1. If you wanted the ultimate in control, you chose a three-piece with a balata cover. It offered high-spin rates, soft feel, and good maneuverability, but it lacked durability. I used to recommend this golf ball in my golf lessons and golf tips for players with low golf handicaps adept at shot making.

2. If you wanted the ultimate in distance, you chose a two-piece golf ball with a Surlyn cover. This golf ball would travel far and last a long time. Unfortunately, its lack of spin greatly reduced control, especially around the greens. I used to recommend this golf ball for players with high golf handicaps who needed distance more than control.

3. If you wanted something in between, you choose a three-piece golf ball with a Surlyn cover. With this golf ball, you sacrificed a little control for more distance and durability. This golf ball worked relatively well.

This process worked well for a long time. But it's less appropriate for evaluating today's golf golf balls, which incorporate the latest advancements in technology.

Breakthroughs in Technology

golf ball manufacturing technology saw several breakthroughs in the 1990s and beyond, complicating selection. Multilayer golf balls, like the Top-Flite Strata, which provide less spin for more distance and a softer cover for better control around the greens, hit the market in 1996, followed by Titleist's Pro V1?a solid-core, distance golf ball'in 2000. Nike's One and Titleist's Next also debuted in the last 10 years.

While these golf balls all represented technological breakthroughs, they challenged the standard approach golf ball selection. Basically, you still chose a golf ball from the tee going forward based on distance and control.

A New Selection Approach

Today, there's another approach to choosing a golf ball. This approach is based on going from the green backwards. It's proving more appropriate for today's game. Below is a six-step methodology for choosing a golf ball based on this new approach.

Step 1: Define Your Needs.

First, you need to (1) assess your game, (2) define your needs, and (3) decide what you want and don?t want from a golf ball. Defining your needs is crucial to choosing the right golf ball. Remember not everyone with the same golf ball-striking ability, golf handicap, and/or swing speed will play the same golf ball. Ask yourself such questions as ?Do I need more distance??, ?Do I need more control with my irons??

Step 2: Chose Test golf balls

Select several golf balls you want to test. Base your decision on your defined needs. Try selecting golf balls from each category multilayered, two-piece, and super soft, low compression to see how they test. Remember not every manufacturer's models of the same type golf ball will react exactly alike.

Step 3: Test from the Fringe

Take the test golf balls to the fringe of the green. Hit some chip shots and pitch shots, and observe the results. See which golf balls hit the green and ?check? and which hit the green and release. Then, hit some putts and sand-shots. Observe performances. In general, the multilayer golf balls will feel softer, fly a bit low, and stop or check more on the green than their two-piece counterparts. Super-soft golf balls will roll the farthest with the least amount of spin after hitting the ground.

Step 4: Test from 100 Yards

Take the golf balls and move out into the fairway to the 100-yard marker. Test each golf ball from that point and observe each golf ball's checking and releasing characteristics after it hits the green.

Step 5: Test golf balls from 150 yards

Now, take your golf balls out to the 150-yard marker and hit from there. Observe the results. Use the same criteria to evaluate each golf ball.

Step 6: Test golf balls from the Tee

Go to the tee box and hit the golf balls with your driver.

Look for drives that reach their apex or highest point quickly and then level out and carry far down range. What you don't want to see are drives that start low and then shoot up like a jet plane taking off. Such shots indicate that the driver has added too much spin to the golf ball, resulting in shorter drives that hook or slice more.

Now, obviously you can't necessarily go out onto the course to do all this testing. Your local range or practice area will work just fine. Once you've completed these steps, you're ready to choose. Base your decision on the most meaningful combination of performance qualities' meaningful to you, that is. For example, golfers who base their iron play on shots that hit and bite close to where they land will probably prefer a multilayer golf ball, even if it means sacrificing a little trajectory and distance.

Remember a golf golf ball impacts your game almost as much as your clubs.

If the golf ball you choose doesn't feel right after selecting it, try another. Give each golf ball a fair trail.

Choosing a golf ball that's right for you, as I say in my golf lessons and golf tips, takes some work, but it's well worth the effort. Having the right golf ball is crucial to improving your game and lowering your golf handicap. It also helps build self-confidence. Choose wisely.