Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rick-shiels-golf-show/id1406443091?i=1000467858946 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4R2cI3gKOZ18tRgXnDET68?si=72ndugxxR-m0rcvkqHv3Uw

I bought new balls last week. Still a little hard to walk but the doc says I'll be better soon!

Once a ball's been in the lake, it will forever be trying to "get home" again. Not those!

I was really sceptical when you made this second channel. A month later and I’ve watched every single one and love them

Glad to hear kids across the pond are pulling the same used ball sales tactics my brother and I used in the 90s in California!

On topic... made the switch to Snell Golf Balls a year ago. I haven't looked back. Pound for Pound, best ball on the market IMO.

I just listened to Rick talking about refurbished balls. The refurbished balls don’t only redo the paint but significant part if not all of the first layer beyond the paint. I bought some refurbished prov1 balls and they would literally crack after a few solid hits. They felt different but one can still play golf with them although I would go with the cheapest balls on the market instead because they would last longer.

What great timing. Snuck in a short round the other day and during the round, I found a thin piece of shell on the ground with "ProV1" printed on it. I figured it may have been a refurb.

Love the podcast guys!!

I use refurb Prov1, Prov1x and TM Penta 5. I also use new ProV1s and Wilson Duo. I cant tell the difference other than some of the ProV1s look my a older model. I usually like to buy over run golf balls. They are brand new but come in a box or bag instead of a sleeve.

Hey Rick, love your channel! Can you do a review of the Old Tom clubs?

Have used a+ or pearl lake balls for years and never had any issues at all. Play as well as anything, save my good new ones for bigger comps 👍

Hi Rick can you test the Costcos kirkland ball vs the Calloway they sell to

All I use is lake balls now. If I ever get good enough to play 1 ball through 4 or 5 holes, I might switch.

Would love to see you review some lake balls!

I actually looked at used balls, and the technology of balls, and I can say, for the average golfer, there is very little change, and the most important issue is the urethane cover. The reason a ProV1 is such a great ball, the cover is manufactured in the US, it is a highly specialized product. Bridgestone makes a great ball as well, the "B" is fun to look at when you hit. Theoretically, a lake ball should hit fine as long as there is no freeze cycle. A ball in water with a urethane coat should by hydrophobic, it is sitting at the bottom, and thus would be a massive particle surrounded by water, no different really than if you kept that ball in air in a jar of water on your desk for a year.

I bought yellow ProV1's that were used but 5A condition. Know they couldn't have been in lake too long since yellow has only been out a year. All looked brand new.

@rickshielspga I had an experience with Lake balls. An older model, Taylormade Penta TP, but I've found that I've split more cores of those balls and then they end up being off shape and useless. Great for practice but beyond that,not reliable for tournament use 👍👍

I live on a golf course, and sometimes I’ll walk the woods, and lakes getting used balls. From my experience, sometimes they are dead when you find old ones. I bounce the ball on the cart path, and you can usually tell from the sound if it’s a dead ball. I can definitely tell when I hit the ball.

I just recently put 5A golf balls from EBAY in the bag. (Real quick, "refurbished" and "5a" and totally different at first glance) I also still keep dozens of the premium golf balls. Now as a mid-handicap golfer who plays regularly the most upsetting part is losing a premium golf ball (or even 3) during a round. To the naked eye I personally cannot tell the difference from, what may or may not have come from a lake, and the one from a sleeve. Performance on the putting green could be slightly more telling. Does the ball become waterlogged, will it still roll true, is the ball going to jump from the club face and stay online from 110 yards out? Most likely amateur golfers will not notice any difference. For now, I like the value and convenance of losing a 5a ball. I'll likely put a premium ball in on special tournament days with our men's club just to keep my swing honest.

I've bought lake balls at a local store. They have them sorted in bins with a price per dozen. So you can choose the nicest 12. It costs about 40% less than full price. I had bought Titleist velocity, all out them looking brand new with no scuffs. For the amount I lose, even the used Pro V1s were above my budget. For the time they spend in the water, I can see the paint being affected, but the urethane ionomer covers are plastic, it would take decades to affect the balls performance I think.

