Lost Golf Balls

[Girevik]

I'm considering placing an order form Lost Golf Balls, and am wondering about the quality of the near mint (4A) balls.  How much of a difference is there between those and mint?

[DataGolfer]

I have gotten some pretty unplayable 4As... we're talking cart path balls, etc.

 

Also, many of the brands aren't necessarily current gen. 

 

For example, you could get a Z-Star or B-X from any gen. 

 

Unless it's like "2019 TP5" or "2019 ProV1" it's a crap shoot 

[Tanner25]

You're better off buying new practice balls.

 

https://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-2019-tp5x-pix-20-practice-bagged-golf-balls?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqN3VtuOE7QIVUtyGCh3_VweKEAQYAiABEgJfwvD_BwE

Edited November 15, 2020 by Tanner25

[James the Hogan Fan]

I bought Tour B330's in 2018 in their Refurbished No Logo category to see how they went. Overall I was satisfied and found them to play very well. Have you considered that option?

[larryd3]

I'd go 5A or do as Tanner25 suggested and buy the new practice balls.  I'd skip refurbished ones

[cgasucks]

I've bought refurbished Pro V1s and 4a TM Lethals from lostgolfballs and you can tell that the 4a balls have been hit once (at most) as you can see the scuff marks on most of them.  Refurbished balls I see no performance difference from new ones.  Both grades are both very playable for me and have no hesitation to buy those grades again (if the price is right).

Edited November 18, 2020 by cgasucks

[Tanner25]

How are the Academy Sports recycled and refurbished balls play? The selection and brands have improved. 

[larryd3]

question on recycled and refurbished balls,  how do you really know what the underlying golf ball is or how long it sat in water, etc?  a company could repaint any old ball and put a logo on it so it looks great.   This is an honest question, not trying to be snarky or anything

[Moby]

On 11/15/2020 at 9:37 AM, Tanner25 said:

You're better off buying new practice balls.

 

https://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-2019-tp5x-pix-20-practice-bagged-golf-balls?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqN3VtuOE7QIVUtyGCh3_VweKEAQYAiABEgJfwvD_BwE

This ^^^^^

[Break68]

On ‎11‎/‎15‎/‎2020 at 6:37 AM, Tanner25 said:

You're better off buying new practice balls.

 

https://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-2019-tp5x-pix-20-practice-bagged-golf-balls?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqN3VtuOE7QIVUtyGCh3_VweKEAQYAiABEgJfwvD_BwE

If the border was open I would buy lots of these balls!!

[cristphoto]

11 hours ago, larryd3 said:

question on recycled and refurbished balls,  how do you really know what the underlying golf ball is or how long it sat in water, etc?  a company could repaint any old ball and put a logo on it so it looks great.   This is an honest question, not trying to be snarky or anything

 

You don't know and therein lies the risk.

[Stanks]

On 11/14/2020 at 10:03 AM, Girevik said:

I'm considering placing an order form Lost Golf Balls, and am wondering about the quality of the near mint (4A) balls.  How much of a difference is there between those and mint?

Most of us on here are not good enough to feel or notice a difference. I'm assuming you aren't either. Do what you want. It's your money. 

[Kentendo]

My experience was similar to others.  The 4A's showed wear.  The 5A's were one hit wonders.  It was an OK deal, but it is just as easy to buy practice balls or wait for a deal and stock up.  The holiday deals are right around the corner too.

[North Texas]

On 11/18/2020 at 8:05 AM, larryd3 said:

question on recycled and refurbished balls,  how do you really know what the underlying golf ball is or how long it sat in water, etc?  a company could repaint any old ball and put a logo on it so it looks great.   This is an honest question, not trying to be snarky or anything

 

As another poster above said, you don't know. I have bought recycled mint/5A Pro V1X balls 4 or 5 times now. At first, I could tell no difference. But then the last time I bought them there was a noticeable difference in performance. Off the driver was a good 10-15 yards shorter and the normal spin around the green was simply not there. Have bought nothing but new since always looking for any deal I could find like the end of the year deal. 

