Do golf balls go bad?

[Wedgie]

I have been testing balls lately and the other day I was trying the Q Star Tour, e6 soft and speed which were all purchased in the last 30 days. Before heading out I found a sleeve of the Chrome Soft from the first year they came out. I threw them in the bag and hit the course.

 

Since cutting down my driver shaft I am consistently within 10 yards in distance no matter what ball I play and that was the case for the first 3 balls all day long. When I used the chrome soft for 3 hole it was around 30 yards shorter off the tee but irons seemed about the same.

 

I've played the chrome soft before, I guess 2 or 3 years ago when I originally bought them, and thought they were just as long as anything out there for me.

 

Can sitting in a garage for 3 years with temperatures from 30-90 degrees make a ball go bad?

 

Thanks!

 

Wedgie

 

 

 

 

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[downlowkey]

I believe ambient humidity is typically the culprit.

 

 

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[mrsmith123]

Hey man, I keep stashes of Titleist Professional and Callaway Rule 35 balls. Both still fly perfectly fine and the upside is they spin a lot better then the new balls.

 

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[downlowkey]

Hey man, I keep stashes of Titleist Professional and Callaway Rule 35 balls. Both still fly perfectly fine and the upside is they spin a lot better then the new balls.

Does your stash endure many 70 degree temperature swings?

[Sparksjr]

I don't know the answer but I'm interested to hear the replies

 

 

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[mrsmith123]

Does your stash endure many 70 degree temperature swings?

Good question. They actually haven't because they stay stashed in my closet or under my bed. From what I've heard though, the temperature while being stored doesn't really matter. It is the temperature from 48 hours prior up until game time. This would have the impact on compression and how well it rebounds off the club face.

 

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[Mhoncho]

For Solid core balls (everything from the past 13+ years) they should last a minimum of 5 years before any deterioration occurs. Even then it's a very slow process that will show around 1-3 yard loss per material breakdown. However** high humidity and high temperatures can greatly increase the speed at which a golf ball deteriorates. Storing balls in a space that routinely gets above 90 can absolutely speed up that process and show less performance then a ball stored at room temperature. Even then we're talking small losses and very rarely a massive drop in performance. If you are really concerned, storing your golf balls in the house is the best way to go.

 

Also compression has nothing to do with weather effects on a solid core ball. So playing a "softer" ball in the winter will not do anything but make you feel better mentally. The temperature of the ball, not it's compression will effect it's performance in the winter.

 

I worked in the golf industry (for a few big companies) and we had tests done on this stuff all the time. 

[Kanoito]

For Solid core balls (everything from the past 13+ years) they should last a minimum of 5 years before any deterioration occurs. Even then it's a very slow process that will show around 1-3 yard loss per material breakdown. However** high humidity and high temperatures can greatly increase the speed at which a golf ball deteriorates. Storing balls in a space that routinely gets above 90 can absolutely speed up that process and show less performance then a ball stored at room temperature. Even then we're talking small losses and very rarely a massive drop in performance. If you are really concerned, storing your golf balls in the house is the best way to go.

 

Also compression has nothing to do with weather effects on a solid core ball. So playing a "softer" ball in the winter will not do anything but make you feel better mentally. The temperature of the ball, not it's compression will effect it's performance in the winter.

 

I worked in the golf industry (for a few big companies) and we had tests done on this stuff all the time. 

 

I always thought it was the opposite: water and colder temperatures were harmful to the materials. You learn something new every day! But I keep them all stashed under my TV, so I don't worry about it

And the lakeballs I buy are kept cool in the water for those hot summer days

[Kenny B]

I have found that even new balls can go bad during a round.  

[poprocksncoke]

If they get involved with the wrong crowd you never know what might happen......

 

[revkev]

I have found that even new balls can go bad during a round.

This happens to me on occasion also.

 

 

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[Pgajones]

Don't buy lake balls if there in there more than 48 hours they are no good

 

 

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[GolfReviews]

Generally speaking, unless you're keeping your golf balls in extreme heat or constantly hitting waterlogged lake balls. For the most part you should be good if they've been sitting in your bag. An easy way to check if a golf ball is bad is to juggling the golf ball with a wedge (like Tiger does).

Edited May 23, 2020 by GolfReviews
misspelling

[Wedgie]

I played a round with Dean Snell in March and asked him if balls go bad.  He said they are designed to last around 120 driver swings.  I left it at that and didn't want to be the guy that asked a million questions.  

[DaveP043]

13 minutes ago, Wedgie said:

I played a round with Dean Snell in March and asked him if balls go bad.  He said they are designed to last around 120 driver swings.  I left it at that and didn't want to be the guy that asked a million questions.  

I've never had one last for 120 driver swings.  That's not the fault of the golf ball, its a problem with my driver swing.  Maybe the balls are still good, wherever they are.

[Wedgie]

Just now, DaveP043 said:

I've never had one last for 120 driver swings.  That's not the fault of the golf ball, its a problem with my driver swing.  Maybe the balls are still good, wherever they are.

I started a thread somewhere on here about a Srixon Z Star I had for 108 holes which is 6 rounds.  The ball held up well but that 6th round there was noticeable distance loss.  By my calculations that is about 84 driver swings at only about 95 MPH.