Used balls

[robinthehood]

Who's using lake, refurbished etc? My son picked up an AD333 the other day it looked in good nick, but on it there was a logo for a 2008 charity day! I personally stay clear of them myself, but see why lake balls are popular, but seeing as they could be of any year etc that find just reinforced my view of brand new is best. After all , whats the point getting fit etc only to use a ball that could be over a decade old! Add to that you can pick up new balls for a good price anyway.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Over 15 handicap I don’t think that a particular ball will make any difference at all

I like Snell luminous green/yellow ones coz I can find them in the rough and trees

Under 15 it’s a different ball game

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Pearl lake balls, rarely pay more than 45p a ball, if I get lucky in winter I can get them for 40p each. Yet to have a complete duffer. Fine for winter golf, social rounds, off days, courses that will eat balls.

Very happy for others to keep buying new only. It keeps replenishing stocks and keeps the demand and so prices down ?.

I do buy some new but probably 80% I use will be lake balls.

 

[Imurg]

I don't buy used, refurbished or refinished balls but if I find a ball on the course that I use then I have no problem using it as long as it's not knackered..
Anyone who says the would never use used balls had better not be picking any up

 

[robinthehood]

Over 15 handicap I don’t think that a particular ball will make any difference at all

I like Snell luminous green/yellow ones coz I can find them in the rough and trees

Under 15 it’s a different ball game

I woudlnt disagree, but surely after a time balls must degrade and lose performance, 12 year old 333

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Very possibly
But I don’t think your average player would be able to tell the difference

 

[Imurg]

Solid balls are much more resilient than previous tyres..
A guy from Titleist once said you could play any ProV1 from any era and get the performance from that ball as long as its in good shape.
I would have thought harder balls would see barely any degrading.
Of course, if a ball is 12 years old there will be 6 newer versions of it..so it should feel 100% worse, go 50 yards shorter and have no spin....

 

[Tongo]

I always use used balls. As Fragger says above, it doesnt make too much difference for me as i'm off 19. Generally prefer to play Srixon but will use any brand apart from Titleist. Always found that i can't get the same feel / purchase when chipping with a Titleist ball.

 

[Grizzly]

I tried to keep justifying boxes of yellow pro v1s but....

Honestly...

... I treat myself if I'm playing somewhere special, otherwise its batches of Nike Pd Soft or Callaway Truvis from ebay. Obviously, the ball is responsible for the hooks and thins...

 

[chrisd]

For casual games I have a contact at my place who'll sell me 40 used Pro v's for £5. I don't mind losing them under the leaves at this time of year.

 

[jim8flog]

I play with pick ups when I am playing on my own mainly but would never play with one in a comp.

I remember many years ago buying Titleist PTS lake balls, every ball never got past more than 3 holes before the seams split open.

Never had a problem with a modern lake ball though, but the last time I bought any was Callaway Tour Is and that was a fair few years ago.

 

[HarrogateHacker]

I wouldn’t buy refurbished/refinished as I can’t guarantee what they are but I do buy lots of ‘hit once’ second hand balls in as new condition (pearl) I tend to buy Pro v’s . I don’t think there is any difference between a never hit ball and a ball hit a couple of times.

 

[Hendy]

Who's using lake, refurbished etc? My son picked up an AD333 the other day it looked in good nick, but on it there was a logo for a 2008 charity day! I personally stay clear of them myself, but see why lake balls are popular, but seeing as they could be of any year etc that find just reinforced my view of brand new is best. After all , whats the point getting fit etc only to use a ball that could be over a decade old! Add to that you can pick up new balls for a good price anyway.

Was it a lake ball and was stamp saying 2008?

I was thinking them lake balls were collected within weeks of going in.

 

[robinthehood]

Was it a lake ball and was stamp saying 2008?

I was thinking them lake balls were collected within weeks of going in.

No just a ball in the rough.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Used Lakeballs for years while I wasn’t a club member, perfectly fine for hacking and I could easily breaks 100 with them and sometimes break 90. I would happily recommend lake balls for the average non-club member golfer. I could lose 3-5 balls a round so why buy new? With lake balls I could just blast around and have fun, all the lost balls were my bad shots and never the balls fault.

I have switched to Inesis 900s now, superb ball for the money. I don’t lose as many now as my ball striking is much better so no benefit to playing cheaper balls.

 

[Ross61]

Was it a lake ball and was stamp saying 2008?

I was thinking them lake balls were collected within weeks of going in.

I bought some prov lake balls a few years ago. Supposed to be pearl.
About 4 of them were ones that if I found them in the rough I wouldn’t put them in my bag.
I went through them all checking the markings that date them. Newest were 3 years old. Most were about 5-6 years old. The oldest was 10 years old. Some sounded a bit odd when hit. Used the best ones the others used for when I played a practice round.
Never buy them again

 

[Orikoru]

I've found older balls than that. On two different occasions now I've found a Titleist ball that says 'ProV1 - 392' on it. My primitive Googling leads me to believe these came out around 2005. It amazes me what balls people are still knocking around. You still find the odd Top Flite with the really old logo style that I'm sure haven't been around for decades. I suppose you get plenty of people who give up golf for ten years and then start again with whatever's in the garage.

 

[ExRabbit]

Pearl balls for summer. Grade A for winter - or in the summer too when I am playing badly and losing a lot of pearls.

Found a reliable supplier on ebay and usually buy a 40 box of each about once a year. They're going to last longer this time!

 

[Leftie]

Does anyone actually believe that this year's incarnation of a Titlist Pro V1 (other manufacturers equally silly named balls are available) is any better than last year's, or previous year's etc. etc. Better how? Better for whom? Straighter? Longer? More spin? Less spin on a full shot? Come on, they are kidding, aren't they??? Who actually believes that hype? In 2015, on Captain's day, every player was given a Pro V1. I found 3 the following day (straighter?? Yeh. Straight into the cr@p) Still got one and used it the other day comparing it to a (poss) 2019 version. Couldn't tell the difference (perhaps I should have asked Homer to test them for me ) There again, probably not much noticeable difference to most other balls either. Remember, I'm mid teens h/cap - not a "proper" golfer who might notice a difference.

Why isn't the almost brand new pick up as good as the one you've just taken out of a sleeve of 3 new ones that you have just bought?

One thing I do know about golf at my (and I suspect most of your) level is that actually paying for golf balls, whether new of used rather than using pick ups, is unlikely to do much in the way of reducing your handicap. Anyway. Keep buying and losing them guys and gals. You are saving me a fortune

 

[Ross61]

I think that there is a difference in finding an old ball in the rough/trees than a old ball that has been dragged out of a lake. I don’t care what the manufacturers say, a ball that’s been laying in the bottom of a pond/ lake for possibly years is highly likely to affect its structure in my opinion. I’ve seen balls that appear in the bottom of a pond when there is a drought. No amount of cleaning is going to restore the colour, hence the cover has been compromised.