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Can Golf Balls Go Bad?

rusty golf ball
rusty golf ball

Golf balls are one of the most important pieces of equipment in golf. In fact, a golf balls is the one single thing that directly goes into the golf hole, makes contact with the ground meaningfully, and travels high up in the air.

Since golf balls are so important to your performance and your score, the question poses itself can golf balls go bad? If golf balls can go bad, you would obviously want to know when, and how to avoid bad golf balls.

Can Golf Balls Go Bad?

Yes, golf balls can go bad if they are kept too long in extreme temperatures, if they scratch or crack upon impact, or if they become waterlogged. These three elements will negatively impact golf ball performance, including carry distance, spin and the weight distribution of the ball.

What Can Make Golf Balls Go Bad?

Below are explanations of the main factors that make golf balls go bad.

Extreme Temperatures

Golf balls are designed to compress every time they are hit by a golf club, and to elastically decompress quickly after, which increases their carry distance dramatically.

A golf ball deformed by extreme temperatures (either too cold or too warm) will no longer be able to compress in the intended way, since it will have lost its original shape permanently.

Scratches & Cracks

Whenever you hit a golf ball with your club, or the ball hits an object, such as a wall, a rock, a tree, or something else, the ball risks some damage.

Every time you hit a hard object with your golf ball, the impact can cause dents, scratches, cracks or fissures in your golf ball. Even if your golf ball seems fine after inspection, it can have some micro-fissures that can impact golf ball performance.

The more scratches, cracks & fissures a golf ball has, the more there is a negative effect on carry distance and spin. Imperfections on a golf ball change how it reacts to being hit, to wind, and to the ground, making the ball more unpredictable and less responsive.

Waterlogging

Another potential issue that drags golf ball performance down is waterlogging. Waterlogging occurs when water enters golf balls through small cracks & fissures on its surface.

Waterlogging makes golf balls heavier, and ruins their ability to compress and travel a far carry distance. If you would like to know more about waterlogged golf balls, read our article : Can Golf Balls Be Waterlogged?.

To know if your golf balls are waterlogged, you can try the saltwater bucket test:

Step 1: Fill a bucket with water and salt. You will have a mixture of saltwater.
Step 2: Dump your golf balls into the saltwater.
Step 3: Observe the behavior of the golf balls.

If the golf balls sink, they are waterlogged. We can tell this because the density of the water inside the golf ball, along with the densities of the metal and other materials of the golf ball, are denser than saltwater. The densest items sink in less dense liquids.

If the golf balls float, then you know that they are not yet waterlogged. The stock golf balls are less dense than saltwater, so they float. All golf balls would sink in normal water, but saltwater has salt in it that makes it denser than non-waterlogged golf balls.
Step 4: Remove and dry the golf balls, organizing them by whether they are waterlogged or not.

3 Tips To Avoid Damaging your Golf Balls

1. Store your balls in temperature-controlled environments

Keep your balls in an environment with an ambient temperature.

Your golf balls can last a very long time, years and years, provided that you store them indoors, in a temperature-controlled area, away from extremely hot or cold temperatures.

2. Avoid hitting your balls against hard surfaces

As discussed earlier in the article, hitting your golf balls against hard surfaces, such as rocks, is basically asking for cracks, scratches, and fissures in your golf balls.

To avoid damaging your golf balls, aim away from hard surfaces and practice your accuracy in training.

Another great tip is to aim with an adjusted aim. This means that you aim as you normally would, then adjust your aim to account for your tendencies to miss (towards the left or towards the right).

By adjusting your aim against the left-right direction you tend to miss, you reduce your chances of hitting obstacles you should not.

Finally, if you are practicing your golf shots against something like a wall, you should think of investing in a net. A net will catch and dampen the impact of your practice shots, on top of being safer.

A great net to buy is the Hit Run Steal Golf Hitting Net.

The Hit Run Steal Golf Hitting Net features a huge 10×7 feet surface to hit, and is perfect to catch golf balls from any golfer.

