Golf balls used to be simple.
White.
Then yellow came along.
Then orange, red, pink…
And now we’ve somehow ended up with glittery purple Galaxy balls, black balls, gold balls and golf balls that look like they’ve been designed specifically to disappear into the rough.
I’ve been playing golf for over 30 years and I’ve cut open and reviewed more than 300 golf balls on Up Close Golf.
I’m not a scientist.
I’m just a golfer who’s become slightly obsessed with finding out what actually works for ordinary players like you and me.
And one thing I’ve learned is this:
Golf ball colour matters more than you might think.
Not because a yellow golf ball suddenly flies 20 yards further.
But because if you can’t see it, track it or find it…
it’s not much use.
White Golf Balls: Still the Safe Choice
Let’s start with the obvious one.
This is still the default for most golfers and, to be fair, it works.
I’ve used white golf balls for most of my golfing life.
The problem?
Sometimes they can disappear.
At the course where I play, we get these leaves where one side is bright white and the other side is green.
Drop a white golf ball into those and good luck.
That’s one of the reasons I sometimes prefer yellow.
For this comparison I used a white Vice Pro Air, which is actually one of the balls I currently enjoy playing.
I’ve cut one open before and, as you’d expect from a premium golf ball, there’s more going on inside than you get with a basic two-piece distance ball.
Yellow Golf Balls Might Be the Best All-Round Colour
For me, yellow is probably the easiest golf ball colour to recommend.
It’s bright.
It stands out against grass.
And I generally find it easier to track through the air.
I used the Amazon Basics yellow golf ball in the video and it actually stood out surprisingly well against some of the other yellow balls I had.
And obviously…
Jeff had to get involved.
Jeff is my golf ball cutting tool.
He got his name after I ran a community poll on the Up Close Golf YouTube channel, and somehow he’s now become a bit of a cult hero.
We cut the Amazon ball open and found exactly what you’d expect.
A simple two-piece construction.
Large core.
Outer cover.
Nothing particularly fancy.
But simple doesn’t automatically mean bad.
That’s something I keep coming back to on Up Close Golf.
The right golf ball for your game doesn’t have to be the most complicated or the most expensive.
Orange Golf Balls: I Just Can’t See Them
Orange is one of those colours golfers seem to love or hate.
Personally?
I struggle with them.
I looked at the Maxfli StraightFli and a Trust Panther orange golf ball.
Both looked great sitting on the desk.
Out on the course?
I just don’t find orange that easy to follow.
And matte finishes can make it even worse.
That’s the strange thing with coloured golf balls.
What looks incredibly bright in your hand doesn’t necessarily stay bright when it’s 200 yards away.
Some golfers swear by orange.
I don’t.
Watch YouTube Video
Some Golf Balls Almost Look Camouflaged
This is where things start getting ridiculous.
I’ve got a Trust Aurora golf ball which looks great up close.
But when it’s flying against the sky and clouds?
It practically disappears.
Then there’s the Vice Golf Pro Plus Drip.
I actually found one of these on the course.
Which perhaps tells you everything you need to know.
The design looks cool.
But some versions almost blend into grass.
That’s probably not what you want from something you’ve just paid good money for.
There are better examples though.
The Vice Golf Tour Zap design is much easier to see.
The brighter Vice Pro designs can work really well too.
And I actually think some of the loud patterns are brilliant.
They stand out.
They’re fun.
And they’re different.
That’s one of the reasons I like encouraging golfers to try different brands and designs.
Golf doesn’t have to be boring.
Pink Golf Balls Split Opinion
Pink is another one I struggle with.
Some golfers tell me they can see a pink golf ball better than anything else.
I’m the opposite.
Maybe it’s my eyes.
Maybe it’s the conditions I play in.
But I find some pink golf balls incredibly difficult to track.
If I was going to use one, I’d probably lean towards something like the TaylorMade SpeedSoft Ink.
Those brighter patterned designs stand out much better to me than a plain matte pink ball.
Again, that’s why colour is personal.
There isn’t one universal answer.
TaylorMade Tour Response Stripe Is Really Easy to See
One coloured golf ball I genuinely like is the TaylorMade Tour Response Stripe.
Some of the brighter versions almost look luminous.
And for me, that makes them really easy to follow through the air and find on the ground.
I’ve cut these open before too.
The Tour Response is a more premium style of ball than the basic two-piece options.
That means you’re getting a more complex internal construction, while still getting the visual benefits of that bright stripe.
If you want help working out which type of golf ball might suit your game, you can also download my free golf ball buying guide.
