There are lots of people that will try to say that the golf ball a high handicap player uses does not matter. However, this is just not true.
The golf ball you use will impact your game.
High handicap golfers should not expect to drop five or six shots off of their next round simply by switching to a different golf ball. However, if you are looking for a few more yards, some extra forgiveness, or more spin around the greens, a good golf ball can make all the difference.
The hard part is trying to decide which golf balls are the best on the market. It’s important to find balls that have fast ball speed, low spin from the tee, soft feel around the greens, and more. We have put together the ultimate list of the best golf balls for high handicappers.
The Callaway Supersoft 2023 is the best overall golf ball for high handicappers, but we have lots of other options that are worth considering as well. Here are the top eleven best golf balls for high handicappers in 2023.
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- High speed soft compression core for better distance
- New cover for increased durability but better short game feel
- Impressive greenside control
- One of the best value golf balls for high handicappers
- Has good performance even with the lower price
- Smart choice for the slower swing speed higher handicapper
- Good choice for slow swing speed looking for distance
- Durable outer cover
- Can control ball flight even through the wind
- High energy core
- Good golf balls for the price
- Aerodynamic straight flight dimple pattern
- Smart choice for slower swing speeds
- Easy golf ball to find
- Matte color design is easy to see
- Very soft feel around the green
- Good choice for slow swing speed players
- Fair price for dozen golf balls
- It helps produce a straight ball flight
- It has a soft and impressive feel
- Very fair value for a senior golfer
- Distance balls with a softer feel
- Better greenside spin than most golf balls for high handicappers
- Workes well for faster swing speed players
- Golf ball offers excellent distance and the softest feel
- Only 50 compression
- Responsive cover
Best Overall Golf Ball For High Handicappers: Callaway Supersoft Golf Balls 12B PK
The Callaway 2023 Supersoft golf balls are the best overall golf balls for high handicappers. The first thing you will notice about the new version of Supersoft is the new Hybrid Cover. The cover of a golf ball is what gives it its durability and feel.
The new multi-material construction of the Callaway Supersoft cover allows for extremely fast ball speeds, higher launch, and low spin. In addition, the overall feel of the ball is much softer, with better greenside performance.
Supersoft golf balls have long been recognized for their lower compression core. Golfers that have average swing speeds will get extra distance and performance with the Supersoft golf balls in play. As we have seen with Callaway for many years, the HEX Aerodynamics will also come into play to ensure that there is reduced drag and better lift on the ball.
Perhaps best of all, this is just really great technology for the price. Callaway makes it easy for high handicappers not to have to think about complicated golf ball data analytics; they simply hand over some of the best technology on the market.
Best Premium Golf Ball For High Handicappers: Tour Speed Golf Balls, White, (One Dozen)
Not all high handicap golfers should be looking for discount golf balls. It is assumed that many high handicap golfers hit the ball out of bounds when they play, but this is just not the case. Many high handicap golfers hit the ball really straight; they just struggle with short game or distance.
The Tour Speed Golf Balls are a great option to consider if you want to get long distance, a penetrating ball flight, and impressive scoring ability. This ball will be priced slightly higher than most other golf balls on our list, but the performance difference is noticeable.
The soft feel that the Tour Speed Golf Balls offer can be an excellent choice for both higher swing speed and slower swing speed golfers. Overall this is going to be a distance ball that still provides feel around the green. The combination is quite impressive and one worth considering for high handicappers.
Best Value Golf Ball For High Handicappers: Wilson Staff Zip Golf Balls (Pack of 24)
If you are a higher handicap golfer that struggles to keep the ball in play, sometimes finding a less expensive golf ball is going to be an intelligent choice. Wilson makes some of the best lower-priced golf balls for high handicappers on the market.
The Wilson Staff Zip Golf Balls have a very low compression core and are some of the best golf balls for high handicappers that need extra roll on the golf course. The shallow dimples on the Wilson Staff Zip also help the ball to cut through the air a bit.
Although you may wonder how much the dimple pattern affects the ball, it is certainly enough to make a difference and improve overall performance. Whether you are looking for something cheap to get you around the course without worrying about cost or you like a decent golf ball with good distance features, the Wilson is a smart choice.
Best Cheap Golf Ball For High Handicappers: Nitro Ultimate Distance Golf Balls
With value golf balls, we look for both performance and a fair price point. However, with cheap golf balls, the pricing is the main characteristic we are looking for. The best cheap golf balls on the market are the Nitro Ultimate Distance golf balls.
