Lake balls brand by brand: Pro V1 to Tour B after a season, and where U.S. golfers buy them

Lake balls look alike in the bucket and stop looking alike after a season. By October, golfers who bought recovered Pro V1s, TP5s, Chrome Softs, Z-Stars or Tour Bs in spring know which brand came out of the water looking new, which dozen held three generations, and which grade meant something. This page takes those brands one by one: manufacturer specifications, October 2026 prices, published research on time underwater, and what golfers report. Nobody at Panxis Golf hit any of these balls.

For the basics (how grades work, recovered versus refinished, when used balls make sense), see our guide to used and lake balls. This one goes brand by brand.

What the research says about time underwater

The older result comes from Golf Digest in September 1996, as summarized in a U.S. patent granted in 1998. A robot driver test at 93.7 mph found that a three-piece ball lost 6 yards of carry after eight days underwater, 12 yards after three months and 15 yards after six months. A two-piece ball lost 9.1 yards in total after three months. Those were mid-1990s balls.

The recent work is a peer-reviewed study by Thomas Raffel and Patrick Long of Oakland University in Michigan, published in the International Journal of Golf Science in September 2023. They left 2016 Titleist Pro V1s in golf course ponds for up to 12 months, then had them hit by a robot at Golf Labs in San Diego next to dry control balls. They found no significant difference in total distance or dispersion, even after a year, although the covers yellowed steadily. Their conclusion: a urethane-covered ball graded Mint, with little yellowing, has probably spent less than a year underwater. Golf.com noted in March 2024 that the study was partly funded by a ball-diving company.

The study covers one model. Titleist told Golf.com that all ball materials absorb moisture at different rates, and that a ball you did not see go in has a high probability of not performing as designed. The USGA’s John Spitzer, in the same article, said a modern ball with an undamaged water-resistant coat should not lose significant performance for one to two years.

Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x: the dozen that spans generations

What Titleist publishes. The 2025 Pro V1 is a three-piece ball with a high-gradient core, a high-flex casing layer, a cast urethane elastomer cover and 388 dimples. The 2025 Pro V1x is a four-piece ball with a dual core, the same kind of casing, a urethane cover and 348 dimples. Both launched on January 25, 2025, at $54.99 a dozen. See our page on the current Titleist Pro V1.

After the pond. The immersion research is reassuring for Pro V1s without yellowing. The bigger issue is generational. The seller whose prices appear below lists 2025 balls separately and everything older as “2023 & Prior.” Titleist released new Pro V1 generations in 2021, 2023 and 2025, so a “prior” dozen can mix balls that, as forum regulars point out, were not designed to fly the same way.

The refinished question. In Nitro Leisure Products v. Acushnet, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 26, 2003, Titleist’s parent company tried to stop a reseller selling balls that had been stripped, repainted and restamped with the Titleist and Pro V1 marks. The court upheld the refusal of a preliminary injunction: the balls carried a “used and refurbished” legend, the packaging said they were not endorsed by the manufacturer nor covered by its warranty, and Acushnet had not shown they were so altered that the original marks could not be used. One judge dissented. Labeled refinished balls are legal; they are not balls Titleist made and checked.

Published testing suggests the difference is real. In a MyGolfSpy lab test, a refinished Pro V1 came out 13 yards shorter than a new 2021 Pro V1 at 115 mph of driver speed, 7.5 yards shorter at 100 mph and 6 yards shorter at 85 mph.

TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x: five layers, and the wedge marks show

What TaylorMade publishes. Both are five-layer balls with a cast urethane cover. For the 2026 generation, released in February 2026, TaylorMade describes an ultra-thin cover, what it calls its largest Tour core in the TP5, new mantle materials in the TP5x, and a new, more even paint process. The TP5x is the faster, lower-spinning of the two.

After the pond. No published immersion study covers the TP5. What golfers discuss is the cover: forum threads on earlier TP5x generations describe wedge scuffs appearing quickly, and in the recovered market a scuffed ball drops a grade. Recovered TP5 and TP5x dozens sell at the same price, so check which one you are getting.

Callaway Chrome Soft and Chrome Tour: many years under one name

What Callaway publishes. For the 2026 Chrome family, released January 30, 2026, at $58 a dozen, Golf Digest reported that the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X are four-layer balls and the Chrome Soft a three-layer ball, all with urethane covers and a mantle Callaway says is about 16 percent stiffer than before.

After the pond. The seller below states plainly that a recovered Chrome Soft dozen “may contain various year models.” Golfers also report that soft Chrome covers cut and scuff easily, especially in wet grass, so a ball may have been marked before it ever reached the water.

Srixon Z-Star: thin covers and the yellowing question

What Srixon publishes. The 2025 Z-Star series, launched January 24, 2025, uses an extra thin urethane cover made with biomass that Srixon says is designed to withstand all conditions on the course, a Spin Skin+ coating for approach spin, and a FastLayer DG Core 2.0 that combines three formulas, soft at the center and firmer outward. Srixon lists the Z-Star XV as a three-piece ball with 338 dimples at $54.99.

After the pond. Yellowing is the sign the 2023 study linked to time underwater, and it is also what golfers notice on Srixon covers: forum threads describe a yellowish tint after a few rounds and seams becoming visible, and some Z-Star Diamond threads describe torn covers. That makes grading by eye harder: a slightly yellow Z-Star may simply have been played, or may have spent a long time in a pond.

