Best Golf Balls for Seniors: A Simple Buyer’s Guide

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Finding the best golf balls for seniors is no easy task, given the number of available options in the market. We recommend that you have different sorts of golf balls for multipurpose use.

Undoubtedly, golf remains to be one of the most popular sports played by seniors. For sure, a lot has changed over the years, yet there are materials, especially pieces of equipment, that retained their appearance and still serve the same purpose. One of them is the golf ball. This article will specifically cover what you need to look for when finding the best golf balls for seniors. 

Although you’re not that young, energetic kid anymore and have lost speed, among other things, choosing the right ball can help you look and feel confident while playing. 

Without further ado:  

Top 5 Best Golf Balls for Seniors

Best Overall: Callaway Supersoft Golf Balls

Callaway Supersoft Golf Balls

Striking a great balance between distance, speed, feel, and control, senior golfers will definitely love Callaway’s Supersoft Golf Balls. This 2-piece, low compression masterpiece comes with a hybrid cover that features the innovative PARALOID™ Impact Modifier, giving it a versatile, multi-material construction.

Within this cover lies its signature Soft Compression Core that can promote high launches and low spins, as well as optimize energy transfer for increased ball speeds. To top it off, the surface of the Callaway Supersoft Golf Ball is peppered with aerodynamic hexagon-shaped dimples for optimized trajectory and maximum consistency.

Best Budget: Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls

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Relatively cheaper than the other golf balls on this list, the Srixon Soft Feel Golf Balls offer an excellent alternative for older players with a tight budget. Whether it’s still on the tee or already at the greens, this beauty more than lives up to its name. With each shot, you’ll experience a solid yet comfortable impact, giving you more confidence as you move on to the next hole.

Thanks to its FastLayer Core, the Srixon Soft Feel Golf Ball offers premium softness, as well as great distance off the tee. Enclosing this core is a soft, thin cover for more greenside spins and softer feel on all pitches, chips and putts. And to ensure you get more distance overall 338 Speed Dimples patterns are etched on the ball’s surface.

Best for Distance: TaylorMade Distance Plus Golf Balls

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As its name suggests, TaylorMade’s Distance Plus Golf Balls are made for distance through and through. With its combination of a REACT™ Speed Core and a high-speed, low-drag aerodynamic design, senior golfers will easily be able to fly this 2-piece projectile at breathtaking distances and speeds.

The TaylorMade Distance Plus Golf Balls also come with the new Plus Alignment Aid to make sure you’re properly aiming and rolling the ball at your line. Then its surface is lined with 342 aerodynamic dimple patterns to reduce drag and promote fast ball speeds off the tee.

Best for Ball Speed: Titleist Velocity Golf Balls

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But if you want the best golf balls for seniors that can deliver great speed, consider getting the Titleist Velocity Golf Balls. Specially engineered for great speeds, high launches, and low long game spins, it will help older golfers deliver explosive speeds across the course.

Titleist’s Velocity Golf Balls managed to deliver such great speeds largely thanks to its features. From its new high-speed LSX Core, to its faster NaZ+ Cover, to its spherically-tiled 350 Octahedral Dimple Design, every single one of its components enables this projectile to cover more distance at a faster rate.

Best for Slow Swing Speed: Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls

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Being Titleist’s flagship product, the Pro V1 Golf Balls offers numerous benefits for senior golfers. With its 2.0 ZG Process Core, you’ll be able to fly it at great distances. And thanks to its soft cast urethane elastomer cover, it allows you better greenside control, not to mention a softer feel.

But what makes the Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls such a great choice for seniors is its ability to offset the consequences of a slow swing speed. Even with regular training and a healthy lifestyle, a golfer’s swing speed can get slower as they grow old. By playing with this Titleist ball, you’ll be able to maintain your golfing performance even in your advanced years.

What to Look For in the Best Golf Balls for Seniors

Pricing

Purchasing the cheapest or the most expensive golf balls on the market may not be the most beneficial move to your game. Costly balls generally impart more spin, particularly side spin, and mishits with the expensive ball can cause your shot to be way off the target and ultimately costing a significant amount if the ball always ends up in the water.

