How many balls do you typically carry?

[jkelley9]

Used to carry 12-15 balls, I would say.

Now I only really need to carry about 6 on a course I know well. If I lose 6 balls I will definitely quit for the day. I think last time I had a really bad day I lost 4 balls and I quit after that as well, since my game is better than that now. 

I would probably bring a maximum of 12 balls to a new, really tight, difficult course with many water hazards. 

 

[bradsul]

Voted: 3-6

I've usually got a sleeve plus a couple (1 in play and maybe a leftover from the previous sleeve).  I use a pushcart so I guess I could carry as many as I want, just a habit from my carrying days I suppose.

[newtogolf]

Usually around a dozen.  I'll usually go through them every two weeks and replace the cut or scuffed up ones with new ones.  

[Aflighter]

I keep around 15-20 balls  use in tournys, around 12 I use playing with friends and I got around 2 dozen older ones incase course runs out supplying us range balls before trny.Heavy bag.

[billchao]

I'm pretty sure there's more than a dozen in my bag right now. I have 7 or 8 of my regular balls, a couple of sleeves of random balls people gave me for Christmas, and a random assortment of shag balls found on the course that I never cleaned out of my bag. I'm not even sure why I have them because I don't like playing random golf balls.

[Golfingdad]

20 minutes ago, billchao said:

I'm pretty sure there's more than a dozen in my bag right now. I have 7 or 8 of my regular balls, a couple of sleeves of random balls people gave me for Christmas, and a random assortment of shag balls found on the course that I never cleaned out of my bag. I'm not even sure why I have them because I don't like playing random golf balls.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a ball snob - I will only play the premium balls, so if I find balls on the course that aren't one of those, I'll either give them to somebody else or they'll end up in my garage.  That would be an interesting alternate question for me ... how many balls do I have floating around the house and garage?  The answer is definitely "too many." 

[Shindig]

I typically keep about a dozen.  When I'm playing often, the supply can dwindle (although I'll typically try to make a ball last 36 holes or so), but then again, when I'm playing often, I lose balls less often, so I can let the supply dwindle. 

13 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Yeah, I'm a bit of a ball snob - I will only play the premium balls, so if I find balls on the course that aren't one of those, I'll either give them to somebody else or they'll end up in my garage.  That would be an interesting alternate question for me ... how many balls do I have floating around the house and garage?  The answer is definitely "too many." 

My answer to that too.  Easily in the hundreds, but they're in shoe boxes as I lack a garage.  I should categorize them and donate them to friends who are less picky about what they hit.

[Valleygolfer]

I think around 12ish. I get down to 5-6 but only because I forget to add more. A year or so I had 40 something because I didn't clean my bag out of found balls. I was a little surprised to have so many in the bag.

[SavvySwede]

Around 9 is a good number for me. Don't really need that many but I like to have the option to switch them up a bit if I manage to scuff up a few.

[boogielicious]

7 to 10 unless I am going to a new course with lots of water or hazards.

[Brian W]

I have anywhere from 6-12 of the balls I use.  If I hit a path or find one while I am walking to my ball, I will throw it in the large pocket of my bag.  Every couple rounds I pull those out and throw them in a pickle bucket.  I have a buddy that likes the balls so I normally give them to him.  If I have gone through my normal balls, I have a backup plan but by then I am not usually shooting well and dont care what ball I am using.

[Pete F]

Half a dozen but they breed in my bag like mice.

Last nite I waited for my son to show up and played a couple of holes to a good spot to wait and look.

Probably picked up 50 balls, gave a bunch to the my son. 

[David in FL]

16 hours ago, bradsul said:

Voted: 3-6

I've usually got a sleeve plus a couple (1 in play and maybe a leftover from the previous sleeve).  I use a pushcart so I guess I could carry as many as I want, just a habit from my carrying days I suppose.

Pretty much this.  Unless there's a reason to add some more, like a tournament or a particularly difficult/penal course.  One sleeve plus whatever is left over from the last sleeve.

[Patch]

It depends. When playing my home course, a couple of sleeves will suffice. If on a road trip, I might have 15-20 balls stashed away. 

[GolfLug]

Usually a dozen. With that much on hand I know with certainty that will not have to stop at the turn and go to the car for a refill..

[Grinde6]

I usually carry around 7-10 balls.  When I am at my home course that number can be even lower, but I always carry at least 6 just in case one gets scuffed up, or the line on my ball starts to fade I have a new one I can put in play right away.  I carry closer to the 10 mark if I am playing a tournament for the same reasons listed above and because its probably a course I haven't played much so there may be a tendency to lose an extra ball or 2.

[ghalfaire]

I usually have 8-10 in the bag.  But would not start a round with less than 3.   I change ball types with the season.  We get some significant temperature changed in this area so wise to not use a hard ball in mid winter.

[wannabe]

Old habits die hard.

I've probably got three sleeves plus what i used from the 4th sleep in a dozen balls.  I also have an assortment of shag balls I picked up or used from previous dozens, so yeah, I've probably got 20 balls in the bag.

This is certainly a carryover from the days when I'd lose balls continually and built up the mortal fear of not having enough balls to finish a round.  Just doesn't happen like that anymore.  I could easily get by with a dozen max and be fine and confident, unless I'll be at a course where "going for it" over water would be fun to try a few times with some grunge balls, if it wouldn't hold up play.

After this thread, I'm cleaning a bunch of balls out of my bag for sure.

Slightly off topic - generally speaking, do cart girls on the course carry sleeves of balls to buy?  I've never known them to, or asked them.

Edited June 30, 2016 by wannabe