Does color help you find your ball?

[thechance]

When I started a year ago I decided to use yellow balls so they would stand out against the grass and also because my playing partners played white. However, I found I'm not great at actually finding the yellow balls. Does anyone find a particular color that pops to the eye against grass?

[noodle3872]

I’ve not tried orange or red myself however my father in-law swears they are easier to spot. I’ve been using Pro V1x in yellow since their release and have no issue finding them unless they are hit miles off line into the thick gnarly grass or deep in the trees.

[dbdors]

I was using the lime green thinking they would be easier to see, but at times found it harder to find. I’ve since switched back to white. But will try the green again in the spring

[Pworld]

Yellow never works for me. EXCEPT... if im playing late and the last hole or 3 it's getting dark.

I have played with somebody with a orange/pink ball and i was finding their ball way more than mines.

I wish TM or Bridgestone made a red/pink/orange in their premium offerings.

[SubaruWRX]

I only use a white ball, but I’ve played with someone using the matte red volvik and that was easy to find. Almost impossible to lose, even in deep rough. Even easy to track in the air

ive also seen a blue Callaway and it was impossible to see. I’d recommend against those.

[nlinneman20]

I've been liking the matte softflis....the green and pink stand out like they have an LED light in them glowing. Orange is OK...havent tried to blue because i'm afraid they will blend into the sky and i'll lose them before they hit the ground.

[cristphoto]

My wife loves playing the colored balls. After trying them all the red Volvik is the easiest to see in the air and in the ground.

[Bill Broderick]

This time of year (in the northeast), yellow balls are more visible to me than white ones are, both on the ground and in the (typically gray) sky. But, during "the regular season" I see white balls better than the yellow ones.

[RP40]

Here's my take on the subject, based on my own better part of 2 years of reseach (trial & error) ...

As my vision started to diminish as I grew older, and I didn't just need bifocals to read but instead to even read the writing on the ball while I was putting - I also found it harder and harder to track my shots in flight, I knew generally their direction of travel, but until they bounced on the green grass I really didn't know where my ball was. And finding balls in the rough was getting even tougher too, especially when the grass wasn't really green - so I started experimenting with colors to see what I could see.

First I hit on the optic red ones, as I could really find them easily in the rough - but the problem with them was that once they were 150-200 yards away from me I couldn't even see them on the fairways/greens (unless the grass was half dead). Dark red and dark green seemed to blur together. And blue hues melded into green too easily, as did some other more muted colors.

Between all that, and the fact that none of the premium brands I preferred offered any colors, I had all but given up on my experiment - and it wasn't long after I had taken a liking to the new Titleist AVX (and ProV1, depending on the season) that it was announced they were being released in Optic Yellow, and I bought a sleeve as soon as I could get my hands on them.

So last spring when I was placing my annual ball order, I jumped on the yellow ball bandwagon ... And couldn't be happier.

Now, I'm not going to suggest that you're going to find yellow balls any easier than white balls (or any colored ball) when digging in the weeds or the woods - where only a strobe light is going to help - but you will know when you find yours, as they're still comparatively rare.

But the main advantage is being able to track the ball in flight - the yellow really stands out against the sky, whether blue or overcast, or even fluffy white clouds.

And I can pick out my ball on the fairway or green from upwards of 300 yards away.

 

[596]

I like playing the Callaway yellow and black soccer balls. I find them very easy to track in the air as well as on the ground. The worst ball is red. I can't see them at all off the club face, in the air or in the ground. My second favorite would be plain old white.

[mokedaddy]

I have found on the ground both white and yellow are pretty similar. Like said above I find the real difference to be in flight. It’s not a huge difference but being extremely nearsighted I lose sight of a white ball about 200 yards out and I yellow ball I can track closer to 250.

[Mike_Honcho]

I've found I'm equally horrible finding the yellows as I was/am the whites...

[dubbelbogey]

I gave a few dozen yellow balls a try a couple of seasons ago and decided I could not see them any better than white, in general. And, in certain conditions, they were actually considerably worse for finding them in the grass. Particularly in the bright sun where the sun's angle against the prevailing glare against the grass was such that yellow and grass glare were virtually identical. The yellow ball was effectively camouflaged in that lighting. No bueno. We have lots of high, bright sun here in Colorado so I gave up on the yellow balls.

I now play white again for most of the year, but during the fall, I'll play bright orange or bright pink as those are the easiest to find against fallen leaves. Overall, bright orange and pink are the easiest to see, but I generally like top-tier urethane balls and nobody makes such a thing (well, Volvik does, but those are pretty rare and expensive, and not available used.)

