Has anyone heard of golf balls getting "stale"?

[david_dicks]

I play with a guy who believes golf balls get “stale”. He doesn’t use any golf ball that’s more than 3 or 4 months old. He feels they are “less lively”.

I told him he’s nuts and that the supply chain probably has more whip in it than 4 months anyway. On the up-side I don’t mine taking a few unopened sleeves of balls off his hands after they’ve past their freshness date.

Has anyone ever heard of golf balls getting “stale”?
Is there any truth to the idea that a newer golf ball is livelier?

[Omen2]

yes... pros receive their game balls vacuum sealed. just like tennis balls. would any of us not on tour notice the difference??? probably not. Unless you are shooting high 60's to low 70's consistently you probably wont notice the difference

with that said buying golf balls off of ebay where they could be several months old will be shorter than some new ones. again though when you go to your local proshop or order from golfsmith the older ones get sold first.. they do rotate their stock just like a grocery store.


whats the difference between a fresh vs. stale... a little more spin and a couple yards more distance... something most of wont even notice.

so agree with your friend and continue to pick up premo balls that are too "stale" for him.

[bjdrivers]

FAQ from Frank Thomas:

I bought some golf balls in bulk recently and I am not going to be able to use them all this year. Is there a point when golf balls age, even if they are new in the box, and they will lose their compression or other critical playing characteristics?

With today's ball design, the balls will not deteriorate at all for many (approximately 10 or more) years so you don't have to worry. I personally tested (on the USGA testing devices) balls which I had in my garage, in NJ, for more than ten years and found that even these wound balls (not as stable as the new multi-layered balls) only lost 1% of their resilience which I, as 5 handicap, was unable to detect on the course.





I've been playing for two years and have a 15 handicap. Here's my question: What is the lifespan of a typical golf ball (wound and solid)? I use a solid core ball and may lose one ball every other round. So a dozen balls will last me for 15 or 20 rounds. A friend that I play with buys a new sleeve of balls every time we play. We both shoot the same scores and drive about the same distance. Is there an advantage to switching balls more often or is it a ploy to make us buy more balls than we need? Someone told me that a ball should be used for six holes and that's the reason they are sold in sleeves of three (one sleeve would cover 18 holes). -- Anon

The guts of a golf ball last a lot longer than its cover. The wear and tear on the cover -- especially if you hit a few skulls, cartpaths or bunkers -- will have you tossing the ball into your shag bag long before the insides of the ball start to deteriorate. A ball stored in a dry place for four or five years will have no measurable loss of performance (and a solid ball will age even better than a wound ball). A lake, however, is not a dry place -- if a ball has been sitting in a pond for more than a couple of days, there's a good chance that the increased moisture content in the cover could be detrimental. So don't wade into ponds looking for balls (and if you do, look out for crocs). For most of us, golf balls last until we lose them, which, sadly, isn't very long.

Given that new balls out of the box are more or less equal, my question is: what is the life of an old ball and what is the rate of deterioration? If you play a few rounds with the same ball, does it lose anything (assuming it's not cut or beat up)? If you find a ball in the woods, should you be concerned about it being "dead" (if there is any such thing) or otherwise being subpar? A second thought on balls deals with ball flight in windy conditions. If often seems to me that balls are most affected by a head wind, moderately affected by a side wind, and least affected by a tail wind. Can this be true based on the physics involved? -- John Fitzgerald, Wellesley, Mass.

You don't want to know much, do you? Balls don't deteriorate too much any more. I would use a ball you find in the woods for your shag bag -- assuming it wasn't recently hit by someone who is still looking for it (it's not a lost ball if you have found it). On the other hand, if you are not too fussy and the ball has a brand name that you recognize, then using it should not affect your performance. A ball is affected more by a head wind than a tail wind because a head wind offers greater resistance and also increases spin.

[Horseballs]

Good article, Kruk. This topic has been covered before. Frank Thomas (not the huge baseball player) is only concerned with ditching long irons and selling his POS Frankly Frog putter. Anything else is just foreplay and should be taken with a mound of salt.

Stale golf balls. That guy must be the ultimate golf snob. I bet he doesn't reuse tees either.

[bjdrivers]

The moral of the story? the balls dangling between Omen's legs will go stale long before his ProV's ever will.

[cbadics]

wait a sec...Frank Thomas is the genius behind the frankly frog putter?

[bjdrivers]

wait a sec...Frank Thomas is the genius behind the frankly frog putter?

ding ding ding! what do we have for him Johnny!!!!

[cbadics]

ding ding ding! what do we have for him Johnny!!!!

hopefully a green frankly frog belly putter.

[Horseballs]

hopefully a green frankly frog belly putter.

You can't afford anymore gayness in your bag.

[twotime]

you do know that you are not supposed to eat them I hope

[cbadics]

maybe if i replaced my nike driver with something hardcore like a KZG i'd have enough gayness room to add that frankly frog i've been eyeing.

i also like the way that gulbis spreads her legs when she puts with that Hammy so i've been sort of weighing those two options

[Horseballs]

maybe if i replaced my nike driver with something hardcore like a KZG i'd have enough gayness room to add that frankly frog i've been eyeing.

i also like the way that gulbis spreads her legs when she puts with that Hammy so i've been sort of weighing those two options

There's a performance test you have to pass before KZG allows you to play their clubs. I'd start practicing if I were you. But seriously, putting a Frog and KZG in the same bag would probably cause an explosion.

[cbadics]

There's a performance test you have to pass before KZG allows you to play their clubs. I'd start practicing if I were you. But seriously, putting a Frog and KZG in the same bag would probably cause an explosion.

hammy it is. only problem is that i use a modified claw grip with right hand high...

[Omen2]

damn i like this thread.... thats some might good ribbing going on!!!

Moral of the story..... cbadics got the official horseballs welcome, bjdrivers drooled over Omen some more and we learned that only retards think golf balls go stale, with the exception of bj....