Just bought recycled balls

[mcclellan39]

I just purchased  three dozen Callaway Tour HX 56 (recycled) for $36.00 and love it... They are in beautiful condition. This is the ball I had a hole-in-one with in 2008, has a special place in my heart... Damn shame they don't make them any longer. This three dozen should last me this year.

[TheDre]

Me and my bro in law buy all our balls from Knetgolf and never had any problems whatsoever. The quality is always top notch and the shipping is super fast (2-3 days).

The last one's we got were refinished 2010 ProV1X but I'm not sure we'll get those again since they could just be older models that were refinished and we wouldn't know it. We did cut one in half and it looks legit but since we didn't have an original 2010 ProV1X to compare with, we couldn't tell. Here's a pic we took. The one on the far left is the refinished 2010 ProV1X and the 3rd one from the left is a 2008 ProV1X if I remember correctly. Does anyone have an original 2010 ProV1X they're willing to sacrifice? LOL!

[jwrussell]

Another +1 for LGB.com.  Love the place.  They run specials quite often and as I'm not nearly good enough to care which exact ball I'm hitting, I can take advantage.  Picked up a couple of buckets of Callaway's, highest grade when they last ran a sale.  I doubt I'll need any for quite some time (at least I hope not!).

[irishmike27]

I've had great experiences with both knetgolf and lostgolfballs. I've only ever bought the highest grade, and I'd say 90% or more of the balls (Srixon AD333, Titleist DT SoLo and Nike Mojo) could pass for new. Tough to beat the value, although some of the logo overrun deals on TGW and budget golf can be pretty hard to pass up.

[inthehole]

General question ... I was given a crapload of found golf balls - do older balls become "less lively" just because of their age ?         I know water will affect the quality of a ball, but just wondering if these balls (some look 5-10 years old, but in good shape) won't play as good as comparable new ones ?     Thx

[arduous1]

inthehole,

5 AAAAA balls look practically brand spanking new right outta the sleave.  I've showed some buddies, and they were sold immediately, just upon inspection.

4 AAAA balls may have some very minor markings.  (ie sharpie dots that didn't wash off all the way or something else quite minor)

i have done blind tests with buddies and noone has been able to reliably tell me the difference between how a brand new ball and a 5 AAAAA ball from lostgolfballs.com plays.  and often times they can't even tell me the difference upon inspection.  frequently, they even smell new/the same.

i haven't tried lower than the top 2 grades, but if you go by their grading system, it seems they are all very playable, and by no means water logged.

knetgolf has refinished balls, which i would be wary of.  in my eyes, this could change playability.

lostgolfballs are recycled, meaning simply washed and thats it, so there should be virtually no change in playability.

I have absolutely no qualms spending money on things when I deem it quality and worth it, but with recycled balls of this quality, i have no need to buy new, especially since i am a high handicapper and will lose a minimum of 2 balls in a round.

i'm a lostgolfballs.com customer, and will be for the fore seeable future.

ard1

[TheDre]

Originally Posted by arduous1

knetgolf has refinished balls, which i would be wary of.  in my eyes, this could change playability.

I have nothing at all against lostgolfballs but I just want to clarify something because of your comment. I "chose" the refinished option for my last knetgolf order to test them out but they don't just have this option like your comment says. Knetgolf also offer recycled balls that have just been cleaned up. Those go by grading (Mint, A, B). I have bought grade B before which is the lowest available and they were in great shape. They did have maybe one tiny scuff mark on some of the balls but thats it. I've also bought grade A balls and those were like new with no scuff marks whatsoever. I imagine if you get the mint grade, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those and a brand new ball out of the box.

[arduous1]

agreed, i may not have been clear.  knetgolf has refinished and recycled balls.  i would definitely stay away from the refinished versions, ymmv

ard1

[meenman]

I am not going to knock anyone for trying to save $$$, and maybe my unscientific findings are nothing more than a fluke.

I have tried the old saving $$$ routine and bought used/reburbished balls and for me, it has not worked out well. No matter how good the balls looked, they could never compare to buying a new one.

Anytime I open a new box of balls they fly as I expect them to, the used ones act like I am hitting rocks. In my case I am comparing new ProV1X's to used ones.

