This is our ultimate guide to the best golf balls to enhance your game.
In this article, we’ll go through all our best choices with detailed descriptions and comparisons.
Furthermore, we have a buying guide section to educate you in making the best choice. So if you’re asking yourself: “What is the best golf ball for me?”, you should definitely be able to find the answer when you’re read this post.
Navigate through the table of contents, to find the most interesting topic to you.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
TaylorMade Project (a) Review
Highlights
Get ready for a nicely spinning ball! The Taylormade Project (a) seems to have all the characteristics an intermediate golfer looks for.
We’re dealing with a 3-piece ball. The core is constructed as a dual layer with a soft inner core and a stiffer outer core.
The soft inner core is designed to get rid of unwanted sidespin, to enhance control of the ball. Also this construction enhances the feel in the short game.
The more rigid outer core allows for a great compression making the ball bounce off the clubface with great velocity. Furthermore it reduces spin on the drives and longer shots.
The clever construction from TaylorMade makes it so that on impact, the soft urethane cover will be pinched between the clubface and the stiff part of the core for superior greenside control.
For a demonstration of the level of spin that’s possible to achieve, check out the video below with Dustin Johnson and Jason Day.
Pros and Cons
- Great spin
- Reasonably priced
- Durability is great
- Reports that distance is not up to par with others in the category
TaylorMade TP5x Review
Highlights
The top tier ball from Taylormade. The TP5 comes in two versions. TP5 and TP5x. Both are marketed as tour balls and are packed with technology. They are some of the only 5-piece balls around.
The TP5-series are played by some of the best golfers in the world counting Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day.
Both balls have excellent features for all aspects of the game, starting with straighter and longer drives, going into precise iron shots and a great overall feel.
Compared to the TP5, the TP5x has a higher launch, a little firmer fell (still soft though) and a little less spin in the short game (still good amount of spin).
The core is made up of a three layer Tri-Fast core with progressive compression levels.
The outer layers are Taylormade’s Dual-Spin cover which has a very soft urethane cover paired with a semi-firmer mantle layer.
Taylormade claims that this outer layer construction make the club grab the ball and create lots of spin.
Overall the 5-piece construction is supposed to separate spin characteristics really well, meaning that off-tee backspin and sidespin is very limited, while short game spin is enhanced.
Pros and cons
- Do-it-all ball
- Increased distance to TP5
- Little less spin than TP5
- High compression – best for high swing speeds
Volvik Vivid Review
Highlights
The Volvik Vivid golf balls are quite unique. Not that it performs in any other way the other golf balls, but the fact that it comes in 11 different color options!
Options are: white, black, blue, green, jade, purple, orange, pink, red, sherbert orange and yellow.
That’s quite unique from the korean ball manufacturer. Other than color options the company are very much into long driving competitions, and have a lot of R&D towards distance golf balls. More about the company here.
The Vivid is a 3-piece construction with medium to low compression rates, meaning that it is best for low to mid swing speed players.
It’s manufactured with an oversized core to produce less driver spin, but more iron spin, with a mid to high trajectory and quite a soft feel to it.
Cover is a very durable ionomer compound with a 322 dimple design.
While all the color options are fun and may appeal to you beware. Especially the blue and jade options are known to be very hard to see when it’s launched off the clubface.
Blue ball against a blue sky, yes go figure. It’s also very hard to spot in on the green grass.
Pros and cons
- Lots of color options
- Great durability
- Expensive for a 3-piece ball
- Blue color is very difficult to see
Titleist Velocity Review
Highlights
It’s in an affordable price range and aimed for the amateur golfer looking for some distance and accuracy in their game.
Mark Crossfield has made an interesting comparison of the Pro V1 and Velocity on Youtube. Check it out.
The two balls while very different, performs quite similar with Marks swing characteristics.
The thing to note is the lower spin rates around the greens, and then there is the price point too.
So the Velocity produces nice distance and the LSX core are engineered to reduce side spin with a high trajectory. This is further enhanced with the new NaZ+ cover.
All these factors should end up in longer and straighter drives.
The high trajectory helps stop the ball on the green since it has very little short game spin.
