Before deciding if buying a more expensive golf ball is worth the extra money you need to know what affects a golf ball, what a golf ball is made out of, and price difference between each golf ball. The most expensive golf ball I will be using is the Titleist Pro V1x. The second most expensive golf ball I will be using is the Titleist DT TruSoft, and the least expensive golf ball I will be using is the Pinnacle Rush. Some factors that could affect the distance and the spin of a golf ball are weight, the shape of the dimples, the diameter of the golf ball travels, and materials used to make each golf ball.

Weight is one of the factors in the distance a golf ball travels. Weight is the force produced by the gravitational attraction of the earth and the object. The minimum weight of a golf ball is 45.93 grams. The Pro V1x has a weight of 45.36 grams. The Titleist DT TruSoft has a weight of 45.33 grams, and the Pinnacle Rush has a weight of 45.23 grams.

Dimples affect the spin of the golf ball, but also affects the distance a little. Many early golf balls did not have dimples, but about a century ago somebody noticed that golf balls that had scuffs were traveling farther than new golf balls with no scuffs (Bryner). That is when manufacturers started putting dimples on their golf balls. The dimples were producing instability which was reducing drag (Bryner). The dimples on all of the golf balls which I am using are circles. Many golf balls are made of different materials, but most are made up of plastic and rubber materials.

A two-piece golf ball is made out of a solid rubber core with a sturdy thermoplastic cover(“Golf Ball”). Thermoplastic is a substance that becomes a plastic when heated and hardens when cooled, and the substance is able to repeat this process over and over again. A three-piece golf ball is made out of a solid or liquid filled middle with rubber thread wound around it under tension, and an ionomer or balata rubber cover(“Golf Ball”). The ionomer is any of a group of plastics that, because of its ionic bonding action, are capable of conducting electricity. Balata is a nonelastic, rubberlike, water resistant gum like object that softens in hot water.

A Titleist Pro V1x is consists of different materials that are not very common. A Titleist Pro V1x is a four piece golf ball made out of a 328 tetrahedral dimple design. It has a ZG dual core, a soft urethane cover, and an ionomeric casing layer(“Pro V1x”). A Titleist DT TruSoft is composed of a low compression core, an ionomer cover, and a 376 tetrahedral dimple design(“DT TruSoft”). The last golf ball, a Pinnacle Rush is a more traditional two piece golf ball. It has a high compression core with a firm ionomer cover(“PINNACLE RUSH”).

Other things like the size of a golf ball or the diameter of the golf ball, which is a measure of the distance straight through the middle of the golf ball can result in unfair advantages. The minimum diameter of a golf ball is 1.68 centimeters(“What is the size of a golf ball and hole”). Diameter doesn’t affect spin as much as it affects distance. The diameter affects the distance a ball travels because of air resistance. The Titleist Pro V1x has a diameter of 1.683 cm. The Titleist DT TruSoft also has a diameter of 1.683 cm, and the Pinnacle Rush has a diameter of 1.680 cm.

The Titleist Pro V1x is the most expensive golf ball that I am using, the DT TruSoft is the second most expensive golf ball, and the Pinnacle Rush is the least expensive golf ball. The Pro V1x golf balls cost $47.99 per dozen. The DT TruSoft golf balls cost $21.99 per dozen, and the least expensive golf balls, the Pinnacle Rush golf balls cost $19.99.

After I gather all the materials I need, I head straight to the golf course where I can do my experiment. I will first hit all the balls from about 70 yards with my gap wedge, and see where the ball lands as well as where it stops to see how much spin each ball can get. Then from a random spot in the fairway, I will hit each golf ball with the eight iron. I will differentiate between the distances of each golf ball. To find the distances I will stand where the ball was hit from and a family member will go out to where the ball ends up, then my family member will use the Bushnell range finder to find how far the ball went. Then I will go to the tee box and hit each ball with a driver and see the difference between each of the distances. From all of these distances I will hit three shots, and then calculate the averages to make sure one golf ball doesn’t get an advantage, because one of the shots could be hit poorly and one can be hit very well. When a shot is hit poorly there are many advantages or disadvantages a ball can get. If the ball stays on the ground it might go farther because of the way it was hit and it would stay out of the wind.

I was supposed to start with the 70 yard shots but instead I started with the driver and moved down. First I hit the Titleist Pro V1x balls with the driver, and the distances were 200,230, and 214 yards. Then I hit the Pinnacle RUSH golf balls with the driver, and the distances were a little more consistent than the Pro V1x’s. The distances were: 226,212, and 225 yards. Last I hit the Titleist DT TruSoft golf balls, and the distances were:228,214, and 223. After that I hit the eight iron with each ball, the distances for the Pro V1x were:131,137, and 135. When I hit the Pinnacle RUSH golf balls with the eight iron the distances were:134,131, and 132. The last three balls I hit with the eight iron were the Titleist DT TruSoft the distances were:121,140, and 139. Then finally I went to about 70 yards and I hit a club called a gap wedge to see how much backspin I would get. Backspin is also known as how hard the ball checks which means how fast a ball can stop on the greens. The Titleist Pro V1x golf balls checked the fastest here is the distance each ball traveled after landing:4 feet,0.5 feet. And one ball stopped exactly where it landed. Next was the Pinnacle RUSH golf ball these balls did not check very fast at all. The distances from landing to stopping were:12 feet,12.5 feet, and one ball was hit over the green so I was unable to get an accurate distance of where the ball landed. Then I hit the DT TruSoft golf balls which did not check as fast as the Pro V1x golf balls, but not as slow as the Pinnacle RUSH balls. The distance from landing to stopping were:5 feet, 5.5 feet, and the last ball was hit hit to far off target to calculate where the ball landed and stopped.