X-Out/Practice Balls - Any Performance Difference?

Young Money

Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
243
Reaction score
0
Location
Salt Lake City
Handicap
15
I've seen balls on ebay advertised as new, first quality balls stamped Practice to be used on the range at tour events but don't all get used. Has anyone ever used balls marked practice or have thoughts as to the quality?

Just interested in everyone's thoughts.
 
I played on Sunday and as I walking to the 2nd hole I found a Title ProV1 that had 'practice' stamped. There was water on the hole that I find all the time and didn't want to lose a Bridgestone so I put the practice ball in play...
it felt and played just as good as any Titleist I played right out the box. I actually shot my lowest round of the year and used that one ball the rest of the day.

I don't see anything worng with them IMO. No different than X outs or overruns. As long as plays well and feel good, go for it.
 
I played on Sunday and as I walking to the 2nd hole I found a Title ProV1 that had 'practice' stamped. There was water on the hole that I find all the time and didn't want to lose a Bridgestone so I put the practice ball in play...
it felt and played just as good as any Titleist I played right out the box. I actually shot my lowest round of the year and used that one ball the rest of the day.

I don't see anything wrong with them IMO. No different than X outs or overruns. As long as plays well and feel good, go for it.
 
Cool, Thanks!
 
Yea, Tour pros at tournaments dont hit regular range balls like you and me. They get titelist pro-v1s to hit but they're stamped with the the word practice so that the pro's don't accidently use them in tournaments. They're fine and work just as well as their non practice counterparts. Don't get them mixed up with XXXX outs or ones that didn't pass muster. (I think those are called rejects)
 
I've seen balls on ebay advertised as new, first quality balls stamped Practice to be used on the range at tour events but don't all get used. Has anyone ever used balls marked practice or have thoughts as to the quality?

Just interested in everyone's thoughts.

Balls stamped "practice" are essentially no different from a normal ball of the same make and model. Even the Rules view them as interchangeable with the regular ball. This is not true with X-out balls, which are not legal for tournaments which require the use of a ball from the conforming ball list. Practice balls are conforming balls.
 
Hey Snap Hook,

How do you like your Nike Split Cavs? I have to admit I fall in love every time I get a chance to hit them, something keeps me from pulling the trigger though.
 
Yea, Tour pros at tournaments dont hit regular range balls like you and me. They get titelist pro-v1s to hit but they're stamped with the the word practice so that the pro's don't accidently use them in tournaments. They're fine and work just as well as their non practice counterparts. Don't get them mixed up with XXXX outs or ones that didn't pass muster. (I think those are called rejects)

Actually they get to hit whatever ball they choose. Usually based on what company they are sponsored by. Titleist staffers play those. Bridgestone staffers play those. Etc... all the way down the line.
 
X-Out/Practice Balls - Any Performance Difference?

I was in Golfers Warehouse today over lunch and noticed they had a pallet full of "X-Out" Penta balls. I've also seen Pro-V1/V1x's with the same type of label and in a white box. I was never really sure if these are any different/faulty performance wise or if they just had blemishes on the cover ect...? Any help would be appreciated, I'd love to stock up on these at the $30/dz price tag.
 
AFAIK it's just cosmetics.
 
AFAIK it's just cosmetics.
+1, they just were off by a little for manufacturing specs and were rejected. Doubt the average amateur can tell the difference.
 
I often buy X- Outs and I have never been able to tell a difference. But that is just me. It is usually because of a tiny fleck of excess material on a dimple or something. I just smooth it out and away I go.
 
+1, they just were off by a little for manufacturing specs and were rejected. Doubt the average amateur can tell the difference.

+2 That is my understanding also.
 
I wouldn't swear to it, but I think I read somewhere that x-outs were not USGA approved, but anything labeled 'practice' is okay. Meaning, you couldn't use an x-out in a tournament, but a practice ball you could. I might have that backwards though.
 
I wouldn't swear to it, but I think I read somewhere that x-outs were not USGA approved, but anything labeled 'practice' is okay. Meaning, you couldn't use an x-out in a tournament, but a practice ball you could. I might have that backwards though.
Pretty sure that's right. From what I know, If you took a practice pro v1 and a real pro v1 , and took company markings and the practice logo for the practice one off, they would be the same ball.
 
I wouldn't swear to it, but I think I read somewhere that x-outs were not USGA approved, but anything labeled 'practice' is okay. Meaning, you couldn't use an x-out in a tournament, but a practice ball you could. I might have that backwards though.

