Best Golf Balls 2024 Tested: What ball should you be using?

Last updated: 23 October 2024

Best Golf Balls

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Choosing the best golf ball for your game can be a bit of a minefield – we even undertook a mammoth golf ball robot test to help. The golf ball market becomes increasingly inundated every single season with every brand offering a ball for every level of golfer.

Whether you are in the market for the best premium golf ball or the best distance golf balls, you’ll find something to work for your game. We’ve spent hours in our net, on the range and on the course testing everything from the best golf balls for beginners and high handicappers to the best cheap golf balls.

Making the decision even tougher is the ever-increasing range of alignment options, colour options, and ball designs. Although, if you want just a plain golf ball the choice is as difficult and the list as extensive. This is why it’s important to understand if you are wanting more speed, more distance, more spin, more feel (all of the above please) from your golf ball.

Best overall golf balls: Titleist Pro V1 | Buy Now

Best golf balls for accuracy: Wilson Triad | Buy Now

Best value golf balls for stopping power: PXG Xtreme | Buy Now

Best golf balls under £25: Srixon AD333 | Buy Now

Having the best golf balls for your game is priceless because it will inevitably improve your performance on the course and in turn your scores. We understand not everyone will need or want the golf balls played by Tour players, but you will undoubtedly play better golf if you decide to play with one of the best premium golf balls. If your motive not to play with premium golf balls is budget-related, that’s completely understandable, but there are some incredible value golf balls on the market to consider.

It could be worthwhile stocking up on golf balls before the golf ball rollback starts to impact the performance of golf balls for us amateur golfers. News of the rollback being approved certainly makes the best golf balls for mid-handicap golfers more appealing.

To help you choose which ball is best for your game we have categorised the best golf balls into different groups. This way you can really consider the best options for you to help shoot lower scores and lower your handicap. One category of golf balls we haven’t included is the best ladies’ golf balls and that’s because the majority of women playing the game will either be playing with a non-female specific golf ball or should consider swapping one for one of the best golf balls listed below.

Most popular golf balls on Tour

TaylorMade's most popular golf ball on Tour

Clubhouse Golf

Clubhouse Golf

Callaway's rebranded Tour-level golf balls for elite golfers

Rrp: $54.99

Rrp: $54.99

Srixon's super long three-piece premium golf ball

Rrp: $49.99

Rrp: $49.99

A firm-feeling premium golf ball

A golf ball aimed at club golfers with a premium feel and performance

Rrp: $41.99

Rrp: $41.99

An outstanding golf ball that is internet on helping golfers break 80

Rrp: $39.97

Rrp: $39.97

Callaway's golf balls that rival the brand's premium offerings

Rrp: $39.99

Rrp: $39.99

A top-performing golf ball for golfers who don't swing like Tour pros

A brilliant value golf ball with outstanding greenside and short-game spin

www.gamolagolf.co.uk

www.gamolagolf.co.uk

Bridgestone's most played golf ball in professional golf

Rrp: $49.99

Rrp: $49.99

Direct To Consumer (DTC) golf balls offer outstanding value

www.vicegolf.com

www.vicegolf.com

A very popular golf ball which can be attributed to price and performance

Vibrant, long, fast, and soft

Scottsdale Golf

Scottsdale Golf

An incredibly soft-feeling golf ball that offers impressive distance

The golf ball Wilson labels as the "world's softest golf ball"

Titleist's distance golf ball delivers on its primary function

A soft distance golf ball that helps you line up your putts with an enhanced alignment aid

Amazing golf ball for beginners which doesn't break the bank

Rrp: $24.70

Rrp: $24.70

Great golf balls for beginners especially with 15 in a box

Choosing the best golf ball for your game is critical to help you play better golf and shoot lower scores. If you are playing with a golf ball that isn’t compatible with your game you may struggle to play to your full potential. Therefore, it’s important to take into consideration as many of the following key features as possible when selecting which ball you will game for the season.

