"Refurbished" Golf Balls?

[lamontagne]

I am curious about what is meant by "refurbished". Cleaned and re-painted? Personally, I like the Titleist, but last year, I bought "refurbished" Titleist balls. While some appeared to perform as well as any other Titleist, some did not. Also, after a lot of use, the paint seemed to come off, and the colour under seemed to be yellow.
So, I am curious about two things: the first is a matter of patent or copyright--the refurbished balls had the Titleist logo on them--which I would assume that Titleist permits their balls to be refurbished; and the second, is what process is used in refurbishing a ball.

[mr shank]

Refurbished balls suck, period.
You're better off buying low-end new balls. There are so many on the market, you should be able to find one you like & that doesn't cost much more than a used Titleist.

[lamontagne]

I think you missed my point, Mr. Shank. As I said the quality was questionable. I was just wondering about the "legality" of selling these balls. They look like new, have the Titleist logo with red or black numbers, and a small logo on the side "Refurbished by Second Chance", and boxed in a very presentable way. (Walmart). I was surprised that Titleist (who sell quality balls) should allow this. Other brands or makes were also available.

But I agree, nothing like playing a new ball.........

[el tigre]

I believe "refurbished" means they were recycled from ponds and forests on golf courses and repainted. So your "refurbished" Titleists actually are Titleist golf balls, but they've been sitting in a lake or in the bush for who knows how long.

I frequently buy mint or AAA "used" balls through Ebay or Knetgolf, and they perform just as well as new in most cases. These balls are simply cleaned, sorted and graded rather than "refurbished" - so while they are still "recycled" golf balls you have a pretty good idea of the condition you're getting.

IMHO, refurbishing golf balls is legal but not exactly ethical, because the reason for "refurbishing" is to hide the true condition of the ball and simply make it look better.

[ShaneOttawa]

Originally posted by lamontagne
I think you missed my point, Mr. Shank. As I said the quality was questionable. I was just wondering about the "legality" of selling these balls. They look like new, have the Titleist logo with red or black numbers, and a small logo on the side "Refurbished by Second Chance", and boxed in a very presentable way. (Walmart). I was surprised that Titleist (who sell quality balls) should allow this. Other brands or makes were also available.

But I agree, nothing like playing a new ball.........

I read not long ago that a ball manufacturer took a refurbisher to court on the very issue of infringement. The court ruled the practice legal as the refurbishing merely re-applied previously existing branding and the balls were clearly sold as being used.
Not an opinion I agree with, but then, I'm not a lawyer (or a judge in that jurisdiction).