The 10 Best Golf Balls For Beginners in 2023
Meet Jake
Jake was a competitive golfer for over a decade dating back to the days of being the Captain of his high school golf team. He has played more than 200 courses across 32 different states in the US. Now semi-retired, Jake continues to golf 3-4 days a week with a current 2 handicap, gives golf lessons to his friends and family, and provides a wealth of knowledge to Golf Circuit from his competitive playing days. Jake combines practical expertise with technical knowledge to create golfing strategies and training techniques for both beginners and scratch golfers.
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With dozens of manufacturers and hundreds of different kinds of golf balls, it can be tough to know what the best brands are, especially when you’re a beginner!
Golfers of all levels need to balance quality, playability, and price when considering the right golf ball for their game. So, with all that in mind, here are our top picks for the best golf balls for beginners.
Our Top Picks for Best Golf Balls For Beginners
- Titleist Pro V1: Best Overall Golf Ball for Beginners
- Callaway Supersoft: Most Forgiving Golf Ball for Beginners
- TaylorMade Noodle Long and Soft: Best Beginner Golf Ball On A Budget
How Do Golf Balls Work?
The science behind how golf balls work is fascinating, but we’ll keep it to the basics today. Most modern golf balls are made of two parts. The core is usually tightly-wound synthetic fibers. The outside is a dimpled shell designed to cut down on wind resistance. When your club hits the ball, it compresses and flies (hopefully straight!)
Golf ball manufacturers are constantly working to improve ball technology. They experiment with different cores, consistencies, and shells to offer less drag, which means greater distance and more control over your ball.
Does the Right Golf Ball Really Matter for Beginning Golfers?
It absolutely does! When you’re buying golf balls, you should know who they’re for and what they’re trying to accomplish. Similar to clubs explicitly made to help beginners improve, some balls do the same thing.
That may mean they don’t travel quite as far, but they’ll still be pretty straight even if you hit it fat or thin.
Of course, if you’re the kind of golfer that wants to play like the pros, you can get a professional-level ball. You may struggle more at first, but that will also give you a pretty good idea of where your swing is hurting.
The thing to keep in mind, though, is that no matter what ball you use, even the best ball won’t make you a great golfer automatically. So have fun, try a few out, and see your game improve!
Titleist Pro V1
If you’re going to start with any ball, you might as well start with the one that’s generally considered the best: the Titleist Pro V1. The Pro V1 is the top choice of players on the PGA Tour. If it’s good enough for the best players in the world, it’s definitely good enough for the beginning golfer.
Because it’s a pro-grade ball, you can rest assured that you’re getting the top materials available. A solid core helps maximize distance off the tee. A second high-flex casing layer helps to reduce spin on driver shots, which increases length even further.
The cover uses a soft cast urethane elastomer. You don’t have to know what that is, but you should know it means that Pro V1 handles the short game really well. The cover is also aerodynamically designed to make shots go straighter and further.
With all those advantages, the Pro V1 is one of the best golf balls for beginners by any measure. Because of that, it’s our top choice for beginning golfers. However, here are a couple of things to think about before you make a purchase.
First, quality comes at a high price. The Pro V1 is very expensive compared to other balls, and if you’re like me and shagging a couple of balls into the trees every round, that cost can add up quickly.
In addition, because the Pro V1 is for the best players, it’s not as forgiving as other balls. So if you’re someone who wants to understand where you can improve, it’s a great ball. But if you’re easily discouraged by misswings, maybe consider another option.
Callaway Supersoft
Callaway is another of the more prominent golf brands, and their Supershot ball is another one of the most popular balls you can buy. So many beginning golfers love the Supersoft because it’s great for golfers with a slower swing speed.
When you swing the golf club slower, your swing has a better chance to go offline, which means you’re more likely to draw, fade or add a ton of unwanted spin on your shots. The Supersoft is designed to combat that.
The Supersoft’s High-Speed Soft Compression Core optimizes energy transfer from the club to the ball, which means you’re getting more out of your golf swing. Especially when you’re just starting, this means straighter shots that go a bit further. A little ego boost goes a long way!
Callaway continues to refine the Supersoft design, including a new Hybrid Cover with an Impact Modifier. What this means for you is that you have a little bit better control over your shots. For example, a pitching wedge shot is more likely to land near the green and sit instead of spinning back off into the rough.
Because these balls are for mid-handicap players, they also are relatively easy on your wallet. You can stock up at the beginning of the season and be in good shape for the rest of the year. The Supersoft is a great ball and one that you’ll come back to over and over again.
TaylorMade Noodle Long and Soft
When you look at the package for the Noodle, you might think that it looks more like a gag gift than a golf ball that’s going to help you as a beginner. But looks are deceiving! Despite its name and packaging, the Noodle is a great ball.
