Golf Balls 2025: The best balls for every game, style and budget

While most of us will never know what it's like to hit a golf ball like Rory McIlroy, in some ways it is comforting to learn than the 2025 Masters champion is guilty of a shortcoming that most recreational golfers have: He doesn't always test golf balls to discover which is ideal for his game. He said as much at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

"I hadn't really tested the 2024 TP5, and I loved how it was reacting around the greens," McIlroy said back in February when he was asked why he switched from the TP5x to the TP5. "Then I started hitting some like 60, 70-yard shots with it, and it was coming off much lower launch, but spinner."

McIlroy made a hole-in-one that week, won the tournament, then won the Players Championship a month later, and in April, completed the career grand slam by winning the 2025 Masters. All of that, after tinkering with a different ball and learning that it could help him hit better pitch shots and approach shots.

With such a wide variety of balls on the market, and with prices ranging from around $20 to over $50 per dozen, finding a ball that matches your game and your budget can be challenging, but Golfweek's 2025 Golf Ball Guide is here to help.

The trick to finding your ideal ball is to think about what you need a golf ball to do, create one of two priorities like more distance, short game spin or enhanced feel, and then think about a price range you are willing to pay. Understand that as you lower your price threshold, you will likely have to compromise something because the materials that make premium balls perform so well often are the reason for the price differences between balls.

Once you have identified a few choices, buy a three-ball sleeve of each ball, go to the course, and see how they perform around the greens. After that, backup and try some short approach shots before seeing how they work for you with long irons and woods. Testing balls from the green back, toward the tee box, on the course, is the best way to find your perfect golf ball.

Note: Golf balls are often released on two-year product cycles, which means updates are released every two years. For that reason, you will see several 2024 offerings alongside new 2025 balls.

Bridgestone Tour B X

Price: $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls in white and yellow

Who it's For: Golfers with a driver swing over 105 mph who want more distance.

What you should know: "This is the firmest-feeling Tour B ball in the family. For heavy hitters, this ball transfers energy more efficiently off the tee for increased distance." Read the full review ...

Bridgestone Tour B XS

Price: $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls in white and yellow

Who it's For: Golfers with a driver swing over 105 mph who want more spin and workability.

What you should know: "The new Xclrnt mid-layer is also more dense, so golfers like Tiger Woods and Jason Day, who started testing and using the updated Tour B balls in 2023, reported it has a lower, deeper sound at impact." Read the full review ...

Bridgestone Tour B RX

Price: $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls in white and yellow

Who it's For: Golfers with a driver swing slower than 105 mph who want more distance.

What you should know: "Instead of using multiple cores inside each of the four Tour B balls, Bridgestone has designed a gradational core that is very soft in the center and gradually gets firmer toward the perimeter. A firm mid-layer (mantle) is then applied over the core, but in the 2024 Tour B balls, that casing layer does a better job of transferring energy into ball speed." Read the full review ...

Price:$49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls in white and yellow

Who it's For: Golfers with a driver swing slower than 105 mph who want more spin and control.

What you should know: "By using different combinations of impact modifiers, Bridgestone designers can make the urethane behave differently under different conditions. The cover behaves and feels firmer when hit with your longer, faster-swinging clubs like your driver and long irons, but feels softer when you hit it with wedges." Read the full review ...

Bridgestone e12 HiLaunch, e12 Straight, e12 Speed

Price: $34.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece golf balls with rubber core, mantle layer, and urethane cover. All balls are available in white, with e12 Speed also coming in matte green and matte yellow.

Who it’s for: Golfers who want to hit shots higher (HiLaunch), reduce sidespin and the severity of hooks and slices (Straight), and players who need a spin-reducing ball to create a lower trajectory (Speed).

What you should know: Bridgestone designed each of the three e12 balls to be ideally suited to one of three different players, with the HiLaunch generating more lift and a higher apex, the Straight producing less sidespin, and the Speed lowering a shot’s launch angle and spin rate. Read the full review...