 

 

[Tanner25]

Yellow for me. Easy to track and looks good.

[arbeck]

I don't think a yellow ball is that much easier to spot in the grass than white. For that the red Volvik balls my wife plays are best. But for spotting the ball in flight, yellow is easier. It's easier against a blue sky and it's easier against an overcast sky. I also can see the ball easier from a distance when it lands on a green or a fairway that is very green.

[Londoner]

I tried the Wilson Matt finish in red and lime green.

I could see them ok but the finish made the ball look small when addressing it, like an old 1.62 ball (for those of a certain age!)

[Stanks]

I'll play yellow / volt / light green and even truvis all day, every day. It's easy to find. Very easy and I don't lose it in the sky.

[87vert]

To me it depends on the conditions out. Late fall with leaves the orange/red ones are easiest. Usually play the lime green ones (Bridgestone) most of the time but some times white are the easiest.

[sdandrea]

Yes, generally. I've been using yellow balls the last few years, since my fav brands are making them. Another thing I like is it seems to clearly define my ball in my playing group since most players seem to use white. When we arrive at our tee shots down the fairway and there are several balls in proximity, I immediately know which is mine. My eyes are 67 years old, BTW.

[Hougz79]

For me yellow blends into the color shades of green, and I honestly don't see them well. Except for late season rounds on grey overcast days.

I love the matte red balls. They are like a tracer flying through the air. But at address they honestly hurt my eyes. I also am a fan of the Truvis patterns, I find them easy to see in air and in the grass.

[dalehead]

I’ve never found yellow balls any easier to see on the ground than white, especially in the rough where they may be sitting down in the grass a little.

[Singapore Joe]

I'd like a color that stays on the fairways but only white and yellow are widely available.

In the autumn/winter, finding a yellow ball can be a bit tricky from the midst of all the fallen leaves and the yellowish grass. I find it easier to spot the yellow on flight, especially against a grey sky, but was recently playing in Thailand where a caddy asked me to switch from yellow to white as she couldn't see the yellow ball in flight.

Here in Australia we get very bright days but unlike some others above, I don't find yellow balls hard to see in those conditions. Could have to do with the very exact shade of yellow and the sheen of different balls but it's also plausible that we have fairly big differences in the physiology and neurology of our eyes and may see different colors very differently.

Srixon Tour Yellow has been my go to color for a long time and I thought it's a bit easier to address than white but that's probably a matter of what one is used to. Played a few rounds now with a white ball now and there have been no issues whatsoever. In fact, I'm playing the best golf of my life. I believe that has to do with changing from Srixon to Taylormade. I speak English to the ball and a Taylormade seems to understand what I tell it to do better than a Srixon.

[Pepperturbo]

Color of the ball has no bearing if someone copes with undetermined degree of color blindness and or impaired sight. I am pushing 70 and still able to track a ball in flight to it's landing. I just don't like yellow or colored balls, they look unnatural.

[NJpatbee]

The easiest ball to find that I tried was the Maxfli Softfli matte lime green - it almost glowed. I actually found it distracting when I was standing over it and gave it up but it really stands out, including in fall leaves.

[tbowles411]

About 99% of the time, I use a yellow ProV1. In the fall, I'll switch to white due to the falling leaves. Otherwise, I'm walking around in circles trying to find the ball.

[Ty_Webb]

Friend of mine had a matte black one. It was hard to see in the fairway and lasted all of two holes. So not that. I've always found white to be as easy as anything else.

[third-times-a-charm]

The best thing that ever helped me find golf balls was good quality polarized sunglasses. Color of the ball is irrelevant.

[Twism86]

I use the Callaway matte red superhots. I can track them well and they do stand out but ive also lost a few that have likely been hiding in plain sight. No matter the color, deep rough a leaves will always make a ball disappear.

 

[rkillian]

I prefer yellow. I tend to play solo most of the time. I can't say that in fall/winter conditions I can find it any easier than a white ball on the ground when it's not in the fairway. Even in the fairway, I can usually spot a white one before I see the yellow. I play the yellow because I find I can track it much better in the air and as such have a better chance of knowing what direction it went and where it probably landed. If I'm not playing yellow, I play a white ball. I played a blue ball I found once and couldn't see it easily in the air or on the ground. Same with red. Once a red ball leaves the clubface I loose sight of it almost immediately.

[farmer]

Pepper is very lucky. I'm pushing 70 and I haven't seen a ball land after a drive in years. Yellow in the summer is good, on dormant grass, not good.