Month: May 2023

2023 Srixon Soft Feel Golf Ball Review

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While looking into some info about this golf ball I found something interesting. The ball was first released in 2006, impressive. If something lasts that long, must be something to it. Nonetheless, the 2023 Srixon Soft Feel golf ball review was my reason to try this product for the very first time.

Let’s start with some essential info directly from Srixon. I was surprised to learn that the ball features Srixon’s FastLayer Core technology, the same one used in all of their premium golf balls.

That is unusual since this is a two-piece ionomer ball targeted to a different audience. In any case, good for them. They also state that the FastLayer Core gradually transitions from a soft inner core to a firm outer edge.

2023 Srixon Soft Feel Box by golfballsworld.com
2023 Srixon Soft Feel Box by golfballsworld.com

The core’s softer inner layers help to reduce long-game spin, while the firmer outer layers contribute to more ball speed and greater distance. It also features a 338 Speed Dimple Pattern on a soft, thin cover that provides more greenside spin and a softer feel on pitches, chips, and putts. All that sounds very promising, now let’s see how it actually did on the course.

Who Is This Ball For?

Let’s start with the compression rating which is 60 for this ball. That places it in the low compression rating category targeting low to medium-swing speed golfers. Usually, balls in that category do not suit players with fast swing speeds. It is definitely suitable for anyone who prefers that soft feel when you hit it.

All that translates to the fact this ball is made for recreational golfers who want distance and feel before anything else. Two-piece ionomer balls are usually built for straighter flight trajectories. They are not really intended for shot shaping like the more expensive multi-piece premium ones.

The more than friendly price places it among the cheaper balls in the category. That also gives it an excellent value-for-money label. Srixon is doing a great job when it comes to its golf balls and this one is no exception. If you have recognized yourself anywhere above, you could try this ball.

PROS

  • Beginner Friendly
  • Distance
  • Durability
  • Price

CONS

  • Not Suited for Fast Swing Speeds

2023 Srixon Soft Feel

Review by golfballsworld.com

Distance Control
Chipping and Pitching
Putting
Durability
Appearance
Price

On the Green

Let’s say this ball made my putting look very decent. Since the get-go, I have found the right touch for it. That showed particularly on long putts. The pace control worked well immediately, helping me make some nice long ones or get the ball close to the hole. Short putts also worked fine with the ball holding the line very well.

As far as sound is concerned, it produced a mellow one. It didn’t feel as soft as the Callaway Supersoft, but it wasn’t far off. There is not much else to say about putting. The overall performance on the green was as solid as it gets.

Around the Green

I am usually quite skeptical in this area when trying two-piece low-compression golf balls. The main reason is their lack of greenside spin compared to premium balls. That being said, this one exceeded my expectations. I found that it had more greenside spin than most of the balls in the category I have previously tried.

Fair enough, I do not go for flop shots or chips with higher flight trajectories. However, I did notice the ball was stopping quicker on my go-to bump and run chip shots. Not just that, but I was able to control the distance most of the time. This ball is an example of decent greenside spin, good job for Srixon.

Approach Shots

I always mention that my ball testing is done on a par 3 course. That gives the approach shots additional importance since every tee shot is an approach shot. Let me start with the flight. On the box, Srixon states it is mid-high. I can confirm it was like that with more shots being on the higher side.

The average higher flight helped the ball to stop quickly on the greens. That is important in this case due to the lower spin compared to premium golf balls. The distances were consistent with my usual ones which was a good sign. It behaved decently even when I would misstrike it, like hitting it lower on the clubface.

The misses were in line with my typical ones, nothing was out of the ordinary there. Flight manipulation worked as well when I needed it. It did feel softer upon contact which is no surprise due to the lower compression rating. Hitting this ball felt good.

Durability

Despite the solid performance in all the areas, I wasn’t impressed with anything like I was with the durability. This ball showed, along with the Callaway Supersoft, arguably the best durability I have seen so far. I could barely find a couple of marks and scuffs on the ball after a round on a par 3 course.

The durability adds to its overall value making it a great option for golfers on a budget. No matter if you are a golfer on a budget or you just want your balls to last longer, you could look into this one.

Appearance and Price

The ball has the standard Srixon look with one exception. While the logo and the alignment arrow are in the traditional black ink, the number comes in a variation of green color. It actually looks nice. The alignment arrow is a standard black line with white letters inside that read Soft Feel. It is available in pure white and tour yellow colors.

There are not many balls in the category from major brands that can beat the Soft Feel price. When you add everything, its price makes it an exceptional value for money. That can be attractive, particularly for new golfers. In any case, the price is hard to beat for what you get.

