Swiss Golf Simulators All venues Map By canton By city Open now Near me For business

2 October 2026 · 9 min read

Golf ball numbers, compression and AAAA: what the numbers on a golf ball mean

The 1 to 4 on the ball only tells your ball from others, compression has no industry standard, and lake ball retailers set AAAA differently. With sources.

Golf ball numbers, compression and AAAA: what the numbers on a golf ball mean — post image

The number on the golf ball, usually a 1, 2, 3 or 4, says nothing about distance, spin or firmness. It only helps you tell your ball from your playing partners' balls. Compression is a different number, and according to Golf Monthly there is no industry standard for it. AAA and AAAA on a lake ball describe the condition of a used ball, and the two retailers I read set the grades differently. I read the retailers' and manufacturers' pages on 2 October 2026; the sources are in the text and at the end.

What does the number on a golf ball mean?

The ball maker Snell Golf writes that the numbers on a ball are mainly there to tell your ball from everyone else's. They serve identification and packaging, but do not make the ball fly farther or spin more. You usually see 1 to 4 for a practical reason: a box holds 12 balls in four sleeves of three, and each sleeve carries a different number. Snell writes that these numbers became the standard mainly for logistical reasons. I found no rule on it. Some series also have 5 to 8. The table shows which prints exist and what the source says:

PrintWhat the source says
1, 2, 3, 4telling balls apart and packaging, not a performance rating
5 to 8in some series a second row, also for telling balls apart
80, 90, 100older prints that once showed firmness and are rarely printed large today
three-digit number, such as 388often the number of dimples, but not always (more in How many dimples does a golf ball have)
colour of the numberdesign, not performance

In the rulebook the number appears as an aid to identification. You should put your own identifying mark on the ball (Rule 6.3a, R&A). Brand, model, number and condition are enough only as long as no identical ball lies in the same area (Rule 7.2). If you play the wrong ball, it costs two penalty strokes in stroke play and the hole in match play (Rule 6.3c). So add a dot or a line, even if your ball carries the number 3. What else applies to ball and club is in Conforming clubs and balls, and what happens when a ball cannot be found is in Lost ball, out of bounds, penalty area.

What is compression?

Compression says how much a ball deforms under the clubhead. Golf Monthly describes it as a number of roughly 30 to 120: the lower the number, the softer the ball. A high value therefore means firm, not good. It is determined mainly by the density and hardness of the core; the mantle and cover contribute only part of it.

The number is not a standard measure. Golf Monthly writes that there is no industry standard for measuring it, and some manufacturers do not publish the value at all. Snell Golf puts it this way: every compression figure belongs to the tester that measured it and is not a universal yardstick. That fits the fact that two sources give two values for the Srixon AD333: 65 at Golf Monthly, 68 at a Swiss shop. Neither says whether they mean the same edition of the ball. The table shows examples, each with the source of the number:

BallCompressionSource
Wilson DUO Soft37Golfers Paradise, Swiss shop (product data)
Srixon AD33365Golf Monthly, test
Srixon AD33368Golfers Paradise
Volvik Captain America Vivid85Golfers Paradise
Srixon Z-Star Diamond100Golfers Paradise
Titleist Pro V1x100Golf Monthly, test

Which compression suits your speed?

Speed with the driverCompression according to Golf Monthly
under 85 mph, which is under about 137 km/h30 to 60
85 to 105 mph, about 137 to 169 km/h60 to 90
over 105 mph, over about 169 km/h90 and more

Golf Monthly calls this a starting point and advises against buying by a chart alone: test a firm tour ball against a softer one. Callaway weighs it differently: Rock Ishii, its Senior Director of golf ball research, says low-compression, low-spin balls are better for 99 % of players (Callaway). That is the view of a manufacturer that has such a ball in its range with the Chrome Soft.

How big the difference can be is shown by one test: the Golf Monthly tester measured two balls with a Foresight GC3. With the 7-iron at about 93 mph clubhead speed, roughly 150 km/h, the carry was only 2 yards apart, about 1.8 metres. That is one editor's test, not proof for every player. A worked example for the bay: if the monitor shows 160 km/h with the driver, you divide by 1.61 and arrive at about 99 mph, which is in the middle band of 60 to 90. How to measure your speed cleanly is in Clubhead speed: the table by handicap. The comparison of layers and the test with two balls is described in Which golf ball suits me.

