“Old New Balls”

[Yuck]

You can often find previous model golf balls, new at a discount.  I have never had an issue with “new” balls that were last year’s stock.  I assume they are kept in climate controlled environment and would have minimal changes relative to how they performed when new.  The question is sometimes you will find balls several years old, but still new at a substantial discount.  4 year old Bridgestone XS & RS are still available.  These are not X-outs, just past model balls that did not sell out yet.  With modern golf balls, does a 3-5 year old new ball perform as it did when newly manufactured?  If performance does change, are they still “legal”.  Does being “old” make them go shorter or further?  Do they feel softer or firmer?  Do they spin more or less?   Or is any change undetectable and not relevant for real life performance.

 

Share your opinions, or even better, facts & data.

[JAM01]

I think that if they are properly stored, they will exhibit the same characteristics as when they were first released. I’d suggest that extreme heat then cold over long stretches might degrade performance

[Tanner25]

I love prior gen Srixon Z stars. But, going back 3-5 years, I don't know.

[Ajota]

I may be making this up but I felt like this season I read somewhere that the shelf life of a golf ball is ~10 years?

 

I still bust out some Nike Mojo's at times xD

[Jeff58]

There are three environmental factors that can affect golf balls.

 

Extreme heat or cold. Above ~140f or lower than ~-30f the plastic components will degrade to the point that the balls are no longer playable. If you store your balls in your igloo or trunk in Phoenix, these may be factors.

 

UV/Sunlight. The worst thing that most golfers will do with their balls is to use them. UV energy will quickly degrade the cover, making it essentially brittle. If you play the same ball for several weeks in sunny conditions and particularly at altitude, your ball should be retired.

 

Desiccation. This is what needs to be considered when you’re looking at balls that are more than a few years old. It’s the reason that some consider freezing balls to be of value. Realistically, if the product is stored in any sort of environmentally controlled space in its original packaging, it should be stable for a decade. If you put the box in a ziplock in a cool, dark place, it will last longer than you will.

['Noles2013]

I love playing the 2021 Srixon Z Star XV’s at $34.99 per dozen instead of $47.99.

[cgasucks]

If golf balls are kept in a dark, low humid, room temperature environment, any performance loss over the years will be very minimal.

 

[spinnywedge]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:12 PM, Yuck said:

You can often find previous model golf balls, new at a discount.  I have never had an issue with “new” balls that were last year’s stock.  I assume they are kept in climate controlled environment and would have minimal changes relative to how they performed when new.  The question is sometimes you will find balls several years old, but still new at a substantial discount.  4 year old Bridgestone XS & RS are still available.  These are not X-outs, just past model balls that did not sell out yet.  With modern golf balls, does a 3-5 year old new ball perform as it did when newly manufactured?  If performance does change, are they still “legal”.  Does being “old” make them go shorter or further?  Do they feel softer or firmer?  Do they spin more or less?   Or is any change undetectable and not relevant for real life performance.

 

Share your opinions, or even better, facts & data.

Regarding the older Bridgestone models, I think they’re still producing them. PGA Superstore and Walmart have been selling them for the last few years. I’d be surprised if it’s all unsold stuff from 2018.

[cardigan]

18 minutes ago, spinnywedge said:

Regarding the older Bridgestone models, I think they’re still producing them. PGA Superstore and Walmart have been selling them for the last few years. I’d be surprised if it’s all unsold stuff from 2018.

I'm more inclined to believe that prior model balls are almost always old stock once you get 6 months or a year into the newer models being out and that companies aren't in the habit of using a lot of resources to produce older model balls from 2 or 3 generations ago to be sold at discounted prices.