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Date: 07 Sep 2006 10:05:39
From: DK
Subject: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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Anyone ever try the BirdieBall practice balls (http://www.birdieball.com/)
that are supposed to only fly a max of 40 yards, but are also supposed to
show your slices and hooks?
I'd be interested in buying a pack for practice if they truly show a slice
and hook. Are they accurate enough that you can even hit them with a slight
draw and fade and they'd show that amt. of limited sidespin?
If BirdieBalls are as good as advertised, anyone know of a good place online
to buy them cheap? I checked E-Bay, but they are about as expensive as they
are in online stores.
--
DK
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Date: 11 Sep 2006 06:17:17
From: S McFarlane
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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"DK" <none@NoSpam.com > wrote in message news:%AWLg.9$U32.2@newsfe06.lga...
> Anyone ever try the BirdieBall practice balls (http://www.birdieball.com/)
> that are supposed to only fly a max of 40 yards, but are also supposed to
> show your slices and hooks?
>
> I'd be interested in buying a pack for practice if they truly show a slice
> and hook. Are they accurate enough that you can even hit them with a
> slight draw and fade and they'd show that amt. of limited sidespin?
>
> If BirdieBalls are as good as advertised, anyone know of a good place
> online to buy them cheap? I checked E-Bay, but they are about as expensive
> as they are in online stores.
>
They're great, so long as you don't mind sticking to the irons. You can hit
a driver with them on the strikepad, but I think there's too much a
difference between a teed ball to be helpful. I'm thinking of giving
AlmostGolf a try for that.
Birdie Balls definitely do show whether you're drawing, fading, pulling,
etc. It's a little less exteme with a Birdie Ball than with a real ball, so
you have to take that into account. But on the whole they seem to behave
just like a golf ball. The big downside for practice is that they disguise
any problem you may have with thinning or fatting your irons. I've never
hit a Birdie Ball fat or thin, but I do so everytime I hit the range at
least once.
Another problem with them is wind. They are much lighter than a golf ball,
so wind tends to affect their flight a great deal more than a golf ball.
Since the fade/draw effect is lower and they are so much lighter than a
ball, a brisk sidewind can completely mask any sidespin effects.
As far as trouble in the parks goes, I haven't had any. Then again, I've
never seen a cop riding by while I'm practicing...
When all's said and done Birdie Balls have allowed me to practice everyday.
The real benefit for me has been that I can practice at night or when I only
have 30 minutes and can't make it to a range...
Scott
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Date: 11 Sep 2006 09:28:23
From: DK
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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> They're great, so long as you don't mind sticking to the irons. You can
> hit a driver with them on the strikepad, but I think there's too much a
> difference between a teed ball to be helpful. I'm thinking of giving
> AlmostGolf a try for that.
>
> Birdie Balls definitely do show whether you're drawing, fading, pulling,
> etc. It's a little less exteme with a Birdie Ball than with a real ball,
> so you have to take that into account. But on the whole they seem to
> behave just like a golf ball. The big downside for practice is that they
> disguise any problem you may have with thinning or fatting your irons.
> I've never hit a Birdie Ball fat or thin, but I do so everytime I hit the
> range at least once.
>
> Another problem with them is wind. They are much lighter than a golf
> ball, so wind tends to affect their flight a great deal more than a golf
> ball. Since the fade/draw effect is lower and they are so much lighter
> than a ball, a brisk sidewind can completely mask any sidespin effects.
>
> As far as trouble in the parks goes, I haven't had any. Then again, I've
> never seen a cop riding by while I'm practicing...
>
> When all's said and done Birdie Balls have allowed me to practice
> everyday. The real benefit for me has been that I can practice at night or
> when I only have 30 minutes and can't make it to a range...
>
> Scott
Thanks for the great feedback Scott. I've heard that for hitting them with
an oversized driver, they recommend teeing one of the Birdieballs on top of
another.
I'll have to check out AlmostGolf, too. I just went to their Web site and
that looks pretty cool, too, if it works as advertised.
-- DK
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 11:14:10
From: Dene
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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DK wrote:
> > It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
> > fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
>
> The benefit to me is that you can practice w/o going to the driving range or
> paying for buckets of balls at the range. The limited range allows you to
> hit more and chase them less.
