Best golf balls for amateur golfers

Just because a PGA tour pro plays Titleist ProV1 or Callaway Performance balls does not mean beginner players should use the same expensive golf balls. 

A tour-level professional has a different skill level and requirement than a weekend warrior. We wanted to help you find the best golf ball for amateurs, and give you some options when it comes to choosing the best ball for your game. 

What are the best balls for amateur golfers ?

This is a very tough question to answer because there are a lot of variables that would go into determining ‘what is the best golf ball for amateurs.’  I think a lot would depend on things like:

• Swing speed
• Low compression
• Your preferred trajectory 
• Your ball flight
• How much spin control do you like approaching the greens? 
• Does greenside control matter to you?
• Do you require less driver spin for a straighter ball flight?
• Are you looking for Distance golf balls? 
• What is your distance off the tee?
• What type of feel you like in your golf ball – soft or firm?
• What kind of core do you like?
• Budget 

An amateur golfer at your golf club with a 4 handicap is going to have a much different answer compared to the 18 handicap that has trouble keeping the ball in play off the tee.

Our definition of an amateur golfer is anyone we can play with regularly, and we are not referring to professional golfers. Although this review is more focused on the 10+ handicap, we do include some premium golf balls from some of the best golf ball manufacturers. 

What is the best golf ball for beginners?

We believe an amateur golfer and a beginner golfer are very different, and we actually did some testing on several golf balls in this category. 

You can see our choice for Beginner golf ball on our previous review.

The best beginner golf ball 

Taylormade Project (s) Golf Balls

Best Value for a Quality Ball

The TaylorMade Soft Ball option comes in a 3-layered design with improved performance due to the all-new dimple and core pattern.

The new core, Dual Distance, features a softer and larger inner core, which allows for a reduction in spin with a great feel. 

For maximum distance and velocity, maintained due to the new resilient outer core made from polymer.

Less spin, off your drivers, and longer irons giving your less spin on the greenside because of the ionomer cover, made even softer material.

The 342 dimpled ball reduces drag, and there is a major reduction in backspin, allowing more distance from your swing.

Features:

• The improvement of the feel and control because of the soft cover especially around the greens 
• Improving your feel and a reduction in the spin rate created by the new, larger and softer inner newly designed Dual-Distance Core 
• Improving the feel while maintaining velocity with the new more resilient and softer polymer outer 
• The rating of compression is 60 for the feel for the TaylorMade
• With a significant reduction in drag making it an excellent distance ball. Moreover, the all-new 342 dimple pattern reduces the backspin. 
• Has a 3-piece Construction 
• A handicap target of 8-18
• Colored golf balls which are easy to find

Callaway Golf Supersoft Magna Golf Balls

A step up from Super soft golf balls, the Callaway Supersoft Magna is an oversized two-piece golf ball that flies straight and is easy to hit. These feature an ultra-low compression core that allows for extra speed over longer distances with increased accuracy compared to other low compression golf balls. 

The HEX Aerodynamics design helps reduce the drag and keep it lifted to go the distance. The Soft Trigonometry cover is formulated for a good feel and a wedge spin to stop the shot and keep it where you need it.

Srixon Men’s Soft Feel Golf Ball

The Srixon are unique golf balls as they are used by an array and variety of players, no matter the handicap! (But is typically used by those with a slower swing speed)

The soft cover and softer core uses all the stored energy released on a stroke making it ideal for a greenside spin. These features also help to maximize distance travelled. 

The soft feel on these two-piece balls gets softer as you move towards the center as per the design of the resilient soft core.

This gives the player a high trajectory and greater lift with less effort sending your golf balls at greater distances.

KLS 3-Piece Urethane Cover Golf Ball

The new KLS 3-Piece Urethane Cover Golf Ball by Kirkland Signature Performance Plus was designed with both competitive and recreational play in mind.

The Kirkland Signature Performance Plus gives you a longer-lasting ball that has an amazing responsive feel when you putt as is made of a soft and durable urethane cover casing. 

It is constructed with a rubber core that is made highly elastic, with low compression material, and gives a softer feeling but with at the maximum ball speed.

It provides a ball trajectory that can only be explained as penetrating because of the 338 dimpled pattern.

The three-piece ball construction helps to control not only the speed but the spin as well with a huge boost in speed mantle. It creates controlled spins with the longer irons and around the greens with your shorter irons it generates a higher spin.

This will become your favorite new balls quite quickly because of the playability. Because it holds the greens well, and this great feel it is an excellent value for the money.

For any three-piece golf ball at this price point, it not only flies off the tee faster but off the shelves too.

Bridgestone e6 Golf Balls

The new Bridgestone e6 Golf Balls come equipped with consistent engineering. They are aerodynamically designed to add that extra distance.

Bridgestone offers a soft feel that can only come from a heritage of constructing high-quality, low compression cores for golf balls. The e6 falls perfectly in line with that heritage.

For all those moderate swingers out there, this is the ideal ball for you. You will get huge distances and lift from this ball to compliment your type of swing.

Titleist Tour Soft Golf Balls

Designed to have the biggest Titleist core ever, golf balls from Tour Soft are known to have high ball speed and produce a responsive feel that translates to commanding distances. 