Budget

With golf balls, there are models ranging in price depending on the construction and technology. Before the introduction of direct-to-consumer (DTC) golf balls, for most golfers, their budget was dictated by their golfing ability. This is no longer the case, with the ability to purchase premium golf balls at a much more affordable price.

You can spend as little as £10 on a dozen golf balls or up to seven times that amount depending on what you need/want to gain from your golf ball. Budget is still somewhat dictated by your golfing ability but not as much as it previously had been.

Ability

Despite there being a wide range of golf balls that aren’t classified as premium golf balls, there aren’t many golfers who wouldn’t benefit from playing with one of those golf balls. The best premium golf balls are packed with the brand’s most innovative technology to help the user get from tee to green in as few shots as possible.

Some golfers are more than happy playing with one of the best cheap golf balls or one of the best distance golf balls because of the minimal impact they have on your finances, which is completely acceptable. Golf can be an expensive sport and finding ways to save money is very important. However, I would say that being frugal when it comes to golf balls isn’t as necessary as it is with other equipment in your bag.

Performance

Golf balls are designed to perform in a particular manner depending on their composition, technology, material, etc. The difficulty is figuring out what performance you need from a golf ball to help you play better golf. With such an extensive amount of golf balls on the market what actually differentiates them and makes one option right for you and another wrong for you?

It can be hard to know exactly what golf balls are right, but with a little time and effort, you can find the perfect ball or a couple of brilliant options very easily. Most manufacturers claim their golf balls deliver low driver spin and long distance, while with a wedge in hand, you’ll achieve amazing spin and control. However, not every golf ball is designed to do this. It’s only by trying different golf balls that you’ll be able to discover which models perform best for you and help you shoot lower scores.

The best premium golf balls and best golf balls for mid-handicappers will deliver optimal spin and distance at the top end and bottom end of your golf bag. Whereas the best distance golf balls or best cheap golf balls might travel far off the tee, but it’s more likely that this will compromise short-game performance.

Feel

Feel is for many golfers a non-negotiable. The majority of golfers enjoy playing with a soft-feeling golf ball. Most golf balls on the market are soft, it’s very rare to come across a rock that you have been accustomed to playing with in years gone by. Even a firm-feeling golf ball like the Wilson Staff Model X is soft compared to those hard golf balls that used to exist.

Even the best distance golf balls are designed to be soft at impact because the brands understand this is what most golfers want. To play with a good-feeling golf ball you don’t need to spend an obscene amount of money, but feel isn’t everything. You might enjoy the feeling of a golf ball, but if it doesn’t send the ball home in fewer shots then it’s not the ball for you.

Spin

Some golf balls generate spin more easily than others and this is dependent on their composition. Golf balls sporting more layers will naturally behave better on the greens because spin comes from the layers reacting with one another. However, that doesn’t make premium golf balls built of four or five layers spin ridiculously off the tee because the technology is massively refined so the spin is optimal off the tee and when attacking pins.

Cheaper golf balls tend to be made up of two layers and this is why they tend to be lower spinning in the short game but remain competitive with distance off the tee. Another factor that influences spin, is cover material, many of the best cheap golf balls, best distance golf balls, and best golf balls for beginners and high-handicappers feature a Surlyn or ionomer cover which creates less friction with the clubface than a urethane cover which can be found on the best premium golf balls and best golf balls for mid-handicappers.

A common misconception in golf is that golfers view spin as a negative if it creeps up. However, in most instances, spin is your friend. Therefore, choosing a golf ball that spins higher than another is often the best practice because this will help to control the ball better around the course, both off the tee and hitting into greens.

Distance

My opinion is that distance is the least important factor to consider when choosing a golf ball because there are copious means of gaining distance. When choosing the best golf ball for you, you should start around the greens and work your way back to the tee box. The best way of doing this is with a launch monitor to see your numbers, but if you don’t have access to one you can do it with your eye very easily.

If you start by chipping and playing full wedge shots into a green you’ll want to whittle your options down to the ones producing the best spin. Then when you move back to hitting the balls with a 7-iron you want to keep an eye on spin, but also start to factor in carry distance.

