Worst golf balls ever

[nunee]

On 5/5/2021 at 10:29 AM, HyzerFlipDG said:

the worst balls I find on the course are Nitros.. no idea what model they are, but they are literally stones.  the make the old Top Flites feel like balatas(new Top Flites are actually really decent). 

my pick would be the old Pinnacles.  Pinnacle Gold/Distance. The Top Flite Distance were awful too.  Used to buy them off ebay used for 50 cents a ball.  Hoped to get the ‘Tour Trajectory’ model that spin a little more/was softer.  Won’t use a Top Flite to this day…

 

but the Gamer seems to fit my requirements for a 3 piece non-urethane ball.  Can’t believe i am actually considering it.

[nitram]

Volvik Crystal

[hm59]

Having worked at a golf course and collected balls at the driving range adjacent to two holes, I've seen a ton of weird sh*t. Worst ball that stood out to me was the "Flying Lady." Felt like they were made of pure plastic. Honorable mention: Nike 20XI-S, damn near thought I cracked the face of my driver hitting one and they spun too much, to a comical level.

[mktrout]

Wilson iWound ... up in the woods

Edited September 10, 2021 by mktrout

[firedad]

Those are all pretty marginal balls at best. If you want really bad, go back to the sixties. Faultless Rubber and Krydon were the worst  They had a bad habit of breaking into two or three pieces, off of wooden drivers. Club Specials were high living in comparison. more recently Akros brought back some old memories.

[rgk5]

8 minutes ago, firedad said:

Those are all pretty marginal balls at best. If you want really bad, go back to the sixties. Faultless Rubber and Krydon were the worst  They had a bad habit of breaking into two or three pieces, off of wooden drivers. Club Specials were high living in comparison. more recently Akros brought back some old memories.

Kroydon.

[FredZollner]

We found an old Faultless golf ball (didn't Lee Trevino endorse it back in the day?) one time looking for a guy's ball. Had to be decades old. We teed it up on the next hole and it exploded. Like it broke into about a dozens pieces as it flew off the tee. It was a good laugh. The funny thing was as we picked up random pieces there was no construction. No center, no nothing. How was it made? How did Trevino endorse it? 

Edited September 14, 2021 by FredZollner

[brianmontgomery2000]

Robinhood...the Hot One, from the late 70's early 80's.  Smaller than regulation (British regulation when that was different IIRC) and HARD. 

 

Plus, you knew why you had one teed up...that was just never going to be a smooth swing you put on it! 

[Gripit]

On 9/10/2021 at 12:41 PM, mktrout said:

Wilson iWound ... up in the woods

Lol...I still have a dozen or two of those still in the box brand spankin' new...

[Unibrow]

Found a couple of "FUZZ" balls on the course yesterday, Havn't played them, so I really have no right to say the worst ball, but their called FUZZ.

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

I change my vote to Wilson Chaos.

I've played some bad balls, and these are exemplary in their badness.

[Scootre]

When my son was just learning the game at around age 9,  he wanted to play orange golf balls. He had received a dozen orange Nitros for his birthday from one of his friends. He hit a drive and the ball split right on a seam in 2 pieces. Lol

 

[Londo]

On 9/9/2021 at 4:23 PM, nunee said:

my pick would be the old Pinnacles.  Pinnacle Gold/Distance. The Top Flite Distance were awful too.  Used to buy them off ebay used for 50 cents a ball.  Hoped to get the ‘Tour Trajectory’ model that spin a little more/was softer.  Won’t use a Top Flite to this day…

 

but the Gamer seems to fit my requirements for a 3 piece non-urethane ball.  Can’t believe i am actually considering it.

I came here just to say the old Pinnacles and Top Flites, these were some truly awful balls. My dad wouldn't give me anything else as a kid and would spend 20-30 minutes in the woods in our local muni as a kid looking for anything besides these!

[Bubb]

Tour Edition 

[grm24]

The original Titleist Tour Prestige from 2000. Worst POS tour level wound ball Titleist ever made. The release of the Pro-V1 obsoleted it post haste. Titleist has used the Prestige name for a 2 piece distance ball double dozen that was sold at Costco and more recently used the Prestige name in Japan for the ball that was what became the original AVX.

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by grm24

[GolferJeff]

On 5/5/2021 at 12:30 PM, phizzy30 said:

Oh man you're taking me way back with the Molitors.  Now I feel old.  As for more recent offerings, the Mojos and the Maxfli Noodles are right there as some of the worst balls ever. 

