how much would you spend on a golf ball if you lost...

[tuffluck]

...4-5 balls per round?  i buy nxt tours from lostgolfballs.com for an average of about $.83 per ball, but they are currently out of those.  how much would you spend on a golf ball if you were losing that many per round?  i either lose too many or i play too much golf, because i just bought 100 nxt tours in august and am already down to 20.

[NuclearMike]

Let's assume that you just play too much golf.  For all of that enjoyment that you must have hitting balls where they can't be found I would think that $83.00 in balls shouldn't be too much, although I've posted in and read a lot of threads regarding golf balls.  To save some money, if that's what you are trying to do, switching away from the NXT to something like the Top Flite Gamer V2 or the Maxfli Noodle (really!) will definitely cost you less.  I play the Gamer but I've read really good things about the Noodle and how long it is and how much spin that people get when they play it. FYI, I just saw 48 Noodles at www.golfballnut.com, mint, for $22.45.  Might be worth a try.

[clarky75]

Hi There,

When I was loosing 4-5 per round, I was playing the Gamer V2 also, now after using the Penta TP5 and or Pro V1, I could not go back, so if I started to lose 4 a round, I would go back to the Penta, can get them $33 for a dozen, definitely would move away from my Prov1 if I was losing 4-5 per round.

I maybe lose 1 or 2 a round now, played yesterday and only lost one, no idea where it went, have a suspicion someone picked it up

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

Let's assume that you just play too much golf.  For all of that enjoyment that you must have hitting balls where they can't be found I would think that $83.00 in balls shouldn't be too much, although I've posted in and read a lot of threads regarding golf balls.  To save some money, if that's what you are trying to do, switching away from the NXT to something like the Top Flite Gamer V2 or the Maxfli Noodle (really!) will definitely cost you less.  I play the Gamer but I've read really good things about the Noodle and how long it is and how much spin that people get when they play it. FYI, I just saw 48 Noodles at www.golfballnut.com, mint, for $22.45.  Might be worth a try.

i thought noodles were only for slow swingers?  i have a 110mph swing speed so i'm not sure how they would work for me?  i would love to buy the gamer v2s, but can only find them NEW, and new they are $20 a dozen, which is $1.30 compared to the $.83 i pay for the NXT Tour.  but if i bought new, hands down that is what i would be buying.

[tuffluck]

well golfballnut had 100 nxt tours for $50, so i grabbed the last one, thanks for mentioning that site! i should be set for a while

[robrey85]

I bought some 5A's from lostgolfballs.com and I bought some 5A's from golfballsunlimited.com. The 5As were in MUUUUUCCHH better shape from golfballsunlimited and that is where I would recommend purchasing balls from. I bought 24 Bridgestone e5 (2012) for $27.99 plus $6.00 shipping. WHAT A DEAL!

EDIT: Let me also note that I have made two seperate purchases from gbu and both orders were pretty pristine.

[TMBridgestone]

Around $20 - 30 a dozen new.

[newtogolf]

I started out playing the NXT Tours from lostgolfballs.com and noticed that they weren't very consistent.  I figured it was just me, but this year found that that there's 5-6 different versions with different distance and spin specs.  The first version of the ball was only 2 layer, after that it was 3, but the layer compounds have changed.

The different models do affect how the ball plays.  I'm not sure if the inconsistency I noticed was me, the difference between "used" amount of the balls or if some were under water.  It wasn't until I found a site that listed all the different versions and how to tell them apart (by the pattern of the  <- NXT Tour -> that I realized some of the inconsistency could have been me, but the balls are different so that could have been it too.

I found most of the cheaper buckets AAAA had the older versions of the NXT Tours in them (before they started getting good ratings in the magazines).  You might want to take a look at the ones you're getting to make sure they are the newer ones.  You can tell by the length of alignment line, the old ones look like  <-NXT*Tour-> and the newer ones look more like  <-- - - NXT Tour - - -->

Originally Posted by tuffluck

well golfballnut had 100 nxt tours for $50, so i grabbed the last one, thanks for mentioning that site! i should be set for a while

[GaijinGolfer]

If I lost 4-5 per round, Id probably play a mid-priced ball.  Something like an NXT or Bridgestone E5.