Beginners love TaylorMade clubs because they’re very forgiving, and the Noodle is the perfect ball to match.
It’s for golfers that are just starting out. As one of the best golf balls for beginners, the core value of the Noodle is playability. It doesn’t carry quite as far as some balls, and you might not be able to spin a ball back toward the hole like the pros with it. But you’re way less likely to rocket these off into the water.
The word “soft” here means forgiving, and the Noodle is very forgiving. It won’t fix your hook or your slice, but you’re more likely to end up on the fairway with it.
If you hit a Noodle ball, it just feels good coming off your club. Golf is a game where look and feel are a lot, and the Noodle excels there.
Maybe the most beautiful thing about the Noodle to beginner golfers, though, is the value. Most companies sell golf balls by the dozen. With the Noodle, you can buy in packs of 24 and still spend way less than you’re going to on a lot of other balls.
With some golf equipment, a low price sometimes means really low quality, but I’m happy to tell you that the Noodle is a great value and an excellent ball to get you going on the course.
Vice Pro Plus
Vice is a newer player in the golf space, which means they’re eager to claim a spot with the big companies. So why does that matter for you? It means you’re getting top-level balls for much lower prices.
The best ball that Vice offers for beginner golfers is the Pro Plus. The Pro Plus has a dual casing that will help your shots go longer off the tee. This makes it one of the best golf balls for beginners.
How does it do that? The dual casing absorbs some of the shot, which means your ball will launch at a lower angle and with less spin. Put all that together, and you’re going to get more distance.
The urethane cover also will help beginners with their short game. The Pro Plus has what Vice calls “S2TG: Stick To The Green” technology. So, when you’re close to the green, the ball has excellent spin, and the urethane cover helps it stop dead when it’s on the green, letting you place the ball really close to the pin.
If that’s not enough, Vice also offers more tools with the Pro Plus to help beginners. One is that the balls are available in many different colors. If you’re hitting the ball all over the course, having a bright green ball that you can track will be easier than the standard white.
Pro Plus balls also have a putting alignment stripe on them. When you’re on the green and lining up your putt, making sure everything is aligned correctly is crucial. This move by Vice helps you in a big way there.
Nitro Golf Crossfire
The Nitro Golf Crossfire is a great value brand. You’ll get a ton of bang for your buck when you use the Crossfire. You might not know Nitro as well as some of the big brands, but they’ve been in business for 25 years and have been providing good value to golfers in that time.
One of the critical features of the Crossfire is the titanium core. A lot of balls will use rubber or synthetics, but this titanium core works a little differently. It’s supposed to help golfers maximize the energy transfer from your club to the ball, increasing flight and distance. The Crossfire also holds up pretty well in the short game.
There are a few things to be aware of with the Crossfire, though. The first is that they don’t necessarily have great control. When you stack the Crossfire up with others on this list, this one’s definitely tougher to spin. You’ll get a reasonable distance, but these don’t have a ton of roll to them. Crossfires also are not as durable as others on this list, either. They scuff up pretty quickly, so you’ll be rotating through them regularly.
That said, these are a great value buy. A standard package of these is 45, so if you’re just starting and want a ball that you won’t feel bad about losing, the Crossfire is an excellent starting point.
Wilson Staff F.L.I.
Unlike many of the brands on our list, Wilson doesn’t specialize in golf. However, they’ve been around for decades and are trusted for quality athletic gear across a wide variety of sports. In fact, they make one of the best golf balls for beginners.
The Staff FLI is Wilson’s golf ball geared toward the beginner. The ionomer cover is tough and durable. It’ll stand up to whacking in and out of sand traps, off rough or through trees.
Wilson engineered the ball to maximize your distance because the Staff FLI is geared toward the newest golfers. However, many golfers who use it report that the ball still does pretty well in the short game. You won’t get a large amount of backspin with the Staff FLI, but it has a good roll and won’t hurt your score when you’re near the green.
No ball will help cure your slice or hook on its own, but the Staff FLI does limit sidespin to make your shots straighter off the club.
What sets the Staff FLI apart is the value. It’s tough to find this quality of a ball at such a value price point. Buy a few dozen of these, and you’ll be a happy golfer.
Get the Wilson Staff FLI Golf Balls.
TaylorMade Rocketballz
RBZ/Rocketballz was TaylorMade’s big push in the mid-2010s. At the time, they were one of the pinnacles of golf technology. Things may have evolved since then, but the Rocketballz line is still reliable, playable, and, best of all, cheap.
You don’t have to count all the dimples on the ball to confirm, but the Rocketballz have a very similar dimple pattern to high-end golf balls, like the Pro V1. For beginner golfers, that means these are great to practice and play with. You can learn to improve your ball striking, placement, and spin without having to pay the premium prices of more modern balls.