I tend to use Lake balls when playing currently being a less than average golfer I find when I lose one or hit a bad tee shot I dont tend to be as bothered as I would losing a brand new premium golf ball.

Love this new.way its awesome info

So I have some callaway chrome soft lake balls, Pearl grade ( the best ) and play them when not in competition. I notice no difference between my new chrome softs and the lake balls. Could be a good video comparing lake balls to new balls and collecting data. You can get premium balls on eBay for less than a pound a ball in Pearl condition so would recommend

Just bought 30 Pro V1x lake balls off eBay for $25 shipped to my house. I’ll never go back. Stuck the most greens I have ever hit in my life and less than $1 a ball.

The "Reload" golf ball company is in Stafford, Texas. About 10 miles from where I am sitting. They clean and repackage Pro V1's harvested from golf course ponds. My experience with them: some are like new and some are like rocks. I take it the difference is attributable to how long they have been soaking. I would rather buy a new pack of Top Flites than spend money on used golf balls. At least they will be consistent and all of them will perform. A dead rock ball is worthless.

I have played refurbished balls for about 5 years. I generally pay < $1 a ball from a diver outside of Houston, Tx. I can buy a bucket of '96 balls' for $80 USD + shipping. I personally can't tell the difference. I wouldn't even consider playing a 'New Pro V1' until the Summer when we have legit fairways. Right now, there is zero grass (Nov-April), dormant greens and fairways.

Please do a show on lake balls vs new. Possibly drop them on a steel plate as well as drive simulator.

rick you can get an inexpensive moisture meter, Amazon has them of perhaps source one locally. you can test new ProV, refurb amd lake balls of the same brand amd type. also weigh them on a kitchen scale. Most of us have always wondered how much water a ball might take on when submerged for months or years. a good follow up video subject for you. Youre welcome

Rick can you review a premium lake vs premuim refurbished vs a lower budget new ball? That would be interesting to see if a new none premium would preform just as the ladder

Balls that sit in water for too long are compromised for sure...

It would be great actually testing the 3 different balls on your main channel would love watch it

So I have a non golf related question. What store those red and black squares on the wall.... and where can I get them.

Saw an article that said a brand new mint ball can sit under water for a long time. Once it’s hit a few times, compression and scuffs leave micro cracks in the cover, and after a few hours under water it’s compromised.

The Balls, Lakeballdivers recover gonna be bought by me and I hit them back in the Water xD so its a smart business model

I am a mid handicapper, I have been buying the New Cosco balls at the same price as reclaimed balls at Walmart. I get excellence preformance from this ball

Rick I use Titleist Practice ProV1X balls and hardly tell a difference in spin or flight, but was wondering your opinion on them

I have been asking this for a while now. I personally buy Lake balls and they have always been pearl grade and they do not have a mark on them. Yes they may be branded with logo's but never found it effecting my game ( so I think) But the question is always in the back of my mind what's best. New or lake balls?

I buy refurbished pro V1s. When I played competitively in school, the refurbished (if they're close to mint) played virtually identical to new. Even when I was near scratch, I never felt the ball affected my game. Mistakes were on me, even near scratch. But a ball that's been sitting in the water forever or visibly all messed up? I just launch it into the woods.

Here's a question: Why refurb or lake balls, when there's decent budget alternatives, like for us in the USA, costco's Kirkland, 2 dozen for usually $24-25, that's a dollar a ball. I just picked up mine for $19.99, that's less than a dollar a ball, and I prefer them to say Callaway Supersofts or Chromesofts, but that's really all I have to compare it to at this point.

I prefer second hand over refurbs, the new cover on refurbs has a distinct clicking sound that doesn’t sound stock.

I have seen ProV1s that I pulled out of a pond or lake that are warped. They have bumps and little lumps for some reason. I don't know why this happens but ive only seen it in ProV1 and ProV1x. I think most balls taken out of a body of water would be fine and have no fall in performance.

I hit lake balls everyday. 2-300 per day. 100 yard pitch in my back yard. I haven’t noticed any difference from my bought balls and I pay attention. I definitely know which balls I don’t like hitting though.

