Are 25 year old golf balls still good?
Christopher Davis
Updated on March 22, 2026
The golf ball researchers at Titleist state, "Today's Titleist golf balls can be safely stored for five years or even more, as long as they are kept away from excessive heat. ... Normal indoor conditions should be fine for storage."
Is it OK to use old golf balls?
A: I called my sales representative from Callaway Golf and he indicated that golf balls have changed a great deal over the years. He stated golf balls are now designed with multi-layer surfaces and solid cores, therefore will not go bad or impact performance.Do golf balls expire over time?
Yes, golf balls can go bad, but it is dependent on a number of factors. The materials used to construct the golf ball, storage temperature and care and maintenance all play a huge part in the life of a golf ball. Most golf balls can last for several hundred rounds of golf or up to 10 years.How can you tell if a golf ball is still good?
Drop Them. One of the simplest ways to check your golf ball's performance is by giving it a good, old-fashioned bounce using any hard surface like a tile floor or countertop. Your goal is to make the ball bounce as high as you can reasonably bounce it without damaging anything in your home.Do golf balls lose distance as they age?
A wound ball which is approximately 10 years old, stored at room temperatures and low humidity, will have lost about 0.5 to 1.0 % of its IV (Initial Velocity) which will affect its distance by a couple of yards.Most EXPENSIVE golf balls I've ever seen (£99/$125)
Do golf balls change with age?
Ralph Peterson, research and development director for Wilson golf balls, said, "For a two-piece ball, we've really seen no changes after five to seven years." Solid golf balls are designed for golfers with higher handicaps.How long should a golf ball last?
According to Golf Digest, unless there is visible damage to the cover, the average golf ball should last at least seven full 18-hole rounds without any degradation in performance.When should you throw away golf balls?
Now, see if your ball is going to float. Drop it in, and walk away for a minute or two. If the cover is intact, then there should be absolutely no leakage to the internal area of your golf ball. If it starts to sink or you see any air bubbles coming up at all, it's a sign that the cover has a microfracture.Do new golf balls go further than old ones?
Lab tests, including our own, show little or no loss in yardage compared to new balls, and most golfers report no appreciable difference in play. But most of this research is based on tests of mint-quality used golf balls pulled from water hazards with no understanding of how much time each ball spent underwater.When should I replace my golf ball?
The most simple answer to the question of how often should you change your golf ball is that there are no set rules. Some Tour players change their ball after a certain number of holes, but the truth is, this is more based on superstition than the diminishing quality of the ball itself.What do you do with old golf balls?
What Can You Do With Old Golf Balls?
- Christmas Ornaments. You can make Christmas wonders with your old golf balls. ...
- Garden Critters. This is another project you can choose to do yourself by using used golf balls at your disposal. ...
- Vase Filler. ...
- Table Cloth Weight. ...
- Massage. ...
- Tool For Tenderizing Meat.