If you’re a casual golfer, we recommend that you opt for budget golf balls. Meanwhile, if you’re a regular, always go for high-quality golf balls or any other golfing equipment for that matter. 

Also, figure out right at the onset what you want from your game. Is it distance, spin, or ball control? Since you may no longer have the quickest swing speed, it’s high time to adapt by changing your golf balls to keep your performance optimal. 

The best thing that you can do is stick to a cost-effective solution and invest the rest of your resources in more rounds of golf.

Visibility

As you age, you begin to lose the sharp eyesight that allowed you to keep track of the ball even on the longest drives and occasional wayward shot in the rough. 

Apart from struggling to see where the ball will land off the fairway, you’ll also lose some distance as you advance in age.   

Thankfully, multiple brightly colored balls are now up for grabs as a solution. They could bring back the joy of playing you experienced not too long ago by allowing you to spend less time searching for the ball, speeding up play, and saving you money by not losing as many balls. 

Location and Weather Conditions

Your location and the type of golf course you usually play in also impact your final buying decision. For instance, soft courses require longer drives and have softer greens than links courses, where the ball rolls out further yet requires more spin for added control on the greens. On the other hand, coastal and windy locations require yet another ball type to stay below the wind.  

Best Golf Balls for Seniors: Criteria Used for Evaluation

Durability

The good thing about golf balls nowadays is that they’re much more durable than the balata-covered balls of old. Although this is the case, some manufacturers make the mistake of focusing too much on creating the softest ball possible. By doing this, they tend to overlook the fact that there are more than a few players who prefer to use the same ball for multiple rounds. 

At the minimum, a golf ball should be durable enough to last an entire round. So, if you can get more out of it than that, it’s even better,  

Distance

Your swing speed will gradually drop at a consistent rate as you age. So while many senior golfers can still hit the ball a long way, most will attest that they hit way further in their prime. Given this, you’ll need all the help you can get from your equipment to get your ball to the green. 

Thankfully, most of today’s golf balls pack compression levels that aid you in increasing the distance you’re able to hit the ball. So, don’t commit the mistake of using the same balls you played with years ago. As your swing and golf changes, your equipment, golf ball included, should too.     

Switching to senior tees and shafts that are more flexible are some of the steps you can take, but finding a golf ball that provides you more distance should be just as important.   

Spin or Feel

Aside from getting the most distance out of a ball, feel is also something that most golf players want. Regardless of your age, putting and chipping will remain important, which is why shots around the green are referred to as the “scoring game.”

Even though they fly far and roll out for a while, some distance balls feel like rocks. Once you get around the green, you’ll find that there’s no backspin at all to be had. Keep in mind that distance is only beneficial if you can manage it around the green. For sure, no one enjoys seeing a ball land on the putting surface only to bound over it and end up into a bunker behind the green. 

So, your golf ball needs to have a soft feel to go with the increased distance. A putt should roll smoothly off the face of the putter. Finally, short irons should generate enough spin on the ball for it to hold the green.

Visuals

When it comes to visuals, you need to consider the markings on the ball and its visibility on the course, especially in the rough. Your golf ball may be durable, but it won’t amount to much if you can’t find it after a good hit.

Since your eyesight isn’t what it used to be, you need to go for brighter colored green or yellow balls that are easier to locate. In addition, the alignment aids on the ball should also be easy to spot when you’re standing over a putt. Of course, you may draw lines on the ball, but it’s better to have built-in alignment aids that eliminate the need for a sharpie line. 

To help make things easier, stay away from balls with distracting logos that confuse your vision and affect your focus negatively.   

Value

Regardless of how durable your golf ball is, you can still hit it into deep rough, out of bounds, or into a lake where it’s challenging to find. While lost golf balls are very much part of the game, you don’t want to spend more than you have to on new balls every so often. You don’t want to compromise when it comes to your performance neither. 

For this reason, you need to pay attention to value and strike a balance between performance and price. For instance, if your golf ball has the lowest price yet performs poorly, then it’s not of good value. 

