Lake balls by brand: Canadian prices, buying before freeze-up and Golf Canada’s conforming-ball rule

October is when Canadian golfers count what is left in the bag. The season is closing, most course ponds will soon be under ice, and the recovered balls bought in May have had a summer to show their worth. Some players found their Pro V1s indistinguishable from new; others opened a bag of Chrome Softs and found three different covers inside. This page takes the main premium models one at a time: what each maker says, what a recovered dozen cost from a Canadian seller this month, and what research says about a winter on the bottom of a pond. Nobody at Panxis Golf hit any of these balls.

For the fundamentals (grades, recovered versus refinished), start with our guide to used and lake balls.

Can a ball survive a winter under the ice?

The most useful study for Canadians was run just across the border. Thomas Raffel and Patrick Long, of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, sank 2016 Titleist Pro V1s in three ponds on the university’s Katke-Cousins course from June 30, 2017, and retrieved them over up to a year. A robot at Golf Labs in San Diego then hit them beside dry control balls. Their paper in the International Journal of Golf Science (September 2023) records pond water between 0.2 and 28.0 °C, coldest in January and February: these balls sat through a Great Lakes winter.

They found no significant change in total distance or carry dispersion, only a non-significant trend of about half a percent. Colour did change: covers yellowed steadily, and after twelve months some balls had a translucent to opaque yellow tint, unrelated to how far they flew. The authors conclude that a Mint urethane ball with little yellowing has probably spent under a year in the water. Golf.com noted in March 2024 that a ball-diving company helped fund the work.

An older result is less comforting. Golf Digest reported in September 1996, in a test later summarized in U.S. Patent 5,823,891, that with a robot driver at 93.7 mph (about 151 km/h) a three-piece ball lost 6 yards of carry after eight days in water, 12 after three months and 15 after six; a two-piece ball lost 9.1 yards after three months. Those were mid-1990s balls, and the figures stay in yards, the unit on Canadian scorecards.

Titleist told Golf.com that every ball material absorbs moisture at its own rate and that a ball you did not see go in has a high probability of not performing as designed. The USGA’s John Spitzer said a current ball with an intact water-resistant coat should not lose significant performance for one to two years. And the 2023 study tested one model only.

How the Canadian seller grades its bags

The Canadian online seller checked in October 2026 sells most models in one combined grade, “5A/4A,” in bags of 36: balls that look played for one to twelve holes, possibly with player markings, light shading or small scuffs, and, its text warns, sometimes corporate logos. You get a blend, not a choice between Mint and Near Mint. Its “2nd Grade” (3A) tier is described as worn, discoloured and scuffed, with possible logos, practice balls and X-outs: range material.

Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x: the year matters more than the pond

Titleist describes the 2025 Pro V1 as a three-piece ball with a high-gradient core, a high-flex casing layer, a cast urethane elastomer cover and 388 dimples, and the 2025 Pro V1x as a four-piece ball with a dual core and 348 dimples. Both went on sale on January 25, 2025. Our Pro V1 page covers the current model.

Titleist released new generations in 2021, 2023 and 2025, and the Canadian seller prices them separately: 2023, 2021/2022, and a “prior generation” bag described as 2020 and earlier. That split helps. The research gives little reason to fear a Mint Pro V1; the bigger risk is a bag mixing design cycles that do not fly alike.

Refinished balls are another product. The same seller lists factory-refinished Pro V1s as stripped, painted, stamped or clear-coated, marked “Refinished” on one pole, and not endorsed by Titleist nor under its warranty. In MyGolfSpy’s lab comparison, a refinished Pro V1 finished 13 yards behind a new 2021 Pro V1 at 115 mph of driver speed, 7.5 yards at 100 mph and 6 yards at 85 mph. In the United States, labelled refinished balls have been legal since the Federal Circuit refused Acushnet an injunction in Nitro Leisure Products v. Acushnet (2003). No comparable Canadian ruling turned up for this page.

TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x: watch the wedge face

Both are five-layer balls with a cast urethane cover. For the 2026 versions, launched in February 2026, TaylorMade cites an ultra-thin cover, its largest Tour core in the TP5, new mantle materials in the TP5x and a more even paint process. No immersion study covers the TP5; GolfWRX threads on earlier TP5x generations talk about wedge scuffs, which cost a recovered ball its grade. The Canadian seller listed no recovered TP5 this month, so it is not in the table.

Callaway Chrome Soft: one name, many years

Callaway launched its 2026 Chrome family on January 30, 2026. Golf Digest reported four layers for the Chrome Tour and Tour X, three for the Chrome Soft, all urethane, with a mantle Callaway says is about 16 percent stiffer. The Canadian listing states that its bag “will be a mix of Chrome Soft models,” and prices Chrome Soft and Chrome Soft X the same. Soft urethane cuts easily, so a scuff may predate the pond. A 24-ball bag of yellow Chrome Soft Truvis was also listed, handy among October leaves.

Srixon Z-Star: when yellow is not always water

The 2025 Z-Star line, launched January 24, 2025, has an extra-thin urethane cover made partly with biomass, a Spin Skin+ coating and a FastLayer DG Core 2.0, soft at the centre and firmer outward; the Z-Star XV has 338 dimples. The Canadian bag “may contain a mixture of different year models.” Yellowing is what the Michigan study tied to time underwater, yet forum threads describe Z-Star covers turning yellowish after a few rounds. A pale yellow Z-Star may have wintered in a pond, or just had a busy summer.

Bridgestone Tour B: confirm the letter and the count

The 2024 Tour B X was a three-piece ball with a Reactiv iQ urethane cover and a gradational compression core; Golf.com reports the 2026 family adds a Kevlar mantle. With four versions per generation, “Tour B” alone says little. The Canadian seller lists the X and XS as 36-ball bags, yet both descriptions also mention a bag of two dozen. Ask before ordering.

Velocity and Supersoft: the two-piece option

The Velocity is a two-piece ball with a NaZ+ cover and 350 dimples; the Supersoft, a two-piece ball with Callaway’s Hybrid Cover. The 2023 paper notes that older ionomer and balata covers resisted water less well than modern urethane over an ionomer casing, but no recent test found compares current two-piece and urethane balls after equal time underwater. They are the cheapest branded bags below.

What a recovered dozen costs in Canada this October

Read in October 2026 from a Canadian online seller, in Canadian dollars. Per-dozen figures divide the bag price and are rounded.

Model and grade	Bag	Per dozen
Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x, 2023 (5A/4A)	C$99.99 for 36	about C$33.33
Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x, 2021/2022 (5A/4A)	C$79.99 for 36	about C$26.66
Titleist Pro V1x, 2020 and earlier (5A/4A)	C$59.99 for 36	about C$20.00
Callaway Chrome Soft or Chrome Soft X, mixed (5A/4A)	C$69.99 for 36	about C$23.33
Callaway Chrome Soft Truvis yellow (5A/4A)	C$59.99 for 24	about C$30.00
Srixon Z-Star, mixed years (5A/4A)	C$59.99 for 36	about C$20.00
Bridgestone Tour B X or Tour B XS (5A/4A)	C$69.99 for 36	about C$23.33
Titleist Velocity (5A/4A)	C$49.99 for 36	about C$16.66
Callaway Supersoft (5A/4A)	C$49.99 for 36	about C$16.66
Titleist mixed ionomer models (3A)	C$59.99 for 60	about C$12.00
Titleist Pro V1, factory refinished	C$69.99 for 36	about C$23.33

Each step back in Pro V1 generation saves exactly C$20 a bag. A refinished Pro V1 bag costs less than a recovered 2021/2022 one but more than a recovered pre-2021 Pro V1x, so price alone will not tell you which product you hold. A 2023 Pro V1 comes to about C$2.78 a ball, the 3A mix about a dollar. Prices were in Canadian dollars, with no duty charged at delivery and a 30-day return window; the prior-generation plain Pro V1 bag was out of stock.