[tuffluck]

I started out playing the NXT Tours from lostgolfballs.com and noticed that they weren't very consistent.  I figured it was just me, but this year found that that there's 5-6 different versions with different distance and spin specs.  The first version of the ball was only 2 layer, after that it was 3, but the layer compounds have changed.   The different models do affect how the ball plays.  I'm not sure if the inconsistency I noticed was me, the difference between "used" amount of the balls or if some were under water.  It wasn't until I found a site that listed all the different versions and how to tell them apart (by the pattern of the  <- NXT Tour -> that I realized some of the inconsistency could have been me, but the balls are different so that could have been it too.  I found most of the cheaper buckets AAAA had the older versions of the NXT Tours in them (before they started getting good ratings in the magazines).  You might want to take a look at the ones you're getting to make sure they are the newer ones.  You can tell by the length of alignment line, the old ones look like  <-NXT*Tour-> and the newer ones look more like  <-- - - NXT Tour - - -->

Very interesting. I do not think I've ever gotten any of the newer long ones from lost golf balls then. I'll check out the ones today from nut to see how they look. I still think 56c per ball is pretty good for a guy that loses so many :D

[rehmwa]

I'm lucky - regular Top Flites feel and hit just fine for me.

However - When I was having bad days in terms of losing balls, the bonus is I'd find as many as I'd lose and usually those were Titleists and Callaways (they must be popular - and most of those fit my strike really well too - But I'm cheap, and it's not a big effect on my game at all yet.)

So If I'm losing balls, I'm backwards.  I just play the 'found' more expensive brands and keep the new ones in the box - 'found' are free for me and hit fine.  The only worry, and it's only happened a couple times - is when I use one that is clearly worn or a soaker and I have to eat a really crappy shot.  But that's usually pretty clear on the first strike.

Lately I haven't been losing balls hardly (stupid pond) at all.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

I'm lucky - regular Top Flites feel and hit just fine for me.

However - When I was having bad days in terms of losing balls, the bonus is I'd find as many as I'd lose and usually those were Titleists and Callaways (they must be popular - and most of those fit my strike really well too - But I'm cheap, and it's not a big effect on my game at all yet.)

So If I'm losing balls, I'm backwards.  I just play the 'found' more expensive brands and keep the new ones in the box - 'found' are free for me and hit fine.  The only worry, and it's only happened a couple times - is when I use one that is clearly worn or a soaker and I have to eat a really crappy shot.  But that's usually pretty clear on the first strike.

Lately I haven't been losing balls hardly (stupid pond) at all.

i don't think i ever mentioned why i lose so many balls, but the truth is most of the time i don't lose many, or even any.  but then i have a few rounds where some odd things happen:

1. busy, open course where people drive across your fairway and hit your balls.  if i'm walking i have basically no chance of catching up with them (although i did once and the guy got so defensive it was amazing, but i did get my ball back).  this is one of those reasons why i just can't justify a $4 ball.

2. i play towards dusk most of the time, and sometimes when i'm having too much fun i will continue to play well after there is really enough light to play comfortably.  oddly, i've made more birdies in the dark than you would imagine, i think i just assume i'm going to lose the ball and don't think about where the ball is going but instead the swing, it's pretty cool.  nevertheless, i can and have lost balls this way.  i justify this with buying a ball that is <$1.

3. i use the tee box as a driving range sometimes when my tee shot goes awry.  i'll hit 6-7 balls if no one is behind me until i figure out my swing problem.  i usually lose the first 5 before i get my swing right.  sometimes this is purely done out of frustration.

4. if i'm using the tee box as a driving range AND walking, a lot of times if i hooked a ball and sliced a ball, i'll pick one of them to go grab.  i don't want to walk the entire hole 3 times.  again, i can justify this because i have a ball that is <$1.

you can bet i'd cut out 2-4 and even for #1 i'd be more choosy on my course selection if i were playing a $4 ball.

[rehmwa]

1 - thanks for leaving those balls on the course.  my shag bag appreciates it

2 - I just played the last 4 holes in the dark on my last round - 18th hole was a super clean birdie - I agree, once you resign yourself to the swing and not the ball - things sometimes do clean up nicely

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I started out playing the NXT Tours from lostgolfballs.com and noticed that they weren't very consistent.  I figured it was just me, but this year found that that there's 5-6 different versions with different distance and spin specs.  The first version of the ball was only 2 layer, after that it was 3, but the layer compounds have changed.