Instead, you need to look for a ball with an excellent combination of good performance and competitive pricing. If it costs half the price of the best golf balls for seniors on the market and performs just as well, you’ve found for yourself a great deal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can the best golf balls for seniors help with distance? 

As a senior golfer, different techniques can help make your golf ball go longer.  You can achieve this by using a Surlyn cover, which spins less than a more expensive urethane-covered golf ball. The reduced spin of Surlyn and the increased compression of a softcore contribute to the increase in distance. An excellent 2-piece golf ball with softcore and a Surlyn cover provides a good balance of distance and feel.

If you’re a senior golfer with a medium swing speed, you may want to consider 3-piece golf balls with an extra layer under the cover to help add more spin. Additionally, if you still get decent air under the ball and want it to reach and stay on the green, you need to find a soft and low compression golf ball for distance, with enough spin to react to short iron shots.

What is the best golf ball construction for seniors?

We’d recommend a 2- or 3-piece distance ball with a resilient Surlyn cover to senior golfers who have observed a noticeable decline in their usual in-game distance. The 2-piece balls are made specifically for pure yardage and provide the most roll-out and overall distance.

You’ll have to get used to landing the ball short of the green and rolling it up, but that’s a fairly simple adjustment to make.

If you’re still playing to a single-digit handicap or skilled enough to shoot your age, you’re likely using a 3-piece urethane ball already.

What are the best golf balls for seniors with medium swing speed?

In this article, we’re focusing primarily on slower swing speeds. However, if you’re a senior golfer with medium-to-high swing speeds who can still hit the ball a long way, you may want to check our article about the top golf balls to consider as a high handicapper

What are the other factors to consider when choosing the best golf balls for seniors?

For seniors living on a fixed income, being conscious of their budget should be second nature since splurging on golf balls means spending less on an actual game of golf. This statement is especially true for those living in places such as Florida, where water is a common sight on most golf courses waiting to take up ball after ball, particularly near Florida’s state parks.

Many balls that cost $12/dozen or less are ideally suited for the qualities senior golfers require — distance and straight shots.

If your eyesight isn’t what it used to be, consider using Optic Yellow balls or other brightly colored ones that are easy to find even when it’s found its way in the rough. Using said golf balls effectively keeps them from going missing while also helping speed up your rounds. Most golfers agree that bright yellow balls help them putt better.

What are the key differences between regular golf balls and the best golf balls for seniors?

Most golf balls for seniors favor a Surlyn cover instead of pricier urethane coverings, and for a good number of reasons. Apart from being more durable, Surlyn also doesn’t spin as much as urethane and a bit firmer. For this reason, it requires a core that’s exceptionally soft to reduce the compression rate. For senior golfers who constantly land the ball short of the green and rolling it up, they’ll find the reduced spin and extra distance of a Surlyn golf ball to be ideal for their style of play. 

In addition, many senior-targeted balls are brightly colored to assist elderly players whose eyesight isn’t as keen as before. This particular characteristic is beneficial not just when standing over the ball but also when nearsighted seniors try to find wayward balls in the rough.   

On the other hand, tour-level golf balls are meant for golfers with high swing speeds who regularly hit the ball far. These balls may not be as soft and have a higher compression rating. However, you can expect them to be firm enough to withstand and perform well with the impact speeds that today’s bombers deliver. A high compression ball with a high swing speed creates a terrific rebound effect as it maximizes distance. 

Golf balls need to be softer with a lower compression rating for players with slower swing speeds to achieve the same rebound effect. A high compression ball coupled with a slow swing speed will simply feel like a rock. Since it won’t compress, you can expect it to feel off, aside from costing you some distance.  

Key Takeaways

Finding the best golf balls for seniors is no easy task, given the number of available options in the market. Some balls are meant for distance, while others provide you more control. You’re expected to know your game better than anyone else. That’s why it’ll only take you a moment to pick the balls that’ll fit you well.  

We recommend that you have different sorts of golf balls for multipurpose use. Selecting the right ball will make you look more confident on the field since you’re getting more value for your shots. 

While it takes at least a few rounds to familiarize yourself with the ball, it’s best if you refrain from swapping between types and brands to keep them from messing with your consistency. 

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