Do balls found in water hazards have diminished characteristics?

[U345387]

I don't want to make this a referendum on people who carry ball retreivers.

If I fish a proV1 out of a water hazard, will that ball perform as well as one out of the box?

[tonyy]

I saw a research on this somewhere but I remember that balls submerged in water for 3-6 months performed about the same or a little less than normal balls. I'm going by memory so don't quote me for sure though.

[gogolfing]

I read the opposite; in an issue of Golf Digest (I think it was a Hot List issue) a few years back it said that even a few days submerged can reduce distance a significant amount. I think the claim was a 20-30% reduction if my memory serves me correctly. I remember being surprised by the stat.

[tonyy]

gogolfing is right. I did a quick search and found out that balls do perform significantly less after being submerged in water after a period of time.

http://www.g-forse.com/archive/news259_e.html

[jamesgoodchild]

I took a quick look at that article and noticed it was based on testing from 1996. Are the cores and covers of balls still the same today as they were 12 years ago? If not, do the new materials suffer the same effects as the balls 12 years ago when they were tested?

[DaveLeeNC]

I took a quick look at that article and noticed it was based on testing from 1996. Are the cores and covers of balls still the same today as they were 12 years ago? If not, do the new materials suffer the same effects as the balls 12 years ago when they were tested?

High end balls back in 1996 were balata covers and cores that were what looked like a bunch of rubber bands wrapped around a center material (was a liquid filled rubber ball when I took a Titleist apart back in the 1960's). Pro V1's are Urethane covers, with multi-layer isonomer/polybutalene cores. They are very different. dave

[jamesgoodchild]

So maybe today's balls don't suffer the same extreme from being submerged for a short period of time. I'll have to do some checking to see if anyone has done any testing on today's balls.

[Mikey]

I have always wondered the same thing. I can tell you when I see a ball in the water I can get I snag it. I have never really noticed much difference in the premium balls like pro v's

[bigoak]

The report that I read suggested a 5 yard loss for 3-4 piece balls. Probably due to additional weight but 2 piece balls went further after a soaking in water. I am superstitious. I feel that a lost or submerged ball is cursed and the same fate will happen to me at a most inconvenient time.

[Stacey_E]

I'm not sure if water balls perform less. What I am sure of is that I have a sneaking and unfounded suspicion that they might . From your swing to your equipment, confidence is everything in golf. I stay away from water balls.

[anthonykim3]

i did my own test with my buddies pond and a pro v1 left in water for 3 months prefroms the exact same i put 12 of them in pond 12 out hit them all and they all went same distance and then hit them into grenn the same spin i did this a a golf course after they all closed and left this summer in august and why provs? they were free uncle won them and he hates them so he gave em to me

[Fat Slice]

I hit my longest drive ever with a Pinnacle my buddy fished out of a pond and gave to me. I have no idea how long it was in there. Probably not very long, since he retrieved it with an iron.

[ryanbasch]

I don't want to make this a referendum on people who carry ball retreivers.

I have just recently "fished" out 3,000 plus balls from a single pond at a local golf course and other than some discolorization, I haven't noticed any differences in distance or any other performance in a total of 8 rounds.

[Laxplayer201092]

You sure you dont live in CO? we had a guy scuba diving in our pond on #8, filled the bed of his ford, said he would be back 4 times before he gets them all.

i put water balls in the shagbag. waaaaay to superstitious for that stuff.

[David in FL]

If nothing else, they have an affinity for water hazards........as such, they don't belong in the bag!

[PiKapp23]

There was an article a short while back on this and the research on the subject basically said 'premium' golf balls with Urethane covers will be adversely affected because Urethane is water permeable. Titleist went so far as to change the Pro-V1 so that the cover will now become discolored after about 7-10 days as an indication that they ball has been submerged and thus it's playing characteristics may have changed. Those balls that do not have urethane covers are not affected because the covers are not water permeable.

Here is a article on research done in 2005 that tested balls and found all were affected to some degree after time in the water:
http://forum.ottawagolf.com/showthread.php?t=9079

[og512]

The report that I read suggested a 5 yard loss for 3-4 piece balls. Probably due to additional weight but 2 piece balls went further after a soaking in water. I am superstitious. I feel that a lost or submerged ball is cursed and the same fate will happen to me at a most inconvenient time.

I always felt that picking up lost balls was bad luck. Mainly because if I found I would always lose it shortly thereafter.

[wachesawgolfer]

I know some people have big businesses retrieving balls for a living and reselling them by the thousands to retail outlets using divers. I probably do not want a ball that has spent three winters frozen in a lake in Canada or such. But people buy them and play them unaware of their history other than they are used.