If you are a player looking to try and get the most distance from your shots for the lowest price, this could be the best golf ball out there.
The Nitro Ultimate distance is a two-piece golf ball with a very low spin. Golfers notice that the ball will fly and roll a very long way, especially with the driver and fairway wood. Around the greens, this will not be the highest performing golf ball you find, but it does have enough performance to get the job done.
One other impressive feature of the Nitro is that it has a very durable and strong outer cover. If you are worried about the ball cracking or scuffing, the Nitro will be a great choice to consider. If you can keep the ball in play, you will get several rounds out of it.
Best Distance Golf Balls For High Handicappers: 2023 TaylorMade Distance+ Golf Balls
Many high handicap golfers struggle with distance. The best golf balls for high handicappers looking to get more distance are the new TaylorMade Distance + golf balls. If you know anything about TaylorMade, you may understand their desire to get players more speed and distance.
Each of the new TaylorMade golf clubs on the market is designed to increase ball speed. Pairing this golf ball technology with any new distance equipment will provide golfers with exceptional performance.
The Distance + golf balls are built with a React Speed Core and an aerodynamic dimple pattern. The dimple pattern helps players to get straighter shots and better ball flight as well. Distance balls are typically two layer construction and have mid-launch, which is precisely what the TaylorMade Distance + has.
Around the green, you can expect a softer feel because of the Ionomer cover. The Ionomer material is of the softest balls on the market and an excellent fit for players with average swing speeds.
Best Visibility Golf Balls For High Handicappers: Volvik Vimax Soft
The colored golf balls have become extremely popular in the last few years. Colored golf balls are easier to find, and many golfers have an easier time focusing on their iron shots and short game shots when the golf ball is colored.
Volvik Vimax Soft makes some of the best colored golf balls on the market. You will want to ensure that any colored golf ball you choose is a matte color as this will really help with visibility and glare. All of the Volvik Vimax colors are matte.
The Volvik Vimax Soft does a great job of offering a softer feel around the greens. The ball is going to respond well to your chip shots and has a high launch for the approach shots to the green. This is a mix of a distance ball and a short game golf ball.
Best Short Game Golf Ball For High Handicap Golfers: Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls
Many high handicap golfers get hung up on the idea of distance in their golf game. Sometimes if you look at what is causing your scores to be so high, it has everything to do with the short game. Playing with a softer ball that provides more spin around the green can completely change the game of a high handicap player.
The Srixon Soft Feel is not considered premium balls as they come at a fair price. However, they are known for being of the best golf ball options for short game performance. Players get plenty of distance off the tee because of the overall lower compression. In addition, the 338 Speed Dimple pattern helps to reduce drag and increase launch.
The thin cover means that you will feel what you are doing with this golf ball when you are close to the green. The Srixon Soft Feel has a very satisfying feel coming off the putter’s face. Even players with moderate swing speeds can get a good deal of spin around the greens.
Best Golf Ball For Beginners: TaylorMade Noodle Long and Soft
High handicappers and beginners are often clumped into the same category of golfers. However, there are some significant differences between buying golf balls for beginners and buying golf balls for high handicappers.
Beginners have spent almost no time on the golf course, and their golf swing has not been perfected. In fact, each time a beginner goes out to play, their swing speed and performance could be entirely different. Some high handicappers, however, will shoot the same score each time they go out.
Therefore beginners should focus on golf balls that provide ball speed for the lowest possible price. There is no question that beginners are going to lose golf balls, and that has everything to do with the fact that they don’t even know how to appropriately watch where the golf ball has traveled at this point in their career.
The TaylorMade Noodle Long and Sofft is the best golf ball for a beginner. There is just enough spin around the greens, a straighter flight technology, and a durable cover. If you can keep this ball in play, you will be able to use it for many rounds.
Best Golf Ball For High Handicappers With Fast Swing Speeds: Bridgestone e6
Many times slow swing speeds and high handicaps go hand in hand. However, this is not always the case. For a high handicapper with a faster swing speed, it can be hard to find a golf ball that is a good fit for your game. Something that is super low compression will likely provide high launch and reduced distance.
Therefore the Bridgestone e6 could be a much better choice. With this ball in play, you will get faster ball speed, extra distance but some very soft feel around the greens. The seamless cover of the e6 helps to ensure that the high handicapper can also get some spin around the green.
The golf balls offer some of the tour ball technology that Bridgestone puts into their other models. If you will buy golf balls that will work for both a high handicapper and a mid handicapper, this is a wise choice to consider.