3. Clean your golf balls after every shot

Dirty, mud, and other debris attached to your golf ball will negatively impact golf ball performance. All this attached gunk will change the angle at which your golf club hits the ball, giving you unpredictable performance.

Furthermore, when you have dirt and mud attached to your ball, it ruins the weight distribution of the ball, on top of making it heavier. These elements will result in inferior carry distance and a more turbulent, unpredictable ball path.

Therefore, you should wipe your golf ball with a rag before taking every shot. The importance of this habit cannot be understated, especially in wet and rainy weather.

Will a Wet Golf Club Head Damage my Golf Balls?

Contrary to popular belief, having a wet golf club face will not damage your balls more quickly. It will, however, noticeably reduce the spin you can give the ball.

A wet club face means there will be less friction with the golf ball. To maximize the damage to a golf ball, the club face would need to have as little friction as possible so as to “rip” material and paint off the golf ball.

Destructively removing material from the golf ball is harder with a wet club that has less friction with the ball.

When Should You Replace Your Golf Balls?

One of the ways to know when to replace your golf balls is to use the Pinky Rule:

Pinky Rule: If the total amount of paint scratched off of your golf ball through normal usage is more than the surface of the last section of your pinky, you need to change balls.

Furthermore, if you used the same ball for 10 rounds of 18-hole golf (180 holes), it is time to change golf balls. Golf balls will start to experience a drop off in performance after about 7 or 8 rounds of golf.

You should also remember that practice shots count against a golf ball’s durability as well. If you commonly shoot golf balls at a personal driving range, remember that every hit brings your balls closer to their end. Do not expect great performance from balls you have used a lot.

Finally, you can perform the bounce test to know if your golf balls are still good. To perform this test, simply drop a brand new golf ball next to a used ball. Compare the bounces; they should be of similar height. If the bounces are very far off, it is time to replace the used golf ball.

Conclusion

There you go! After reading this article, you have learned whether golf balls can go bad, what makes golf balls go bad, 3 tips for avoiding golf ball damage, and when you should replace your golf balls.

Take this knowledge to heart to avoid bad equipment getting in the way of you lowering your handicap and winning golf tournaments! Good luck!

How many golf balls do you purchase every year? How long do you reuse your golf balls? Let us know in the comments down below!

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Which Golf Ball Goes The Farthest?

golfer shoots a golf ball the farthest possible
golfer shoots a golf ball the farthest possible

In the sport of golf, even a couple extra yards of carry distance on every shot could lower your score on a hole by one stroke.

Knowing this, it only makes sense to want to maximize all your equipment to get the best performance out of it. The more advanced you get at playing golf, the more you will want to get the best equipment that everyone else on your level is using anyways.

One of the most important pieces of golf equipment is arguably your golf ball, the last interface between you and the bottom of the golf hole. Therefore, in this article, we will take a look at which golf ball goes the farthest when hit by the same club.

Which Golf Ball Goes The Farthest?

The farthest travelling golf ball on the market is currently the Titleist Pro V1x. This golf ball is widely used by many professional golf players on the PGA Tour, in both practice and tournament play.

In fact, over two thirds of the PGA Tour professionals use a Titleist Pro V1 style golf ball.

If you would like a very quick look at the Titleist Pro V1x‘s features, you can watch our video below:

Why Does The Titleist Pro V1x Golf Ball Go The Farthest?

Why is the Titleist Pro V1x so performant? The first reason is that it features 2-piece golf ball construction, as opposed to the lower-tiered single piece golf ball construction.

The 2-piece golf ball construction allows the golf ball to compress more than a single piece golf ball, thus storing elastic energy. As the golf ball decompresses, it releases all that stored elastic energy, allowing for significantly further carry distance.

Thanks to the fast casing layer, this 2-piece golf ball overall allows for faster ball speeds with lower long game spin. This fast casing layer is made from a highly-resilient, high-speed ionomer (a special type of material).

The Titleist Pro V1x has been created with new, softer formulations in both the solid core, and the dual core, thus improving ball performance for everyone who touches it. This soft cover is actually soft cast urethane elastomer, and it has a very soft feel, notably for your short game.