The different models do affect how the ball plays.  I'm not sure if the inconsistency I noticed was me, the difference between "used" amount of the balls or if some were under water.  It wasn't until I found a site that listed all the different versions and how to tell them apart (by the pattern of the  <- NXT Tour -> that I realized some of the inconsistency could have been me, but the balls are different so that could have been it too.

I found most of the cheaper buckets AAAA had the older versions of the NXT Tours in them (before they started getting good ratings in the magazines).  You might want to take a look at the ones you're getting to make sure they are the newer ones.  You can tell by the length of alignment line, the old ones look like  <-NXT*Tour-> and the newer ones look more like  <-- - - NXT Tour - - -->

just got in my 100 count from golfballnut.com.  "near mint" condition, $56 total including shipping.  so $0.56 a piece.  here is the mix of what was in the bag:

12 - 2012 NXT Tour (including 3 Tour S)

28 - 2010 NXT Tour

28 - 2009 NXT Tour

31 - <2009 NXT Tour

1 - NXT Extreme

so i got a pretty decent amount of *good* NXT tour balls.  i think 2010 and up is 5th gen, so they should be all the same (40).  2007 and up was the 4th gen, and then i have no idea what the 31 are since they all have exactly the same arrow design on them.  still, pretty good deal at $0.56 a piece.  at least now i know which ones i will be using for the tee box range sessions :D

my only complaint is that they aren't really in "near mint" condition.  some are pretty good, others a bit more tainted, however none of them seem to have any severe cuts on them.  hell, i'll play them.

[retgi]

I went to the local flea market a few months ago and got over 500 balls for $18.00 and gave half to one of my golf buddies.  After washing them in my garage sink there were maybe dozen that weren't good enough for my bag.  By the way, being a newbie I do lose 2 or 3 every time I go out but I don't look long for them at all....

[mailman]

I keep an eye on eBay for Pro V1's, where my price point is around 50p a ball. I picked up 48 c grade balls from cheapgolfballs for a tenner (£9.99 including free postage) which had 2 doz fairly decent balls with just light scuff marks and still very usable. The other 2 doz were refurbs so will leave those on the bench until Im desperate.

Also picked up 50 Vpro1's for £25 (£20+£5p&p;) which arrived today and the balls are all in very VERY good shape.

Im also tempted to pick up another guys offer of 75 practice balls (marked with practice on them) for £35 just to give them a go.

So at around 50p a ball I dont mind it when I lose a half doz during a round.

Regards

Mailman

[RayG]

If I was losing 4-5 balls a round, I wouldn't spend money on balls, I would spend money on lessons. Especially if I'd been doing it all the time. I think I can only remember losing that many balls only once in my 37 years of playing. The cost of a set of clinics or lessons would work out to be cheaper in the long run. This past season, I think I used one ball for a record number of rounds(different ball each round), and lost maybe 6 all season... and one of those was right in the middle of the fairway.. or so I thought. Developing a swing that is fairly consistent and limits the damage will certainly increase your enjoyment, because it can NOT be that much fun losing all those balls each and every time.

[newtogolf]

It depends on the course you play.  Some courses are forgiving and don't have water hazards, heavily wooded areas, thick brush, etc.  The pro's don't hit every drive into the fairway plus they have hundreds of onlookers watching where their ball goes so if you're suggesting that anyone that doesn't hit the fairway every time needs lessons I think you're a bit off base.

I play some courses where I lose 4-5 balls and others where I finish a round with the same ball. For me at least the number of balls I lose is very dependent on the course

Originally Posted by RayG

If I was losing 4-5 balls a round, I wouldn't spend money on balls, I would spend money on lessons. Especially if I'd been doing it all the time. I think I can only remember losing that many balls only once in my 37 years of playing. The cost of a set of clinics or lessons would work out to be cheaper in the long run. This past season, I think I used one ball for a record number of rounds(different ball each round), and lost maybe 6 all season... and one of those was right in the middle of the fairway.. or so I thought.

Developing a swing that is fairly consistent and limits the damage will certainly increase your enjoyment, because it can NOT be that much fun losing all those balls each and every time.