>
> -- DK
I've had good luck just with practicing with plastic balls in the back
yard, hitting them against the house while aiming for a specific spot.
This does reveal the ball flight to a certain extent, in that a typical
slicer's ball starts left of the target, indicating a straight pull
and/or correcting slice. If I'm nailing the target, then I'm confident
that I'm putting a correct swing on it.
-Greg
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 11:13:54
From: Dene
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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DK wrote:
> > It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
> > fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
>
> The benefit to me is that you can practice w/o going to the driving range or
> paying for buckets of balls at the range. The limited range allows you to
> hit more and chase them less.
>
> -- DK
I've had good luck just with practicing with plastic balls in the back
yard, hitting them against the house while aiming for a specific spot.
This does reveal the ball flight to a certain extent, in that a typical
slicer's ball starts left of the target, indicating a straight pull
and/or correcting slice. If I'm nailing the target, then I'm confident
that I'm putting a correct swing on it.
-Greg
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 08:53:54
From: John B.
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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DK wrote:
> Anyone ever try the BirdieBall practice balls (http://www.birdieball.com/)
> that are supposed to only fly a max of 40 yards, but are also supposed to
> show your slices and hooks?
>
> I'd be interested in buying a pack for practice if they truly show a slice
> and hook. Are they accurate enough that you can even hit them with a slight
> draw and fade and they'd show that amt. of limited sidespin?
>
> If BirdieBalls are as good as advertised, anyone know of a good place online
> to buy them cheap? I checked E-Bay, but they are about as expensive as they
> are in online stores.
>
> --
> DK
It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 12:08:13
From: sfb
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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Much easier to find after it hooks or slices.
"John B." <johnb505@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:1157644434.065279.22790@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
> fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
>
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 11:01:43
From: DK
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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> It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
> fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
The benefit to me is that you can practice w/o going to the driving range or
paying for buckets of balls at the range. The limited range allows you to
hit more and chase them less.
-- DK
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 10:57:09
From: Bobby Knight
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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On 7 Sep 2006 08:53:54 -0700, "John B." <johnb505@gmail.com > wrote:
>
>DK wrote:
>> Anyone ever try the BirdieBall practice balls (http://www.birdieball.com/)
>> that are supposed to only fly a max of 40 yards, but are also supposed to
>> show your slices and hooks?
>>
>> I'd be interested in buying a pack for practice if they truly show a slice
>> and hook. Are they accurate enough that you can even hit them with a slight
>> draw and fade and they'd show that amt. of limited sidespin?
>>
>> If BirdieBalls are as good as advertised, anyone know of a good place online
>> to buy them cheap? I checked E-Bay, but they are about as expensive as they
>> are in online stores.
>>
>> --
>> DK
>
>
>It seeems to me that "real" golf balls show my slices and hooks just
>fine. I don't see the benefit of a ball that only travels 40 yds.
Me either, since some of my ProV1s don't go much further :-)
___,
\o
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 10:12:08
From: DK
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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Sorry for the multiple posts, I'm having problems with my news server.
Another question for BirdieBall users: Where do you typically go to hit
them? In the city I live in and all the surrounding cities, they'll give you
a fine if you hit golf balls in local parks or ballfields. Not sure if
they'd make an exception if you weren't hitting a real golf ball.
--
DK
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Date: 07 Sep 2006 17:44:34
From: RoR
Subject: Re: Practice balls that show slices, hooks: Birdieballs any good?
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On Thu, 7 Sep 2006 10:12:08 -0500, "DK" <none@NoSpam.com > wrote:
>Sorry for the multiple posts, I'm having problems with my news server.
>
>Another question for BirdieBall users: Where do you typically go to hit
>them? In the city I live in and all the surrounding cities, they'll give you
>a fine if you hit golf balls in local parks or ballfields. Not sure if
>they'd make an exception if you weren't hitting a real golf ball.
The signs at the parks here indicating restrictions mention "golf and related activities".
I presume it makes such a reference to avoid chipping, pitching, etc. and would, most
likely, include practicing with a birdie ball .
While they may only go 40 yards, they are hard, and could inflict severe injury to anyone
unlucky enough to get hit by one of these practice tools.
Rick R
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