Yellow Balls?

[cruzthepug]

I've always used white balls and never tried anything else. I've noticed now that I'm getting a bit older and my eyes aren't as good as they once were, that now that winter has arrived and things are getting brown, my white ball can be had to see sometimes. Last weekend there was a group close to us and one of the guys was playing a yellow ball and it seemed to really stand-out. Seems like the yellow balls are easier to spot.

I guess my concern is the color while playing a shot. Is it a distraction at setup or is there a "get used to it" adjustment looking at the bright yellow ball?

Thought, opinions on yelow balls?

[awmgolfer]

I have tried a few this past year and the color really didn't seem to bother me. During the daytime I had a tougher time finding the yellow ball however once the sun started going down and I began to get more shadows or just plain darkness it was much easier to see the yellow ball over the white.

[tristanhilton85]

I switched over to the "tour yellow" version of the Srixon Z Star recently and honestly I love them.... they are much easier (for me, at least) to spot on the ground if I hit them off line as well as to follow in the air.  On top of that, there usually isn't a question as to whether it's your ball or somebody else's because most people don't play the yellow balls.  I guess that there may be a bit of a "getting use to it" period, but it doesn't last long... it'll seem normal pretty soon.

The one downside is that the choices are really limited, although there are options at each price point in yellow... if you like super cheap balls, Top-Flite makes the XL 7000 in yellow, Bridgestone, Nike and Srixon all have mid-range balls in yellow, and on the high end Srixon and Bridgestone will have you covered.  I guess it should be noted that some of those companies also make those same balls in orange.

[Stretch]

Been playing with Z-Star yellows for the last year and a half. Love them. They seem to scuff less and last longer than the white equivalents and, like Tristan says, it's really easy to spot your ball when there are a couple lying close together. Or at least it used to be. After giving me truckloads of crap about "ladies balls", three of my regular Tuesday group have to date made the switch. Once you go yellow ...

[GaijinGolfer]

I dont find the yellows to be distracting at all.  In the case of the Srixon Z-Star, when the ball was being developed, Srixon found that the slight greenish tint of the ball actually had a calming effect on the player.

I actually find the orange balls to be easier to spot than the white or the yellow though.

[jamo]

I talked about yellow golf balls in my Bridgestone Tour B330 [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/b/balls/bridgestone_tour_b330_series_ball_review]review [/URL]earlier this year: [QUOTE] The B330-RX are available in Optic Yellow, and it was my pleasure to get to try some of those as well. I have pretty decent eyesight, so seeing the ball land in the fairway (or OB, or in the water) is not my problem, but sometimes tracking the ball against the sky, especially when it's either really sunny or completely overcast, can be tough. This is where these balls excel. To be honest, it's not a stretch to buy the B330-RX just for the color. It surprised me, that's for sure. I grew up whacking brightly colored yellow and orange Top Flites around my backyard and hacking it around on the range, so I had some good mojo going into it, but man was I surprised at how much I liked the yellow. I could see the ball against the backdrop of a grey and rainy sky and most importantly, I could see it in the rough. Yellow doesn't seem like a brilliant color to pick out of deep grass, it is closer to green than white is after all, but you'd be surprised. I have to admit that there might be a bit of an issue with in the fall here in the northeastern U.S. (lots of yellow leaves), but in the summer the yellow balls are just so much faster to find. And, here's the great thing, you will never play the wrong ball again (unless colored golf balls really take off). I might not go so far as to play these in tournaments or with a business partner I am trying to impress (though it would be an interesting conversation starter), but by myself or paired up with some random golfers at a muni these will see some major time. My only wish is that Bridgestone offers the rest of their models in Optic Yellow. I'm sure Bridgestone is playing to the expected consumers of the yellow balls, but it would be nice to see them bring the advantages of Optic Yellow to the rest of their line.[/QUOTE] I had no trouble adjusting to them, I play yellow range balls all the time.

[CrunchEasy]

High noon on a nice summer day you almost need to be wearing sunglasses when hitting the yellow srixons because they are so bright.  That is a problem I do not mind though.

[cruzthepug]

I've been playing Srixon Z star and Q star's which both come in yellow. I almost bought a dozen yesterday. I wish stores like Dick's would sell balls by the sleeve, it would be nice to try some without having to buy a dozen. I did get a $10 rewards check from Dick's the other day so a dozen Q's would only be $15

[cruzthepug]

Two or three holes today my ball should have been just off the fairway and almost didn't find them. I went this afternoon and bought a dozen yellow Srixons. I'll put them in play in the morning and see if they stand out better.

