Does a new ball vs. old matter? The results are in...(long)

[JessN16]

To start this post off, I want to explain what I am not: I am not a scientist. I'm not even a great golfer. I'm not a particularly good ball striker. My handicap is somewhere between 20-25.

What I am, is a decent driver of the golf ball, and I'm a stat-hound who likes to track every little thing about my game, sometimes just because I can. And I have some free time, and like to share what I learn.

So before you jump on me for unscientific results, read the preceding two paragraphs again, and if you want to accept my findings, please do, and if you don't, that's fine as well.

When I say "decent driver of the golf ball," I consistently average around 240-260 yards per drive with about 60-70 percent of fairways hit. I drive like a 10-handicapper. I putt like a 10-handicapper. In the middle, I look like Bugs Bunny in the cartoon "The Singing Sword."

These tests were done off the tee ONLY. I tested only one kind of ball, the Volvik Crystal. It's a 70-comp ball in the same vein of the Precept Laddie. What I was specifically testing was whether a new ball outperforms a used ball, even those advertised on eBay as "Mint" or "AAAA" or other such marketing blather.

In case any of you are wondering how I got this much time to myself, the course is undergoing some renovations, I went during the weekday and at 51 degrees, this qualifies as "cold golf" in the South, especially if the wind is up. I spent five+ hours on the course and never saw another soul.

Here's what I got:

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Overall test methodology
Weather Conditions: Hit into the wind, with the wind at my back and 90 degrees to the wind direction, both directions. Overall conditions were breezy to windy, steady wind of 10-15 mph with gusts to 20+. Temperature was 51F. Humidity roughly 55%. Skies partly cloudy.
Test clubs : Snake Eyes Mamba 2 9.5-degree driver, Aldila Vse60 R-flex shaft, not tipped; and Snake Eyes Viper Tour Black 10-degree driver, UST ProForce XT shaft S-flex, not tipped
Test course: Quail Walk Country Club, Wetumpka, Ala. I chose this course because it's virtually completely flat.
Grass condition: 328 Bermuda fairways, dormant, average moisture load, average-to-firm ground underneath
Distance certification: Bushnell laser rangefinder
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Test batch 1: Used Volvik balls advertised as "mint" from a private seller

Summary: I hit six different balls, all appearing as advertised ("mint"), into all wind conditions. I numbered the balls 1-6 so I could track their unique characteristics.

What I quickly found was that Ball No. 1 was out of range with its brethren. It was a lot shorter and didn't have the same feel off the clubface. While I hit it straight enough, it didn't have the same pop as the others, nor the same trajectory. The other balls had a higher ball flight and got up more quickly. There was very little difference in performance between Nos. 2-6.

Average distance for me was about 234 yards with Nos. 2-6, around 210 for No. 1, over all four wind directions. What surprised me most was the downwind and crosswind tests showed little dispersion. The headwind test was actually pretty good for Nos. 2-6 (around 220), but ball No. 1 dropped all the way to 190(!) with one particularly short hit of less than 180 yards. Longest hit was with Ball No. 5 for 272 downwind.

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Test Batch 2: Used Volvik balls from used-ball seller Knetgolf, advertised as mint

Summary: I took five balls out with me out of a purchase of 36. Of the 36, all but two or three justified their "mint" rating in appearance. One in particular looked like it had a suntan, while another had a noticeable ball mark on it ("mint," in Knetgolf's vernacular, shouldn't). I discarded those two and grab-bagged my five, which I numbered 7-11.

Overall, the performance of the Knetgolf balls exceeded those bought from the private seller, but the range was wider. I had one ball (No. 9) that had the best performance of any used ball in the test and performance that rivaled a brand-new ball (see below). None was as low as Ball No. 1 from the first set, but there were definite performance steps between all balls; no two gave quite the same performance. All, however, did feel the same off the club, unlike Ball No. 1 from the private seller.

Average distance was up to 241. That was a range of around 228 on the low (Ball No. 10) and 254 on the high (Ball No. 9). Again, like the first batch, a tailwind made little difference and the balls just bored straight through a crosswind. Headwinds caused a little ballooning but nothing too terribly bad.