Best Golf Ball For Women High Handicappers: Wilson Staff Fifty Elite Golf Ball, Pink
Women with high handicappers need some of the same things that men need in their golf balls. However, the best balls for women with high handicappers are typically the long golf balls. Most women golfers complain that they can’t get enough distance. The Wilson Staff Fifty Elite can help.
The Wilson Staff Fifty Elite golf balls have very similar low compression to the Callaway Supersoft Golf balls. The rubber core helps golfers get that extra roll of the tee and still get some performance around the green. A low compression core is a must for a women golfer, and 50 compression is undoubtedly on the low side.
Women golfers that want to feel as though they can spin and work the ball around the green will be impressed with the performance of the Wilson Staff Fifty Elite Golf ball.
Best 3 Piece Golf Balls For High Handicappers: Vice Tour Golf Balls
Most of the golf balls for high handicappers are two pieces. This means they offer long and straight distance but not always as much spin and feel around the greens. The Vice Tour Golf balls are some of the highest performing and best priced three piece golf balls on the market. The Soft Energy Speed Core gives players lots of extra distance and an impressive feel at impact.
Many players feel as though they hit the ball straighter after putting the Vice Tour Golf Balls into play. One thing that is important to remember about Vice is that they are a direct to consumer business model. This means that you will get these golf balls for a very fair price.
Golfers have been comparing the Vice golf balls to the Titleist for quite some time, and there are certainly some similarities. If you are looking for excellent quality and overall impressive performance, this is a great golf ball to try.
What To Look For In Golf Balls For High Handicappers
Now that you have this list of the best golf balls on the market, it’s time to start narrowing down which could be the best for your individual game. As a golfer, you should have a general idea as to what your strengths and weaknesses are. Do you find that you struggle with getting yardage, or is it more about the spin on the greens?
Some golfers find that they get too much side spin in their long game. Whatever it is that has you looking for a golf ball, here are a few ways that you can choose one ball from another when you play your next round of golf.
Spin
When the face of a golf club and the dimples on a golf ball make contact with each other, a great deal of spin will be created. In the long game, you will want the spin to take you on a long roll. In the short game, you will want the spin to stop directly where it landed.
The low-long game spin is something that golf ball manufacturers have been trying to perfect for several years. As time goes on, golf balls have become more technologically advanced to accommodate golfers for their wedge spin and their driver spin.
If you are a player that struggles to spin around the greens, look for a golf ball that has a soft feel and lots of greenside spin. However, if you need a golf ball to fly straight, look for a lower spinning golf ball. Typically speaking, the golf balls with more than two pieces offer some great greenside spin but are not always the longest golf balls.
Feel
Feel is a term that is used even in the name of some of these new golf balls on our list. For instance, the Srixon Soft feel gives players the impression that the ball will be responsive around the green. Most of the time, a low compression golf ball will have a softer feel than a higher compression ball.
The reason golfers want to have a good feel on their golf balls is that it becomes easier to hit certain types of shots. If you are close to the side of the green playing with a golf ball that has a soft cover, chances are you will be able to feel the type of shot you need to hit to get the golf ball to stay on the green.
With a challenging golf ball, it becomes different to get the ball to do what you need it to do.
Sometimes the feel comes down to the type of cover on the ball. The Urethane cover and Ionomer cover tend to be the most popular choices out there. Although the urethane cover is more durable, it does not always have that same softer feel at impact.
Compression
The slower your swing speed, the lower the compression that you need. Golf courses are not getting any shorter, and players need to find ways to get a low long game spin, higher ball flight, and the softest feel around the greens. The lower compression golf balls can provide all of that.
Most higher handicap golfers need a compression rating of around 60 or less. Tour balls tend to have compression around 100. If your swing speed is faster, and you wand a few yards more off the tee, you can switch to a higher compression ball and still see the difference.
When choosing golf balls, don’t get overly hung up on the compression rating. As long as it is within the range recommended for your golf game, you will be more than fine choosing that golf ball.
Number of Pieces
Most golf balls for high handicap players are two piece golf balls. The idea behind the two piece golf ball is that it provides the most amount of distance for the best price. Premium golf balls typically have three or more pieces, and the pricing will be considerably higher.
When you go with a golf ball that has three or four pieces, you will get more tee and greenside performance; however, the golf ball is also going to have a higher compression rating. The low compression is hard to maintain when the golf ball has lots of pieces.
