Golf balls are a quick and easy change to make to your game to see big changes in performance. Professional golfers may mostly use premium golf balls, but these same golf balls are available for amateurs to use as well.
If you think that spin rates, distance, and launch angle are not impacted by the golf ball you use, think again! The technology you invest in here could make a huge difference in how you play the game.
What Golf Balls Do Pros Use?
The majority of professional golfers are using four and five-piece premium golf balls with high spin rates around the greens. The most popular of these golf balls include the Titleist Pro V1 and Titleist Pro V1x. Professionals must also use higher-compression golf balls because of their extremely fast swing speeds.
Golf ball companies sponsor many golf professionals. This also plays into their decision as to which golf ball to use. If you are a player getting paid millions of dollars to use a Titleist golf ball, chances are you will find a Titleist that works for your game.
Types of Golf Balls That Professionals Use
Golf balls typically choose golf balls for their game based on a few different reasons. Most of the time, this is performance related and will deal with their ability to get the ball into the hole quicker and win events.
Higher Compression
One thing we know about professionals is that they have very fast swing speeds. These higher swing speeds mean that they will benefit from a golf ball that is a bit harder to compress.Â
When your swing speed is slower, you may have a hard time making solid contact with a high-compression ball, and you will likely lose out on the total distance. However, for professionals, playing with a golf ball that is too soft will cost them distance.
Most of the time, the compression ratings on golf balls that professionals use will be over 90.
High Greenside Spin
If you watch any professional golf on television, chances are you have seen how these guys can spin the golf ball. They will often land a shot past the hole and get the ball back up and into the hole from there.
This takes quite a bit of clubhead speed, clubs with the proper grooves, and a great strike with the ball. However, it can also take the use of the right golf ball. High greenside spin is much easier to obtain if you have the proper golf ball in place.
A premium golf ball has several layers in place that help ensure the ball will spin when it is struck. Many players find that switching to something like the Titleist Pro V1 can suddenly spin the golf ball on the greens easily.Â
Low Spin Off The Tee
Low spin off the tee is another benefit professional golfers have been looking for in the last few years. With a lower spin rate off the tee, more distance is attainable. The golf ball will hit the fairway, and instead of stopping in place, it continues to roll for twenty or even thirty more yards at times.
Professionals will take this extra distance when they can get it.
Many of these players generate too much spin in their games, so it’s a good idea to pair that up with a low-spinning golf ball for those high-speed tee shots.
More Than Two Piece Golf Balls
Two-piece golf balls are designed for pure distance. They also value golf balls that are much more affordable than others. However, there are better choices than two-piece golf balls for golfers that need the highest level of performance on the course.Â
These two-piece golf balls are often sold to beginners or high handicappers that lose a lot of golf balls. Instead, it makes sense to take advantage of the four and five-piece golf balls on the market if you are a great player or a professional.
Think about it this way: each layer of the golf ball adds to your total performance. If you choose a golf ball that does not have more than two layers, you limit the performance. Once you get to the four and five-piece golf balls, they have very similar performance capabilities.
Durable Outer Cover
The outer cover of a golf ball for a professional must have a soft feel to allow for better traction and control. However, it is also important that the golf ball does not crack or scratch after a strike. The durable outer cover can be hard to find for professionals.
Most professionals make solid contact with a golf ball; they just have so much strength and power that they can often cut the ball. This is especially noticed when hitting greenside bunker shots. For these guys, changing the ball every few holes is considered to be normal.
However, if they chose a ball with a less-than-durable outer cover, the chance of cutting it would be higher. In this situation, they may be replacing the ball after every hole.
Brand
The brand that professionals use is typically Callaway, Titleist, TaylorMade, or Bridgestone. These are the most well-known brands in the game of golf when it comes to golf ball technology.
Professionals are often approached by other smaller brands trying to get them to use their golf balls on the professional tour. Although the PGA Tour professionals may be interested in seeing how the technology works, it’s a big deal to change from one golf ball to another.
Most will only make this change if it makes sense for their game and they can see the apparent differences. For a company to come out with a ball that rivals the Titleist Pro V line right now would be very surprising.
