Refurbished ball

[Grip n Rip]

Has anyone every purchased refurbished balls before, if so how did they play compared to new ones? I'm asking this question because I saw at a local store boxes of refurbished pro v1 and v1x for $25 a box. If anyone has tried these out let me know what you thought about them.

[Valleygolfer]

When I first got back into golf I bought 5 dozen taylormade black balls that were refurbished on ebay. The process the company used was to prepare the balls for paint, repaint them and then relabel.

I would say that they played fine for the most part. Going through the balls I found about a dozen that were cut, damaged and a few that were different models of taylormade golf balls. I contacted the seller and he sent me another dozen to remedy this.

All in all I would not buy refurb balls anymore myself due to not knowing history and how used they were. They are probably fine though, just personal preference.

[mcanadiens]

I've bought reconditioned balls before and not had major problems. Based on your description, I went one shelf lower at Walmart (right?) and got the Nike Softs. I saw no cracks. Some of the logos were a little faded, but no obvious performance issues.

[isukgolf]

Never heard of refurbished balls ... There a place in Phx that sales "used" balls,, and I get great deals on those balls ...

[mcanadiens]

Never heard of refurbished balls ... There a place in Phx that sales "used" balls,, and I get great deals on those balls ...

Same difference. They just clean up the used balls. Hence, refurbished or reconditioned.

[isukgolf]

In that case I use them all the time ... The place I go to has a grading system ... Grade A are like brand new .... I get Q stars for a $1 ... I think most really High Handy cap golfers should get used balls because: 1). You are going to lose a bunch, 2) The most important reason ... People will look forever for damn Pro V1! I have observed people wanting to call 911 because they need a search and rescue team to find their $4 Pro V1 ... At least with a used $1 ball you are quicker to say "screw it, I will just drop" ...

[Ernest Jones]

Same difference. They just clean up the used balls. Hence, refurbished or reconditioned.

No. Not the same difference (you must be from the Maritimes, only place I've heard that expression :-P). There are two ways to go about used balls. The recycled way is to choose your grade - mint, AAAA, AAA, AA and so forth. Balls are just rinsed in a cleaning solution and sorted by grade. I buy these all the time, usually mint or AAAA if my brand isn't in stock as mint. The other ones are the refurbished balls. They strip the shellac and paint and repaint, re-logo them. I would advise against the refurbished because you never really know what shape the ball was in when they stripped and repainted it. With the recycled balls, what you see is what you get.

[Golfingdad]

The other ones are the refurbished balls. They strip the shellac and paint and repaint, re-logo them. I would advise against the refurbished because you never really know what shape the ball was in when they stripped and repainted it. With the recycled balls, what you see is what you get.

Played a few holes with one of these the other day.  I had found it a few rounds prior searching through the weeds for my ball and it was a Prov1 so I kept it.  Not until after playing a couple of holes with it did I even notice that it said "refinished" right on the side.

Otherwise, OP, I've bought used balls through one of the lost golf ball websites (AAAAA, I believe) and had no problems.

I currently use new balls most of the time though, because I get them as gifts, or I get gift certificates, and balls are the one thing I always need. :)

[Ernest Jones]

Yeah, the other thing to keep in mind is that any ball that meets the AAAAA or mint category will be sold as such, there's not enough profit to cover the expense of refinishing. Pretty much guaranteed they take the really shitty balls (grade A or B) and refinish them so they can get a somewhat decent profit from them. Just compare the price point of a refinished ball with a mint or Grade AAAAA ball and it quickly becomes evident that no one with an ounce of business sense would bother refinishing a mint or near mint ball.

[mcanadiens]

I stand corrected Ernest. I had never really considered the idea that someone would take the time to strip them and repaint them. The balls I bought were surely recycled.

[nickel_aTm]

www.lostgolfballs.com Long time customer along with many friends and colleagues. Yet to hear a complaint from anyone I know (10+) who use them.

[03SMURF]

Skip on the refurbished and look for the ProV1 practice balls, they are dang near perfect and if it weren't for PRACTICE being written on them most wouldn't tell the difference.

[Grip n Rip]

www.lostgolfballs.com

Long time customer along with many friends and colleagues. Yet to hear a complaint from anyone I know (10+) who use them.

Looks like a good site, gonna have to check that out forsure

[Lucas]

Most of them are fine, usually. You could get some absolute duds though, even if they all look good. If they sat in mud or water for years they just won't play as well as new balls.

[nickel_aTm]

Most of them are fine, usually. You could get some absolute duds though, even if they all look good. If they sat in mud or water for years they just won't play as well as new balls.

Prove it. :) Guess I've been fortunate maybe but never had an issue where I thought a ball played different than the others.

[cristphoto]

Same difference. They just clean up the used balls. Hence, refurbished or reconditioned.

There is a difference. Refurbished balls are repainted and thus can lose a lot of the hi-tech aerodynamics of the ball design. Recycled balls are simply balls recovered from water hazards, cleaned, and then re-sold. If they haven't been in the water too long they can be a good deal. The only problem is you never know.

[vangator]

I play reycled balls. Lots cheaper. They are in better shape than most of the ones I own. :) I don't tend to lose balls. I just beat them into oblivion. Plus, when I play a practice round, I'll tee up a hard ball that I don't mind losing. I find a dozen of those every round. I will replace it with a good ball for my approach shots. Saves wear and tear on my good balls. When I play a real match, I play the same ball throughout the round.

[mcanadiens]

Yeah cristphoto. Already ate dirt pie on that one. See above.

On the couple of occasions that I've bought recycled balls, I've had no issues.