AAA and AAAA: what do the lake ball grades mean?

Lake balls are balls recovered from water hazards, cleaned and sorted into quality grades; that is how the retailer all4golf describes it on its Swiss site. Retailers describe the grades in their own words, and the two I read rank them differently:

Gradeall4golf.com (Swiss site)reballs.de
AAAAtop sorting, visually almost like newvery good condition, a difference from new balls often no longer visible
AAAmint quality, hardly any visible signs of usein one grade with AA: good to acceptable condition, visible play marks, X-Out stamps possible
AAlight scratches or discolouration, but fully playablesee AAA
A or BA: clear signs of use, good for intensive practiceB: practice and cross-golf balls, not tournament grade

At one retailer AAA is "mint quality", at the other AAA shares a grade with AA, in which balls may show visible play marks (reballs.de). Both descriptions are about appearance: shine, scratches, discolouration. How long a ball lay in the water is in neither description. So read each retailer's own grade description before you compare prices.

When is which grade worth it?

The two retailers advise similarly. all4golf recommends A for practice, AA and AAA rather for a round, and new balls rather for tournaments and competition. reballs.de calls grade B not tournament grade and suitable for practice and cross golf, and the shared grade AA and AAA especially suitable for players who go through many balls. One price example: a dozen Titleist Pro V1 in AAAA costs CHF 34.00 at all4golf (as of 2 October 2026), which is CHF 2.83 a ball. What new balls cost and where second-hand makes sense otherwise is in Used clubs and lake balls.

What this means for you

  • Number on the ball: Use it to tell balls apart and add your own dot. There is no more information in it.
  • Compression: Do not look for the right number, test instead. Two balls, ten shots per ball, note carry and spin. The difference can be small, as the Golf Monthly test with the 7-iron shows.
  • Lake ball: Read the retailer's grade description. For practice the grades the retailers recommend for it are enough; for important rounds use new balls.

Where you can measure the numbers yourself

In a bay with a launch monitor you see ball speed and spin after every shot, and with them whether a softer or firmer ball changes anything for you. Ask beforehand whether you may hit your own balls. The map shows the venues by canton, golf simulator near me the nearest one, and the prices for an hour are on golf simulator prices: 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory give an hourly price, between CHF 25 and 99, with a median of CHF 50 a bay (as of 2 October 2026). If it is your first visit, start with golf simulator for beginners. What the venue measures and what it calculates is explained in Radar or camera: how a golf simulator measures the ball.

Frequently asked questions

What does the number on a golf ball mean?

Usually nothing about performance: the number, often 1 to 4, is there to tell your ball from your playing partners' balls and helps with packaging. According to the ball maker Snell Golf it makes the ball neither longer nor spinnier. Also add your own mark, as Rule 6.3a recommends.

What does compression 90 or 100 mean for a golf ball?

Compression shows how firm a ball is: Golf Monthly gives a scale of roughly 30 to 120, and the lower the number, the softer the ball. So 90 or 100 means firm. According to Golf Monthly there is no industry standard for the measurement, so values from different sources are only roughly comparable.

What does AAAA mean for lake balls?

AAAA is the top grade at both retailers I read. all4golf calls it visually almost like new. I found no common definition: reballs.de describes AAAA similarly but puts AAA and AA in one grade with visible play marks. So read the retailer's own description.

Which compression suits my swing speed?

Golf Monthly gives as a starting point for the driver: under 85 mph 30 to 60, from 85 to 105 mph 60 to 90, above that 90 and more. That is a rule of thumb. In the magazine's test the balls were only 2 yards apart with the 7-iron, so test in the bay.

Do I have to mark my golf ball?

It is not compulsory, but the Rules say you should put an identifying mark on the ball (Rule 6.3a). Brand, model and number are not enough if an identical ball lies in the same area (Rule 7.2). The wrong ball costs two penalty strokes in stroke play.

Sources