A dozen Pro V1s runs about $55. It's a great ball. It's also a great ball to watch disappear into a pond on the third hole, which is roughly where a couple of mine end up every round.
Here's what most of us don't want to admit: unless you're playing for a paycheck, you are not leaving anything on the table by gaming something cheaper. A good three-piece urethane ball gives a weekend golfer almost all of the same performance for half to a third of the price. Long off the driver, soft around the greens, plenty of spin when you need it.
So these are the five I'd put in the bag before paying full freight for the premium stuff. Prices run from $19 to $39 a dozen, and I play one of them myself.
Legato LTX3085
Legato · $27 / dozen
This might be the best direct-to-consumer golf ball out there right now, and the reviews across the web back that up. The three-piece urethane build is made to go long when you let the big stick eat and land soft when you reach the green, which puts it right in the conversation with the big brands' top models.
Personal take: these are in my bag right now. My driver has cracked 300 yards exactly twice in my life, and both times there was a Legato on the tee. Make of that what you will. The price is a fraction of a Pro V1, and as a bonus, their Instagram is genuinely funny if you like golf memes.
Shop Now | $27Honma TW-X/S Tour
Honma · $33 / dozen
Another three-piece cast urethane ball, this one built around control and a soft feel: low spin on the long game, high spin around the green. It goes far when you want it to go far, and it bites when you want it to bite.
Honma is also a more established name than some of the others here. Pros like Justin Rose have gamed their equipment over the years. If you're a weekend player, or really anyone who isn't a scratch golfer, you'll get the same on-course performance out of these that you would from a premium tour ball, for a good bit less.
Shop Now | $33Vice Pro Plus
Vice Golf · $39 / dozen
Vice has earned its reputation at this point: a tour-level ball at a fair price. The Pro Plus is a multilayer build that plays a lot like a Pro V1 off every club in the bag.
The other thing Vice does better than anyone is design. The colorways and patterns are the best on the market, so if you want a ball that actually stands out in the rough, or just looks good sitting on the tee, this is the one. Real performance with a little personality.
Shop Now | $39Cut Blue
Cut Golf · $19 / dozen
The cheapest ball on the list, and still a tour-quality four-piece urethane that plays like a Pro V1. At $19 a dozen, the value is tough to argue with.
Cut makes a ball for just about every kind of golfer. I picked the Blue here because it's built to cut spin and add distance, so if your game is more about getting it out there than shaping it, this is the model to grab.
Shop Now | $19Trust Golf K8 Bison
Trust · $21 / dozen
Another three-piece urethane design. Are you sensing the theme yet? The construction is the same as the names that cost twice as much. The price is not.
What sets the Bison apart is who it's built for. It's designed to work across all swing speeds, and it's especially friendly to slower ones. If you don't hit it a mile and you care more about control than raw distance, this is the ball for you.
Shop Now | $21That's the list. The theme, in case the last pick didn't give it away: every one of these is a three- or four-piece urethane ball that does most of what a Pro V1 does for a lot less money. Pick based on your swing and what you want the ball to do, and remember you're going to lose a few every round no matter what's stamped on them. Might as well lose the cheaper ones. I'll be playing the Legato.