I used to buy the used/refurbished for when I was playing new courses, but never again. I will stick to new and not worry about donating a ball or 2 a round.

[Swampy79]

I've never bought the mint ones but the AAAA or near mint balls I get are always great, maybe a stain or company logo of some kind but never and knicks or scuffs.  I play B330 and the B330S, which ever I can find for the cheapest price per ball.  Lostgolfball.com is the greatest

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by Cossackred

what quality do you get? 1st, 2nd, 3rd?

I got the AAAA quality before and they almost all seemed new to me.  Going to order some more soon, not sure what ball to get though.

Not sure if I want to try Taylor made penta's for $13 a dozen or just go with some Srixon AD333's again.

[anotherday]

I use usedgolfballdeals.com. Use the New20 coupon code for a one time 20% discount and then use the Aff10 coupon code everytime after for 10% off.

Their grading system goes from AAA to A.. (highest to lowest respectfully). I've used AAA which are great.. one hit and lost type balls. AA quality has a bit more usage shown on them but in all honesty, in most cases these are the equivalent of balls I've played a round or two with and will use again anyway.

I paid about 16 bucks for 12 Callaway Tour balls and 12 Bridgestone B330-S's. Shipping is where they get you with a 10 dollar shipping charge, but I've seen coupons out there that give you free shipping if you spend enough.

LGB sounds like the choice of everyone so maybe i'll check it out to see if they are any better.

[Swampy79]

Originally Posted by anotherday

LGB sounds like the choice of everyone so maybe i'll check it out to see if they are any better.

I think in most respects they are probably very similar, LGB was the first place I ever ordered from though and they have been great.  Quick to ship and they keep you well updated, never had a problem getting the products I'm looking for either (I think they have a pretty large stable network).

[MiniBlueDragon]

I just took the plunge and ordered 2 dozen "Pearl Grade" AD333's from gatorgolflakeballs.co.uk (which to me looks like Gator Gol Flake Balls but NVM) as my first venture into recycled balls.

Will report back when they arrive.

[Ringworld]

well now you learn something new everyday... thanks for the heads up.  Must contact a few of these guys :D

[BigDaddy]

I’m a little skeptical that these aren’t water balls.  I live on a golf course and ball hawk from the ponds but I won’t play a ball that has algae on it when I pluck it.  I have noticed that especially with premium balls water will kill them fast.

The reason for my pessimism it that about once a month I see a guy surface from the pond behind my house in scuba gear with a BIG mesh bag filed to the top with balls. Hell he can hardly lift it out of the water.  And this is just one hole where you have to hit over water.   I’m sure these balls have been soaking a while and he is not playing all of these balls!

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by BigDaddy

I’m a little skeptical that these aren’t water balls.  I live on a golf course and ball hawk from the ponds but I won’t play a ball that has algae on it when I pluck it.  I have noticed that especially with premium balls water will kill them fast.

The reason for my pessimism it that about once a month I see a guy surface from the pond behind my house in scuba gear with a BIG mesh bag filed to the top with balls. Hell he can hardly lift it out of the water.  And this is just one hole where you have to hit over water.   I’m sure these balls have been soaking a while and he is not playing all of these balls!

I think the majority are lake balls; at least the ones I ordered are.

I'd presume that if they can sell the balls to play golf with and sell them at 50%-75% of retail price the balls can't have that much wrong with them. Also with ball coverings I've never heard of any of them (newer balls anyway) being porous and likely to take on water? I could be wrong however, in which case I'll have 24 nice shiny white "pearl grade" sponges arriving any day now.

[MiniBlueDragon]

My lake balls just arrived. Two days after ordering them and they're here. Good job Gator Golf!

The parcel (was covered in courier bag before this):

The balls:

Close-up of the balls with lake ball on the left and new ball on the right. Left ball looks darker purely because the the ambient light (can be verified by looking at the laminate colour on the desk from left to right):

Weight comparison (I figure if a ball's taken on water it's likely to be heavier):

Will report back when I can do a comparison test on the course but so far so good!

24 Srixon AD333's for £19 UKP.