Last weekend my brothers and I were going through some of our late father’s belongings. We came across a bunch of golf balls in pristine condition, never used, still in their sleeves. They look like nice enough balls; there are two different brands, Pinnacle Gold and Dunlop Double Platinum, if that matters.
The thing is, they are stamped with the logo of a company my Dad stopped working for in the mid-'80s, so the balls are at least 25 years old, possibly quite a bit more. Since I’m the only one in the family who plays golf (albeit infrequently and poorly), I took them, but I have no idea if they’ll be any good.
Do golf balls lose performance with age, even if they’ve never been hit?
I think the general consensus is that golf balls do indeed lose distance as they age, but the two-piece distance kind age better than the old wound 3-piece kind.
But I don’t think age will be the major factor here - ball technology has gone so far in the last 10 years that old balls, even in prime condition, aren’t nearly as good as the ones you can buy today. Even the balls you buy at Walmart for $20 a dozen will play better than the ones you found.
However, a free ball is a free ball. Go ahead and play them. Just don’t be disappointed that you won’t break 70 with them.
After 25+ years I’d be concerned that those old golf balls might have lost some of their elasticity. All golf balls temporarily deform when hit, and I suspect that it would take these golf balls longer to un-deform. That would result in quite a bit of distance loss (and quite possibly loss of accuracy).
If it were up to me, I’d just set them aside and keep a few as a memory of your dad.
Nice idea, that. I never thought I was that sentimental, but I also found a steel ball marker with his name engraved on it and got a little choked up. I will be using that marker from now on.