The new dimple design on this golf ball, a spherically-tiled 348 tetrahedral design, maximizes carry distance and consistency by optimizing the trajectory.

spherically-tiled 348 tetrahedral dimple pattern titleist pro v1x

This golf ball is designed to travel a long distance with consistent flight, thanks to the 2.0 ZG Process dual core.

The Titleist Pro V1x has gone through very extensive testing in order to get reliable performance out of each individual golf ball.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you now know that the Titleist Pro V1x is currently the furthest travelling golf ball on the market in terms of travel distance. This golf ball is used by the majority of professional golfers on the PGA Tour. If it is a good ball for the very best players on the planet, it is also a great ball for you.

Which golf ball were you using during your longest drive? How far is your longest drive? Let us know in the comments down below!

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How Far Should You Stand from the Golf Ball? (+3 Mistakes!)

How Far Should You Stand from the Golf Ball?

How far should you stand from the golf ball? For most initiated golf players, this can be a question that comes up now and then as they solidify their basics. For complete beginners, this question is at the top of their mind.

How Far Should You Stand from the Golf Ball?

How far you stand away from the golf ball will have a major impact on your shot performance, so it is quintessential to nail it down. In case it was not clear, do not nail the ball to the ground; nail the technique.

When you get the correct ball distance from your body on every shot, you will greatly increase your consistency. Read down below to figure out the absolute best ball distance from your feet.

How Far Should You Stand from the Golf Ball?

When you set yourself up before taking a shot, you want to strike the ideal balance between standing too close and far from the golf ball.

If you are too close to the golf ball, you will have to pull your golf club in to hit the ball, and you will lose your balance. This will result in a poor shot that will feel constrained and uncomfortable.

If you stand too far away from the golf ball, you will have to reach to hit the golf ball, throwing your body off balance, and reducing the efficiency of your muscles to drive the golf ball far away. Your shot will lose a lot of power if you are reaching out for the golf ball because your body generates the most power when it is solidly rooted in the ground, in a stable configuration. Repeatedly reaching for the golf ball will cause you to hunch too much over and will result in back pain.

Additionally, if you adopt the correct golf posture, your hands and golf club should naturally lie along the ground, and the position of the club head will tell you exactly where the golf ball should be. Your knees should be slightly bent, your back straight and hunched over at a little less than 45 degrees relative to the vertical; your arms should hold the golf club with the correct technique and you should be looking down at the golf ball.

THE BOTTOM LINE: To determine how far away the golf ball should be from your feet, simply adopt the correct golf posture, then look at where the club head is along the ground. The golf ball should be placed in the middle of the face of the club head.

Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Your Distance from the Golf Ball

1. Incorrect golf posture or stance

Issues Caused:

-Having incorrect golf posture will reduce the efficiency of your golf swing, resulting in less power, less accuracy.

-Incorrect golf posture will cause your body to overcompensate in some ways, making some of your muscles work harder than they should, and setting you up for injuries.

-Incorrect golf stance will throw off your balance, reducing the consistency of your shots.

Solution: Adopt correct golf posture.

2. Standing too close to the ball

Issues Caused:

-Standing too close to the golf ball will make you feel like your body is in the way of your swing.

-Standing too close to the golf ball will heavily throw off your balance, and make it very hard to generate adequate power, or hit consistent shots.

-Standing too close to the golf ball will cause you to twist your knees to hit the ball, and highly increase the likelihood of injuries.

Solution: Stand further away from the golf ball, while adopting correct golf stance.

3. Standing too far away from the ball

Issues Caused:

-Standing too far away from the golf ball will cause you to reach for the ball, thus throwing off your balance. This off-balance configuration will ruin your kinetic chain (the smooth chain of movements your body makes during a golf swing), killing your shot consistency and lowering your shot efficiency.

-Standing too far from the golf ball will cause you to overly hunch over, making some muscles work harder than they need to. This sets you up for injuries, on top of making shots harder to make than they need to be.

