Has anyone done a real test of used vs new balls?

[zonadub]

Have bought used balls for several years from multiple sources. Always bought 5A. Yes, every now and then there is a dud, but…

 

I have a Check Go and have spun most of the balls I get to find the ‘center of gravity’ so to speak. No matter what brand of used ball I spin, it almost always has a spin result that identifies a particular off-center center of gravity. I would use the line to line up the ball for putting, not the brand marking on the ‘side’. Dave Pelz discusses using epsom salt in water to achieve the same result.

 

I recently bought a variety of brands of new balls. I thought I would try different balls to see which ball brand worked best for my swing. And I put all of them through the Check Go. Almost every ball showed the center of gravity was centered correctly. Titleist. Bridgestone. Srixon. Taylor Made. Callaway. All of these brands showed spin that indicated the center of gravity is in the center of the ball.

 

If you have seen their ads, please pardon my mansplaining. If you are not aware of the concept behind Check Go, it spins the ball at a high speed and a line is drawn at the equator of the spin. When I spin it a second time, I turn the ball so that the line is vertical. When the ball is out-of-balance, the line returns to the equator. If the ball is balanced, the line does not. If the ball is out of balance, when you putt with the line toward the target, the center of gravity goes end over end and is less likely to cause the ball to roll off line because one side of the ball is heavier than the other.

 

One more thing that might be of interest to some out there that are touting the Maxfli Tour… when I tested the Maxfli CG, which is marketed as defining the center of gravity by the model stamp (CG means Center of Gravity)… Check Go showed that the stamp was, for the most part, accurately positioned. Bottom line, their center of gravity is not in the center of the ball.

Edited November 18, 2022 by zonadub

[North Butte]

The last two times I bought batches of 3doz 5A/Mint condition used balls, they mostly looked absolutely perfect (I think one batch had one ball that snuck through even though it was discolored and old-looking). But each time, as I played through the 3doz there were two balls that pretty clearly did not perform quite the same as the rest of the batch. And my game is pretty inconsistent so if I can say that for sure after nine holes or so, it's a pretty meaningful difference.

 

That basically indicates that 95% of the "mint" balls from that particular vendor were perfectly fine for my needs. And they were ProV1x's at half the price of new, roughly. So it seems like a decent value-for-money proposition.

 

But after that second batch in a row had two "off" balls, I swore off used. Just don't enjoy playing golf when after a couple or three poor shots that I thought were well struck I'm thinking, "Hmmm, maybe this ball is bad". Not worth it to me. 

[stevopagolf]

Not at all scientific but last week I was playing and noticed I was 10-15 yards short of normal with most clubs.  I look at my ball for damage and notice it said "recycled" on the side.  It must have been one of the balls I found on one of the courses I played.  

 

Noticed a difference....

[Ghostwedge]

This.is an easy one.... a golf buddy who finds balls all the time has a "ball check,"

he bounces. them on his garage floor and listens to the sound. 

My CSI tells me a ball dropped from chest high tells me nothing (no speed produced, etc.) If it makes "click" sound he tosses it into his wife's garage sale junk. He showed me two found Pro V1's identical looking, one sounded like a SuperSoft and the other clicked like an old two piece Top Flite. 

[Andygolderson]

Rick Shiels did a video recently on refurbished vs new balls.

 

I've also seen similar results from new vs lake balls with e12 balls.

['Noles2013]

I really don’t see the point in buying used/refurbished balls with so many great affordable brand new options out there.  Unless you’re the fake it til you make it guy who wants to be seen playing a “ProV1” without actually paying for new ones.

Edited December 1, 2022 by 'Noles2013

[MysteryV]

On 8/24/2022 at 12:52 PM, Z1ggy16 said:

I know the site that shall not be named did a test about scuffed covers but I'm referring to "new" 5a ball vs new from a box. 

 

I feel like I've read a few things here or there, some say a used ball is fine (assuming cover in great shape) and others say that water and the elements will cause issues quickly. 

 

I'm finally running low on balls and it's time for a buy coming up soon. I tend to buy a few dozen all at once which usually last me the season. I've purchased used 5a balls but DTC brands are starting to intrigue me as I'm a bit more price conscious lately, and then of course there's the tried and true brand new ProV if money isn't a concern. 

 

I hit a ton of balls in my home sim, and the degradation of the core is noticeable, particularly on softer balls.  Typically I hear or feel the crack before I see it develop in the cover, meaning the crack starts inside where it's likely not detectable.  Eventually it becomes very noticeable and loses a ton of distance before completely splitting.  Tough to say how many shots this takes, but Taylormade are the most common (Pro Vs rarely crack).

 

My point here is that knowing that balls deteriorate from the inside after use, and are impacted by exposure to moisture, I tend to stay away from used balls.

 

 

[SollyinGA]

On 8/25/2022 at 4:45 PM, Jeff58 said:

https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2022/01/06/do-golf-balls-lose-distance-after-theyve-been-in-a-water-hazard-124818/

 

https://www.vicegolf.com/us/forget_lakeballs
 

There was an older test in Golf magazine as well. Not sure that it is retrievable. The thing about each of the available tests is that they test balls sitting in water, and the main effect is due to water permeating into the core. The real nasty is when you have a ball partially buried in mud/silt. In that case, give it up.

