After How Many Holes Should You Switch Your Golf Ball (If You Don’t Lose It)?

Tour professionals can often be seen marking up a new ball - not because they’ve lost one, but usually because they don’t like to see even the tiniest of blemishes.

Some tour pros are also very superstitious. Ernie Els, for example, used to discard his golf ball immediately after making a birdie, as he believed every golf ball only contained one of those.

Expensive stuff, although maybe not for the average club golfer (author included).

Club golfers don’t tend to have an army of young fans waiting between holes trying to grab a ball, either - we like to play with our Titleist Pro V1 for as long as possible (saves a bit of money in the long run).

However, let’s just say you had an endless supply of golf balls (pretty much like the top players do). How often should you change your golf ball?

The answer may surprise you. You might think that it’s necessary to put new ammo into play every time a small scuff mark appears.

However, the best golf balls are not made in the same way as they were in the 1980s (remember the old Titleist Tour Balata?).

In recent years, golf ball manufacturers have drastically improved durability, which means they’re generally able to withstand all the various poor strikes, such as those horrible thins that leave your fingers numb.

A combination of improved paint finishes and more robust construction makes modern golf balls far more resilient, though some are more durable than others (as we often discover in testing).

Of course, there will be times when it’s necessary to retire your golf ball to the shag bag: abrasive pathways (the concrete type), roads, stones, rocks, trees, tree roots, and clubhouses (try to avoid those) can crack the exterior and affect performance.

Still, we advise wiping your golf ball with a wet towel or using a ball washer whenever a scuff mark appears, as minor blemishes are generally not grounds to put a new one into play.

If you are concerned about whether the flight will be affected or it won’t run true on the greens, hold the ball up to see whether you can see any change in shape - it will usually be fairly obvious whether it’s behaving strangely in the air or on the putting surfaces.

However, it is time for change when cut marks appear. We’ve all seen one of these before, and although it can be hard to say goodbye to an otherwise fresh-looking ball, a change is the right decision.

“The moment I can feel a scuff or scrape on the ball from a wedge shot or cart path or tree, I immediately take it out of play, because even minor aerodynamic imperfections will compromise your spin rates and distance control,” says Sam De’Ath, Golf Monthly’s golf ball guru.

“After seeing how precisely golf balls are made and understanding how tight the tolerances are, I've seen how just a coat of paint thinner than a human hair can affect ball flight up to 80 yards.

“I can only warn those golfers who continue to play with significant cuts and damage to their golf ball that this has major implications on the ball's flight.”

Sometimes, it’ll be the wedges that cause the damage. The sharp grooves combined with the time the ball stays on the face can roughen the surface - although it’s usually contact with those abrasive surfaces that causes deeper scuffs and cuts.

In short, there’s no hard and fast rule as to how often you should change your golf ball - rather, it’s a case of monitoring the performance after a scuff or two appears. Generally, a golf ball under normal use during the course of a round should last 18 holes at least. Some can even go 36 holes or more, it varies by brand and what the ball is put through.

Usually, it will be fairly obvious when you need to open a new sleeve of balls - just watch how the ball rolls on the greens. General discoloration or minor scuffs should have little impact, but any major cuts or changes in shape require an immediate switch.

If you go in lots of bunkers, trees or find the occasional cart path, it could be more like every 6 or 9 holes when you need to switch. It's worth pointing out that premium balls with softer urethane covers will tend to scuff more easily that distance balls that feature covers made of surlyn.

Amateur golfers can use any make and model of ball to start any hole (which can be used to your advantage). But only in specific circumstances are you able to switch ball during the play of a hole. The Rules of Golf state:

"You may only substitute another ball (by replacing it on the original spot) if it can be clearly seen that your original ball is cut or cracked and this damage happened during the hole you are playing – but not if it is only scratched or scraped or its paint is only damaged or discolored."

So there you have it. If, like Sam, you play at a high level, you may notice the small changes in performance and decide that it’s best to tee up a new ball.