Updated October 12, 2023. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.
The best illegal golf balls all provide enhancements that increase length, improve accuracy, and help golfers with a slower swing speed.
While they may look similar to your regular golf balls, these illegal balls do their best to shine by creating explosive distance with an aerodynamic dimple pattern that pushes the bound for what recreational golfers can do with a golf club.
On our list of the best illegal golf balls, we cover six dynamic models that help every golfer regardless of their age or skill level.
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Table of Contents
What are Illegal or Non-Conforming Golf Balls
Illegal, or non-conforming, golf balls offer golfers a distinct advantage, whether it be through distance or accuracy, that goes beyond the bounds created by the USGA.
The main attraction to playing with these golf balls is that they push the envelope as to what each golfer can do with their game.
For example, say a golfer hits their drives around 250 yards, but an illegal golf ball can add another 15-20 yards, giving the player the longest drives they’ve ever hit in their golfing journey.
For golfers with slower swing speeds, a non-conforming golf ball specializing in more distance, will undoubtedly provide the aerodynamic lift, maximizes ball velocity, and greatly reduces side spin for more control that translates to straighter, longer ball flight.
Weekend warriors with accuracy issues will find that self-correcting golf balls help straighten their drives and iron shots from the fairway. Along with more distance, the reduction in side spin helps golfers maintain their shots along their target line.
The extra distance in these illegal golf balls makes the game more enjoyable, providing the antidote to the poison of hitting hooks, slices, and chunks.
For senior golfers, non-conforming golf balls help boost distance, improve accuracy, and increase the level of fun that can be had on a golf course.
Of course, younger recreational golfers hoping to enjoy a day away from the hassles of life on a golf course can find a large enhancement of joy by playing illegal golf balls.
Best Illegal Golf Balls 2023
Here’s our illegal golf ball list:
Polara Ultimate Straight
Best Illegal Golf Ball Overall
Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Ionomer
- Dimple Pattern: 386 Circular
Pros
- Less lift provides a more penetrating flight
- Reduces slice by up to 25 yards
- Outstanding distance with extended carry
Cons
- Limited workability demands precision
The king of the Polara self-correcting balls line, the Ultimate Straight offers minimal aerial lift to reduce the chances that your drive flies to the right or left into the rough.
Instead, the Ultimate Straight stays in the fairway with a tight shot dispersion. Along the side of the ball, Polara placed a straight arrow, helping golfers to accurately line up their drive.
The two-piece golf ball may not have the touch and feel of the company’s three-piece ball, but it is designed to remove all side spin from your shotmaking.
From the fairway, the ball really shines, helping you find the green with far more regularity over traditional models.
Bandit Maximum Distance
Best Budget Illegal Golf Ball
Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Lithium Surlyn
- Dimple Pattern: Circular
Pros
- Aerodynamic dimple design extends carry for maximum distance
- Built for optimal forward roll to get every yard possible for each shot
- Reactive core generates stunning yardage off tee and from fairway
Cons
- Blunt instrument that doesn’t provide much touch or feel
Offering help for slow swing speed, the Maximum Distance offers a new model for fans of Bandit Golf Balls that need more distance from their tee shots.
Powering the Bandit Maximum Distance Golf Ball is the highly-energetic Super Reactive Core which fuels the extended length that the ball utilizes for more distance on every swing.
Another bonus of playing the Bandit Maximum Distance is the durable outer layer made from Lithium Surlyn.
If you are interested in a non-regulated ball that provides more spin from the fairway, the Bandit ball will not only boost distance, but offers premium spin control.
Polara XD
Best Distance Golf Ball
Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Soft Surlyn
- Dimple Pattern: 336 Circular
Pros
- Reduces slices and hooks by up to 50%
- Impressive overall distance with driver and fairway woods
- Lower compression core helps slow swing speeds
Cons
- Not as straight as other Polara golf balls
The Polara XD offers exceedingly long distance with each drive.
Although you cannot use these balls in a USGA-sponsored tournament, if you are looking to improve your level of enjoyment, the XD keeps the golf ball out of the rough.
What’s great about the XD, especially when you compare the golf ball to others developed by Polara, is that this model is a machine built for distance.
Rather than providing more spin or touch, the XD wants to get down the fairway as far as your driver will take it from the tee box.
If you suffer from a lower swing speed, the XD bridges the gap, helping you dial up the longest drives of your career.
Available in yellow and white, the XD delivers a crisp experience for golfers that need more from their driver.
Great from the tee box and for helping reach the green on longer par 4s, the XD provides low-penetrating flight that pushes through the wind to extend the distance of your drives.
MG Golf Balls
Best Illegal Golf Balls for Seniors
Specifications
- Type: 2-piece
- Cover: Surlyn
- Dimple Pattern: 350 Circular
Pros
- Very firm feel for extended distance
- Great for slower swing speeds to help maximize distance
- Solid on the greens with capable distance control
Cons
- Rock hard feel off the tee, doesn’t provide much feel around greens
MG Golf Balls help older golfers find their groove again, providing distance and feel from anywhere on the course.
