Tennis Balls for Ball Machine

[tennis334]

I'm new to this board, so first off if this is in the wrong forum I apologize.

I'm currently interested in locating about 200-300 tennis balls for use in my Silent Partner ball machine. I was wondering if anyone knew how I could find around that many balls without buying case after case of 24 can packs. I'd rather not use "practice" balls as I've constantly heard they are all but useless because of quality and the fact they are pressureless.

Also, I've seen a lot of Gamma Pressurized Practice balls and was wondering how useful these balls in particular are.

Any information would be great appreciated.

 

[Court_Jester]

You could try your local tennis club if they have tennis balls that they're going to throw away.

I'd rather not use "practice" balls as I've constantly heard they are all but useless because of quality and the fact they are pressureless.

A lot of people here actually use them for their machines. For me, it's more a matter of how they feel. They are quite hard and sometimes they make you think that you're hitting rocks and hence hard on the arm.

 

[rasajadad]

I'm confused. If you're talking about pressured practice balls- They're the worst! Inconsistant bounces. Will go dead quickly. If you're talking about pressureless balls, these are great for the machine. I'm on my second summer with mine. A little expensive to buy, but well worth it in the long run. They do feel harder than regular balls to hit.

The idea to ask a local club for their used balls is a good one. The only downside is that you'll still have to replace the dead balls every couple of days.

 

[tennis334]

So, do pressureless balls perform like regular out-of-the-can balls when used in a ball machine? And if so, can I just use dead balls I have sitting around?

 

[Cobaine]

Tretorn Micro X. They are PRESSURIZED balls that never go flat. play almost identical to regular balls, a tad heavier and harder, but just barely. They are about 3 times as expensive, but they last until you rip the cover off, so the price works out in the long run. I use them on my ball machine. TW doesn't sell them, just google the name.

If you do get them, make sure to serve with all of them or hit a few times, they come with a slippery coating that makes them shoot out of the machine in an odd way till it wears off. It goes away quickly though.

 

[tennis334]

Anyone else used the Tretorn Micro X? I want a few more opinions before I look to make that investment.

 

[rasajadad]

Pressureless balls

Anyone else used the Tretorn Micro X? I want a few more opinions before I look to make that investment.

I've heard from a friend about the Tretorns. That they are softer than other pressureless balls.) If you want a personal experience, I got the Gammas (came free with my machine.) As I said, I'm in my 2nd summer with them. The covers are in good shape. They are still bright and I can't detect any noticeable wear. I use the ball machine 3X week hitting 4-6 hoppers full (approx. 150 balls per hopper) per session. I use the machine May through October-ish. (I'm in Vermont, so who knows when the snow flies.) Balls are harder than canned balls and seem heavier. I say seem becasue I've never weighed the balls. I am referring only to the feel on impact. I have had TE problems in the past from Polyester strings, but my elbow doesn't suffer from hitting this number of Gammas per week. Hope this helps!

 

[tennis334]

Which Gamma's do you use? The Pressurized Practice balls, or others?

 

[thebosher]

Does anyone know where I can buy like 200 cans of decent practice balls, I want to spend like $300 for them.

 

[rasajadad]

Which Gamma's do you use? The Pressurized Practice balls, or others?

I use the Pressureless.

 

[tennis334]

I use the Pressureless.

Thanks man, I'll definately look into those.

Anyone else have suggestions?

 

[Tomba]

I use dunlops. They last longer than wilson and penn balls.

 

[andyroddick's mojo]

I own a ball machine too, and am constantly bothered by the fact that I have to replace old, flat balls with new ones every couple times I hit with them. Do pressureless balls really solve the problem?

on a scale of 1-10, how good would you say they are with ball machines? If they're good enough, from what I hear to use with ball machines, I will definitely purchase a case or two, and just use my normal penn balls for practice matches or so.

 

[JakeJr]

According to Tennis Tutor, don't use new tennis balls during the first ten hours of use of their ball machine during the break-in period. This is because the ink and waxy coating on new balls (their words not mine) can cause the throwing wheels to get coated, resulting in inconsistent throws.

Regular pressureized tennis balls lose pressure in a pretty short order and this results inconsistent throws from the ball machine.

TT recommeds using balls that have been used slghtly and not to mix new and old balls to be able to maintain consistent throws.

I've tried Gammas, Wilson's and JUGS. JUGS are the best by far. Play much closer to actual pressureized balls and remain consistent over long, long periods of time. I generally hit a thousand shots on each outting and none of the JUGS has given up the ghost yet.

I even throw mine in the washer and dryer when they get dirty and they remain consistent.

Yes, pressureless balls are the way to go with a ball machine. Don't expect them to play EXACTLY like normal pressureized balls; the difference, at least to me, is very small though. The cost savings is significant too.

Just my thoughts.

Jake