Does the age of a golf ball affect its relative performance?
Properly stored, most new golf balls will not exhibit decay in performance noticeable to the average golfer. For recycled golf balls, it is largely an unknown where that ball came from and how long it might have been submerged in a pond or lake. One older study we came across suggests that over time there is a discernable decay in performance (among Surlyn and Balata covered balls) due to water logging; however, those cover technologies have been eclipsed by newer polymers; and in our testing of compression and cover hardness (and some ballistics testing), we saw no notable performance decay in what are known as near-new Grade 1 / AAAAA recycled golf balls. Even a “lower grade” recycled ball may have little noticeable difference in performance except for its lower grading due to observable cover damage or blemishes. Discoloration of a ball would indicate it was most likely submerged for some time and would not be a top choice if high performance is a leading requirement for that days p
