Should I buy used golf balls?

Hey everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. I just started taking my game pretty seriously and this site has helped me tremendously!

Anyways, I lose a pretty good amount of balls per round when I'm having an "off day". On a good day I will lose 1-2. But today I lost like 2 and a half sleeves!

Which is why I'm wondering if used golf balls may be the answer. I have read that they lose some distance when submerged in water and stuff like that. Does that hold any truth?

I mean my short game is freaking awful, but my drives have been really nice lately. 250-260 range. and 100 yds and in I can stick the greens pretty near the pin. Its my long and mid irons that cause me problems and make me lose balls! I dont want to get some used golf balls and my drives come down to like 225 and 230.....

But I dont want to keep buying a dozen balls every 2 weeks either, so do you guys think that used golf balls are the answer till I can learn to keep em in play??

There is a place right next to my house that sells em used. I can get some "decent" looking NXT tours for 9 bucks a dozen. or Some Mojo's for the same price.. I think thats a pretty good price. I wanna stay with balls that have some spin because I'm pretty accurate on my approach shots and Ive used some of those top flite 5000's and they just keep on rolling and rolling after they land.

Thanks in advance for all your advice everyone, looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

Jim

I use used balls of all brands all the time. Never really feel I'm missing something. They're usually in mint condition, just hit once or twice.
But then again, I never used a brand new out-of-the-box ball, so I can't tell you for sure.

another option would be to buy less expensive used golf balls, thats what i use for the most part. Intech beta ti and nitro blaster balls from walmart cost $5 per dozen at walmart and are brand new. I see you're from eqypt so maybe dont have one of those in your area but can order online from walmart.com. Another option would be to buy used balls from ebay, they come in different grades from almost new to practice grade from the number of A's in the description. AAA-AAAA is very good condition, i would look for those, can usually barely tell they've been hit, and it is a good way to try out different brands of balls to see which you hit the best, like titleist, nike, callaway, taylormade, pinnacle, etc.

I do not really need to order anything online. They'll cost a lot of shipping and a lot more taxes when they arrive in Egypt. I can buy all the balls I want for 1 Egyptian pound a ball ($1=5.6 EGPs). They aren't new, but most of the time they're really in mint condition that you can't tell the difference unless you look very hard. Right now I have more than 30 near mint condition Titleist ProV1, ProV1x and NXT Tour all for 30 EGPs, that's less than $6. But you are right, I have to stick with one ball. I find the ProV1 the best of them all. It just stops on the green where you want it to stop, and my wedge isn't that awesome when it comes to grooves. But then I prefer to save the ProV1s for when I'm playing a full round in a tournament or with friends. When it's just a practice round, I use anything.

You can buy a box of 15 Top Flite D2 Feel balls for $13-15 at Target, Walmart, or Golf Galaxy. A lot of spin, and a dollar a ball or less brand new. Not at all the same thing as a Top Flite XL 5000, I've played all types of golf balls and the D2 Feel ranks very high in terms of spin and greenside feel.

Yes...Absolutely use used golf balls. I use premium used balls constantly from usedgolfballs.com. Except for some course and hotel stamps you can't tell the AAA are used. As for distance, it's probably true that they eventually lose something. It's debatable whether it's the water or the water temp that causes this. Just buy a late model ball...That way you know it didn't spend a year or two under water.

I hate buying a new box of golf balls. $25 to $50 and it's so anticlimactic.

BTW...Don't buy the $5 Nitro Blaster balls from Wal-Mart. Just...don't.

As a 27 handicap you don't need a high cost, high performance ball anyway. I play a lot of different balls because I find about 50-60 a week at a par-3 course I practice at. I've found I score just as well with a Pinnacle CLR (which I have found online for $9 a doz.) as the Precept IQ180 ($19.00) or a Bridgestone.

In fact the more expensive balls hurt me by spinning too much. If your ball striking is consistently in the sweet spot, a ball that spins more is a good thing. But if you slice, hook and hit the ball all over the club face, a low compression low spin ball is probably a net positive.

