If you’re new to the game of golf, you may be wondering how many golf balls come in a sleeve.
You may also be curious as to how many golf balls come in a box. We’ll dive into both of these topics in this post as well as some other interesting questions regarding golf ball packaging.
What is a Sleeve of Golf Balls?
A sleeve is a small package of golf balls, which makes it an ideal choice for folks who just want to try out a specific brand without having to buy a whole dozen. Keep in mind though, that you will pay a premium for purchasing such a small quantity of golf balls.
How Many Golf Balls Are In a Sleeve?
This is a tricky question because there is more than one suitable answer. But for the most part, sleeves contain 3 golf balls.
Some golf ball manufacturers offer sleeves with four golf balls in them but those are becoming quite the rarity. Quite a few years ago, Callaway even offered their Rule 35 golf balls in sleeves of five.
As a general rule, we recommend avoiding sleeves and buying golf balls by either the box or the case to cut down on cost. When it comes to purchasing golf balls, buying them in bulk will save you a ton of money.
A quick example of this is the Titleist ProV1. Right now on Amazon, it costs $21.95 for one sleeve of three ProV1 golf balls. You can get a box of a dozen of those same ProV1s for $49.99.
That decision alone moves the price from $7.32 per ball to $4.16 per ball. That saves your wallet a whopping 76% per golf ball! That type of savings will go a long way towards paying for your next round on the course!
How Many Golf Balls Are In a Box?
95% of the time, a box contains 12 golf balls. However, as with the sleeves, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, the Wilson Ultra 500 Straight golf balls are sold in a box of 15 instead of 12.
Another example is the TaylorMade Noodle Long & Soft golf balls, which are also typically sold in a box of 15. Pinnacle also sells quite a few of its models in boxes of 15.
The majority of boxes that contain golf balls are 6 inches wide, 7 inches long, and 2 inches deep. Assuming that the box contains the standard number of 12 golf balls, the total shipping weight of the box is around 1.5 pounds. Since a box of golf balls is fairly light in weight, shipping costs can be kept to a minimum if you are buying them online.
How Many Golf Balls Are In a Case?
While most golfers choose to buy their golf balls by the box, you may be able to receive an even larger discount by buying an entire case. Most cases come with six boxes inside and there are a dozen balls inside each box. Quick math tells us that there are 72 golf balls in a case.
Most golf ball manufacturers will run some pretty nice bulk deals in November and December to encourage folks to load up on golf balls to use as Christmas presents. Heck, right now in May, some websites are running a special on Callaway Chrome Soft or Chrome Soft X golf balls.
With the current deal, if you buy three dozen of these balls, they’ll throw in an extra dozen for free. That’s a great way to stock up for the rest of the season and save some money at the same time!
How Much Do Golf Balls Cost?
Like most things, golf balls vary in cost. The price range for golf balls is usually between $1 and $5 each. The overall cost depends on a variety of factors like brand, quality, and the number of pieces.
If you’re a beginner and just need a cheap distance golf ball, you can buy the Nitro Crossfires in bulk for only $0.56 a piece. On the other hand, advanced golfers may benefit from buying a premium golf ball like the Titleist Pro V1 for $4.16 each. This is a massive price difference.
Why does the Titleist ProV1 cost so much more than the Nitro Crossfire? It comes down to the factors that we mentioned above.
For starters, Titleist is the most popular brand amongst PGA Tour players and for that reason, they can charge more for their products. Nitro isn’t nearly as well known so they cannot charge a premium for their products. Also, Titleist spends a boatload of money on expensive commercials each year and that cost must be recouped.
Next, let’s discuss the overall makeup of each golf ball. The Nitro Crossfire is only made up of two pieces while the Titleist Pro V1 contains three pieces. That means that Titleist spends more on raw materials and must charge a higher price to make enough profit margin.
Lastly, the Titleist ProV1 is more expensive because it’s a higher quality golf ball. It offers a high level of greenside control and that’s a big reason why it’s so popular amongst professionals and single-digit handicappers. You won’t find many golfers ever complaining about the quality of a ProV1.
Are Used or Recycled Golf Balls Worth Buying?
This is another tricky question because it depends on who you ask and that person’s experience with used and/or refurbished golf balls. You’ll find that some folks swear that they can’t tell the difference between a refurbished golf ball and a brand new one. You’ll also find some golfers that simply refuse to play anything other than a brand new golf ball.
Unless I’m hitting a few practice chip shots in my yard, I always play with a brand new golf ball. Several years ago I tried out a recycled golf ball for a few holes during a round.
What was the result? On average, my tee shots with the recycled ball were 40-50 yards shorter than my drives with brand new golf balls. Needless to say, that was enough to steer me away from recycled golf balls for good.
The main problem with buying used golf balls is that you have no way of knowing what type of quality you are getting. Some of them may have only been hit once and still be in nearly perfect condition. Others may have been scraped off the bottom of a pond and simply repainted to look brand new.
I don’t share that bad experience to discourage anyone from buying used golf balls. Like I said before, some golfers have had great experiences with them and have saved loads of money in the process.
If you do decide to go the used golf ball route, try to stick to ones that have a grade of AAAAA (Mint) or AAAA (Near Mint). These two grades indicate only a light amount of usage.
Mike Noblin
Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.