Amazon sells everything, so of course it sells golf balls now. The Amazon Basics Core Soft costs about $18 a dozen, comes in a plain box, and has been all over golf media this year. MyGolfSpy’s Ball Lab just cut a few dozen of them open to see what’s actually inside. We read every test we could find so you don’t have to. Here’s whether it deserves a spot in your bag.
For more info: MyGolfSpy
What You’re Actually Buying
The Amazon Basics Core Soft is a two-piece ball with an ionomer cover and 338 dimples, so it’s built on the same basic recipe as almost every distance and recreational ball on the market. Amazon calls it “low compression” without naming a number, but Ball Lab measured it at an average of about 57, which puts it firmly in soft-ball territory. It’s USGA conforming, has a sidestamp for alignment, and comes in white or yellow.
Price is the headline: roughly $17.59 a dozen in MyGolfSpy’s test.
The Good News
- Very few duds. Ball Lab found just one bad ball out of 36 and gave it an A for good-ball rate. No defects in the cores, layers, or covers.
- Soft feel. At a measured compression in the 50s, it feels soft off the face, which is exactly what slower swingers want.
- Usable distance. It’s not winning any long-drive contests, but it isn’t a rock either.
- Golfers don’t hate it. In MyGolfSpy’s reader survey, most people said it wouldn’t replace their current ball, but nearly half said they’d buy it again.
The Not-So-Good News
- Box-to-box inconsistency. This is the big one. Compression ranged from 50.2 to 60.8, a spread of 10.7 points that was wider than the field average, and Ball Lab graded it a D. Part of the reason: one box came from a factory in Vietnam and averaged about five points softer than two boxes made in China. Each individual ball was consistent with itself, but they weren’t consistent with each other.
- Low spin. Australian Golf Digest’s driver testing had it at 2,203 RPM and 207 yards of carry, versus 2,562 RPM and 219 yards for a Titleist Pro V1. Golf Digest’s robot found it roughly 11 to 13 yards short of premium balls off the tee. Around the greens, don’t expect it to check up.
- Not every reviewer was kind. Today’s Golfer called it the worst ball they’d ever tested, citing poor spin and sound. Golfalot was friendlier at 3.3 out of 5, praising the value while flagging inconsistent results.
Ball Lab’s final verdict: a Quality Score of 82, a B- grade, and a “Not Recommended” label.
What We’d Buy Instead (For About the Same Money)
The Core Soft is going after the soft, cheap, two-piece crowd. That neighborhood is already crowded with balls that have years of track record:
- Callaway Supersoft: The category king. A few bucks more, but proven consistency.
- Srixon Soft Feel: Soft, straight, and a bit more greenside bite than most budget balls.
- Wilson Duo Soft: One of the lowest-compression balls you can buy, often for around the same money as Amazon’s.
- Kirkland Signature: If you want a store-brand ball that punches up, this is the one. It’s urethane and gets a lot more spin. We did a full Kirkland review too.
The Verdict
Are Amazon Basics golf balls worth it? If you’re a high handicapper who loses six balls a round and wants something soft and cheap, sure. It’s a perfectly fine thing to hit into a pond. One bad ball in 36 is better quality control than some name brands manage.
But if you care about every ball in the box behaving the same way, or you want any spin at all around the greens, the inconsistency is a real problem. And at this price there are proven alternatives that don’t make you gamble on which factory your box came from. We’d spend a couple extra bucks on a Supersoft or Soft Feel and call it a day. Sorry, Jeff.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for details.