Pros and cons
- Good price
- Straight
- Soft feel
- Low spin
- Low greenside control
Titleist ProV1x Review
Highlights
One of the most well known balls in golf are the Pro V1’s. The new versions are completely redesigned for increased speed off the tee and lower long game spin for optimal distance and accuracy.
The redesign includes new materials and new thinner outer cores and cover. This makes
All the above is achieved without compromising on the known short game control of the Pro V1’s.
The Pro V1x is a 4-piece ball and features a new 2.0 ZG Process core designed for maximum speed off the clubface.
Compared to the Pro V1, the Pro V1x has a higher flight trajectory, it has more spin in the short game, and an overall firmer feel.
Durability of the ball is great, and now they come in a yellow variant too which is reviewed by users as even more durable.
It is also possible to get them with new alignment aids, if you’re not into drawing those on with a sharpie 🙂
Pros and cons
- Great short game control
- Good distance
- Accurate on long shots
- Pricey
- Mostly for high swing speeds
Callaway Chrome Soft Review
Highlights
Another high level ball which is comparable to the Titleist Pro V1’s is the Callaway Chrome Soft. It’s packed with the latest tech from Callaway and is their most advanced ball to date.
One of the biggest pros for this ball is the exceptionally soft feel, while it still delivers on both distance and short game stopping power.
To achieve the above Callaway has engineered a new Graphene Dual Soft Fast Core.
The core of the golf ball have embedded a graphite mesh. The mesh is ultra light and highly flexible while being 200 times stronger than steel!
By adding more strength to the outer core where the mesh is placed, Callaway was able to increase the size of the inner core considerable.
This has lead to less spin off the long shots and a higher launch trajectory.
The outer layers consist of a mantle layer and the cover. Combined they offer great feel and spin on the short approach shots and generally around the green.
Overall this 4-piece ball (with mesh not counted) performs very well and have the reviews on Amazon to back it up.
Pros and cons
- Great distance and accuracy on long shots
- Soft feel
- Good spin rates
- Best for high swing speed players
- Price in the high end
Srixon Q Star Tour Review
Highlights
The Srixon Q Star Tour is a great 3-piece ball. It’s affordable and still includes some cool features like Srixon’s Slide-Ring-Material.
Even though it has “Tour” in its name, it’s not a tour ball. It’s a ball designed for medium swing speed players, but with some tour technologies built into it.
The soft and responsive core gives the ball a nice and soft feel with added greenside spin and control.
It’s designed with an Energetic Gradient Growth core which is soft on the inside, but gets gradually firmer. This construction makes it go long and straight at moderate swing speeds.
The core additionally optimise the feel of the ball resulting in a smooth and seamless energy transfer at impact.
Along with the soft feel, the urethane cover provides great control around the greens.
The cover is manufactured using Srixons clever Slide-Ring-Material which is a particularly pliable yet durable material.
Because of its elasticity it digs deep into the grooves of your irons, providing maximum friction and as a result of that increased spin.
Distance is not as great as it could be, so if choosing this ball your focus should really be on control and the game around the green.
Pros and cons
- Very affordable
- Great spin
- Not the best distance
TaylorMade Project (s) Review
Highlights
Having been in the Taylormade lineup of golf balls for a few years along with its sibling the Project (a), the Project (s) is a well established ball for beginners and intermediate golfers.
The Project (s) is marketed as a very soft distance ball. With this 3-piece ball you’ll get an incredibly soft feel without sacrificing driver distance.
And that is really all there is too it. It delivers on soft feel and decent distance. And it’s core construction helps reduce sidespin on the longer shots.
This is achieved by the dual distance core. It’s made of a very soft and large inner core with low compression. The outer core is a softer and more resilient polymer which adds softness and improves feel. All this while helping to maintain a high velocity on the long shots.
Giving the soft core and therefore the low compression ratings (around 60), the Project (s) is best suited for slow swing speed golfers.
The cover is made of a soft ionomer material, which further improves the soft feel, especially around the greens.
Spin is on the low side with the Project (s)’s so don’t expect a lot there. If you’re looking for spin it’s the Project (a) you should consider.
The dimple pattern is Taylormade’s so called 342LDP which reduces backspin on the long shots. The design is engineered to reduce drag to enhance a piercing ball flight. Furthermore the dimple design gives the ball flight a somewhat high trajectory.