Final Verdict

What to say in the end about this golf ball? It basically ticked all the boxes when it comes to expectations from a two-piece ball. There are many different reasons why golfers buy a specific golf ball. Some are subjective and some are objective. If you do decide to give it a try, you might like it. In case you don’t like it, there are plenty of other balls to look into.

You may also like:

2023 Callaway Supersoft Golf Ball Review

2022 Titleist TruFeel Golf Ball Review

Golf Impact Position Tips – How to Hit It Pure

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Your golf swing can look amazing and generate a lot of clubhead speed, but there is still one key thing for all to work. You guessed it, it has to do with the impact. With a solid impact, everything falls into place for a consistent golf swing. If you want to hit balls purely, you might want to check the golf impact position tips in this article.

All golfers pursue that clean contact when the club hits the ball first and then the ground. That is precisely what professional golfers can do on a regular basis.

Almost every person who watched professional golfers play says the same thing. When they hit the ball, it just sounds different. Very different from what we are used to hearing.

Now, nobody is expecting you to hit ball after ball like a tour pro. That is unless you are aspiring to be a tour pro. However, you can get to a level where you hit the ball better.

Better contact will give you more control, and more distance, and ultimately help your game to get to the next level. Who wouldn’t want that? Have a look at the tips below and start improving your contact.

Image by Virgile Donadieu on Unsplash

1. Weight on the Lead Side

Needless to say, when the weight at impact is more on your trail side, a lot of bad things happen. You lose power and distance, and you hit a lot of different poor shots. At that very moment when you make contact with the ball, you actually add loft to your club which makes the ball go a shorter distance. There is also a good chance you hit the ground behind the ball which also robs you of distance.

To avoid all of the above from happening, the weight has to be more on your lead side at impact. That is essential to put all the elements in the right place for the swing to work out. It will help you with better contact as well as with more power in your swing. The better contact means you can hit the ball first and make that nice divot past the golf ball.

2. Forward Shaft Lean

This is among the most important things you should do at impact if you are looking for more distance. What having your shaft forward at impact does is de-lofting your golf club. At that moment your club turns into one or two clubs up. Now, instead of hitting an 8 iron, you are hitting a 7 or 6 iron depending on how much you de-loft it.

That is possibly the biggest secret of how professional golfers can hit their clubs so far. Golf clubs are designed for the forward shaft lean at impact. I am talking here mostly of full swings. You can always manipulate the loft depending on your desired shot. It will help you hit the ball to distances you thought you can’t reach.

3. Square Clubface

Without any question, you have to have your clubface square at impact if you want to hit solid shots. There are different ways to achieve that. One is timing it and turning the face square only at impact. It is possible to do it this way, but it will make your work harder and your shots open for mis-hits.

The easier way to do it is to pre-set the clubface to be square before it gets to impact. This will limit the possible mistakes and help you hit more consistent shots. It involves less active wrists and it starts already from the takeaway. Next time you go to the range, pay attention to how you square your clubface. Maybe you will need to make some adjustments to make your life easier.

4. Turn Through Impact

Turning through impact can make a big difference in a few areas of your golf swing. It will help you control the clubface, add more power to your swing, and make it as effortless as possible. One of the things that tend to happen when you do not turn through impact is that your arms get too involved in the swing.

Involving your arms more in the swing can be good if you need to do things like adding some spin. However, when your arms are more passive through the impact it is easier for you to make good contact. It helps you to keep the same relationship with the golf ball and adds more distance to your shots.

5. Shoulder Tilt

If you have a look at any professional player at their impact position, you will notice one thing. All of them tilt their shoulders toward the trail side. That helps them to hit those solid shots time after time. It is paramount for having all the other swing parts in the right place when you strike the ball.

With no tilt, your striking will be less consistent. It would be hard to have the forward shaft lean without it or turn through the swing. Without it, you will be facing all kinds of potential mis-hits. In other words, shoulder tilt means that you are keeping your upper body in the right position for the impact.

Solid Impact Is the Road to Consistent Shots

Golfers know how hard it is to reach a point where you hit the ball consistently well. That being said, even the best golfers in the world hit bad shots. The key to better golfing is in limiting your bad shots. By that, I mean having fewer of them as well as making sure those bad ones are not too bad.

A solid impact will help your game to get to the next level. It will make your good shots great and it will make your bad shots manageable. That is something we all aspire to. Look up some impact drills, check what you need to work on, and get ready to enjoy golfing more than ever.

