Amazon is entering the budget golf ball market with the Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball. At £18/$15 per dozen it is an attractive offering!
It is 1994, Jeff Bezos is about to launch Amazon, you are sat having a coffee with him discussing his plans for the soon to be online book store and he says – By 2025 we want to be supplying, direct to golfers, an Amazon golf ball that can be delivered next day at a click of a button.
Well, fast forward 30 years and this is exactly what Amazon are doing – the Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball is now available in the UK and US.
$17.58
The fact that Jeff Bezos redirects the URL www.relentless.com (one of the original names he considered for the company) to Amazon, would probably suggest that golf balls were not out of the question! Afterall, Amazon is now commonly referred to as “The Everything Store”.
What certainly has changed over that time is the click and deliver culture we are now in – with Amazon being front and centre of that consumer revolution. A revolution that has definitely encompassed the golf industry. If you wished to try out the Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball you could get it delivered to your door step tomorrow, in the typical Amazon packaging (below).
Priced at under £18/$15 per dozen it can be seen as a challenger in the budget and beginner’s ball category.
In recent years, some of the most popular balls in these categories have been the Kirkland Signature , Seed and Vice golf balls. Kirkland are known pretty much solely as a high performing budget ball which is only really available at Amazon. Vice offers a wider range of balls and can be purchased direct from the Vice website as well as off Amazon. Seed is pretty much direct to consumer and can be purchased from the Seed website.
It will be interesting to see if Amazon, similar to Kirkland, look to dominate the budget category or in time look to offer a more premium ball, similar to Vice and Seed.
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For now, let’s take a look at what the Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball promises to deliver once unpacked out the box.
These are low compression golf balls aimed at delivering greater distance and straighter flight path. Distance seems to get the attention of most golfers and will be interesting to see if the Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball make it into the best golf balls for distance buyer’s guide. Whether it provides a soft feel for a distance golf ball only testing will tell – watch this space and bookmark the NCG YouTube channel – Your Golf NCG – as this testing will be undertaken soon.
A common theme for the budget/distance golf balls is that where they excel with distance they have to compromise when it comes to feel and control around the green and off the putter face. Amazon are claiming this golf ball will provide improved short game control and putting accuracy – if this is the case then it will truly move beyond a distance/beginner’s golf ball.
This is nothing new on golf balls – in fact in time it might be seen to be standard – but is a nice touch for a budget golf ball as not all brands provide this across the whole range.
Once again, this is what you would expect for a golf ball in this category due to it probably experiencing the clattering into trees, water and bunkers more often! In terms of visibility there is also a yellow version of the golf ball available.
This is a bold claim but if Amazon achieve this then it will be seen as a rival for balls like the Callaway Supersoft, Titleist Trufeel , Srixon Soft feel and the Bridgestone E6.
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The claims above are yet to be fully tested, but what is in no doubt, it is the value end of the market that Amazon are trying to tap into.
They will be able to see the popularity of the Kirkland golf ball, in particular, and if they feel they can claim a substantial piece of this market then maybe, in time, other brands might need to watch out.
For a dozen it will set you back £17.06 or $14.40 – so, from a price point of view it is an attractive offering. I can see a lot of these in stocking fillers this Christmas!
Available: Available in the UK and US
RRP: £17.06 / $14.40 per dozen
Colours: White and yellow
More Information: Amazon
Have you tried the new Amazon Basics Core Soft golf ball? Let us know on X!
Don’t forget to check out and like our YouTube channel – YOUR GOLF NCG – where you will find lots of hints, tips and equipment reviews.
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