Bridgestone Tour B: four letters to check

What Bridgestone publishes. The 2024 Tour B X was a three-piece ball with a urethane cover using Reactiv iQ technology and a gradational compression core. The 2026 Tour B family, at $54.99 a dozen, keeps Reactiv iQ and adds a Kevlar mantle, according to Golf.com.

After the pond. With four models per generation, a recovered “Tour B” dozen means little until you know the letter. Heavy discounts on new prior-year Tour Bs, forum regulars note, narrow the saving.

Two-piece balls: Titleist Velocity, Callaway Supersoft

The Velocity is a two-piece ball with what Titleist calls a NaZ+ cover and 350 dimples; the Supersoft is a two-piece ball with what Callaway calls a Hybrid Cover. Do they handle water better? Nothing recent says so. The 1996 two-piece ball lost less carry than the three-piece one, but both were 1990s designs, and the 2023 study notes that older ionomer and balata covers were less water-resistant than a modern urethane cover over an ionomer casing. No published test found for this page compares a current two-piece ball with a current urethane ball after the same time underwater.

What recovered dozens cost in October 2026

A large U.S. online seller of recovered balls listed these prices per dozen in October 2026. Its grades: Mint (5A) looks like new with no scuffs or discoloration, Near Mint (4A) has slight blemishes or pen marks, Good (3A) shows visible wear and minor scuffs.

Model	Mint (5A)	Near Mint (4A)	Good (3A)
Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x, 2025	$28.99	$21.99	$9.99
Titleist Pro V1, 2023 and prior	$24.99	$14.99	$9.99
TaylorMade TP5 or TP5x	$21.99	$18.99	$9.99
Callaway Chrome Tour	$24.99	$15.99	$9.99
Callaway Chrome Soft	$21.99	$16.99	$9.99
Srixon Z-Star	$25.99	$13.99	not listed
Bridgestone Tour B X	$28.99	$13.99	$9.99
Titleist Velocity	$9.99	$9.99	not listed
Callaway Supersoft	$15.99	$11.99	$8.99

A Mint 2025 Pro V1 at $28.99 works out to about $2.42 a ball, roughly half the $54.99 launch price. The gap between Mint and Near Mint varies: $3 a dozen on the TP5, $7 on the 2025 Pro V1, $15 on the Tour B X. Where it is wide, Near Mint is the sensible buy for practice.

What golfers are saying

Read on the GolfWRX forums and in the seller’s customer reviews.

In favor, across brands:

• Mint can look new. Velocity, Chrome Tour and Pro V1x buyers describe balls indistinguishable from factory stock, and forum regulars report years of recovered Pro Vs without noticing a difference.
• The price changes water holes. A ball at around two dollars lets you take on a carry you would lay up on with a premium ball at full price.
• Good sellers fix mistakes. Reviewers describe quick refunds when a wrong ball turned up.

Against, across brands:

• Logo balls in Mint dozens. Pro V1, Chrome Soft and Z-Star buyers complain about logo balls mixed in, sometimes most of the order, without warning.
• The wrong ball in the bag. A ball from another brand in a Titleist order, or an older generation in a dozen sold as 2025.
• Grades that slip. Near Mint dozens that look like Good, with scuffs and yellow water marks, and Mint balls with cosmetic fading from mud or pond water.
• Refinished disappoints. Forum threads on refinished Pro V1s return to the same complaint: they do not feel or spin like the original around the green.

Brand by brand: Pro V1 buyers worry most about mixed generations and advise checking which years a seller includes. TP5 and Chrome buyers talk about scuffs and cuts more than water. Srixon buyers talk about yellowing and seams. Tour B buyers care about which of the four models arrived. Supersoft buyers mostly want the single model they play rather than a mixed bag of soft balls.

Where American golfers find lake balls

The freshest recovered balls may be at your own course: some pro shops sell balls pulled from their own water hazards, which went in this season. Golf stores sell recovered dozens beside new boxes, so you see the grade before paying. Online sellers carry the widest range by model, generation and color, and the price per ball falls with bags of 50 or 100. Bins of mixed used balls suit practice, not a scoring round.

Wherever you buy, ask five things: the published grade definitions, real photos rather than a stock picture, which model years are included, whether logo balls are mixed in, and what happens if the dozen does not match its grade. And read the label for “refinished” or “refurbished”: a repainted ball is a different product.

For competition, check the terms. Under the USGA’s One Ball Local Rule, every ball you play in a round must match a single entry on the USGA List of Conforming Golf Balls, and different generations of a model are separate entries. It is meant for elite events, but a mixed Pro V1 dozen would fail it.

A practical season with lake balls

Pick one model and generation, and buy a season’s supply in one order, so your wedge yardages mean something. Buy Mint urethane if greenside spin matters to you, Near Mint or Good for practice and water-heavy courses. Skip refinished balls if you want the ball the manufacturer designed. Check each dozen on arrival for yellowing, logos and mixed years. If you rarely lose a ball, compare a Mint dozen with a discounted new prior-year model first.

How this page was put together

This is a presentation of products and a reading of public opinion, not a test; nobody at Panxis Golf hit these balls. Specifications 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 were read at golfballs.net in October 2026, in U.S. dollars. 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), and to Golf.com (2024) for the Titleist and USGA statements. The refinished-ball test belongs to MyGolfSpy, which tested Reload refinished Pro V1s. The legal summary comes from the Federal Circuit opinion in Nitro Leisure Products v. Acushnet (2003), and the One Ball rule from NCGA guidance.

What golfers say was read on the GolfWRX forums and in customer reviews on golfballs.net; nobody is quoted by name, nothing is counted, and no impression is presented as a statistic. There is no commercial link here, 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.