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Recycled balls any good?

SuperStroke
Lost golf balls via ebay is fantastic. Got 50 Bridgestone e6's for 24.99
 
I bought 50 yellow Q Stars from lostballs.com last year and I'm pretty satisfied. Some of them seem to have a film on them which chips off but I don't think it affects the performance. Also some are a different colors than the rest, a darker tint to them. My skill level allows me to play a recycled ball and not think twice about it.
 
I have played ProV1x and Z-Stars from lostgolfballs.com and can't tell the difference in them and new balls.
 
I always see everyone trashing refinished balls. I recently bought 8 dozen rx-330's that were refinished and have played them just fine.

Can anyone provide any personal insight as to why refinished are so bad?

I've heard that refinished balls are beat to hell and sprayed with paint to look new, but the dimples on my ball look perfect and not reconstructed in any wau. Have a hard time believing that paint can fill gashes that run across dimples. Especially in a ball like the rx-330, which has those funky bridgestone dimples...

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darnall said:
Ever notice how the results of a scientific study always favor the person or entity who funded the study...

According to the ball recyclers, scientific studies have shown that sitting under water has little to no effect on todays balls but had a major effect on the older, balata, string wound core type balls.

According to Acushnet, scientific studies show that sitting under water for any period of time does compromise the playability of the modern golfball.

I have to imagine that the real truth is somewhere in the middle...and many factors need to be taken into consideration.

The major used ball dealers either have divers or buy from divers that have contracts to dive at X amount of courses. They regularly pull from each place, so it isn't likely that you will end up with a ball that has been under water for many months.

I have purchased a ton of MINT balls from a couple different recycling sites and have never noticed any difference in performance compared to new. I am not saying there is no difference, but so far it has been too minuscule for me to notice.

And I have never had one explode on me. I have to think there was another issue with that ball that was at least partially responsible for that.
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Great response. I have no real "dog" in this fight one way or another. I was kind of offering a counter point for people to think about.

I understand where recycled logo balls come from. They're made up for tournaments, etc. and just are extra stock. If you get AAAA or AAAAA on those, my guess is you're getting brand new balls they just can't sell.

The rest of those balls have to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is likely under water. I just offer that for people who haven't really thought about where the ball comes from.

My experience with the exploding ball was one I fished straight out of a pond. It'd obviously been in there a while. I dried it off and hit it the very next tee. The ball went maybe thirty yards, felt like I was hitting a water balloon, and left a huge water mark on my club. I think when I compressed it, the water trapped inside had to go somewhere, and that somewhere was out. This was in the last year, and it wasn't a balata. I must be honest and say that I don't remember the OEM or ball, but it was one nice enough that I wanted to salvage it.

Now, I'm not saying that's what is going to happen with a recycled ball. I've played recycled (and refinished balls) and haven't had that happen. They dry them out, clean them, etc.. There was either a "Dirty Jobs" or a "How it's Made" one time on this topic (it actually may have been refinished ones).

My point with the exploding ball story is that water does get into the ball. First hand experience taught me that. Whether that does anything to the ball flight long term is probably doubtful, but if the thing has been sitting in the bottom of a pond for a while, it's not the same as new off the shelf.

Is the difference between a recycled ball and a new one really changing my game? Nope. Will I play balls I find on the course? Yep. Have I bought recycled balls? Yep. Have I played refurbished balls? Yep. It's just at this point, outside of logo balls, I probably personally wouldn't buy any more recycled ones.
 
Great thread and information from everyone. It has been a while since I purchased a pack of used Prov1s. At the beginning of this year I bought a pack of refinished/refurbished ones. Man did those things not last. I was kind of lost on why I was getting this result when I bought some in the past with different results. It this thread answered my question. The past ones were recycled I remember having that green leaf on the side. Like mostly everyone said the refurbs scuff quickly, don't last and look horrible after about 3 holes max!
 
rickychoi said:
I always see everyone trashing refinished balls. I recently bought 8 dozen rx-330's that were refinished and have played them just fine.

Can anyone provide any personal insight as to why refinished are so bad?