Gold Golf Balls: Great to Look At, Terrible to Lose
Now we get to the weird stuff.
I’ve got a limited-edition gold Vice Golf ball.
This one has a bit of history on the channel.
When I reached 1,000 subscribers, viewers told me to cut it open.
So naturally…
I did.
Inside it was actually really interesting.
The interior was black, which isn’t something you see very often.
But would I take this thing out on the golf course?
Absolutely not.
I’d probably lose it almost immediately.
It’s more collector’s item than practical golf ball.
Red Matte Golf Balls Might Be Even Worse
Red golf balls are another problem for me.
Especially matte red.
They might look incredibly bright sitting in your hand.
But once they’re moving through the air, I struggle.
And one particular Callaway red ball gave me another reason to dislike it.
When I cut it open, the outer layer looked incredibly uneven.
The core itself appeared central, but one side of the outer layer was noticeably thicker than the other.
That doesn’t mean every ball is like that.
And I’m not claiming my cut-open test is scientific.
It isn’t.
But after cutting more than 300 golf balls, it’s exactly the sort of thing I notice.
And it’s part of my slightly complicated love-hate relationship with some Callaway golf balls.
Vice Moon Rock: Brilliant to Look At, Awful to Find
Then we get to this.
The Vice Golf Moon Rock.
Honestly…
what is this thing?
It looks like a glitter ball.
I stupidly cut one open years ago and probably cost myself quite a bit of money because some of these limited-edition balls became extremely collectible.
But for actual golf?
I think it would be almost impossible to see.
It reflects light.
It changes appearance depending on the angle.
It looks fantastic sitting on a shelf.
On the golf course?
I wouldn’t fancy my chances.
The Black Golf Ball Might Be the Worst Idea Ever
Then there’s black.
A completely black golf ball.
I’m sorry…
but who thought this was a good idea?
Golf is difficult enough without deliberately choosing a ball that blends into shadows, rough and dark ground.
I genuinely think this might be one of the worst golf ball colours ever created.
It looks cool.
But cool and useful aren’t always the same thing.
The Vice Pro Galaxy Golf Ball Is Completely Mad
And finally…
my latest addition.
The Vice Golf Pro Galaxy.
This thing is deep purple.
Glittery.
Reflective.
And depending on which side is facing you, it can either look really easy to spot…
or almost impossible.
Naturally, I couldn’t just leave it alone.
Jeff had to get involved.
We cut the Galaxy open and found a three-piece construction inside.
So underneath the ridiculous purple finish, it’s still a proper performance golf ball.
And that’s what makes it so interesting.
A novelty-looking golf ball doesn’t automatically mean novelty construction.
Some of these strange designs are sitting on top of genuinely good golf balls.
So What Is the Worst Golf Ball Colour?
For me, the worst golf ball colours are the ones that make the game harder.
That sounds obvious.
But golfers regularly choose colours because they look cool rather than because they’re easy to see.
My rough ranking would be:
- Yellow – probably easiest for me to see
- White – safe and familiar
- Bright patterned balls – surprisingly good
- Orange and pink – very dependent on your eyesight and conditions
- Gold and glitter – fun, but difficult
- Black – absolute madness
But that’s just me.
Your eyes might be completely different.
And that’s actually the point.
Don’t assume the colour everyone else likes is automatically the best golf ball colour for you.
Try a few.
See what you can follow in the air.
See what you can find in rough.
And if you’re losing fewer balls because you can actually see them properly, that might save you more money than obsessing over compression or buying the latest driver.
My Verdict
The best coloured golf ball is the one you can actually see.
Simple as that.
For me, that’s probably yellow.
The worst?
Black is incredibly hard to defend.
Although the Moon Rock and Galaxy designs are definitely giving it a run for its money.
And because I’ve now cut open over 300 golf balls, I’ve learned that there’s always something new to discover.
Sometimes it’s performance.
Sometimes it’s construction.
And sometimes it’s simply wondering why anyone thought a black golf ball was a good idea.
If you enjoy this kind of golf ball content, have a look at the Up Close Golf merch store.
And let me know in the comments:
What golf ball colour do you find easiest to see?
And what’s the worst one you’ve ever played?
About Craig
Craig is the creator of Up Close Golf, where he’s cut open and reviewed over 300 golf balls to help ordinary golfers choose the right ball for their game.
He’s been playing golf for over 30 years and previously worked at a leading UK golf course.
He also runs Fun Golf, a top-ranked UK golf blog, and is an Amazon best-selling golf author.