Cheap new balls or good used balls are fine. It takes the pressure off you if you lose a few.

SubPar

Thanks guys for your responses. Keep em coming!

My 27 handicap is not reflective on how I usually play. I 3 putt over 50% of the holes!! Im working on it, but Im sure I can be in the upper 80's if I just learn how to putt.... I mean missing 4 footers is pretty much unacceptable.

With that said though, I hit the long ball very long and "usually" straight. Lets say my handicap was a 17.... What would you guys recommend about buying used golf balls??

I dunno, Im kinda lost here, I guess a D2 feel like was suggested is probably better than an NXT tour that is used...?? Am I outta line in my thinking?

Thanks a TON guys!

Jim

Get used balls. At 16 hcp I may still use various balls I come across. I still hit away so many balls that I don't want to play with new ones. My last round I played terrible on the front 9, lost 3-4 balls. Then fixed my hooking and used some old Maxfli ball I found while searching for one of my balls. I played that ball for the entire back 9 until I hit it in the water on the 18th. With a lot of wind, my distance control was off anyways, but I don't think I would've played any better with a new, high end ball. The Pro V1s are of course expensive, but used ones from eBay does not cost that much. I also like the feel of the balls around the greens, which is where they matter to me. I could have used a variety of balls with the same performance around the greens, but I've never bothered testing different ones. I'm also an equipment geek, I buy expensive stuff.

I generally use the same balls, Pro V1's I've bought from eBay, used. I've probably got 70-80 left of them. I'm always improving and definately not losing as many balls as I used to, but still haven't gotten to the point where I comfortably can use expensive balls without having the fear of losing a bunch during a round.

So, as long as you lose many balls a round, play anything you like, used or new, but preferably stick with the same model, helps for consistency on and around the greens.
Your handicap is always reflective of how you play, as long as you keep record of all or at least a selection of your average. Also remember that the handicap indicates your potential, not your average. I've always felt that my handicap don't fit me, after a round I always think "If I only made those putts or didn't hit those balls out of bounds, I'd have 10 strokes less". But that's what being a high hcp is all about, you're not a great putter and you're hooking or slicing the ball, losing strokes all the time.

I'm still like that today. I can play a round to my par and realize that it should have been at least 5 strokes less.

That was a bit off the wall in this thread, but ok. Final point is, don't spend a fortune on golf balls you hit into the woods or water all the time. Even if you find a high end ball that is perfect match and you gain 10 yards off the tee, those 10 yards won't revolutionize your game, you will still hit so many of those tee shots into the woods anyways. Distance is rarely the problem for any player, it's distance control and being able to hit the ball where you intend to. To do that, any ball will get the job done as long as you have the proper swing fundamentals.

So, the saying that you should choose a ball from the green and back to the tee I absolutely agree with. It's when chipping and putting you see and feel the biggest difference between balls. Those are all feel shots. On full swings you don't feel what distance you are hitting, that's determined by how far you hit the various clubs. You can have a Top Flite or Titleist on the ground, as long as you know your distance, it doesn't matter. For better players it does, as they can actually use the properties of the ball to work it from left to right, high or low, and there you find differences.

For a high hcp, this does not matter, as you shouldn't try to work the ball anyways. When chipping, it's useful to know how the ball reacts, if it will check and stop, spin a bit back or roll on. If you use a soft ball on one hole and a hard one on the other, you will have a hard time being consistent around the greens. That also goes with putting, where feel is even bigger. Different balls can roll different distances with the same stroke, so you are doing yourself a favor by using the same balls. I've played used balls bought from eBay the last 2-3 years and never had a problem with them.

I can't speak for everyone, but please, be honest with yourself and don't think you need an expensive ball, they play a far less role than many think. Compared to the swing, the ball is Assistant assistant co-lighting cable guy in the recording of a movie, both play a very little role.