I've heard that refinished balls are beat to hell and sprayed with paint to look new, but the dimples on my ball look perfect and not reconstructed in any wau. Have a hard time believing that paint can fill gashes that run across dimples. Especially in a ball like the rx-330, which has those funky bridgestone dimples...

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I got refinished Pro V1x once, and each ball only made it about three holes before developing a huge, tan-colored cut in the ball rendering it unplayable.


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Where is the best most reliable place to purchace these used balls?
 
Last year I got 50 AAAA quality Srixon Q stars from lostgolfballs.com and all but 3 were high quality. There is still something tho knowing you're hitting a ball that coulda been sitting in a pond for 6 months. I definitely prefer new but for the price recycled arent bad.
 
Smallville said:
Recycled yes. Refurbished/Refinished no.
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+1. Totally agree.

Floppy said:
Used balls from knetgolf, lostgolfballs, etc -- YES YES YES. Great value. I'll never buy new balls again.
"Refinished" golf balls -- oh god no. Awful.
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I've bought recycled (or used) mint AAAAA, 1st-quality balls from all the big companies. Some are better than others, but all are better than refurbished/refinished.

SkiBumGolfer said:
Always buy recycled mint when possible. Great value.
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By law, refinished balls have to have the word "refinished" printed on them. This is because they have been chemically altered from their original state. On the other hand, used (or recycled) balls have not been altered in any way, aside from a thorough cleaning. Each manufacturer has its own grading scale, and while all are similar, there is often a big difference between AAAAA (highest quality), AAAA, and AAA.

High-quality, mint balls are obviously a much better deal than buying brand new. A ball is considered "used" after it's hit once, right? But be picky about where you buy them.

I wrote in another thread that while I've had good experiences buying used, mint golf balls from the big companies, you don't always get true AAAAA mint balls in your order. I've had orders where as many as 25% - 30% of the balls still had scuffs, nicks, or scratches - stuff that I wouldn't consider to be 1st quality mint.

 
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Kreeghawk02 said:
Last year I got 50 AAAA quality Srixon Q stars from lostgolfballs.com and all but 3 were high quality. There is still something tho knowing you're hitting a ball that coulda been sitting in a pond for 6 months. I definitely prefer new but for the price recycled arent bad.
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I have bought higher grade, like the AAAA from lostgolfballs.com in the past as well and was happy. I think I bought from them on eBay.
 
Kreeghawk02 said:
There is still something tho knowing you're hitting a ball that coulda been sitting in a pond for 6 months...
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The good news is that your ball most-likely hasn't been in the pond for 6 months. The largest online used ball companies sell tens of millions of balls every year, so there's a huge demand. This translates to balls spending a lot less time in the water then even just a few years ago. Chances are, if you're buying used mint balls from a reputable source, the balls haven't been in the water long.
 
theballguy said:
The good news is that your ball most-likely hasn't been in the pond for 6 months. The largest online used ball companies sell tens of millions of balls every year, so there's a huge demand. This translates to balls spending a lot less time in the water then even just a few years ago. Chances are, if you're buying used mint balls from a reputable source, the balls haven't been in the water long.
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Youre probably right but there is the possibility.
 
Kreeghawk02 said:
Youre probably right but there is the possibility.
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Sure is. Then add to the fact the great new balls, deals to be found everywhere and I dont bother.
 
JB said:
Sure is. Then add to the fact the great new balls, deals to be found everywhere and I dont bother.
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Same.

Granted I usually only lose maybe 1 ball every four rounds but you can find great deals on new balls.
 
JB said:
Sure is. Then add to the fact the great new balls, deals to be found everywhere and I dont bother.
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Pulling a ball out of a sleeve removes the doubt.
 
Kreeghawk02 said:
Pulling a ball out of a sleeve removes the doubt.
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Of course. And there is literally something for every budget, you dont have to worry about what might or might not come and you get exactly what you are looking for.
 
JB said:
Of course. And there is literally something for every budget, you dont have to worry about what might or might not come and you get exactly what you are looking for.
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Plus I love the smell of a new golf ball... is that weird?
 
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