The problem with brand loyalty and golf balls is that the manufacturer would be nuts to produce a virtual clone of their $50 ball at the $30 price point, while that’s exactly what the DTC and Maxfli models do quite well. If you have access to a quality launch monitor, it only takes a few minutes to compare driver/7iron/PW. The results are often frighteningly similar.

100%
 

I’ve test new DTC balls vs new ProV1s on my GC3. There is hardly any difference in performance from my personal tests.

 

There was a time when you could see a difference as far as durability, but that’s changed over the years.

 

During my personal durability testing, I will use one and only one ball ball for a few weeks to access its durability. 
 

All of the balls eventually crack in two. Some last longer than others. This test consists of hundreds, if not thousands of hits with irons, wedges and drivers. 
 

I should also add that the condition of some of these balls deteriorates to the point that I wouldn’t use some of them on course before they crack.

 

My observations are below:

I can crack a Callaway Chrome Soft fairly easily in a week. It doesn’t matter which generation I test, they crack violently. The cover is still in good shape  when they do crack.

 

I always assumed a two piece ball would be more durable, but during my test, I could easily crack a Callaway Supersoft in a week as well.

 

ProV1s are among the most durable ball. One ball can last me several weeks before developing a hairline crack. The cover is usually badly damaged by the cracking point.

 

TP5 is similar, but doesn’t seem to last quite as long.

 

Vice Pro is similar, but scuff up a little easier. It may not last quite as long as the ProV1, but it’s well past ‘on course’ usable at the time of cracking.

 

My longest lasting ball has been the Kirkland Signature ball. The cover does get scratched up as all do, but to actually crack the ball can take me almost a month in most cases. I’ve tried several and all performed similarly. The cover is worked really bad before cracking. It would have been thrown away or into a shag bag well before the cracking point.

[LoopySwing13]

My first purchase from lost golf balls I put them (same model but sleeve of used vs sleeve of new). I don’t have any real data but noticed no difference what so ever. Funny enough, I lost 2 of the new and none of the used over 36 holes that day. Other than maybe 1 ball with slightly less performance (depending on the grade) I don’t think most would notice. 
 

On the second 18 it was a little more open group wise, so I would hit partial wedge shots, fairways off the deck, long iron into par 3 and saw no issues. Putting was the same feel/sound.

[oxHadokenxo]

I really am surprised one of the golf YouTube channels hasn’t put balls in a mason jar of water for 1/3/6 months and then hit them side by side to test this. It would be an easy video, just a little time to prepare and I think would get a lot of hits from people googling this question. 
 

Several have tested refurbished balls but never used (ie most likely pond balls). 

Edited December 27, 2022 by oxHadokenxo

[cristphoto]

On 12/19/2022 at 8:15 PM, SollyinGA said:

100%
 

I’ve test new DTC balls vs new ProV1s on my GC3. There is hardly any difference in performance from my personal tests.

 

There was a time when you could see a difference as far as durability, but that’s changed over the years.

 

During my personal durability testing, I will use one and only one ball ball for a few weeks to access its durability. 
 

All of the balls eventually crack in two. Some last longer than others. This test consists of hundreds, if not thousands of hits with irons, wedges and drivers. 
 

I should also add that the condition of some of these balls deteriorates to the point that I wouldn’t use some of them on course before they crack.

 

My observations are below:

I can crack a Callaway Chrome Soft fairly easily in a week. It doesn’t matter which generation I test, they crack violently. The cover is still in good shape  when they do crack.

 

I always assumed a two piece ball would be more durable, but during my test, I could easily crack a Callaway Supersoft in a week as well.

 

ProV1s are among the most durable ball. One ball can last me several weeks before developing a hairline crack. The cover is usually badly damaged by the cracking point.

 

TP5 is similar, but doesn’t seem to last quite as long.

 

Vice Pro is similar, but scuff up a little easier. It may not last quite as long as the ProV1, but it’s well past ‘on course’ usable at the time of cracking.

 

My longest lasting ball has been the Kirkland Signature ball. The cover does get scratched up as all do, but to actually crack the ball can take me almost a month in most cases. I’ve tried several and all performed similarly. The cover is worked really bad before cracking. It would have been thrown away or into a shag bag well before the cracking point.

 

Please clarify. Were you testing all new balls or all water balls?  

[cristphoto]

48 minutes ago, oxHadokenxo said:

I really am surprised one of the golf YouTube channels hasn’t put balls in a mason jar of water for 1/3/6 months and then hit them side by side to test this. It would be an easy video, just a little time to prepare and I think would get a lot of hits from people googling this question. 
 

Several have tested refurbished balls but never used (ie most likely pond balls). 

 

Tests of water balls have been done numerous times and the results are conclusive.  Pretty much unanimous in that you lose about a club length after a week in the water and around 1 1/2 to 2 lengths after 3-6 months.  Since ball companies only come to courses at much longer intervals it's a sure bet performance is impacted.  Most recent magazine test on this subject was January of this year. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by cristphoto

[monks66]

they can go out of balance also-used that is

[SollyinGA]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:50 AM, cristphoto said:

 

Please clarify. Were you testing all new balls or all water balls?  

Used balls and found balls. I can’t verify if they have ever been in the water or not, but I can confirm that I didn’t get them while they were submerged.