Golf Ball "Shelf Life"

With today's technology, is there any reason why a golf ball's performance would be affected by unused shelf life?

I see advertisements for 2007 balls that have been replaced by "newer" versions and wonder if you would sacrifice performance by purchasing and using those balls.

With today's technology, is there any reason why a golf ball's performance would be affected by unused shelf life?

 

I see advertisements for 2007 balls that have been replaced by "newer" versions and wonder if you would sacrifice performance by purchasing and using those balls.

I've used 2007 balls almost exclusively this year and as much as I'd like to blame them for my less-than-stellar performances, I can't. To the contrary, I'm using balls that have benefitted my game (albeit, not that much) since I was able to pick up the 2007 Nike One balls for $29/dz. and would never have tried them otherwise. I think the year-to-year differences can be noticeable, but only in terms of design differences and even those differences are often imperceptible to all but the most discriminating golfers (of which I am not). Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be playing new ProV1s, but since they're 66% more expensive than the tour balls I currently own I'm happy enough with what I have. There are certainly a number of pros that appear to use previous years' balls exclusively because of personal preference and although it is possible, I would imagine that companies like Titleist no longer produce earlier models once they change production to the latest model. If that is indeed the case then there are some PGA players that are using balls made a few years ago, at least according to stories I've heard here - on their website Titleist claims that all of their ball endorsers play their current balls.

Five years according to Frank Thomas, if stored properly.

the new balls last ages, as the post above mine says 5 years would be about right.

In years gone by the issue with old balls were related to the wound balls where the tension of the strings inside dropped over time. They only had a shelf life of about a 1 for mere mortals and pro's used the extra fresh batches.

In a recent issue of Callaway Magazine, one of their development engineers said that under the proper storage conditions, present-day golf balls have a shelf life of many years.

The only thing that he cautioned against was heat - if golf balls are stored in too warm an environment [he mentioned 130 degrees and above] the elastomers in the plastics are affected, causing a loss of distance.

So... don't leave them in your car over the summer months.

By comparison, golf balls subjected to extreme cold are fine, as long as they're allowed to warm back up to normal temperatures before using.

In a recent issue of Callaway Magazine, one of their development engineers said that under the proper storage conditions, present-day golf balls have a shelf life of many years.

 

The only thing that he cautioned against was heat - if golf balls are stored in too warm an environment [he mentioned 130 degrees and above] the elastomers in the plastics are affected, causing a loss of distance.

 

So... don't leave them in your car over the summer months.

 

By comparison, golf balls subjected to extreme cold are fine, as long as they're allowed to warm back up to normal temperatures before using.

The FAQs on the Bridgestone website addresses this: it says that balls kept at 70-80 deg F can last, and I quote, "forever."

It says that not only extreme heat but also extreme cold can permanently affect performance characteristics.

I was just thinking about this. TaylorMade a few years ago had a special package for 3 golf balls. It was a tube instead of a sleeve. They claimed that the tube helped the balls increase shelf life.

The balls were terrible, rock hard, but it was a interesting marketing strategy.

I have golf balls from back in 2000 2001, Maxfli's, Precept's, Srixon's, Hogan's, and Titleist's. Most of these balls are very short today compared to back then. :russian_roulette: But I don't really think it has anything to do with the quality of the golf ball. ;)

I really can't tell any difference in performance, distance or spin of these older golf balls.

We moved into our house in 1998.

This past winter I found a box that had not been opened since then.

Full of golf stuff.

One dozen brand new Maxfli XS Tours and a 15 pack of brand new Wilson TC2's along with some 3ball sleeves of Top Flite x2000's, Dt's, etc.

Tempted to take some and give them a try.

They have sat through some very cold weather over the last 10 years though. (garage is not heated)

I'm curious about this one now as well, I often leave my bag in the trunk of my car while I'm at work. I wonder if the extreme heat causes my golf balls to under-perform. Anyone have any examples etc of age or improper storage having negative effects on the performance of their golf balls?

What I do to protect my golf balls from extreme temperature is to store them in a mini- Igloo cooler while sitting in my garage. The insulation prevents them from overheating and altering distance performance (I think it is even more important for the iron/wedge scoring game...where I would prefer knowing how it reacts heading for the pin. Don't want a 'hot' ball going long)