How to Buy Golf Balls

The most important element has nothing to do with your swing speed, your golf clubs or what you don't know about golf ball technology.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Resolve to follow this plan: You're going to identify one golf ball early in the season and play it for the rest of the year. You're going to do this because all brand-name golf balls perform more consistently than the vast majority of recreational golfers--even good ones. Knowing exactly how "your" ball performs in a variety of situations is far more important than the imaginary few extra yards you think you'd get with your buddy's ball today (when he happens to be having a good round).

2. Two-piece or three-piece? Two-piece balls are cheaper and many are marketed as distance balls. Three-piece (and more) are more expensive and can spin more in wedge play, generally without giving up distance. Those qualities can give you more control if you know what you're doing. Three-piece balls also tend to show wear more quickly, especially with aggressive wedge shots and cart-path golf.

3. Pay attention to what your local sports departments or pro shops actually stock on a regular basis. If you can't find it when you need it, you can't play it--and remember, you decided to play just one ball this year.

4. Don't agonize endlessly over all the different models. Grab a popular, attractive two-piece and three-piece ball in a price range you can afford and play a bunch of holes with each one. Golf is a mental game and you're going to like one more than the other before the round is over. Congratulations, you have just married a golf ball. Reception at the 19th hole.

5. If you're among the vast majority of golfers who (claim to) score around 100 for 18 holes, buying the most expensive, premium pro-shop ball is a waste of money. You're not good enough to tell the difference, and you (and the rest of your foursome) will stress out over losing them. When you run out of the good stuff you're going pull out a backup cheapie ball, or something you dragged from the lake--which violates Step 1.

6. So re-read step one and resolve to play the same ball for the whole season in a price range you can afford. If you like an expensive ball that is always available, by all means stick with that one. The consistency you can achieve with this method will be especially useful with wedge play and on the putting green--especially fast greens where every extra centimeter of knowledge will give you an edge. Against a player of equal ability who has switched this season between Callaway, Titleist, TaylorMade and Nike--all fine brands--someone who stuck with one will win out more often than not, regardless of how little it cost.

Tips & Warnings

• Itching to buy new clubs but want to save money so you can afford more golf? Buy last year's hot model. The retail markdown is usually significant, especially for drivers, but there haven't been any major advances in golf club design for several years. That means you can buy all manner of oversized and adjustable-weight clubs for a fraction of their original price, and much less than this year's flavor. Paying twice as much for that club is not going to improve your game by 100%--or even 10%.