8 Best Golf Balls for High Handicappers of 2023

If everybody who plays even just a few rounds of golf per year kept an official handicap, it's safe to say most amateur golfers would fall into the high-handicapper category, let's call it a handicap of 20 or above.

Using the right golf ball for your ability can give you better performance in areas you prioritize (distance and accuracy, to name a couple), but these balls also typically offer good value for your money. These are our top eight golf ball recommendations for high-handicap players.

The Maxfli Trifli is different from most of the balls on this list in two huge ways. First of all, it’s a three-piece ball with an extra layer that helps keep spin low on full shots, in turn maximizing distance.

Second, it has Maxfli’s unique find the fairway dimple pattern, which is designed for maximum accuracy, and we must say, it’s quite effective. 

The bottom line is the Trifli is long and straight, a combination that pretty much any higher-handicap player can benefit from.

On top of all that, the Trifli has an effective three-line alignment aid that’s helpful if you need it, and easy to ignore if you don’t. 

At $34.99 per dozen, the Trifli doesn’t stand out as a value buy, but when you take advantage of the 2-for-$40, it becomes one of the best value and best performing distance balls.

Pros:

• One of the straightest-flying distance balls
• Great value when you buy two dozen for $40
• Excellent distance

Cons:

• Price of one dozen at $34.99 is not a great value

Vice Golf began disrupting the golf ball industry when it launched in 2013 with the philosophy that the more you buy, the less you pay (per dozen).

The Vice Drive is a great ball for high-handicap golfers and is one of the best value golf balls today. At $20 per dozen, the Drive is a true distance ball. It launches high and holds its own around the greens. If you find the Drive to be a good fit for you, you get them in bulk for just $15 per dozen when you order five dozen or more.

The Drive is a 2-piece ball, which classifies it as a distance ball. However, it’s a sneaky good ball for stability and dispersion, especially on windy days.

Pros:

• Value
• Distance
• Easy to launch

Cons:

• Tips more towards highest handicaps

The Bridgestone e12 Contact has some similarities to the aforementioned Maxfli Trifli. The e12 Contact is also a three-piece model that churns out peak distance, and it also has a unique dimple pattern designed to keep you closer to the middle of the fairway. These are great attributes for higher-handicap players, but even as your skills improve, it’s likely you’ll still prioritize distance and accuracy.

Bridgestone’s Contact Force dimples are essentially a dimple with raised center, which Bridgestone claims produces 46% more contact to produce more distance and straighter shots. The raised center area slows horizontal rotation (which is why they fly straighter), a trait that any high-handicap player will notice, especially off the tee.

The 2023 edition is Bridgestone’s second iteration of the e12 Contact and features Bridgestone’s FLEXATIV cover, which helps control spin for more control around the greens.

The e12 Contact isn’t a miracle worker, but it certainly has a place in any golf bag of a moderate to slow swinging amateur golfer.

Pros:

• Fits many players from high-handicappers to those on the cusp of the single-digits
• Unique dimples for noticeably more accuracy
• Soft feel
• Great distance

Cons:

• Higher end of the price range for high-handicapper golf balls

The stepping stone to TaylorMade’s Tour Response, the Soft Response has a compression rating of 50, but comes with some unique characteristics. For a low-compression, high-flight ball, the Soft Response produces low long game spin. That means even slower swing speed players get great distance and don’t hit the Soft Response as far offline.

The Soft Response shines in an area most balls on this list neglect; greenside feel. The feel around the greens and on shorter touch shots might be the best of the models on this list.

TaylorMade is known for making durable golf balls and the Soft Response is no exception. Even with its low compression and soft cover, the Soft Response takes a punch on the course. Any high-handicap player with a slow to moderate swing speed can game this ball and be happy with it.

Pros:

• Soft feel
• Greenside response
• Low spin

Cons:

• Alignment aid isn’t the best

It seems like every time you search for your ball in the woods, you leave with a pocket full of Callaway Supersofts. It’s not that the Supersoft doesn’t fly straight, it’s just that it’s one of – if not not the most – popular golf balls among recreational golfers, and for good reason. Three of them, to be exact.

Like every ball on this list, the Supersoft is a beast off the tee. However, unlike most balls that appeal to high-handicap players, it’s quite responsive around the greens, thanks in part to Callaway’s hybrid cover. Finally, it offers that oh-so-satisfying soft feel that players crave.

Want a bonus reason to game the Supersoft? Considering its performance benefits and the huge spectrum of players it fits, it’s a good value at $24.99 per dozen.

Pros:

• Soft feel
• Superior greenside response compared to most balls in this class
• Good value

Cons:

• May be too soft for players with faster swing speeds

If you’re knocking on the door of breaking 90, the Titleist TruFeel just might be the ball to get you there.

Being an incredibly soft ball, the TruFeel has a surprisingly low launch. If you’re taking those steps to becoming a mid-handicap player, a ball with a more penetrating ball flight like this could be a great way to pick up some distance. If you struggle to get the ball in the air and want a ball that launches higher, consider the Titleist Velocity instead.

The 2022 TruFeel has a thinner cover, which not only makes it softer, but also makes it exceptionally responsive around the green. It doesn't spin like some other balls on this list, but it won’t run off the back of the green.

Titleist implemented an interesting alignment aid on the TruFeel, with single lines on top and bottom of the TruFeel wording and what looks like equals signs on either side of it. The TruFeel has its place for Titleist fans, and higher-handicappers will enjoy its soft-feeling, penetrating flight.

Pros:

• Soft feel
• Low spin
• Low launch

Cons:

• Lacks in short game spin

Piper Golf, much like Vice, has earned its loyal following by giving the golfing public affordable golf balls.

The Piper Blue is a good ball for many handicap levels and many types of players. Players with moderate swing speeds and a 20 handicap can enjoy the benefits of the Piper Blue in a different way than a 105 MPH swinging 9-handicap player. This 3-piece ball gets a ton of distance off the tee with what Piper says is a perfectly symmetrical 332 dimple pattern. 

To go along with distance, the Piper Blue also helps tighten your dispersion. If you have the skill set to spin the golf ball to your liking on approach shots, you can work with the Piper Blue. However, if you are a higher-handicap golfer who is just worried about hitting any part of the green, its spin rate will hold a lot more flat surfaces. At $28 per dozen, you really can’t go wrong putting the Piper Blue in play.

Pros:

• Friendly price
• Great overall performance
• Penetrating flight

Cons:

• Slower swing speed players may struggle with trajectory

The Srixon Q-Star is another great example of your last golf ball before crossing over into a mid-handicap golf ball. Once you get there, Srixon also has you covered with the Q-Star Tour. The standard Q-Star is a high-trajectory golf ball that works well for those who need the help, or for those who like to take more aggressive approach shots to pins. For the higher-handicap player, it means that the ball flies high with little effort.

The Q-Star is definitely not the Srixon Soft Feel, which is a perfect ball for seniors. The Q-Star adapts with your game and always provides good distance with above average feel and performance around the green. In addition, the Q-Star is durable, like all Srixon balls.

The one downside to the Q-Star is on shots hit higher or lower on the clubface. Compared to other balls, there is a drop-off in distance on mis-hits with the Q-Star, something high-handicap players will need to consider. Misses left and right on the clubface actually perform quite well, and the Q-Star is always one of the straightest golf balls you can buy.

Pros:

• Durable
• High trajectory
• Feel on greenside shots

Cons:

• Lack of distance when missing high or low on clubface