how many balls?

[dekker]

I've never heard anyone refer to the number of balls they go through in a season.
I'm curious because an earlier thread asked why people play balls that are likely well beyond their present capability.
Well, that seemed a reasonable enough question but I find fault with the logic.
I know people spent a lot of money on clubs in the hope these will help their game,so why shouldn't they extend that same hope to balls?

How is it that we think of balls being so expensive when in fact they are likely the cheapest part of our expenditure?
It appears we must consume an inordinate number of balls to make them seem "expensive" or are we "Penny" wise and "Pound" foolish in this case?

[Flog]

I'd be willing to bet that I've gone through at least 3-4 dozen balls so far this season. When I throw in the ones my boys lost then it gets up to near twice that. Of course I find a lot out there too, so my overall count has actually risen and I don't mind playing a found ball, especially if it's a good one. This has been a stellar year for finding expensive balls-- half a dozen pro v1's and pro v1x's, several NXT tours, e6's, TP reds, etc.

[dekker]

Hi Flog,just for added info,my question should have asked for a rough estimate of the yearly ball cost since that is probably the best figure everyone can relate to. thanks

[Flog]

I buy most of my balls from Knet, but also some from local proprietors who carry the D2, so my average ball costs in a year are likely in the neighbourhood of...say...about... $150 - $200. Bear in mind that I buy more than I need because I like to try different kinds, as do the boys, but also because I just can't bloody resist.
I think you're dead on saying that people will apply the reasoning that it could possibly help their game and that's incentive enough to make them spend on balls, clubs, tees, gloves, ad nauseum. I include myself in that category, but I'm happy to do it because I love the sport and I love new stuff. That's the only excuse I need, or at least the only one I have. :rolleyes:

[Ironmaster]

I would say that I spend about 100 dollars a year for golf balls. That would break down to 1 dozen Pro V's and 2 dozen Pinnacle distance balls. Throw in the odd try a new sleeve of balls here and there. I don't tend to lose that many balls but my wedges sure chew them up so that I have to retire them to a 5 gallon bucket. I used to have a bad habit of using a sleeve of balls for ever round and then retiring the balls into a bucket after finishing the round, that changed when I started using Pro V's. I didn't retire those balls, they were just too darn expensive so I beat on them till I was too embarrassed to let anybody see them.:eek:

[xander.uk]

Of course it depends on how many rounds i play but this season i am averaging about 2 balls per round............thats Mostly lost..........occassionally i manage to get through about 24-27 holes with 1 ball and then to be honest its quite beat up so it goes in with my practice balls.

Sometimes i can use a new ball on the 1st tee ( at the course i play most often ) and its a shortish par 4 ( under 400 yards).

So i either hit 5 iron or rescue from the tee and a 9 or wedge to the green!

( sounds good i know) BUT its a downhill hole with the prevailing breeze behind and helping.

Occassionally i can shred a ball on this hole :mad: ...........so sometimes its 1 hole played 1 ball ruined :)

( i dont like to play a ball if i have chewed it up so it goes in the bag )

[Grass Roots Tour]

6 dozen will get me through the season.

[dekker]

GRT,and others- Approx. how many rounds do you play a season? Do you change balls after so many holes,or do you keep playing it till it's crap or lost?

What I'm after is a ball cost per hole,per round,per season.
Do the math and be honest about the total cost of the season.
For club members,average the rounds played over the yearly membership fee plus monthly food/beverage.
Also,try to keep a log of your fee per round and its total for the season and relate that to your ball expenditure in % per round,per season.
If you want you can add the peripheral expenses to it such as food,beer,gas,accommodation.
For arguments sake,assume you use 5 packs at $45/doz. in your calculations.

I'm trying to understand why so many players balk at purchasing quality balls.

[Grass Roots Tour]

First, I'd love to play every day but ... life happens.

I'm having a lean year this year playing maybe twice a week, if that. In 2003 I bought 6 dozen Hogan Apex Tours from the Great Lakes tour at the start of the season and played about 2 - 3 times a week.

In tournament, I'll likley change a ball every 3 - 6 holes depending on if I've hit a full swing Spin Milled wedge or not. Those balls then become day - day balls where I don't really care.

At Paris Grand it's likely you will lose a least 1 ball per round. Shots that find the trees there aren't normally found and your Pro V gets traded for a Top Flite. :mad: In practice / fun day to day rounds I'll use the same ball all day as long as I don't lose it. Also I have no trouble playing a D2 FEEL those days to save a few bucks unless theres cash on the line.

F & B - If I'm carting (which is rare but you might see at Osprey) I'll bring a small cooler with pop and water for myself. I normally buy a sandwich or hot dog from the course at the turn esp if I win the front 9 :D :rolleyes: J/K

I almost never drink alcohol at the course and never during the round.

I definately prefer to have a membership somewhere and I'd always play the vast majority of my golf at that course to save money. I DO consider myself thrifty somewhat but only because I have to be. If I were rich it'd be different, thats for sure. :p

[Golftime]

My guess is I use a ball for every two rounds, however I probably find one every round and use about half of what I find. So the net result is I don't but a lot of balls. Out of a dozen that I bought in the spring there are still 6 new ones left. I am trying to use up the ones that I got for Xmas presents a couple of years ago. So all things considered maybe $2 to $3 per round at the high end. Greens fees probably average $50 per round. F/B average $3 per round. I've spent about $700 on clubs in the last 5 years so that would average out to about $10 per round.
So to answer your question, why don't people spend more on balls it is because of several reasons.

They fell like a temporary commodity rather than an investment. We assume that a $300 driver will deliver better return over a longer period.
It is more difficult to quantify the effects of a quality ball.
Hitting a PRO V1 once and losing feels like a very wasteful thing to do.
We often find enough to augment the supply, removing the need to buy more.
It is more fun to spend more on the practice tee than on balls.Maybe we have the wrong perspective!

[xander.uk]

Personally i dont use any balls i find unless they are the same brand as i use.........in the last year i have found 1 :D the others i find are for my son or any 1 else who wants them.

I hope to play twice a week but i am guessing it will be approx 80 rounds this year....that would be approx 160 balls for me but 200 would certainly cover it.

I get a discount on buying my balls for buying 6 dozen at a time.

I bought 6 dozen at xmas and 6 dozen a couple of weeks ago........that puts me on about 1.5 balls per round so far this year :shhh: .better than i expected but the year isnt over yet :)

I buy my balls for £9.99 per dozen and free delivery which means so far this year i have spent £120 or approx $240 but i have more than 5 dozen balls left in the house and we are in 3/4 the way through the year!

I take 8 balls to the course with me and if i ever lost ALL of them ( never have so far - touch wood) then i have 8 almost new pro-v 1's in my bag that i have found so far but didnt give away as they are in my practice ball pocket in my bag dont really know why i kept them because i dont personally find the pro-v suits my game so i wouldnt want to use them anyway :D