Best practice/lesson balls?

[drak]

I need to buy some lesson/practice balls for my ball hopper as mine are getting too old. Should I just get regular balls (I normally use Dunlop) and use those, or are the pressureless practice balls better? Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[Nuke]

The pressureless balls have a harder feel that some players dislike, but putting regular balls into a hopper probably means you will be playing with dead balls before very long. The pressureless ones last until the felt is completely gone, and you won't be messing up your swing and timing on balls that don't bounce. Yeah, the pressureless ones are a good idea for the practice hopper.

 

[sapient007]

i've recently switched over to wilson pressureless from walmart for 1.79/3

they do hit a bit harder but no where near the exaggerated dissapointment posted by some other posters in this forum. i did a side by side hitting comparison with penn2s and they bounce very samilar. as mentioned, they are a bit harder but i think it's worth it not to get new cans every hitting session.

 

[Nuke]

It's a funny difference, the feel of a pressureless ball. If you drop it from shoulder height, it will probably bounce roughly the same height as a regular ball, and if you hit it at softer speeds will play pretty close to a regular ball. But the harder you hit, the more pronounced the difference, I think. But it's a lot easier to get used to hitting 3-month old pressureless balls from your hopper than 3-month old dead regular balls.

 

[shindemac]

Get pressureless. Regular balls lose their feel after a few hitting sessions and you can't mix it with any old balls. Pressureless are pretty consistent from the first day till months later. Until you wear out the felt.

 

[volusiano]

If you're going to get pressureless balls, I'd recommend the Tretorn Micro X. They cost about $1.50 each but they last a long time and keep their bounce. But they are a little hard.

I would not recommend the Gamma Bucket of 48 pressureless balls. They may bounce OK but they feel too soft. And their felt gum up like cheap carpet.

Don't know about Wilson pressureless balls at Walmart.

Another option is to buy the Tennis Ball Saver cans ($9 a can that holds 3 balls) to keep the pressure on your regular balls and practice with them until their felt wear out. This is probably the best option in my opinion since you don't have to deal with the different feels of pressureless balls, or the expense, and a great way to reuse old balls until they can be discarded.

 

[mucat]

One more vote for Wilson pressureless from Walmart. They are less than CND$1 a ball. They are a little harder than regular balls, make it even better for practicing.

 

[tennis_hand]

For coaching or practicing, i think they are ok. but for rallying and gaming, pressureless balls are very heavy to me. I don't like the arm impact.

 

[whoster69]

I've heard good things about the Tretorn Micro X balls. I haven't used them myself though yet.

 

[nickybol]

I do not know what your level is, but I do teach practise with Tretorn Micro X balls anymore because my higher level players were complaining of pains.

 

[LuckyR]

Personally I hate pressureless balls and I can get almost unlimitted regular balls by dumpster diving the waste bins at our club courts plus adding the used balls from regular play.

One piece of advice on regular balls: don't buy the red label (clay court) balls, get the black label (hard court) balls, as their felt lasts longer.