I think these actually had both "X-Out" and "Practice" on the box haha. I wont be playing in any USGA tournaments anytime soon so I think I'm safe to stock up on these. I love the way these perfrom from tee to green. Thanks for the quick responses guys!
 
I find these balls on the course all the time. Just can't bring myself to use them even though they are ProV1 or whatever. I fear that some of them might have more than cosmetic flaws and my paranoia won't permit them to go in play. I use them for chipping practice mostly.
 
For some reason i just feel safer with logo overruns than XOUTS. Since I never know what spec it was that caused them to get X'd out.
 
X-Outs don't pass QA and it's possible they don't meet USGA requirements. But, like an above reply, you probably won't notice a difference in performance. 99% of the time, it's a cosmetic issue.

PRACTICE is just another Logo ball. Legal for use.
 
For some reason i just feel safer with logo overruns than XOUTS. Since I never know what spec it was that caused them to get X'd out.

Unless you're just afraid of what your comrades might say if they saw you playing an xout


THPing on the fly. Sorry for lack of forum etiquette.
 
X-Outs don't pass QA and it's possible they don't meet USGA requirements. But, like an above reply, you probably won't notice a difference in performance. 99% of the time, it's a cosmetic issue.

PRACTICE is just another Logo ball. Legal for use.

+1! Practice is legal but not X outs. I played a Penta and Penata Practice side by side, no difference to me, Penta is good ball.
 
I do not routinely play X-outs or Practice balls, but I have played both in the prov1x. I use them for practice on the chipping/pitching range sometimes. I don't think I have ever noticed a difference with the Practice ball, but I swear that every once in a while I notice something with a particular X-out. It might be in my head, but that is enough for me to not put it into play during a round.
 
Titleist Pro V1 Practice Ball - Particulars

Titleist Pro V1 Practice Ball - Particulars

I'm intrigued about the differences between differently marked Titleist Practice balls. I'm hoping someone who knows with absolute certainty what the differnces are, might illuminate me!

Since getting back into the game a couple of months back, I've bought 1-dozen Pro V1x (£35, a bit too steep to lose!), followed by two lots of Pro V1 Practice (£22each) of which I still have a dozen, but I recently bought 2-dozen more Pro V1 Practice balls in a mutlibuy (£38) and redeemed a discount which got me 24balls for around £35!

Anyway, I was extremely happy with my first dozen practice balls; I genuinely couldn't see any difference to the full price balls whatsoever! Other than less uniform numbers on them. And they were split 50/50 between V1 and V1x, which pleased me, for the opportunity to try out both balls.

The second set of practice balls had a few miniscule cosmetic imperfections, like a tiny paint noddule (what a word!) in a dimple, but nothing that would affect the way the balls would play. Again the balls were split 50/50 V1/V1x.

However, my latest 2-dozen are somewhat different, and constist of the following markings:

4x Pro V1
9x Pro V1(s) - The (s) is at either end of the alignment marking arrow.
Both of these ball types look similar to all the previous balls I have owned.

Then there are
7x Pro V1 392
4x Pro V1x 332
And these two types exhibit an obvious band around the same line as the alignment arrow where dimples don't quite touch each other, giving an idea as to how the balls have been constructed as two halves. Whether or not the manufacturing process has changed with the new Pro V1 balls (I've read somewhere, and observed a 'staggered wave'), the dimple finish in the 932/332 balls seems a little compromised.

So...
Are the 392/332 balls an older form of V1?
And what exactly is the V1(s)?

It's somewhat a shame that my fantastic multibuy price might not have been quite as good a deal as I would have felt, had the balls all been as before!
 
Doesn't get any more certain than straight from Titleist themselves:
The Acushnet Company invests significant time and effort to ensure that our products are Best-in-Class in terms of quality, performance and consistency. As such, in the rare event one of our products fails to meet USGA requirements for size, weight, velocity or any other conformance criteria we destroy rather than market such products. As such, only products that are of a minimal defect are available for purchase. These products are available in two offerings:
1. Pro V1 Practice golf balls are conforming products that differ only due to a cosmetic blemish such as paint, ink or registration of stamping. Pro V1 Practice golf balls do not have any construction or performance deficiencies.


Here's the link to it:
http://www.titleist.com/customerservice/afmviewfaq.asp?faqid=62475

Also, a friend of mine plays these and is able to remove the PRACTICE with nail polish remover. Enjoy the savings
 
There has been several models of the Pro V1 since its inception. Like everything else in golf, they change every two years or so. If memory serves me, they change a marking on the ball ever so slightly in order to determine the year(s) they were on the market.
 
Back
Top