Practice golf balls are simply foam or plastic balls that mimic the flight of regular golf balls but in a limited space. The main purpose of these balls is to allow players to practice their full swing from their home or yard.
Though, it is important to differentiate these practice balls from range balls. Often times golf course will have ranges allowing players to warm up before their round.
These balls are often marked with a stamp that states “practice” or “range”. It is important to note that this is a different type of practice ball entirely. These “practice balls” are not built of foam or plastic. Their construction is the same as any other golf ball.
The only thing differentiating this sort of ball from a regular golf ball is that they are typically pretty beat up. These balls are hit several times throughout the day as the course collects them. This typically leaves them in pretty bad shape. You do not want to use this kind of practice ball when playing a round of golf.
What Are the Benefits Of Practice Balls
There are several benefits to using practice golf balls. I’ve personally used them quite often in my front yard. It makes for a great way to practice especially if you have another golfer in the house you can play with.
Practice Almost Anywhere
The biggest benefit of practice golf ball sis that you are able to use them just about anywhere. Depending on what practice golf ball you purchase you will find they have quite a limited flight.
This is done by design as golfer will be able to use them within their yard or house. In order to practice a full swing with a regular golf ball you are going to need an open area that is at least one hundred yards.
For most this isn’t a very reasonable ask. This means you will only be able to practice full swings while at the range or on the course itself.
The use of these practice balls will allow you to expand your practice areas to your home and yard. Giving you considerably more time to hone your game.
Mimic Real Ball Flight
Another great benefit of practice golf balls is that they mimic real golf ball flight. Now, this doesn’t mean they fly as far as regular balls. It means that a slice or a hook are going to fly the same way when you hit them.
In other words if your swing would have resulted in slicing a real golf ball then you can bet your practice ball is going to be slicing to the right.
What this does is allow you to immediate feedback on all your shots. if you struggle with consistency or making proper contact this can be a great way to train at home.