[GolfNPizza2]

I just bought a few dozen mint 5a prov1x and overall not impressed. Some balls appear new others I wouldn't play. They will be fine for the winter but just not worth it. I'll go back to buying snell

[ihocky2]

I bought 2 dozen Srixon and Bridgestone earlier in the summer, both 5A. With the deals I can find on practice balls or sales in the fall or spring I won't buy the used ones again. Some were in decent shape, others the paint really filled in the dimples and the balls did not fly consistent. I tried the Bridgestone e12 used balls first and was not very happy with them. I let a box of new e12's sit for 2 months because I was not happy with the previous experience. Once I played them, what a world of difference. Easily 10-15 yards longer and noticeably straighter. Same thing with the Srixon. I liked them better but comparing them to new balls, the new ones absolutely performed better. 

 

From what I've heard the 5A used to be a good ball but the grading criteria has fallen off. What was once a 4A is now finding it's way into the 5A. I bought some 4A balls for my son and some of them barely have dimples left.

[jholz]

I've played a lot of used and refurbished balls over the years. I don't trust refurbs at all.

 

Used balls I'm ok with, but in every batch you always get a few that are so messed up I don't want to put them in play. Such a crap shoot and ultimately a waste of money.

 

With the prices they are charging for top grade used premium balls, you can shop around and get something new for roughly the same price. 

 

So, I'd take straight-up used, even lower grades, over refurbs. Refurbs suck. 

 

I'd also take a box of new lower-grade balls over a box of used premium balls as well. 

Edited November 19, 2020 by jholz

[willmillar]

I've ordered 5A from Lostgolfballs and have had no problems at all.  There is a huge difference between recycled and refurbished.  Stay away from refurbished as these have been repainted and that will definitely make a difference in the performance of the ball.  My last shipment of Prov1s were 5A and I couldn't tell any difference in performance versus new ones.  I personally wouldn't go any lower than 5A though.

[lefthack]

I have gotten 3A's from 2 different eBay sellers that have been great. Some are older generation, but at $.35 a ball, I don't mind. I just ordered 50 Taylormade Project (a) for $25.

 

If I like them, I will likely try a newer version. But if I shank one into the river, I won't mind, either.

[cgasucks]

On 11/15/2020 at 6:37 AM, Tanner25 said:

You're better off buying new practice balls.

 

https://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-2019-tp5x-pix-20-practice-bagged-golf-balls?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqN3VtuOE7QIVUtyGCh3_VweKEAQYAiABEgJfwvD_BwE

That's a darn good deal BUT for me those optical triangle thingys is a big turn off for me.

[joostin]

Maybe I've gotten lucky, but I've had a few batches of used 3A to 5A Z Stars and XVs from the bay, none of which were duds.  I prefer buying listings with real pics of the actual ones.  Even the 3A ones were pretty good, like a new ball for me after playing say 9 holes without any big scuffs just some stains.  I've tried a few mixed in with new XVs (2018 I think) and KSigs (3 pc) on Trackman in the past and really didn't find dropoffs throughout the bag, though it was a small sampling.

 

There's a mix of years - different fonts and arrows and sometimes random logos.  I don't mind.  Personally, when I find a premium lost ball on the course that's in decent condition, I'm happy to play it for as long as can until I lose it (likely within 1 round) or until it becomes badly scuffed.  Heck even a lost KSig.  It also frees me from worrying about losing a ball since it cost less than $1.  For me that's good value.  I don't trust buying refurbished painted ones, just used.

[chosenhandle]

there is a thread on another forum where a UV light is used to demonstrate that many golf balls are not in as good of condition that they thought. Not saying it affects playability or anything, but it was very enlightening.

 

 

[Tanner25]

8 hours ago, cgasucks said:

That's a darn good deal BUT for me those optical triangle thingys is a big turn off for me.

They are available, non-pix

 

https://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-tp5-practice-bagged-golf-balls?___store=default&nosto=nosto-page-search1