Pros and The Golf Balls they Use
When you look at the best golfers in the game and the golf balls you use, there is a lot of overlap. This shows us that the top golf balls in the game are chosen from a small list. With hundreds of golf ball choices on the market, you will see the same five or six golf balls used by the best players in the game.
Keegan Bradley: Srixon Z Star
Keegan Bradley just recently won a professional event playing with the Srixon Z Star. The Z Star is not nearly as popular on the PGA Tour, but it is built for a highly competitive golfer looking to max out on spin and total distance.
With the Z Star in place, Keegan, a very high-swing speed player, can get maximum distance and control. In addition, the Z Star is a great golf ball for players concerned with controlling the height of the golf ball.
With fast swing speeds, sometimes the ball can get a little too high up in the air and cost players distance; this shouldn’t be an issue with Srixon Z Star.
Justin Thomas: Titleist Pro V1x
The Titleist Pro V1x is one of the most popular golf balls in the game, and it is a favorite of Justin Thomas. Thomas plays with all Titleist clubs, and the Pro V1x is a great way to complement this impressive set of clubs he carries.
One of the best things about the Titleist Pro V1x is that it is incredibly responsive around the greens. If you have difficulty getting a golf ball to do what you want it to do on the green, the Pro V1x could change that for you.
Jon Rahm: TaylorMade TP5
The golf ball that Jon Rahm uses is the TaylorMade TP5. With the TP5 being one of the only five-piece golf balls on the market, players can benefit from tremendous performance around the greens and off the tee.
The TP5 has an excellent feel for those with a higher swing speed. You may notice other TaylorMade sponsored professionals using the TaylorMade five-piece balls as well.
Rahm has reportedly used the Callaway Chrome Soft in many events this year, and we may have now seen the switch to Callaway from this top player.
Collin Morikawa: TaylorMade TP5
Collin Morikawa is one of the best young players on the PGA tour right now. Everything about his game is calculated, measured, and precise. Other players admire him for his impressive iron control and accuracy.
He would only be able to control the irons quite the way he does with the perfect golf ball in play. The TP5 creates plenty of spin around the greens, allows for that extra roll off the tee, and is a perfect fit for approaches into the green with an iron shot.
Bryson DeChambeau: Bridgestone Tour B X
If you know anything about Bryson DeChambeau, you know that he likes to do things differently than other golfers on the PGA Tour. Bryson is currently playing with the Bridgestone Tour B X, but he is a player that will change from time to time.
Bryson is very particular about spin rates and total yardage. He has found that the Tour B X allows him to do all the things he needs to in his game, and the golf ball supports him the entire way.
Tony Finau: Titleist Pro V1
If you want to get inspired in the game of golf, watching Tony Finau play could certainly do it. Finau has a large family that supports him fully, and he is on a real mission to capture his first win. However, he has now done that, and the floodgates have opened.
Finau is a tremendous ball striker, and the Titleist Pro V1 is a golf ball that perfectly supports his ability on the golf course. Titleist incorporates their drop-and-stop technology into the Pro V1. The drop-and-stop technology certainly makes it easier to get things under control around the greens.
Sam Burns: Callaway Chrome Soft X
The Callaway Chrome Soft X is essentially the Callaway version of the Titleist Pro V1x. With the Chrome Soft X, expect incredible distance off the tee and increased spin around the greens.
One of the things that players like most about Callaway are how responsive the golf ball feels. There are several versions of the Chrome Soft for golfers looking to play with something a bit different than the Chrome Soft X; the LS is another popular option for the lower spin off the tee.
FAQs
Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about what golf balls professionals use. Remember that the golf ball is a significant part of the technology that a golfer has in their bag, and it must be considered just like choosing a new driver or fairway wood.
Conclusion
We hope you now feel confident in choosing a golf ball that the professionals use. Knowing what golf ball pros use does not always mean that you need to make a switch, but it can certainly help with certain types of performance around the greens. The biggest thing to consider here is whether or not you have the clubhead speed you need to support the golf balls that professionals play with. For many amateurs, swing speeds are just too slow to justify the higher compression golf balls.
