Looking for the best golf balls in a Father’s Day golf ball sale can be frustrating. If you’re not a golfer yourself, it can be tough to know what type of ball is best for dad. Our top choice, the Callaway Hexbite, checks off the most boxes and is still easy on the pocketbook.
Low, Low Prices
Sometimes the best prices on a dozen golf balls for dad are not advertised as sale prices at all. Golf balls don’t really go down in price very much in their first couple of years of production. It is not until the next new golf balls hit the market that sellers start to mark down the balls from the previous generation.
Player’s Golf Balls
These are the balls of choice for touring players and scratch golfers (0 handicap). They normally incorporate multiple layers, each with its own purpose in the game. Players’ balls are also typically the most expensive offerings from each manufacturer.
The main reason that players’ golf balls cost more than other types of balls is that the manufacturing process is much slower. Their covers are almost always urethane, which is slower to pour and to set than synthetic covers. The difference in playability is remarkable, though.
Distance vs. Soft
Until recently, the main difference between golf balls (other than players’ balls) boiled down to compression. Soft golf balls were meant to spin around the green, helping with short shots. Distance balls were much harder, meant to go a long way off the tee. But times have changed.
Manufacturers are now able to formulate golf balls so that they can be both long and soft. There are still extra-soft options for slower swingers (see below), but golfers are no longer forced to make so many compromises.
Best Deal for All Dads – Callaway – Hexbite (2 dozen)
The Callaway Hexbite is an impressive and affordable three-piece ball that is available only from certain retailers. The result is high-spin golf balls that provide plenty of check on the greens to keep the ball where it lands. Every golfer appreciates a stuck approach shot, after all.
- Spins like mad around the greens for impressive check
- Long and straight off the tee and with longer clubs off the deck
- One of the most affordable and playable balls available
- Soft yet resilient Surlyn cover
- Three-piece construction
What’s to Like?
Impressive Cover
The Surlyn cover on the Callaway Hexbite is a modern formulation of the old standby material. It retains the durability that keeps Surlyn a mainstay in the market, but the feel is much improved. This formula is soft enough to allow the grooves to grip the cover, imparting extra spin.
Explosive Core
The Hexbite also features a progressive core that is explosive off the tee, resulting in longer and straighter drives. Between the core and cover is a thin mantle layer that helps minimize the negative effects of sidespin. The Hexbite stays in play and is a workhorse around the greens.
The Price is Right
Of course, one of the most prominent things about the Hexbite is its affordability. When purchased two at a time, a dozen Hexbites can be markedly cheaper than many competitors. Don’t be fooled, though. This is a true Callaway golf ball – soft when needed and long when pushed.
What’s Not to Like?
Hard to Find
As mentioned, the Hexbite was never released for widespread sale. There were earlier and later versions of similar offerings from Callaway, but the precise Hexbite formulation is only available from certain retailers.
Best For Players who Hit it Far – Titleist – ProV1 (Prior Generation)
The Titleist ProV1 has been the golf ball of choice for touring pros for better than a decade. Early models suffered from a fragile cover, but that was fixed by the time this Titleist ProV1 Prior-Generation version hit the market. There is no better-feeling ball available for better players.
- The most popular ball on the PGA Tour
- Well-struck shots impart incredible spin
- Less spin and more penetrating flight than ProV1x
- Perfectly manufactured without variance – ball after ball
What’s to Like?
The Players’ Choice
If you’re searching for an impressive Father’s Day golf ball, look no further. Everyone in the game knows these balls cannot be had on the cheap. As a gift, a brand-new dozen ProV1’s are incredibly hard to beat. There are cheaper options, but not more impressive ones.
Consistent, Boring Flight
Players prefer ProV1’s because they reward repeatable swings. They are constructed in multiple layers. The outer layers allow high spin rates off the scoring clubs, and can yank back on a string. But mid- to long-irons and woods activate the core, which limits spin and results in a mid-height trajectory that better players prefer.
What’s not to Like?
That Price Tho
It’s impossible to discuss this golf ball without remarking on its cost. Consistently the most expensive ball on the market, many players simply avoid the ProV1. However, a new model comes out every couple of years – with very little changing along the way. Getting the prior generation can bring big savings, and there is no real difference between the models.
Best Deal for Players who Work It – TaylorMade – TP5x
The ProV1 isn’t the only ball on tour. Players who like to work the ball a bit more often prefer the TaylorMade TP5x Prior Generation. This ball likes to spin. It flies high off of every club, and it is supremely workable. Of course, workability can be problematic if overdone. Players who spray it should look elsewhere.
