Golf Balls Deteriorating in the Trunk of Your Car. Is This a Thing?

[ChetlovesMer]

I happened to notice this on a sleeve of balls. After reading this I looked and noticed it's on a lot of brands packaging. 
I leave my golf bag in the boot or trunk of my call often... more often than not. 

Is this a real thing I should be concerned with?
Has anyone ever had their golf balls deteriorate in their trunk? 
 

[boogielicious]

I think they mean don’t treat your golf balls like a mob informant or something like that. 

[imsys0042]

It sounds like it is related to the statement below, about the pigments used in the color of the golf balls.   Not exactly clear since that part mentions light distorting it, but not heat.   In general, golf balls should be in a cool, dry place to prevent their performance from beginning to slip, but that takes time.   

Unless you leave them in there for long multi-day stretches, I don't see an issue.   Bet they got a lot of complaints and slapped that on there, much like the "don't use this hair dryer while sleeping" tag on some hair dryers.

[Shindig]

I leave my golf bag, which contains my clubs and balls set to be used soon, in my garage but not in the trunk of my car, except when I'm out and I expect to play or practice golf, or when I'm traveling on a trip in which I expect to play golf.  Balls not currently in the bag tend to remain in my golf room (a "bedroom" is real estate parlance, although not being used as such).  So I haven't encountered this problem in years, if ever.  I certainly have some old golf balls -- for example, when unpacking recently, I found some Nike One Vapor Speeds that I have been using because I must have paid money for these at some point and let's put them to good use.

10 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I think they mean don’t treat your golf balls like a mob informant or something like that. 

So I must have done something wrong with all the golf balls over the past fifteen years that I have sent to sleep with the fishes. 

[StuM]

I never noticed that warning, probably because I did not feel it necessary to "Read the Instructions".  That being said, I often leave balls in my car for days at a time.  I have never noticed a problem with the balls (it is more a problem with the ball-striker.)  Maybe I can blame my next bad round on "Overcooked Golf Balls"?

[boogielicious]

My Snell balls don’t have that warning.

[Typhoon92]

Yeah, just read the next lines down… only has to do with the color/dye they use.  The balls are fine.

[StuM]

13 minutes ago, Typhoon92 said:

Yeah, just read the next lines down… only has to do with the color/dye they use.  The balls are fine.

Well there goes my excuse.

[billchao]

Somehow I doubt the golf balls in my trunk are sitting for long enough to get damaged. Sounds more like a problem for people who have to choose when to retire their ball.

[imsys0042]

46 minutes ago, StuM said:

Well there goes my excuse.

I occasionally make the joke that “the paint on my golf ball was just heavy enough to make me miss that putt”.  When I use non-white golf balls.

[Double Mocha Man]

2 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Has anyone ever had their golf balls deteriorate in their trunk? 

Damn!  That explains the 30 yards loss of distance with my driver.

I play or practice almost every day... clubs, balls, gloves, rain gear, shoes (with cedar shoe trees), umbrella and cart all stay in the trunk of my car 365 days a year, except leap year.  Too big of a hassle to bring them in every night.

24 minutes ago, billchao said:

Sounds more like a problem for people who have to choose when to retire their ball.

I have given out many a gold watch to golf balls I retire.

[Vinsk]

Lol! Yeah…that stuff is all nonsense. Carrying golf balls in a bag to keep them warm…’five degrees colder today…I’ll have to readjust…’ lol….nonsense. 

[Club Rat]

If any balls need cooling off, hit them into any nearby water hazard...
End of problem...  🤣

[pganapathy]

17 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I happened to notice this on a sleeve of balls. After reading this I looked and noticed it's on a lot of brands packaging. 
I leave my golf bag in the boot or trunk of my call often... more often than not. 

Is this a real thing I should be concerned with?
Has anyone ever had their golf balls deteriorate in their trunk? 
 

If you are going to leave them in there for months on end, then it is a problem with heat affecting the golf ball, especially if it constantly gets over 50 degrees celsius constantly in your car for the summer.  A day or two isn't a problem

[ChetlovesMer]

2 minutes ago, pganapathy said:

If you are going to leave them in there for months on end, then it is a problem with heat affecting the golf ball, especially if it constantly gets over 50 degrees celsius constantly in your car for the summer.  A day or two isn't a problem

As a rule, my golf clubs and therefore my golf bag, live in my trunk. So what ever balls are in the bag are also in the trunk. I do have a couple dozen golf balls in my office closet at any given time. They are happy in a climate controlled environment. The ones in my trunk, however, are their until they are lost on a course someplace. 

[mcanadiens]

One of my buddies was using that Q-Star Tour Divide ball the other week.  Damned goofy looking thing. One side was yellow and the other blue. 

In my color-blindness, I nearly stepped on it when it was blue-side up in the rough. 

My guess is that pigment is pretty particular to that ball. 

 

[pganapathy]

22 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

As a rule, my golf clubs and therefore my golf bag, live in my trunk. So what ever balls are in the bag are also in the trunk. I do have a couple dozen golf balls in my office closet at any given time. They are happy in a climate controlled environment. The ones in my trunk, however, are their until they are lost on a course someplace. 

Just to be clear, keeping them in the trunk and then taking them out every two days because you are playing isn't the same as leaving it in the locked trunk for six months in a parked car.  What happens when the clubs are removed is you get air and generally lesser temperature.  Of course, if it is the car in winter and you take it out, the clubs/ball/bag probably get warmer unless you have the car in a heated garage.  Essentially, consistently high or low temperatures will hurt the clubs and balls.  Room temperature when you can play golf is fine

[boogielicious]

FWIW, most consumer products I’ve worked with go through a series of temperature and humidity tests prior to launch. There’s Freeze/Thaw cycling, accelerated stability testing at higher temperatures, high humidity testing in addition to performance testing. We looked at the effects on the products as well as packaging including print and label art stability. I assume golf ball manufacturers do the same thing. Perhaps the pigments and dyes in these balls are susceptible to heat degradation. Or maybe the polymers in them can deform under high heat conditions.