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Test Batch 3: Volvik Crystal Blue, NIB, from private seller on eBay

Summary: I used one sleeve of brand-new, never-opened Volvik Crystal Blues (same ball as the Crystal, with just a little blue dye in the cover). And what I got was quite surprising.

For starters, the ball flight was noticeably different. These balls took off lower than the used balls, but then rose at the end of their trajectory and bored through the headwind. At this point, I need to explain my club testing method: Every time I switched holes, I hit the Viper Tour Black one time out of the rotation, so every ball was hit at least one time with that club. My Tour Black launches the ball higher than my Mamba 2.

In the case of the new balls, however, both clubs were giving a low-then-lifting-high trajectory; it was just that the VTB had a higher initial launch angle.

Accuracy was about the same as the others. I averaged around 71 percent fairways hit during the test.

Distance? The new balls cruised by the old ones. Average distance for me was almost 262 yards. Best yet, when I really jumped on these, I got results. I had four drives push over the 280 mark, with two of them going 302 and 308, both downwind. But I also hit a 282-yard shot into a crosswind The highest individual lick I had on any of the old balls was a 281-yard downwind strike on Ball No. 9 in the second batch.

There was no statistically significant difference between the three new balls (Nos. 12, 13 and 14), which is what one would expect.

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Conclusion

For me, new balls make a difference -- a 21-yard difference, at that. Now I'm left to ask why.

In science's favor are many things: One, I'm not a robot. My swing is irregular and sometimes, not very good. Two, the new ball test was done last -- after I was a little tired, sure, but also after I was good and warmed up. Three, the new ball test came after about 1-2 hours of good, solid wind whipping across the course, which may have dried things out and led to greater roll. Four, with as much wind as I was feeling at ground level, there's no telling what was going on up there where the balls were flying.

The only thing I can say beyond any doubt that was different was the ball flight path of the new balls. Just for kicks, I went back and alternated between new and used for a couple of shots and was able to easily replicate what I'd seen the first time around. The new balls were launching differently and appeared to bore into the air better before eventually lifting. I can find no difference between them other than the color, so I'm at a loss to explain this one.

How does this affect me going forward? I'll need to continue to test things more under more variables. I won't stop buying used balls, because the price surely makes them attractive (although I'll do it from Knetgolf, that's for sure, rather than just Joe Seller).

As always, your mileage (or yardage) may vary. These results might not hold up with other brands of ball. I would declare, after seeing my results and factoring in the variables of the test, that there's probably a 10-yard difference at least in performance between new and "mint" used balls if you typically average 240-260 on your drives.

Jess

[Archie]

Interesting read. Thanks.

[Fraser]

Interesting stats. I tend to use old golfballs, heck the majority of mine are at least 3yrs old and some older than that! Having an ex that lived beside a golf course was most handy

Although is they are scuffed at all I'll save them for when I'm shanking, hacking badly, or just want to hit a practice shot and don't mind if it goes far away.

As always, your mileage (or yardage) may vary.

You're not a Flyertalker as well are you? That's the only place I've heard that saying...

[JessN16]

Interesting stats. I tend to use old golfballs, heck the majority of mine are at least 3yrs old and some older than that! Having an ex that lived beside a golf course was most handy

I'm not sure what a "Flyertalker" is. That was a phrase friends and I picked up out of car magazine lingo and have applied it here and there over the years.

I still intend to hit old balls, too -- especially on water holes. :) But I'll keep a few new ones in the bag for tournaments, when carry really matters, etc. Jess

[Surefire]

What also could be a factor although not so easy to prove, is that a new ball had a pyschological effect.

This could account for differences, in the same way people sometimes get an effect from a placebo. The mind can be a very powerful thing.

[JessN16]

What also could be a factor although not so easy to prove, is that a new ball had a pyschological effect.

You could very well be right. I'm not a good enough golfer to know for sure. If this was a ball question in bowling, I'd be a lot more confident of the test results, as I'm much better in that sport.

I just wanted to throw it out there in the spirit of sharing info. Jess