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how long does a golf ball last

SuperStroke
rollin

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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Another thread got me thinking. And we all know I can think..lol

But i wonder and its probably something only some of you better players might notice more about since your game is much more presce. Simply by default I would assume you would probably posess the skills to have a better feel and much better comparrison to judge when a ball has gotten too old even if the cover is in good ahpe.

Aside from the cover getting damaged and worn, do other things happen to a ball and how long does it take. Do they start losing compression?, get out of round shape?, stop reacting as well as before?, become harder to control and loose distance?
If the balls cover is in great shape how many rounds would it last before its no longer responding in every way you expect it too?
 
I think most, if not all, would lose a ball before that happened. Assuming the cover remains intact, which is a big if.

The closest I can come to answering your question is to take experience from hitting 1000's of balls into a net. They eventually crack right down the middle from that.
 
There isn't a chance I'd keep a ball until it went bad, if that's possible.
In the old days, I think wound balls had a shelf life of a few years. Today, no clue. It'd have to be years, maybe decades. Even Titleist says at least 5 years, barring storage in "excessive heat".
So don't leave 'em in your trunk in Phoenix.
 
Hawk said:
I think most, if not all, would lose a ball before that happened. Assuming the cover remains intact, which is a big if.

The closest I can come to answering your question is to take experience from hitting 1000's of balls into a net. They eventually crack right down the middle from that.
Click to expand...


Yes the cover is most usually why one tosses the ball or throws it in the shag bag. But that cracking you mention is something that brings up a point. That doesnt just happen I would asume. It must take some gradual weakening before it eventually splits. That must happen long before it actually does and just which strike and how long ago did it start might be the question and we may never know. The reason for that splitting for all we can guess may not even be the cover itself. perhpas the inner material has shifted, or no longer symmetrical, or whatever and put pressure on the cover. Those things among others if true could lead to the ball peformance going downhill at some point long before a split cover. I am just guessing here of course and curious if anyone does ever experience a worn les than optimum peformance ball due to age (other than cover).
 
jmatt said:
There isn't a chance I'd keep a ball until it went bad, if that's possible.
In the old days, I think wound balls had a shelf life of a few years. Today, no clue. It'd have to be years, maybe decades. Even Titleist says at least 5 years, barring storage in "excessive heat".
So don't leave 'em in your trunk in Phoenix.
Click to expand...

Interesting but would that be shelf life? vs playing.
Of course again its always a cover issue obviously a cover is not lasting long and even a round or two. But round for round of ball striking I then wonder if anyone can say they experienced peformance drop off with balls that have been through many rounds.
 
rollin said:
Yes the cover is most usually why one tosses the ball or throws it in the shag bag. But that cracking you mention is something that brings up a point. That doesnt just happen I would asume. It must take some gradual weakening before it eventually splits. That must happen long before it actually does and just which strike and how long ago did it start might be the question and we may never know. The reason for that splitting for all we can guess may not even be the cover itself. perhpas the inner material has shifted, or no longer symmetrical, or whatever and put pressure on the cover. Those things among others if true could lead to the ball peformance going downhill at some point long before a split cover. I am just guessing here of course and curious if anyone does ever experience a worn les than optimum peformance ball due to age (other than cover).
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. Solid core and before that to some degree wound, would not crack. Its the reason that different covered balls react differently with surlyn being very hard to split the cover espite it many times having a softer core.
 
JB said:
This is incorrect. Solid core and before that to some degree wound, would not crack. Its the reason that different covered balls react differently with surlyn being very hard to split the cover espite it many times having a softer core.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
I wonder how many balls so many hackers (including myself) are wasting due to the slightest blem on the cover? I thought that balls did loose some performance and not just cover related. Obviously large defects in the cover will affect flight and putting too but for too many who are not real precise at this game or real shot shapers are tosing too many balls that are simply slightly scuffed and are more than good enough to still use. Some is a looks things too. One has to like what they are seing But still too many of us might be wasting too many otherwise fine balls.
 
My 60 degree with nonconforming grooves sharp like a razor has been known to shred the covers of bridgstones and prov 1s but thats when I pull the string on a chip and really want some super backspin. Normally playing normal conditions I'll play a ball for 3 rounds before rotation.
 
I do know that I recently had a brand new out of the box ball play terribly, like it was dead. It was probably just a bad ball, but it was from a box that spent all winter in my garage. in TX that means major temperature swings on a regular basis. It was everything from 10 degrees to 95 degrees over the past 3 months. many times on each end of the spectrum. I haven't tried any more from that box, but I guess it's a possibility that the weather affected it. I keep most of my stash inside now just to be safe.
 
This is like "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop"..LOL

How long do my golf balls last?? Until I send them to a watery grave
 
Until they get very wet. Then I fish out a new one.
 
I played the same ProV1 X for 27 holes last week
 
baldguy said:
I do know that I recently had a brand new out of the box ball play terribly, like it was dead. It was probably just a bad ball, but it was from a box that spent all winter in my garage. in TX that means major temperature swings on a regular basis. It was everything from 10 degrees to 95 degrees over the past 3 months. many times on each end of the spectrum. I haven't tried any more from that box, but I guess it's a possibility that the weather affected it. I keep most of my stash inside now just to be safe.
Click to expand...

ALL of my balls play terribly out of the box...probably from a different reason though. None of them seem to be able to fly straight. :alien:
 
Until they go somewhere that I can't retrieve them. I don't think I've ever thrown a Pro V 1 in the garbage because it wasn't "playable" anymore.
 
I'll play a ball so long as its not chipped or really badly scuffed. Once they're badly scuffed they go into a container in my garage that comes out a few nights a week for chipping practice. Normally my Srixon Softs or Wilson Duo's which are both my favourite tend to last about 3 rounds each before I decide its time for a new one.
 
I usually go 3 rounds with a ball before donating it to the driving range via a 7 iron from the side of the 18th green. The cover is typically pretty ragged after 3 rounds and I am ready to move on to a newer, shinier ball.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
This is like "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop"..LOL

How long do my golf balls last?? Until I send them to a watery grave
Click to expand...

Yup. Longest I've had one go is 19 holes before it decided to leave me.

But isn't the saying "if you love something, let it go" maybe it will come back lol. It was a Wilson 2013 FG Tour.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
 
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