Do Golf Balls Have a Shelf Life?

[williamalex1]

So don't clean them in your mouth then?

No more than 4 at the same time

 

[The Autumn Wind]

I was told never to pick up balls on the course. They will have absorbed water. All balls absorb water, apparently. Even whilst sat in the box in the pro shop. So don't buy old balls either. Don't know if this is true.

?

 

[Crazyface]

Ahem

 

[Imurg]

Has your Pro shop had a major leak ?
Are all their balls submerged for 12 hours...?

Don't pick up balls from lakes and ponds..everything elemis fair game and any difference will be minimal

 

[Blue in Munich]

I was told never to pick up balls on the course. They will have absorbed water. All balls absorb water, apparently. Even whilst sat in the box in the pro shop. So don't buy old balls either. Don't know if this is true.

Do you want to buy London Bridge cheap?

 

[trevor]

I was told never to pick up balls on the course. They will have absorbed water. All balls absorb water, apparently. Even whilst sat in the box in the pro shop. So don't buy old balls either. Don't know if this is true.

No wonder I don’t play well when it it rains, I thought it was just me not liking the water running down my neck.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Ahem

Do you actually read the you post?

From the link;

Yes, golf balls do absorb water and it will affect the performance.

How much performance is lost or what affect is has on the ball will vary. It depends on the type of ball it is, how long it was submerged and the temperature of the water. Several things to know:

• It takes about 12 hours for water to penetrate the cover and start finding it’s way to the core.

So a golf ball, totally submerged in water will start to absorb water through the cover after 12 hours. I think the cardboard packaging in the pro shop might give the game away that there's an issue. As for a ball on the course, unless it's in a stream or lake, it's highly unlikely to be submerged.

Damn (surely and exclamation mark could be used here). My golf balls must all me unbalanced. That explains a lot.

If there is something unbalanced in your game, my money's on something other than the ball...

 

[Foxholer]

Generally speaking, no considering they’re stored in a room-temperature location. Unless you leave your golf balls exposed to high heat or extremely cold temperatures they should last forever.
Whether you are an avid golfer or just picking up the sport, the golf ball is the most important tool in your bag. For this reason, it is important for you to know when to switch for an old ball for a new one.

Golf balls in 2020 consist of a three-piece solid core. These balls are typically geared towards intermediate/advanced golfers. This is reflected in the price as well as the technical aspect.
Unless you know how the control a golf ball while playing, it will never matter which one you buy. After you find the right ball, you are happy to spend the money knowing you’ll obtain your desired results (i.e. lowering your handicap).
The golf ball is made up of a solid rubber center (sometimes liquid-center) that is intertwined by elastic bands. Most avid golfers claim a golf ball (when they’re not on tour) can last a few weeks.

Unless they appear to be nicked, scratched, or waterlogged than you should be okay. If you think your golf ball has gone bad try juggling it on an iron (like Tiger) a few times. You should get a good sense of its quality from the noise and bounces.

Well it was all quite good until then!
The wound (Haskell) ball was superceded in about 1967 by solid core, Suralyn covered ones! There's been further development and variation from one-piece to 5 piece since then (not solely 3 piece cores) along with Urethane Elastomer covers being 'preferred' for premiun balls. Dimple shapes and patterns also vary between/within manufacturers.

 

[Crazyface]

Do you actually read the you post?

From the link;

Yes, golf balls do absorb water and it will affect the performance.

How much performance is lost or what affect is has on the ball will vary. It depends on the type of ball it is, how long it was submerged and the temperature of the water. Several things to know:

• It takes about 12 hours for water to penetrate the cover and start finding it’s way to the core.

So a golf ball, totally submerged in water will start to absorb water through the cover after 12 hours. I think the cardboard packaging in the pro shop might give the game away that there's an issue. As for a ball on the course, unless it's in a stream or lake, it's highly unlikely to be submerged.



If there is something unbalanced in your game, my money's on something other than the ball...

A tad harsh seeing as it seems, according to the article the information I had been given was correct. But it seems you only post on here to have arguements with people. Maybe you should change your picture to Victor Meldrew? And you obviously don't understand my jokes, see my last line. Still I'll forgive you for that not everyone if on the same wavelength.

 

[apj0524]

I'm sure the man from Titleist said in the magazine that they virtually last forever these days.

Miss read this the first time, thought you wrote " the man from Titleist said they last for a few days "

 

[Imurg]

How unbalanced do you think these balls are? They haven’t got a 3lb weight on one side !!

Titleist have confirmed that if a ball core is off centre by the width of a credit card the dispersion of that ball will double.
Some cores are 3 or 4 credit cards worth off...that's quite a bit of extra dispersion

 

[Neilds]

Titleist have confirmed that if a ball core is off centre by the width of a credit card the dispersion of that ball will double.
Some cores are 3 or 4 credit cards worth off...that's quite a bit of extra dispersion

It possibly/probably is but I bet most of us this forum regularly miss the sweet spot on the club by at least that distance ?

 

[Imurg]

It possibly/probably is but I bet most of us this forum regularly miss the sweet spot on the club by at least that distance ?

The sweet spot, hitting it or otherwise, is irrelevant to this.
Your shot, wherever you strike it and wherever it's going, is going twice as far off line if the core of your ball is off centre by the width of a credit card....
So your 30 yard slice becomes 60 or your 5 yard fade becomes 10.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The sweet spot, hitting it or otherwise, is irrelevant to this.
Your shot, wherever you strike it and wherever it's going, is going twice as far off line if the core of your ball is off centre by the width of a credit card....
So your 30 yard slice becomes 60 or your 5 yard fade becomes 10.

What did yours become when you played Frag?

That aside it is a scary thought given a reasonably large margin of error (what would we agree on the width of a credit card as being?) and some can't even get that margin as tight as that. I read/heard somewhere (might have been at the Titleist/Scotty day at Silvermere) that Titleist have a robust testing during manufacturing and rejects are relatively small.