re done. This is not where we want the most spin generated. Too much spin with the driver will reduce distance and roll out. The goal is to find a ball that checks all the boxes, not just a few. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On-Course Testing

Now that you have completed your indoor, data driven test you should be left with two or three options that fit your game the best. If the ball you came in the door with is still in the running, you already know how it performs on the course. If you’re left with a few new options, it’s time to buy a dozen of each and take them to the course.

The fitter will provide you with a comment card to guide you through the on the course testing. When you play your ball testing round of golf, it won’t be just based on score. You will want to try a variety of shots with each ball you’re testing.
 

The comment card will guide you on what shots to try and what to focus on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Based on your results you should know what ball is best for you. If you’re still unsure, you can take that comment card back to the store with the remaining golf balls you purchased and head back into the simulator. The great thing about the PGA Superstore is that they have a 90-day playability guarantee. Let’s say one ball way outperformed the other. Just bring those balls back and exchange them for the brand that worked best for you. 

Summary 

If you would like to try a ball fitting with the PGA Superstore head over to their website and navigate to the ball fitting tab. You will be able to find your nearest store. A ball fitting isn’t just for elite players. Anyone looking to improve their game will benefit from this experience.

Plus, doing a fitting is a ton of fun. I really enjoyed my ball fitting experience and I know you will too. I ended up with two options to try on the course. The Srixon Z Star and the TaylorMade TP5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I can’t wait to see how these preform in real world conditions and find out what is the absolute best ball for me. 

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