AskMyGolfSpy Vol. 28

Welcome back to another edition of #AskMyGolfSpy where readers like you submit your top questions to our experts here at MGS. You can pass along your questions to the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or right here in the comments section below!

Here’s what you asked us this week.

What one change (rule, etiquette, etc.) would do the most to speed up the pace of normal, amateur, hobbyist play? – Bobby Norwood

I’ve always felt the onus should be on the golf course to enforce pace of play and yet so few do. Isn’t that what rangers are for? Maybe the rule should be that any course that can’t maintain a sensible pace of play has to refund your money.

I’m also a fan of shot clocks and punishing infractions with electroshocks but if we’re limited to the rule book, short of capping the score at double-bogey, I think doing away with white stakes (out of bounds) and playing OB as a red-staked penalty area would simplify things quite a bit and help to speed up play as well.

What companies give you the hardest time about testing their gear or just won’t play along? -@29TimKing

I love these “inside baseball” type questions.

At one time or another, we’ve fought battles with nearly every larger manufacturer (though PING and COBRA have been easy to work with through the years). These days, we don’t have any issues with anyone. Sometimes a larger company may not want something tested but that’s usually the really niche-y stuff that doesn’t fit within our testing protocols.

Along similar lines, not everyone agrees with all our testing protocols but most understand why we do things the way we do and the challenges that come with testing the volume of products we do.

All of that said, sometimes a smaller company declines to participate and we have to decide whether they’ll be missed if we don’t include them.

Are you surprised that TaylorMade is still the only manufacturer to use a carbon driver face, that they’re still only using it for the driver, and do you think other manufacturers will follow suit next year? -@jodrell

Nope. TaylorMade says it took 20 years to make the technology viable and I’m guessing most others weren’t even looking at it. We’ve seen good results from the Stealth lineup but it’s certainly not a case where TaylorMade drivers are inarguably better for everyone. They’re not blowing away the competition.

It’s also important to understand that carbon fiber faces don’t scale well. That is to say, size is what allows them to work. With that, it’s unlikely you’ll see them on fairway woods, hybrids or even mini drivers.

The bottom line is that I think most everyone is comfortable with what they’re using right now and while you might see changes here and there, I still think it’s going to be a while before anyone else make a carbon driver face.

Do you think premium ball prices are getting out of hand? – @ChuckyLav

At this point, I’d say it’s something to watch. As long as lower-priced alternatives are available (and there are plenty of them), I don’t think it’s too much of an issue.

2024 should provide a clearer picture of where things stand. Bridgestone, Callaway and Taylormade are all expected to launch new premium balls next year. Will those companies raise prices to match Titleist or are they content where they are? I’d bet at least two of the three bump their prices. 

Ultimately, the consumer decides. As long as $55 golf balls sell, companies will continue to sell $55 golf balls.

Why isn’t Noodle the #1 used golf ball on the PGA tour? -@bogey_golfer

I think it’s been all downhill for the Noodle brand since Gary McCord got kicked out of the Masters broadcast booth. That said, with a rollback in the works, perhaps the Noodle is poised for a comeback.

Do the pros play a different spec ball than what is available to the public? -ChezDerek

This one pops up once or twice a year. The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Most, if not every, brand would prefer its staffers use the retail ball but it doesn’t always work out that way.

Titleist, for example, still offers Left Dot (a lower-flying, lower-spinning version of the Pro V1). Pro V1 Star (a higher-spinning Pro V1) and few prior-gen balls that are no longer on shelves to PGA TOUR staff.

TaylorMade had a few different variants of TP5/TP5x and Callaway has some different versions of Chrome Soft X in play as well.

The thing to keep in mind is that these balls aren’t better. They’re just different.

The professionals want to see a golf ball fly through a specific and tight window so it’s not uncommon for brands to tweak a stock design to deliver the trajectory a given staffer is looking for.

What’s the benefit of replacing a stock PW with a Vokey/Cleveland etc? – @klusterphluff

The short answer is that specialty (non set-matched) wedges tend to be more versatile and in many cases have better grooves. If you want to dig deeper, we’ve got an entire post dedicated to the subject.

More Questions?

As always, if you have any questions for the MGS crew (and they don’t have to be about the golf ball), drop them below for a chance to be featured in next week’s #AskMyGolfSpy!