Rick, if you would like some answers on the Golf ball recovery I am more than willing to answer any questions. I have been recovering ponds with rollers for 4 years now, use to dive before that. Il send you a dozen water pro-v1s if you would like for a comparison video.

My mate and I dive twice a year for balls and notice the pro v1s get damaged by the water. They almost start to welt or have bubbles on them

the golf balls under water dont have an effect on the aero once scrubbed, the only issue is, if the lake is relatively deep, the golf ball shape can get a little ovular since the water pressure will divert it yet the interior will stay uneffected so shallow lake balls should be identical to none lake balls

I am skeptical of lake balls, especially in places where the lakes freeze in the winter. It has to affect the performance. Think I will just stick with Snell, the best ball for the money imo.

You guys are more disturbing than Google data collection :D Just got a package of Lakeballs and like 5 minutes later this is being posted on here :D

You can check refurbished by weight, it’s not fool proof, but it is an indicator.

Can you tell me more about fazer

I got some pro v1s that were from a creek. I can send them to you to test.

I "think" refurbished ball sellers are supposed to get the ball accurate by law (honesty and all), but some don't which is a problem. So I guess in that case the idea is to get them from reputable sources. How you figure that out could be through reviews for instance. I have found a bunch over time at courses and found they performed very well. I couldn't tell the difference aside from a bit of sound difference and slight labeling differences. But that may or may not be preferred, depending on the player's opinion. For water balls, I think there have been experiments that found the performance doesn't suffer. Namely because the very material balls are made of don't degrade easily: Plastic. Older balls had those wound rubber band cores and rubber covers which would degrade over time just existing (water unnecessary. Or maybe they just "seem" like they degraded because ball tech has come so far and they don't perform as well as a modern ball), but more modern balls are so solid and durable that water doesn't seem to do anything. So experiments on ball degradation are pretty limited at the moment because you have to wait so long. But at that point it makes you wonder: Would the ball have degraded from just existing perhaps like a wound ball or did water play a factor? Hard to tell as it's not like water seems to absorb in the ball. It would have to breach the outer layers somehow and get to some point it causes imbalance or dampens hits. In which case, I'd think it would probably be pretty obvious damage to the eye. For either, I would bet that is why they inspect the balls before resale to be sure they aren't in rough shape so they will perform as expected. Any balls you find on the course I guess you could just test as you go. But even that is hard to say as many factors determine a ball's total distance and trajectory. Swing robots can't hit a ball to the exact same position every time after all, so humans aren't going to.

I bought I giant box of refurbished balls and the new paint made it almost feel like hitting a waterlogged baseball. Felt dead when I hit it. Seemed like a waste of money

I have played refurbished + lake balls for years and I can't tell the difference. I pay @ $0.78 a ball from a regional local scuba diver who markets on the internet. I buy buckets of 96 balls for $75. I am a 10 hdcp and I can honestly not tell the difference. Now Adam Scott gets FREE balls so I am sure all of his balls are fresh out of the box. If you are a 10-15 hdcp you will do well with the reclaimed balls.

Lakes in the USA are cleaned out 4 times a year. Lake balls are just fine if they were a quality ball put in there in the first place. Scuffed and cut balls are rubbish even if they don't go in a lake. I have played lake balls for 15 years. No complaints.

I buy lake balls and they hit fine. Get 100 prov1/x, chrome Softs, bridgestones. But then again I probably wouldn’t know the difference.

I don’t play anymore( golf related injury) , but, i keep up with equipment etc, it’s shocking how much a new ball costs!, in days gone by we used to play them till the shine on them was no more,and we played with anything we found, and when in places in Spain, the Algarve and guys working on the course would offer what they found for a few quid, I’m not surprised these days of inferior,so called lake balls, plus, at this time, support your local Pro, buy from him/her .

I must be board to consider watching this....

I buy mint Pro V1 balls from Reuse golf balls. I dont see any difference, and they are much cheaper than new.

Plastics do absorb water over time and any ball that has been sitting in water for a couple weeks will be slightly different. the question is are you skilled enough to feel the difference.

The quality is in this order: New balls are the best, lake balls range from as good as new to unusable, refurbished balls are worst of any balls.

Srixon zstar, is the ball to beat. PRO V1 is 10 years ago.