Callaway Chrome Tour

Price: $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Four-piece, urethane-covered balls

Who They’re For: Golfers who want tour-level spin around the greens and maximum distance off the tee.

What you should know: "Among the premium balls in the Callaway lineup, Chrome Tour likely will have the broadest appeal. Off the tee, it creates speed and spin numbers very similar to Callaway’s Chrome Soft X LS ball, which is being discontinued. However, Chrome Tour has a lower compression (88) than Chrome Soft X LS (93). This gives players the rare instance of softer feel with more speed." Read the full review ...

Callaway Chrome Tour X

Price: $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Four-piece, urethane-covered balls

Who They’re For: Golfers who want tour-level spin around the greens and maximum distance off the tee.

What you should know: The Chrome Tour X will have the firmest feel at impact, generate the most spin off the tee and with irons, and produce the most spin around the greens. Golfers who like to draw and fade the ball with their irons may prefer the Chrome Tour X because it spins more than Callaway’s other premium balls." Read the full review ...

Callaway Chrome Tour Triple Diamond

Price: $54.99

Specs: Four-piece golf ball with a urethane cover. Available in white and Triple Track

Available: Jan. 31 

Who it's for: Fast-swinging golfers who want the high launch and firm feel of the Chrome Tour X, but with less spin. 

What you should know: The third ball to join the Chrome Tour family was designed to create less spin and a high launch angle to maximize distance for fast-swinging golfers. Read the full review ...

Callaway Chrome Soft

Price: $54.99

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball

Who it's For: Golfers who want a soft-feeling ball that delivers high levels of spin around the green.

What you should know: "Callaway said that for 2024 the updated Chrome Soft generates nearly identical spin off the tee as the 2022 ball, along with the same speed, but updating the hexagonal dimple pattern and altering the ball’s aerodynamics in the 2024 model results in a higher launch so it flies slightly farther." Read the full review ...

Callaway ERC Soft

Price: $39.99

Specs: Three-piece ball with Surlyn cover and urethane coating. Available in white and yellow.

Who They’re For: Golfers who want a soft feel, length off the tee, a built-in alignment system and above-average greenside spin.

What you should know: "The updated ERC Soft has a new core that Callaway said helps create more speed and distance, along with a higher launch than the previous ERC Soft." Read the full review ...

Mizuno Pro S

Price: $47.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece construction with urethane cover

Who they're for: Golfers who want soft feel and reduced spin to maximize distance (Pro S), and players who prefer more spin, a higher flight and a steeper landing angle (Pro X).

What you should know: Mizuno made the cover thinner and modified the mantle layer in the Pro S to enhance speed while maintaining spin and feel around the greens. Read the full review ...

Mizuno Pro X

Price: $47.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece construction with urethane cover

Who they're for: Golfers who want soft feel and reduced spin to maximize distance (Pro S), and players who prefer more spin, a higher flight and a steeper landing angle (Pro X).

What you should know: The Mizuno Pro X should create higher-flying shots that come down more steeply, and it should create more greenside spin than the Mizuno Pro S. Read the full review ...

PXG Xtreme Tour

Price: $39.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf ball

Who it's For: Golfers who want a premium golf ball that delivers distance off the tee and control around the greens.

What you should know: "The Xtreme golf ball has a large synthetic rubber core that is surrounded by a firm ionomer mantle layer, which in turn encased by a urethane cover. The idea is that energy created during your full swings will activate the core and create speed, but on slower, partial-swing shots, the softness of the urethane cover will allow the grooves in your wedges and short irons to grab the ball more easily and create spin." Read the full review ...

PXG Xtreme Tour X

Price: $39.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf ball

Who it's For: Golfers who want a premium golf ball that delivers distance off the tee and control around the greens.