Although they are classified as non-conforming by the USGA, the MG golf ball adds anywhere from 15-25 yards of distance to your game.
Off the tee box, the MG ball delivers staggering distance, great for golfers that need more from their driver. If you regularly hit your drives less than 250 yards, the MG ball picks up the slack, tacking on more yardage with each swing.
With irons, most golfers can expect to add an iron number or two for each shot, that’s the difference made by these dynamic golfing balls.
For senior players, the MG Golf Balls are crafted to delight and dazzle, offering distance to burn along with spin around the greens.
Polara XDS
Best Anti-Slice Illgel Golf Ball
Specifications
- Type: 3-piece
- Cover: Ionmer
- Dimple Pattern: 336 Circular
Pros
- Best feel from any slice correction golf ball
- High compression generates more spin and feel
- Softer cover helps provide touch around the greens
Cons
- Much higher price point than other correction golf balls
The Polara XDS provides golfers with a solution to their slicing and hook problems. By reducing side spin, the XDS keeps the golf ball in the fairway and around the green, offering a full tee-to-green experience that helps lower scores and improve the quality of your round.
A highlight among the Polara Self-Correcting product line, the XDS delivers a smoother flight that provides more consistency. With an iron in hand, the XDS stays low, but with enough spin to stop quickly on the green.
Around the greens, especially with a wedge, the XDS shines as the three-piece golf ball creates exceptional spin that checks up nicely on the putting surface. With a putter, the XDS also performs admirably on longer lag putts with terrific distance control.
While some Polara balls need a specific driver loft, the XDS works well with any driver you may carry in your bag. With far-reaching ball flight, the XDS provides casual golfers with a premium option that falls just outside the USGA regulations.
Bandit SB
Best Small Illegal Golf Ball
Pros
- Boost of up to 10% of overall distance
- Smaller golf ball helps with putting
- Provides steeper landing angle than other slice correction balls
Cons
- Feels smaller off the face, less powerful
The Bandit SB has a smaller diameter than off-the-shelf models, helping the power of the ball down the fairway with a dynamic energy rarely seen in illegal editions.
The golf ball utilizes its complex dual-radius dimple system to increase length by reducing the wind resistance against the outer layer.
Unlike illegal options like the Saintnine X Golf Balls, the Bandit SB delivers a sharper, more accurate experience from the fairway.
Entry shots into the green benefit greatly due to the larger core, helping golfers get the distance they need without sacrificing the pinpoint control that traditional balls deliver the average golfer.
Bandit SB Golf Balls offer casual golfers the opportunity to play a uniquely designed golf ball that extends distance with higher accuracy and feel.
Buying Guide: Choosing Illegal Golf Balls
Construction
The construction of non-conforming golf balls are not dissimilar from your traditional golf ball, with a slight caveat. As with all golf balls, you will find a core and an outer cover. Some non-conforming balls have multiple layers that come in the form of a three-piece golf ball.
But with illegal golf balls, the outer layer is the secret that keeps the ball straight and long. With a shallower dimple pattern, the golf ball experiences a great reduction in lift, helping it maximize the drive.
As with other golf balls, the construction of non-conforming golf balls may have the same construction, but they are not eligible for tournament play.
Dimple Pattern
The power behind illegal golf balls, and their ability to correct side spin for straighter and longer drives, comes from the dimple pattern. By removing the depth from the dimple pattern, the golf ball is modified to the point that it affects the MOI of the ball.
With a golf club, MOI accounts for the amount of twisting the club head does on the downswing. For a ball, the side spin creates the hooks and slices that kill the possibility of posting a low score on the hole.
With non-regulated golf balls, reducing the spin is the key to unlock distance. For golf balls, like the popular models manufactured by Polara, the golf ball must be set up on the tee in a specific manner to gain the advantage provided by the shallow dimple pattern.
Distance
While there are accurate golf balls that fall outside the USGA regulations for a golf ball, there are also distance golf balls that help golfers with reduced swing speed help maintain their length and, in some instances, add 10-20 more yards to each drive.
Maximum distance golf balls streamline the drag that golf balls experience during flight. By minimizing the drag, the illegal golf ball flies further than a traditional model.
As we explained in the Dimple Design section, a shallow bed of dimples helps minimize resistance to maximize the carry of the ball flight.
Distance balls that do not conform to USGA rules will not have the tight shot dispersion of the self-correcting balls, but golfers will notice a huge difference in length.
For players looking for a new way to enjoy the game, these distance options are a huge hit among golfers, especially if they have slow swing speeds.
Conclusion
Our choice of the best illegal golf balls on the market is the Polara Ultimate Straight.
It offers a combination of fun and exciting features including more distance, clean aerodynamic lift, a high energy core that offers explosive length, and impressive help with lower swing speed.
For a variety of golfers that struggle with creating explosive distance, these non-conforming golf balls help with spin control as well.
Although traditional golf balls adhere to the USGA standards for tournament play, they cannot cut the corners that illegal golf balls can on the links.
When you buy illegal golf balls, you do so with the understanding that you are looking to experience golf in an artificial, but thrilling way.
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