Pros and Cons
- Reasonable price
- Great durability
- Soft feel
- Different colors
- Low spin
- Distance could be better
- Matte colors can be hard to spot
Callaway Superhot Bold Review
Highlights
This ball really stands out – they are available in a lot of bold colors – hence the “Bold” in their name.
Be bold and choose a colored ball. The color has nothing to do with performance, so don’t worry about that.
It’s marketed as a distance ball, but with a soft feel, and decent spin around the green.
The increased distance is achieved with Callaways aerodynamic HEX dimple design and the High Energy Core.
With the 3-piece design the ball has a thin layer between the large core and the cover. Along with the soft ionomer cover it makes the feel of the ball very soft and comfortable.
Actually this ball has a lot of pros, and hardly any cons.
One major consideration though is the color. While the colors are fun, they can be hard to spot in certain conditions.
There are many reviews on Amazon, and you can read some concerns from other golfers there.
Some other concerns from fellow golfers is the quality, which can be less than optimal. It is a little disappointing given that the brand Callaway is usually associated with great quality.
Pros and Cons
- Distance and soft feel
- Decent spin
- Cheap for a 3-piece ball
- Can pick up more dirt because of the matte surface
- Some of the colors can be hard to spot outside the fairway
- Some minor issues with quality
Titleist AVX Review
Highlights
One of the truly great choices for the intermediate golfer, the Titleist AVX is a fairly new addition to the lineup. It’s engineered specifically for a low and penetrating flight path.
Thus it’s suited for the player who seeks maximum distance and control on the long shots.
Spin is on the low side which leads to increased accuracy overall. Especially in windy conditions, this ball excels.
The downside of the construction is less spin around the greens. If you’re going for a lot of spin on the short shots, you should consider the Pro V1 instead.
On the other hand, if you’re able to adapt, you will greatly benefit from the added distance.
It is possible to produce enough spin to stop the ball fairly quickly, but it’s hard to produce spin enough for a roll back.
The ball is constructed with a urethane cover and 3-piece design. The very soft core makes the feel of the ball really soft. This is a quality mentioned in many reviews of the ball.
Overall a great ball for the intermediate golfer, looking for some added distance and accuracy.
Pros and Cons
- Low ball flight
- High accuracy – even in windy conditions
- More distance
- Low spin
- Pricey for a mid tier ball
Bridgestone Tour BX Review
The Tour BX isn’t our first choice, but brings some good features to the table.
The main reason is the durability. The cover scuffs very easily, and that has an impact on overall playability.
Most golfers like to play a ball with a clean surface.
The easy scuffing is a result of a very soft cover. The softness is intentional from Bridgestone, albeit the durability issue clearly isn’t.
This intentional softness of the SlipRes cover provides a very soft feel, and with that increased friction and spin.
Furthermore the ball is engineered with a Gradational Compression Core which should decrease spin off the driver and long shots, to increase accuracy and distance.
If you need an accurate ball with medium spin around the greens, the Bridgestone Tour BX might be worth a try.
Pros and cons
- High accuracy
- Medium spin
- Feels hard off the driver
- Less distance than to be expected
Srixon Z-Star Review
Highlights
The Z-Star is very soft and has a lot of spin to it – it’s comparable to the Titleist Pro V1 if you are familiar with that one (probably the most famous ball in golf).
It’s got several patented technologies put into it.
First the FastLayer core. It’s a core that gets gradually firmer from the inside to the outside.
Srixon claims that this is optimal for high swing speed players and boosts ball speed off the clubface for added distance.
Next the SeRM (Slide Ring Material), which is a molecular engineered cover layer. The molecules stretch and become very flexible on impact, allowing the ball to dig deep into the grooves of the club.
All this are very well backed up by the customer reviews on Amazon.
If you’re not a high swing speed player, this is not the ball for you. Sadly, this rules out a lot of golfers, even at an intermediate level.
If you have low or medium swing speed you might struggle with compressing the ball enough, and you won’t be able to take advantage of the FastLayer core. This means significantly less distance.