With the word rocket right in the title, you might expect these balls to fly, and they definitely do that. Rocketballz have a great sound to them off the tee, and they fly straight and true. Many beginners who use them report 5-10 yards further on their tee shot, which is great for your game and also an ego boost which always helps!
Because the Rocketballz brand is now a few years old, the technology has updated a bit over time. However, that just means that you can get the premium ball of a few years ago for a small fraction of the price.
TaylorMade is a great brand, and the Rocketballz are an excellent gateway ball for beginners. Buy a few dozen and then upgrade from there as your game improves!
Titleist TruFeel
Titleist makes our best overall ball for beginners, so you know that they’re a good quality brand. The TruFeel may not be the top-level ball the Pro V1 is, but it still offers Titleist quality at a reasonable price.
A new Trutouch core and Truflex cover give the TruFeel a great experience off the day. You can really feel the power transferring from club to ball. It makes for a very satisfying shot. In addition, Titleist has applied their system of Trufit aerodynamics to help every shot go a bit longer.
Titleist has also considered one of the most critical shots in golf: the putt. Their signature 4-line systems can help beginning golfers to line up their putt better when reading the green. That alone can help shave off a couple of strokes per round.
Because the cover isn’t urethane like many professional-grade balls, you might find that the TruFeel lacks a little finesse. However, for beginner golfers, this shouldn’t bother you too much. Of course, that cover also means that these balls cut easier, and you’ll be replacing them more, but they’re a good value.
So if you want the prestige and ego boost of hitting a Titleist ball, but the Pro V1 is a little too much for you, check the TruFeel out. You won’t be disappointed with the performance.
Get these beginner golf balls.
Volvik Vimax Soft
Volvik’s Vimax Soft is another excellent beginner ball. They’re for players with a slower swing speed (think 75-95 miles per hour), perfect for players just starting.
One of the excellent features of the Vimax soft is that they come in a selection of colors. Sometimes I see a lot of white balls on the fairway (or in the trees) and have trouble picking mine out. A yellow or bright green ball like the Vimax Soft, though? That stands out and is significantly easier to track.
You might not think that tracking the ball off the tee is too hard, but it’s actually a skill that takes some golfers a lot of practice and time to master.
With the Vimax Soft, Volvik aims for a ball that flies off the tee at a high launch angle. The relative softness of the ball makes that possible. The softness of the ball means that the Vimax Soft usually has a lovely soft landing as well.
I’ve never had slicing problems with the Vimax Soft, but some golfers have said that it can accentuate slices, so, like with any ball, the best way to find out if it affects you is to try some out. Fortunately, they’re very reasonably priced, so it won’t hurt your wallet to see if these are for you.
Check out the best golf balls for beginners.
Accufli Max Soft
Last but not least is the Accufli Max Soft. Accufli isn’t as well-known a brand as many others on this list, but their line of golf balls is great for the beginning golfer.
The Max Soft has large dimples, which helps with aerodynamics and provides the extra lift that beginners often need. These big dimples also help to cut down on drag and spin, which are the factors that make your ball go all over the course.
These balls also have a cut-proof ionomer cover and urethane coating, which means that they’re going to last you for a while. At this price point, covers often scuff and cut right away, so that just means more value for your dollar.
By default, a package of Max Soft comes with six colors of golf ball: pink, orange, red, green, pink, and blue. Most of them are fine, but I don’t recommend blue or purple options. They tend to get lost in the sky and are much harder to track to their landing point. Other than that, though, the Max Soft is a great value ball.
Frequently Asked Questions
Beginner golfers have a ton of questions about their equipment when starting out. Here are just a few of the more common ones.
What’s the One Thing That I Want out of a Golf Ball as a Beginner Golfer?
It really depends on what element of your game needs the most work. If your shots are short or your swing is slow, focus on distance. If your ball is slicing or hooking a lot, find a ball that controls sidespin. For most beginners, a ball that does a little of everything is a great starting point.
Does the Ball Material Matter?
It might matter for more veteran golfers, but don’t worry about it too much when you’re starting out!
Do I Need Different Balls If I’m Right or Left-Handed?
You do not! As opposed to clubs, where your dominant hand really matters, a good golf ball will still be good no matter what.
Does My Golf Ball Need to Be the Same Brand as My Clubs?
It doesn’t. Some golf equipment manufacturers may recommend that you use the same brand of club and ball, but that’s not really true. Just focus on hitting the ball with your club for a start! No need to worry about brand loyalty.
Conclusion
Beginner golfers have a ton of options when it comes to golf balls. So whether you’re looking to emulate the professionals from your first round, or you’re looking for a ball that’s better for your wallet, this list has you covered. The most important thing is to get a few different types of balls, try them out, and see what you like. See you on the course!
