On any given round I enjoy hitting Top-Flite golf balls about as much as I like losing them. In other words, they’re miserable. Harder than frozen cubic zirconia with as much feel as a novocained root canal, I find the brand’s balls to be appalling.

To be fair, the balls I find are generally one’s that I’ve found while in the deep rough woods looking for my drive but that’s neither here nor there.

Top-Flite has a rebuttal. It’s called “The Gamer”. A value ball with a purported feel like the D2 balls and a direct volley to Titelist’s NXT. The price is just right for golfers looking to upgrade from x’outs or found range balls. Using a 3-piece construction (yes, 3-piece for $20), the The Gamer golf ball has a resilient low compression core for better feel and a soft thin cover for more spin when hitting the greens.

Cost: $20 per dozen @ Golfballs.com