[clubchamp]

I played today at a course that had leaf problems to the point I probably could have lost a ball in the middle of the fairway every other hole. We got to the second hole and I was waiting for my buddy to hit and I found a yellow z-star by the edge of a lake. I started playing it and I thought it was very easy to see amongst all the leaves I didn't lose it. The color didn't bother me but I'm not sure it's something I could play everyday.

[cruzthepug]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

I played today at a course that had leaf problems to the point I probably could have lost a ball in the middle of the fairway every other hole. We got to the second hole and I was waiting for my buddy to hit and I found a yellow z-star by the edge of a lake. I started playing it and I thought it was very easy to see amongst all the leaves I didn't lose it. The color didn't bother me but I'm not sure it's something I could play everyday.

That's what I'm hoping for. Our tee time is 7:10 every Saturday and Sunday, and as the sun is coming up, on the first 4-5 holes sometimes there is a glare. Twice yesterday, I walked past my ball laying in the fairway.

I'll update this afternoon

[michaeljames92]

Definitely agree with you on the less scuffing. I just couldn't handle that if you hit a wayward shot, it was damn near impossible to find it in thick grass and bush.

Originally Posted by Stretch

Been playing with Z-Star yellows for the last year and a half. Love them. They seem to scuff less and last longer than the white equivalents and, like Tristan says, it's really easy to spot your ball when there are a couple lying close together. Or at least it used to be. After giving me truckloads of crap about "ladies balls", three of my regular Tuesday group have to date made the switch. Once you go yellow ...

[inthehole]

I've been playing yellow top flite XL's most of this year - I can see them so much better when in the air (especially when there's a cloudy sky).    Finding them on the ground isn't much easier than a clean white ball, but there's a huge difference when airbound ..

[cruzthepug]

No problems seeing the ball today. The guys I was playing with had issues on a couple of holes. Oak leaves look white in the sun and makes it really hard to see a white ball. I'm sold on the yellow balls, at least till spring.

[Kobey]

The yellows really help when some yahoo decides to scatter marshmallows all over the course during a tournament (drunkfest).  Then again, in the spring when there are yellow dandelions everywhere they can be pretty hard to spot.  So I think it really depends on the conditions.  Mushrooms can drive a white ball player crazy as well.  I've never had a problem with the yellow distracting me since it is fairly close to white but I don't know what would happen with some of the other colors they have like orange and two color balls.

[erock9174]

I have played yellow balls off an on this season and for the most part liked them.  Very easy to follow the flight path off a tee shot.

The downside I had with them was in the fall here in OH many of the leaves are yellow so it actually blended in more with the leaves than a white ball did so I switched back to white for fall ball.

I tried the orange Bridgestone e6's and their dull color I thought was pretty tough to find when not in the fairway.

Another cheaper option for yellow balls are the new Pinnacle Golds that came out roughly a month or so ago.

15 balls for roughly $16.  They are not the dull yellow like the Top Flites.

They have a slight greenish cast to them with some pearl effect mixed in.  Kinda neat looking.

[SVTGolfer]

I absolutely LOVE the yellow ball!!! I started playing them at the end of last year. Honestly, I do play some other white balls when they go on special, but I ALWAYS play the yellow Srixon ball in tournaments now. Ever since I lost a ball off the 1st tee in a tournament "In plain sight" just a few feet off the fairway into mid length rough, I started playing it just for the meer fact that you can't lose one as easily. It definitely helps that I love the Srixon Z-StarX too. But the Srixon Tri-speed TOUR comes in "tour yellow" as well, and that's how I originally started playing it before I moved up to the spinnier Zstar ball.

Only time ive ever found that it is hard to see the ball is at dusk or like erock said when the leaves change color and theres more natural yellow on the course. Otherwise the ball is pretty flawless.

[GJBenn85]

I've been seeing more and more yellow balls on the course and I have to admit I have been tempted to pick them up (they're stray balls) and try them out.  Really pissed me off the other day when my playing partner and I lost two balls we topped off the tee box while rushing to play through a group...they went straight ahead into the rough and we could NOT find them.  Brand new balls!