I went for a 15-minute golf ball fitting. What I discovered shocked me

Most golf ball manufacturers will make loud claims, either on the box itself or via simple online questionnaires, that they can pinpoint the exact kind of player to fit their balls at a mere glance.

Titleist, however, see things a little differently. 

While identifying the best golf ball for you once largely boiled down to either buying a dozen Pro V1s or opting for whatever was on sale at the time, Titleist now considers ball fitting so important they start any fitting, regardless of whether it's for a few wedges or a full set, with the ball. And when you think about it, why wouldn't you? It's the only piece of equipment you hit 100% of the time.

And as I discovered in the space of about 15 minutes at Titleist's National Fitting Centre, not only will you perhaps be surprised at the ball that actually fits you—it has the potential to unlock parts of your game you never thought existed.

Titleist's ball fitting technology is now in its second-generation, and is the most advanced of its kind on offer from any manufacturer. It runs through an app available to both Titleist's fitting experts and the general public alike, and uses data imported from either TrackMan or a GC Quad to analyse nine shots and, combined with the answers you provide in a questionnaire beforehand, instantly recommend the right ball for you from Titleist's four most advanced models: the Pro V1, Pro V1x, Pro V1x Left Dash, and AVX.

This might seem awfully convenient (where's the love for the Tour Soft?), but Titleist is confident that there are enough qualities in either of those three balls to suit any golfer. This is something most golfers don't consider when approaching tour level balls as opposed to a simple two-piece ball: in the right scenario, they're often smart enough to adapt as well to a 15-handicap as they are a 5-handicap.

Interestingly, the Titleist ball fitting process doesn't employ a driver—putting paid to the idea that finding the right ball is all about matching it to your ball speed. In fact, that's actually a fairly minimal factor, and Titleist uses a green-back approach to determine the ball that unlocks most readily with your swing—delivering the best combination of launch and spin to suit your swing and playing style. Control and stopping power, rather than distance, is the key here.

As a 15 handicapper who has played affordable golf balls like the TruFeel for much of his career, I went into the session almost certain that, with a lower swing speed than the pros, I'd be prime AVX material. Once the app figured out my shallow swing held me back in terms of launch and spin, I was shocked instead to be fit almost instantly in to the Pro V1x: a ball that despite its near-mythical status on tour, I simply wouldn't have considered buying at my level.

This bore out in the data. Hitting balls initially with my current 7-iron, the Cobra DS-Adapt, I was achieving fairly sub-optimal spin levels from an already very hot club. Once fitted into a set of irons that fit my game, however, the Pro V1x came alive for me. While my ball speed and distance took a knock, my launch, landing angle and spin jumped to levels I've never experienced in my playing career.

It's worth saying that this is by no means just a call to sell Titleist Pro V1x golf balls—or any Titleist ball, for that matter. As always, you should hit whatever you feel suits your game best. But in creating something that not only brings ball fitting back to the very top of the agenda but makes it utterly seamless, it feels like Titleist have cracked something important here. 

And with Titleist planning to make this technology available well beyond just its own fitting centres, it feels like we're not far from a world where getting fit for a ball becomes the new norm. And with the process being cheaper, more accessible and perhaps more effective for the average golfer than any driver fitting, that can only be a good thing.

Find out more at Titleist's website.