I certainly prefer a new D2 Feel to a used NXT Tour, and I like the NXT. Even as a 17 handicap I wouldn't recommend paying too much for golf balls, or worrying about whether playing an NXT, ProV1, or any other Tour model ball will help your game...cause it won't. Not yet anyway, and I prefer the consistency and reliability of a new ball. But hey, play what you like. A lot of better golfers on this site than me probably play used balls, and a lot of worse golfers like teeing up ProV1s, and more power to 'em.

I had the same reservations about Top Flite as a lot of improving golfers do, but I compared the D2 and Gamer to a bunch of different balls; and they're the best 2 and 3 piece ball options for me. The price is just a really nice bonus, plus it really smarts to slice a $3-$4 ball into the woods off the first tee...

I don't lose as many balls as I did when I first started playing, sometimes I will go a couple rounds without losing one, but I have my days when I'll lose 5-6 or more, sometimes because of the condition of some of courses I play, one in particular which I have refused to play in a while because they dont mow their fairway grass short enough, I lost 2-3 balls that I'm sure I hit in the fairway but couldnt find because I couldnt see them. I think they just cant afford to mow often enough because they arent making enough money. If I lose a 40-50 cent ball I dont worry about it too much, losing a new $4+ pro v1 or nike one ball would upset me a bit. I've actually heard that high end balls really arent that helpful to a high handicap golfer, you need to be a good golfer to get the full benefit, i.e. more spin as some claim. I'll usually try to pick which ball gives the most distance since I'm not good enough to impart spin on the ball or shape shots, I just try to hit the ball as far and and straight as I can on full shots with my irons and woods. I dont hit 300 yd drives and I would like to be able to hit my irons further so any extra distance is welcome.

Thanks Max and everyone else for your input! Im kind of leaning toward using new balls over used... I think a top flite d2 feel may be the ball for me. Im pretty aggressive in chipping and approach shots and I need a ball that stops pretty quickly once it hits the green.

Can you guys compare the D2 feel to the Nike Mojo? I can get those at sports authority for 20 bucks and I get 2 dozen...

Thanks a lot everyone!

Jim

I tend to lose at best 1 or 2 balls a round, but often get home with the same ball. I do however seem to lose 4 or 5 ball on a practice round as I hit 3 or 4 shots at a time. For practice rounds I use used balls and I can say that I rarely get one that does preform as well as a new ball. Infact if one of the used ball is mint and flying well, I will toss into my new ball roation.

I am also lucky to have a warehouse that does the mailorder for used golf ball on my way to work. They run a great "cash" and carry there and you can hand pick the balls you want.

I say go for it.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. It seems (and who knows maybe outside of TX its not that way) that at every larger golf store, they have logo overrun bins full of NXTs and NXT Exptremes (amongst DT Rolls, etc). These look brand new to me...they just have random charity, corporate, and club logos on them. A dozen for 14 dollars at my local PGA superstore if I am not mistaken. My friends play nothing but these logo overruns and are very happy, and have much lower handicaps than I.

Me...I won a crate of Srixons at a company luncheon and am still playing those. Sorry...couldn't help but brag of my good fortune :)

Thanks man, but Im kind of thrown off, did you mean does perform, or doesn't perform?

Jim

I can't remember the last time I bought a new golf ball, and I'm pretty sure this isn't a function of my age. There are plenty of reputable places on the internet to get used golf balls, some of which look practically new.

I buy either used golf balls or the logo overrun golf balls you can find sometimes for cheap. As long as it is a name brand, I'm not too picky. I'm way too bad of a golfer to worry about it. On a particularly tight course, I lost 21 balls in 18 holes once. No way I'm buying high dollar new balls to lose them at that rate.

There is absolutly no problem buying used golf balls. I bought them for awhile and just recently started buying brand new balls. I still buy some used balls though. I have found that lostgolfballs have been the best. OR I like the "Reload" boxes of prov1's and pro v1x's at golfsmith.