- The only five-layer tour ball on the market
- An 83-compression (hard) ball with a 16-compression (soft) core
- Rewards fast swings with remarkable distance
- Flies high and spins like a top on the greens
What’s to Like?
Penetrating yet High Flight
Normally, these two terms are mutually exclusive. With the TP5x, though, players get the best of both worlds. These balls pierce through wind because they limit sidespin (the result of multiple layers). However, they still climb, producing a high trajectory with a more vertical descent.
Resilient Cover
One of the problems with urethane covers has always been that it is fragile. Easily cut by grooves or cart paths, urethane covers used to never make it through an entire round. Speaking from experience, the TP5x (and TaylorMade urethane in general) is different.
Whether it is the formulation or the soft casting process, these covers are tough. Where once wedge grooves would slice right through urethane, the TP5x cover takes sharp grooves in stride. The urethane still bites on the grooves, but it rebounds without a blemish.
What’s not to Like?
Availability
The prior generation of TP5 and TP5x made TaylorMade a lot of fans. Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan of the new, springier, higher spinning balls. The company achieved perfection with the previous TP5, but those earlier models are getting harder to find every day.
Best For Older Dads – Wilson Staff – 50 Elite
The Wilson Staff 50 Elite is a soft ball that is well suited for older golfers – most of whom swing a bit slower than they used to. Its 50-compression core is much softer than most competitors. The result is a ball than a slower swinger can compress fully, reaping the rewards in both spin and distance.
- Ultra-soft 50-compression core pops off the club
- Resilient cover provides stiffness for fast rebound
- Shallow dimples (and fewer of them) minimize slices and hooks
- Penetrating ball flight for longer tee shots
What’s to Like?
Buttery Feel
Being a 50-compression ball means that it is very easy to compress the 50 Elite. A fully compressed ball stays on the face longer, which reduces score-wrecking side spin. It also gives the grooves time to bite into the cover, resulting in improved backspin for more check.
Softer on Putts
The 50 Elite’s soft feel also translates into a softer feel in the game within the game – putting. Many golfers find they have to strike the ball harder on putts. Gone is the off-putting click that distance balls have, along with their harshness. Also gone is the fear of sending it 10 feet past the hole.
What’s not to Like?
Scuffs on the Cover
The cover on this two-piece ball is tougher than one might assume. It does not slice or gouge the way some bargain golf balls can, especially those as soft as these. After several holes, though, a fair amount of light scuffing will likely be present. They’re cheap enough to swap out, but players who try to make it 18 holes on one ball may find the lack of resilience disturbing.
Best for New Golfers – Bridgestone – E6
The E series has long been one of the best values in golf. A mid-priced ball from one of the top manufacturers, the Bridgestone E6 delivers impressive distance with a soft feel. Distance gains are amplified by a tendency toward straight flight. If it doesn’t bend sideways, it simply goes farther.
- Combines the feel of the old E5 with the straightness of the old E6
- Reduced sidespin from driver and long irons
- Velvety soft around the greens
- Tough yet soft Surlyn cover
What’s to Like?
Oh What a Feeling
The E6 is living proof that a ball does not need a urethane cover to feel soft and to spin. Sure, sidespin is reduced, but backspin is still impressive. Sharp grooves bite into the cover, and the ball checks nicely on the putting surface. It might not yank backward, but it stays where it hits.
Arrow Straight
If your dad complains about a slice or a hook, this can help. The mantle layer is the secret. Designed to reduce the amount of spin a crooked swing path produces, the mantle still allows the ball to climb up the face. Shots fly higher, farther and – most importantly – straighter.
Trusted and Modern
While some of the other balls on this list may be getting on in years, the new E6 Soft is all modern. This ball is currently being manufactured (as of this writing), so it is as new as it gets. There is no need to worry about deterioration or degradation, much less any possible embarrassment about playing “expired” balls.
What’s not to Like?
Loss of Workability
While the E6 certainly flies straighter than the average golf ball, there is a tradeoff. Poor shots will still find the woods. Once there, it can be difficult to work the ball enough for an effective escape shot. Chip-outs are more common than miraculous rescues that find the green.
Conclusion – Father’s Day Golf Ball Sale
The Callaway Hexbite is a great deal for just about any player, but you can’t really go wrong with any of the balls on this list. Whether your dad is a scratch golfer or a 20 handicap, he’ll appreciate that you took the time to find something he can actually use. Don’t stress over it. Most of us golfers will use any ball at least once, so it truly is the thought that counts.