Two piece golf balls have a much better greenside feel and performance today than they did many years ago. High handicappers do not need to be concerned about playing with a two piece golf ball.
Brand
There are lots of golf ball brands on the market that you may have never even heard of. Some of the companies that make the best golf balls for high handicappers include TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway, Vice, Volvik, Bridgestone, and Srixon.
If you choose an off-name brand of golf balls, just ensure that they have the technology necessary for straighter shots, less side spin, low compression, and increased overall distance. The brand name does not matter all that much if you find a golf ball that is a good fit for your game.
Color
More and more golf ball manufacturers are making colored golf balls. Not only does the color make it easier to find a lost golf ball, but it will also improve a golfer’s ability to focus and visualize their shots. Some of the easiest colors to see are yellow and orange.
Some professional golfers are even starting to use colored golf balls. This is a technology that works for some people, while others will find it is not helpful. Some golf balls like the Volvik are easy to find in any color that you want, while others like the Titleist Velocity Golf balls can be a bit more of a challenge.
Pricing
High handicappers should be prepared to spend anywhere from $20 to $30 for a dozen golf balls. Typically that $35 and above mark is where you see some of the premium golf balls start to become more popular.
Keep an eye out for sales where you can purchase more than one dozen golf balls and get a discount. You will have to pay more upfront, but you will get the same golf ball for considerably less money. As long as you store the balls in a temperature-controlled environment, they will last for quite some time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that you have all of the insider information on the best golf balls on the market for high handicappers. Let’s look at some of the questions that golfers often ask about which golf ball may be best for their game.
What Type Of Golf Ball Should A High Handicapper Use?
A golfer, regardless of handicap, should play with a ball that matches their swing speed and their player preference. The majority of high handicap golfers are slower swing speed players that need a lower spin on their drives.
If this describes you, then a low spinning, the low compression golf ball will be the best fit. However, there are still some high handicapped players that have fast swing speeds and need a higher compression. Try to get a handle on what your swing speed is and choose a ball within this range.
Golfers that are still in the stage of losing quite a few golf balls should play with something relatively inexpensive until they straighten out their golf swing.
Do Golf Balls Matter For High Handicappers?
A golf ball matters for a high handicap golfer. Although you will not need to purchase the highest quality premium golf balls for over $50 a dozen, buying something that matches the needs of your game is worth the investment.
Some of the cheaper golf balls with a low spin and low compression are the best choice for the high handicapper, but this technology does matter, and it makes a difference.
Most golfers will find that the area of the game where golf balls have the most impact is the short game. If you are a higher handicap player, chances are your short game could get a little better. Having a ball with a soft feel and impressive short game interaction will undoubtedly help you become a better overall player.
What Golf Ball Is Best For Slow Swing Speeds?
A slower swing speed golfer needs a ball with a soft feel and low compression. Low compression golf balls ensure that you can get as much distance out of a ball as possible with your lower swing speeds. High compression golf balls are for players with swing speeds closer to 100mph and up.
Some of the best golf balls on the market for slow swing speeds are the Wilson Staff Zip or the Callaway Supersoft. Even the Srixon Soft Feel has a compression that is lower enough for a slow swing speed golfer to be able to benefit from it.
Although these low compression golf balls can help increase distance, it is also important to work on gaining strength in your body to get higher swing speeds. The stronger you are, the easier it is to swing the club a bit faster and get those impressive swing speeds and ball speeds.
What Is The One Golf Ball Rule?
The one ball rule in golf is typically only used in a tournament setting. The concept is that if you start your round with a Callaway Supersoft golf ball, you will have to finish playing with the same type of golf ball.
Although you may lose a few balls throughout the round, you can only play the tournament with one type of golf ball. For golfers that have a bag full of mixed golf balls, this is a bit of a problem. Most players like to have at least six of one type of ball in their bag so that they can keep the one ball rule in play during their round.
Even when not playing in tournament situations, it is a good idea to get used to using one golf ball. The more consistency you can create in your golf game, the easier it will be to score low.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now feel like you can easily choose a great golf ball for a high handicapper. With all of the great choices on the market, it can be difficult to narrow things down.
If you don’t feel like trying a bunch of different options and you simply want to skip to a great golf ball with the top-of-the-line performance, go with the Callaway Golf Supersoft golf balls.
It’s truly hard for any company to compete with the distance, feel, and overall spin performance of a high handicap golf ball like this one. Whether your handicap is on the way up or the way down, the Callaway Supersoft can help.