Solution: Stand closer to the golf ball, while adopting correct golf stance.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you now have a great understanding of the ideal golf ball placement relative to your feet. The ideal distance of the golf ball from you is much more simple than beginners may think it is. Simply adopt the correct golf stance or posture, and the position of the club head will tell you where the ball should be. Place the golf ball in the middle of the golf club head’s face.

You are now ready to improve your shot consistency and general golf performance! Practice hard, and you will undoubtedly get better! We are rooting for you!

How far or close do you typically like to stand from the golf ball? Let us know in the comments down below!

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How to Get FREE Golf Balls – UV Light Technique

free golf balls
free golf balls

So how do you get free golf balls? For most of us, losing golf balls is a much too common occurrence, as balls hook off the fairway, and into water or other hazards.

Every golf ball we lose is a golf ball we must buy, and the costs can sting your wallet sometimes, especially when you are saving for that brand new driver.

Here is a quick tips & tricks article discussing using the UV Light Technique to obtain completely free golf balls! In summary, you will need to go to the out of bounds areas of a public golf course to find lost balls.

How to Get Free Golf Balls? (Detailed explanation)

1. Purchase a UV-Light Flashlight

uv light flashlight to find free golf balls

To obtain free golf balls, purchasing a UV-Light Flashlight is a very good investment. The method for obtaining free golf balls described in this article is still possible without a UV-Light Flashlight. However, making the investment will exponentially facilitate how quickly you can obtain golf balls for free.

When you shine UV-light on a golf ball, it tends to shine brightly, making it easy to spot, say, at night. We are going to be using the UV-light flashlight to easily find abandoned golf balls by the tens and even the hundreds.

2. Find a Non-Private Property Golf Course and Ask for Permission to Visit

Next, you need to find a golf course near you that is not private property. Importantly, you should absolutely ask for permission to go ball hunting on the golf course you choose, to make sure you are not in the wrong. It is recommended you ask by e-mail, so you will have clear proof of permission to visit the grounds.

Do not ever attempt anything dangerous or illegal on a golf course, and that includes trespassing on private property. Make sure it is safe and legal for you to go to the golf course you wish to scope out for free golf balls. In addition, it is important to do your own research.

Furthermore, you obviously should not be looking for balls while other players are using the golf course. Exercise caution and do not bother others. Remember that people cannot see you well at night.

3. Go to the Common Out-Of-Bounds Areas at Night

Once you have found a good golf course that you have the permission to visit, you will want to travel to it, at night.

Go to the out-of-bounds areas on the different holes of this golf course. These areas are where people will have lost an incredible amount of golf balls for the taking. Since balls lost in foliage, bushes and more hazards are typically hard to find, especially during the day, these balls are often forgotten forever…until now.

NOTE: carry regular flashlights with you, and be prepared for any kind of hazard possible. These hazards include, but are not limited to, tree branches, snakes, alligators, deep water, etc. Exercise caution and stay away from safety hazards.

4. Turn On the UV-Light Flashlight to Find Free Golf Balls

Once you are in the out-of-bounds area of one of the golf holes you have permission to visit, turn on your UV-light flashlight.

Direct the flashlight towards the ground to shine light on any potential golf balls lurking around. Sometimes, only a small portion of the golf ball will be exposed, unhidden by leaves and foliage; this is when the UV-light flashlight is truly useful, as you will directly see the ball shine.

If someone has not had the same idea as you recently, you will see many golf balls lying around, free for the taking.  Likely, there will be multiple tens and even hundreds of golf balls. Make sure you brought an easy-to-carry bag to stash all the golf balls you will find.

Video Summary

If you would rather learn the content of this article through video rather than text, click on our video down below:

Conclusion

Considering you can obtain permission to visit a golf course near you, you now have a method to find a large amount of golf balls for free! Stay safe, stay within legality, and enjoy your free golf balls!

How many balls have you found using this method? Share with us in the comments down below!

Disclaimer: Make sure you are not trespassing on private property, or near the golf course when players are using it. Do not attempt any dangerous or illegal activity. Everything you do is at your own risk.