In my humble opinion, the most important aspect of your bag is your golf ball’s spin profile. When done with the utmost precision, getting fit into the right golf ball is the make-or-break decision you will make this fall/winter to prepare for your season. That time is drawing near for those in the desert and eastern south coastal communities.
When it comes to the Chrome Soft family of golf balls, there IS the perfect ball for you between the three options, BUT it all comes down to spin, as you will see. In this week’s video…
It needs to be said that this video/article is addressing spin as it relates to the TOUR, myself, and players that sit on the lower handicap side. Not all players can spin it at the numbers below and need to compensate for that with higher launch and steeper landing angles. At the core of what I’m trying to say is playing the right golf ball is paramount above all else. It’s been proven to me time and time, whether on TOUR or at home with my Dad. Club technology is evolving with golf balls, and finding the perfect balance between your sticks, your ball, and YOU, the golfer is always the goal.
Here are the basics on the Chrome Soft family:
Chrome Soft (Red Box) 3-piece Construction
Who is it for?
This is the ball for the widest range of players, from professional players looking for a bit launch and ball speed to the 20+ handicap that wants a ball that does it all.
Chrome Soft X LS (Silver Box) 4-piece Construction
Who is it for?
Players looking to knock spin down across the bag while not sacrificing spin/touch around the greens.
Chrome Soft X (Black Box) 4-piece Construction
Who is it for?
Jon Rahm, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, or players looking for complete control over the golf ball. Simple.
Good Spin VS Bad Spin
Read ths article from last fall!
This is where it gets interesting. These balls’ spin profile separates them from a 35,000-foot view. YES, they are all fast and sit in benefit of specific players, but they all carry a very unique spin profile. On TOUR, spin windows might look something like this:
Low to high in RPMs
Driver: 2200-2600
3-Wood: 3000-3400
5-Wood/UW/7 Wood/Hybrid: 3500-4000
4-Iron:3800-4200
5-Iron: 4800-5200
6-Iron: 5800-6200
7-Iron: 6800-7200
8-Iron: 7800-8200
9-Iron: 8800-9200
PW: 9500-9800
GW: 10,000+
SW: 10,000+
LW: 10,000+
What bad spin looks like:
On TOUR and in fittings (or if you have your own), launch data informs us on what a ball is doing in the air. So if the above numbers represent something in the pocket, these numbers represent the flip side to that…I’ll use the bag I had a few years ago as an example:
Driver: 1600-2200
3-Wood: 2400-2800
5-Wood/UW/7 Wood/Hybrid: 3000-3400
4-Iron: 2800-3300
5-Iron: 3800-4200
6-Iron: 5000-5400
7-Iron: 6000-6400
8-Iron: 7000-7400
9-Iron: 8000-8400
PW: 9000-9300
GW: 8500-9400
SW: 9400-9800
LW: 10,000+
I could cheat a little with this set-up because my launch at the time was very high, 13-14 degrees, with a driver, for example. Ultimately the lack of spin reared its ugly head on the days when my ball striking was off; what that looked like was a severe lack of control in the air and a ball (that, if not launched high and right at the target) that fell right out of the sky. It was impossible to find any semblance of consistency because the ball simply would not carry the desired number unless I flushed it. That’s a NO NO. A good bag has, at the very least, a high-performance floor. The high floor is far more important (to ALL golfers) than a high ceiling.
Earlier in the year, I fell in LOVE with our CSX LS golf ball because, at the time, my ball striking was on point, and I was playing shaft profiles and heads that spun like crazy. However, I noticed a 50/50 split in performance, with my good days being great but my bad ones being atrocious. Going back into CSX rose the floor substantially for me because the ball introduced all-important spin back into my set regardless of what ball striking showed up that day. Proper spin allows the player to trust, and the lack of it leaves the player with little more than hope.
How can I tell if my ball has enough spin?
The easiest way to see it in the air are these three key things:
- The ball doesn’t stay in the air.
- The misses are amplified considerably. A ball without enough spin is like driving a golf cart downhill with no governor and really terrible breaks.
- Lack of control from 100 yards and in. If the ball is proper, it should check and stop rather quickly.
So what now?
When you go to your next fitting for the latest and greatest, make sure you get fit for the ball first. Build your bag off of that one piece, and I promise you will see a HUGE difference in your performance. It’s the rug that “really ties the room together,” to put it into Lebowski speak.
Happy Hunting
JDub
