Latest Issue: October 2026 Edition
Will LIV Golf survive? And, if it does, what will it look like in 2027 and beyond? The rocky path of golf’s breakaway league forms a central part of the October issue of Australian Golf Digest, as we take stock of the state of play with LIV and contemplate its immediate future. There’s also a strong course-architecture theme to the issue as we mark 100 years since Alister MacKenzie’s lone visit to Australia and New Zealand, plus we catch up with decorated Australian tour pro-turned course designer, Graham Marsh. Elsewhere, we ask Scottie Scheffler how to get your swing started, profile new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, examine the best golf balls on the market, tour the NSW South Coast, plus much more.
The Golf Life
Hot List 2026: Balls
We assembled our intrepid group of player-testers to evaluate the current crop of golf balls with all distinguishing marks blacked out. After hundreds of impartial tests off the tee, from the fairway and around the green, here are the 43 models that made the cut.
If there is a more inscrutable category in golf equipment than golf balls, we haven’t found it. As much as you might think all balls are the same, experts in the field know better. Chris Marchini, director of golf performance and innovation at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy, wants golfers to start asking themselves more questions. He estimates that more than 60 percent of the time a ball fitting ends with players choosing a different ball than they came in using – and not just good players, either. “Average golfers miss a lot of greens,” he says, “so wouldn’t it make the most sense to have a ball that you could manage in those short-shot situations instead of just hoping? Because hope is not a strategy, especially the closer you get to the hole.”
The golf ball is vital, as Marchini says, because “it’s a complementary piece to the other 14 tools in your bag”.
We asked our player-testers to think about that full-bag experience during Hot List ball testing, conducted again at the Marriott Grande Vista resort in Orlando, Florida. We make it challenging because we take brand out of the equation. We make their evaluations as unbiased as possible by blacking out all distinguishing marks and logos on every ball. We considered 74 balls in this year’s testing before reaching our list of 43 Gold and Silver medal winners.
We divide golf balls into those with urethane covers and those with non-urethane covers. We believe that urethane-cover balls provide the broadest range of full-bag playability, from long-distance, low-spin tee shots to crisply checking chips. That’s the reason the only balls that earned Gold on this year’s Hot List have urethane covers.
As you rethink your golf ball (a proper fitting is a good start, supplemented by your own on-course testing), realise that the right ball for you offers the fewest compromises through the bag. In the end, the object here isn’t necessarily to change your mind; it’s to make you more confident in your choice. That’s what the Hot List has always been about.
– Mike Stachura & E. Michael Johnson
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