Golf Backswing Tips – How to Store Power in Your Swing

Golf Downswing Tips – How to Approach the Impact

Categories: Golf Swing Golf Tips

Golf Downswing Tips – How to Approach the Impact

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Every component of the golf swing is as important as the next one. In the same way, a solid backswing can set you up for a solid downswing, a solid downswing does the same for impact. We all know that good impact leads to a good golf shot. Check the golf downswing tips below that can help you to approach the impact in a better way.

There are many things that can go wrong with a golf swing. The same goes for each and every part of it. A downswing that goes wrong can lead to a lot of mis-hits.

One of the essential things that a terrible downswing can lead to is a wrong club path. That usually translates to slices and hooks, which are not the best outcomes.

Luckily, it is never too late to fix things in your downswing. Yes, it might take some time to implement the changes. That is all good in the end when you can see some improvement.

The sooner you start with the changes, the sooner you will play better golf. Find out below what you can do to tweak your downswing and make it solid.

Image by Peter Drew on Unsplash
Image by Peter Drew on Unsplash

Start the Weight Shift Before the Downswing

This is something that might take time to perfect, but it is worth it. If you start your forward weight shift before the start of your downswing, you can gain extra power in your swing. Besides that, it will help you with solid contact in the form of hitting the ball first and then the ground. Who wouldn’t want that?

Ideally, the weight shift starts just before you finish your backswing and goes on through the downswing. That way you will get into the prime position to hit the ball better. The mis-hits might still happen but on a less frequent basis. Be patient until you get it going and once you do golf will become more fun.

Keep Your Trail Elbow Close to Your Body

When you keep your trail elbow close to your body it helps your swing in a few different ways. First, it helps you to keep your arms close to your body and to each other. Second, it helps to get your club in a good position for the impact. Third, because of both previous points, you will have more power to release in your swing.

It is not just important that you keep your elbow close to your body, but to have it positioned the right way. That means not having it on the side of your body but in front of it. A good checkpoint is to have your elbow pit pointing straight ahead of you and not toward the target.

Image by Courtney Cook on Unsplash
Image by Courtney Cook on Unsplash

Keep Your Lead Arm as Straight as You Can

If your lead arm bends on the downswing it causes a couple of things. For one, it is harder to hit the ball in the right spot which can cause thin shots. Additionally, you can lose power in your swing which will rob you of distance. Both situations are good reasons to keep your arm as straight as you can.

Now, you do not have to keep it straight to the point when it becomes too tight. Your swing will benefit the most if your arm is straight and a bit relaxed at the same time. Keep it straight to the point that it keeps your swing structure intact and helps your ball strike. Some professional golfers can make it work with a slightly bent arm, but straighter is better.

Don’t Release Your Club Early

Releasing your club early can lead to a few situations that can come together or separately. One of those is adding loft to your club which will make your shot shorter. Another one is hitting the ground before the ball which will lead to poor contact. The last one is releasing less energy which will contribute to less power in the shot.

Most of the time releasing the club too early is caused by improper weight shifting through the swing. If you notice you are releasing the club too early, start by looking into your weight shift. One way to check at what point you release your club is to listen to the swoosh sound your club makes.

If you are releasing your club at the right time, you will hear the swoosh sound just after the club makes contact with the ball. Do a test without the ball and listen to at what point you hear the swoosh sound. It is easier to hear it when you are not hitting the ball.

Image by Brandon Williams on Unsplash
Image by Brandon Williams on Unsplash

Stay Tilted With Your Trail Shoulder Lower

You can notice how your shoulders are positioned in your downswing closer you get to the impact position. As you are starting your downswing, your trail shoulder should start dropping lower than your lead shoulder. That means you are keeping the tilted position which will help you with ball striking.

If your shoulders stay flat through the downswing your ball striking will not be consistent and there will be a lot of mis-hits. When you are not tilted through the downswing it is impossible to execute all the parts of the swing correctly. Your relationship with the ball will not be the same as on impact which will lead to all sorts of issues.

A Solid Downswing Leads to a Solid Contact

Every part of the swing sets up the next one. In the end, they all form what looks like one seamless motion. In order for every piece of the swing to be solid, the previous one has to be solid. That is why for a solid contact you have to have a solid downswing. Without a solid downswing, you will most likely not achieve the outcome you want.

If you are not sure what is not working in your downswing you can make a video of your swing and check it out. Alternatively, you can ask someone to have a look while you are swinging. Once you know what needs to be improved start working on it. Find the proper drills, work on one thing at a time, and be patient. As soon as you see the improvement you will enjoy golfing even more.

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Golf Swing Basics for Beginners – How to Learn It Right

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Categories: Downswing Golf Tips