Are Pro V1s Good For Beginners? Golf Coaches Weigh In

Pro V1 golf balls are the most popular ball on the market right now. I’ve seen golfers from all skills levels using them and was curious if they were any good for beginners. I decided to call 7 golf coaches in my area and ask their opinion.

On average, most golf coaches recommend that a beginner golfer avoid Pro V1 balls. The higher price and compression rating make the Pro V1 suited to better players. Most beginners will get better performance with lower compression and lower spinning balls.

What I did find out was that the Pro V1 was still better than a lot of other balls on the market. There were just a few reasons why it’s probably not the best for most, and we’ll jump into those reasons next.

Should Beginners Use Pro V1 Balls?

I was pretty curious to see whether or not the Pro V1 is actually a decent ball for beginners. I’ve always kind of liked them, but I wanted to give a few golf pros a call to find out their opinion. Here are the answers I got:

Of the 7 golf coaches/pros I called, 5 of them said beginners shouldn’t use Pro V1s while 2 of them said beginners could use them. Here were each of their reasons:

So, we clearly have a few different opinions, but it’s pretty clear to me what my answer would be. Beginners shouldn’t use a Pro V1 as their main golf ball simply because of the price.

Think about how often you lose balls (or when you were just getting started). It really doesn’t make much sense to play a high-end ball, and you’d get just as good of performance with something way cheaper.

Just in case you were curious, we did a test to see how balls of different prices differ. You can see our article on cheap vs expensive golf balls here. What should beginners be playing instead? We’ll talk about that next.

Do Golf Balls Make A Difference For Beginners?

Golf balls do make a difference for beginners and should be chosen carefully. Having a ball that’s inexpensive and easily compressed will result in the most distance and fairways hit.

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like losing golf balls, especially if they’re high-end balls. The benefit of more expensive balls is that they’re better for controlling the trajectory and will spin more on the green.

As a beginner, you aren’t going to benefit from those (plus, you probably can’t even do those things). Click here to see how sidespin and backspin affect the golf ball.

If you aren’t able to hit the ball from left to right (or right to left) and you aren’t able to control the height, what’s the point in spending the extra money?

Some of the more expensive balls (Pro V1 included) are higher compression balls. Basically, this means that it takes more speed to properly compress the ball. If you don’t compress the ball enough, you’ll lose a lot of distance and will have a lot of shots curve to the side.

RELATED: Golf Ball Spin: How To Pick The Perfect Ball

All you should be looking for right now is a ball that won’t break the bank, will give you a good amount of distance, and will hit fairways.

What Is The Best Golf Ball For A Beginner?

The best type of golf ball for a beginner is a 2 or 3-piece ball that has a low compression rating and produces lower driver spin. This combination will save money, generate more distance, and land in more fairways.

The majority of golf balls for beginners and high handicaps are either 2 or 3 pieces. These balls are less expensive and take less speed to get height and distance. I’m pretty sure most beginners could benefit from those two things.

These balls normally have a lower compression rating too. Beginners probably have slower swing speeds and might not compress the ball that well. If you don’t swing over 100 MPH, you’ll probably get less distance with a Pro V1.

3 or 4 piece balls are for better players who want more control over the ball. More wedge spin is what most people are looking for, but that shouldn’t be something to worry about until you can consistently shoot in the mid-80s.

There are a number of balls I think would work better for beginners. You can see my updated list of best golf balls for beginners and high handicaps here.

Should High Handicappers Use Pro V1 Balls?

As a general rule, most golf coaches wouldn’t recommend Pro V1 to a high handicapper. The extra cost and higher compression rating make Pro V1 suited for better players with higher swing speeds. Lower compression balls will generate more distance and forgiveness for high handicaps.

In my opinion, high handicaps and beginners fall into the same category. It’s way better to save some money and use a ball that does the basics really well (examples of those in the link above).

If you don’t know, high handicaps are anyone who normally shoots above 90 on a par 72 golf course. That’s pretty much where the average player fits in, and I don’t see many benefits to playing a high-end ball.

Once you start working your way into the mid-80s, it might be time to look into using Pro V1 or something else like it. Being able to control the ball and stop it quicker on the green is one of the best ways to go from mid to low handicap.

You probably aren’t there yet though, so it’s not something to worry about. Focus on hitting more fairways, improving distance, and playing simple golf.

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