Do x-out golf balls loose perfomance to the normal balls?

Question

they are so much cheaper and if there is no difference why isnt everyone jumpin on the money train

Answer 1

Usually it is just a cosmetic flaw that puts them in the X-out bin and you won't notice any difference in performance.  As to why everyone doesn't use them it is mostly a status - ego- thing and the slight doubt that the ball might not perform.  You'd hate to make the perfect swing and get a poor result because the ball was dead so we spend the extra money and rarely make the perfect swing anyway.

Answer 2

A regular hacker won't know or care the difference between X outs and the real deal most of the time. Sometimes, and I might be wrong b/c I don't have exact numbers, but I'd say most X outs are simply b/c of logo ink imperfections. That's it, the only reason usually - in which case, I'd buy them, and use them as normal.

But, sometimes, especially with balatas or other wound balls, the ball didn't pass a QC checkpoint for some reason at the factory. Either it's not symmetrical, or the weight of the ball isn't centered (which will cause random uncontrollable hooking or slicing). Like I said before, an 18 plus handicapper won't know the difference. You have to be good enough to be able to control the fade/draw of your shot to notice anything wrong the ball. And most times, even if you're Tiger Woods, it'll take more than one hit to know if a ball isn't right. (The closest I ever get to noticing a ball is no good is when I use the same balata for too many holes in a row, it won't fly right off the tee. A good balata will only take a few hits with a driver before it gets lop sided) FYI - if you ever fish a balata out of a lake, DON'T use it for any shot that matters, by that point, it's worse than an X out.

Also, no ball manufacturer QC's EVERY ball. Probably more like one out of every 100 or so. And the ones that don't pass for some reason (appearance, weight, size, etc) become X-outs. So, I'm sure some should be "X outs" make their way into the "good" boxes.

Personally, I use X-outs in the winter or when the weather is c**p. But in any sort of competetive round, I use the real deal, whatever brand that may be.

Answer 3

no there is no diffence of xout ball there are usally just over runs or wrong marking or ink on them

Answer 4

Along with being cosmetically different X Outs are not conforming to USGA standards meaning, simply, that you cannot play one in a competitive round (technically.)  But I'm guessing that you're not soon to be playing in any USGA sponsored events so I say save the money and play the X Outs.  

When I worked as a golf pro we would get X Outs in the shop all the time.  They were a fraction of the cost of the real deal.  We got the X Outs, played with those for all our "non-competitive rounds" and they work just fine.