Refinished / refurbished vs new balls

So my bro will be travelling to the us in the next month or so and will have some free space. Golf balls here AD 333 on sale are $20 a dz pro v 1x are $85 a dz ( never on sale. looking online at rockbottomgolf i see refinished and refurbished prov1x at $13 a dz..... now that is cheaper than the ad 333.

Would you buy the refurbished and refinished mint quality golf balls ? if no why not?

thanks

Just from my experiences:

I buy used golf balls all the time. I usually feel like they play as well (or as close as my skill level can tell) as new balls. Every now and then one of them may seem like it's not going as far as I think it should and I throw it in with my practice balls. I don't mind trusting the used balls anytime other than a tournament (where I would buy new balls).

The only refurbished balls I've played with are the ones I find out on the golf course while I'm working. So far I've never seen any of them that I was happy with. Usually after a few shots I give up on it and throw it in with my practice balls. I would never take the chance on one of them in any round I cared even a little about. Okay for hacking around after work but that's about it.

absolutely not - they are inconsistent at best. no matter what you play, stick with it

All opinions expressed here are only that:  'opinions'. Even wine snobs cannot tell the difference between the high priced bottle and Calistoga special, if the label is hidden.  No ball company is interested in telling you anything but 'buy new and often' and the vast majority, like 98 percent, of golfers could not tell any difference between clean second hand balls and new ones. Buy the used ones and play more often with the savings.

If you were of a mind and had a method, why not shop in Thailand for used balls? Tens of millions of used balls there for sale as it's a golf paradise and way closer to you than USA.

Thailand is closer but almost as exp as here. and not travelling to th till atleast nov/dec and the us trip for my bro is coming up next mth :)

so essentially no recycled balls but used in mint / near mint is ok?

I would agree with this. I have been buying recycled balls from http://www.knetgolf.com for a while now. Once you buy your first batch you get on their mailing list, it's awesome because they have huge sales all the time so I wait for a big sale and 5 dozen at a time. I play DT Solos and right now with no sale going on I can buy 5 dozen in mint condition for $52. Last time I purchased with a sale I spent $36 for 5 dozen mint.

Now a days I just wait till I get an email for a big sale and pick-up 5 dozen whether I need them or not.

I recently bought some refinished Pro V1X, I was not happy with them, frankly since they're repainted they could be a different ball, Ultra's for all I know, the finish was crap too. I have regulated them to the practice bag, and will be happy when they are all gone.

When you think about the money spent on clubs, green fees, practice etc, does not make sense to skimp on golf balls?

My last purchase was through my club Pro shop, 4 dozen personalized Pro V1x for the cost of 3 dozen, or $36 per.

Yeah, definitely stay away from the refinished balls, there basically all the balls that were too effed up to make the the C grade so they slap some paint and a layer of clear coat on them and price them at mint prices. Total scam for suckers who prefer form over function. The recycled mint or A grade are great though. No complaints and usually get them for about 50-60 cents a ball. (DT Solo)

Thanks All :) msg recd loud and clear.... looking at 5 dz dt solo at $ 36 and that will last me more than a yr and a half :) or 5 dz prov1x at $90 ...

I have played with and bought used balls in the past.  I have some good luck sometime and other times not so much.  I just do not like not knowing what I am getting till they show up at my house.  I like going to golf shops and Golfsmith and buying the over run balls.  that way I can see the ball and look for any thing odd about it first.  I know it sounds picky but one time I got some Nike used balls and there were some that just felt a bit odd and seamed to be to hard and I did not want cave in a driver with them.

Ball manufacturers hate refinished balls, mainly because the added paint reduces the depth of the dimples, and significantly alters the aerodynamics. Using one of these repainted or clear coated balls can lead you to think that that brand of ball is inferior. Besides that, if the ball was submerged in a pond for some time, it could uptake some moisture and become slightly heavier, also affecting the performance. There was a study done in Golf Digest years ago that indicated that a pond ball would lose about 10 yards if it remained submerged for a few weeks. Don't know if today's modern cover balls would experience the same effect, but it certainly would not help.

I have made the switch to Pro V1s this year and have been experimenting.

I started off buying OEM Pro V1s and obviously I got the best balls with this. I then began experimenting with X-outs and refurbished balls.

I could definitely notice a difference when comparing the OEM ball to a refurbished ball. The refurbished ball just does not have the some consistency from ball to ball. I am sure that this is because you are not getting the same year, model, or run of ball like your getting in the OEM package. The refurbished balls gave me a bad impression and it only took 1 dozen to decide I wouldn't buy them again.

I then switched to the OEM X-Outs and had pretty good results. I have bought 4 dozen X-Outs so far and I only found 1 tiny paint imperfection on 2-3 balls. Most of the balls could pass as brand new mint condition. The X-Outs played very well for me and are very consistent. My only complaint with the X-Outs is I'm never sure what's going to be in the sleeves. I have gotten Pro V1 and Pro V1X.

I prefer to play a Pro V1 over the V1X and feel I have noticeably different results with each ball, so I am thinking about just sticking with the OEM packages of Pro V1. I may continue with the X-Outs since they are usually less than $30, but only for practice rounds.

When I am playing a serious round, I ALWAYS want to put an OEM Pro V1 in play.

I stay away from the refinished balls, however I do buy used AAAA balls in bulk on eBay for a fraction of the price. I have had no issues what so ever. They play like brand new balls.