Pros and cons
- Great spin
- Soft feel
- Decent price
- Mostly for high swing speed players
- Clingy sound on impact
Choosing Golf Balls
At a glance, choosing golf balls isn’t that complicated. But when you look into it, there’s a lot of factors to take into account.
In this section we’ve highlighted the most important features to look for in a new golf ball.
Something that few amateur golfers take into account is the compression of the ball compared to your actual swing speed. This is quite an important thing.
More on that in the following section.
Compression
Golf ball compression is a measure of how hard the ball is. Manufacturers use this to indicate if their balls are soft, medium or hard. These three rough categories are good guidelines for the weekend golfer looking to get a ball well suite for your swing.
And they should only be used as guidelines. The best thing is to test out the ball and see what works for you!
If you’re more serious into getting the correct ball, golf ball compression are also measured in numbers. This is something that is getting phased out though.
The reason is the modern day materials and the characteristics manufacturers are able to achieve.
With the new synthetic material of golf ball cores, it’s possible to produce soft feeling golf balls, with higher compression ratings. This will benefit players who hit harder, but want a softer feel.
Usually compression ratings goes from 60-110 with low numbers being softer balls and high numbers being harder balls.
To illustrate this segmentation of golf ball compression we’ve made this golf ball compression chart.
Be advised that this is how Golfers Hacks looks at the ratings, but rest assured they are similar to others.
| Low Compression | Medium Compression | High Compression | ||||
| 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 |
Use this chart if you’re able to find compression numbers on the golf balls you’re interested in. If numbers are not available use it to see what numbers correlate with either low, medium or high compression rates.
Feel
The feel of the golf ball is usually a big concern for most golfers. It’s also a kind of fluffy characteristic, because how do you measure it?
Feel is subjective, but it’s possible to access if a ball is soft or firm – refer to the compression section above.
It’s not only the core that influences feel, the overall construction of the ball does too. Further down in this post we’ll cover 1 to 5-piece constructions.
Constructing the golf ball of more than just a core piece, makes it possible for manufacturers to add additional features to the golf ball, whether it’s to enhance feel, spin or distance.
Distance
Every golfer is concerned about distance in our game. Sometimes it feels like distance is more important to us than accuracy. Maybe it’s because it’s measurable?
Anyway the choice of golf ball can have a pretty significant impact on how far we can hit it.
Surely you’re come across balls marketed as “improved distance balls”, or “improved spin balls”.
The distance balls are usually harder than spin balls. But you’re not necessarily going to hit further with a harder ball.
As described in the Compression section, low compression golf balls are well suited for slower swing speed golfers.
An example:
A slow swing speed golfer hits a high compression golf ball. The core is so hard, that the slow swinging golfer is not able to compress the ball enough to make the trampoline effect that launches the ball off the clubface.
The golfer changes to a low compression ball. Now it’s possible to compress the ball the way it’s supposed to and take advantage of its characteristics. Win!
Another thing that has an impact on distance is dimple design. This has something to do with the aerodynamics of the ball and how it slices through the wind! But more on that in a later section.
Spin
Spin, who doesn’t want their ball to spin and stop instantly on approach shots to the green?
But there’s another side to spin, the evil sidespin that twists our drives out of direction and into the trees!
Most distance balls claim that their optimized to reduce sidespin and the manufacturers have their different technologies to back it more or less convincingly.
But what about this sought for backspin? Yes, all manufacturers have their golden solution to that too.
It can be hard to navigate through, and the best way like much else, is to test it yourself.
If that’s not a possibility, YouTube has a LOT of reviews, especially Rick Shiels is highly recommended from us at Golfers Hacks.
Another good way to check spin rates is to search on Google for “ball name spin rate”.
It’s usually possible to find someone who’s tested it, if it’s a well known brand/ball.
Here’s an example with the Pro V1’s vs Pro V1x’s.
Price
Golf balls come in all price ranges like anything else. They usually start around $15-20 for a dozen of decent balls and come all the way up to $40 or more.
There are many considerations when choosing a golf ball, and oftentimes price is one of the weighing factors. Many golfers have the following thoughts:
“I lose too many balls, so I don’t want to invest in new ones.”
“How much can they really impact my game? They’re all round and white!”
Sound familiar? 🙂
It can be hard for some to find the money for new balls, especially when many of them potentially get lost in the woods!
