Amazon Just Dropped a Golf Ball, and It’s Exactly What You’d Expect

Well, well, well. Look what showed up in my Amazon recommendations between the USB-C cables and the 64-pack of AA batteries I apparently need.

Amazon has entered the golf ball business with the Amazon Basics Core Soft, and honestly, we probably should have seen this coming. There’s a Basics version of damn near everything, and since I’m reasonably confident Alexa is always listening, the simple act of many of you wondering aloud why Amazon doesn’t have its own golf balls was enough to make it happen.

What exactly is the Amazon Basics Core Soft?

According to Amazon’s product description, the Core Soft is designed for “VERSATILE USE” (their caps, not mine). You can put pretty much any vaguery you’d like in a product description, but even by that low standard, it’s fairly uninformative.

The same holds true for the USGA spin rating, where the Core Soft is listed as offering medium driver spin and high short iron spin. If you’re expecting that rating to hold true for greenside performance, prepare for disappointment. Soft doesn’t spin. Ionomer doesn’t spin. And given that one of those is definitely true and the other might be, the Amazon Core Soft isn’t a viable option for golfers looking for stopping power.

What we do know is that Amazon is billing this as a low compression ball, and the “Core Soft” name certainly more than hints at a soft core. But that’s about as specific as it gets. We’re going to order some and throw them into our compression gauge to see where the Core Soft fits on the spectrum between Supersoft and Tour Soft.

The Amazon Basics difference

Here’s the thing about Amazon Basics: it’s a brand reserved for largely commoditized items like HDMI cables, AA batteries, and phone chargers—disposable stuff where even if it’s not everything you want it to be, the barrier for entry is so wonderfully low that it barely matters if it achieves anything beyond the bare minimum performance standard.

Cheap AF is the barrier to entry for the Basics line, and I’d argue the Core Soft fits that description perfectly.

Look, I’m going to tell you there are quantifiable, meaningful performance differences between golf balls. I’m also not lost on the fact that there’s a reasonably sized segment of recreational golfers who don’t give a damn about any of that.

The Basics ball should be a welcome addition for a growing audience of non-discerning golfers looking to spend as little as possible.

The price point play

With that, I suppose the most interesting thing about the Core Soft is the price. At just over $24 for a pack of two dozen ($14.49 for one dozen), it can be had for roughly half as much as Callaway’s Supersoft—the most popular budget option in the category.

Here’s the hard truth: short of Titleist, there’s not much in the ionomer market that’s particularly good quality to begin with, so you won’t find me recommending much of anything in the category. But if you’re only going to spend $12 per dozen, you should reasonably expect that the ceiling and floor are one and the same. Point being, you’re not going to do much better at this price point, and you’re also not likely to do any worse.

The manufacturing story

The Core Soft is produced by SM Global—the same factory that produces balls for Costco, PXG, and, for what it’s worth, Malbon. None of those guys currently offer a two-piece ionomer ball, so it’s at least interesting that Amazon went this route.

Is this the entirety of Amazon’s ball story or just the beginning?

It’s possible the factory could be contract limited, but it’s just as likely the entire point of this ball is to be cheap AF, and that all but demands ionomer construction—especially if part of the objective is to undercut Kirkland in the market it created.

Is the Amazon Core Soft for you?

One of the suggested questions for Amazon’s RUFUS AI assistant is “How do these compare to Titleist?” The AI’s response? The Core Soft is “a great practice option to complement your premium Titleist golf balls.”

Even Amazon’s artificial intelligence is throwing shade at its own product. You gotta love the honesty, I guess. But hey, if you’re looking for a knockaround beater ball—the kind of thing well-suited for an afternoon round with your kids or for beginners in general—it’s hard to argue with the value proposition.

The bottom line

The Amazon Basics Core Soft probably isn’t going to change your game. It’s not going to help you break 80, and it’s certainly not going to make your playing partners think you’ve suddenly gotten serious about golf.

What it will do is give you something to hit without breaking the bank. And for a certain segment of golfers—the ones who lose three balls per round and couldn’t care less about spin separation or launch conditions—that might be exactly what they need.

Is it the best ball on the market? We can be confident it isn’t. Is it the worst? Probably not. It’s Amazon Basics, which means it’s exactly what you’d expect: functional, forgettable, and cheap enough that you won’t feel bad about donating a sleeve to the water hazard on 16.

We’ll get our hands on some Core Soft balls soon and take a closer look. Until then, if you’re looking for a golf ball that costs less than your morning coffee and has about the same shelf life, Amazon has you covered.