By time you’re standing on the tee box you should have narrowed down your options to just a handful of models. At this point is when you factor in distance most but it still shouldn’t. bethe case that you disregard everything else you’ve seen and choose the ball that travels farthest off the tee.

If you test golf balls in this way, it would be very surprising if one of the best premium golf balls didn’t come out on top. Or if you’re not testing premium golf balls, the one with the most technology and sporting a urethane cover. No matter what golf balls you’re testing, there’s always going to be some that work and some that don’t, and that’s why it’s important to test the options based on your game.

Alignment

There are many golf balls that are now being produced with enhanced alignment aids printed on the golf balls. There are many brands offering golf balls with alignment aids varying in size and style. I would personally recommend giving one a go just to discover if it benefits your game, what is the harm in trying?

Colour

Many golfers resort to the traditional white golf ball, but it is often the case now that manufacturers offer their golf balls in at least one or more colours so you can pick the ball which you can see best. Colourful golf balls make for some of the best winter golf balls because of their enhanced visibility. I know of some golfers who view coloured golf balls as being inferior to white golf balls (nonsense) even when they are the exact same golf ball. No one likes losing a golf ball so pick the colour you can see best and start saving your scores and money.

What is the best golf ball?

There isn’t a straight answer to this question. Depending on who you ask, you’re bound to receive a different answer. If you were to ask 100 golfers you could easily be met with 100 unique answers. However, based on the fact that the Titleist Pro V1 is the No.1 ball in golf, it’s highly likely that most golfers would consider this golf ball as the best golf ball, and it’s hard to disagree with.

While it has been awarded the title of being the No.1 ball in golf, that doesn’t mean it is for everyone. Personally, I don’t get on well with the Titleist Pro V1, I get on better with the Pro V1x. Therefore, if I went with the overall best golf ball and decided to play with Pro V1 it would hinder my game – the same might happen for you.

Finding the best golf ball is completely personal, but the best way of finding out which golf ball you need is by attending a golf ball fitting.

What golf ball does Tiger Woods use?

Tiger Woods is known for playing with Bridgestone Tour B X golf balls. Tiger helped with the production of the Bridgestone Tour B XS golf balls (there’s even a special edition Tour B XS which has ‘Tiger’ stamped on the ball), but Tiger has switched to another of the best Bridgestone golf balls because it’s slightly firmer and has helped improve his game.

What is the difference between a premium golf ball and a budget golf ball?

The major difference between a premium golf ball and a budget golf ball is the construction, cover, and technology. Premium golf balls tend to be of minimum three-piece construction, cast urethane cover, and be packed with technology, whereas a budget golf ball is often of two-piece construction, ionomer cover, and have minimal technology. Budget golf balls are ideal for high handicappers and beginners but not for better players who will benefit more from a premium golf ball simply because they will have the ability to unleash the potential of the ball.

What golf ball does Rory McIlroy use?

Being a TaylorMade staff player, Rory McIlroy elects to play with one of the best TaylorMade golf balls. The golf ball of choice for Rory is the TaylorMade TP5x which is TaylorMade’s golf ball intended for golfers with the quickest swing speeds.

Every golf ball we either receive from the brands or have to purchase ourselves is put through its paces in order for us to discover just how well (or poorly) it performs. Our quest to deliver as much information about every ball as we can has led us to conduct our second golf balls robot test, following the success of our first in 2019.

When testing golf balls we’re looking at feel, performance, durability, sound, distance, and spin – along with anything specific to individual balls. Ensuring every piece of equipment is tested thoroughly is vital, and so we test golf balls over a period of time both on and off the course. For more information about how we test golf equipment click here.

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James Hogg – Golf Equipment Writer

James has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and an MA in Journalism from Kingston University.

He spent seven years working for American Golf as part of the sales and fitting team alongside his studies and is a specialist in putters, golf balls, and apparel.

James took up golf as a teenager and, thanks largely to his length and consistency off the tee, he plays off a handicap of 4.7 at Cleveland Golf Club.

You can contact James via email for loads more golf equipment insight.

Golf Equipment Writer