Old golf balls: Rocks or Rockets?

[BigBaffy]

Hi. I was out golfing the other day and, by accident, grabbed an older (no, OLD) golf ball out of my bag to tee off with. I don't know if it matters, but it was a Spalding Dot. Anyway, I swung a good swing and this thing took off like a rocket, and rolled forever. I thought it was a fluke, till I did it again on three other par 4s. Is this odd? I'm a VERY average golfer (hit in the 90's) and I've been playing an older Campbell Tour Grade driver lately (stainless steel head, graphite shaft that I would say is somewhere between regular and stiff), 43" long). Anyone have a similar experience with older rocks?

[pganapathy]

It more than likely has to do with the Driver and the Ball being suited to each other.  Hit a modern ball with an ancient ball or a modern driver with an ancient ball and they don't really gel.  So more by luck than anything else you lucked on the correct combination.

The problem is I doubt you can find that golf ball very easily today.

No experience with this because even though I have the old clubs (my dad's previous set was bought in 1986 and it is now kept as a back up set for whenever I visit) because finding old balls is very difficult

[BigBaffy]

Thanks for the response. If I keep hitting it like this (in the short stuff) I may not need another ball .

[Hacker James]

i used to have a couple of sets of Persimmons and older irons. I could not find any Balata balls for a decent price, but found that the old Titleist DT Wounds were plentiful on ebay. Also once in awhile I find a bag of 50-100 balls at a thrift shop for a buck fifty or so and often, there are some pretty good balls in there. I found a couple of pristine looking Balatas, one or two Pro V-1's, a ton of yellow striped range balls. I use these in the back yard practice. 

 

[Buckeyebowman]

Depends on how old and what condition they're in. Spalding Dots are very old! They used to be my favorites 50 years ago!

Recently my cousin gifted me with a couple dozen Dunlop Maxfli's. His Dad was a notorious "ball hawker", and built a little side business selling recycled balls to his buds at the glass plant. So, these balls were presented to me in two old egg cartons!

My cousin suffered a mild stroke a few years back, and isn't completely right. He gives me these balls, and I thank him and go throw them away! In this last batch of used balls there were a couple that actually looked half decent. So, I threw them in the bag to give them a try.

The performance was far from outstanding! They felt as hard as rocks and didn't go anywhere!

A few years ago I found a couple sleeves of old Titleist Tour Balatas. These were a big favorite of mine, and were new in package. I took them out, and the result was the same, they just didn't feel good to me or perform well.

It should be kept in mind, that the change might be in me, and my swing, and not in the ball!

 

[IrishAndy]

I picked up some good experience on older golf balls yesterday.  Went to a really hokey range in PA and got a large bucket of 'range balls'.

What a collection!

Everything from 30 year old museum piece balatas that had turned brown, to regular range balls, to a brand new ProV1x.

The older stuff was generally 10 yards short on a 150 yard iron shot.  The exceptions were those 1990s 'distance' balls that flew a good distance, but just felt awful to hit.

Frankly made me stop reminiscing about the old balatas...

 

[1badbadger]

Golf balls don't typically get better with age.  The modern solid-core balls used today have an excellent "shelf life" if stored in dry, moderate conditions.  They will maintain their performance very well, but will give way as newer models are improved.

But golf balls stored in trunks of cars or hot garages will begin to lose performance, especially models made prior to the late '90s.  I think the Spalding Dot was discontinued before 1970, so not only is it antiquated, it's had probably over 50 years to deteriorate.  Think about it...golf balls are basically made out of rubber.  We've all seen what tires look like on a 50 year-old bike that is in the old storage shed or barn, or how dried and cracked golf grips become on a vintage set of irons.  The ball can also break down just from the elements after an extended time too.

[308 Ragin Cajun]

the range balls at my club are mixed RANGE balls and reclaimed water balls. Some of them look like they've been soaking in the pond 50 or 60 years. They have what I call "square" dimples, small dimples arranged exactly perpendicular and parallel to each other, like the old wound balls used in the 50's and 60's, but generally have no name on them. They are usually brown, and tend to fly weird when hit.

 

My dad used to play Spalding Dots and Dunlop Maxflies when i was a kid.

[dbuck]

For persimmon woods, I have found that modern Titleist DT Truesofts, as well as ProV1s work just fine, as do Wilson Duos.

Edited August 29, 2018 by dbuck