Even though golf is an expensive sport, the price of golf balls will be a fraction of the overall cost.
We recommend that you try and see it as an expense like what you pay the club you’re a member of. Or as a minimum try and buy a new dozen balls and see how long they last.
Just putting with a completely new ball is a joy.
If the budget is the issue, try considering what your most sought for trait in a golf ball is. But limit it to one trait. If it’s distance, you will have to compromise on spin. If it’s spin, come to peace with the lesser distance.
Quality
The quality of golf balls vary, and you will typically only see this when buying a new dozen and trying them out for a period of time.
Some balls bruise easily and can’t stand a trip to the bunker.
Others look new after two rounds!
You can’t just say that more expensive balls are more durable, so be sure to read some reviews on the ball you land your eyes on.
What Is a Golf Ball Made Of?
Cover Material and Surface
Quite a lot of technology goes into golf balls these days. As much as the inside as on the outside.
Different cover materials like urethane and ionomer compounds are used because of how the material behaves when hit with a club.
Then theres is the dimple design and it is varied to enhance the aerodynamic capabilities of the ball.
You might have asked yourself: “Why are there dimples in golf balls, why aren’t they just completely smooth?”
More on that in a later section 🙂
Urethane
So, one type of golf ball cover is urethane. But what is urethane?
It’s actually what’s called an elastomer in nerdy chemist language, but to translate that into normal human speak it’s a kind of synthetic rubber.
Urethane is quite unique as it’s got the ability to combine the strength and rigidity of plastic with the flexibility and elasticity of rubber.
It’s a great material for moulding into a golf ball cover, since it is possible to precisely control it’s hardness and flexibility when heat is applied in the production process.
You might ask yourself how this applies to golf balls then.
Well, urethane covered golf balls are usually pretty soft and have great spin rates.
Given the advancements in technology modern urethane covers are also durable, compared to the earlier days of golf. Back then urethane covers were known to be less durable, but still with greater spin rates.
These are the main traits of urethane covers, and they’re usually found on golf balls going for the extra spin and shapeability.
Ionomer / Surlyn
Another common golf ball cover material is ionomer. It’s hard to go into details without taking on the thick glasses of a chemical engineer 🙂 But basically it’s a type of polymer material with ionized parts to it.
Surlyn is actually a brand of ionomer, so not much difference there – keep that in mind.
While urethane toughness was easily controlled during the manufacturing process, ionomer toughness isn’t.
If an ionomer ball is engineered for a softer feel it will lose a lot of its durability. That’s why most ionomer covers are used on distance balls, where the rigidity in the material can be maintained and therefore also the durability.
With this sturdier shell, ionomer golf balls tend to spin less on the long shots compared to urethane golf balls.
The forte of ionomer balls lies in the reduced sidespin and increased distance as a result of the toughness of the material.
Dimples
Now the golf ball dimple design is an interesting, yet fluffy topic. Because how do you measure the effect of the dimples as a normal consumer? You can’t.
It’s possible to detect whether the cover is soft or firm, and you can measure the distance of your shots.
But what impact does the dimple design have?
Well first and foremost we should establish why golf balls even have dimples.
It can look odd to some people that a ball has dimples all over when we want it to pierce through the air with minimal drag.
As you might have figured there is a perfectly good explanation behind the dimples.
A lot of physics goes into the launch of a golf ball from the clubface. Velocity, launch angle and spin rates to name a few.
When the golf ball is well on it’s way – as when it’s just left the clubface – the aerodynamics come into play.
The ball is exposed to aerodynamic phenomenons called drag, lift and wake.
When the ball is on it’s way, the air around it apply a force to it. Drag is a force directly opposite of the travel direction – so that’s actually pulling the ball back to its starting point.
Lift is a little harder to explain, but it’s the same thing that happens when an airplane blade soars through the air. An air pressure is present at the top and bottom of the ball, and while the ball travels upwards, the pressure underneath it is greater than the one above it.
Both dimples and spin have an effect on lift, and a ball without dimples would only travel about half the distance.
Wake is especially affected by the dimples. When the ball flies through the air, the air will move from the front of the ball, along the sides and create turbulence on the back. This turbulence will disturb the airflow, creating a slowing effect.
