Used Golf Balls FAQ

 What is the difference between Used & Refurbished Golf Balls?

   Used golf balls are golf balls that have been played, most likely hit out of bounds or into a water hazard, then retrieved, cleaned up and resold.

Used golf balls come in different gradings, such as mint (AAAAA), near mint (AAAA) or practice (AA).

They are sometimes referred to as "lakeballs". Damaged golf balls with cuts or path marks are also known as "hit-aways" and usually sold in bulk for practice play.

 Cleaned Recycled golf balls means "Cleaning only". The found golf ball goes through a wash process that allows the recovered golf balls to soak in a cleaning solution. The golf balls are then washed in a specially designed golf ball washer. Some companies remove most or all the clear coat from the ball with a mechanical wet blasting process. This process allows them to get the golf ball as clean as possible before re-clear coating. The objective of the freshly applied clear coat is to provide a consistent and more durable recycled product.   

 Refinished golf balls are processed by stripping, painting and/or clear-coating.

 The original paint and finish from the golf balls is removed using, a mechanical wet blasting process, the equipment utilized in this process is similar to equipment used in the process of removing mould lines and prepping many new golf balls, before they are painted in the factory. This leaves the original surface to be re-painted, printed and then re-clear coated.  

 This process is utilized mostly for more expensive balls such as Pro V1, HX Tour, and Nike one etc. The same process is also used by some factories to correct misprints. Independent testing has shown that refinished golf balls have only minimal change in flight or roll characteristics, the average player would never feel the differences. Refinishing can not repair cuts, scrapes or path marks.