Soft Golf Balls vs Hard Golf Balls   

Finding the perfect golf ball for your game is often a whole lot harder than most folks realize.

Not only is there a world of difference in performance from one golf ball brand to another (and often each individual golf ball model within that brand), but there’s also a world of difference between of golf balls and hard golf balls, too.

Understanding the difference in routine of soft golf balls vs. hard golf balls – how far they go, how fast they launch, the kind of spin rates they have, the feel you’ll get around the greens, etc. – is a huge piece of the puzzle.

In the rest of this detailed guide we shine a light on (almost) everything you need to know about how soft golf balls stack up against hard golf balls going forward.

Let’s jump in!

Distance – Soft Golf Balls vs Hard Golf Balls

Truth be told, there is a difference between how soft  golf balls perform versus hard golf balls in the distance department.

Softer golf balls are (more often than not) going to travel a little bit further through the air then harder golf balls, but then they are going to drop out of the sky like an anvil before hitting the ground (hopefully the green), checking up, and freezing in place.

Harder golf balls, though, are known for traveling shorter distances through the air after they have been hit but then rolling out and “releasing” for extra distance after they first touchdown.

On your approach shot, a softer ball has everything that you’re looking for. You don’t want to be releasing off the green.

Off the tee, though, a harder ball is going to help you rollout and get a little more distance that makes your approach shots more reasonable.

Speed – Soft Golf Balls vs Hard Golf Balls

Most of the time when people talk about ball speed they are talking about the kind of spin rate you are able to generate off the clubface.

Golf balls that are hit and have a low amount of spin are going to fly straighter through the air (truer and more accurate to your swing plane), but they aren’t going to travel quite as far – and they’re going to release a lot more when they land, too.

Generally speaking, harder golf balls have lower levels of spin.

Softer golf balls, though, can produce a tremendous amount of spin. That’s great news for advanced or experienced golfers that want to be able to “shape shots” – but it’s going to be a nightmare story for golfers that have particularly nasty hooks or slices they can’t seem to get rid of.

The attraction for high spin rate golf balls is that they can drop onto the green, checkup nicely and freeze, but sometimes even walk back towards you (which you’ve inevitably seen professionals do in tournaments on TV all the time).

Of course, compression also has a lot to do with how much spin and how much speed you’re able to generate with your ball, too.

At the end of the day, though, expect harder balls to have lower spin rates and softer balls to have higher ones.

Price Range – Soft Golf Balls vs Hard Golf Balls

Soft golf balls are by and large more expensive than hard golf balls, but the price difference isn’t quite what it used to be in the past.

You can still drop a decent amount of money on a dozen hard golf balls (all the big brands make some) – we are talking about $20 or more.

Soft golf balls, though, can set you back $35 a dozen, $50 a dozen, and sometimes significantly more than that depending on the engineering that went into the ball, the material choices made, and (of course) the branding and the amount of wins that ball has on tour.

If you’re looking to buy the least expensive golf balls you can find, though, expect them to feel and play a lot harder than premium options would have.

Do Pro Golfers Use Harder or Softer Golf Balls?

The overwhelming majority of professional golfers are using softer golf balls for a couple of different reasons.

For one thing, the ability to shoot these balls through the air but then have them dive out of the sky and then freeze on the green is a huge advantage.

These golfers don’t necessarily need the extra distance that softer golf balls bring to the table off a club, but they do need to hire spin rates that let them enjoy a lot more manual manipulation.

Professionals are going to be able to shape shots, hitting everything from a baby draw to a vicious slice – all with a whole lot more control than your everyday weekend “hacker” could pull off. Harder balls are next to impossible to shape the same way.

Lastly, most professionals just love the way that softer golf balls feel when they are using their wedges or their putter. They don’t feel like they are slapping a stone around the way they might have with harder golf balls.

USGA Legal – Soft Golf Balls vs Hard Golf Balls

The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the governing body responsible for establishing the rules and regulations dictating how the game of golf should be played and scored.

This organization has established a number of rules dictating what can be done to produce a “compliant” golf ball, including:

• The diameter of the ball should not be less than 1.680 inches
• The balls should be designed to have a spherically symmetrical shape
• The balls may not have initial velocities that exceed limits specified by the USGA (these change from time to time)

As far as determining whether or not balls are too soft or too hard to play with on the golf course is concerned, though, the USGA doesn’t really get too deep into that.

Obviously, if balls are performing wildly differently than the rest of the competition the odds are pretty good this governing body would step in and find a way to regulate the situation.

Right now, though, choosing to play a harder ball or a softer ball on the PGA Tour (or any other sanctioned event) really comes down to the player – so long as every other aspect of that ball is in full compliance, course.