What golfers are saying

Read on the GolfWRX forums, in threads on lake balls, recycled Pro V1s and refinished balls.

For:

• Top grades can pass for new. Long-time buyers of recovered 5A balls say they cannot tell them from a fresh sleeve in normal play.
• Older Pro V1s are a fair compromise. Some members played prior-generation recovered Pro V1s against a newer model and found no difference worth the extra cost.
• Cheaper balls change course management. At two or three dollars a ball, a forced carry over water stops being a financial decision.

Against:

• Uneven bags. Recovered Pro V1s are called hit or miss: most fine, a few that feel hard off the face.
• Logos and markings. Buyers expecting clean white balls find corporate logos and pen marks that grading texts allow but photos rarely show.
• Refinished is not the original. The recurring complaint is less greenside spin, a different feel, and no way of knowing what lies under the new paint.
• Unknown time underwater. A ball cleaned up after a long stay in a pond gives no outward sign of how long it was there.

Where Canadian golfers find lake balls, and what Golf Canada’s rules allow

October is the last month to shop close to home. Some clubs sell balls pulled from their own ponds, and asking at the pro shop before freeze-up gets you balls that went in this season, not three winters ago. Once the ice is in, supply until spring is whatever sellers already hold.

Canadian online sellers price in Canadian dollars and ship domestically; if a seller ships from the United States, work out the landed cost before comparing. In a store, you see the grade yourself, which matters more here than for almost any golf purchase. Bins of mixed used balls belong in a winter dome bucket, not a club championship. Wherever you buy, ask how each grade is defined, whether photos show the actual balls, which years are included, whether logo balls are mixed in and what happens if the bag misses its grade. And look for the word “refinished.”

For competition, Golf Canada’s championship local rules put Model Local Rule G-3 in effect: the ball must appear on the List of Conforming Golf Balls, and a stroke with a non-listed ball means disqualification. If an event you enter uses that rule, check that an older recovered model is still on the current list. The stricter One Ball rule (Model Local Rule G-4) treats each generation as a separate entry and is meant for elite events; a mixed Pro V1 bag would fail it.

Planning a short Canadian season with lake balls

With a season of roughly May to October, one spring order can cover the year. Pick one model and generation so wedge distances stay consistent. Play 5A/4A urethane in rounds that count, the 3A mix in practice. Skip refinished if you want the ball the maker designed. Check each bag on arrival for yellowing, logos and stray models, and return what does not match. If you rarely lose a ball, price a discounted new prior-year model first.

How this page was put together

This is a product presentation and a reading of public opinion, not a test: nobody at Panxis Golf hit these balls. Technical details come from Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, Srixon and Bridgestone announcements and product pages, some as reported by Golf.com, Golf Digest and Golf Business News.

Recovered-ball prices, bag sizes, grade definitions and return terms were read on the product pages of Just Golf Stuff (justgolfstuff.ca), a Canadian online retailer, in October 2026, in Canadian dollars; per-dozen figures are our division of the bag price. The immersion research is credited to Golf Digest (1996, as summarized in U.S. Patent 5,823,891), to Raffel and Long in the International Journal of Golf Science (2023), including the pond temperatures, and to Golf.com (2024) for the Titleist and USGA statements. The refinished-ball comparison is MyGolfSpy’s test of Reload refinished Pro V1s; the American legal context is the Federal Circuit opinion in Nitro Leisure Products v. Acushnet (2003). The competition rule comes from Golf Canada’s local rules and terms of the competition, the One Ball rule from NCGA guidance.

What golfers say was read on the GolfWRX forums; nobody is quoted by name, nothing is counted, and no impression is presented as a statistic. There are no commercial links on this page, no affiliate arrangement and no commission of any kind. If content on this site is ever paid for by a brand, it will carry an advertising notice at the top of the page, before the first line.