Sid,
I'm not sure I understand what you are describing, any chance you could post a pic?

Here’s a shot of it you can see where the lines are from the grooves of the iron.

I tried to upload a picture of it. It’s pending approval I guess. It’s from the grooves of the club cutting into the ball.

Here is a picture of a ball I used new years day. You can see where the grooves from the iron cut into the ball.

Never had that problem Sid. Are the balls new Titleist or refinished used balls?

Yes, the old golf balls would leave a little fuzz on the ball. I also play the AP3 and use the ProV1x

Sid,

Does this happen to the ball after one stoke?

It was a new ball. I played this morning with some prov1s that I got for christmas it happened on the first hole. By the time I was finished with the ball I had three different spots on the ball with similar marks. It does it mostly with my 9 or my pw.

That's really odd.I've heard of that happening with wedges with lots of grab on the face, but not regular irons.

Weird.

Newer irons will that for a while. They aren't indestructible balls. It's just cosmetic and will not affect how the ball plays.

That’s good to know. I try to switch out after 9 holes either way. I usually just pick at any of the cover that’s sticking up and try to smooth it back out as best as I can. Always made me skeptical if it did affect the ball flight but I’ve never noticed a difference.

Thanks Mark, I keep a pair in the bag so next time I will give that a try!

Sid,

That happens to me often also. My scratches come more from cart paths and trees than the clubs. Being 70+ yrs old I don't have the swing to nick up the ball. One thing I found for salvaging the ball is a small nail clipper that has a small nail file on it. I just find the nicked spots and file them down. That seems to get the cover smooth again although it still leaves some discoloration. I've not noticed any difference in the performance of the fixed balls, but as I said, at 70 my game is not is not overly great. Fairways and greens.

Mark F

Sid,
That happens to me also. Any wedge shot and more often than not I'll have that scar, it does not effect the ball flight at all so I keep playing it.
Jeff

Sid,
Yes, I've scuffed balls in the manner you have shown...
In my experience, it's pretty much restricted to soft covered, premium balls.
Old balata and similar soft covers were prone to this sort of "damage".
As Mark noted, there are sometimes bits sticking up which can be picked or rubbed off.
The damage is superficial and the ball doesn't react differently or have its performance impaired but it does look scruffy.
Strangely, and I know it's a generalisation but the whiteness of premium balls seems to fade quicker than some less expensive models.
It's expensive, but as they look beaten-up, they tend to go into the practice bag at the end of the round.
JT

That's an old Pro V in the picture. At least 4 years old, based on the alignment graphic. For all anyone knows it could be one that was "refinished" by one of the lost ball resellers. And in that case, the look doesn't surprise me. If that is happening on a brand new model Pro V with your irons, that doesn't make sense. Yes, spinning the ball off wedges and having some scuffing on a new ball as a result, should be expected. But the ball in the picture looks much worse than that. Honestly, it looks like the white finish coating is being removed and that is not something that typically happens on balls which have not been reconditioned. I'd be curious to see what your irons and wedges do to a NEW 2017/18 version of the Pro V and or the brand new design being released this month. I understand that grooves cut into the cover. My Vokeys do it regularly. That's just the way it is if you trap the ball. However, based on the one photo above where the surface finish coating/color has been scraped off, it seems there might be more to this story. I would really like to see pics of the damage done to a NEW Pro V to make a better assessment.

Thank for the input everyone. The one I posted was for reference it was new when it was played, but yes I know it is an older model. Here is a ball I bought right after Christmas with the marks as well, this one has two different spots that are pictured.

I've had scar marks from My ball hitting trees but not from my club, all I have to say is kudos to you the impact must be 100% keep it up:)

I occasionally see that but doesnt bother me because it was a great strike. Would like to see that more often

Well, that definitely seems like you are cutting up the ball with your wedges/irons, more than I do anyway. I get urethane peeling off new balls from my wedges and short irons, but not usually all the way through the cover. Is what I see in the pics possibly just dirt in the creases and not actually the next layer? Either way, you seem to be getting nice ball/face downward contact.

Doug, I think it just dirt in the cuts it didn’t go all the way through to the next layer.

I have done the same with a couple of new balls.
I blame it on super sweet strikes, not very often but occasionally I do,do it and the sm7 wedges chew them up haha
I just change the ball at the next hole and get on with it.

I bought new AP2s and even my fresh grooves didn't do that to my Pro V1Xs - my swing speed is 97-99 mph with a driver and ball speed in upper 140s. So maybe I don't have a fast enough swing speed to damage the ball like that.

I was just got fitted not my TS3 last month and my average swing speed was around 105 I topped out at 115 on the simulator. I don’t remember what the ball speed was. I had never really had the issue before but I did change some things with my swing last year after getting a swing evaluation and that’s when I noticed it more often.

Hi Syd, I had that same problem on a brand new set of clubs years ago. 7 iron down to sand wedge (7 iron worst) I'd hit a shot flush and find bits of the ball in the grooves and the balls (even crappy hard balls) damaged like yours. Almost immediately after getting the clubs I had a hiatus due to injury and a couple of years later when I returned the clubs were out of warranty so I contacted the manufacturer and they said they had only had that problem (due to machining issues) with a certain model and only in left hand. I had that model and I'm left handed.....
They offered to repair the irons but only if I freighted them interstate. In the meantime I hurt my back again and didn't strike a ball for another 12 years so it was all forgotten, Palmer golf no longer existed then so I'm stuck with them.
Did you ever find a solution, perhaps re-grooving? I don't want to sell or even give them away knowing they're not up to par. Cheers, Tim

Tim, might not get a response from Sid as this post is a year and a half old and he has a low post count so probably just a one-and-done poster. Nothing to believe he has a grove problem. More likely, he just hits way too steeply on the ball. He never says but probably has deep divots. As for your older Palmer irons that were giving you issues over 12 years ago, the balls have changed a lot and probably your swing too. My guess is you will not have an issue with them if you decide to use them on modern golf balls. Sounds like your issues were more in line with cut balata balls which was very common back in the day. I had a set of Palmer Golden Standards in the 80’s. Beautiful set that I wish I had kept for nostalgic reasons.

Don't cheap out on the only piece of gear you use on every shot

I also have this issue with new irons and especially wedges. Once the grooves wear down a touch, this will reduce in time.