What you should know: "In PXG’s tests, the Xtreme Tour X created 0.5 mph more ball speed off the tee and about 2.5 yards more total distance, with nearly identical launch angles. The Xtreme Tour X also generated about 200 rpm more spin on wedge shots than the standard Xtreme Tour." Read the full review ...

Srixon Q-Star UltiSpeed

Price: $29.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, Surlyn-covered golf balls available in white and yellow

Who it’s for: Golfers who want more distance off the tee, combined with a soft feel and less spin.

What you should know: The newest version of the Q-Star provides more speed off the tee and less drag, which should produce longer, straighter drives and help the ball hold its line more effectively in the wind. Read the full review ...

Srixon Z Star

Price:  $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece golf balls with urethane cover with spin-enhancing coating 

Who it’s for: Golfers who want to more distance off the tee and to maximize greenside spin .

What you need to know: With an 88 compression, the standard Z-Star is the softest feeling of the three new Z-Star balls in the family. It is also designed to be the lowest flying and will create less spin with woods and irons.  Read the full review ...

Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Price:  $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece golf balls with urethane cover with spin-enhancing coating 

Who it’s for: Golfers who want to maximize iron and greenside spin without sacrificing distance.

What you should know: This ball offers the highest iron spin in the Z-Star family, more greenside spin than the XV and slightly more driver spin than the standard ball. The Z-Star Diamond should produce higher-flying shots than the Z-Star. Read the full review ...

Srixon Z-Star XV

Price:  $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece golf balls with urethane cover with spin-enhancing coating 

Who it’s for: Golfers who want to more distance off the tee and to maximize greenside spin.

What you should know: The Z-Star XV -- which comes in white, yellow and white/yellow Divide -- has a compression of 102, making it the firmest Z-Star ball. Srixon is touting it as being the longest ball, too.  Read the full review ...

Srixon SoftFeel

Price: $24.99 per dozen

Specs: Two-piece, Surlyn-covered balls in white, yellow, pink, matte orange, matte green and matte red

Who it’s for: Golfers who want a soft feel and the moment of impact, reduced spin and a mid- to high-flight.

What you should know: Srixon modified the core of Soft Feel for 2025 to give this two-piece ball more speed while retaining its low compression and feel. Read the full review ...

TaylorMade TP5

Price: $54.99

Specs: Five-piece, urethane-covered golf balls available in white, yellow and Pix patterns.

Who it's For: Golfers who want an elite combination of distance off the tee and with long irons, plus greenside spin and a softer feel.

What you should know: The Speed Wrap additive makes the balls sound and feel softer, but it does not make the new TP5 faster. However, TaylorMade golf ball designers were able to make the core in the 2024 TP5 firmer, which gives it more speed, while the Speed Wrap softens the sound and feel produced at impact. The result, for most golfers, is a faster ball that also feels and sounds better. Read the full review ...

TaylorMade TP5x

Price: $54.99

Specs: Five-piece, urethane-covered golf balls available in white, yellow and Pix patterns.

Who it's For: Golfers who want distance off the tee and with long irons, plus greenside spin and a firmer feel.

What you should know: The SpeedWrap additive in the core made it possible to increase the firmness of this ball, to enhance speed, without making the TP5x feel harder or sound more clicky. This ball should spin slightly less than the standard TP5 and spin less, especially on approach shots and with wedges, but the cast urethane cover still provides elite levels of control around the green and with short irons. Read the full review ...

TaylorMade Tour Response

Price: $42.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered balls. Available in white, yellow and with 360-degree alignment stripes in high-visibility yellow, orange, light blue, navy blue and pink.

Who it’s for: Golfers who want a soft feel, low spin off the tee, and outstanding greenside spin and control from a ball that costs less than most premium balls.

What you should know: The core of the 2025 Tour Response has been designed with the same additive found in the TP5 and TP5x. This allows TaylorMade to elevate the compression for better performance while maintaining a soft feel and sound. Read the full review ...

