Do Yellow Golf Balls Play Differently Than White Ones?

[iNeedMoreGolf]

in some brands i havr noticed a yellow ball is harder then the whites... in some brands though they are as soft as the whites sometimes softer... wierd. Not sure id that translates so hard in the rounds ive played.. im too focused trying to play well to notice some things others doo. Unless my ball starts hooking either way hard then ive seen no difference.

[rwbloom93]

I've played yellow/white Tour B RX's, Titleist Tour Softs, Titleist Dt TruSofts, AVX's, Project (a)'s, Project (s)'s, Supersoft's, old E6's, and Srixon QST/Soft Feel's....

 

If there is a performance and feel difference due to paint/gloss it's not noticeable to me...

 

Regards,

[BiggErn]

Speaking for premium urethane covered balls I will say yes. I’ve played every version of the chrome soft, ProV1, TP5, project a, and tour response and I’m convinced that every yellow version spins a bit less than the white version.....which isn’t terrible for me. Distance wise haven’t noticed any discernible difference though. As for the cheaper non urethane balls I can’t say one way or the other. 

[glm]

I only play yellow in the winter so I  can't tell but I do play with a few ball snobs that swear yellow is longer.   :-)))

[monks66]

I want to play yellow Snells, I tried them last week, and I dont know, but they just seem harder to me??  I am sure its just me, but I have tried other yellow balls in the past and they too just felt harder....maybe mental, dont know

[Tanner25]

1 hour ago, monks66 said:

I want to play yellow Snells, I tried them last week, and I dont know, but they just seem harder to me??  I am sure its just me, but I have tried other yellow balls in the past and they too just felt harder....maybe mental, dont know

 

I agree. The yellow QST 2 is firmer than the white one. Plus it is a sparkly yellow, not taxi cab yellow, which I prefer. 

[ajestrada3]

I've noticed no difference in yellow BRX balls when i have played them

[texcrom]

I held out as long as possible, but finally wanted to move to a yellow ball as I just cannot visually track a white ball anymore.

 

As a longtime Titleist player, I moved to the yellow in the ProV1X. I found it to feel slightly harder with a “clicker” feel / sound.

 

Moved to the Taylor Made TP5 in yellow last week, and found it performed as well as the Titleist, felt slightly softer (which I liked), and I could actually track the ball in the air and see it hit the green.

 

Only negative - after about five holes, I noticed some chips in the yellow. Ball was not abused to cause this, assuming it was from wedges.

 

But I am so impressed with the ball, if this continues I’ll go to the white, or even the PIX version. Like the ball that much.

Edited September 6, 2020 by texcrom

[sevenfourate]

Anyone got any thoughts, experience, data or science on White Vs Yellow TP5 comparisons ?

 

Just tried my first sleeve of Yellow’s for the visuals; and loving the boldness - and finding it much easier to follow in flight the majority of the time.
 

**Wondering if I’m giving anything up / gaining anything ! 

Edited September 14, 2020 by sevenfourate

[oiler45]

I have no real data but I find it extremely hard to believe that major ball manufacturers like Titleist, Bridgestone, Srixon etc. would make a ball that performed differently due to the color. Even harder to believe that if they did so they wouldn't mention the differences in their marketing. I play both white and yellow and notice no difference other than the color. 

[bluedot]

For the last month or so, I've been going back and forth between white and yellow ProV1x's, both for casual rounds and for competitive rounds.  (I'm only buying yellow now, but still have some white on hand.)If there is any difference in distance, dispersion, or spin, I can't tell it, and my scores don't reflect it.  That's a small sample size in every respect, but it's all I've got.

 

I find it VERY hard to believe that Titleist, for one, would release a yellow version of the ProV1 line that in any way underperformed the white version; that just isn't the way Titleist works.  I read the article from MGS linked above, and had already watched an old Dean Snell video before the MTB-X became available in yellow, and the takeaway from both is that making a yellow golf ball isn't like getting pigment added to a white base at the paint department of Home Depot. 

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

On 8/21/2020 at 6:12 PM, Jack Pearsall said:

Totally different. Orange plays the hardest of the neonish colors. the dark hue blues and greens are the worst for feel but they are tremendous fashion accessaries on the tee box or green. The yellow ball has two basic flavors: the matte and the neon. there are subtle differences only a forged iron player can appreciate. Green neon denotes a psychological disorder in the user. Never turn your back or cart on a green neon ball user. menaces to decency.

*glances at my own avatar*

Yeah, that sounds about right.

[gambit]

I bought a bunch of white and yellow xv's during their bogo and don't notice a difference in distance. Feel to me isn't much different. I did feel like the yellow Pro V1 was firmer than the white.

[Geoff_Dickson]

A few years ago there was a similar thread on GolfWRX. No consensus.

 

And then someone came into the the thread with these words “I have a PhD in material engineering and work at 3M in their thermoplastics unit.  Let me assure you all that colour can and often does impact the properties of various plastics/polymers”. 

 

My recollection is that he said the differences are very small...but they do exist.

 

 

ps....I found this thread whilst looking to confirm/disconfirm my experience of a few extra yards with a yellow Srixon Z star a few days ago 😎

[elwhippy]

I believe the matte finish causes a tad more drag but as I only use coloured ammo in Winter it would make no difference.

[phizzy30]

No performance difference for me.  However, I've noticed that yellow balls in general tend to scuff easier than their white counterparts.

[sevenfourate]

2 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

No performance difference for me.  However, I've noticed that yellow balls in general tend to scuff easier than their white counterparts.

This years TM TP5 and X versions should ‘stop’ that.

 

Previously they had a white Urethane outer layer with a Yellow paint covering. 
 

The upcoming 21 version has Yellow Urethane !! 👌

[j.a.]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:24 PM, tangojay said:

 

Does a white car go faster than a yellow one?

Going to look for article where it dismissed this,,,,,,,,,,

 I may get a few golf balls in Ferrari red to evaluate 😎

Edited February 13, 2021 by j.a.

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

The color white is the sum of all of the colors of light coming together - what we see is 100% of the photons hitting the object and bouncing back at our eyeballs.  So, when we're playing golf and the sun is at our back, we'll get more distance out of a white ball, using the same machinations as a solar sail.

 

When we're playing into the sun, all of the photons except yellow are absorbed, which draws the ball in the direction of the sun.

[powerplay007]

I’ve been using white ProV1s for years and switched to yellow a few years back and I haven’t noticed any performance difference in sound, feel, spin or distance. Just my 2cents.

[lefthack]

Yes, they play much yellower than non yellow balls. It's science.

[dach818]

I've been switching back and forth between white and yellow balls for the past few years.  I've played both colors of Srixon Z star, TP5 and Prov1s.  I haven't noticed any difference in how they play.  I like the yellow balls because it's easier to identify which ball is yours.  However, it seems that more and more of the guys I play with are going with the yellow balls now.

[crazygolfnut]

Looked on the USGA conforming list and found a diff in yellow vs white MTB Black. Not sure why. 

 

Yellow 3P-1c  L-H

White  3P-2c  L-M

 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I play lots of colored balls and i dont feel or see a difference other then the matte colored balls seem very very tacky and i always wonder if they have more bite to them... it does seem that way sometimes.

[jwb10]

mine do

[wadelink]

I do know that Titleist golf balls are painted. Both the white and the yellow balls. I don't know how many others are also painted but have the color mixed wright into the cover.