New Durable Cover Formula

These golf balls have a new 4CE grafted outer cover that is ultra-thin and is made with proprietary Titleist technology that produces advanced short-game control with a soft feel that is unmatched. 

Our Biggest Core Ever

Designed with the biggest Titleist core ever, Tour Soft golf balls produce high ball speed and have a very responsive feel. The end result is an incredible distance that will give you a commanding lead. 

Advanced Flight

The 342 spherically-tiled cuboctahedron dimple design produces penetrating trajectory and consistent flight. 

After playing with the Srixon Soft Feel for several seasons, I have been happy with the experience as a 23 handicap golfer. The new Titleist Tour Soft Golf Balls take the decent spin, good distance, soft feel, and other amazing qualities of Srixon balls, and takes it up a notch or two. 

When golfing at our regular course, the ball usually ends up several yards further down the fairways and feels soft off the face. However, I enjoy the ball most around the greens as it feels and sounds great off my wedges, and holds really well for a ball at that affordable price point. 

Overall, if you are willing to spend $30-$35 for a dozen, these balls will be a wonderful addition to your ball collection. I am truly impressed. 

That said, the Srixon Soft Feel is still my ball, and I plan to use it 75% of the time. Why? The price is great at just $18-$20 a dozen. Therefore, I won’t feel as bad losing a few balls while playing a tighter course.

Vice Pro Golf Balls

Most people cannot tell the difference between the Vice Pro and Pro V1 balls. After all, the spin around the green and putting are the same for the two types of balls. However, I usually get up to 10 yards off-the-tee when using the Vice Pro. 

In many cases, I usually match or even go past my buddies when using the Vice Pro ball. As with other reviews, I got two rounds with the Vice Pro ball, and it was a little marked up. The performance of the ball was so close to the Pro V1 that there is no need for any control or distance adjustments regardless of the club being used. A great professional golfer friend of mine advised me to pick a ball and stick with it to maintain consistency, which is a great tip. 

For over four decades, I have played Titleist, and I can say with great authority that the Vice Pro ball will probably be my ball for a long time because of two things; price and playability. Besides, I will not feel a lot of pain when the new ball goes into the water or desert. 

The only noticeable difference between the Vice Pro Golf Balls and the Pro V1 is the exterior scuffs, which is a bit more. Therefore, you need to avoid the cart path.

Bridgestone Tour B RX Golf Balls

This Bridgestone Tour B ball makes use of proprietary technology in the cover. It’s made from Reactiv Urethane, pushing the abilities of a regular urethane tour ball to new heights.

This 3-piece ball design is among the best golf balls for any player whose swing is under 105mph, which is likely most amateurs. It delivers durability, accuracy, and is a ball that easily competes with the likes of Titleist or Callaway.

However, I found that amateurs who have issues with spinning a ball with their wedge may struggle with this Bridgestone. You can spin it, but it doesn’t seem to come naturally. Beginners will struggle to stick the landing on the green.

Snell MTB Black Golf Balls

With strong performance and a cast urethane cover, even a tour pro would acknowledge its caliber.

Their only real weakness is getting the right spin on the green, especially if you compare it to the Pro V1. They nonetheless remain one of the best balls on the market.

In my view, the best thing is how you can play these as your affordable alternative to the V1x and still have a similar experience with a V1x ball when you play a match.

Test one for yourself, the 7-percent lower compression core gives excellent distance, and the 360 dimple design allows for great control when putting.

The best golf balls for amateur golfers is…

Skill level determine what ball is best for you

If you are very new to the game and go through a dozen golf balls, each round, performance, compression, core, and trajectory mean nothing to you. As such, you should look for an affordable ball for under $20 a dozen that will feel good when you hit them well. 

Price point should be more important to you than performance. If you are very new and a high handicap player, your reasons for choosing your ball are based more on money and experience rather than specifications and golf ball technology. 

What is the best golf ball for the average golfer ?

Once again, we have to define what we believe to be the average player. The average handicap of an amateur golfer is 18, so we are still referring to amateur golfers that make a bogey on every hole. For this skill level, we are still not convinced that a performance ball is worth the money. 

Technology is going to help our average golfer, but we are still looking for balls that are straighter on iron shots, and provide more accuracy compared to feel. Spin is important to the average golfer of an 18 handicap, but not for performance around the green. Higher handicappers need speed to keep their driver and irons in line and straight. This is where we want to take advantage of technology.

The average or amateur player  is generally looking for a ball that has a good feel and comes off the driver with some power and speed, is a compression or urethane core, and won’t cost us too much money. Amateurs should be able to afford to hit it in the water or out of bounds, as that is their experience and skill level. 

What is the best golf ball for mid-handicappers?

Mid handicappers are going to have a bit more skill than amateurs and are going to require will likely want a golf ball to match their swing speed and level of experience. When we get into the mid handicapper range of 10 to 18, we are looking for a ball with more feel, more spin, a premium cover and core, and one that can be moved from side to side with the driver and during an iron shot. This golfer may want to spend a bit more for a tour brand.