The dimples on the golf ball will be filled with air and “complete” the ball making it totally round. The surrounding air that flows by will not have much direct touch to the actual ball, but more so on the air pockets around the ball.
Air against air makes for a lot less friction, which in turn means that the air flowing around the ball, will be able to get further around it, creating less wake.
Less wake means less braking, resulting in more distance.
This topic is quite extensive, but as you see a lot of science goes into making the golf ball fly well.
Check out this nice explanatory video of golf ball aerodynamics if you want to know more.
Numbers
The numbers on golf balls are solely for identification purposes. When you’re out playing with your buddies and you all pull out a brand new sleeve of Pro V1’s, make sure that you play different numbers.
Some areas on golf courses have a tendency to suck golf ball into them, be it thick bushes, clusters of trees and that sorts.
When you are outside the fairway it is good to have a way to identify your ball.
Well it’s even nice when you’re right in the middle of the fairway next to your fellow golfers ball.
Some people use sharpies to mark their balls and make them further unique.
The essence of it all is that you’re able to identify your ball at all times.
Golf Ball Core
We’ve been a little around the core and compression in an earlier section.
The core contributes to a lot of features in the golf ball.
Varying compression ratings of the core is targeting different swing speeds. Low, medium and high.
The material of which it is made has a big impact on how the ball feels and how it spins. Let alone how far it flies.
Most golf balls have rubber cores, but we’ve seen liquid and metal cores too. Some manufacturer’s make their cores two-piece.
Nowadays there goes a lot of R&D into golf balls, and we haven’t seen the last of it yet.
1-piece Golf Balls
Noone plays with one-piece golf balls on the course, you’ll most likely only encounter them on the driving range.
They consist of the same material inside and out. Because of this, no real attributes can be added to the ball, so they’re really worth nothing if you’re concerned about performance.
2-piece Golf Balls
Now something starts to happen. With two-piece golf balls the cover material is separate from the core material.
Two-piece balls are usually able to yield great distance, because of their firmness. But be aware, that the distance is harder to keep in a straight line.
Increased sidespin is a side effect, since there are no middle layers to cancel this effect out.
They are usually quite affordable, since there’s not much going on.
3-piece Golf Balls
With three-piece golf balls the value comes. Here manufacturers add a mantle layer between the core and the cover, and this layer can have beneficial traits.
It can help increase spin and greenside control. Or it can reduce side spin from longer shots.
Three-piece balls are usually preferred by low to mid handicap golfers, since they offer great value for the money.
4-piece Golf Balls
We’re moving our way up into more advanced golf balls.
In this category we find some of the best balls in golf.
Usually the core design is two-piece like TaylorMades DualCore, or Callaways Dual Sof X core where the firm distance inner core is paired with an outer side spin reducing core.
All the way out comes to cover layer which can have different traits on a 4-piece ball because there is a mantle layer just on the other side.
The mantle layer can add different characteristics, which the cover layer would have to provide in a 3-piece ball.
5-piece Golf Balls
There aren’t many five-piece golf balls. Taylormade was first in this segment of golf balls, with the Penta. Now they have the TP5-lineup with five components to it.
To take an example the TP5 features three inner cores of different firmnesses to enhance distance and minimize spin off the tee. The two outer layers are there for feel and spin.
Putting this many layers into a ball requires a lot of R&D and it’s not many manufacturers that are comparable with Taylormade on this advancement in golf ball composition.
Used Golf Balls Vs New Golf Balls
Maybe you’ve wondered if you should just buy used golf balls to get your hands on som premium balls for less money.
Well, of course everything is better new. This applies to golf balls too.
You can never know if a lake ball have been exposed to extreme heat or some other abuse that cannot be seen.
It’s also not very easy to pinpoint the exact age of the balls. So you might never find out if you’ve got the latest model or a few generations back.
Usually lake balls are graded, so unless you buy the best grade, you’ll most likely get balls with small scuffs and nicks.
Depending on your game performance level, you’ll probably not notice small scuffs and it can be great to save some money on golf balls, especially if you’re prone to out-of-bounds ‘em 😉
But if your budget allows it, we always recommend buying new balls. You’ll know which model you get. It will be a perfectly mint condition. A dozen golf balls will last a while if your game is pretty consistent (or you’re a good ball retriever).