I do not use water balls, bad vibes in the head and we all know how that works. I only use balls I find on the grass or woods, all natural.

Or you could buys stuff years pro vs for half the price new

There is no affect on the core of the ball after sitting in the water. We're talking about a solid plastic item.

I’m not good enough to tell a difference!

Most of the lake balls are only just lost. They may have never been in lake.

Do new balls stopping you topping the shit out of it and it going about 30 yards.

I play the Kirkland signature balls, about $1 per ball brand new and I'm not good enough to tell the difference

All balls become used after its first shot.

I have never bought a new golf ball in my life, or a refurbished one. My balls are either bought by the bag for a fiver, or found in the rough

Buy some lake balls. It’s all I use and I need to know if they are rubbish.

I have shoe boxes of "pond" balls in various conditions from my local courses. More than willing to send a couple from the states if interested. They definitely change the longer they've been sun baked

Lake balls rule! I’ve been playing lake pro v 1s that I’ve bought off a guy by my house. Literally play exactly the same!!!

I bought a bunch of used balls...probably from a swamp.....every single one I hit today....thunk. Flat sound and went nowhere. Put me right off playing today. Thankfully, I am playing again on Sunday....going to use some better ones and see how I do.

pack of new balls..put half in a bucket of water..test every week until you see a difference..id opt for the ..buy new balls

The argument that Pro V1's are premium because of the price ignores the fact that 50% of that price goes to the golfers that endorse the company. Consumer pays extra to buy the balls the pros tell them to buy that are only expensive because the pros yell them to buy them.... crazy. Vice balls for life!

Difference between a 5 dollar ball and a .50 ball is 4.50

I swear water soaked balls loose distance. im a golf course superintendent I've played more lake balls than most. brand new pro v out the sleeve flys way farther than one I've got out the water hazard

I personally don’t see a difference between lake and new balls. I’m fine with buying 10 for a pound at my local charity shop

SOOOOOO many options....WITHOUT URETHANE COVERS!!!!

No Question. Spend whatever you are comfortable with, but always buy new. I’m currently playing distance balls; good length off tee, I love the height I get on approach shots, and what I loose in spin I gain in decent angle. Only time will tell how many shots I gain playing premium balls, but I am yet to see any difference.

You would think lake balls would be impacted by climate as balls that were frozen may become more brittle over time.

Here is a problem, I don't believe all refinished golf bslls are the real thing inside, so how do you know the 'safer' lake ball isn't a refinished lake ball?

Ahh but what about refurbished lake balls?

I’m not good enough to buy brand new pro v’s lol

What is the best golf ball at $20/dozen?

Expensive golf balls have slowed the game of golf down to a crawl... Take your average business man. He makes 200K a year. He's got the 2 K set of clubs and all the apparel. But here's the deal he didn't get that way by being careless with money. When that $5 golf ball goes into the woods he going to go get it. And if it take 10 min to do so he will stay there till he finds it. Where if he was hitting a cheap Top Flight that cost 50 cents brand new he simply drop another and go. Now imagine the guy that really can't afford Pro V1's hits one in the woods. That ball might be a 1/2 hours take home pay for him. He's going to stay in those woods till he comes out with a ProV whether it's his or not. I understand Rick hitting nothing but good balls. But for that average golfer out there it makes no difference. Maybe we should make a rule. You have to be at least a 10 or below handicapper before you can use a ball that cost more than $4 each. Ha!!

The lake ball portion is just pure speculation here. A little research on this would be helpful.....In short the urethane cover is actually quite porous and will absorb water into the layers. Performance is degraded. Just buy Snell or mid range balls that fit your swing dynamics instead of the recycled pellets.

Lakeballs good, refurb bad

I'd buy new cheaper balls than used pro v

Why didn't he advertise this on his main channel idk this even existed, kinda disappointed Rick😑

I don't think the balls are in the lake for more than 2 months. For the person with the rights to the lake that's all money sitting in there. I'm sure they are on top of it.

Officially the cover on golf balls should mean there is little or no effect due to the polymers that are used. However over a long period of time I have no clue.

I bought 50 lake balls for £25

Lake balls lose 10% of performance every year they sit in the lake