I'm no pro, but the Maxfli Noodles were/are pretty easy to hit, to me. Never really had any issues with them.

[GolferJeff]

On 5/5/2021 at 12:33 PM, phizzy30 said:

With golf balls, I find that you get what you pay for.  Exception being the Snell line. 

Yeah, But not everyone can afford $40+ balls, only to lose half a dozen or more, per Rd. With MY golf game, I'm not paying Pro-V1 prices, sorry.

 

[Londo]

8 hours ago, grm24 said:

The original Titleist Tour Prestige from 2000. Worst POS tour level wound ball Titleist ever made. The release of the Pro-V1 obsoleted it post haste. Titleist has used the Prestige name for a 2 piece distance ball double dozen that was sold at Costco and more recently used the Prestige name in Japan for the ball that was what became the original AVX.

 

I have a dozen of those newer tour prestige somewhere in my basement, I think I "won" them in a work golf scramble three or four years ago and had never heard of them before. I am assuming that they came from the coworkers basement because he knew what junk they were lol

[Nels55]

15 hours ago, Bubb said:

Tour Edition 

I played the Tour Edition and I liked it as it was durable and it spun like balata.  LOL it was not a great ball though especially compared to what was coming...

[Scootre]

16 hours ago, Bubb said:

Tour Edition 

Whaaat?? You didn't like the Zynthane cover for spin and long distance?? I played them along with the various Top Flite Tours in the early 90s. That was about the best ball we could afford. 

 

[grm24]

14 hours ago, Londo said:

I have a dozen of those newer tour prestige somewhere in my basement, I think I "won" them in a work golf scramble three or four years ago and had never heard of them before. I am assuming that they came from the coworkers basement because he knew what junk they were lol

No doubt. The Titleist Tour Prestige balls that Costco sold then are now around 12-13 years old. It's a 2 piece surlyn covered distance ball. Good for hit and giggle rounds or a fall ball that you don't care if you lose it in leaf cover.

[elwhippy]

New contender. Found a Maxfli U6 on our range. Felt dead and didn't grip like other premium balls. May have six layers but still a dud.

[grm24]

5 minutes ago, elwhippy said:

New contender. Found a Maxfli U6 on our range. Felt dead and didn't grip like other premium balls. May have six layers but still a dud.

Honma had at least one ball of fairly recent vintage that was a 6 layer ball. I wondered if it was the same ball as the Maxfli U6. The Maxfli name, since 2008, has been a house brand in the USA for the sporting goods chain Dick's Sporting Goods after they bought the Maxfli name but not their IP from TaylorMade.

 

 

[4Eyes]

Titleist Pro Trajectory (~1975). This ball was so bad many Tour pros switched to the Hogan Apex ball.

[Londo]

5 hours ago, grm24 said:

No doubt. The Titleist Tour Prestige balls that Costco sold then are now around 12-13 years old. It's a 2 piece surlyn covered distance ball. Good for hit and giggle rounds or a fall ball that you don't care if you lose it in leaf cover.

I might take a page from his book and throw it in as a scramble "prize" in a decade or so 😂

[elwhippy]

New contender. Taylor Made Tour Response. Softer than a marshmallow, short off the tee and moved around in flight after a solid strike. 

[doublepar93]

Q star tour. Went nowhere off the driver for me.  Super spinny from wedges down to driver. 

[elwhippy]

Q Star Tour has not been well received. Titleist Tour Speed beats it hands down.

[Tim Schoch]

Noodles go all over the place for me, like they are off-center or something.  I find a lot of Nitros, which feel terrible.

 

Other side of the coin, Snell MTB-Black and MTB-X perform as well as PRO V1.  In fact, Dean Snell helped design the PRO V1.  Picked up 15 yards total with the MTB-Black, straighter than my former Chrome Soft, and much less expensive.  

 

Man, I still remember the feel of a flushed balata. And, wow, could I curve them...intentionally or not!

[Londo]

25 minutes ago, Tim Schoch said:

Noodles go all over the place for me, like they are off-center or something.  I find a lot of Nitros, which feel terrible.

 

Other side of the coin, Snell MTB-Black and MTB-X perform as well as PRO V1.  In fact, Dean Snell helped design the PRO V1.  Picked up 15 yards total with the MTB-Black, straighter than my former Chrome Soft, and much less expensive.  

 

Man, I still remember the feel of a flushed balata. And, wow, could I curve them...intentionally or not!

Nitros may get my vote for worst ball I find casual golfers frequently using, I'm sure its a cost decision but I am sure most don't realize how much difference a slightly more expensive ball would make!