Golf Ball Rules
The dimensions of a golf ball is regulated by the R&A and USGA. This ensures that no one gets any advantages or disadvantages.
Most golf balls you can buy are R&A and USGA approved, but if you’re trying out a new brand you haven’t heard much about, be sure to check the approval.
Shape And Size
All golf balls has to be round and the diameter must be at least 1.68 inches (42.67mm) or more. This means that golf balls can be as large as the manufacturer wants. But most golf balls are exactly 1.68 inches because it needs to get into the 4.25 inch hole as easily as possible.
After all we all strive after getting the ball into the hole 🙂
The golf balls must be spherical and symmetrical. This means that the dimple pattern also has to be symmetrical.
Additionally there are rules on dimple depth, maximum launch speed on test stands, etc. Read more here.
All in all it comes down to the fact that the authorities in golf want an even playing fields, where there should be no unfair advantages to some players.
Weight
According to the golf rules a golf ball must weigh 1.62 ounces (45.93g) or less. This also means that balls are not required to weigh exactly this.
Most balls are close to the maximum weight though, because it would have a big impact on performance with significant less weight.
Colors
Golf balls come in a variety of colors these days. A few years back the yellow and orange balls wasn’t really associated with quality golf balls.
Now the top ball manufacturer’s make their premium balls in yellow, orange, red and pink to satisfy most golfers needs.
There has also arisen a trend that colored golf balls can be found in a matte finish.
Whether this has any applicable value will be up to the individual to decide. Some reports that these matte balls are hard to find outside the fairway, because there is no sun reflection in the surface of the ball.
What Golf Balls Should I Use?
This is the big question – and probably why you’re here.
As you might have figured by reading all of the above, there are loads of factors to take into consideration when choosing a balls.
First and foremost, do you want distance or spin?
Then try and consider if you want a soft or firm feel.
Another important consideration is price. Can you live with expensive balls, or do you want cheap ones?
Take into consideration compression rate too. Find out if you need low or high compression based on your swing speed.
There are also something like ball flight to have an opinion about. Do you want a low or high trajectory on your shots?
Generally try and think of your weaknesses in your game and wonder if a golf ball could help you correct some of these flaws. You’ll be surprised what it’ll do to your game to dial in on the best golf ball for your game.
Summing It All Up
Reading all our reviews and taking into account all the factors in the above section, you should now be able to choose the best golf ball for your game.
It’s clear that there are many options out there and it matters what you choose.
If you just play the balls you find in the rough and the trees, you will get mixed results.
When looking for stability in your game it really is key to choose the correct ball.
With that said, our best golf ball choice falls on the Taylormade Project (a).
It has a great all-round purpose and even though its compression rates might not appeal to all golfers, it still performs well on spin and control.
If you’re not convinced or feel that there is another ball fit for you, go ahead and experiment with that.
The only way you’ll find the right ball is by trying something out.
If you haven’t chosen a ball yet, maybe you can find some inspiration in the FAQ below.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Best Brand Of Golf Balls?
None are best, none are worst. It all comes down to personal preference. If you’d have to choose the best brand, it would probably be one of the major ones in the sport.
- Titleist
- TaylorMade
- Callaway
- Mizuno
- Srixon
What Are The Best Golf Balls For High Handicappers?
The best golf ball for amateurs and beginners is a relatively cheap ball that helps you with your biggest problem in your game. So are you struggling with distance, get a distance ball. And are you struggling with control around the green, get a spin ball.
We’ve put together an article showcasing the best golf balls for beginners. Check it out, there should be plenty of interesting choices.
What Is The Best Golf Ball For An Average Player?
See if you’re an avid golfer and past the beginner stage, you’re probably starting to ask more of yourself and your equipment.
Maybe you’re starting to spend a little more on gear, to improve small aspects of your game.
There are plenty of 3- and 4-piece balls out there targeted for the low to mid handicap player. Most of these balls get good things from both worlds. Decent spin and decent distance, but with a focus on one or the other.
Other traits come in, like soft feel and reduced side spin on long shots.
