Amazon Core Soft Golf Ball Review

We all know that golf can be a very expensive sport. So when I heard a few months ago that Amazon had released their own Core Soft golf ball, with a price tag of just £17 per dozen, I was very intrigued.

We bought ourselves a dozen off the website, and took them out on the golf course to see how they performed.

Is this budget golf ball able to compete with some of the biggest brands in golf? Let’s find out…

Who Is It Aimed At?

Anyone who is looking to play golf on a budget! These are pretty much the cheapest new golf balls you can buy – something that we would always recommend over refurbished or lake balls.

The balls themselves are built with a low compression. This should make them better suited to golfers with slower swing speed. As a result, they’re best suited to the mid-high handicap range.

If you’re somebody who plays lots of casual golf, or if you have a tendency to lose golf balls and just want something cheap and cheerful, these could be a great option.

If you’re looking to really improve your game, I think there are better options out there even in the soft, low-compression market. These would offer more consistent results and better durability, although you may have to pay a little bit more.

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The Tech

To be honest, when it comes to the new Core Soft balls, the technology is a little bit vague.

Amazon describe their balls as just ‘low compression’. This is said to deliver better distance and a straighter flight, as well as a softer feel at impact.

‘Advanced’ core and cover technology aims to improve short game control and more accurate putts. Whilst Amazon don’t detail it, we think the cover is made from surlyn rather than urethane.

The Core Soft side stamp is there for alignment. It helps golfers to line the ball up more consistently and get their putts starting on line more often.

The ball is USGA conforming and comes with a durable and high visibility cover. It’s available in both white and yellow.

Amazon Core Soft Golf Ball Review

Looks and Feel

The Amazon ball forms part of their ‘Basics’ range of products which are centred around value for money. As a result, the overall package is pretty low-key.

My box of balls arrived in Amazon’s usual brown cardboard packaging, which housed four sleeves of golf balls. There’s no dedicated box for the balls – presumably this is a cost-saving measure.

This didn’t bother me too much as I usually take the individual sleeves out anyway, but it definitely doesn’t scream premium.

The balls themselves look simple in their design, although the slightly shiny finish on the cover does look more budget.

There’s an Amazon arrow logo, and a clear ‘Core Soft’ alignment stamp on the side. This is a little bit thick for my taste, but doesn’t look bad overall.

I started off by hitting some chip shots around the green, and straight away noticed the soft feel. It’s almost spongey off the face.

It’s not the kind of click that you get from the likes of a Titleist ProV1 or a TaylorMade TP5, but I did quite enjoy it.

They felt a little more premium than I was expecting too. They reminded me of something like a Callaway Supersoft or a Srixon Soft Feel.

Performance

Starting with the chip shots, the soft feel did feel nice off the face, although I do sometimes think that this can make it a bit harder to get your distance control right. The firmer feel of some premium balls might not be as pleasant, but it gives you more responsive feedback.

When hitting chips and pitches from within 40 yards the ball was launching how I’d like it to. However I did notice that I wasn’t getting as much spin as I’d expect.

This was something that became a bit of a theme throughout my testing.

I’m someone who naturally spins the ball quite low, and I found that there was quite a bit of inconsistency in the ball flight from shot-to-shot with this ball.

I had a few shots which effectively performed like flyers, especially with my irons, which made distance control unpredictable.

I then had a couple of tee shots which really dipped out of the air and lost distance too. At times this made it hard to feel fully confident.

The Numbers

That’s not to say that weren’t some positives though. I tested the Core Soft against a Titleist Pro V1 ball using the GCQuad, and the results were quite surprising.

Hitting iron shots, the low compression helped to launch the ball much higher than the Pro V1. This combined with low spin, meant that I actually gained a bit of distance compared to the Pro V1 despite the ball speeds not being quite as high.

There was a similar story with the driver too. The average spin rate was nearly 400 rpm lower with the Core Soft compared to the ProV1.

Whilst I did hit some really decent drives, the difference between my longest and shortest shots was much higher with the Core Soft. I had some shots that were producing less than 1500rpm spin, which is too low.

On the greens, the alignment stamp makes it really easy to line your ball up. I also enjoyed the feel off the putter face too, although if you use a soft insert the combination might end up being a little *too* soft.

Amazon Core Soft Golf Ball Verdict

The Amazon Core Soft performed exactly as you would expect a golf ball at this price point to perform.

They felt soft and overall they were pretty good. The more I used them the more I started to see some inconsistencies in the performance though.

I hoped the durability might be a bit better too, although if you’re someone who does tend to go through balls quite quicky this might not be a bad thing!

In recent years we’ve seen the likes of Seed, Vice and even Kirkland have some success with golf balls that challenge the more traditional brands. The Amazon ball is bound to have plenty of takers, but my advice is that if you’re serious about your golf, golf brands are your best bet.

The likes of Srixon, Callaway, Titleist and TaylorMade produce great golf balls even for higher handicap golfers, at decent price points. They’re more likely to be produced to tighter tolerances too, so you’ll get a better quality product which is likely to be more consistent.

Would I Use It?

They come at a great price point, but the performance just wasn’t there for me.