TaylorMade SpeedSoft

Price: $24.99 per dozen

Specs: Two-piece, ionomer-covered ball available in white, yellow and Ink pattern (green, blue, orange, pink and red)

Who It’s For: Budget-minded golfers who want more distance off the tee.

What you should know: TaylorMade designed a new, ultra-soft core for the SpeedSoft for more distance, then developed a new visual pattern to make it stand out. Read the full review ...

Titleist Pro V1

Price: $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered ball

Who they're for: Golfers who want elite levels of distance and greenside spin, along with enhanced iron and wedge spin.

What you should know: With the 2025 Pro V1 , golfers will see little change off the tee but should get more spin with irons and wedges to enhance control from the fairway and on approach shots. Read the full review ...

Titleist Pro V1x

Price: $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Four-piece, dual-core ball with a urethane cover.

Who they're for: Golfers who want elite levels of distance and greenside spin and players who want a higher launch angle, more spin and a firmer feel.

What you should know: The updated Pro V1x should spin more with irons and hybrids. It should allow control-oriented players to work shots left, right, up and down more effectively without sacrificing speed and distance.Read the full review ...

Titleist AVX

Price: $49.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece, urethane-covered golf balls. Available in White and Yellow.

Who It’s For: Golfers who want a softer feel, lower flight and less spin than a Pro V1 without sacrificing greenside spin.  

What you should know: On short-iron shots and wedge shots, when the clubhead speed is lower and the impact is made with a more lofted club, the updated AVX’s softer urethane and thicker cover, which is on top of the firm casing layer, can easily be grabbed by the grooves to generate spin. The softer, thicker urethane cover also helps to make the AVX feel softer at impact, even though the ball’s overall compression (80) has not changed. Read the full review ...

Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash

Price: From $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Four-piece, urethane-covered balls. Available in white

Who They’re For: Players who want a high-launch, low-spin condition off the tee, with an extremely-firm feel. 

What you should know: Not designed for everyone, the Left Dash was released in 2019 but remains available for golfers who want the firmest-feeling ball in Titleist’s lineup. It produces the height of the Pro V1x but with less spin off the tee. Read full review...

Titleist TruFeel

Price: $24.99 per dozen

Specs: Two-piece, ionomer-covered golf balls. Available in white, yellow and matte red.

Who They're For: Golfers who want more distance from a budget-friendly ball.

What you should know: Titleist updated the core and made the cover softer and thicker on the latest version of the TruFeel to give players more distance off the tee and spin around the green from a ball that won't break the bank. Read the full review ...

Wilson Triad

Price: $39.99 per dozen

Specs: Three-piece construction with rubber core, mantle and urethane cover in white and yellow

Who they're for: Golfers looking for low spin off the tee, control around the greens and more consistency.

What you should know: The three-piece Triad aims to be ultra-consistent, reduce spin off the tee and enhance spin around the greens Read the full review ...

Wilson Duo Soft

Price: $22.99

Specs: Two-piece construction with rubber core and Surlyn cover in red, orange, green, yellow and pink. Also TRK360

Who they're for: Recreational golfers who want soft feel and good value (Duo Soft).

What you should know: The Duo Soft’s two-piece design, with a soft core and a thin, firm cover, should significantly reduce overall spin off the tee, which should minimize sidespin and lessen the curvature on hooks and slices. As a result, weekend players should find they hit the Duo Soft straighter and find more fairways. Read the full review...

Wilson Staff Model, Staff Model X

Price: $54.99 per dozen

Specs: Four-piece, urethane-covered balls, available in white and yellow.

Who It's For: Golfers who want to maximize greenside spin around the green and get elite distance off the tee.

What you should know: Wilson reformulated the cores of the Staff Model and Staff Model X balls to improve distance off the tee and spin around the green. The advantage of the two-mantle design is that the softer inner mantle helps to reduce spin off the tee, while the firmer mantle layer helps the grooves in wedges and short irons grab the soft urethane cover more easily, so golfers should be able to create more spin on approach shots, chips and pitches. Read the full review...